LETTER: A thoroughly decent Government

DEAR News Of The Area

I WRITE in response to the recent Letter to the Editor, Pauline wants a unified, safe and peaceful society (NOTA, 24/7/26).

I get it!  A certain percentage of people feel aggrieved about the cost-of-living crises and want to kick the incumbent government.

Across the world, reactionary movements on the far right have gained support by exploiting insecurity, distrust, and anger at the status quo.

Reactionary movements that have changed governments, such as Brexit or the election of the Trump regime, have real-life outcomes.

They have resulted in more authoritarianism, poor governance, corruption and austerity.

They haven’t addressed productivity and investment or made serious commitments to fixing the structural flaws of inequality, nor have they taken a constructive role in the world, despite the fact they may have “authentic” leaders.

There are social ramifications occurring in Australian politics and social media platforms that stem from deep structural flaws, inequalities, and institutional mechanisms brought on by neoliberal policies.

These policies have increased inequality, and financial insecurity for certain groups of people in our society. Groups like single parents, low-income, casualised or gig economy workers, and renters, just to name a few.

Whether it’s corporate power that has grown too strong, housing that is too expensive, destructive tech and social media companies, supermarkets that overcharge, global gas and energy providers that charge too much or don’t pay enough tax, or gambling companies, Labor needs to look at where the market is failing people.

Labor Governments are now tasked with building on what they already know works and to offer a serious alternative to the conditions that allowed these structural faults to grow.

Here is what they have done to date while navigating the global shocks of COVID-related inflation, the oil and gas shock of the war in Ukraine, the war in Iran, and the trade disruptions from the tariff impositions.

The Labor cost of living initiatives are: tax cuts for all; adult wages for 18-year-olds; wage increases; free TAFE; extended parental leave; Super paid on pay day; increased wages for childcare and aged care staff; three days of paid early childhood education; a reduction in fuel excise; securing future fuel supplies; free Medicare with more bulk billing and Urgent Care Clinics; a cap on the cost of pharmaceuticals; cheaper prescriptions for everyone; and covering more medications.

Labor has big spending programs to increase housing supply, help into housing for First Home Buyers, and careful changes to the housing tax settings for the investor class. They are bringing back industrial manufacturing and creating quality jobs in the process.They have green-lighted dozens of utility-scale solar, wind, and storage projects, significantly boosting investor confidence after years of gridlock that now allows for three hours of free energy every day. It is also a government that cares about women, and one with a multicultural platform. It’s a government that looks to unite and not divide.

Labor is the only government that has done anything to address the cost of living. According to Albo you get more out of people by giving them a leg up than by pushing them down.

I think that makes them a thoroughly decent government, one that has delivered, albeit with more work to do.

Regards,

Susan Jenvey.