I recently asked the Labor candidate for Roberson, Belinda Neal, if she would like to respond to some major issues facing the seat of Robertson. These in the main have been identified by a recent Morgan poll as, crime, health and a fair workplace. There is also the question of BAS easy that Labor intends to introduce should it win Government. Her response as follows:
I
have been particularly asked to put forward our plan on Health Care,
Crime and Work Choices but I feel it is necessary to outline our
economic vision before outlining the policy of a future Labor
Government on these issues. On
the economy Labor has a comprehensive plan for Australia’s future
economy and identifies two core future economic challenges. First, how
do we secure our future prosperity beyond the mining boom? Second, how
do we make the headline economy reflect the household economy, and
relieve the cost of living pressures faced by hard working Australian
families? These
twin aims – securing our future prosperity and making the economy work
for families – constitute Kevin Rudd’s vision for a strong economy and
a fairer society. Kevin
Rudd’s vision for Australia’s future economy is one capable of lifting
everybody up and sharing prosperity, easing the pressures on families,
and laying the building blocks for long-term prosperity. The Macroeconomic Consensus When
it comes to the fundamentals of economic policy, there is a broad
macroeconomic consensus between the Coalition and Federal Labor about a
conservative fiscal policy and an independent monetary policy. This means being committed to stable, prudent, conservative economic management:
- keeping the budget in surplus, on average, over the economic cycle;
- maintaining the independence of the Reserve Bank to operate monetary policy according to its inflation setting target; and
- not increasing taxes as a proportion of GDP.
This represents the macroeconomic consensus. Where we disagree is microeconomic policy. Labor
believes in investing in the key drivers of long-term economic growth.
That is, investing in the productive capacity of the economy – through
education, skills and training; through innovation, research and
development; through new infrastructure; and through modern business
regulation. Billions of dollars are washing through our economy due to
the mining boom, there is no better time to invest in the future. Since
the 1990s, there has been a structural decline in productivity growth –
a key indicator of economic growth and higher living standards. In the mid-1990s productivity growth averaged 3.3 per cent a year. This
fell to 2.1 per cent by the turn of the decade and three years into the
current cycle, it is now averaging only 1.2 per cent. Labor recognises the essential building blocks for long-term economic growth as:
- sound macroeconomic policy settings;
- investment in human capital – education, training and skills;
- building a culture of research and innovation;
- modern infrastructure to build the platforms for growth; and
- competitive business regulation.
Labor’s Plan for Fair and Balanced Workplace Laws When it comes to workplace relations, Labor supports laws that grow our economy and boost our productivity. We want to provide simplicity, flexibility and certainty for business. We want to keep our workplaces competitive – which is why Labor introduced enterprise bargaining in the early 1990s. Labor’s Forward with Fairness workplace relations policy is based on what we know families value most – fairness, balance and reward for hard work. And it is what we believe businesses want – simplicity, certainty and flexibility. These are the values which underpin Labor’s Forward with Fairness – which:
- provides for a new single uniform national system for the private sector;
- provides for a new independent umpire in Fair Work Australia;
- provides for collective bargaining in those workplaces where it is supported by a majority of employees;
- provides
a balanced system where industrial action can only be protected if it
takes place during a bargaining period for a collective agreement and
is authorised by a secret ballot;
- abolishes
AWAs and creates a strong and simple safety net – with ten legislated
minimum standards, including rights to reasonable work hours, flexible
work for parents, public holidays and redundancy entitlements;
- provides for modern, simple awards – with decent minimum wages, overtime and penalty rates;
- provides
for individual flexibility by allowing common law agreements, in
addition to new flexibility clauses in the awards and collective
enterprise agreements;
- gives support to families by providing parents with up to 24 months of unpaid leave when a child is born; and
- protects
workers from being unfairly sacked while providing businesses with the
confidence that unfair dismissal claims can only be made by long term employees and will be resolved quickly, including special arrangements for small businesses.
Labor
will ensure there is also genuine flexibility for both employers and
employees. Labor’s plan for flexibility has three main elements:More
flexible common law agreements for employees earning $100,000 or more
per year. The award system will not apply when employees are on pay
arrangements above $100,000; There
will be new flexibilities in the award system through a model
flexibility clause but with a strong safety net which will prevent
award conditions being stripped away; and Enterprise agreements will also have new flexibility clauses. BAS Easy I
have been particularly asked to clarify the Labor proposals for BAS
Easy. Those who opt for this regime will only need to do Activity
statements twice a year. BAS Easy has
been endorsed by the Council of Small Business Organisations of
Australia (COSBOA) as a simple and practical answer to the current BAS
red tape burden. BAS Easy is an option. Anyone
wanting to stay with the existing system would be free to do so. So
those who prefer to do their returns and pay their GST quarterly are
free to do so. Labor
will also raise the compulsory GST registration threshold to $75,000
per annum – exempting up to 160,000 micro-businesses from having to do
the BAS at all. Health
Labor’s
approach to health and hospitals is one of long-term action, informed
by what the experts and health professionals say is needed, and one
which tackles long-term problems.
Rather
than playing the blame game, Kevin Rudd will work cooperatively with
the states and territories and our local communities to improve health
and hospital care for all Australians – and he has said that the buck
will stop with him.
John
Howard has had eleven years to fix the health workforce crisis, but
many working families still can’t get the health care they need when
they need it, due to shortages of GPs, nurses and health professionals. As
health costs have spiralled – including GP costs, health insurance
premiums and the price of medicines – many families are feeling greater
pressure on their household budgets. The out-of-pocket cost of visiting a GP has more than doubled under the Howard Government.
Since
the Howard Government scrapped the Commonwealth dental program in 1996,
dental waiting lists have ballooned and there are now 650,000 people
waiting to get their teeth fixed.
And in the last health funding agreement with the states, the Commonwealth ripped $1 billion out of public hospital funding.
Labor’s Health and Hospitals Reform Plan
Families
have a right to know that if they turn up at a hospital emergency
department with a sick child, they are going to get the help they need,
and get it quickly. That’s
why Labor has a $2 billion National Health and Hospitals Reform Plan to
take the pressure off emergency departments, free up hospital beds, and
reduce waiting lists. First, we will provide funds to State and Territory Governments to achieve improved health outcomes. Second,
we will establish a National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission to
develop a long-term health reform plan with performance benchmarks
which the states and territories will be required to meet. Third,
if the states and territories have not begun implementing a national
reform plan by the middle of 2009 Labor will seek a mandate from the
Australian people for the Commonwealth to assume full funding
responsibility for the nation’s public hospitals. GP Super Clinics
To
take the pressure off hospital emergency departments and to improve the
access and delivery of frontline health care for Australian families,
Labor will invest $220 million to establish GP Super Clinics in local
communities. Labor’s
investment will ensure more Australian families have access to doctors,
nurses, specialists and allied health professionals (such as
physiotherapists, podiatrists, dieticians and psychologists) all in one
centre, in their local community where they need them. Commonwealth Dental Health Program
To
end the blame game in dental health and to help reduce Australia’s
waiting lists for those wanting to get their teeth fixed, a Rudd Labor
Government will invest $290 million in a new Commonwealth Dental Health
Program.
Labor’s Commonwealth Dental Health Program will fund up to one million additional dental consultations for Australians.
The
first instalment of Labor’s Dental Health Program will make funding
available to the states and territories to help clear the dental
waiting list backlog. Under the plan, State and Territory Governments will be required to meet new standards of dental care, including:
- providing priority services to individuals with chronic diseases affected by poor oral health;
- providing timely preventative and emergency services; and
- at least maintaining their current funding levels.
Crime An
integral element of community safety is criminal justice. Labor is
dedicated to providing the community with an effective criminal justice
system, at all levels of government. Labor will ensure that the
Commonwealth's investigation, prosecution, defence and judicial
processes are separate, independent, adequately resourced and
appropriately accountable. Labor
thinks it is important to support local community initiatives in
cooperation with other levels of government that make our community a
safer place. Labor believes the rights and liberties of individuals should be protected.and that the community has a need for protection from crime and terrorism.Personal and community safety are issues that should be taken into account in dealing with an entire raft of policy areas. Locally
Labor has recognised this need and recently it was announced that Labor
in government would provide $680,000 for the provision of CTV TV for
the townships of Umina, Ettalong and Woy Woy on the Peninsula to improve the security of these areas.
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