Dear candidate
As a grandfather I am more concerned for
the next thirty years than the next three, the next sixty than the next six.
For this is the legacy I leave my grandchildren and their children. With this
in mind I would appreciate your response to my following concerns.
The Economy
Our aging population means that we are
likely to face increasing demands on health services. Aged care appears to be
chronically underfunded. Gonski, or the Better Schools program, and the
National Disability Insurance Scheme now appear supported by both sides of
politics - at least in the short term. But neither have secured long-term
funding.
John Daley,
Chief Executive Officer at the Grattan Institute, expects Australian
governments face a decade of budget deficits owing to lagging income and
expenditure demands. In June last year David Hayward, Dean of the School of
Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University, wrote of the deteriorating
condition of state budgets resulting from revenue ‘flat-lining’
rather than ‘reckless spending’. State and Territory governments
are the recipients of the GST.
If we are to
provide for the long-term needs of the nation it seems we must address
taxation. Yet as soon as taxation changes are mentioned in the political debate
the other side runs a scare campaign. Dear candidate, what plans do you or your
party have for a far reaching review of the taxation system that includes
company tax, superannuation concessions, GST and tax concessions to ensure it
addresses the nation in the longer term? The aim of any tax review should, I believe:
·
Maintain a socially cohesive
society by providing for a fair and equitable distribution of income. This
means arresting and reversing the increasing income gap in our society.
·
Create and maintain equality of
opportunity by addressing social disadvantage.
·
Rewarding effort while
providing incentive for those who could work but won't.
·
Consider the demands the
Commonwealth, State and Territory governments.
Population Growth
Continued population
growth coupled with finite resources presents the world with one of its most
significant challenges. At the same time we have an economic model that relies
on a growing population. Why is there little discussion of this?
What thought are you
and your party giving to alternatives that enable the creation of wealth and
the provision of essential services while arresting and reversing population
growth? If there are areas where we should consider lowering our expectations,
what are these and what would be a more realistic expectation. I would appreciate
you addressing this in both national and global terms, including education and
development in poor nations, something that has been shown to slow population growth
in poor communities.
Species
Extinction
Unless we act quickly the only koalas, tigers, rhinoceroses, Great Barrier Reef and many other
species my great-grandchildren may see will be digital preservations. Australia
has suffered a significant loss of biodiversity since European settlement
and the introduction of too many harmful feral and exotic species.
How do you and your party propose
to arrest this decay and preserve what is left for future generations?
Climate Change
Both Liberal and Labor
state that they believe the science that says human activity is affecting our
climate and both have committed to similar reduction targets. If the
expectations for the future eventuate we face significant disruption to the
world’s economy, the displacement of people and loss of species. Even
if your targets are achieved this may not be enough to prevent rising sea
levels, and most certainly will not be if larger carbon based economies than
ours do not achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
What risk management
strategies do you have to mitigate loss associated with climate change? Do
these include the identification of critical resources and measures to safeguard
these, including food production, habitation and transport?
Managing Risk
I fully understand that
things will always come up during the Government’s term of office that
require it change course and will therefore be unable to deliver on all its
election promises. For this reason I would prefer you presented your strategy
as policy objectives, not promises. It is one thing not to hit an objective,
another not to keep a promise.
Over the last few years
we have been continually promised a budget surplus, only to see successive
deficits. While I have no economic expertise I have watched with interest as formerTreasurer Wayne Swann has held to his budget forecasts on more than one
occasion long after economic commentators have predicted the promised surplus
will not be delivered. Frankly, as a voter this does nothing to instill
confidence.
Risk management is being
used increasingly in business to identify risks to business objectives and
develop strategies to first prevent loss associated with those risks and then
to mitigate against those risks if they eventuate. If this strategy had been
applied in the budget example above, the government would have been able to
spell out its budget strategy, explain to voters the risks that might prevent
it achieving its objectives, and what plans it had to manage these risks. This
may have included delaying the move to surplus, reducing expenditure in some areas,
or options for raising income. Such an approach would allow me to better
evaluate the performance of the government by considering its performance
against its overall strategy, including its risk management strategy.
Conclusion
While there are other
issues I could have listed I will limit myself to the above. As I said above,
my concern is not so much for the next three years, but the next thirty, the
next six but, the next sixty. Right now I see little, if any, evidence, that
either side of politics have a vision for the future or have given
consideration to the issues that concern me. Therefore, I have little
confidence in either side and it seems that it will make any difference who I
vote for in September.
Please convince me I am
wrong by spelling out your vision for the long-term, addressing the points I
have raised above.
Yours Sincerely
Ken Marsh
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