Social Equity Policy

Principles

The Greens NSW believe:

1. We should seek to reverse the trend towards greater disparity between rich and poor to promote greater equality;
2. We need to strengthen local democratic processes, encourage regional, ecologically sustainable initiatives, and enhance management capabilities within local communities;
3. The State Government, with assistance from the Commonwealth where appropriate, should address the failure to provide adequate basic services in NSW;
4. There is a continuing need to target services to the disadvantaged and reform income support in Australia; and
5. Anti-discrimination policies must ensure that the opportunities and rewards for women are equal to those for men and that this philosophy is extended to all people.
   
   

   Goals

   The Greens NSW aim to:
6. Redress poverty in NSW and promote greater equality;
7. Promote more equitable income support measures; and
8. Support people in disadvantaged regions and declining industries to make a transition to new areas of employment.
   
   

   Detail

   The Greens NSW aim to:
9. Support access for people on low incomes, including those on Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs), to transport, medical and other concessions;
10. Support, as part of a broader reform of the welfare and tax systems,  the introduction at the Federal level of a Guaranteed Adequate Income (GAI) that would:
• 10.1 Provide a basic living income to all Australians, replacing most existing pensions and benefits
• 10.2 Ensure that any current recipient of a pension or benefit would have their income maintained or increased
• 10.3 Reduce compliance costs in monitoring and enforcing existing benefit entitlements
• 10.4 Simplify the welfare and tax systems, reducing perverse effects, increasing work incentives for low-income Australians and ensuring greater equity and
• 10.5 Ensure the incidence of effective marginal tax rates is more progressive;
11. Make funds available for the planning and initiation of ecologically sustainable industries particularly aimed at generating employment in disadvantaged areas of NSW; and
12. Support structural adjustment programs that generate employment and wealth for people and communities who are socially or economically disadvantaged through policy shifts towards ecological sustainability.