View Australian Greens Responses

1. Freedom of religion

Australia has a proud record for protecting freedom, but increasingly faith-based organisations and individuals are unduly prevented from giving expression to their religion, or being pressured to act against their conscientiously-held beliefs, particularly in the areas of employment, service delivery, and education. Would your Party ensure that, like political parties, churches and religious bodies have their right to employ staff who share their ethos protected?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

2. Prayer in parliament

The preamble to Australia’s Constitution states that our nation is “humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God”. Does your Party commit to maintaining the convention of opening Parliament each day exclusively with the Lord’s Prayer?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

3. Overseas aid

Will your Party confirm the current Government commitment to contribute 0.5% Gross National Income to international aid and development efforts by 2015? What timeline will it put in place to reach the internationally agreed target of 0.7% GNI?

The Greens support increasing Australia's overseas aid budget to the level agreed for developed nations – 0.7 percent of Gross National Income by 2015. We also propose that the next government should establish a new Ministry for Overseas Aid and International Development. The Hawke Government had a Minister for Trade and Overseas Development, but it was only in place for one term.

4. Refugees

The immigration debate is complex, involving the competing priorities of meeting our moral obligation to offer asylum to genuine refugees, while minimising vulnerability to people smuggling, and ensuring border protection. What measures will your Party take to balance these competing priorities?

The Greens are committed to a long-term, practical and humane approach to immigration that rejects the failed policies of mandatory detention, detention of children, indefinite detention and off-shore processing. Our position is based on the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, to which Australia is a signatory, which states that seeking asylum is not illegal. The Greens will: prioritise the timely processing of asylum claims, increase Australia's humanitarian intake and introduce a new visa subclass for people displaced by climate change.

5. Religious security

Many vulnerable people experience intolerable suffering in various countries due to persecution and a lack of religious freedom, often because of laws that forbid practice of non state religions. What would your Party do to encourage apostasy laws to be repealed in such countries, so that people are free to follow their own religious convictions without fear? What else would your Party do to support vulnerable people groups overseas, and respond to specific instances of religious or ethnic persecution?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

6. Homelessness and housing affordability

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, on any given night there are approximately 100,000 homeless Australians. What policies will your Party implement to address this problem? How will your Party respond to the issue of housing affordability?

The Greens believe that everyone should have access to stable, secure, affordable housing. We will rebuild the public housing sector and increase the amount of community housing. We will implement progressive planning guidelines that require a social mix of housing so at least 20% of new developments include low-cost and public housing and we will review the barriers to housing affordability, including tax concessions.

7. Taxation considerations

The ‘Henry review’ of Australia’s taxation system recommended the winding back of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) arrangements. FBT concessions make churches and church-based service-providers in the health, community and welfare sectors more financially viable, ensuring the maintenance of services to some of our most vulnerable people. Would your Party support the retention of FBT concessions for churches and faith-based charities?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

8. Cloning

Given that the scientific basis for ‘therapeutic cloning’ has changed since the Federal Parliament considered cloning in 2006, and that there is now an entirely ethical and uncontentious method to obtain the same specialised stem cells that cloning scientists have never managed to obtain, does your Party support a new conscience vote on laws permitting the creation of cloned human embryos solely for research?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

9. Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the intentional killing of a ‘suffering’ patient. Legalised euthanasia alters the social contract with the vulnerable and ‘unwanted’ in society, who will perceive the so-called ‘right to die’ more as a ‘duty to die’, and corrupts the doctor-patient relationship in profound ways. While the vote may be a conscience one, will your Party reject any moves to legalise euthanasia?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

10. Abortion

The 2007 annual report of the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (Victoria) showed that 52 out of 181 late term babies who were aborted for “abnormalities” survived late term abortions but died neo-natally. Would your Party support a conscience vote on Medicare funding for abortions carried out on babies old enough to be viable outside the womb?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

11. Abortion Data

There are approximately 80,000 abortions performed in Australia each year, but obtaining accurate figures is fraught by bureaucratic impediments. What will your Party do to obtain more accurate and complete abortion data in line with the cross-party recommendation of the 2008 Senate inquiry into the Health Insurance Regulations?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

12. Chaplaincy

The 2009 research paper, “The Effectiveness of Chaplaincy”, showed that the Federal Government’s National School Chaplaincy Program was supported by more than 97% of the 688 participating school principals, who said that chaplains had been highly effective in providing pastoral care services for students and school communities. Does your Party commit to funding faith-based chaplaincy in schools beyond 2011, and at what level?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

13. Youth unemployment

The national youth unemployment rate is 17% but in some locations it is over 40%. What policies will your Party implement to support and encourage young Australians to engage in active employment?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

14. National curriculum

The national curriculum stresses teaching all subjects from indigenous, Asian and environmental perspectives, but the proposed history curriculum fails to acknowledge the significance of Australia’s Judeo-Christian heritage. What actions will your Party take to ensure a more balanced approach to the national curriculum, one that properly recognises Christianity’s historical and on-going contribution to Australia’s social, political and legal structures? What place, if any, should the Bible have in the national English curriculum, given its status as the most printed and translated literary work, and its obvious effect on the development of Western culture, literature and art?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

15. School funding

Given that many of the students attending low fee independent and Christian schools come from families of a similar socio-economic background as those of public schools, will your Party guarantee that any review of funding for the non-government school sector will result in no reduction in the level of funding in both real and relative terms for these schools?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

16. Marriage

Marriage is clearly defined in the Marriage Act as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. Would your Party commit to support this definition for the life of the Government and beyond?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

17. Parenting

Now that a paid parental leave scheme has been legislated and will begin operation on 1 January 2011, what policies will your Party implement to redress the inequality in Government support experienced by women who work exclusively in the home?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

18. Surrogacy and ART

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) intends to achieve uniform national surrogacy law. Some States allow surrogacy for single people and same-gender couples to obtain a child, who then has no possibility of having both a mother and a father. In constructing nationally consistent surrogacy laws, will your Party oppose any provision for single and same-gender surrogacy?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

19. Classification

There are a number of Codes of Practice across a range of media platforms, with some types of media self-regulated, others falling under the scope of the ACMA or the Classification Board. This multiplicity of media regulation is ill-equipped to keep pace with rapid technological changes, lacks effective enforcement mechanisms, and leaves children vulnerable to harm from inappropriate media products. Will your Party commit to a comprehensive review of Australia’s media regulatory environment, with a view to establish an effective classification system across all media, including advertising and games?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

20. Internet safety

Recent Government trials have shown that blocking Refused Classification (RC) material at the ISP level is technically feasible. Will your Party commit to the filtering of RC material at the ISP level to provide a safer internet environment for children? Some ISPs already provide commercial filtering products for parents to protect children from legal but otherwise harmful internet content. What would your Party do to encourage wider availability of such services?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

21. Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted devastating effects of climate change on the global environment and population. At the same time a body of contrary scientific evidence is beginning to emerge in the debate. What is your Party’s position on climate change, and what are the policies it plans to implement on that basis, including for the world’s poorest?

Australia must contribute fairly to the critical global challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This means we need an emission target of between 25 and 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as well as a range of policies to ensure we meet it. In 2009 the Greens introduced the Safe Climate Bill - a collection of 12 bills based around the pillars of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transport and forest protection, supported by an environmentally effective and economically efficient carbon pricing scheme. In the face of government inaction, the Greens have presented an alternative proposal for the immediate introduction of an interim carbon price, as recommended by Professor Ross Garnaut. The carbon price would be replaced by an emissions trading scheme, if appropriate and effective legislation is introduced by a future government.

22. Sharia law

In 2009 the Islamic Council of Victoria rebuffed an attempt by one of its board members to propose the establishment of a Sharia court to handle disputes in the Muslim community over divorce, child access, wills and the like. Would your party commit to opposing the adoption of a parallel Sharia Law legal system within Australia?

THE GREENS DECLINED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

23. Human Rights Act

The National Human Rights Consultation recommended the enactment of a federal Human Rights Act. However many Christian churches and groups opposed a HRA because of little evidence of overseas versions improving human rights and their being used by activists to undermine freedom of religion. Given the time and expense of assessing Parliament’s present position on the HRA, will your Party rule out introducing a Human Rights Act or equivalent instrument in the next and subsequent parliament?

The Greens support a Charter of Rights which would adopt Australia's international human rights obligations into domestic law. The Government's Human Rights Framework is a welcome step in the right direction but the government has ignored the key recommendation of the Human Rights Consultation Report by refusing to consider a Human Rights Act. Without this human rights in Australia will continue to be dealt with in an ad hoc manner. For example, the statements of compatibility will not apply retrospectively so legislation such as the Northern Territory Intervention will not be covered and there would be no protection from government decisions such as the suspension of asylum claims from Sri Lankans and Afghanis.

24. Indigenous welfare

Social justice for indigenous people remains a major issue for Christian churches. What initiatives and policies would your Party introduce to ensure not only better health, housing, education and employment opportunities for indigenous Australians, but also to facilitate long-term social inclusion and a sense of hope and purpose for the first Australians? What would your Party do during the next term of Parliament to specifically address these goals?

The Greens believe greater investment into Indigenous community controlled organisations with a proven record of making a difference is the only way to deliver real and lasting outcomes on social, economic and health disadvantage. We are the only party standing with Indigenous communities (along with others including Uniting Care) to oppose to imposing punitive measures like national income management and believe you cannot separate physical, emotional and spiritual health.