The Green Disconnect
This is the last of three related posts about the major political parties in Australia. This post deals with the newest of the parties, the Green Party (GP). I suspect that in many peoples view the Greens are not a major political force. Since forming government with Labor after the 2010 Federal election it would be erroneous to dismiss the Greens as some type of minor player in the Australian political landscape.
Initially I thought the Greens popularity may have peaked when they helped the Labor party form a minority government after the 2010 election. It’s a view I’ve more or less abandoned now as the Greens have held the gains they made in that election.
On the surface there’s a lot to like about the Greens party platform. I’m all for a focus on renewable energy. I support voluntary euthanasia, reproductive rights and same sex marriage. I strongly support sustainable water management and I share the Greens opposition to both gulf wars and the war in Afghanistan. I’d encourage everyone to have a read of the Greens policies (1) as they are not all from the loony left which is often how the party is portrayed.
Unfortunately the Greens sensible policies are accompanied by some far less sensible policies and this is why the Greens do not enjoy a larger share of the primary vote. Much of the problem seems to centre around the idea that all of their policies can be funded simply by increasing taxes on the wealthy and successful businesses.
This view is quite obviously flawed. Put simply, if personal income tax rates for the wealthy increase what is to stop the wealthy simply moving to a country with lower income tax rates. Likewise if business tax rates are increased businesses will simply pass on that additional cost to consumers. If the government somehow regulates against that then business could simply register in another country or look for opportunities elsewhere.
Compounding economic concerns the Greens sensible policies are often not supported by a pragmatic policy approach. Their stance on renewables is perhaps the best example of this. I don’t believe coal is the future of energy production yet at present it accounts for roughly three quarters of domestic electricity generation (2). What replaces that? Where is the roadmap showing that it is possible?
Furthermore coal exports are our second largest source of revenue. If the country was to wind down coal how would we deal with the resultant loss in revenue? What could we replace it with? How would existing services not deteriorate?
I firmly believe renewable energy is the future. It has to be because eventually our non-renewable fuels will run out. If the Green party wants to be taken seriously then they have to provide a credible path of transition from non-renewable energy to renewable energy. At this stage the Greens have been unable to provide one.
To put into context just how difficult this transition is most of the infrastructure required for the use of renewables is still built using power generated by fossil fuels. There are deep concerns throughout the scientific community that existing renewable energy sources might be unable to generate enough power to build new infrastructure in the future. While renewables are the future, the road is long indeed.
Lastly the Green party has a history of making hyperbolic statements which are unsupported by evidence. Bob Brown’s comments around the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods being the result of climate change are examples of this. These kinds of statements verge on politicising humanitarian disasters. They also reek of the kind of ‘I told you so’ reflections which irritate many voters regardless of who is saying them.
There remains much to be hopeful about for supporters of the Greens. In particular their new leader, Richard di Natale seems to be embracing a more moderate approach. Whist this might lead to some frustrations for traditional Green voters, it presents the party with an opportunity to challenge the other two parties’ current dominance of mainstream politics.
If the Greens party is able to somehow meld their liberal social views with an economic view that is more classically liberal they would pose a threat to both the Liberal and Labor parties. From a personal perspective it’s exactly the kind of party I could see myself voting for.
(2) http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/basics