Victorian Socialists

Summary

Policies & Commentary

If there’s one thing you can say about the Victorian Socialists (hereafter referred to as VS), it’s that they do not pull their punches. Their policies are aggressive and unapologetic.

Take their Housing for all strategy. It starts out with similar policies to other parties who recognise that throwing money at buyers will not solve a supply-side problem – abolition of both negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, and the provision of 1 million carbon-neutral public housing units over the next 10 years. To do this, VS proposes the creation of a national builder, rather than utilising the existing construction industry. This is an interesting notion, entirely in keeping with their political philosophy (the clue’s in the name, folks), but it’s not really as simple as it might seem.

Arguably, there is a need for a public builder, but the problem is staffing it. Private construction companies will always be able to offer better wages than the government, for a start. There’s also an acknowledged problem with new skilled workers coming into the sector – the major parties both have policies to encourage people to undertake training starting at the apprentice level, but this is something that can only pay off in the long term. Finally, I have to wonder if VS has talked to the CFMEU about its proposal.

Another long term initiative is the creation of a national planning network, which would compel developers to produce a percentage of affordable housing in every new development. VS proposes to do this through zoning, which means it would have to work closely with both state and local governments.

For renters, VS wants to create a National Rental Inspectorate to establish and enforce minimum standards for rental properties in terms of amenity, safety, energy efficiency, and thermal comfort. As someone who’s been in the rental game for several decades now (and who’s lived in some truly squalid places managed by the slackest landlords imaginable), this policy gets a big “Hell, yeah!” from me.

Also proposed is a five-year rent freeze followed by indexation of increases. The VS website states this freeze should be at 2022 prices, which makes me wonder if the policy hasn’t been properly updated, but the basic idea is sound. A five-year freeze might be overly optimistic, but it certainly shows the party’s aspirations.

Arguably the most controversial of VS’s housing policies is the proposal to seize properties left vacant for more than 12 months without a valid reason. Its top candidate for the Senate, Jorden van den Lamb, is known for his viral videos in which he visits vacant properties, and for sharing address of such homes with those in need of emergency accommodation. He came under fire from both major party leaders last month when a vacant home whose address he had published was broken into and belongings stolen from the owner. There is no suggestion that Lamb encouraged the break-in, but the media worked very hard to tie this crime to him and, by extension, to VS.

This seizure policy is fraught with difficulties, not least of which is that it is the epitome of government interference. Australians have an odd relationship with government – they expect to be looked after and left alone at the same time – so the idea of someone sweeping in and taking away their investment properties may well be a deal-breaker in terms of attracting votes. That said, it does highlight an increasing problem, particularly in Victoria, of properties being left vacant for large portions of the year as owners use them as AirBnBs.

On cost of living, VS goes straight for the throats of the wealthy and the big corporations. It wants no less than a 90% marginal tax rate on all personal income over $300,000 pa, as well as a 10% wealth tax on billionaires and a 10% tax on assets owned by foreign billionaires. Company tax would be increased to 50%. Private schools would no longer receive government funding. Finally, VS wants to abolish the GST.

For lower income earners, VS has a full suite of measures designed to lift their standard of living. It starts with price caps on essential grocery items and an annual cap on gas and electricity prices (this is also set at 2022 levels, so the suspicion that these policies haven’t been properly updated is growing). Existing household utility debts would be completely wiped. The minimum wage would be increased to $30 per hour, and welfare payments to $1500 per fortnight. For someone on JobSeeker Allowance, this would be nearly double the current rate.

It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that VS is committed to universal healthcare, and their policy reflects this. Perhaps the most aggressive are the proposals to nationalise all GP clinics, and to scrap the NDIS in favour of Medicare-funded disability services. VS is also one of the few parties whose disability policy includes an explicit commitment to protect the agency and human rights of disabled people, to mandate accessibility to public transport, schools, and to ensure that necessary home modifications can be made without expense to the individual.

The LGBTQIA+ policy is, frankly, a delight. It kicks off with nothing less than a promise to completely remove the double standard in discrimination law that still allows organisations to be hateful if they can prove it’s a “religious” thing. That’s followed up by a policy to compel all businesses and agencies – public and private – to recognise and affirm the identities of trans and gender diverse people.

These should not be surprising policies, because what they boil down to is simply affording queer people – especially trans folk – the same basic respect as every other person in Australia. Nonetheless, it’s shocking that, of all the parties and Independents running in this election, there is only a tiny handful who even address LGBTQIA+ issues at all, let alone champion these fundamental, everyday situations.

To address the increasing amount of just plain lying that is going on in some corners of the media (I’m looking at you, Murdoch) and politics (see also everyone from Peter Dutton to Pauline Hanson to the whacko cooker parties who think Freemason Satanists control the world), VS wants to ensure that schools implement fully inclusive education in matters of gender and sexuality, and to provide professional development training for teachers.

VS wants to ban all invasive or irreversible medical procedures on intersex children that modify sex characteristics, unless necessary to avoid serious health-related harm. These procedures are carried out with the consent of the child, usually because of “atypical” genitalia, and can have a devastating effect on a person’s health and mental wellbeing.

Finally, VS wants to see gender-affirm care to be fully publicly funded. Opponents of gender-affirming care (such as the Australian Christian Lobby) have screamed dire warnings about this idea for a tediously long time, but you know what?

This is long, long overdue. Currently, such care can cost over $100,000, which is simply unaffordable by many trans folk. We’re not talking about someone who decided to get a nose job because they don’t like their profile, or a hysterectomy because they’re done with having kids. This isn’t a goddamn “lifestyle choice”. Gender-affirming care is medically necessary for the wellbeing of many trans individuals, and it’s long past time we started supporting that on every level.

In foreign affairs, the VS is uncompromising. It wants the AUKUS agreement torn up, and the US kicked out of their bases on our soil. Along with that is a promise to boot out Israeli diplomats, end ties with Israel, and to immediately ally Australia with Palestine. Similarly, VS calls for us to support West Papuan independence. And while we’re at it, the SAS would be disbanded and military funding drastically cut. VS goes even further than the Greens, who have been the most vocal supporters of a Palestinian state.

Infrastructure-wise, the VS proposes the formation of a nationalised public energy operator, mandated to provide energy security and a full transition to renewables. In fact, VS would like to see all public-private partnerships dissolved, and the government step up to take control of essential services, including the NBN. It also wants to see a public bank – effectively, to reinstate the Commonwealth Ban in its original form.

Look, I’m not going to mince words here. What VS wants is no less than a radical change of Australian society, with government in firm control of sectors which have, for decades, been either fully or partially privatised. It’s not hiding that aim – in fact, it’s explicitly stated:

Victorian Socialist candidates, if elected, will fight for a radical redistribution of wealth and power. Give us 100 days in parliament, and we will give you 100 ways we will fight to take power from the elite and return it to those who created the wealth in the first place.

And let’s be honest. VS is not going to get what they want. Apart from the resistance that would be marshalled against it from groups as disparate as mining conglomerates and the Catholic Church, VS is simply not fielding enough candidates to have that kind of sway.

Nonetheless, VS is one of the few parties in this election brave enough to stand up and say what most of us know – that the system is fundamentally broken. And, while it might be wildly idealistic to suggest that it could be torn down and built up again without potentially disastrous upheaval, that doesn’t undermine the real, achievable initiatives contained in VS’ policies. They’re built on a commitment to finally addressing the terrible inequities in Australian society, and that is a precious, and sadly rare, occurrence in our politics.

VS is a voice that is badly needed in the Australian Parliament. It’s going to be at the top of my Senate ticket.