This election we are looking to the future. Elections should be about the future. They should discuss where society is headed and how we can create a society in which all of us can prosper in 20 years' time. Sadly, this election seems to be more about the now than the future. The future is mentioned in debate, of course, but the real issues requiring long term and generational thinking, such as housing, climate change, foreign policy, and how to live together as a society, are dealt with on the fly or neglected.
The clearest and most depressing example of this is housing prices. Afraid of losing votes on the back of housing price declines, the LNP and ALP have committed themselves to kicking the can down the road. The policies released by the LNP do help first home buyers somewhat, by enabling them to buy a house without a 20% deposit or mortgage insurance, but do nothing to address the underlying problem of high prices. Counterproductively, the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme actually exacerbates the high price problem by increasing demand. Even worse is that the scheme allows homeowners to be far more exposed to the very real risk of negative equity (owing more than your house is worth).
This is not generational thinking. It is policy optimised for votes. Both from existing homeowners, by maintaining destructively high house prices, and from home buyers by offering them a cup of hope tainted by risk. We must do better. We must have generational planning to create a society where we can all flourish. We must have a society where everyone can afford the benefits of homeownership, not just those with rich parents and good jobs.
Generational thinking is also lacking in the LNP on Climate change, which seems to have slipped out of the 24/7 news cycle. Why after so many years do we continue making short term decisions? Allowing untaxed pollution may benefit individual businesses, but it is trading our society’s future for the present. A simple tax on carbon would address this problem. It would give businesses the regulatory stability they need and allow them to work within a fair market framework where they are encouraged to make choices that benefit society.
Long term thinking is also absent from the ALP and LNP regarding societal harmony and meaningful religious freedom. The ALP has stranded the much needed religious freedom bill, while the LNP has been kicking the real issue of transgenderism in sports around for nothing but cheap political goals. Where is the generational thinking of how left wing progressives and conservative religious people are going to raise families in society together? People of all political and religious views must have a place to flourish in Australia. We must look at what a harmonious and free future might look like on these issues.
Our lack of forward planning on foreign policy has also been exposed over the last year. With China increasingly assertive in our region, Australia has been reckoning with its failure to prepare for winter. Our cuts to foreign aid under the Abbott government and lack of concern towards sea level rise have likely played a part in the Solomon Islands’ decision to consider allowing China to host a military base in the region. Additionally, our lack of defence planning has put us in a precarious situation, with a potential submarine capability gap opening up in our most hostile security environment since the Cold War. The aim of foreign policy is to secure peace and freedom for the long term. To do this requires forward anticipation and long term commitment. Our dismal foreign aid budget must be improved, and we must think long term regarding our military capabilities in an increasingly unstable world.
Our society must have a higher standard of thinking, planning, and political debate. We must create a culture and political culture can sustain real conversations about generational issues. We must create a culture where we can discuss the future and make important decisions, instead of consistently avoiding short term pain. We must look to the future.
We at the Common Good are looking to the future. We cannot contest this election, but we are building the groundwork for a party that can think in the long term and influence Australian politics for generations. Help us do this. Join us, share us with your friends, and get involved. Let’s look to the future together.