Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very interesting MPI: the need for the economy to work in the interests of working Australians. If we want the economy to work for any of us then we need the government to play a strong role in our lives. The Greens is a party that is working very hard in this Senate and in this parliament, with Adam Bandt in the lower house, to put up policies and to campaign for an economic system that works for all Australians, especially for working Australians. Why do we need government to play a strong role in our lives? If you look at what an economy is, essentially economies are underpinned by markets that facilitate transactions for labour, for example, and wages. But we know one thing for certain: markets, if left to their own devices, will fail. Call it laissez-faire economics, call it free market economics, call it trickle-down economics or call it neoliberal economics—we've got lots of terms for it—but free, unfettered markets, if left to their own devices, will fail. Any university student from either side of the political divide will tell you that.

We know markets don't price or deliver public goods. We know markets are no good for pricing or delivering essential services. We know markets don't price externalities like pollution if they are left to their own devices—and there's a role for government. We know that if labour markets are left to their own devices then workers in this country and elsewhere will get screwed. So we need strong institutions like industrial relations systems, we need a strong, effective organisation of labour through unions and—I agree, Senator Smith—we need effective representations to promote the interests of small businesses. Having run a small business myself, I recognise that millions of Australians in this country, including in my own state of Tasmania, across a largely rural economy, are in small businesses. Small businesses are a very important part of our economy and are comprised of very hardworking Australians. There are a lot of things we need, but we have to recognise that government must play a strong role in correcting for market failure, looking after the interests of workers and upholding the institutions that are essential for making sure that labour markets are fair, efficient and function well and don't just represent the interests of big businesses.

What's one of the other side effects of unfettered markets? Inequality. Christine Milne, in every speech she gave, used to say, 'The two challenges of my generation are climate change and inequality.' I recognise that it took one speech for Mr Bill Shorten to get this on the public radar, and I am glad that it is, but the Greens have been talking about this for decades. Inequality is one of the biggest challenges of our generation, and we in this place need to do everything we can to tackle it. There's wealth inequality and income inequality, and there's a whole range of issues around climate change that lead to inequality. All of them can be tackled by good policies and some convictions and some backbone in this place.

What has polled as the single biggest issue in Sydney in relation to inequality recently? Housing affordability. I have done everything I can in the last four years—every chance I get and every estimates I go to—to ask about housing inequality. I've asked the Treasury secretary—and I've have held up an avocado as a prop in estimates. I have done whatever shameless promotion about this very important issue. What are we doing about it? We can actually tackle this. No more fiddling around the edges; let's look at the perverse incentives and the fact that the government policies that we have in place, and have had in place for decades now, are actually creating this problem. I do not believe that these issues can be fixed by supply-side changes. We have to fix the demand-side changes that incentivise wealthy, mostly older Australian housing investors who are buying properties and definitely contributing to a bubble in housing prices and an affordability crisis against the interests of, especially, young and low-income Australians, many of whom are good, hardworking Australians. That's the kind of thing we can do.

This is a very important issue. I would rate it right up there with climate change—as Christine Milne did in her time here at the Senate. As the two biggest challenges of our generation we have an ethical and moral responsibility in this place to tackle them. Leaving markets to do their own thing is only going to make things worse. The No. 1 thing we can do in this place is recognise that we are here, our job is important, these hardworking Australians have put us here to represent them and, with good policies, courage and conviction, we can tackle these issues.