ACT ELECTION POLICY PLATFORM - HELP REDEFINE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS A CLIMATE ADAPTED CANBERRA Australian Climate Change Justice Party ...
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ACT ELECTION
POLICY PLATFORM
HELP REDEFINE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
TOWARDS A CLIMATE ADAPTED CANBERRA
Australian Climate Change Justice Party
1
Authorised by Petar Johnson on behalf of the Australian Climate Change Justice Party
2
Political Policy Platform
ACT Election October 2020
The Australian Climate Change Justice Party policy platform presents to
the people of Canberra a vision of a just community and an ecologically
evolved future with clear projects that can be implemented now. We
contest this election promoting these projects and policies as pathways
for clear and realistic government leadership in the ACT. The policies and
pathways of the ACCJ are the horizon of politics in Australia and we want
to bring them to reality now with the help of the Canberra community.
“The Australian Climate Change Justice Party represents a
clear and accelerated transition pathway for climate
change abatement and mitigation while maintaining
Canberra and the region as a just community with a
quality lifestyle. We prioritise the social, economic and
community changes and opportunities available to us to
deliver social justice in the face of existential ecological,
climate change, social, economic and political challenges
expected by our community this century. ‘
The Australian Climate Change Justice Party appreciates that, in the ACT,
the Legislative Assembly is the seat of political, administrative, and legal
power that governs public assets and the annual $6B Public Purse on
behalf of the community. The party also recognises that the election
process gains substantial public media exposure and is the proper
mechanism for public communication and debate on social direction and
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management, city governance, and community development.
The core objectives in registering and contesting the ACT October 2020
election are:
● To develop a clear mitigation and adaptation pathway that aids
the ACT in combating the existential threat of climate change
and to garner support from the Canberra community and
surrounding region in the development of this pathway.
● To define projects and actions that the ACT Legislative Assembly
and Government can undertake within its budget and legal
powers imminently.
● To assess and describe projects and actions to the electorate
and present them as viable and essential initiatives.
● To highlight the potential cost and risk of delaying climate
mitigation and adaptation actions in the ACT.
● To give confidence to the electorate that such initiatives are
critical to their welfare, future hopes and aspirations.
4
The Party’s Political Objections
and Policy Platform
All things are interconnected. As a city, our capacity to evolve and adapt
to the physical changes taking place in our Biosphere requires
transformative adaptation across all aspects of Australian society. The
imperative for rapid social evolution, technological innovation, economic
mobilisation and institutional amelioration is fundamental in minimizing
the prospective losses that all life forms may experience in the
Biosphere.
The Australian Climate Change Justice Party (ACCJ) presents a non-
compromising position to the realities of social injustice, ecological
degradation and plummeting community prosperity. While members of
the ACCJ recognise that the climate change crisis is of great significance
and poses an existential threat to all life forms in this region, it does not
confine its policy to the sole sphere of climate change per se. To
promulgate a social development journey that can meet and exist within
the parameters of the Biosphere demands substantial social and
institutional reform.
We recognise that contemporaneous ACT government institutions and
political parties are motivated by a grossly inadequate philosophical
model. Their approaches lack insight into the human-environmental
nexus and are deficient in satisfactorily handling the vast environmental,
social, financial and cultural challenges that climate change represents to
this century. Paradoxically, the prevailing government, institutional and
economic framework from which the ACT operates has never been so
influential in controlling and limiting access to natural, cultural and
economic resources and directing societal activity towards failing
developmental goals.
The last 30 years has seen a proliferation of institutional, legal, and
economic mechanisms with the capacity to propel society into
catastrophic conflict with life on Earth. Simultaneously, the majority of
our public resources have been invested into a direction that both
ensures continued degradation of our environmental quality and social
wellbeing and that ultimately enhances the ramifications of climate
change across the ACT landscape.
The ACCJ is committed to a rapid evolution that preempts and adapts to
the stresses in the community arising from the challenges of this
century. The ACCJ recognises that the real world scenario of climate
change is now well beyond the possibility of an additional 2° celsius
world and aims to engage with the accessible reform pathways to
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maintain a reasonable quality of life and a functioning society into the
future.
A core foundation of the ACCJ policy platform is to expand the
opportunity for individuals, groups, communities, and enterprises to
secure the resources that will allow them to pursue healthy and
productive lives free from the constraints of the institutional and social
systems of the present. The Party will pursue this objective across the
spectrum of Government activity it engages with whilst advocating
reform in the diverse areas of healthcare, social justice, government
efficiency, transport, housing, personal freedoms, art, building codes,
public facilities, migration, education, business and infrastructure. All
these sectors are connected to our community’s ability to both manage
and allocate the limited financial, social, and natural assets it has access
to and will help mobilise them for our vision of a rapid social evolution.
In articulating projects and initiatives across the full spectrum of
government services, expenditure, policies, and institutions, the ACCJ
will aim to strategically engender a major upheaval within the existing
Government framework that reorients towards an adapted society
capable of meeting the challenges of our future head on.
The ACCJ Party and its members will undertake this task in a legal
democratic process to demonstrate advanced models of governance and
policy vision. The Party upholds legal and recognised methods of public
debate, community discourse and public election to demonstrate public
support for its diverse social evolution agenda.
6
Policy Platform Costing: October 2020
New Program Policy Funding Allocations
Policy Policy Name Allocation
1. A Food Bowl for the ACT $40,000,000
2. Rich Closed Loop Economies $28,000,000
3. Local and Regional Natural Enterprises $39,000,000
4. A Loads Based Market $18,000,000
5. New Generation Housing $160,000,000
6. Schools Of The Future $128,000,000
7. An Informed Public $2,200,000
8. Preventative, Regenerative, Vital Health $62,000,000
9. Transport Policy - A to B for All $48,000,000
10. Natural Entrepreneurs $22,000,000
11. Natural Energy Mix. $246,000,000
12. People Quality not Quantity $18,000,000
13. Community Wealth – Not Human Greed $3,200,000
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14 Converting the ACT Budget to the Public Purse $6,800,000
15. Jobs with meaning and output $688,000,000
16. Resilience, Energy Efficiency, Micro-grids and access to electricity $67,000,000
based technologies.
17. The Community Purse. $28,100,000
18. Community Governance $12,400,000
19. Intergenerational Transfer. $6,600,000
20. Connecting to our Natural Human Nature $18,900,000
21. Sustainable Personal Habitat and Urban Rejuvenation $122,000,000
22. Arts / Entertainment and Community. $22,800,000
23. Decentralised Governance and Community Infrastructure. $113,000,000
24. Community Diversity and Self Determination $23,000,000
25. COVID– 19 Recovery $52,000,000
Total Expenditure for New Programs $1,975,000,000 *
*The Australian Climate Change Justice Party expects that approximately $1.5B can be redirected from current planned
expenditure by the ACT Labor/ACT Greens alliance and the remainder of this expenditure can be sourced from the pending
Commonwealth post- Covid Grant allocation.
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POLICY HIGHLIGHT 1 -
A Food Bowl for the ACT
Challenge:
The ACT is wholly reliant on agricultural, foods, and fibre produce outside of the region. If there are any
problems with the supply chain, the city is vulnerable. This outward economic flow minimises the economic and
social benefits to be gained from higher social prosperity by producing and managing our own food production.
Funding Allocation: $40,000,000
To establish an agricultural food bowl for the ACT within 200km of
the state's borders for the majority of food needs of ACT
residents. The food bowl encompasses the entire food production
life cycle and incorporates both community and private
participants in the establishment of a resilient food supply
infrastructure.
Key Policy Aspects:
● Extend urban horticulture centres as both productive
spaces and tube/seed stock for home gardens.
● Expand the current farmer’s market facilities and the
Saturday Epic site providing a larger range of produce and
diverse homeware and garden items.
● Extend markets to outside the main Town Centre shopping
mall areas.
● Create market demand for a full suite of local produce
across the town centres, home delivery businesses and
wholesale/restaurant business supply chains.
● Identify and differentiate between locally grown and distant
produce.
● Establish the infrastructure for agricultural co-operatives to
thrive in the region.
● Take excess foods from the local supply chain and establish
a city kitchen providing low cost meals to citizens and
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elderly to manage poverty. Distribute low cost nutritious
foods in the region through established cafes and food
outlets. Expand the OzHarvest initiative as a viable self-
financing model.
● Invite existing restaurant, cafe, and food business owners to
be involved in the supply chain as equity or co-operative
members.
● Increase food production capability across the city through
urban horticulture and agro-forestry in the urban forests.
● Allocate substantial tracks of land in the ACT and
surrounding region dedicated to food production at scale.
● Establish infrastructure for the development and growth of
local food production capability as a decade long initiative.
(An expanded view of the policy is available at
www.climatechangejustice.com.au)
10POLICY HIGHLIGHT 2 -
Rich Closed Loop Economies
The ACT is principally dependent on external product supply for all
of our living needs ranging from household items and furnishings
to commercial and industrial raw materials and transport
infrastructure from outside of the region. If there are any
problems with the supply chain the city is vulnerable. This
outward economic flow minimises the economic and social
benefits to be gained from higher social prosperity.
Funding Allocation: $28,000,000
Extending the food bowl resilience strategy into other economic
spheres to generate material, manufacture, supply, maintenance
and waste management across the local economy in critical
human need and habitat sectors. These include residential
housing and contents, medicines, retail and transport
infrastructure.
● Local Industry Facilitation Fund Creation (generating a
more competent administration capable of increasing the Grants
pool)
● Establishment of a co-operative micro-enterprises
secretariat and administration support facility.
● Bring together a market microstructure re-engineering
network facilitated by ACT Government and close gaps between
material flows and reuse opportunities in the ACT.
● Undertake a materials flow analysis of the city and
identify substitution options.
● Establish an ACT Government non-profit corporation and
joint owned co-operative corporation to commercialise and
implement project enterprises.
● Undertake major review of interstate and foreign workers
in the construction sectors whereby local businesses have a
11responsibility to employ local residents as the first option.
● Undertake research in ecological, material and financial
flows in the ACT economy with a view to identifying ways to keep
the flows within the ACT region.
● Develop a Closed Loop Industry and Entrepreneur Forum
coupled with funding rounds for enterprises established for the
purposes of this policy through the Canberra Innovation Forum.
● Establish plastic, organic waste, and second-hand items
recycling and reuse infrastructure at each waste transfer station
as community owned enterprises.
● Release new commercial and industrial land specifically
for closed loop enterprises at substantial discount.
12POLICY HIGHLIGHT 3 -
Local and Regional Natural Enterprises
Harbouring numerous universities, CSIRO and a highly educated
and talented workforce, the region has been inhibited by a lack of
a equally sophisticated business incubation, enterprise solutions
and development strategy. The export of talent, ideas,
technologies and enterprises has lost the region enormous
economic wealth. The infrastructure to export Canberra’s
products and services to global markets is lacking in the ACT.
The new economy related to sustainability industries, energy,
technology, and materials has moved beyond Canberra, further
positioning the city as a hub entirely dependent on imports. It is
time to structure a resilient local and regional economy, and this
requires a radical shift in investment, services, and infrastructure.
The presence of interstate and overseas corporations servicing
ACT markets creates a barrier to local business growth and dually
places profit out of the local economy. This pattern of economic
development drains the quality of life of Canberra’s businesses
and communities on the whole. Though a reprieve for the
Canberra economy can be located in the massive public service
workforce that sustains the economy with a financial inflow of
over 12B per annum, the non public service workforce is limited to
a minimum wage-based career in a city with an enormous cost of
living.
Funding Allocation: $21,000,000
Old Building Refurbishment for New Businesses: $18,000,000
We seek to establish professional venture development
infrastructure that can be shared across new and establishing
enterprises in the ACT region. By creating a professional pathway
and common infrastructure, new businesses and enterprises need
not develop their own. The infrastructure extends from physical
resources like office spaces and high-quality internet to overseas
and interstate market development intelligence and financing
channels.
● Review the current export infrastructure and linkages with
overseas Australian embassies and industry extension capability
13to allow Canberra companies a bridge into overseas markets.
● ACT Government and Institutions to implement a
mandatory ‘Buy local and regional’ campaign as part of
procurement requirements with a minimum 25% of assessment
based on local provision, local material, and local workers.
● Business incubator hubs in each town centre with admin,
legal, IT and accounting support provided by qualifying ventures.
The formation of administrative pools supporting new business.
Facilitate community based office and incubation services rather
than private corporate providers through the use of existing ACT
Government buildings and infrastructure.
● ACT Government to access overseas investment capital
pools that can be made available to local ventures. ACT
Government to facilitate fair and just terms for large capital
requirements.
● ACT Government to establish its own venture capital and
equity capital vehicle for local businesses that seek direct
investment.
● ACT Government to facilitate investment forums for most
new or established businesses requiring capital directly from the
Canberra community.
● Redesign and restaff the incubator hubs to bring in
administrative support to new business ideas with the potential
for large market impacts through venture funding style
management support to accelerate growth.
● ACT Government to seed tender climate change and
community enterprise requirements through innovation hub
businesses and entrepreneurs as a first round.
● The establishment of a buy local and regional brand and
directory campaign helping the market recognise high quality local
products and services in order to maintain prosperity.
● Business incentives for local and regional businesses in
the market and supply chain developments through business
14licence fees, market facilitation services, and common
administration pool services during set-up and early stage.
● The establishment of a local and regional business liaison
service officer to join the executive or Board to overcome
government hurdles and facilitate business brokering services in
the ACT in addition to the current business infrastructure allowed
under the Canberra Innovation Network. Their function as a
business consultant is to supplement funding programs by the
ACT Government to ensure funding is used as specified and that
the funding helps to deliver strategic outcomes for the business
and broader community.
● Actively source and bring into the ACT enterprises and
technologies that the city needs and make them our own.
15POLICY HIGHLIGHT 4 -
Sustainable Markets
A carefully designed transparent market is key to engineering
social progress towards a sustainable future whilst allowing the
forces of commerce, competition and free choice to dominate
individual freedoms and lifestyles. Such price and information
signals can extend to building materials, housing, food, clothing,
electronic goods, and services. There are certain constitutional
barriers (Section 90 of the Australian Constitution) to customs and
excise taxation which limit the flexibility of the ACT Government in
imposing taxation regimes.
The most effective method for the ACT is business licensing
measures, which can be scaled to reflect the human need and
ecological value of the product or service being offered. Such
regimes have already commenced with the scaled fees for motor
registration and property valuation in the ACT.
Funding: $18,000,000
The realignment of market signals and asymmetry of information
to reflect ecological loads from market operations is a key factor
in delivering an ecologically balanced economy. The introduction
of progressive transparency in market information of products
and services related to ecological and social impact profiles allows
market signals to align with ecological and social footprints. Such
measures also allow an effective market preference for local and
environmentally sustainable products and services where
ecological and human health loads are incorporated in price.
● Market signals can be structured as fees to carry on
businesses in the ACT and these fees can be linked to ecological or
climate change impact and charged quarterly based on the
associated impact profile. The factors would need to be
established on an LCA based calculation and a human needs index
calculation as an overall quantum of units transacted.
● Goods sourced interstate or overseas may be captured on
the basis of a declaration of environmental impact coupled with a
business licence for the courier or delivery service in the ACT.
16● Extension and explanation of relevant taxes to the market
can allow a more efficient transition to and response from price
signals.
● Fee subsidies for community outcome businesses that
achieve selective status and meet the criterion to the ACT
Community Business Register.
● Decrease of payroll tax for corporations across the board.
● New contractor tax for all contracts over $20,000/pa in
the ACT to help minimise free-riding on payroll tax.
● A market-demand orientated focus on new markets
through sustainable procurement strategies by the Government
and a requirement for businesses seeking business licence
subsidies.
● Extension of the business licence scheme to commercial
office leases.
● A commercial space lease registration tax for tenants
encouraging remote and work from home opportunities.
17POLICY HIGHLIGHT 5 -
New Generation Housing
The public housing model represents a major point of contention
in the ACT and prevails as a continued investment that is
maintained despite the schemes actual costs and beneficiaries.
The current scheme takes funding from the public purse and
reinvests it in high-quality expensive housing. There are of course
many exceptions, especially for those that need short term
emergency housing, and short term permanent housing to re-
establish their lives after hardship. The challenge of entering the
private owner occupier market is a substantial cost barrier in the
ACT. This inequity is now even more apparent for younger people
despite the availability of band-aid incentives for kick-start
including no deposit, deposit subsidies and stamp duty waiver
schemes.
Allocation: $160,000,000
The creation of a pathway for the coming generations to own land
and property is a multifaceted imperative lacking Government
support. The formation of alternative pathways, buildings,
planning schemes, land allocations, building standards, and
regulations which open up new financing, land, and habitat
options are essential in allowing access to permanent and private
habitat.
The development of genuine low-cost housing options for
younger people to enter the market with apartments and
townhouses at below $200,000.
● The development of low cost housing options through
Neighbourhood Co-operatives and Land Trust structures to the
acquisition and construction of habitat.
● The conversion of the Suburban Land Agency to a non-
profit corporation with an extended range of responsibilities
including the development of:
○ Standard suburban land for sale down to the block (no
longer selling of large multiple blocks at auction).
18○ Blocks for commercial use with enhanced specification of
community requirements.
○ The construction of low cost and medium cost housing via
contractors where the core builder workforce within the agency
adheres to new sustainability standards for housing.
○ The development of community parcels for community
housing co-operatives, owner builder and sustainable
neighbourhood releases.
○ The cross subsidisation of income flows between high end
releases to support infrastructure for Greenfield development at
different standard levels commensurate with block costs and
theme.
○ The agency shall extend its work to a construction/trainee
and upskill workforce for distinct ACT Government townhouse
developments, smaller houses and apartments, as well as
sustainable neighbourhood developments.
● The development of innovative financing models to allow
access to discounted land and lower building codes to maximise
owner-builder opportunities for younger people with no profit
targets.
● The development of eco-village settlements for younger
people under co-operative housing, joint housing and joint living
housing models delivering low cost entry housing.
● The establishment of innovative eco-
agricultural/industrialised zones as part of the Canberra closed
loop economy policies.
● The release of housing co-operatives and social business
ventures allowing group house-building teams to operate as
communal house construction mechanisms for their membership
with supported financing structures.
● Personal habitat ownership is important and fundamental
to long term security, investment and personal aspirations. The
target for subsidised or public housing must be the transfer of
19ownership to the individual with innovative financing models or
other community-based purchasing models.
● A revision of the Building Codes in the ACT to assist in the
innovation of materials, bushfire resilience, design, energy
efficiency, low embodied energy buildings, building size, and block
options.
An overview of Co-operative Housing Models converting current
Public Housing into low entry Housing Equity.
Instead of providing funds for housing to individual households,
funds are provided to not-for-profit co-operatives of households.
The co-operatives consist of any physically close dwellings. The
dwellings in an area are distributed between different co-
operatives and private housing. The co-operatives hold the title to
the housing and the co-operatives are responsible for the
maintenance and upkeep of the houses. A rule of the co-
operatives is that households must pay a minimum rate for the
dwelling and a neighbourhood services free from their income. Of
the money paid, a percentage is paid to the government/investor
and it accumulates as equity for the occupier of the dwelling in
which they live. The other percentage goes to maintaining the
dwellings.
When the equity reaches the value of the dwelling, the occupant
continues to pay rent of a minimum percentage of their income.
When a person leaves the co-operative, they receive prepayment
tokens to the value of their equity in the property. The
prepayment tokens can be sold to other members of the co-
operative or directly to the co-operative itself.
The governance of co-operative housing moves from the
Government to the co-operatives of occupiers and those who
have equity in the dwellings but are no longer occupiers. It is
expected that the number of dwellings in a co-operative will be
between 100 and 300. These models are ideally suited to
dedicated neighbourhoods where additional community facilities
and services can be provided by the co-operative.
20POLICY HIGHLIGHT 6 -
Schools of the Future
Challenge:
The ACT school system is a mid-tier performer for education and
competency when compared to OECD countries across the globe.
Based on the OECD PISA test, its performance is also continually
declining. The ACT Government invests 10 times more on
underperforming students than on over performing students.
Teachers lack the tools and infrastructure for continuous
education and performance testing. Parents lack insight into their
children’s learning performance and their subjects and
additionally, lack confidence that their children are getting the
best education despite the enormous public funds being invested
in their education.
Allocation: $128,000,000
The development of our younger population and the future
generations’ ability to deal with and prosper in the face of the
challenges ahead is an issue that demands investment in and
reform of the education system of this region. Critical to this
process is ongoing education, performance testing and the growth
of our teachers to aim for excellence in their classrooms. A culture
of lifelong learning, confidence and value of education and
knowledge is fundamental in coping with both family success and
personal challenges for teachers and students alike.
● Realignment of school priorities to focus on gifted and
advanced learning rather than bringing everyone to a class
average. The allocation for gifted students is currently ten times
less than for underperforming students in the ACT.
● Establish a continuous learning framework for teachers
across disciplines as a key and critical component for teaching in
the ACT.
● Establish a competency and registration system in the ACT
for teachers and relief teachers alike.
21● Extend specialist schooling functions to new areas of
cultural learning including social development and cultural arts.
Extend new forms of schooling to teach community co-operation,
the nurture of human beings and the rest of Nature as part of the
Australian curriculum.
● From a very young age, students will be taught how to
successfully run co-operative enterprises, by creating their own.
Successful enterprises will share profits between the students and
the school. Alternative collaborative projects and outcomes can
be a key model of growing community and school assets via
student projects. These enterprises form a primary element of the
functioning of the school and extend to sports organisation,
school upkeep, food preparation and services as well as
equipment maintenance. Breakfast and lunch services can be
supplied by student enterprises - grown and prepared on site.
● Philosophy will be introduced to the curriculum taught in
the ACT.
● Realignment of school priorities to focus on practical
learning of trades, agriculture, construction, and technology as
advanced electives on top of the curriculum.
● Stronger school reporting to parents to allow greater
parental involvement and participation in their children’s learning
progress.
● Online reporting to parents of work items and
performance results. Transparency to parents about student’s
performance on a continuous basis. Stronger school performance
reporting and class peer-to-peer reporting to allow comparison of
children performance.
● Acceptance of repeating, advancing years for students as
well as additional learning classes for students which are not
keeping up to standard.
● A great variety of both afterschool and out of school
activities allowing parents to pick kids up after work.
● Establishment of 5 higher aptitude schools in the ACT at
Yr.9, Yr.10 and college level (1 Academically Advanced/2 Trades/1
22IT/1 Sport).
● A review of the private, religious and public school system
with a view to easy transfer and reallocation of resources based
on needs.
23POLICY HIGHLIGHT -
An Informed Public
Challenge:
Education, debate, new ideas and skills are an essential element
of social reform and change. For the most part, Canberran’s
receive new information about social and community issues
through mainstream and social media as well as the workplace.
The Government has a responsibility to maintain strong
information flow to the community on issues that affect them in a
non-politicised way. While this area of community engagement
has been improving in recent years, a gap remains in educating
the community on liaison points, critical community consultation
platforms, feedback and response on community consultation
measures, and justification of the government’s decision.
Allocation: $2,200,000
The Canberra region must establish communication channels to
inform local citizens of issues within the community and equally
find mechanisms to engage and recognise their views and
interests in a modern, fast-paced and feedback driven setting to
allow community democracy and effective citizenry to prosper as
part of the rapid social evolution agenda of the Party overall.
● The establishment of community education and
information hubs related to government services as a physical
presence on each Town Centre as part of the Access Canberra
shopfront.
● The establishment of a community liaison office within
each ACT Government agency responsible for continuous supply
of information to community hubs and to the delivery of
community concerns to the Agency.
● The maintenance of community online information and
discussion hubs managed by each Community Council of the ACT.
The facilities will be primary to the establishment of community
media, news and well as government initiatives that affect the
community.
24● Fund community associations and community groups
properly as a percentage of annual budgets through outcome
tender grant rounds.
● Enhance the Bill of Rights Legislation to incorporate
clearer provisions for citizens’ claims against the Government’s
lack of equitable services and Government failures in service on
the whole.
● Implement a Government broadcast requirement on
critical Government measures that affect the relevant
communities (including the annual budget).
● Establish an ongoing program of community roundtables
and engagement to bring community participation into initiatives
that are designed for their benefit.
25POLICY HIGHLIGHT 8 -
Preventative, Regenerative, Vital
Health
Human health services are a major industry and a significant
burden on public cost in the ACT. Current models of western
medical treatment can be remodelled around preventive and
regenerative medicine providing opportunities for innovative
models of health and care outside of current solutions.
Allocation: $62,000,000
● Establishment of a membership based public health GP
model in each town centre predicated upon the current GP co-
operative model. Expand this type of facility across the ACT.
● Establishment of a membership based public health
Dental model in each Town Centre predicated upon the GP co-
operative model.
● Establishment of a membership based elderly public
health service in the each Town Centre predicated upon the GP
co-operative model.
● Establishment of a membership based
preventative/health professional/lifestyle model for each
Canberra citizen above 40 years of age at each Town Centre
predicated upon a GP co-operative model that brings together
personal trainers, naturopaths, alternative medicine, fitness
instructors as well as others into an integrated preventative
health solution network for those seeking professional services.
● Investment is new biotechnology, medical innovation,
medical stem cell and regenerative cell research and medicine
trials in the ACT as well as support for the establishment of
businesses that utilise this technology. Establishment of the ACT
as a critical city for advanced medical treatment by forming
linkages and partnership agreements with overseas providers
seeking to establish in Australia.
26● Free health screening services provided by a mobiled
team in the ACT as an ongoing training trial with medical and
nurse students across ACT Businesses. The target is to deliver a
health screening service with referrals and follow up opportunities
for individuals that could benefit from preventative health
services.
● The establishment of an alternative medical remedies
hub, farm and commercialisation incubation facility for trials and
for early seed production.
● Cost review of the SPIRE project at the Canberra Hospital.
We are concerned that this type of treatment is increasingly
outdated and can be decentralised or provided via remote
services. We seek to consider the efficiency and quality of health
services currently provided in the Canberra Hospital facilities.
27POLICY HIGHLIGHT 9 -
Transport for All
Canberra is a widely dispersed geographic city per capita and the
car is the mainstay of Canberra’s transport system. The bus
system is heavily subsidised to $30M/pa and the new tram is a
$700M investment which only services a very small section of the
community and the bike network caters only to a small number of
participants despite its genuine benefits. The Taxi industry has
been destroyed by Government policy and Uber and Ola are a
multinational intrusion into the local economy. Viable public
transport solutions in the ACT appear as distant as ever.
Allocation: $48,000,000
One pathway is to start preparing Canberra’s public transport
service as an electric autonomous bus and taxi city where
individuals no longer own cars. Such a pathway would see
individuals dial an autonomous vehicle and the main transit bus
routes are managed via autonomous bus vehicles. Our
preliminary assessment of the cost, environmental and climate
change implications of the tram investment indicates an
investment ten times less in cost than the current proposed tram
network. We recommend that we wait 4-5 years until the
technology is more readily available and prepare the city for this
roll out in the meantime.
● The transition from Government owned transport sector
to a community co-operative owned transport sector with a
diversity of community enterprises from buses, co-cars, taxis,
bikes and shared transport all owned by community non-profit
entities.
● The establishment of a comprehensive, high speed bus
system allowing individuals to more easily travel to and from each
Town Centre.
● The establishment of an autonomous and/or widespread
locally owned taxi system.
● The exit of Uber, Ola and other overseas rideshare
systems.
28● The exit of foreign owned transport players in the ACT
more generally.
● A consistent price for rideshare to taxis to allow equitable
competition.
● Compensation to ACT Taxi Plate owners of a minimum of
$150,000 per perpetual taxi plate.
● The end of PPP investments that see residual lease and
contract payments for investments in the ACT public transport
sector.
● Review of the current CTP legislation with the view to
establishing a state owned scheme along similar structures.
● Government exit from Taxi and Bus services and
establishment of community co-operative ventures.
● Enhancement of local bicycle track networks as well as
electric bicycle lanes. Key focus in inter-suburb and Town Centre
access routes rather than linking town-centres which are only
useful to a very small proportion of bike riders.
29POLICY HIGHLIGHT 10 -
Natural Entrepreneurs
Local enterprises have a difficult time establishing themselves in
the ACT due to the high commercial rental costs, lack of low cost
retail and distribution networks and a high level of Government
oversight and taxation. The early development cycle and access to
markets is a key barrier for small businesses that need to establish
cash flow fast without substantial marketing and infrastructure
investments.
Allocation: $22,000,000
This allocation is focused specifically on cost barriers and
efficiency of business start-up costs to give cash-flow a viable
footing. The ready for market timelines need to be substantially
reduced. Key targets are, market development services and
networks for new businesses, streamlined government business
licensing and permits, as well as marketing and advertising
services. Fostering a local economy is about providing a
marketplace that recognises the importance of local providers
when their products are of comparable quality and value.
● Local procurement by the government can be
substantially improved. Barriers from local suppliers to
government tenders can be reduced through clearer procurement
requirements for local supply.
● Focusing on factors that limit market access by local
producers and entrepreneurs is a critical element of market
success. The small business facilitation office will be established
with a network of small business smarts facilitating new
entrepreneurs.
● There are currently substantial setup cost barriers for new
enterprises in the ACT. These include office costs, rental rates and
access to low cost administrative support which ensures the
failure of new enterprises. The establishment of ACT
Government's free office accommodation for new entrepreneurs
operated via a co-operative community organisation. Successful
enterprises maneuvering from the free office accommodation
have an obligation to make payment for the upfront investment
30by the co-operative upon exit. Substantial pre-screening and
support is required to get these enterprises market ready and to
be able to enter the program.
● The identification of sustainability enterprises and climate
change enterprises to be given priority in a new climate change
and sustainability innovation business incubation centre..
● Extension of the ACT Government’s trials and
opportunities for new business products to be taken up and to
substitute existing procurement and product/service needs by
ACT Government agencies.
31POLICY HIGHLIGHT 11 -
Natural Energy Mix
There has been some progress on climate change abatement in
the ACT but very little adaptation to the catastrophic biological
changes expected during the course of this century with the
exception of the Cotton Dam capacity increase. Of key concern is
the fact that the primary renewable energy sources used in the
ACT are not owned by either the ACT Government or community
nor are they located in the ACT. This allows substantial market
force manipulation in terms of price and supply as market stresses
progress.
Allocation: $246,000,000
A climate change energy mix is one that is owned and operated in
the ACT across its entire life cycle. The energy mix is likely to
include hydro, solar, wind, hydrogen, biomass and others. The
sourcing, manufacturing process, maintenance and end of life of
these technologies need to be controlled and managed within the
ACT region, ideally by the Government or community resources.
The opportunity of small scale and crowd sourced energy supply
and distribution allows the management of load across the city
and region.
● Immediate establishment of a solar panel installation and
refurbishment co-operative businesses in the ACT or expansion of
the re-scheme.
● Immediate establishment of public owned wind turbine
sites for the ACT on land owned by the ACT. This policy requires
that 2 wind turbine sites be established in the Brindabella
reserves at suitable locations to supply the ACT Grid. One site
would be purely owned by the ACT Government and the other will
be offered for investment to ACT residents.
● Immediate establishment of infrastructure for crowd
balanced energy supply to the ACT residential and commercial
sectors creating a multi-grid system in the ACT.
● The establishment of autonomous renewable energy
zones, allowing management and sharing of energy resources
32before accessing the grid and providing multi-scale autonomy for
disaster scenarios.
● Immediate disengagement planning from the wholesale
energy network dependency.
● Immediate assessment for the use of natural water
storage solutions as natural batteries for the city including Lake
Burley, Griffin Dam, Googong Dam and Cotter Dam. Potential for
soil water storage catchment solutions, underground water
reservoirs and agricultural water capacity.
● Immediate assessment and installation of micro-wind
farm opportunities across the city scape.
● Immediate investment in community owned initiatives
($7.6M) with scaled increases of funding needs to a sustainable
financing level to make solar power available to households that
cannot afford the upfront investment.
● Substantial investment in building energy autonomy and
energy retrofitting programs for ACT Government buildings.
● Land rates to be amended to reflect renewable energy
capacity and energy efficiency capacity in the ACT.
Overview of PRE-Power Community Co-operative- Community-
Owned Renewable Electricity Generation
Pre Power Cooperatives provide clean electricity to consumer
members. Investor members supply the Capital to produce energy
and get a fixed return as a stream of income. Consumer members
pay less for clean energy than they would from commercial
sources and investors receive higher returns than they do from
most superannuation investments. Members can be consumers,
investors or both. Consumer members share the surplus
generated by PRE-Power Cooperatives.
The following compares the Co-operative costs to the consumer
to the cost of electricity through energy retailers and additionally
compares the Cooperative returns to investors to the returns from
the average Australian Superannuation Fund.
33An Individual Household Investing in Solar Panels
An individual household investing in Solar Panels in Canberra can
expect to save an average of $1,700 on an investment of $7,500.
The savings will continue for at least 20 years. With PRE-power
Cooperatives, these savings are divided between consumer
members, investor members and in the cost of running the
cooperative. About $700 in value goes to the investor, $700 in
value to the consumer and $300 to operate the Co-operative
including maintenance. The value to the consumer is in savings
and in the rights to purchase future electricity from the panels.
The following shows how these savings are distributed to
members.
Consumer Benefits
The Cooperative sells energy from panels to members at 70% of
the price of the average commercial retail supplier of electricity. If
the average cost is 24.5 cents per kWh, then the Co-operative will
charge 16.8 cents per kWh. Cooperatives review prices regularly
to ensure they remain competitive.
Consumers benefit from the use of a zero-fee prepayment
account that operates in a similar way to an interest-bearing
deposit account. Consumers pay a fixed amount each month and
pay a month in advance. Consumers receive Rewards on their
prepayment balances.
Consumers acquire credits for future use each time they pay for
electricity. When their credits equal the original purchase price of
the panels, the depreciated value of the panels is converted into
prepayment credits and given to the member to pay for electricity
from the cooperative. The total value of these benefits is
approximately $700 per year for the average Canberra household.
Investing in Pre Power Co-operatives
Members invest in a PRE-Power Co-operative by buying
prepayment credits. Returns are given either in discounted energy
or in an annuity stream from consumer member payments.
Members can opt to reinvest their returns rather than getting an
annuity stream. Investments are secured against the panels
owned by the cooperatives.
34POLICY HIGHLIGHT 12 -
People Quality not Quantity
The prevailing old-world view of eternal economic growth sits at
the heart of climate change. The philosophical model the ACT
Government ascribes to is underpinned by an eternal growth
model centred on privatising public assets and market inflation,
however this distorts perception of real social growth.
Allocation: $18,000,000
The ACT Government has a population growth objective.
Population growth is intrinsically linked to economic and market
growth strategies that are currently unsustainable. We seek a
redefinition of this population growth mentality and strive for a
post-economic sustainable community mentality that supports
more comprehensively the population of the ACT. The
Government's current social development mentality predicated
on steady immigration into the ACT requires substantial
redirection that focuses on enhancing the efficiency and quality of
services provided to the current ACT population.
Key initiatives include:
● An end to ACT Government sponsored migration.
● Enhancement of cultural and community activities and
experiences that expand the multi-cultural experience of living in
the ACT.
● Enhancement of the social culture and value of young
multi-cultural people in our community.
● Reduction of infrastructure planning and expenditure on
anticipated needs under high population growth models.
● Greater funding to ethnic community associations focused
on performance, arts, and community led enterprises for low
skilled migrants.
● A focus on community ready immigration with individuals
that have employment offers, business ready investment, or
35demonstrated community skills ready for investment.
● A focus on highly educated and high income migration,
allowing a continuation of their personal aspirations in the ACT.
● A limitation on interstate and overseas migration
dependent on ACT community funding of migrating individuals
health, or public housing needs.
● Reduction of new Canberran’s access to public housing for
the first 3 years and ACT Government subsidies.
36POLICY HIGHLIGHT 13 -
Community Wealth – Not Human Greed
The recent commitment by the ACT Government to provide
reporting on Human Wellbeing Indicators is an attempt to report
on the quality of life in the ACT. It represents an endeavour to
maintain public acceptance of social progress and enhancement
of quality of life within the Canberra region.
Allocation: $3,200,000
The indicators will be developed and delivered by community
organisations and independent advisory organisations. The
governance of these indicators needs to be reworked to integrate
more measurable performance benchmarks of the natural and
cultural resources of our community. The indicators and reporting
will be extended into an assessment of threat as well as
community assets, which are likely to impact these indicators into
the future.
To this end, the indicators must be:
● Rewritten to indicate measurable and quantifiable
elements linked to tangible environmental- and human-need
factors.
● An independent body appointed to administer the
scheme consisting of community Councils and independent
advisors.
● Audit methodologies defined and data identified and kept
to allow for effective auditing processes to take place.
37POLICY HIGHLIGHT 14 –
Converting the ACT Budget to the
Public Purse
A preliminary review of the budget indicates a $6.1B annual
allocation with a projected $900,000,000 shortfall this financial
year. The budget also contains a debt of some $3B, an unfunded
superannuation gap of approximately $4B and a total asset
position of $17B (some would claim the asset position is closer to
$11B). Strong remarks are made of the Moody and Standard and
Poor’s Credit Ratings, however we believe these to be dubious
with the propensity to deteriorate quickly.
Allocation: $6,800,000
Our preliminary analysis sees major problems with the
management of the ACT Budget and its projections including:
● Unfunded superannuation of ACT employees. The current
response of the ACT Government requires yields on existing
superannuation investments well beyond expected returns in the
global investment markets. Such yields are highly unlikely over the
next decade at a minimum.
● The long term PPP arrangements that have been entered
into with the ACT Courts and the Light Rail network, extending
multiple decade financial obligations which will continue to drain
on our public finances.
● Substantial reductions in the profits of the ACT Land and
Development Bodies. This suggests internal mismanagement as
well as losses resulting from the substantial transfer of public
sales to private construction firms in the apartments space.
● An enormous cost of the ACT prison system (90M for less
than 500 prisoners).
● 21,000 employed ACT Government staff (substantially in
excess of requirements).
38● Inefficiency arising from the account cost centre
treatment of finances within ACT Government agencies.
● The substantial lack of financial control of cost overruns in
capital works.
.
It is our internal estimate that some $1.5B can be freed up from
the current budget including the infrastructure spend over the
next 12 months to fund the projects outlined in the ACCJ Party
Platform. It is our intention to properly project our policy costing
and submit an alternative budget for the 2021-2022 financial year
as part of our election platform. The $1.5B diversion from current
spending patterns can also be extended into further years. The
allocation is related to a cross portfolio audit of ACT Government
agencies in relation to community outcomes, efficiency and future
financial and resource needs.
“Barr (ACT Labor – ACT Greens) is
planning to spend our $4B on
overseas and interstate build
infrastructure, using interstate
materials and interstate workers.
How is this going to recover
Canberra from COVID while we still
have 25,000 unemployed in the
ACT? Our businesses and our
people need our $4B! …Bar Barr…“
39POLICY HIGHLIGHT 15 –
Jobs with meaning and output
Jobs, jobs, jobs has been a catchcry of all major political parties for
a century. Yet this same century has also seen most workers
dissatisfied with their workplaces, the jobs and tasks they engage
with during their daily productive hours and the rewards that
come from their careers. The post-COVID-19 economy and the
growth of AI and automated service delivery will see the
disappearance of even more jobs, leaving poor quality positions
and low wages as a mainstay for Australians not participating in
the Canberra public service. Consequently, jobs that provide
housing, food, resources and services are often low paying and
unrewarding. We look to a new era of professional, highly skilled
and productive jobs in the ACT that will allow us to export and
grow our technical, IT, industrial and professional service
capability to a world class economy while providing the same
industrial and technical capabilities to our own city and regional
requirements. As more and more economic and market
institutions incorporate higher productivity from technology and
automation as well as cost-focused budgeting, we can expect a
continued reduction of traditional jobs in the Canberra economy.
Allocation: $688,000,000
The industry restructure package of the ACCJ Party is synonymous
with the industries of the 21st Century; ready to absorb the
retiring workforce from the large scale retrenchment and
liquidation currently arising from multinational intrusion into our
domestic economy. In order to adapt to a climate changed
society, there is both a need to redefine work as well as a need for
adequate resources to sustain our changing lifestyles. The quest
to build enterprises that meet the financial needs of individuals
has become a mandate of the ACCJ Party.
The jobs and prosperity policies of the Party are based on 2 pillars:
(1) The recognition that having adequate income for a
reasonable lifestyle without the need for full time work is possible
and viable for the Canberra market, as other resource flows can
be substituted for cash. By harvesting the spare time, efficiencies
of our markets and allowing individuals to reduce their demand
40for money, a new class of semi-working Canberran’s with time to
dedicate to other community and personal enterprises becomes
possible. These secondary employment opportunities can provide
income to individuals through food, transport, energy, water,
habitat and other essential needs without a financial basis of the
relationship. The establishment of co-operative enterprises and a
diverse range of community enterprises allows for the public
purse to invest back into the community.
(2) New industry horizons for Canberra that will add full
time, part-time and community jobs in the creation of an entire
suite of closed loop economy enterprises. Such local based
enterprises meet local needs and create local community
prosperity as a resilient force. Jobs in these industries can be
preferable to menial, poorly trained and low paid jobs offered by
multinational and global company offerings.
The package looks at adding the following full time, part time, and
community job creation opportunities for local Canberra
workforce based on the entire policy platform issued by the ACCJ:
● 3500 food life cycle production jobs supported by Policy 1:
Canberra’s Food Bowl.
● 550 transport jobs in the public transport and distribution
industry created by funneling existing transport services to a new
agency – Sustainable Transit Canberra and the offsetting of all
carbon emission from public transport until autonomy and
electrification can be rolled out.
● 1200 jobs in sustainable co-operative enterprises across
diverse industry sectors. The creation of a new community
enterprises agency in the ACT, bringing together a closed loop
emphasis from our industrial flows in the city. The creation and
extension of micro-enterprises and community enterprises to deal
with the waste streams of the city.
● 2400 jobs in the sustainable housing and urban renewal
industries. The extension of the Suburban Land Agency into
community based housing and the establishment of 2 eco-villages
in the ACT.
● 620 jobs in the health care and aged care sector.
Extension services and enterprises for the Canberra hospital and
41the establishment of community co-operative medicine and
dentistry services in the ACT. The creation of a local
pharmaceutical company for our prescription needs.
● 340 jobs in the entertainment, arts, tourism, and
vocational training sectors. Supporting the Watson Entertainment
Arts extension and establishing a new community arts centre in
the ACT. Extending grants to new artistic enterprises and
establishing new theatres at each Town Centre.
● 1100 jobs in the climate change adaptation, renewable
energy and energy efficiency sectors. The delivery of new
community owned renewable energy sources in the ACT including
2 wind turbine farms and multiple solar farms. Extension of
rooftop solar to integrated grids across the city. Implementation
of large electric storage batteries for 2 Town Centres.
● 320 jobs in the regional enterprises and economic
incubation services sector. We will incentivise and establish a
working pool of individuals and professionals to support our
enterprise and incubation hubs in the ACT and extend such
facilities to each Town Centre.
● 2700 jobs in new sustainability and community
enterprises for industry and community-serviced provision
outsourcing current ACT Government services. We will actively
transfer some Government services related directly to community
co-operatives so that they can properly deliver services that affect
their communities. Indicator services include street waste and
graffiti management, footpath and recreational centre upkeeps,
cleaning of government buildings and agencies, public housing
management, youth sports and recreation, arts centres and
community meeting spaces, shopping centre and suburban centre
management including laws and roadside maintenance.
● Establishment of a regional time banking and mutual
credit system to lower the financial costs of living in the ACT
region, allowing greater capacity for new enterprise and co-
operative enterprise schemes to flourish.
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