Policies

The Communist Party of Australia works to restore and expand the role of public enterprise. The current global economic crisis has confirmed just how disastrous the privatisation of public assets over recent decades has been for working people. The gulf between rich and poor has widened. We have suffered a deterioration in the quality and availability of services to our community. South Australia lost control of its electricity utility and massive price hikes followed. United Water is currently being prosecuted for allegedly recovering corporate losses in their Ballarat and NZ offices through increased charges to South Australians!

Federally, the CPA proposes the nationalisation of communications and the creation of a people's bank. We support the establishment of a national superannuation scheme that would not gamble workers retirement savings but would invest in socially useful, sustainable projects. As part of a progressive government, we would put Telstra and Qantas back in public ownership and establish a publicly-owned auto manufacturer.

The CPA supports universally accessible, free, secular public education. It supports public health over for-profit interests and would invest the money currently squandered on the Private Health Insurance Rebate back into the system. The Party proposes a ten percent cut in military spending to help fund long-overdue upgrades to this social infrastructure.

Governments have become far too cosy with big business interests. Exclusive $1,500 a plate fund raisers with the big end of town, lucrative Public Private Partnerships and the overriding of council planning powers have become the order of the day. Much of the urban redevelopment that has taken place in recent times – like the Newport Quays development along the Port River – have not been carried out according to the needs and wishes of local residents. The Rann Government must be pulled into line and compelled to take the community into its confidence.

The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) is working with others to restore and expand people's rights in the workplace. A vote for its candidate Bob Briton in the seat of Lee sends a strong message to the Rann Government that much more has to be done to reverse the disastrous trend in industrial relations in recent times. Federally, the Rudd Government has replaced Howard's WorkChoices with its so-called Fair Work Australia scheme. It retains many of the anti-union restrictions of its predecessor.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) still harasses unionists on building sites as they try to organise workers in their very dangerous industry. Adelaide worker Ark Tribe has been brought to court on a charge of refusing to attend an interrogation about a workplace safety meeting. He faces six months imprisonment and fines of $22,000. Where is Rann's protest in support of this courageous South Australian? The Communist Party demands the scrapping of the ABCC and one law for workers in all industries.

Meanwhile, there are almost 690,000 work-related incidents – including diseases, injuries and fatalities – each year. In 2007-08 there were 150 notified work-related fatalities. These official figures underestimate the true scale of the problem. In South Australia, the government has resisted moves to criminalise industrial manslaughter or toughen occupational health and safety laws in the lead up to the national “harmonisation” of this legislation. The CPA strives for tougher OH&S legislation, better organisation in the workplace and more inspectors to achieve the safe conditions workers must enjoy as their right.

The Rann Government oversaw a major downgrade of the state's WorkCover scheme. The current member for Lee, Michael Wright, was the Minister for Industrial Relations at the time. Sick and injured workers suffered and continue to suffer reduced entitlements as a result. WorkCover must be restored and improved. Savings must come from improved safety; not driving the sick and injured back to work prematurely. Workers in SA have paid a high price to create the “investment friendly” environment and it has to stop.

The CPA supports workers as they battle to maintain their conditions and pay in the face of the increased cost of living. It supports the state's teachers in the struggle for parity with their interstate colleagues and for a funding model that does not strip funds from struggling schools. It supports increased funding to public schools and a reduction of the funding going to elite private institutions.

The CPA takes climate change seriously. We agree with the Premier that 80 percent of the legislation and regulation that could do something about it is controlled by state governments. That’s why people are frustrated more is not being done by the Rann Government. The Communist Party’s policy calls for no more coal fired power stations to be built and for existing coal fired power stations to be phased out as soon as practicable. It calls for state owned industries to be established to produce the wind turbines and infrastructure needed for the move to cleaner energy sources.

The CPA opposes the expansion of uranium mining in the state. The shorter term economic gain is far outweighed by the environmental damage caused by this hazardous industry. At the existing Beverley mine, for example, there have been 59 reported spills of radioactive material in the past decade including one involving 62,000 litres of contaminated water in 2002. There is no requirement placed on corporations to ever clean up the radioactive plumes that will develop in ground water in the area as a result of the acid corrosion extraction method used at some locations.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent in the world. It is now suffering the consequences of decades of neglect and inaction over the Murray and other aspects of our water security. A desalination plant does not address the underlying problem of water use in our state and in Adelaide. More of our storm water must be harvested. A serious program to fit rainwater tanks at residential and commercial sites must be undertaken. More energetic measures must be taken to restore flows to the Murray and save its lower reaches.

Adelaide must reduce its dependence on the private car. Public transport needs a major boost across Adelaide and to country areas. Public transport is an urgent priority, not a pet project like the current tramline extension.

The CPA believes far too much is being spent on the military and that many of the community's needs could be met with a ten percent cut in defence spending. The Australian government spends over $70 million every single day on the military. Its defence white paper released in May foreshadows further massive increases in this expenditure for destruction.

The potential threats to our national security do not require the building or acquisition of more submarines, warships, Joint Strike Fighters and Aegis missiles. These weapons are being bought to help shore up the self-interested global military strategy of the United States. This course has caused Australians needless suffering and loss in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq in the past and continues now in Afghanistan.

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent by the Rann Government to attract military industries to the South Australia. Weapons manufacturers will be concentrated in a walled precinct beside the Port River. Powerful US weapons manufacturers are eyeing off local public schools for “partnerships”. Is this how we imagined our future?

Bob Briton will speak up for an alternative vision. Public enterprises must be created to provide green jobs manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels. Why should we wait two years for the supply of German trams for Adelaide's transport needs? We could build them here. It's time to break with the old thinking that has overseen the demise of our manufacturing base and is making us a bigger military target.

Listen to Bob talk about the CPA's election policies and more on community radio station WOW FM.