Introduction
With strategies to address climate
change that are more reflective of the science than the two major parties, I became
interested in exploring the range of policies of the Australian Greens
(Greens). Coalition and Labor
politicians, Facebook friends, crazed Christians, Murdoch publications and semi-sensible
journalists are some of the many groups that sensationally blabber that the
Greens’ policies are extreme, irrational, and unaffordable. Finding limited information that critically
examines the Greens, a research paper by Dr Joy McCann from the Australian Department
of Parliamentary Services directed me to a 2011 book, edited by Andrew McIntyre, The Greens: Policies, reality and
consequences. McCann, a
respected Australian social and environmental historian, credits this as one of
the first books to critically examine the Greens. She states, “the expert contributors to [t]his book roundly
condemned the Greens’ policy agenda, variously describing aspects of it as
economically irresponsible, naive, internally contradictory and morally and
socially unsound”[1].
What McCann did not indicate is that
the 22 authors consist exclusively of conservative
politicians, political advisors, commentators, academics, and right-wing think-tank
representatives; all of whom prescribe to hyper-economic rationalism and/or Christian
moralism. This analysis will summarise
each chapter of the book, exploring the larger body of work of the authors, to deconstruct their
moral-, economic-, political- or other- agenda. The authors examine a range of Greens’
policies including Education; Health; Multiculturalism; Economics; and
Immigration. I will engage with experts to argue that the book does not address
the needs of all Australians, instead supporting policy for the economically privileged,
and the morally and socially conservative. Further, I will question the perceived left-wing bias of the
Greens, arguing that progressive policy needs to do more to provide a full-blown
critique of capitalism and economic rationalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment