Peter Kavanagh will use his position within the Victorian Parliament to pursue and vote for those of the initiatives below that are appropriate to the State level of government.
Additionally, he will use his position as the only, or one of only few Parliamentary voices for the principles of the Democratic Labor Party, to contribute to national debate on the following objectives that are relevant to the Federal level of government.
The average home in Victoria now costs well over $360,000. Purchasers must now pay approximately $19,000 in stamp duty and other taxes in order to purchase an ordinary home. In November 2005 Premier Bracks announced additional taxes of between $5,000 and $8,000 on new homes! These new taxes will be passed on to buyers of new homes in Victoria. The Victorian government thus charges couples three, four, five or perhaps even ten years of savings for the privilege of providing their families with a home!
The DLP is proud of its role in the past as an instigator of financial assistance to first home buyers. Reducing the burden on families of buying a home and, if possible, to replace that burden with significant assistance should be a top priority.
In line with the misguided views of most of the extreme Left around much of the world, the Bracks’ government has simultaneously adopted measures to prevent the building of dams. Advertisements, at taxpayers’ expense, promote Mr Bracks as the saviour of the emerging crisis. Mr. Bracks appears on the advertisements (at my cost and yours) to tell us that dams are not the answer, “they only move water from one place to another!” Actually, of course, dams are an essential part of ensuring that future water supplies will be adequate.
Environmentally responsible dams should be built.
The law on abortion in Victoria is based on a judicial decision of the 1969 (the "Menhennitt Ruling") which, theoretically, allows abortion only in order to save the life of the woman who is carrying the baby or to save her from severe mental or emotional damage. In practice there is unrestricted access to abortion in Victoria.
Pro abortion forces have been so successful in generating indifference and even hostility to the unborn that the theoretical restrictions on abortion in Victoria have not been enforced for decades.
In late 2005 the Victorian ALP voted to remove the remaining, if nominal, protections for the unborn in Victoria. In May 2006 the ALP state conference voted overwhelmingly and explicitly against proposed amendments to retain legal restrictions on "partial birth abortion", in reality a form of infanticide, the killing of babies even as they are being born. Mr Bracks is reported to have made a "secret pact" with MPs in his party, guaranteeing that he will implement this policy but still maintains in public (as of the end of July 2006) that he has not made up his mind on this matter and will not do so before the election!
Many Liberal Party MPs support the ALP's "initiative" on abortion. It is therefore virtually certain that both abortion generally and the "partial birth abortion" form of infanticide will be legalised if the ALP is re-elected in Victoria.
In my view Victoria's abortion laws should not be repealed but should be enforced. This will require long term efforts to educate the Australian public, there is little hope of justice for the unborn until public attitudes have changed. That task will not be easy but is one that should be made more effective by new technologies which allow babies in the womb to be viewed in amazing clarity. These images make it perfectly clear that human life begins well before birth. If elected I will do my best to persuade the Parliament and people of Victoria that the unborn deserve protection.
As for the form of infanticide known as "partial birth abortion", the Australian people do not need education to know that it is wrong, a gross injustice against the victim and should not be allowed. If elected I will support and promote laws which institute criminal penalties against perpetrators.
The DLP has long championed the cause of decentralisation. Victoria would be a better place if its population were more evenly distributed. Advantages would include reduced social alienation and therefore lower crime, increased housing affordability, improvements to the environment and enhanced security.
The DLP supports locating government facilities and services in such as way as to increase the attractiveness of regional and rural areas as places to live.
Inciting violence against others has, for many years, been against the law, and properly so. The Victorian government made an additional law in 2001 (the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act), however, which makes it a criminal offence to say things that could offend members of other races or religions. This goes far beyond the realm of proper regulation and is an unwarranted attack on Australia’s tradition of free speech.
This misguided legislation should be repealed.
Australia’s economy has performed well over recent years with one glaring exception, the Balance of Trade/Payments. Australia will not be able to indefinitely continue to import far more than we export.
One step that should be taken immediately is to reduce access to our markets for countries that do not allow Australia access to their markets. Furthermore, if there is dumping by foreigners into Australian markets (the sale of foreign goods at artificially low prices, with a view to wiping out Australian producers), the onus at present of proving that dumping is taking place is on the Australian producer. This onus should be reversed. Where it is reasonable to think that dumping is taking place it should be up to the importer to prove otherwise.
Australian manufacturing industry has long been in decline. It faces even greater challenges ahead from developing economies, especially China. If Australian manufacturing continues to decline, where will future jobs be created?
The success of SPC is only one example of the dramatic difference to enterprise that profit and ownership sharing by workers can make to the viability of industries (Leading members of the ALP attempted to prevent this). This is a challenge ignored by other parties. The DLP has long promoted the idea that workers should share in the profits of enterprises and in the actual ownership of businesses. There are moves in this direction from the Commonwealth but the changes are far too little and far too slow.
Businesses should be offered tax breaks and other incentives to share ownership and profits with their workers.
The DLP supported Conservation and Environmental Protection long before it was fashionable. Strides have been made in cleaning our air and waterways but a lot more must be done, including helping farmers to protect the land from erosion and rising salt. This needs to be a high priority of all governments in Australia.
Australia is fortunate to face few clearly identifiable threats to its security from foreign nations. Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that possible medium to long range risks remain. Defence spending should at a level sufficient to maintain a deterrent capability Governments should also make preparations which would allow that capacity to be significantly expanded at short notice if the need arises. Wherever possible, Australian industries should be developed to produce Australia’s defence needs.
Over the last three decades or so, well-intentioned attempts have been made to right some wrongs of the past—Australians have allowed their government to grant privileges from Aboriginals based purely on race. The time is drawing near to end all discrimination based on race and move to government assistance based purely on need. Australia is in danger of creating a permanent, privileged minority with future generations of non-Aboriginals permanently treated as second class citizens.
The DLP was the first existing political party in Australia to call for an end to the White Australia policy. The views of many Australian politicians on immigration today seem to be premised on the assumption that Australia’s immigration policy should be geared towards benefiting migrants and would be migrants. Immigration on the whole, is, beneficial to Australia but our immigration should explicitly be directed to advancing Australia’s interests.
To the extent that multiculturalism means ethnic diversity it is a proper policy. To the extent however that multiculturalism means funding 'non Australian' cultural activities in order to prevent 'assimilation' then it is a policy that should be ended immediately. Migrants should be expected to become part of the wider Australian community. In a free country, immigrants should be free to engage in pursuits not conducive to this aim but those activities should not be funded by the Australian taxpayer. Immigrants convicted of serious crimes before obtaining citizenship should be deported.
Although the Howard government has reduced the discrimination in our tax system against one-wage families, much more remains to be done. An Australian wage earner in a one-wage family with a spouse and three children who earns $50,000 a year really makes around one fifth of that ($10,000) for each member of his or her family. The tax to be paid on his or her income should not be the tax on $50,000, but five times the tax on $10,000 (a vastly lower amount in total). Although the tax system could not withstand the immediate reduction in revenue that this reform would involve, justice demands that it is a measure that should be worked towards.
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