[Powderworks] ALP
[name removed]
damienwieland at hotmail.com
Thu Sep 9 02:13:46 MDT 2004
Well mate I strongly disagree,
I applied for my membership to the ALP in about march this year.
There is good reason I did it too, I was really turned on by what
Mark Latham has been doing and saying even before he became leader, and the
day he got the numbers I was pumped
because I could feel that the ALP was back on track to becoming
our alternative government again.
I caught up with Pete the other week at the pub, before a more
formal ALP function in Melbourne later that night. The first thing
I said was "congratulations mate! I always thought you would make this move"
and he said he was pleased because he has
coped a lot of flak about his choice, though those that have known him well
are very supportive and thought it was the obvious choice too.
I explained that it was Mark's move to the front line that really
got my juices flowing (politically!) and that there was a great
spirit and vibe in the grass roots areas of the party that I have
been working and that you could feel that the reformist and
progressive heart was back in the party and that it's the right
time to get involved and make a difference. Had a good chat
about the old oils days and other things too (as Pete was more than happy to
take off the political hat for a while and catch up).
Though the thing that got me was that it was the most gentle
and grounded I have ever seen Pete and it surely is not about
a Peter Garrett power trip, though a "I hope I can do whatever I
can to give Aussies a better go trip". Now that's pretty refreshing
in politics and I wish Mark Latham and his crew the best of luck
in making Aus a place to be proud of again.
As far as ALP policy goes too... I was doing some work at train
stations yesterday and handing out cards for Lindsay Tanner
(Federal Labor Member for Melbourne) and I have one here
now and I thought I might quote some of the Labor policy on the back of
these cards on a few issues...
HEALTH
* invest $1.9 billion to revive Medicare and restore bulk billing.
* provide free dental care for pensioners and concession card
holders.
* fund pneumococcal, chicken pox and polio vaccinations for all
children.
* tackle childhood obesity and ban junk food ads on children's
TV.
ASYLUM
* remove all children from detention.
* restrict mandatory detention to 90 days for health, security and
identity checks.
* end the Pacific Solution incarceration of asylum seekers in
other countries.
* restrict Temporary Protection Visas to a one-off two year period
followed by permanent refugee status.
EDUCATION
* create 20,000 new university places and 20,000 new TAFE
places.
* abolish full fees at universities and reverse John Howard's 25
per cent HECS increase.
* scrap John Howard's bonanza for wealthy private schools and
all schools on a needs basis.
* establish a Youth Guarantee so all school leavers move on to
training or work.
ENVIRONMENT
* save the Murray-Darling river system through increased
environment flows.
* ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and develop a
national emissions trading system.
* raise the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target to 5% by 2010.
* protect our fragile beaches by stopping inappropriate coastal
development.
* ban free plastic bags in supermarkets.
Now that's some good policy to my ears, who will I be voting
for to make the most out of my efforts to get rid of the forth reich
I wonder.
Cheers,
Damien.
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