FREMANTLE — The WA Greens are running candidates in the upper and lower houses in the coming state elections under the slogan "Restore the Balance." Green Left Weekly's MICHAEL BRAMWELL spoke to Greens' candidate for the South Metropolitan area, JIM SCOTT (MLC) about the campaign.
Question: What are the key issues in this election campaign?
A key issue is the government's accountability and turning the upper house into a house of review with some ability to scrutinise legislation rather than being a rubber stamp for the lower house. We're also extremely concerned about the environment because the [Richard] Court government has the worst record on the environment that we've had for a long time.
Another important issue is the government's social program. It has turned out to be a government of accountants with very little concern about social issues in its push for privatisation. It has allowed the running down of hospitals and the slipping of education. In the industrial relations area it has done nothing about ensuring safe guards for young people and women in particular, and has targeted the weakest of the working people.
Question: What is behind the Greens' slogan "Restoring the Balance?"
We want to get the balance of power and make permanent changes to the upper house in order to make it a people's house rather than a party's house.
Question: How are the Greens differentiating themselves from the Democrats?
First, the Green Party is a part of a worldwide movement. Most of the international greens have similar platforms. They are part of a new philosophy which looks at the different systems of economics and base a lot of what they are doing on the biological side of life rather than the economic side.
The Democrats talk about "keeping the bastards honest". The Greens talk about kicking the bastards out and taking their place. The Democrats have moved a lot closer to the right than we have. We also differ in our internal processes. We don't have paternalistic structures with people at the top telling people at the bottom what to do. Their campaigns are driven from the top. The Greens structures and processes are grass roots driven so all decisions are made by all of the Greens.
Question: What are the Greens' industrial relations policies and what are you doing to oppose the current attacks on workers?
At the federal level [Greens' Senator] Dee Margetts put up a whole series of amendments to the IR bill, but they were all defeated by the Democrats' votes. The Greens campaigned against that legislation and we've also said that we will oppose any move to bring in the so-called "third wave" of industrial relations legislation in this state. I am on record as opposing the original IR changes in state parliament.
The key issues for us are the maintenance and strengthening of a central arbitration court in the Industrial Relations Commission. We want to make sure that workplace agreements and individual contracts are not secret so that workers can't be knocked off one by one. We want to see everything recorded at the IRC and scrutinised so that workers can be protected.
Question: How do the Greens view the issues of job creation and racism?
We believe that the "migrants taking jobs" story is a lot of nonsense. Living in a city like Fremantle one is aware that a great deal of employment is based on a whole lot of ethnic entertainments and foods. Without this we would have a much higher level of unemployment. The new ideas that people bring in are the spring boards of job creation.
Where we do have a problem with the race debate is that we are concerned about the level of immigration purely and simply in terms of the population that is sustainable in Australia. I'm very disappointed that the race debate so far has been irrational, and that it hasn't confronted key issues like sustainable population levels.
Along with migrants, the people getting slammed are the Aborigines. A lot of people are using this immigration platform to attack Aborigines, and if there's anything that is illogical that's it.
Question: How are the Greens relating to the recently formed Racism No! state election ticket?
It's important that they are standing because it will give the ethnic and Aboriginal communities the ability to express their concern at what has been happening and will give a good indication of the level of concern amongst these communities.
Question: The Greens have given across the board preferences to the Democrats over other parties. In the past there has been controversy over Greens' preference allocation, such as in the last Queensland election where the Greens gave preferences to the Liberal Party over the ALP in some seats. What principles guided the WA Greens' preference allocation?
We look at the party and the party platform in terms of a wide range of issues. We then look to see if they actually carry out the things they promise. We also look at the individual candidates and their record. The former Queensland ALP government certainly didn't have a great environmental or social record. It treated the Aboriginal population very poorly. The Queensland Greens quite rightly decided that they didn't want to be regarded as a sure vote for the Labor Party.
Question: What future do you see for the WA Greens post-election?
It's important that we at least maintain our current membership in the parliament. There's a good chance that we will get at least one more member in parliament. If we do, I think the green movement in WA will flourish. If we get knocked out altogether it's going to take quite a lot of rebuilding and refocussing.
As well, I have always been keen to see the WA Greens join with the Australian Greens and I think that there is now the mood within the WA Greens to join, so it will probably occur in the not too distant future. We will probably also have a stronger relationship with Greens in other countries.
Question: What strategies are necessary to successfully fight the Coalition's neo-liberal policies?
If we gain the balance of power in the upper house we will be in a much better position to oppose their measures. For that reason it is far more important, even over the survival of the Greens, that we gain that balance. If we don't manage that Australia is going to be a very different place in which to live by the turn if the century. A "fair go" and egalitarianism will be thrown out the window, replaced with a "me first" mentality.
I think people are going to have to live through some of the policies and their effects to wake up to how draconian they are. This will tend to revitalise resistance to the Liberal Party, which will probably come in the very near future.