Annerley ‘Town Hall’ Session: huge success

The local campaign to support the ‘Yes’ case in the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum saw a massive boost of support from southside residents with a recent ‘town hall’ session held in Annerley.

Hosted by Moreton MP, Graham Perrett, the public meeting was attended by almost 130 people and featured special guest, Eddie Synot, a well-regarded Griffith law lecturer.

Graham Perrett emphasised the Voice as a way to respect one of the World’s oldest and continuous cultures. “This about recognition and reconciliation”, he explained to participants. Graham commented that the Australian constitution not only fails to recognise our Indigenous people, our colonial past has had a devastating impact – which continues to this day.

Eddie Synot, a Wemba Wemba man, described the referendum as a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to ‘involve and give hope’ to First Nations communities. He spoke about the how the Voice was an ‘uniquely Australian’ construct, although other models from across the globe were examined. Eddie suggested that the Voice was important to many First Nations people as it would offer them a vital form of ‘dignity, respect and recognition’.

Eddie used the question and answer segment to address questions from the floor about the Voice and how it would supplement, rather than frustrate, our current parliamentary system.

More Voice to Parliament events are planned over the coming months and supporters of the Yes campaign are welcome to help out by emailing info@annerleylabor.org.

Annerley Labor is a formal supporter of the Yes campaign.

Members consider media law reform

Annerley Labor members, already supportive of a royal commission into Australian media diversity, used the April general meeting to discuss other aspects of much needed media reform.

The discussion encompassed a number of key issues such as defamation laws, ‘truth in political advertising’, reviewing the responsibilities of the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA), press freedom (including protection of whistleblowers) and more appropriate mechanisms to correct deliberately misleading articles or broadcast segments.

However, members re-iterated support for the Albanese government to set up a commission into media ownership, especially due to the growing concentration of just a few media companies that espouse a clear politically biased agenda. It is expected that the issue of media ownership will be raised at the ALP national conference to be held in Brisbane in August.

Branch ‘Agenda for Progress’ under review

Annerley Labor is close to finalising its formal policy advocacy program – Agenda for Progress – which is based on six main ‘policy pillars’: Just Society, Inclusive Economy, Responsive Government, Sustainable Planet, Co-operative World and Supportive Community. The program places the importance of meeting human need at its core and will outline the main issues that Annerley Labor will campaign on, in line with already articulated progressive values.

The draft Agenda, already circulated for feedback from members, will be considered at the 2 May general meeting. Once adopted, the Agenda will be prioritised by members, published online and reviewed on an annual basis.

LEAN push on forestry & land clearing supported

Annerley Labor has unanimously agreed to support efforts of Labor for Environmental Action (LEAN) to update the state’s policy platform on forestry and land clearing.

Recognising that the land sector represents roughly a quarter of all emissions in Queensland, LEAN’s platform amendments argue that it is ‘imperative that the government has a climate strategy in this sector, while protecting a sustainable forestry industry, transitioning workers from native harvesting to sustainable plantations’.

LEAN asserts that by reducing tree harvesting intended to increase grazing land, and ending harvesting of native habitat, the State Labor government will be in a better position to realise its stated goal of zero new extinctions.

With the Commonwealth Government reviewing the Emissions Reduction Fund and methods for creating Australian Carbon Credit Units following the Chubb review, identified changes will provide new opportunities for high integrity carbon credits created through ending logging and the clearing of forests and woodlands in Queensland.

Similarly, the implementation of the Samuels review into the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 will also create new mechanisms for protecting critical habitat and threatened species in both state forests and on private land.

The proposed platform amendments proposed by LEAN and supported by Annerley Labor include:

1. Develop a climate strategy for the land sector with strong targets and an industry plan for a world-leading land carbon industry which would create thousands of good regional jobs in managing land, forests and mangroves for carbon, and significantly expanding our plantation base.
2. Work in partnership with traditional owners to recognise and support First Nations knowledge of country and history of caring for country to ensure that traditional owners share in the benefits of this land carbon industry.
3. End native forest harvesting, in Queensland by 2025 with a fair and equitable transition to plantation timber.
4. End broadscale land clearing of forests and woodlands on private lands, through a combination of incentives, enforcement of existing laws and appropriate law reform.
5. Work with the agricultural sector to halve and entirely offset methane emissions from agriculture by 2030.
6. Support the commitment of the Queensland Jobs and Energy Plan to “review the planning framework for renewable energy development to ensure it is fit-for-purpose for the energy transformation” by amending State Code 23 (Wind Farms) to ensure that the Queensland Government can apply the best standards of biodiversity conservation for approval for renewable energy projects.

The State ALP Conference will be held in Mackay in June.

Support for ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ re-affirmed

Annerley Labor has formally re-iterated its support for the ‘full implementation’ of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which encompasses the commitment to a constitutionally enshrined voice to our national parliament and a ‘Makarrata’ Commission.

Members have already been very active in campaigning for the ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum on establishing the Voice to Parliament, by helping with two local community BBQs to talk to people about its importance . Another public event, this time a ‘town hall’ meeting in Annerley on 18 April with Labor Senator Pat Dodson, is also being planned and will be supported by members.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to the Australian people from First Nations Australians. It asks all Australians to ‘walk together’ to build a better future by establishing a Voice to Parliament and a ‘Makarrata’ Commission for the purpose of treaty making and truth-telling.

For more information about the Statement, visit https://ulurustatement.org/

Local Policy Conferences held on southside

Party members on Brisbane’s southside have participated recently in two important opportunities to shape the state Platform, with ‘local policy conferences’ held in Tarragindi and South Brisbane.

Local policy conferences are a vital part of the ALP’s policy development process and allows all members to consider and vote on motions and issues. They are uniquely a ‘grassroots’ mechanism that ensures members can collaborate on matters they believe need to be addressed by the Labor Party.

Annerley Labor members sponsored a number of resolutions at both conferences, which included:
o calling on the Queensland government to reverse its recent ‘youth justice’ legislation;
o calling on the Party to ensure a First Nations woman is preselected for a winnable spot on the ALP Queensland Senate ticket for the next federal election;
o supporting a permanent community centre physically located in Annerley;
o removing religious instruction from learning times across all Queensland state schools; and
o improving access to safe, active travel across our local road networks.

The next State ALP Conference, which will debate and update the policy platform, will be held in June in Mackay.

More action needed on rent reform

Annerley Labor is calling for further action on rental reform by calling on the State government to consider several key changes to legislation. With rental costs on the rise across the country and a reported 20% of renters being required to move out of their homes involuntarily, the issue of access to affordable housing for everyone has become a significant public policy issue.

Although there has been significant progress achieved by the state Labor government in regards to residential rental laws, Annerley Labor is highlighting that there are still matters that require urgent attention. In a resolution adopted by the Branch, the following suggestions have been highlighted:
o an immediate review of the Notice to Leave (NTL) mechanism which includes, but not limited to, end of lease evictions.
o the introduction of a cap on rent increases of no more than 75% of state CPI.
o imposing a financial penalty for removing a tenant from a property they have rented by falsely using the grounds of:
o a contract of sale,
o owner occupation,
o significant repairs or renovation,
o planned demolition or redevelopment, or
o change of use of property.

Annerley Labor believes that universal access to safe, secure and affordable housing is a fundamental human right and is essential for family wellbeing, relationships and good health as well as participation in education, employment and our local community.

Changes supported for aged care and superannuation systems

Changes to our superannuation and aged care systems have been called for to ensure there is funding for a ‘dignified retirement and old age for everyone’, rather than being a vehicle for wealth generation and inheritance planning for wealthier Australians.

Annerley Labor has called on the federal government to develop and introduce mechanisms that rebalance the contributions that older, wealthier Australians make towards their health and social care. These include:

o limitations on superannuation tax concessions, at a minimum in line with current suggestions of $3m balances,
o abolition of lifetime caps on means-tested contributions to both residential and home-based aged care (currently $73,000), as recommended by Aged Care Royal Commissioner Briggs,
o a one-time re-assessment of annual caps on means-tested contributions to both residential and home-based aged care (currently $30,000), followed by alignment with average increases in house prices,
o a one-time re-assessment of the home exemption cap in aged care assessment (currently $186,000) to bring it into line with current property prices, followed by alignment with average increases in house prices, and
o abolition of the 30% rebate for private health fund contributions for holders of superannuation balances above the current tax concession level of $1.7m.

In addition, Annerley Labor members, however, have applauded the recent announcement of the Albanese Labor Government to review the current, unsustainable tax concession for superannuation accounts of over $3 million.

Albanese Government given B+

Recently, members gave the Albanese Labor government the equivalent of a ‘B+’ in an interactive online poll that measured its performance to date.

Asked to rate the new government on its first 9 months in office, using a scale of 0-10, members participating in the poll, recorded an average rating of 8.3 – or a ‘B+’.

Like any government, there is always room for improvement, and another similar poll will be conducted later in this year to compare results.

Community Benefit Fund recipient announced

This year’s Catherine Bermingham Community Benefit Fund will be donated to Community Plus after a recent online vote by members.

Named after former Brisbane City Councillor, Catherine Bermingham (pictured), who served from 1997 to 2008, the fund provides money to local, non-profit community organisations that share Annerley Labor’s social and economic justice agenda. Organisations are chosen each year by members, with funds raised by a specially held event or a donations appeal.

Community Plus is active in placemaking, working alongside partners, stakeholders, other agencies and community members to provide valuable support services for people in need in Brisbane’s inner southside.

An online donation appeal to help support Community Plus and its valuable work, will be launched soon.