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'Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainity and agitation distinquish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones ... All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.' Marx

A critique of the Howard years « Previous | |Next »
October 8, 2006

In a speech entitled Expanded Opportunity or Welfare State, Craig Emerson, Labor MP for Rankin, explored ways to show people how the ALP would make their lives better and how we would make Australia a better country.The speech was delivered to CIS and it was a critique of of the Howard years.

Emerson began by acknowledging that Australia has become a more prosperous country over the last decade:

Average real wages have risen by more than 15 per cent. Unemployment is at a 30-year low. Inflation, too, has reached historic lows. Rising prosperity, low inflation and low unemployment are good for Australia.

He says that the foundations for prosperity were laid by the economic reform program of the previous Labor government and that much, but by no means all of which, was supported by the Liberal and National parties when in opposition. So what is the critique?

Emerson says that:

The last decade will go down in Australia’s history as an unprecedented era of wasted opportunity. Instead of using the proceeds of the productivity boom and the resources boom to expand opportunity for all Australians the Howard government has expanded the welfare state.During a period during which welfare dependency should have plummeted with rising employment and real wages, the Howard government has expanded the welfare state by half in real terms – funded by the highest levels of taxation in Australia’s history.
Moreover,
Australia’s education system is entrenching disadvantage. The denial of opportunity to disadvantaged young Australians is at the heart of a reasoned critique of the Howard years. The best, the brightest, the most creative young people do not reside exclusively in more affluent communities. Many highly-intelligent, brilliant young Australians live in poorer communities. Too often they are inculcated with the belief that they aren’t cut out to excel at school; that their highest legitimate aspiration is for a trade and they certainly shouldn’t aspire to a university education.

As a result, social exclusion remains a blight on Australia’s claim to be an egalitarian society. Family breakdown is endemic and financial hardship is especially prevalent in sole parent families.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 11:18 PM | | Comments (2)
Comments

Comments

Yes, this is EXACTLY what I've been thinking for some time! The Howard government has been awash with money yet infrastructure has been ignored, exacerbated by their squeeze on state finances (not that the states have been saints in this area either with their appalling neglect of public transport) and higher education has been put out of reach of many.

I'd suggest that one of the reasons why Australia has been doing so well is the free university educations enjoyed by the baby boomers. Now we are turning into a quarry.

And what about R&D? In the late 90s a mere $1m per year was provided for cane toad eradication. Now they threaten Kakadu and many other areas. The squeeze on CSIRO is another disaster with long term consequences.

As for the many millions wasted in Iraq ...

Sadly, the next generation will pay dearly for the government's short-sighted policies, with no more cash cow assets to sell off to offset profligate policies.

I read through it last night. It was a pretty comprehensive speech.