CUNNINGHAMNEWS

Newsletter of the Federal Member for Cunningham, Michael Organ MP

ISSUE 7 SEP 2004New Office - Globe Lane Wollongong Web - www.michaelorgan.org.au

ALP SELLS OUT ON FTA

Michael Organ & Independent MPs Bob Katter, Peter Andren and Tony Windsor face the combined force of the ALP and the Liberal/National Coalition to divide the House of Representatives on the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, 13th August 2004.

The US-Australia Free Trade Agreement is a gigantic con job. This was one of the comments that I made as the ALP voted for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) last time the Parliament sat in August. Only four MPs voted against the FTA in the House of Representatives (three Independent MPs and myself), and we were left to face the combined weight of the ALP and the Coalition who voted as one.

The FTA is not in Australia’s national interest.

Labor’s decision to support it was a let down because the FTA is a threat to manufacturing industry jobs in the Illawarra. Unions say more than 30,000 jobs, particularly in the car component manufacturing sector which relies heavily on steel, are threatened under the FTA.

Labor’s cave-in also delivers the cost of prescription drugs into the hands of the giant US pharmaceutical industry, as the recent Four Corners program graphically exposed.

The ALP’s so called protections of the PBS are manifestly inadequate. There has never been an independent assessment of the US- Australia FTA, so Australia is really flying blind into a deal with the biggest economy on the planet. Worse still it was all rushed through to suit the electoral timetable of the Prime Minister and to repair the leader of the Opposition’s standing with the White House.

The ACTU decided that the FTA is a trade deal in the immediate interest of US companies which will cost jobs in the manufacturing industries. The South Coast Labour Council agrees, with research suggesting the FTA will make Australia $47 billion worse off.

The Opposition identified 43 problems with the FTA, but nevertheless voted with the government to deliver a bad deal for Australia, the consequences of which have not been properly considered or scrutinised.

{The following testimonial was delivered to the House of Representatives on 12 August 2004}

Mr ORGAN (Cunningham) (4.45 p.m.) — I rise today to speak in memory of my dear friend Bill Whiley, who passed away last Thursday evening, 5 August, at the age of 76, as a result of the onset of asbestos related mesothelioma. Bill was an inspiration to many in the community, an outstanding trade unionist and community activist and a great Australian.

I came to know Bill on the Sandon Point community picket, set up in March 2001. Bill was an active supporter of the picket, and it remains in place as we speak due in large part to his efforts. Many an hour I sat there with Bill, listening and being educated about the way of the world and politics. Sandon Point was just one of the many union and community pickets he supported during his long life. Bill’s philosophy could best be summed up in the words: `If you don’t fight, you lose.’ He was a fighter for the ordinary Australian: a fighter to the death.

William Morton Whiley was born on 26 August 1927 at Millthorpe, near Orange. His father was a farmer and then a railway worker, and his mother was a schoolteacher and former dux of Fort Street Girls High School. Bill trained with the cadets during World War II, but the war ended before he could be called up. He began his working life in 1947 as a shunter on the New South Wales railways, based in Broken Hill and working throughout the western districts of New South Wales.

According to a recent interview by Jenny Dennis published in the Illawarra Mercury, an obituary by Paddy Gorman and material supplied by his family, Bill was radicalised by the 1949 coal strike. The following year, 1950, he got a job in the Broken Hill mines and joined the Communist Party because he was `fed up’ with the Labor party after it supported the jailing of Miners Federation leaders. Bill visited Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China in 1955, at a time when Australians were severely discouraged from doing so and were spied upon by their government when they did. His New South Wales Police Special Branch file attests to that—it was active right up until 1994.

Along with his good mate and mentor Bill Flynn, Bill Whiley fought the entrenched power of the ALP’s right wing on the Barrier Industrial Council and was the last Communist Party of Australia councillor elected in Broken Hill. Bill was a long-term member of the Broken Hill Field Naturalists Society and an early and strong advocate for conservation issues.

In 1975 Bill moved to the Illawarra and began his life as a coalminer at Coalcliff, north of Wollongong. He quickly became involved with the local union, and I understand that the manager was sacked because he hired him. Bill went on to become lodge president and was elected to the southern district board of management. In 1982 he was at the head of the hundreds of miners and steelworkers from the Illawarra who stormed Old Parliament House in Canberra.

His retirement from the coal industry in August 1987 only meant one thing for Bill: more time to spend on industrial and community campaigns. In 1988 he stood on an Independent/Greens ticket with well-known unionist and environmentalist Jack Mundey for the New South Wales upper house. In retirement, Bill served as the CFMEU Mining and Energy Division’s national returning officer. For the past few years Bill was secretary of the New South Wales Retired Mineworkers Association and at the time of his death he was secretary of the New South Wales Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association, in which he played a leading role in the campaign to protect Medicare.

I remember Bill working on the Woonona booth at the last federal election, in November 2001, handing out how-to-vote leaflets for the Greens candidate Carol Berry. He was in fine form that hot summer’s day, sweet talking and cracking jokes with all who came to vote, and using the line, `Don’t go grey, go Green,’ as he pointed to the shining grey-white locks on his head. Bill joined the Greens around the time of my election to this place in October 2002, and the Cunningham result and rise of the Greens throughout Australia in recent years had given him hope, he told me.

On 2 April this year he issued a press release on behalf of the Pensioners and Superannuants Association, entitled, `Luna Park smiles again—but half a million Australians still waiting to get their teeth fixed’. A month later he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and forced to come to terms with the fact that his days were nearing an end. Towards the end of July, Bill joined a unique band of activists to be awarded life membership by the South Coast Labor Council in recognition of his long involvement in significant industrial and political campaigns in the Illawarra.

I visited Bill at his home—a little cottage in amongst the bush on the side of the Illawarra escarpment at Wombarra—on Friday 30 July, just a week before his death. He took me aside. We slowly shuffled outside together and he told me how the frogs had returned to the little creek which runs by his house. He told me to keep fighting—for Medicare, for the poor and for those who need help. He was lobbying me to the last, just as he had done when he was in this place last December as representative of pensioners and superannuants across the nation. Bill was a warrior, a fighter, a great bloke. We loved him and will miss him dearly.

Bill is survived by his three children: Gregor, Andrew and Lyn. As Gregor informed me:

Bill was a rare individual who cared deeply about the lives of ordinary Australians and worked tirelessly at local, State and Federal levels to improve them. Bill was against unfairness, exploitation and inequality wherever it was found and Australians who knew Bill understood and respected those qualities, and gave him their encouragement and support regardless of their political affiliations. Bill’s ideals of openness, inclusion and tolerance were the antithesis of modern `wedge’ politics, and stand as an example to us all.

I rise here today in honour of the late Bill Whiley.

Bill Whiley 1927-2004

Bill Whiley (left) at the Save Medicare Rally, Wollongong, 1 October 2003.

“If you don’t fight, you lose.”

The recent backflip by ALP leader Mark Latham in deciding to support the Howard Government’s increase in the cost of prescriptions by $4.90 will savagely impact upon the lives of families in the Illawarra. The Greens were the only party to oppose this increase in the House of Representatives.

The ALP’s support for raising the price of PBS medicines to the tune of $1.1 billion per year is nothing short of a disgraceful betrayal of working class people. The decision will most severely impact upon the poor, the sick, the unemployed, the elderly and those with young children - in other words, the most vulnerable and needy in our society.

The Labor party hope to use the money to deliver tax cuts to the rich if they are elected to government in the near future. If they are not elected, then the people of Australia will be left with a legacy of dearer medicines.

This is nothing more than a sellout. The people of Australia want services, not tax cuts.

I recently met with Mrs Thelma Lear, a war widow from Bulli, who relies upon some 20 separate daily medicines to treat her asthma, thyroid, stomach ulcer and post surgery conditions.”

“I need this medication to stay alive”, Mrs Lear said. “I have no choice - I have to pay, even as a pensioner, the medicine and pills I need still cost around $40.00 per week. After these latest PBS increases, they will go up even more.”

As a result of these Labor supported changes, ordinary patients will pay $28.60 per script, up from $23.70, while pensioners and health care card holders will pay $4.60, up from $3.80.

National Tree DayNational Tree Day was celebrated at local schools in Cunningham on 23 July.

Michael marked the occasion by planting some native trees and shrubs with students and teachers at Smith’s Hill High, Wollongong. Joining Michael were Levi Olsen from Austinmer, Sara Oldfield of Woonona and Cassandra Smith of Dapto. All three are members of the School Environment Team (SET).

“In recent times SET has been involved in creating a rainforest walk on the school grounds. This latest planting is part of an ongoing program to beautify the area with native vegetation,” said Cassandra Smith.

“It was great to join with the students in the important task of planting trees on National Tree Day”, said Mr Organ.

“We know that development and natural attrition results in the loss of trees throughout the Illawarra on a daily basis. We need to ensure that trees are planted to replace them. This is for the ongoing health and well-being of our community and to ensure that ecological diversity is maintained.”

A number of teachers at the school, including Mr. Al Wetten, were also involved in the planting. It is sobering to remember that for every tree that is planted in Australia by Bushcare, Coastcare, school and community groups, hundreds are cut down as part of clear-felling, logging or development activity.

The fight to save the Illawarra Escarpment continues.

In a recent letter from the federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, the way forward in nominating the Illawarra Escarpment for the new National Heritage List was set out.

Senator Campbell outlined the process for bringing to the attention of the National Heritage Council the particular suitability of what world renowned environmentalist David Attenborough has already identified as the “Kakadu of the South.”

This is welcome news for the many people in the local community who have been fighting for decades to protect and preserve the Escarpment.

There is no doubt that it is an iconic feature of our landscape and, like Kakadu, of outstanding environmental heritage value to the nation.

It’s scenic, environmental, and Aboriginal and European cultural heritage values are well known and warrant protection.

As inappropriate development continues apace, I would encourage the community to nominate the Illawarra Escarpment for the National Heritage list today.

Nomination information and forms can be found at the Department of the Environment and Heritage website at: http://www.deh.gov.au/

ALP Supports Government Increase in Cost of Medicines

Michael Organ with Mrs Thelma Lear and her daily requirement of prescription pills and medicines.

Smith’s Hill High School Environment Team members Levi Olsen, Sara Oldfied and Cassandra Smith with Michael Organ.

Illawarra Escarpment National Heritage Listing

I recently attended a public meeting to consider a development proposal off Branch Avenue, Figtree. In attendance were numerous local residents and councillors from Wollongong City Council.

In considering the issues raised by the local community in opposition to the development proposal, I had a distinct feeling of dejavu. Once again we had local people raising real issues of concern regarding environmental, geotechnical, traffic and other planning issues.

The site contained an endangered ecological community, yet the proposed development would obviously have a negative impact upon the environmental values of the site.

A survey of flora and fauna carried out by local residents had identified species not found by the developer’s own consultant. As a result, a

Like many people in the Illawarra, I have watched with increasing anger the recent machinations of corporate giant James Hardie Industries as played out in the NSW Government’s special commission of inquiry into their liability for death and illness arising out of the production and sale of asbestos-related products in Australia and their inadequately funded medical research and compensation foundation.

James Hardie is an international, multi-billion dollar a year business. With such size comes a responsibility to look after victims of asbestosis and mesothelioma, and to properly fund all of its compensation liabilities, something it has not done to date.

I recently met with the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Canberra, where I asked him to forward to his government a request for a treaty with Australia so that Australian victims of asbestos related diseases can get access to compensation from James Hardie’s richer parent company in the Netherlands.

I also introduced a motion to the House of Representatives calling on James Hardie to take all possible steps to ensure that it pays full and fair compensation to the victims or the families of victims injured or killed by the asbestos products that it produced.

The motion also calls on the government to boycott all James Hardie products and services until it is satisfied that all of James Hardie’s current and future compensation liabilities are met; and for all political parties to redirect any donations they have received from James Hardie Industries into a trust fund for these victims and their families.

I also wrote to the Lord Mayor of Wollongong requesting that Council boycott the purchase or supply of James Hardie products. I hope that these efforts contribute to James Hardie acting in a more responsible manner in the upcoming weeks.

The recent announcement by the federal government that the University of Wollongong will finally get its long-awaited medical school is a great boost for the region.

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton, the Dean of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Professor Don Iverson, and local Wollongong doctors are to be congratulated for their persistence in lobbying for the innovative graduate medical school. Wollongong’s award winning university keeps on going from strength to strength.

Part of the school will be located at the University’s Shoalhaven campus but the facilities at Wollongong Hospital will be used as well.

I spoke about the issue in Parliament on a number of occasions, urging the government to commit funds for a medical school at Wollongong University. In addition, I lobbied the Minister for Education directly, met with local doctors and University representatives, and made a number of public statements supporting the initiative.

The establishment of the medical school should lead to greater numbers of doctors choosing to stay in the region and provide additional jobs at the University, on top of those arising out of the development of the University’s Innovation Campus.

James Hardie and Asbestos

Michael Organ & the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Canberra

detail report on the site had been prepared by the local residents to fill in the gaps. The community were now calling on councillors and staff to consider this information before making any decision on the DA.

Once again we see how the present council, state and federal government planning processes are resulting in environmental destruction and loss of ecological diversity within the Illawarra.

I wish the residents well in their fight.

I reminded them on the day that they were not alone, and that similar battles were being fought throughout the city, as locals stand up to developers who care little for the local environment and quality of life, and are merely motivated by greed, leaving residents and council to pick up the pieces of inappropriate developments.

Controversial Development Planned for Figtree

Michael Organ and Senator Bob Brown at Wollongong University’s Innovation Campus

Medical School a boost for the region

If you are one of the 200 to 230 people who each year seek to participate in the specialised Mature Workers Programme in the Corrimal and surrounding areas, well you are no longer able to. After around 15 years of assisting workers over 40 years of age to develop new skills and take on new jobs, the programme is being wound down by September this year.

Work opportunities in teaching, nursing, retail among others fields were possible for mature aged workers seeking assistance to enter new work areas. Now this focused support is gone and mature aged workers are left in the lurch.

The Family Support Project which assists those caring for loved ones who live with a mental illness has lost funding after 3 years. The Illawarra Association for Relatives and Friends for People with a Mental Illness (ARAFMI) is contacted by around 2000 people per year and many are reaching out to the Family Support Project for counselling, support and referrals. As this particular project focuses on the needs of those caring for others with a mental illness, then it follows that the burden will flow onto existing medical services. In cases where people living with a mental illness can’t gain access to professional services, they are regularly

CUTBACKS TO LOCAL WELFARE SERVICES

3.01pm, 11 August 2004 – House of Representatives:

Mr ORGAN — My question is directed to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister assure the electors of Cunningham and all Australians that he will act to ensure that no human being will be indefinitely incarcerated in Australia’s immigration detention centres, especially if they have committed no crime or, for reasons beyond their control, cannot be removed from Australia? If yes, when will the Prime Minister act to remove this gross abuse of human rights and the law which is bringing shame upon this nation.

Mr HOWARD — I can assure the electors of Cunningham—indeed, all the electors of Australia—that, for so long as I am Prime Minister, the laws of this country applying to immigration will be upheld.

On Wednesday, 6 August, the High Court of Australia ruled that the government’s action in indefinitely detaining people in immigration detention centres was legal. The decision was split 4-3.

On Monday, 11 August, I told a large crowd protesting on the forecourt of Parliament House that the government‘s new found power to lock people up indefinitely was a disgrace and that the Migration Act should be repealed to curb it.

“What kind of country allows a person to be imprisoned forever without charge? Only a country with a heartless leader. It is disgusting to know that people have been detained for years without charge, now we know that they may be imprisoned forever and the government still sits on its hands.”

Minister Vanstone has said she will review all of the long term detention

vulnerable to homelessness, physical abuse and neglect.

Lifeline’s 24 hour phone counselling service is a community help line for those struggling with mental illness, loneliness and social upheaval that consequently robs them of the ability to fully participate in and enjoy life. A skilled worker and compassionate listener at the end of a phone line can and does save lives. For an annual funding grant of $65,000 our local emergency phone counselling line can meet a significant need being expressed by the thirteen thousand callers who contact Lifeline for help each year.

In these 3 snapshots of the more than 20 essential community services that face funding cuts or reductions in this district, we are witnessing an alarming lack of commitment by Federal and State Governments to the needs of vulnerable people and groups in our community.

I will continue to call upon the relevant Ministers to provide adequate and ongoing funding for essential services. These funds must include money for specialist permanent workers and the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of the most powerless.

cases and so she must. One day in prison without committing a crime is one day too long. The Opposition leader must clearly state his unequivocal rejection of indefinite mandatory detention.”

This Government’s policy means that there are 971 people in Australia’s immigration prisons, 80 from Afghanistan, 113 from Iran and 11 from Iraq. All are countries that either cannot protect human rights or trample over human rights.

Only people that commit crimes should be put in prison and that no-one should be detained indefinitely under any circumstances. Government policy is creating a sea of misery in Australia’s detention centres.

Government confirms policy of indefinite detention of asylum seekers

At any time the Prime Minister could call a federal election. Make sure you are enrolled to vote so you can have your say about who should run the country.

You cannot vote unless you are registered on the Electoral Roll. Voting is compulsory for all Australians over 18, so it’s important to keep your address and name details current. You can check and update these at Post Offices, Electoral Offices and on the Electoral Commission’s website - www.aec.gov.au.

This website is really helpful, as are the staff at Electoral Offices – if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact them on 13 23 26. You need to post or fax forms back, so don’t leave it too late.

You can also call our office on 4228 3666 to get a form sent to you.

There are special arrangements for voters with disabilities, the homeless, citizens living overseas, people living a long way from a polling station, people who are ill or in hospital, some prisoners – the list goes on, but you need to register for these too.

REMINDER: MAKE SURE YOU ENROL TO VOTE!

‘Hearts for Refugees’ - Illawarra residents supporting International Refugees Day in the Crown Street Mall, Wollongong, 20 June 2004.

Australia really wants everyone to have their say, no matter what their circumstances, all you need to do is make sure you are correctly enrolled.

Sports on Free-to-air TelevisionThe recent failure by SBS to secure the rights to the Euro 2004 soccer cup – a world class football event – brought home to many Australians the fact that the government’s “Anti-siphoning” laws are severely limiting the sport options available to those who cannot afford a Pay TV subscription.

With less than 25% of the population signed up to Pay TV, this means that the remaining 75% who can only watch free-to-air television are missing out. And the situation is likely to worsen.

The governments anti-siphoning scheme is supposed protect the access of Australian viewers to events of national importance and cultural significance on free-to-air television by giving priority to free-to-air television broadcasters in acquiring the broadcast rights of those events.

However the government recently released their amendments to the anti-siphoning list of sports which will be available to free-to-air tv from 2006, and some of the items that have been dropped include: the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby, Australian Test Match and One Day International Cricket played outside Australia and the UK, National Soccer League matches, Australian National Basketball League playoffs, US PGA and US Open Golf , Overseas Formula 1 and Motorbike Grand Prix races, and V8 Supercar

Truth in government is one of the tests of any democracy. Unfortunately this principle has been under threat in recent years – particularly from John Howard and his Ministers.

From the children overboard affair to the invasion of Iraq, it has become increasingly clear that the Howard government has misled the Australian public on very important issues. One of the people who has exposed the Howard government’s fabrications is former intelligence officer Andrew Wilkie.

On 23rd July Andrew Wilkie visited Wollongong to join with Michael in a forum held at the Illawarra Regional Gallery. In 2003 Andrew Wilkie quit his job at the Office of National Assessments (ONA) to blow the whistle on the Howard government’s deception about the reasons for sending Australian troops to Iraq. Since leaving the public service Andrew Wilkie has joined the Greens and is now running against John Howard in the seat of Bennelong.

While in Wollongong, Wilkie spoke about his experience of the politicisation of the Australian intelligence services under John Howard’s prime ministership. Wilkie is the first of a number of former public servants who have publicly voiced their concerns about the distortions and lies by the current government – particularly about refugees and the war against Iraq.

Other senior public servants have recently confirmed what the Greens have always argued – that the prime minister lied about the children overboard affair and misled the Australian public about the reasons for invading Iraq

First there were the 43 prominent former diplomats and senior defence officials who signed an open letter saying that the prime minister misled the Australian public about its reasons for invading Iraq.

Then there was the statement by Mike Scrafton, former Departmental adviser to the Minister for Defence, that he had told John Howard during the ‘children

WILKIE VISIT HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR TRUTH IN GOVERNMENT

Andrew Wilkie at a recent forum in Wollongong

Keen soccer fans Marcel van Wijk and his son Adam.

Races, apart from the Bathurst 1000. The Soccer World Cup in 2010, Euro 2008, the English Premier League, and the Rugby Super 12’s have also been left off the list.

The government and the Labor opposition have no plans in place to ensure that, into the future, ordinary Australians who cannot afford Pay TV will have access to these international and culturally significant sports events.

Both of the major parties seem happy to bow to the commercial interests of the private sector Pay TV operators at the expense of the public interest in accessing world sports on Free to Air television. It seems that they are both prepared to let the majority of Australians miss out.

Elite sport in the modern era is driven by money – money to pay for facilities and money to pay for the athletes, coaches and administration. However, if the government, sports administrators, and the media networks, fail to take care of the fans, then they will loose patronage and sponsorship. Furthermore if they fail to provide coverage to the majority of young Australians how will they watch and learn? How will they be encouraged and be inspired to pursue their skills? In the long term sport loses its juniors and it loses its future support base.

The outrage over the Euro2004 soccer tournament gave rise to comment in Federal parliament by myself and others, along with a public campaign by SBS, and the GiveMeSoccer.com web site. It contains an online survey designed to provide the basis of a petition to the Australian Government regarding the lack of free-to-air soccer available to Australian Soccer fans.

Australians love their sport. They love participating and watching. It seems that watching premier sport on free-to-air tv, and especially on SBS and the ABC, will become a rarity in the not too distant future.

The days of sitting up late on a Sunday night, turning on channel 9 or 10 for Barry Sheen’s live call of the 500cc motorbike grand prix, featuring Wollongong’s own Wayne Gardner are long gone. Their like may never return.

The anti-siphoning list s not working in the best interests of all Australians. If this system is not changed, sports lovers will be forced to go to Pay TV to see their favourite sports, and the reality is that not everyone can afford this. This clearly discriminates against people who cannot afford it. It discriminates against the working class, pensioners, the unemployed and the underemployed.

I will continue to fight for the right of all Australians to have access to International and culturally significant sporting events on Free to Air television.

overboard’ affair that there was no evidence to support the Prime Minister’s claim that refugees had thrown children from their boats into the water. This advice was ignored by John Howard, who told the Australian people that children had been thrown overboard. This was later viewed as one of the key turning points in the Liberal’s victory at the last election.

I applaud Andrew Wilkie and others who have spoken out against the Howard Government’s deceptions over Iraq and refugees. I am confident that history will remember them as courageous Australians who put the public interest first.

The following is an excerpt from a speech I gave to the House of Representatives on 13th May this year about Parliamentary Superannuation. I tried to abolish the current system of 69% public funding so that it equalled the 9% contribution that the wider community receives. Both the Government and the ALP voted against my amendment.

Mr ORGAN (Cunningham) (5.04 p.m.) — I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Parliamentary Superannuation Bill 2004 and the Parliamentary Superannuation and Other Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill 2004. I welcome these bills because they cover a subject which the Greens have long held concerns about and which the wider community is deeply critical of—namely, the present federal parliamentary superannuation scheme.

As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration so boldly declared in his second reading speech:

The package of bills delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment to bring superannuation arrangements for parliamentarians in line with current community standards.

That is right: `in line with current community standards.’ If only! In the very next sentence the parliamentary secretary goes on to tell us:

The new arrangements will have no impact on the existing superannuation arrangements for sitting senators and members.

So once again we have the government saying one thing and doing another: spin doctoring, mistruths—whatever you want to call them. It is no wonder the public is cynical about politicians.

It is fair to say that parliamentary superannuation is an issue close to politicians’ hearts—so close in fact that the parliament continuously legislates about it. As a result, current members of parliament receive what many in the community consider to be massive taxpayer funded superannuation entitlements. There is no doubt about that. These entitlements are clearly out of step with community standards and have been for a long time now. For instance, who could forget the furore surrounding the former Queensland Senator Bill O’Chee, who received a $45,000 per year pension, indexed for life, at the ripe old age of 33? This was when most other Australians could not get access to their super until at least the age of 55 or, more normally, 60 or 65. Michael Wooldridge, Peter Reith and Gareth Evans, to name a few, were all major beneficiaries of the current overly generous parliamentary superannuation scheme and are all now leading successful corporate lives with a nice little leg-up from the Australian taxpayer.

The nice little earner is the 69 per cent of a $100,000-plus per year salary—a taxpayer funded superannuation contribution scheme—which politicians receive for every year they hold office. That contribution towers alongside the nine per cent superannuation contributions that the vast bulk of Australian workers receive. That is right: a 69 per cent contribution as opposed to nine per cent for ordinary Australians. On top of the superannuation tower, politicians receive other benefits, like the gold travel pass—a rort which I moved to abolish last year with the help of the member for Calare, and which has since been dutifully ignored by the government and the opposition.

From all that, it is clear that the two bills before us today should be treated with a healthy dose of scepticism—even more than is typically warranted when we receive legislative proposals from this government. I hope the media pays as much attention to these bills and the issues dealt with here as the Australian Greens and the member for Calare and others have. In fact, there is a great story in these bills—a story that is repeated throughout history when people are allowed to make up rules for themselves. It is a classic case of `feathering the nest’ and `an applied conflict of interest’ rolled into one. The result is that parliamentary superannuation in Australia delivers millions into the pockets of retired politicians for our particular, special and exclusive brand of public service. In fact, the Department of Finance and Administration’s 2002-03 annual report points out that parliamentary superannuation was provided for by the taxpayer to the extent of over $504 million during that year. That is a lot of university places, medical services, books and resources for our schools, and poverty alleviation, in anyone’s language.

It is no wonder, then, that any discussion that concerns the size of politicians’ superannuation is a sensitive one to politicians and that it hits a raw nerve out there in the wider community. In fact, it is largely taboo amongst politicians, with few, but notable, exceptions. These include Ted Mack, the former member for North Sydney, who, I understand, resigned from the parliament so that he would not be entitled to the parliamentary pension, which he strongly disagreed with. Likewise, the Member for Calare and Greens Senator Bob Brown have been staunch advocates for change over recent years.

I have been a participant in this chamber for over 18 months now, and I believe that the vast majority of politicians in this place are hardworking, if not extremely hardworking. Whether we all agree with the actual work that various politicians do, right or wrong, it has nevertheless been argued over time that this kind of hard work deserves extra recognition in the form of extraordinary superannuation benefits.

But whether it is hard work, right work or wrong work, the Australian Greens believe it does not require a 69 per cent publicly funded superannuation contribution in order for the fund to be fair and reasonable. As such, I will be seeking to amend these bills in the consideration in detail stage because I believe they do not go far enough in bringing federal parliamentary superannuation in line with community standards.

Firstly, there will be arrangements for politicians elected prior to 2001, who will also be able to obtain their pensions prior to the age of 55. Secondly, there will be arrangements for politicians elected after 2001, who will not be able to receive superannuation until after they turn 55 but will stay on the higher 69 per cent rate. Finally, the new stream of politicians elected at the next election and subsequent elections will receive nine per cent funded superannuation. Frankly, it is a policy mess, and it is a clear demonstration of what happens when politicians protect their own.

Current members are untouched by these bills and, frankly, it is just not good enough. Politicians should be treated in the same way as the rest of the community—period. That means closing down the 69 per cent taxpayer funded contribution scheme now. Accordingly, in the consideration in detail stage I will be moving the amendments circulated in my name, which seek to bring all politicians’ superannuation entitlements in line with community standards.

Speaking out against Pollies Perks

Michael Organ MP addresses the House of Representatives

Have you seen Michael’s website? It contains all Michael’s parliamentary speeches, motions and media releases as well as references to the work Michael’s office is doing in the Illawarra. The website is at www.michaelorgan.org.au Have a look and let us know what you think. Better still, make it a favorite to look at during the election campaign.

Michael’s web address – a great resource

On 9th August 2004, the United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was celebrated. In a speech to the House of Representatives, I brought to the attention of the parliament the shameful position adopted by the Howard Government in regards to the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Under the auspices of the UN, the declaration was drafted between 1985 and 1995 by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and then handed over to a special working group comprising nation states and Indigenous organisations.

Prior to the election of the Howard government in 1996, Australia was leading the way in supporting Indigenous rights.

However, things changed dramatically and tragically when the present government took control.

In a disgraceful move, in 1998 this government rejected the use of the term `self-determination’.

This is a core issue for Indigenous peoples around the world, and the decision was soundly opposed by all Indigenous groups and many governments.

Today Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan are seen as the fiercest challengers to the fundamental principles underlying the declaration, including those of self-determination, promotion of Indigenous language and collective rights.

Roy “Dootch” Kennedy, one of Australia’s representatives at last year’s working group meeting in South Africa, and a supporter of the Sandon Point Aboriginal Tent Embassy informed me that the Australian proposal would “.. water down the rights of Indigenous Australians and make it more difficult to pursue those rights in the future.”

The working group is due to meet in September and then in December to finalise the declaration and pass it on to the UN for ratification.

This present government shames us all by its opposition to the draft declaration and its advocacy against Indigenous rights and sovereignty, alongside the recent abolition of ATSIC and the mainstreaming of Indigenous health, education and employment programs.

WORLD INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DAY

Roy “Dootch” Kennedy speaking about Illawarra Aboriginal culture during a recent tour of the Wodi Wodi walking track, Stanwell Park with 65 local residents.

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Michael Organ MPFederal Member for Cunningham

Wollongong Office:

Shop 501 Globe Lane,Wollongong NSW 2500

PO Box 387 Wollongong NSW 2520

Phone: 02 4228 3666

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Michael and his office can help provide assistance and support with the following:

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