Pirate Party Proposes Another Way on Welfare

In the wake of the proposed cuts to Newstart that will see the newly unemployed have to wait a month before receiving benefits and people under the age of 25 being forced onto Youth Allowance with a reduced income, Pirate Party Australia calls for the introduction of a Universal Basic Income.

“We live in an era of increasingly precarious work lives, people are losing jobs to manufacturers based in the developing world and increasingly to automation,” said Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “The government’s response is to punish people who lose their jobs by forcing them to survive on no income for a month before they can receive benefits and forcing older people onto ‘Youth’ allowance. We believe there is another way.”

“We support the implementation of a Universal Basic Income to provide everyone with the means to survive, to get education, to try to set up their own businesses whatever they wish. Rather than forcing people into desperate situations or punishing them with made-up Centrelink debts, we should ensure that everyone has a place in society,” he continued.

The Pirate Party Universal Basic Income policy is based on the idea of applying a negative income tax, where every Australian is provided with a set amount each year, which is reduced at the tax rate until it reaches zero, at which point income tax starts to be paid. For more information see the detailed policy[1].

“This is part of the intergenerational war being waged on younger people by the government. With the cutting of TAFE funding, increasing HECS for Uni students, attacks on penalty rates, casualisation of the workforce, negative gearing cutting younger people out of the housing market, etc. the attacks on welfare add to a situation where young people are not being afforded the same opportunities as their parents. This is the first generation in Australian history where young people are likely to be worse off than their parents. This trend needs to be reversed. We need to ensure we support the next generation and work to provide a better life for all.” Mr Frew concluded.

[1] https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Platform#Merger_of_tax_and_welfare_systems.2C_and_establishment_of_a_basic_income

4 thoughts on “Pirate Party Proposes Another Way on Welfare

  1. The UBI concept wont work. Money is the Problem, (well, a part of one of the problems). Adding more problem to the Problem is only going t… Yeah, you get it. The problem you have here is that you have Welfare. Which you shouldn’t have, if you had an Economy that delivered the Wealth that you Need. And in this country, we don’t have an economy, well not an actually Economy. In an actual Economy, you generate actual Wealth that fulfills the actual Needs of actual Life that, funnily enough, you actually Live. What We got going on here, is a Money-Grubbing-Fuckery. You only solve that when you get rid of money.

    1. Nicho, why do you capitalise random words? Your argument is diminished by the fact you fail to articulate any point of any value, and then you clinch the fact that you’re a whackjob by not being able to grasp basic English grammar rules.

      Go back to the LNP or LDP where you belong, matey.

    2. Can you map out what is happening now and how it works and do the same for what you propose? – does not have to be overly detailed, a skeleton would be a good start on which to build?

  2. As a young person with many anxieties about the future job markets in Australia this proposal by the Pirate Party has secured my support.

    We hear all the time about the need for innovation in Australia but rarely give sufficient time or resources as many are preoccupied with an absurdly competitive job market, unpaid internships or contributing to the graduate glut.

    UBI will lead to an enormous surge in innovation as those looking to start a business will now have the opportunity to do so without risking their livelihood and young Australians will now have at least some resources to start.

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