Policies

We believe that the role of a stay at home parent needs to be valued by both Government and Society. Stay at home parents provide love, stability and the nurture a child requires during his/her formative years. An appropriate tax deduction should be given to working parents to compensate the stay at home spouse for the care given to each child.

Baby bonuses should in the form of cash vouchers for the purchase of essentials for parents under the age of 18 years. The Government must not be seen to encourage youth pregnancy for the sake of financial remuneration.

Many families today consist of single parent families and these caring parents need to be encouraged to work and not rely on welfare. Single parent Tax offsets need to be made available in order to assist the parent and the welfare of his /her children.

The role of Grandparents in society has largely been taken for granted by successive Governments. Today, we find Grandparents increasingly taking over the role of their children and providing primary care for their grandchildren- without any financial remuneration. We propose that an extra allowance be made available to Grandparents who are the primary care givers to the children of working parents.

We value learning and our education institutions. The role of the Government is to provide society the highest standard available in terms of educational institutions and resources made available to them.

Six years of High School education determines the career paths of our future adults. These young people become the nation’s future leaders, tax payers and will shape our nation’s destiny. It is therefore quite important to equip young people with the best education and resources to help them make their important transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Knowledge is the greatest gift society can bequeath onto its children. We thus believe it is important to take the following steps.

Australia must have a national syllabus of education. A national model for the Higher School Certificate is needed so that each State is not disadvantaged. A child should be able to move schools from State to State without any hindrance or disadvantage.

A firm knowledge of our State and Commonwealth Constitutions with studies in political ideology and workings of Government is needed. High School students need to learn to be politically savvy and well equipped to make the right decisions. Students must be encouraged to participate in democracy and to value the freedoms it brings to society. We must not encourage youth apathy.

We believe that it is imperative for all High School students to be given training in First Aid. First Aid Certificates should be mandatory for the completion of the Higher School Certificate.

Students should be taught vehicle maintenance and driving skills at school. Driving a car is an aspiration of many young teenagers. We as a society should encourage safe driving skills in all state and territory schools.

Bus and Rail passes should be made available to all students irrespective of home distance.

All classrooms should be equipped with cooling systems ie airconditioners to keep the rooms cool during the summer months. A comfortable learning environment needs to be created for our students at all times.

Rainwater tanks should be installed in all State Schools. It is important to educate children on the conservation of water and for the Government to set a good example.

A police presence is needed in our schools to prevent drugs, weapons and other contraband goods from entering our schools. Police should be given the power to conduct random searches in our schools to discourage students from participating in gangs and other illegal activities.

Parents have the right to send their children to a Public or Private School knowing that their taxes support both streams

The first year of University is the most crucial and important in the life of any High School leaver. As an incentive to complete the chosen degree and to ensure that attention to appropriate study is given during the first 12 months of study, we believe that the first year of University should be HECS free to those who complete a full time schedule successfully.

A transport fare tax deduction up to a certain threshold should be allowable to all working secondary and tertiary students.

Many in our community feel that justice system is not tough enough and rightly so. We believe that in sentencing criminals should be given a sentence with light or hard labour. This is a way of showing potential criminals that not only will they do time in gaol but they will also work and pay back the tax payers for keeping them there. Convict labour can be used to build much needed infrustructure and whatever other purposes the Government of the day see fit.

We believe that people issued with a penalty notice should be given the option of paying the fine, going to court or doing community service. Issuing penalty notices should not be a way for Government to raise revenue.

Our Health system has failed our society. The divide between State and Federal responsibility has meant that the blame will continually be passed from one jurisdiction to another. The Federal Government should take over the Health system and fully fund our public health system. Hospitals should deliver high quality services to the taxpayer and waiting times for surgery should not exceed an acceptable threshold.

Our National Health system must assure that children receive the utmost attention during their schooling years. Routine health checks should be conducted from kindergarten to year 6 with a report issued to the child’s parent or carer twice a year.

Our Nurses and allied Health Professionals deserve the full support and co-operation of the Government and the Health System. More training places need to be made available to University students and those wishing to upgrade their qualifications. Nurses that are trained in hospitals are far better equipped than those who have merely studied but gained some hands on practical experience.

To ensure that the Health Department is run by a committee representing all the Local Area Health Services. Our hospitals need to have a voice. All bureaucracy needs to be minimised. The Health Minister should act on the advice of the appointed committee wherever possible.

We believe that we must conserve water and minimise its waste. All schools and Governmental institutions should be using rainwater tanks to harvest what water they can from natural rainfall.

We believe that all Schools and Governmental institutions should be equipped with Solar Powered Panels to generate their own electricity. This will reduce their reliance upon coal burning energy production.

More of our Industrial rubbish needs to be sorted and recycled. This would mean that more recycling centres would have to be built.

The Australian Business Party feels that people in Australia are over taxed. We would like to see all individuals pay the same base percentage on their incomes which would be no more than 15% with a tax free threshold of $15,000.

We feel that all people should be taxed on expenses rather than personal income. Those with more to spend will buy more goods and help small business grow. This would increase spending and hence tax collection. The Australian Business Party feels that the GST can gradually be increased to compensate the Federal Government for the loss of personal income tax if need be.

The Australian Business Party calls on all States to abolish Payroll Tax. This tax is a disincentive for Businesses to employ more people. It is time that all States gave this tax up.

The Australian Government should help Small Business grow by direct investment. The Government should play a role in helping individuals set up factories and establish Australian Manufacturing. Greater encouragement is needed to help manufacture Australian inventions that have market viability. We must help those small businesses that need Government assistance.

Unions ought not be given authority to enter a Business premises; nor to demand right of entry on behalf of their delegates or representatives. The role of Unions should be to provide advice and services to their members externally and not at the workplace directly.

Union members can make reports and submissions to their Unions and allow for a follow up after the Union has examined the issue. Unions may write formally to Business owners making requests on behalf of their delegates or representatives or may even arrange for a meeting.

Employees should be entitled to negotiate terms of work with their employers without Government interference. Employers should not force, nor encourage their workers to forgo any entitlements to which their employees are entitled to.

Unfair dismissal awards should be capped to prevent abuse or privilege of position.

Employers should have the right to dismiss an employee without having to give 3 warnings. In this scenario we believe a payout figure of 3 months base wages would be appropriate.

A job is a privilege not a right.