A Greens proposal to force Australians to pay billions of dollars in reparations for climate change and “colonialism” – and raise taxes on “large” family inheritances – has been criticised as “madness”.
Documents on the party’s website outline a little-known economic programme that would have a major impact on younger generations, already facing exorbitant rents and property prices, relatively low wages and inflated HECS repayments.
According to the documents, the party has reinvented the idea of an inheritance tax, which has traditionally been unpopular in Australia, and rebranded it as a “dynastic wealth transfer tax”.
There would also be new taxes on financial gifts, such as home deposits from parents to children who cannot save money faster than rising house prices.
Other plans include $4.5 billion for “climate reparations” and “the ongoing impacts and legacies of colonialism.”
“As a wealthy colonial country, Australia has a responsibility to provide its fair share of aid and reparations for its role in the climate crisis and the ongoing damage caused by Western imperialism,” the policy agenda reads.
It is unclear where that money would go – whether it would be paid to Pacific Island countries, as suggested in the documents, or to some other international body. It is also unclear how exactly that is linked to “Western imperialism.”
The party also outlines plans to cancel all debt to Australia, hoping this will inspire other countries to do the same.
Greens leader Adam Bandt is pictured with his partner Claudia Perkins at the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery’s Midwinter Ball in the Great Hall of Parliament House.
Pictured: People in Sydney protesting during an Invasion Day rally on January 26
Critics say the proposals – which were carried through to the last election and are still on the party’s website – go far beyond the party’s agenda of promoting environmental causes, tenant-focused housing policies and sympathy for Palestine.
Opposition party spokesman Andrew Hastie told Daily Mail Australia: “The Greens have proven time and again that they are extreme, not green.
‘The insane economic policies of the modern Greens pose a serious threat to Australia. Their extreme agenda is damaging our way of life.
“But most worrying is their passion to disrupt social cohesion and tear down institutions vital to our prosperity, security and international partnerships.”
He said the modern Green Party is a far cry from the environmental organisation Bob Brown founded in 1992.
The documents, headed “climate finance and reparations”, say Australia must “provide climate finance and reparations to affected countries and communities”.
They also state that the level of Australian aid “must be commensurate with our historic and ongoing contribution to the climate crisis”, but do not elaborate.
The site also states that debts owed to Australia by other countries are “the unjust result of colonialism and imperialism”. It does not specify which countries Australia would repay their debts.
‘The Greens will cancel all of Australia’s bilateral debt and ensure we are a strong and principled advocate for global debt cancellation.
‘By unconditionally cancelling the repayment of these debts, Australia would clearly be making a case for broader debt forgiveness.’
A Greens spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that dynastic tax, climate change and colonial reparations are ideas the party took with it into the 2022 election, and do not necessarily reflect the party’s current views.
However, the party has not yet announced plans for the upcoming elections, which are expected to be held in May next year, and possibly earlier, given the recent reshuffle of ministers in the Albanian government.
The importance of the Greens’ policies has been highlighted this year as polls indicate that Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party is highly likely to return to power with an undivided parliament.
That could force Mr Albanese to strike a deal with the Greens, independent MPs or both to form a minority government – similar to what Julia Gillard did in 2010.
The 2022 policy is still easily accessible on the party’s website, under the first menu tab ‘Our plan’.
GreenLeft leader Adam Bandt told Daily Mail Australia the party will bring forward a plan to tax the rich, rather than taking money from average young Australians.
“The Greens will tax billionaires and end tax breaks for wealthy property investors so that every Australian can buy a home. And the nation’s billionaires can’t continue to hoard more money than ordinary people can ever imagine,” he said.
“Our priority is to ensure that renters and mortgage holders can keep a roof over their heads, that parents can provide a home for their children, and that grocery prices stop rising.”
Last month, Daily Mail Australia published a video in which young Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather explains how the party plans to seize power in Australia by 2040.
The 32-year-old, known for his ability to rile Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is seen by Canberra insiders as a rising star who could become the leader of a future Greens government.
Mr Chandler-Mather told supporters that you get one vote for every three meaningful, genuine conversations you have with voters.
By that calculation, if the Greens could have 1,866,216 meaningful conversations with Australian voters, they would get enough votes to take power at the federal level.
According to his long-term strategy, the Greens should have won just one additional seat in the 2022 election. Instead, they won three, including his own, well ahead of their target.
In the 2024 or 2025 elections, the aim is to reach 130,635 additional voters with 1,633 additional volunteers. The expectation is that this will yield three additional seats in the House of Commons, making a total of six seats.
In the next five elections, that number would increase to 6,998 volunteers in the 2040 elections, reaching 559,865 households.
Under the Chandler-Mather plan, the Greens would have nine seats in 2028. In the following elections, they would have 15, 23 and 32 seats respectively. In 2040, they would also have the 45 seats needed to form a minority government.
According to his calculations, the Greens would become the largest party with 45 seats in a coalition with the Labor Party, which would have 44.