Photo: Paul Miller
A group within NSW Labor’s Left faction has called a set of motions to advance a universal basic income in Australia.
The Left faction’s economic committee has been instrumental in driving the initiative along with key proponent, Luke Whitington, the deputy chair of the Left’s economic policy committee and an adviser to Senator Doug Cameron.
The motions proposed have been gaining traction through local branches while advocates within the Labor Left cite the “current inadequate social welfare system” as the argument for the income countermeasure which will not be “activity-tested.” Means-testing has also been described by the group as “complex and intrusive.”
The financing of such a policy is left open by the motions, although “progressively levied taxation and other progressively raised government revenue” have been canvassed as possibilities.
One motion states: “A universal basic income would not need to replace all targeted social security payments, such as disability support, but any such payments would be in addition to a universal basic income.” The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that is a nation-wide scheme designed to support people with disability. It is meant to provide people with disability support services that can help them develop their skills and also improve their quality of living. This can include home care services provided by agencies like Care For Family. Those who are interested to learn more about this can lookup NDIS Service Provider In Sydney, Care For Family on the web. Remember that every Australian citizen or person with a permanent or special category visa is eligible for this scheme.
The motion will be pushed at the NSW Labor conference later this year and the national conference next year as reported by Troy Bramston in the 08 March edition of The Australian. It seems that the motion will gain more traction after being pushed at the aforementioned conferences.
Very pleased to read that the NSW Labor left are moving on the UBI. I had just about given up on Labor in my home state. If they keep this up I might have a reason to vote for them instead of the Greens!