by Toru Yamamori | Jun 22, 2016 | News, Research
The Productivity Commission of the Australian Government has released a research paper entitled ‘
Digital Disruption: What do governments need to do?‘ on 15th June 2016. The paper looks at the role of government in the face of ‘potentially disruptive technological change.’ A universal basic income is refereed as a long term consideration:
While Australia’s tax and transfer system will continue to play a role in redistributing income, in the longer term, governments may need to evaluate the merits of more radical policies, including policies such as a universal basic income.(p. 69).
by Kate McFarland | Jun 15, 2016 | News
The Australian Pirate Party has officially endorsed a “basic income policy” (more precisely, a negative income tax), according to an announcement published on June 14th, 2016.
In the announcement, Sam Kearns and Darren McIntosh — New South Wales senate candidates from Pirate Party Australia — elaborate on the need for a basic income, focusing on concerns about automation, the “inefficient, patronising and punitive bureaucracy” of Australia’s current welfare system, and the advantage of basic income in facilitating care work as well as new business and innovation.
As described in the party’s Wiki, the policy is a negative income tax designed to result in a minimum income of $14,062 per year for adults (aged 18 and over) who have completed school. This baseline amount would be “topped up” in certain cases, including parents, caregivers, aged and disabled persons, veterans, and low-income earners who lack public housing.
Pirate Party Australia was founded in 2008 and legally recognized by the Australian Electoral Commission in 2013. According to Wikipedia, it claimed approximately 1300 members as of 2015.
by Kate McFarland | May 23, 2016 | Research
Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand, a collection of 10 essays, is the latest addition to Palgrave Macmillan’s “Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee” series.
From the publisher’s description:
“This book is the first collective volume of its kind to ask whether a basic income offers a viable solution to the income support systems in Australia and New Zealand. Though often neglected in discussions of basic income, both countries are advanced liberal democracies dominated by neoliberal transformations of the welfare state, and therefore have great potential to advance debates on the topic. The contributors’ essays and case studies explore the historical basis on which a basic income program might stand in these two countries, the ideological nuances and complexities of implementing such a policy, and ideas for future development that might allow the program to be put into practice regionally and applied internationally.”
Mays, J., Marston, G., and Tomlinson, J. (eds.), 2016, Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand: Perspectives from the Neoliberal Frontier, Palgrave Macmillan.
Photo: Milford Sound in New Zealand CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Loïc Lagarde
by Josh Martin | Mar 11, 2016 | News
In this post the author discusses reasons for adopting a basic income, focusing on a possible implementation in Australia. Momentum is building for a basic income in Australia, and the author is optimistic it could help safeguard Australians from automation and protect them from poverty.
“Cold, Hard Cash: How does free $800 every month sound?”, Newsabe, 2016.
by Josh Martin | Jan 14, 2016 | News
Australia’s BIEN affiliate, Basic Income Guarantee Australia, is no longer the only established group promoting a basic income in the country. A new group, Basic Income Australia, is holding its first meetup in Sydney on January 21st. Citing that innovation now holds a central role in Australian government, Joffre Balce and Shane Greenup will speak at this first meetup to discuss how a guaranteed basic income for all Australians might work.
To learn more about both organizations, here are their websites:
Basic Income Guarantee Australia
Basic Income Australia
