Just hope Albo can pass the fairness test

The PM has made much about not leaving anyone behind, but will we see action to back up the talk, asks Bill Handbury

GROWING media coverage is being given to the pessimistic view that there are financial dark clouds and strong headwinds ahead.

They are, of course, of our own making, but there’s no point in getting bogged down in recriminations. Mapping a way through the myriad challenges should be the order of the day for the new federal government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is rightly enjoying a honeymoon period because his opening gambit has been inspiring. He is verbally reinforcing election promises and is not letting any negativity get in the way of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. His overseas visits have been impressive, too.

Doubting Thomases’ concerns about Albanese’s ability to be a statesman are diminishing.

The four tenets of good government are decency, transparency, accountability and integrity. Decency is the tenet concerning fairness. The Prime Minister has made much of fairness being a weakness in our society and has committed himself to addressing meaningful remedial measures: “No one will be left behind.”

Comforting words indeed, but what do they mean? Will we see legislation backing up the talk? In 1990, the then prime minister Bob Hawke promised: “No child will live in poverty.” We’ve heard it all before.

The biggest challenge fairness faces is the distribution of wealth. The gap between wealth and poverty has been increasing, or rather accelerating ever since the Fraser government in 1978 made Australia the first rich country in the world to abolish death duties. This was the beginning of the “greed is good” mantra. And we have excelled in this indulgent feat. Hence at this time to contemplate progressing the proposed tax cuts to wealthy Australians is an absurdity. It clearly mocks fairness.

Business loves to espouse “super profits is smart economics”. There’s no question it’s smart for the wealthy, but it does nothing for the underprivileged unless strong government policies are in place.

The government should insist that the largesse handed out to companies that were making profits during the pandemic be returned. Some companies have repaid the government voluntarily, but too many haven’t.

Just how strong will the new government’s policies be to ensure fairness prevails is the burning question. The jury is out.

The Liberal Party has been consistent in rebuffing the concept of death duties as being “the politics of envy” and to date the ALP has capitulated. But the Prime Minister now has a chance to right the ship. He has a mandate to say all estates over $5m will pay death duties. Fairness will never be regained in Australia until this tax is legislated. That billionaires can leave their children obscene wealth is an anathema to fairness.

Should the dark clouds amount to greater financial hardship to millions of struggling Australians than that already hurtful position, the new federal government will be deemed a failure. There is no escape route.

A first crack in Albanese’s fairness rhetoric can be seen in his refusal to increase tax on the ballooning gas export bonanza. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come. But it’s alarming nonetheless. It has a ring of the failed mining tax about it.

In contrast to the top end of town’s greed, The Smith Family, “everyone’s family’’, is quietly making a difference to 58,000 Australian children. Keep in mind there are 1.2 million children and young people experiencing poverty. This magnificent organisation is a blueprint for the type of humanity we hope our new government might embrace.

The Smith Family’s vision: A better future for young Australians in need.

Belief: Every child deserves a chance.

Mission: To create opportunities for young Australians in need by providing long-term support for their participation in education.

Inspiring stuff, is it not? And it’s more than rhetoric.

At the grassroots we know what fairness is and what’s needed.