$200k Stolen Generations survivor payments among Greens’ budget-busting election policies

Australians could be on the hook for nearly half-a-trillion dollars in extra spending over the next decade if the Greens snag the balance of power in the federal election.

Australians could be on the hook for nearly half-a-trillion dollars in extra spending over the next decade if the Greens manage to hold the balance of power in the next election, with the party poised to demand everything from free dental care and the construction of one million new public housing units to a one billion dollar handout to local filmmakers.

Australians would also be told to “unpack” their racism, defence spending would be cut to appease China, and billions of dollars in handouts would go out the door if the Greens got their way and were able to cut a deal to share power with Labor.

While much of the discussion around Greens policies centres around climate, a key plank of the party’s 2022 platform reveals the party also wants to bring Marxist critical race theory training to the halls of Parliament House.

According to the party’s website, they want to “mandate anti-racism training for all Federal Members of Parliament and Commonwealth employees”.

The Greens’ official platform also calls on Australians to “unpack white privilege and white fragility, in the context of personal, professional and community spaces,” according to their website.

Greens leader Adam Bandt hopes to include free dental care in an expansion of Medicare should his party hold the balance of power after the federal election. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“For all their scepticism about the US alliance, the Greens are always the first to import radical fads like critical race theory from America into Australia,” said Bella d’Abrera, director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation at the Institute of Public Affairs.

“Australia is a proud egalitarian country, not a racist backwater as the Greens would have you believe.

“Calling Australians racists will not endear the Greens to the Australian public.”

Greens leader Adam Bandt struggled yesterday to explain how his party’s plans to crack down on corporate tax would pay for their plans for free dental care, estimated to cost $77 billion over 10 years.

Meanwhile, Greens defence policy has also come under fire from critics who say the party is hopelessly naive in the face of rising threats from Russia and China.

Speaking at the National Press Club last week, Mr Bandt claimed that doing a deal for submarines with the US was about “a switch from being about Australia’s self-defence to being offence and being an arm of another country – the United States’ offensive capabilities.”

(File picture) The Greens want to expand Medicare to include free dental care, a policy estimated to add $77 billion over a decade to the budget.

“Australia, instead of trying to de-escalate tensions in the region, is actively taking steps to escalate them,” he said.

Mr Bandt has also repeatedly called nuclear powered submarines of the sort to be delivered by AUKUS “floating Chernobyls”. Official Greens policy is to cut defence spending by at least 25 per cent to 1.5 per cent of GDP.

A security expert not authorised to speak publicly about party politics said the Greens’ proposals “were widely out of step with the electorate beyond some dewy-eyed folk who may not want to notice what Xi’s no-limits partner autocrat Putin is doing right now in Ukraine, or worry at all about China’s aggressive militarisation and arms build-up.”

Analysis of Greens economic policy also finds that the party is calling for billions of dollars to be handed out to everyone from film makers to Stolen Generations survivors.

The party’s website says the Greens want to give $200,000 to every survivor of the Stolen Generations.

According to Dr Fadwa al-Yaman of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there could be more than 30,000 such individuals.

“In 2018–19, there were an estimated 33,600 Stolen Generations survivors, including 27,200 aged 50 and over,” Dr Fadwa Al-Yaman said last year.

If every survivor were to receive the Greens’ proposed payment, taxpayers would pay more than $6.7bn.

The Greens also propose to solve the housing crisis by “building a million new, affordable, accessible and sustainable new homes”.

However the ABS says the average cost of building a new dwelling in Australia is around $320,000, potentially putting the taxpayer on the hook for $320bn or 15 per cent of GDP.

They also propose a relatively modest $7bn over 10 years to “make homes warmer in winter and cooler in ­summer.”

Among other cash splashes, the Greens propose $1bn for an “Australian Stories Fund to fund the infrastructure, crew training and development needs of the local industry”, twice as much as the $500m they propose to fund “green steel”.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese may need to form an alliance with the Greens if he wins a hung parliament. Picture: Toby Zerna

While Labor leader Anthony Albanese has repeatedly said he is aiming to win government in its own right, he will need to pick up at least seven seats to win a parliamentary majority.

Despite the attempts to put distance between himself and the Greens and multiple reports Mr Albanese has little sympathy for the Greens’ tactics, the far left party is already trying to align itself with many of Labor’s policies.

On Saturday, Greens Senator Larissa Waters said her party would back in Labor’s plans for a federal ICAC.

“If a future Labor government brings legislation for a strong and effective ICAC to parliament the Greens will work with them to fast track it through the Senate,” she said.

Experts say the possibility of a hung parliament with Labor forced to cut a deal with some combination of Greens and independents is higher this year, especially if the Coalition suffers a swing of ­between two and 2.5 per cent.

Originally published as $200k Stolen Generations survivor payments among Greens’ budget-busting election policies