Russia base not as scary as idea of Greens running the show

If you think the idea of the Russians having a military air base on our doorstep is scary, think about what foreign policy and defence would be like under the Greens, writes Joe Hildebrand.

The nation was rocked this morning by the revelation splashed across every major newspaper in the country: Vladimir Putin’s Russia had asked Indonesia to grant it a military air base a stone’s throw from Australia.

But if you think that sounds scary, contemplate this: Imagine if the Greens were in charge.

It sounds crazy because it is, and that is precisely the point.

Growing the Greens to the point where they could one day form government is actually part of the Greens’ agenda.

Leader Adam Bandt has openly said his party’s plan is to cannibalise Labor in order to become the major opposition party and then try to win power from there.

And so let’s take him at his word. What would a Greens-led government actually look like?

What would it actually do if confronted with a national security crisis like the one that literally landed on our doorstep overnight?

Well it’s hard to say. The closest thing to foreign policy I could find on the Greens’ website was “FREE PALESTINE”, so not much guidance on how to deal with major non-aligned neighbouring superpowers in the Asia-Pacific.

And again, that’s the point. Where major parties have to deal with complex national and international issues, the Greens deal only in glib, simplistic slogans.

Let’s take another policy at random: 50c fares on all public transport.

This alone would cost more than $8 billion over four years but the real kicker is that public transport isn’t even a federal area of responsibility. It is run wholly by the states.

 

But the federal Greens will fork out the money for them to do it. And how will they pay for it?

“The Greens will make big corporations and billionaires pay tax so you can have 50c fares,” Bandt explained.

Another thing costing more than $8 billion is Labor’s Medicare bulk-billing policy, which the Coalition has matched. But that’s not enough for the Greens.

They say they will build 1000 free healthcare clinics — at least six per electorate — where everyone can see a GP, dentist, psychologist or registered nurse for free, at a cost of $54 billion.

And how will they pay for this policy? You guessed it! By taxing “big corporations”!

Oh, and they’re also going to wipe all student debt, which currently sits at more than $80 billion.

And you just won’t believe how they’re going to cover the cost of that one.

“The Greens have a plan to take on the price-gouging corporations and coal and gas giants to make them pay their fair share of tax,” Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi says.

So that’s more than $140 billion from just three policies selected at random, all of which will be paid for by some mysterious new tax regime on “big corporations”, which the Greens presumably anticipate will completely comply with, not move offshore, and keep their taxable income at the same expected level.

 

This is pure fantasy, and yet fantasy is what the entire Greens position is predicated on.

The Greens’ actual homepage states: “There will be a minority government – and the Greens are within reach of winning new seats across the country.”

That’s right, not “likely be” a minority government — they are telling voters “there will be” as a statement of fact.

Talk about fake news. In fact all the latest polls suggest Labor is heading for majority government but the Greens don’t want you to know that.

It is just another part of the fantasy world of pretend in which the Greens live. A world that has no solutions for real people or real problems.

Originally published as Russia base not as scary as idea of Greens running the show