Throughout my life, my passion has been environmental sustainability, social justice, and wellbeing. I believe that one of the greatest challenges we face is the breakdown of Earth systems including climate and the other planetary boundaries. This requires a transition of our society and our economic systems toward a state that allows for fulfilling, meaningful flourishing lives while prioritising planetary well-being.

To achieve this transition, a collective shift in focus is imperative. We must move away from narrow economic indicators such as GDP and embrace more meaningful measures encompassing ecological sustainability, wellbeing, education, gender equality, and community cohesion. This transformative process calls for democratising our economy, modernising our governance approaches, and cultural change. Encouragingly, some of these social, economic and governance changes are already underway.

Below are some thoughts and reflections on a few policy areas I think deserve greater focus.


Sustainability 

Low carbon renewable energy

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy presents both a significant opportunity and an enormous challenge.

An opportunity in that low-carbon solutions, including clean energy technologies, and the transformation of the energy sector, will stimulate economic growth and new local industries.

Simultaneously, this transition presents a challenge given the significant work and investment required to transform organisations and economies that have been reliant on fossil-fuel based energy.

A successful transition will require close coordination between policy makers, governments researchers and capital markets. At the core this will require a partnership between all levels of government working with innovative, socially responsible private industry and the research sector, focussing on clean energy technology and doing things in better ways that promote environmental sustainability. Work on this is already underway, although much more work is needed.

Divestment from Fossil Fuels and other ‘sin’ stocks

An ethical lens, including assessing climate risks, should be applied to all personal and organisational actions including financial investments. For me this means divesting from companies associated with fossil fuel (coal, oil and gas) as well as tobacco, arms manufacturing and gambling. 

While individuals may have a different view on what is ethical and what is not, what this means for each organisation should be determined through ongoing community consultation and engagement with a broad range of stakeholders and the wider community.

Climate Change

Climate disruption is already having dire consequences and is an urgent threat. Australia should be taking greater action and bolder steps to tackle climate change, including a short-term target for net zero emissions, by 2030, and a longer-term target for net negative emissions by 2040.

The fossil fuel industry needs to be phased out and just transitions arranged for impacted workers, ideally into renewable energy jobs. We need to keep the world’s remaining fossil fuels in the ground and stop burning coal, oil, and natural gas, and embrace a 100% renewable energy future.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Social responsibility is the idea that a corporation or organisation should embrace its social responsibilities and not be solely focused on maximising profits or operational efficiency and sustainability. 

Building a positive relationship with the society and environment in which organisations operate is a critical factor in their ability to continue to operate effectively and their social licence to operate.

Social responsibility is also increasingly being used as a measure of overall performance.

Immigration
We need a humane immigration policy that stays true to the values of compassion, welcoming those who seek a better life. “We’ve boundless plains to share” and could provide more refugees, who contribute so much to our society, with a clear path to Australian citizenship. We should not use inhumane immigration detention centres or off-shore processing - it's a waste of money better spent on supporting new Australians with more public housing, public education and a more ambitious public infrastructure plan.

Health and Safety
No social responsibility is more important than providing a safe and healthy environment. A safe and a healthy environment is one where no-one comes to harm and there are proactive wellbeing initiatives and public health promotion activities.

While a healthy and safe work environment is good for an organisations‘ operational efficiency it should also be seen as a fundamental social responsibility. 

Wellbeing
Achieving wellbeing has been the concern of philosophers since Aristotle, and is, in many respects the essence of human existence. In recent times wellbeing has moved from the realm of philosophy into the mainstream. 

There is a growing body of research into what contributes to the quality of people's experiences of their lives and a new understanding of the factors that influence and constitute wellbeing.

Influenced by this research and my own life experience wellbeing for me means having:

  • a sense of individual vitality

  • opportunities to engage in meaningful, fulfilling activities that encourage feelings of competence and autonomy

  • a stock of inner resources to help cope when things go wrong and be resilient to changes beyond your immediate control.

Freedom of Association
Rights to organise, take industrial action and the right to representation for workers to pursue better pay and conditions is both a legal and social responsibility.

In a time of economic disruption, social change and increasing income inequality, freedom of association principles remains a fundamental human right.

As a former employment lawyer and a union member throughout my working life, I believe unions are a social good and people's rights to freedom of association should be actively supported as part of our social responsibility and good governance.

Trade Unions
I fully support trade unions. All workers should have the right to organise and bargain collectively to improve pay, benefits and safety. Trade unions and collective bargaining have been and continue to be an unambiguous  force for good for our economy and society.

ECONOMICS

Our current economic systems work in ways that helps a handful of companies and rich individuals but does not serve the best interest of the majority of people. This is not fair or sustainable.

We need a new economic model that benefits people and planet. We need to redistribute wealth and economic power downwards.

We need a democratic economy, where workers, customers, the broader public and a larger, diverse group of stakeholders have more power and influence over decisions and outcomes.

Governments need to take back control of our economy and have the power to direct the private sector to ensure secure employment, goods and services serve the people and planet, and everyone has enough to live on

We need a new economic system that delivers meaningful, secure and well-paid jobs for all workers. Real wages have gone down under neoliberal economic policies, and the cost of living keep rising, and many workers haven’t seen a real wage increase in years. For too long, working people have not earned the pay, benefits or stability that they deserve.

Fair Trade
For too long, Australia has entered into so-called free-trade deals that prioritise corporations and disadvantage workers, and outsources jobs overseas.

Free trade doesn’t benefit people in the ways we’ve been told. It destroys local jobs, it undermines local independence and makes us vulnerable to supply shocks as evidenced by Covid. We need to fair trade, prioritising worker rights, the environment and local communities, rather than profit maximisation for multinational corporations.

Infrastructure
We need to invest in public infrastructure to build public transport, high speed railway lines, high speed NBN and a smart electricity grid that will make Australia more competitive, while putting people to work in secure, skilled and well-paid jobs. The infrastructure should be environmentally sound, see the "Green New Deal.".

Privatisation
Australian Governments made a host of very poor decisions when we privatised public assets like Telstra, Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank, Sydney Airport, our electricity infrastructure, and more recently in NSW parts of our public transport services.

The public have not benefited from promised service improvements from privatising buses, nursing homes and prisons. The money that goes to the shareholders comes out of safety and quality of service and ordinary people pay the difference.

GOVERNANCE

Good governance is central to environmental sustainability as well as social and economic wellbeing.

Good governance creates environments that support good management, through cooperation, transparency and compliance among relevant stakeholders.

The world's existing governance structures have failed to address climate change, prevent war, respond humanely to the refugee crisis and advance most of the UN sustainable development goals.

Existing governance structures need to be reformed to more purposefully and effectively support better social and environmental outcomes, impose limits on environmental and social exploitation, and the unequal distribution of wealth.

To avoid a devastating climate and environmental crisis will require the transformation our economic and social systems into more sustainable ways of being.

This will require evolved, more resilient and robust governance structures capable of carrying through with the necessary reforms with enough strength to stand up to vested interests.

I believe the best governance systems are highly polycentric, involving many agencies and levels of government.

Such a governance regime sounds, at first glance, highly susceptible to bureaucratic inertia and vulnerable to grid-locked decision-making, however organising and governing through multiple centres of influence is a more inclusive, resilient and ultimately sustainable governance approach, leading to better outcomes.

Education

Education for all is an investment in our shared future prosperity. Education and lifelong learning is enriching for the individual, enhancing skills, employment opportunities and appreciation for culture and the joy and wonders of life, aside from the love of learning. Education also supports democracy and helps transform communities and our society making them innovative, resilient, adaptable and knowledge oriented.

Teachers shouldn't have to work second jobs just to pay their bills - we must provide more financial benefits, better job security and more resource support to our teachers.

A child’s post code, or the wealth of their parents, shouldn't determine their future. Quality education should be free for all, from early pre-school years, through to post-secondary education including TAFE and university degrees.


KEEP IN TOUCH

If you would like to keep in touch, fill out the form below. I’ll email occasional updates (once or twice a year) in response to issues of interest. We live in increasingly interesting times!