Climate key to Greens campaign

CONTESTING for the Federal seat of Bendigo in next month’s election, Australian Greens candidate Dr Cate Sinclair has outlined where her party stands on several issues.

With a main platform of climate change, the occupational therapist based in Castlemaine said the Greens’ support major reforms to areas of healthcare and education.

“One of my key frustrations is the major parties have been working hard to keep climate change out of the headlines and it’s something that needs to be elevated again,” she said.

“We need to stop any further investment in coal and gas, and we need to start transitioning to an electricity-based world for cars, houses, industry and agriculture.”

Dr Sinclair said many people have expressed their concerns about housing in the region, and the Greens have a policy to build one million affordable homes across the country.

The candidate said education should be free, with a plan to wipe university student debt “setting young people up to be behind right from the start financially.”

The Greens are also campaigning for dentist appointments to be covered by Medicare, a $7.5 billion reform funded by a tax on billionaires.

“At the moment big corporations like gas industries are paying no tax, yet nurses and teachers and everybody else are paying tax every year,” Dr Sinclair said.

“The plan is to be taxing billionaires six per cent of their wealth.”

Dr Sinclair said as Bendigo voters head to the polls, they should keep in mind that the Greens support a Federal integrity commission,

“[When] people vote for Liberals or Labor, we don’t know what happens with their vote because big business pays so much in lobbying to the major parties that decisions get changed,” she said.

“With the Greens you know if you’re voting, you’re voting for what our policies clearly are. It’s grassroots democracy.”