Policies - Sustainable Australia Party

Sustainable Australia Party is an independent community movement with a science and evidence-based policy platform. We have developed a broad policy platform with sustainable solutions to address Australia's growing economic, environmental and social problems.

We are the only political party to put our environment first - and therefore our health, economy and quality of life.

Our #EnvironmentFirst plan:

🔴 Stop corruption (including in politics, planning and development)
🟠 Stop overdevelopment (including housing sprawl and high-rise)
🟢 Stabilise population (mainly by returning annual permanent immigration to normal)

And much more!

In summary, a sustainable Australia that is democratically governed for the people, not vested interests. Our policies are detailed below:

If you largely agree with our policies, please consider subscribing to our eNewsletter or joining.

Note, SAP does not have a policy on every new government announcement or issue. For issues outside of our broad policy platform, see policy statement at the bottom of this page.

Ageing

Policy: Better respect our senior citizens and work to improve their quality of life, while celebrating Australia’s increasing life expectancy as a sign of a successful society.

Key points: Return the standard retirement age and access to age pension to 65 | Develop better quality aged, community and home care facilities and standards | More

Animals & Biodiversity

Policy: Properly protect animal habitats and welfare, and Australia's biodiversity, thereby ultimately benefit humanity and fulfil our moral obligation to leave room for the countless other species that also have a right to exist.

Key points: A properly funded and enforced national biodiversity and native species program | Implement mandatory and independently regulated best practice animal welfare management | More

Anti-corruption & Governance

Policy: Prioritise trust, transparency and democracy in governance, particularly to help stop corruption.

Key points: More transparent reporting of political lobbying and all financial contributions | Remove unfair barriers to registration and public funding for minor party and independent candidates | More

The Arts

Policy: Better support the arts to allow all Australians to fulfil their creative potential.

Key points: Provide more access to ongoing funding for community arts and cultural initiatives | Support more local film and television production | More

Defence

Policy: Maintain a strong and technologically advanced defence force to counter likely threats, while helping to maintain regional and global peace and security.

Key points: Promote peace, security and defence alliances through strong and constructive diplomacy | Focus Australia's defence capabilities on technologically advanced options | More

Economy

Policy: Advance social wellbeing via a prosperous, diverse and equitable economy with secure jobs for all who want them, while acknowledging and working within safe environmental limits.

Key points: Use a broader Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as a key measure of Australia’s progress that redefines 'growth' and prioritises growth in good things, including health and wellbeing, not growth in bad things like consumption and population as encouraged by the current 'GDP' measure | Prioritise local workers for employment opportunities across the economy | Economic diversity and self-sufficiency | More

Education

Policy: Provide an affordable, world class education system that gives all Australians the skills and attributes they need to secure jobs and flourish in society.

Key points: Offer free and universal university and TAFE education for Australian citizens | Increase the salaries and improve the working conditions of teachers | More

Energy

Policy: Provide an energy supply that is smart, affordable, reliable, safe and environmentally sustainable.

Key points: Empower Australian consumers to choose and use distributed (non-centralised) energy systems | Implement a ban on all new coal mines and fracking | More

Environment

Policy: Recognise that a healthy natural environment is the foundation upon which all human wellbeing and prosperity is built, and so prioritise environmental sustainability to better protect, manage and restore Australia's fragile and unique natural environment.

Key points: Act on climate change and contribute to staying below 1.5 degrees global temperature rise compared to pre-industrial levels | Enshrine into Australian law the fundamental human right of a healthy natural environment for its citizens and prioritise this in all policy and development decision | More

Finite & Non-renewable Resources

Policy: Properly manage Australia's finite resources – both renewable and non-renewable - so as to better protect our environment, enhance economic and social security, encourage the highest priority uses and leave a fair share for future generations of Australians.

Key points: Implement strategic resource depletion protocols and usage rights for non-renewable resources, including minerals | Adopt a Resource Super Profit Tax for iron ore and coal | More

Foreign Investment

Policy: Ensure that all foreign investment is in the long-term national interest, while stopping further foreign ownership.

Key points: Clearly differentiate between foreign investment, being minority ownership, and foreign ownership, being majority ownership | Ban further foreign ownership and limit future foreign investment to a maximum of 25 per cent of any Australian natural resource asset, including land, water, minerals and energy resources | More

Gambling

Policy: Better manage problem gambling and reduce per capita losses.

Key points: Implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendation for $1 maximum poker machine bets per spin, limiting losses to around $120 per hour | Engage in broad community consultation prior to the building or material expansion of any casinos | More

Health

Policy: Achieve a healthy and long living Australian population, supported by an innovative and universal health system.

Key points: Better promote preventative health care through healthier lifestyle choices | Expand Medicare to include all basic dental services | More

Housing Affordability

Policy: Achieve greater housing affordability for home buyers and renters, while striving for relatively stable house prices.

Key points: Remove the 50 per cent discount of capital gains tax on taxable Australian property (non-principal place of residence) and abolish negative gearing on taxable Australian property, with existing arrangements to be grandfathered | Ban further foreign ownership | Increase investment in public housing | More

Indigenous / Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Australians 

Policy: Prioritise and improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Key points: Negotiate treaties with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to bring about mutual recognition and reconciliation | Properly research, protect and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture  | More

Job Guarantee

Policy: Establish a federally funded national job guarantee program in order to ensure full employment, managed through the re-established Commonwealth Employment Service (CES), and initially focused on protecting and restoring Australia’s environment.

Key points: Properly measure unemployment and underemployment | Initially focus the job guarantee program on protecting and restoring Australia’s environment | More

Law & Order

Policy: Better provide for the security of Australia's citizens and community, while improving our justice system.

Key points: Better prevent and respond to domestic violence through increased funding for early intervention and education programs, frontline services, emergency accommodation and legal services | Better address mental health problems through the health system | More

Media

Policy: Achieve an independent, trustworthy and diverse media industry.

Key points: Support high quality Australian content across all media genres | Empower the media watchdog to properly address media bias and misinformation | More

Planning & Development

Policy: Achieve a transparent, democratic and environmentally sustainable town and urban planning system that will stop overdevelopment of both high-rise density and sprawl, while properly protecting our built heritage, backyards and urban amenity.

Key points: Return real planning powers to local communities through proper engagement | Deliver new community infrastructure before any more housing is approved (including new schools, hospitals, public transport, roads, recreational and sporting facilities, green space, etc) | More

Population & Immigration (Australia)

Policy: Based on the best scientific advice and as a positive example to the rest of the world, stabilise Australia's population size as soon as practicable, aiming for a population target under 30 million through to and beyond 2050.

Key points: Lower Australia's permanent immigration program from the current (post-2000, non-COVID) record of around 200,000 per annum back to a cap of 70,000 per annum, being Australia's average annual permanent intake level during the twentieth century | Provide free universal access to contraception and related family planning, reproductive and sexual health services, to help prevent unwanted pregnancies | More

Population (Global)

Policy: Provide leadership and support to countries experiencing rapid population growth, in order to help stabilise global population as soon as practicable, being at the United Nation’s low peak variant of around 9 billion by 2050.

Key points: Lead by example by stabilising Australia's population | Tie foreign aid wherever possible to the improvement of environmental and economic sustainability, with a particular focus on female empowerment and education | More

Privatisation & Public Assets

Policy: Retain, and where appropriate regain, public ownership of Australia’s key public assets, particularly natural monopolies, in order to serve the broader public and national interests.

Key points: Protect important public assets from further privatisation | Re-nationalise on just terms and/or re-establish key public assets and essential services and utilities as soon as practicable | Support a strong public service and public sector | More

Regional Australia

Policy: Better support regional, including rural and remote, Australia with a fairer share of government resources and services.

Key points: Better promote the financial, health and environmental benefits of local primary products | Further develop land stewardship funds to support relevant farmers and regional landowners to help manage biodiversity values on their properties | More

Science

Policy: Better fund and support pure and applied science, with a key focus being the creation of a sustainable society.

Key points: Ensure students are science-literate through primary and secondary schools | Rebuild and/or adequately fund public scientific flagship institutions such as the CSIRO | More

Taxation

Policy: Implement a simpler and fairer tax system.

Key points: End multinational tax avoidance and profit shifting to low or no tax jurisdictions | Reduce the company tax rate for local manufacturing | Phase out state payroll tax as soon as practicable | More

Trade

Policy: Partake in the global economy through fair trade that allows a level playing field for Australian workers and businesses, while properly protecting Australia’s environment from overdevelopment.

Key points: Ensure mutually high environmental standards in all trade agreements | Remove immigration from all trade agreements | More

Transport

Policy: Prioritise the most ecologically sustainable and congestion-free public and private transport systems.

Key points: Lower the cost of urban, regional and rural public transport by at least 50 per cent | Expand state-based rail and/or bus networks, in preference to building more roads | More

Waste

Policy: Significantly reduce Australia's waste production, and increase its recycling and energy recovery through a circular economy.

Key points: Transition Australia to a zero-waste society | Establish major regional centres dedicated to the repair, re-sale and responsible recycling of electronic waste and household goods, as well as a repair café in every suburb and town under the Environmental Job Guarantee | More

Water

Policy: Better manage and conserve our water in urban and regional areas.

Key points: Facilitate reduced water use where possible | Protect environmental flows in all river systems to ensure that the quantity and quality of water sustains communities, including traditional owners, and entire river ecosystems | More

Welfare

Policy: Better protect and support the most vulnerable Australians, while prioritising fairness and lowering levels of wealth inequality.

Key points: Provide an unconditional universal basic income - or citizen dividend - of $500 per week ($26,000 per annum, indexed from 2021) to every Australian to help prevent people from living below the poverty line | Properly measure unemployment and underemployment | More

Conscience Votes

Policy: Allow elected MPs and Councillors more freedom than major political parties do on matters of conscience | More

Statement regarding issues outside of our policy platform

As outlined above, Sustainable Australia Party supports a science and evidence-based approach to policy.

We have developed a broad policy platform, however, as a minor party with limited resources, we do not have a policy on everything. For example, we do not have a policy on every new government announcement.

If elected, issues and legislation outside of our policy platform would be properly reviewed and addressed on its merits, in a science and evidence-based way through appropriate stakeholder engagement, including with a range of experts, the community and our party members.

Direct democracy

Most importantly, SAP supports Swiss-style direct democracy through our 'Anti-corruption & Governance' policy, where the community has the right to the final say on any issue based on citizen-initiated referenda.