Sustainable Australia Party is an independent community movement from the political centre, with a positive plan for an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable Australia. We believe in a science and evidence-based approach to policy - not a left or right wing ideology.

For starters, SAP will:

• Protect our environment
• Stop overdevelopment
• Stop corruption

And much more...

SAP has developed a comprehensive policy platform. In summary - an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable Australia that is democratically governed for the people, not vested interests.

If you largely agree with our policies, please consider joining.

National policy platform:

Our policy priorities, and much more, are detailed in our broad policy platform below.

For issues outside of our policy platform, see statement at the bottom of this page.

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• More rigorously protect and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Better facilitate and celebrate the unpaid community contributions of older citizens
• Develop better quality aged, community and home care facilities and standards

Includes (click image for full policy - under ENVIRONMENT): 

• Adopting a properly enforced national biodiversity and native species program
• Implementing mandatory and independently regulated best practice animal welfare management

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Provide more access to ongoing small business support and education
• Protect live music and arts venues

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Promote security and defence alliances through strong and constructive diplomacy

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Better invest in university and institutional science and technology research and development to enhance Australia’s creativity, innovation and productivity

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Fund and subsidise research and development into renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency initiatives
• Implement domestic energy reservation policies for relevant resources, including natural gas
• Impose a moratorium on all new coal mines in Australia
• Impose a moratorium on all new fracking

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Better manage our water security, including through lower wastage and fairer water rights and responsibilities in regional Australia
• Adopt a properly enforced national biodiversity and native species program including widespread urban, rural and marine animal habitat protection from farming and housing sprawl / densification
• Implementing mandatory and independently regulated best practice animal welfare management in farming, agriculture and domestic environments
• Funding and subsidising research and development into renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency initiatives
• Phase out fossil fuel subsidies
• Implement strategic resource depletion protocols and usage rights for appropriate finite and non-renewable resources
• Ending old growth forest logging
• Support major community centres dedicated to the repair, re-sale and responsible recycling of electronic waste and household goods
• Provide increased employment, training and volunteer opportunities in conservation management
• Further develop land stewardship funds to support relevant farmers and rural landowners to help manage biodiversity values on their properties, including areas that are either high conservation value and/or unsuitable or marginal for agricultural use

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Engage in broad community consultation prior to the building or material expansion of any casinos

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Establish an independent Federal Commission to monitor and expose corruption and misconduct by federal politicians and officials
• Ban all property developer donations and contributions to political parties
• Ban ex-politicians and senior staff in government departments from employment with registered lobbying organisations and other relevant vested interests for at least 3 years from the date of leaving office
• Enable citizen-initiated referenda / plebiscites

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Better promote preventative health care through healthier lifestyle choices
• Provide universal access to free contraception and reproductive health advice
• Better invest in medical and nursing training as well as scientific research and cost-effective medical technology in order to bring down the cost of healthcare
• Treat personal drug use and abuse as primarily a health issue and support users with well-funded rehabilitation programs

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Remove the 50 per cent discount of capital gains tax on taxable Australian property (non-principal place of residence)
• Abolish negative gearing on taxable Australian property
• Restrict the purchase of Australian residential property and land for residential development to Australian citizens...
• Encourage developers to include an element of social or affordable housing in new projects
• Increase investment in public housing

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Re-diversify our economy to create more secure jobs, by re-allocating economic capital away from over-investment in housing and property speculation, back into our factories, farms and small businesses
• Focus genuine economic performance not on GDP growth, or even the somewhat better measure of GDP per person, but prioritise broader economic, environmental and social 'wellbeing' indicators including health, education, environment and cost of living
• An economy that operates within environmental limits
• Better invest in education and skills training for Australian citizens 
• Better support Australian made products and services through government purchases and public marketing campaigns
• Establish 'job guarantee' programs 
• Restrict the purchase of all Australian natural resources, including land, water, minerals and energy resources to Australian citizens and minimum 75 per cent Australian-owned entities
• Retain, and where appropriate regain, public ownership of natural monopolies that significantly impact on national security such as ports and airports
• Support a strong public service and public sector, and an end to ideologically-driven outsourcing and asset sales
• Increased commitment to agricultural research and development, including through greater support for regional universities and TAFE.
• Revitalise small business by reducing unnecessary red tape compliance costs and regulation
• End multinational tax avoidance and profit shifting to low or no tax jurisdictions
• Reduce the company tax rate for local manufacturing to 25%
• Adopt a Resource Super Profit Tax for iron ore and coal
• Tax incentives (including lower payroll tax, land tax and rates) for businesses that transfer their capital investment into prioritised productive (particularly value-added manufacturing) industries and/or regional centres with declining populations
• Partake in the global economy through fair trade that allows a level playing field for Australian workers and businesses
• Remove trade agreement rules that prevent governments from buying local goods and services and supporting local jobs and industries
• Providing clearer country of origin labelling laws to help consumers easily choose Australian made goods and services
• Prioritising mutually high environmental standards in all trade agreements
• Prioritising compliance with strong human rights, labour and employment conditions in all trade agreements

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Better prevent and respond to domestic violence through increased funding for early intervention and education programs, frontline services, emergency accommodation and legal services
• Increase police recruitment and resources in order to better protect our communities and properly cater for population growth

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Return real planning power to local communities through proper engagement
• Deliver new community infrastructure before more housing is approved (including the delivery of new schools, hospitals, public transport, roads, recreational and sporting facilities, green space, etc)
• Capture for the public the land value gains (unearned profits) from planning and rezoning, rather than gifting them to private sector developers
• Ensure that new and existing homes and associated landscapes adapt to latest innovations in thermal and water efficiency and ecological design

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Lower annual permanent immigration from the current (post-2000) record levels of around 200,000 back to around 70,000, being its average annual permanent intake level during the twentieth century
• Maintain an annual humanitarian (refugee) intake of around 14,000-20,000, according to circumstances.
• Limit government baby bonus-style birth payments to each woman’s first two children

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Tie foreign aid wherever possible to the improvement of economic and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on female rights and education
• Increase total family planning and reproductive health services foreign aid from $50 million to at least $500 million

Includes (click image for full policy): 

• Expand state-based rail and/or bus networks, in preference to building more roads
• Build better bicycle networks
• Upgrade its freight rail infrastructure in order to boost national productivity and help remove truck journeys from our roads

Statement regarding issues outside of our policy platform:

As a minor party with limited resources, we do not have a policy on everything. Legislation and issues outside of our policy platform would be addressed if elected, in an evidence-based way with appropriate stakeholder engagement.