Climbing the COVID mountain in 10 steps

When Covid19 restrictions first changed the livelihood of Australians, it became obvious that our nation needed a plan to lead us into a new world.

I invited my friend, Stephen Koukoulas, an eminent economist, whom many of you will follow on Twitter as @TheKouk, to join me in preparing one.

Here it is for your critical analysis.

The Opportunity

Covid19 has opened a door for Australians to positively accept significant changes that will lead to a shared good. This 'once in a lifetime' revolution enables us to achieve sustainable economic and social goals that create a new 'normal' as our way of life.

These Ten Steps are presented as non-partisan recommendations to the Australian Parliament in the firm belief that, if they embrace them, the Australian economy and society will be greatly enhanced after the Covid19 pandemic has passed.

1. A job for you if you want one.

A significant increase in part time and casual employment can be created that will enable you to enjoy a more creative and peaceful lifestyle and to live longer and better. The traditional age at which you would have been expected to retire will become obsolete as a result. An access age for pension and superannuation will become your choice. This will enable you to remain in paid work for as long as you want to, on a basis that you choose, while boosting the productivity and growth of Australia.

2. You will get wage increases that will be greater than your cost of living.

A demand for enhanced innovative skills at all levels of employment will be created as the economy grows in strength, thereby enhancing your stature in the workforce and enabling executive salaries and bonuses to drop to levels that are accepted as justifiable by employees, shareholders and customers.

3. Your education and lifestyle will be enhanced by ever improving science and technology.

Universities will become powerhouses of research and have a TAFE on the campus that becomes a powerhouse of skills. This combined activity will make your community more healthy, wealthy and socially cohesive as highly skilled workers, backed by ground-breaking research, lead us to have higher incomes and a more prosperous nation.

4. Your nation will lead the world by making climate change the driver of economic growth and prosperity.

You will partner your government in investing in a low carbon economy that creates 'green' jobs, sustains and enhances profits and reduces the pollution that would otherwise have a role in generating more viruses like Covid19.

5. You will participate in the regeneration of Inland Australia, especially in its indigenous and remote communities, by investing in land conservation and restoration, clean water and the enhancement of flora, & fauna while creating low cost and efficient transport that which expand your opportunities to trade profitably.

You will reverse decades of underinvestment in Rural Australia and give incentives for people to migrate from Capitals to Regional Cities. Working from home, which happily occurred as a result of Covid19, means you do not have to live in crowded and expensive cities to do your work. You can operate from remote places and still participate in any activity anywhere while helping to ease city congestion.

6. You will demand fairer taxation that will ensure that tax cheats pay their dues and your taxes become lower.

Tax on revenue instead of profits will enable you to achieve this.

7. Housing will become affordable for your income level.

You can participate in new style housing cooperatives that will create affordable and personalised homes of quality, especially those designed to meet the restricted mobility of ageing. The volume that will be generated will enable prices to remain moderate and help to achieve the aim of zero homelessness.

8. Gender equality will enable you to achieve your maximum personal potential on a level playing field.

We know that this reform is decades overdue. It will enable us, and our nation, to achieve maximum creativity and ensure pay rises for sectors dominated by the employment of women, especially in the role of carers.

9. Rebuild cities and towns so you can enjoy quality lifestyles in vibrant communities that are cohesive, compassionate and safe.

Our nation will never prosper while we live in clogged cities that are unliveable. This requires us to implement a long-term plan for a new civilisation that must start now.

10. Pioneer a new style economic community in our immediate region of the Southern Hemisphere that involves a revolutionary partnership of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Pacific Island Nations that creates a high level of prosperity and social values.

We can establish this without copying the overbearing bureaucracy of the European Community and creating prosperity and stability that is not reliant on USA or China or India.

We have not included specific comments on Ageing and Welfare as each of those will be impacted by the ten steps.

Debate

Stephen Koukoulas and I invite you to join us in improving our plan and help us to influence the Parliament.