Despite what conservative voices and big corporations want us to believe, the evidence is clear: Australia and Queensland’s cost of living crisis is driven by corporate price gouging.
Supermarkets, insurance companies, private electricity providers and the big banks have all pocketed huge profits from ripping us off - and many of those same corporations have donated millions to the major parties. So it’s unsurprising that Labor and the LNP haven’t taken any real action to cut living costs, especially if it’d hurt their corporate donors’ profits.
The Greens don’t take corporate donations, so we have a real plan to tackle the cost of living in Queensland.
Freeze rent increases for 2 years to give renters some breathing room, and cap them at 1% thereafter. Give renters a right to renew their lease. Create a publicly owned developer and expand Queensland’s publicly owned construction company, QBuild, to build 100,000 good quality public homes, to buy or rent at below market rates. Create a publicly owned bank to offer owner-occupiers cheaper mortgages. Tax vacant homes to free up supply.
Break up the duopoly of Coles and Woolies by limiting their market share to 20%, and cap prices on a list of 30 essentials. Stop the big supermarkets from buying up land to shutting out competitors.
Free School Breakfasts and Lunches
Establish a free, healthy school meals program for all children at every Queensland state school, funded by increased mining royalties.
Abolish all resource fees and out of pocket costs for parents at public schools, including free laptops, uniforms and excursions, on top of increased funding to meet at least 100% of the needs-based minimum standards.
Create 200 new public GP clinics over four years, where every Queenslander can see a GP at no out-of-pocket cost. Give every Queenslander access to 20 free sessions with a State-employed psychologist every year. Increase funding for public hospital beds, nurses and doctors to cut waitlist times.
100% publicly owned electricity
Reverse Labor’s privatisation of electricity retail and bring energy into 100% public ownership, with a state-owned retailer to supply households and businesses at cost. Invest in 100% renewable energy by 2030 to bring down emissions and reduce our reliance on expensive, unreliable coal.
Give every Queenslander under 18 a free season of community sport and $150 sports equipment rebates each year, funded by taxing mining corporations fairly. Support clubs to increase capacity with annual grants of $25,000 and allocate $200 million towards acquiring new sporting fields and green space in growing suburbs.
We can fund this all by taxing mining corporations more fairly, levying the big banks’ profits, and making developers pay their fair share of tax. Read more about the Greens’ plans for more for everyday Queenslanders and less for big corporations here.