Greens Senator Condemns Herzog Visit and Police Response
Greens Senator Nick McKim has sharply criticized the decision of the Australian government to invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog-forming the move solely as incitement. Under the arrangement of The Guardian for McKim’s exclusive interview with Australian Politics Podcast, the senator expressed the frustration felt by many protesters wAEqcvDo gathered throughout the country to
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The senator used no ambiguous phrases to relate the events in Sydney, where police expressed forceful and oppressive power against demonstrators. He characterized the police response to the unrest as a gigantic overreach, arguing that the harsh tactics used against peaceful protesters were out of proportion and worrying for democratic rights. McKim pointed out that the invitation was in fact a provocation, and as such, he contended, the subsequent police actions only served to descent the situation unreasonably.
Beyond the Protests: Economic Justice in Focus
As the Herzog visit was in the headlines, McKim also highlighted the important work he is doing in the parliament. Being the spokesperson for the Greens on economic justice and treasury, he’s leading a critical open investigation on the 50% capital gains tax discount. This tax concession, widely considered to be relatively more beneficial to property investors, is now debated with respect to its adverse effects on housing affordability and government budget sustainability.
McKim accentuated that the investigation is patching together the evidence that this policy is making the inequality problem worse. He also pointed that the Labor government just before the federal budget, which is arriving in May, has not put the option of changing investor tax concessions completely off the table. Which in turn, opens the door to a visionary fiscal reform, one that the Greens are mixing with urgency. The senator articulated the economic concerns within The Gree
The interview brought out McKim engaged on multiple sectors: he was promoting the need for diplomatic sensitivity and for rights to protest on the one hand, while on the other he was leading a complex debate on economic policy. On the dual focus of McKim, the Greens’ broader and more interconnected platform also shines through, linking as it does international relations with domestic economic fairness. In the next few months, it will become clear if the political force from the protests will be transformed into actual policy change, in both foreign dealings and the tax code set out in the May budget.
Source: The Guardian
