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Social Justice Charter

At it's May 2004 National Conference, the Socialist Alliance decided, in addition to its Gender Agenda, to produce Policy Charters in other key areas of Alliance campaigning: workers' rights, health, education, social justice, refugee and asylum seeker rights, environment, and indigenous rights. Each CHARTER will be based on policy positions and statements adopted by the Socialist Alliance.

Below is the adopted policy that will be the basis of the Social Justice Charter the Alliance will soon produce.

Socialist Alliance supports universal welfare rights for all who are in need. The welfare system was fought for and won by the working class over generations in order to protect its members from the unemployment and poverty intrinsic to capitalism. The "old age pension" was introduced in 1908 and, the last big win was the introduction of the "supporting mother?s benefit" in 1972. The end of the post war boom saw the start of efforts to roll back the welfare state. The ALP introduced the assets test on the age pension, ended non-means tested family allowances and reduced young people?s access to payments. This signalled the start of hundreds of changes, all designed to reduce payments, tighten eligibility criteria or impose waiting periods. Welfare rights are now under renewed attack from the Coalition Government, which argues that the family is the best provider of welfare.

Under the guise of "welfare reform" the government is imposing "mutual obligation" on older workers, parents and disabled people, putting pressure on all workers? wages by requiring welfare recipients to volunteer or take low-waged jobs. Like governments around the world, the Howard Government is attacking the welfare state because this is what the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank requires.

The Socialist Alliance says welfare payments for all those in need are a right!

* A guaranteed independent income for all at a living wages. No to State-enforced dependency-end assessments based on relationship status or parental income.

* Abolish work for the dole, immediately pay all Community Development Employment Program workers an award wage and abolish all mutual obligation requirements.

* Scrap the 104-week waiting period for newly arrived migrants.

* Establish voluntary, well-staffed, quality, public programs for those who wish to enter the workforce; provide free education and training; tackle child care, workplace accessibility, discriminatory employment policies and other barriers to employment.

* Eliminate unemployment by reducing working hours with no loss of pay.

* No further outsourcing of welfare services; keep Centrelink in public hands; renationalise the job network.

* Scrap funding for the war machine-money for welfare not warfare!