The burden of power and the challenge for Labor

Should government intervene to protect the savings of investors, then clearly there needs to be a just and equitable public benefit as well.

The SEARCH Foundation (ie: Social Education and Research Concerning Humanity) is discussing a proposal that urges Australians to “embrace the pragmatic process now underway to nationalise banks and insurance companies … throwing away the idea of a free market in finance altogether, because it is just too dangerous.”

And further: “Any public funds used to stabilise a bank or finance agency should be offset with public equity, board positions, and in many cases by full public ownership.”

The full statement can be found here.

Indeed, moves to socialise sectors of the finance and banking systems could lead to better standards of prudential regulation, provision of banking services on the basis of need, diversion of profits into progressive social programs; and availability of credit for nation-building infrastructure projects and the like.

There is much more that is worthy of discussion: but unfortunately it is beyond the means of this paper to explore all such issues in depth.

In closing, though, it is enough to say that the new Labor government in Australia has been handed a golden opportunity to break the cycle of neglect and the abuse of power of its predecessors.

The Greens and Family First, meanwhile, have a chance to apply leverage to ensure real justice and compassion in the process of tax and welfare reform, including justice for the unemployed, students and single parents, and expansion of the social wage.

In the case of Family First, organised Christians, need not naturally gravitate towards the political Right - as evidenced by the historic compromise between Communists and Christian Democrats in Italy through the 1970s. Engagement is central as part of the process of building a political and electoral bloc necessary for the implementation of compassionate, decent and just social and economic policy.

It is an opportunity that all concerned would be best advised not to waste.