Living shouldn’t have a cost.
The expression “cost-of-living” is obscene and completely at odds with what we expect for our families and communities.
There are four things humans need to live; food, water, air and shelter.
Food has a cost, so does water and shelter.
Air is still free, because no one’s worked out how to make money from it.
As the price of essentials goes up, it costs more just to be alive.
We say “cost-of-living” because it’s an easy way to describe a set of complex factors.
Right now, rent and mortgage repayments are increasing and continue to rise.
Inflation is pushing up the cost of basic household goods.
Fuel prices are higher because of overseas pressure, and the cost of gas has skyrocketed because we’ve handed over our resources to fossil fuel companies who are selling them back to us at inflated prices.
Very few public services are free to the public and they are all becoming unreliable.
The outcome is that many families can’t afford the basics.
You might have found yourself having to decide which essentials you can do without, because the only thing that isn’t increasing is the value of the work you do.
December 2022 figures showed the largest decline in real wages on record.
Politicians say “cost-of-living” so it sounds like something they can’t control.
A shrug or a sympathetic nod for the parents who skip meals so the kids can eat.
Or who has to work out how to make a tank of petrol last until payday?
The “cost-of-living crisis” was designed by politicians.
It was rolled out by governments.
The current situation pushing families to the brink is an outcome of government policy.
At the same time, we’re seeing big corporations, including the banks, get richer.
Record profits, due to price gouging and opportunism.
When politicians say they’re trying to do something about it, I can guarantee they’re not trying hard enough.
A situation created by government decisions can also be fixed by government decisions.
Governments can raise wages.
Governments can build houses.
Governments can support farmers so there’s enough food in the supermarket.
Governments can invest in local renewable energy to drive prices down.
Governments can choose to deliver public services rather than push them out to private companies.
Governments can employ healthcare workers and paramedics and bus drivers.
Governments can set up systems that support people doing it tough, rather than punishing and shaming them.
Governments decide who they’re governing for; chances are, it’s not you.
I’m running for the Greens because I genuinely believe that the Greens’ policies benefit the community.
But you should read them, challenge them, and hold me to account.
Just like you should hold all politicians to account for decisions about who they push forward and who they leave behind.
Living shouldn’t have a cost.
In Australia’s most prosperous state, everyone should expect a good life and if a politician tells you they can’t do it, ask who they’re governing for.
Email, Mar 7
Hilary van Haren, Candidate for Gosford, NSW Greens