Where is our budget for the public good?
Photo by Hansjörg Keller on Unsplash
This article was first published in the Tasmanian Times on the 4th May 2022.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
It’s just days after the federal budget I’m trawling through Twitter and wondering exactly how many flood relief crowdfunding campaigns I can donate to.
Where is our robust universal safety net?
Where is our renewed collective agreement to care for each other?
Why are my taxes not being used to act on climate change to the degree that is required, build community, and enable us to care for each other and for place?
I don’t want to have to decide who is worthy of my donation. Everyone should be cared for. Everyone. It shouldn’t matter whether or not you have a social media presence, or a big community, a large contact list, or wealthy friends. Everyone, everyone, should be able to access the care and the support they need right now. Now and into the future.
This is what good government could do. This is what every government should do.
At times like this people want to contribute and to feel useful. For many of us, offering money is a simple and practical thing to do. But imagine if instead of deciding who to donate to, and where to chuck our spare change, we had meaningful pathways to contribute to the public good before, during and after disasters.
The research that we have been doing with Australia reMADE shows how desperately people want to contribute both locally and nationally.
People are seeking an infrastructure that enables them to contribute to this country in a way that goes beyond a quick vote at the ballot box, the invisible whisking away of taxes, or the ad hoc donation to friends, neighbours and charities. People want to invest themselves in the creation of a country that is fair and just and sustainable.
So what if we had an explicit national agenda to enable people to connect, care and contribute?
Photo by Melanie Lim on Unsplash
Think of the things the government could be budgeting for that would help us here: no new coal or gas and a serious approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; proper staffing ratios in arenas that truly matter like healthcare, education and social services; safe and secure housing for everyone; retrofitted buildings and landscapes that are climate positive and robust in the face of disaster.
We could have meaningful and trustworthy processes of citizen engagement where experts (of all kinds – academic and lived experience) could feed into the creation and application of services that invest in specific place-based, community-based responses. A better version of the democracy we are supposed to have.
We need a budget to do the mitigation and preparation work BEFORE disaster strikes.
We need a budget that enables us to thrive as individuals and as communities. I don’t want to be a winner if it means others lose. That’s not what I thought this country was about. I thought we were supposed to cheer for the underdog, help each other out in times of struggle, and come together as a community in good times and bad.
I want a budget for the public good. And so do so many others.
Because what are budgets for anyway?
DR MILLIE ROONEY
Millie is the National Coordinator for Australia reMADE. Millie has a qualitative research background and has spoken in-depth with hundreds of Australian's about their lives, communities and dreams. She has worked in and around universities for over a decade building student capacity and enthusiasm for tackling wicked problems. Millie is also a carer for her family and community and is passionate about acknowledging this work as a valid, valuable and legitimate use of her time.
