CAP GENERAL POSITION STATEMENTS
A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
CAP knows Australia is a great country, where people are free to go about their business and express their opinions in a respectful and legal way, without interference from government. CAP will work diligently to protect these freedoms and our democratic way of life.
HEALTH
CAP wants to ensure Australia has a world class health system which is affordable for everyone. This requires adequate funding and resourcing.
HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS
CAP is very concerned that for years governments of all sides of politics have underfunded the Health System
CAP will work for and support efforts to ensure additional funding is available for health care to enable ALL Australians to receive the best possible health care they need when they need it.
WAITING LISTS
Hospital elective surgery waiting lists are far too long – CAP will work for and support efforts to significantly reduce these waiting lists to ensure that patients can receive the care they require in a timely manner.
ADDITIONAL STAFF
CAP will support efforts to enable the training of additional health care professionals to ensure the health system is properly resourced.
AMBULANCE SERVICE
CAP understands that the community deserves a world class ambulance system. CAP will work hard to ensure adequate funding is made available to this sector of the health system, as well as an increase in emergency capacity, to ensure patients can rely on emergency care when it is required.
ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY CAPACITY
CAP will seek to establish a network of GP SUPER CLINICS, which will all have 24 hour emergency facilities, where those presenting for care will be triaged and either treated at the Super Clinic or transferred immediately to a hospital if necessary. This will be part of the strategy to direct the cases requiring care, but not hospitalisation, away from hospital emergency departments, thus freeing up hospital resources for those needing hospitalisation.
EDUCATION
CAP knows that education of our children and young adults is the key to continued prosperity in Australia. CAP believes the education system requires updating to meet the needs of a modern society.
The foundation of a world class education system is based on best practice teacher training. CAP will work to help achieve this and CAP will seek an increase in funding for all levels of education, as well as increasing resourcing of this important sector.
TRANSPORT
Having an affordable and efficient transport system relies on two important parameters. Public Transport, and Private Transport.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Public transport needs to be efficient and affordable. CAP recognises that as well as moving people into the CDB, our transport system needs to assist people living in suburban areas who have the need to commute around these areas.
CAP will advocate for a more sustainable public transport system, one which will establish a wide, efficient and affordable network of transport options to move people around suburbs from their homes to local shops and amenities at a fair and reasonable cost.
PRIVATE TRANSPORT
Private transport options are required to fill the gap that public transport cannot fill. Driving needs to be safe, stress free, and efficient. CAP will support policies to achieve better private transport outcomes.
A STRONG ECONOMY
A strong economy is key to the success of any nation. CAP will support business, whilst ensuring that employees are treated fairly and properly rewarded for their invaluable labour.
Small to medium size business is the back bone of our economy and provides a significant amount of employment opportunities for workers. CAP will support efforts to lower costs for these businesses as well as reduce “red tape” barriers which most commonly affect businesses of this size.
CAP is concerned about large corporations, especially overseas corporations, that use “transfer pricing” to reduce the tax payable. CAP will require these Corporations to pay an additional 1% on turnover as income tax with their monthly Activity Statement. At the end of the year the Corporation will still be required to submit its tax return in the normal manner. The amount of tax payable will be the higher of the amount due as per the tax return or that collected from the monthly return.
CAP is also concerned about the drain on individual citizens resources by gaming machines, but also recognises that the revenue that these generate is important for local “not for profit” organisations.
CAP will support “not for profit” organisations to continue as operators of gaming machines because they only use the revenue to support local causes and do NOT pay dividends.
CAP will work to ensure the owners of gaming machines that pay profits to either companies or individuals, will be required to reduce their machine numbers. (They may sell or gift the machines to a “not for profit” organisation).
LAW AND ORDER
Law and Order has been underfunded for years, with the strain on our police forces becoming greater and greater, and court systems over-run with cases.
CAP believes law enforcement is essential to an orderly society, however the laws need to be enforced in a fair, just and measured manner. CAP will work to ensure law enforcement officers who abuse their position are brought into line or removed from their position, but at the same time, giving absolute support to those who keep us safe.
CAP believes the proper support of law enforcement relies on the court system, which can lack timeliness and in some cases adequate punishment.
CAP will seek to establish a tribunal system to support our courts, where offenders who plead guilty to lower level offences, will receive instant sentences as appropriate. This will free up court time, thus ensuring that more serious offences are dealt with in a more timely and efficient manner.
SPORT AND RECREATION
CAP believes sport takes many forms and functions, and all types of activities are important for people’s well-being, both mental and physical.
CAP will recognise as a sport any activity which encourages people to take part in some form of activity, whether that is of an extremely physical nature, or more sedate in nature. Activities which people share with their animals will also be included as sports.
Sports involved in betting will be categorised as Gambling Sports, others as Recreational Sports. In some instances a sport can be in both categories – eg elite cricket, and suburban cricket etc.
CAP will provide funding for both categories of sports, however funding decisions will take into account the relevant income streams when making these considerations.
CLIMATE POLICY
Climate policy is an area that concerns many people in Australia. CAP shares that concern.
Powering the Nation is the number one concern, because without reliable power, households and industry cannot function.
Renewable sources of power have a significant role to play in providing clean energy to Australian businesses and households. However, renewable sources of energy must be reliable 24 hours a day, and the key to this reliability is making sure every user of energy, has access to a reliable battery source for those times when power is not generated by renewable sources.
CAP will work to ensure that every household in Australia has access to solar power, backed up with battery storage.
Green energy is also going to be a key to future power generation, and CAP will ensure that funding is provided to the development of this power source.
In addition to these measures, CAP will actively fund forest re-generation, because this is an area that has been neglected. Rain forests and other native forests provide enormous benefits for the environment, help stabilise temperatures, and also provide great areas to support a wide range of our native birds and wildlife.
CAP will work with our indigenous people to institute best practice in the management of these native forest areas. Taking measures to ensure the integrity of these areas by creating natural fire breaks, yet still providing corridors for wildlife will be a key part of this management programme.
FARMING
As outlined in our Animal Policy, Farming is a key fundamental to protect our ability to feed not only our nation, but other nations. Australian farmers are world class in their management of their animals, their lands, and as crop growers.
CAP believes everyone should have the freedom to consume food of their choice.
CAP will enshrine Farming as an Essential Service in legislation, and thus make it illegal for anyone to interfere with farmers who go about their business in a lawful manner. Farmers will have to ensure “best practice” in all areas of their operations, and industry will be expected to assist in the establishment of guidelines to achieve this.
Australia has an enormous amount of land available to it to increase its production of meat and crops, however, water has always been the resource that has restricted the full use of the land available.
Australia’s far north has rainfall in large quantities with most of this flowing into the ocean. That makes it an ideal area to harvest this water and make it available to farmers in regions where land is available and the climate is suitable.
This will take a co-ordinated approach from State Governments, a significant investment of capital, manpower and technology to bring it about. CAP will work to encourage Governments to plan to access this important resource to increase the Nations production of food.
SOCIAL HOUSING
CAP is concerned at the level of homelessness in society.
Women, children and men at risk of violence, have nowhere to go to escape their situation, and others who have no employment, irrespective of the circumstances for this situation, also have no roof over their head.
In a country as wealthy as Australia, this is unacceptable.
CAP will work towards increasing public emergency housing. The vulnerable of our community, deserve our support by giving them not only a roof over their head, but security, dignity, and peace of mind that they can live a life with some simple pleasures.
With the provision of housing will come the responsibility to ensure the house provided is kept clean and tidy, and maintained in a good condition.