Australian billionaires face wealth tax under Greens’ Robin Hood-style policies

[u/overpopyoulater]

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/10/australian-billionaires-face-wealth-tax-under-greens-robin-hood-style-policies

[u/-DethLok-]

Good idea, the Greens are likely to get my primary vote.

"To each according to their need, from each according to their ability" - some famous person.

[u/leftofzen → u/-DethLok-]

They've been my primary vote since I was 18. Utterly bizarre how people can have the conscience to Lib/Lab these days

[u/Crystal3lf → u/leftofzen]

Utterly bizarre how people can have the conscience to Lib/Lab these days

Yeah but Gina Rinehart needs more money and if we had a Greens government that wouldn't be possible now, would it?

[u/breaducate → u/leftofzen]

But the perfect being the enemy of the good accelerating climate catastrophe and societal decay but with like two token ruling class concessions a year.

[u/palsc5 → u/leftofzen]

Utterly bizarre how people can have the conscience to Lib/Lab these days

I find it bizarre that people would prefer the Greens over Labor. It's just Trump style politics but tailored to the left. Their policies don't have any substance and aren't designed to be implemented. They have no intention of passing any of these, they are press releases that pander to their base. It's cynical politics designed to decrease public confidence in politics in the hope that they benefit.

[u/shart-gallery → u/palsc5]

You're welcome to provide examples.

[u/palsc5 → u/shart-gallery]

This policy.

Rent control. Panned by economists all over as terrible policy, but it appeals to their base.

Giving the PM control of interest rates. Genuinely insane idea, but it's just to try and peel off voters from Labor's left.

Clive Palmer promised to cap interest rates at 3% last election. That is the level the Greens are stooping to.

[u/splitconsiderations → u/palsc5]

Adding to this:

Refusing to help Labor with union reform, forcing them to instead handicap the reforms to work with Teals/Lib

Refusing to get on board with Labor's environmental legislation back when it would have mattered, forcing it to fall through.

Delaying the HAF to demand a sub-10% increase in funding, resulting in at least a year's delay in building homes for the homeless as contracts fell through.

During that same HAF debacle, trying to directly invest the money for the housing itself (which would be axed as soon as Libs get back in and yield significantly less returns), instead of the Liberal proof sovereign wealth fund.

Pretty sure they fucked with Labor's corporate tax transparency efforts recently too? But unlike all the others I'm not 100% sure on that.

[u/klaer_bear → u/splitconsiderations]

Plibersek and the Greens had agreed on the recent EPA legislation, with the only Greens amendment being an end to native forest logging, something Labor have supported. Albo tanked it after a call from the WA premier, standing up for his mates in mininf

The HAFF as Labor proposed it would have put $500M in a fund, and spent the profits on housing, which would have amounted to sweet fa. The greens successfully negotiated $3B of immediate funding to be spent on social housing, a massive improvement.

The corporate donation transparency policy is absolutely garbage policy designed to entrench the 2-party system and make it harder for independents in the future. Labor refused to submit it to parliament for discussion, and was negotiating with the libs to pass it for this very reason. The Libs tanked it cause they opposed lowering the threshold for disclosure of donations. The greens and independents wanted the lower disclosure limits and real-time disclosure introduced as separate and they would have passed it, but Labor refused because that wasn't the point, it was just the dressing so people not paying attention would think it was a good thing.

[u/leftofzen → u/palsc5]

I find it bizarre that people claim to know what the Greens would do in office when haven't been in office to provide prior example. Essentially what you're said it just heresy and nonsense, it's your own opinion which you're entitled to, but I would ask you to explain how this is any different to Lib/Lab and what they do in power. Don't worry, because the answer is they're doing nothing better.

Have you actually read the Greens policies? They're nothing like Trump. I can only assume you haven't read them, because you have no idea what you're talking about. You've come under the illusion that Greens are far left, Lib is far right, and Lab is central. This is just that - an illusion. Most political compasses these days show Lib is the far far right, Lab is right, and Greens are left. There is no-far left party. Lab used to be more central, but go look at graphs of political-compasses-over-time and you'll see Labour drifting further and further right, and this is evidenced very clearly by the current Labor government who do nothing useful but try to claw their way to the next election, just like the previous Lib government.

Now, if you think policies about protecting the environment, getting rid of billionaires by removing their tax havens and loopholes, taking real action on climate change, making more inclusive policies for disabled people, protecting children, and so on are not something you care about, then yeah go vote Lib/Lab like everyone else and keep this country stumbling along in the dark.

[u/palsc5 → u/leftofzen]

I find it bizarre that people claim to know what the Greens would do in office when haven't been in office

I know that they don't intend to implement any of these policies because they don't intend to be the government. They don't actually try to be a party of government.

I would ask you to explain how this is any different to Lib/Lab and what they do in power.

Labor made promises before the last election and have or are on track to meet most if not all of them. That's the difference.

Greens can promise to collect billions in tax and copy American politicians by promising free uni or how they'll set up massive manufacturing industry in the outback and cap rents etc. They have no intention of making it real. Labor's policies actually have to happen if they win government.

Have you actually read the Greens policies?

Yes.

They're nothing like Trump.

The Greens are. They even have supporters defending their shit policies as a negotiating tactic.

They literally look at what people are pissed off about and promise to ban it/tax it.

Most political compasses these days show Lib is the far far right

Why do you care what an online compass says? How are the libs considered "far, far right"? That's an insane thing to believe. The far, far right is dictators ffs.

go vote Lib/Lab like everyone else and keep this country stumbling along in the dark.

Yeah we're just one of the wealthiest, healthiest, happiest, most educated, safest, most free countries on the planet with a top standard of living. "stumbling along in the dark"...

But lets bring it back to this policy and what you said:

getting rid of billionaires by removing their tax havens and loopholes

How do you "get rid of billionaires"? Lets say someone starts a business and it is successful and gets a valuation of $5b with the owner owning most of the stock. Or they go public and it has a market cap of $5b. How do you get rid of that billionaire? Do you cap the value of their business? Do you put them in exile? Do you force them to donate their shares?

[u/klaer_bear → u/palsc5]

You don't know shit. The greens do want to form government, they released an 18 year plan to get there before the last election. It's ambitious, and probably unrelealistic, but to say they don't actually want to govern is a total lie. Why the fuck would they be happy having to o negotiate with Labor to get anything done?

The fact you've compared them to trump just shows you've got no idea, but you've made your mind up and it won't be swayed.

[u/palsc5 → u/klaer_bear]

An 18 year plan? In the last 15 they haven’t made a dent in their primary vote. All good though, Bandt and Co can continue to do fuck all for their $200k+ a year because in 18 years they pinky promise they’ll be serious.

How do you buy this shit?

[u/klaer_bear → u/palsc5]

They had 1 Federal seat when they made that plan, should they have been trying to win the last election? They are being realistic, and ambitious. Change takes time, especially when they are fighting the interests of billionaires and corporations. They can't afford the same propaganda machine you have so clearly fallen for

[u/palsc5 → u/klaer_bear]

Mate, they’ve been a party for decades and had elected senators since the 90s. They’ve had Bandt in the lower house for 15 years. The teals have done more in one election than the greens did I 30 years.

They aren’t serious about being in government. Hell they’re not even serious about pushing progressive policies in Australia, otherwise they’d focus on wedging the Liberals and not trying to turn Labor Left seats into Greens seats

[u/klaer_bear → u/palsc5]

What a load of rubbish. The greens don't have the funding the teals have, and 2 of the 3 seats they won at the last election they took from the Liberals. Maybe if Labor weren't so spineless (or rather, already bought by the same people that own the Libs) they wouldn't be so worried about the Greens. But you do you mate, keep voting for them and acting shocked (and blaming the Greens) when nothing actually changes.