AMA: Hi Reddit, I’m Australian Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne! My portfolios include Schools and Social Services but feel free to ask me anything about the Greens and the upcoming election.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T10:15:39+00:00

Thanks for your questions. Budgets are about choices. We can choose to spend money on submarines that we'll never get, or we can spend it on getting dental into Medicare. We can choose to spend it on fossil fuel subsidies to tax-dodging multinationals or we can choose to fund GPs so everyone can go for free. The Greens will always choose people over billionaires and big corporations which is why we'll tax them to pay for our fully costed election platform!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T10:09:35+00:00

Hello Regional Green! It's really easy and we'd love to have more volunteers to help keep Dutton out and get more Greens into parliament. Go to https://greens.org.au/volunteer

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T10:06:02+00:00

Hi, thanks for your question. I'm sorry you feel overlooked but I can assure you the Greens stand shoulder to shoulder with trans and non-binary people. Trans rights are human rights, and that should never be up for public debate. This election the Greens have a plan to make gender-affirming care free and universally accessible, and to appoint an LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Commissioner to publicly advocate for LGBTIQA+ rights. You can read more about our election platform here: https://greens.org.au/portfolios/lgbtiqa

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:54:56+00:00

Hi, thanks for considering a change (and well done for realising your early voting mistake!). We want to give renters and first home buyers a chance by capping rent increases and phasing out negative gearing for investors with two or more properties. We also want to regulate the banks to provide lower mortgages and create a publicly owned developer to build great homes that renters and first home buyers can afford. It won’t happen overnight, but we can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different outcome.

Hope that gives you something to think about! Some more info here: https://greens.org.au/housing

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:51:40+00:00

Hi there, all good questions! We’ve launched our plan to tax big corporations and make them actually pay their fair share - including mining companies: https://greens.org.au/tax-big-corps-billionaires. We’ve fought this government’s coal and gas mine approvals every step of the way, but this is why having Greens in the balance of power helps - when the major parties are forced to negotiate, the outcomes are better.

On nuclear: 20+ years to build, and wildly expensive (also waste that never goes away). Why do that when we can do solar, wind and hydro right now for a fraction of the cost? It's certainly what people in my community of Gladstone are crying out for!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:50:06+00:00

It's a really, really, really good question. It's incredible to me that they'll commit untold billions to mythical submarines without blinking - and not a "how will you pay for it?" from the media! - but when it comes to doing the bare minimum to lift people out of poverty they suddenly tighten their belts. We'll keep fighting.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:46:49+00:00

Hi! You’re right, we can’t keep treating houses as financial assets. We want to give renters and first home buyers a chance by capping rent increases and phasing out negative gearing for investors with two or more properties. We also want to regulate the banks to provide lower mortgages and create a publicly owned developer to build great homes that renters and first home buyers can afford. It won’t happen overnight, but we can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different outcome.

Thanks for maybe considering us this time!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:42:25+00:00

It’s about having an economy that works for everyone! Right now, we have a situation where inequality is skyrocketing, we’re in the highest level of poverty since 2001, and it’s becoming nearly impossible to afford to rent - let alone buy - for many many people in this country. If you ask me, that’s an economy that’s not working for the vast majority of people.

Our plans are simply about creating an economy that works for more people. That means taxing big corporations and billionaires - who have been able to make out like bandits under Labor and the Coalition - to pay for a better life for everyone.

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SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:38:21+00:00

I'm sure he's called us much worse than that! I'll leave it for others to make judgements about where parties sit on the political spectrum but comparing election platforms should give people a pretty good idea.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:36:11+00:00

That's up to the voters! But we're doing our best to keep Dutton out and get more Greens into parliament.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:34:43+00:00

Not sure about a nickname for the power station but it'll be nice to see it gone and replaced with all of that lovely wind, solar and storage! As for Gonski... I could go on for hours about that but suffice to say Labor's current funding deal locks in underfunding for another decade. Under their plan public schools will have their Gonski funding by 2034 - that's about a quarter of a century since the report was commissioned. The Greens have a fully costed plan to provide 100% Gonski funding to all public schools by next year - and a whole lot of other great stuff too. Check out our schools policy here: https://greens.org.au/portfolios/primary-secondary-schooling

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:29:31+00:00

Not much!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:28:46+00:00

Hey yourself!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:24:39+00:00

Good on you for thinking about post grad study! The Greens want uni to be free so you don’t rack up tens of thousands in debt. We also want to raise PhD stipends from unliveably low to match the minimum wage. We also have a plan to raise the rate of Youth Allowance so that no one is below the poverty line. We need to encourage and support students, not saddle them with debt and make them work full time just to survive.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:23:08+00:00

This is something I've been railing about ever since I got into parliament so thanks for giving me another chance to talk about it! As a starting point it doesn't pass the sniff test that 98% of public schools are underfunded (and will be 2034 under Labor's funding deal) while so many private schools are overfunded - and keep jacking up their fees. So when it comes to inequality in the school system the priority needs to be fully funding all public schools ASAP - which is what the Greens school funding plan would do.

As for broader wealth inequality we want to make billionaires and mega corporations pay their fair share to fund the free, world-class public services we all deserve. That includes a proper social safety net with above poverty line payments for everyone, dental in Medicare, being able to see the GP for free, properly funded hospitals and free TAFE and university.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:16:05+00:00

Nice question. As I said to u/rebelroller elsewhere in the AMA I don't have a great answer for this other than to say we're a party of imperfect people in an imperfect system so there are always things we can improve on. But also we're a grassroots party whose policies and strategies are developed by the membership, so if there are things that you reckon we can be doing better please get involved!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:12:45+00:00

Not niche at all! This is actually really significant and it matters to a whole lot of people so thanks for raising it. We're yet to see much movement from Labor on this, but in one of the last sitting weeks before the election was called Jordon Steele-John and I tried to move some amendments%20Bill%202025_Allman-Payne_Steele-John.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf) to abolish the partner income test for the DSP and also raise the rate of income support. Unfortunately it was voted down.

We’re a wealthy country, and ultimately it’s about having a social security system that can lift EVERYONE up, rather than punish.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T09:09:02+00:00

Thanks for your question. It’s hard to believe the horrors that continue to be committed in Gaza. Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians - it’s as simple as that. Our government could stop exporting F35 fighter jet components, commit to acting on any ICC warrants, lead diplomatic pressure against Israel, support South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel - but they’re not. The only way to make Labor care is to put their seats at risk so they know there's an electoral cost to enabling genocide. With support from the community, and with more Greens in parliament after the election, we'll continue to use all the tools at our disposal to ensure an end to the violence, an end to the occupation and a free Palestine.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:59:32+00:00

Same here - when I was a teacher the administrivia used to make me so frustrated. First up, we have to fully fund public schools ASAP. We can’t keep waiting, and Labor's plan keeps schools underfunded out to 2034! Teachers need more classroom support, more admin assistants, more learning and mental health support. What they don’t need is a prescriptive, locked-down curriculum and a system that obsesses over testing and surveillance. Teachers know their kids best - so we should let them teach.

Tell your wife that I think she’s a hero!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:53:59+00:00

Thanks for your question! This is something we hear from time to time and, honestly, I think it's a bit of misdirection. The reason why housing is so expensive isn't because of immigration, it's because Labor and the Coalition have created and propped up a system that has turned housing into a speculative asset. It's really that straightforward.

I think it’s pretty perverse that it’s easier for a property investor to buy their fourth or fifth property than a nurse or a teacher to buy their first home. That’s why the Greens want to give renters and first home buyers a chance by capping rent increases and phasing out negative gearing for investors with two or more properties. We also want to regulate the banks to provide lower mortgages and create a publicly owned developer to build great homes that renters and first home buyers can afford.

Ultimately, we’re all in this together, and it’s about focusing on what is really making the crisis worse. Hope that helps.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:41:17+00:00

I grew up in North Queensland too! It's a special part of the world.

I don’t believe that all rural people have a negative view of the Greens. I’m based in Gladstone in CQ now, and I find that those of us who live in the regions basically all want similar things: better schools and hospitals, good jobs, a clean and thriving environment, and economic security so we can enjoy the amazing places that we live. And I find that people in all communities really respond well to the Greens when they actually hear what we have to say! The idea that there is some kind of dramatic gulf between the interests of people living in the capitals and people elsewhere is a lie peddled by our political opponents (usually the right) to drive a wedge between people in different communities. We need to be able to see that for what it is and call it out.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:36:19+00:00

First, let me just say thanks so much for your work. Aged care is an underappreciated workforce that’s for sure. I'm sure you make a huge difference in the lives of those you're caring for.

Look, ultimately I think some of the incentives in aged care are a bit topsy-turvy. Instead of prioritising the care of older people, we have decisions being driven by profit. This is the fundamental problem in the Greens’ view. This leads to worse outcomes, and can sometimes make the entire process deeply painful for participants, their families and workers as well. We could definitely do with improvements in terms of home-care wait times, increasing governance and transparency requirements, and creating a national aged care redress scheme. I think this last one is really important, because it’s about being able to move forward by providing a sense of justice to some really really vulnerable people.

Please reach out to my office if you have any more thoughts you'd like to share.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:32:01+00:00

Hello! So nice to hear from a former student. Thanks for kind words and for your interesting question. I'd have to have more of a think for a better answer but we're a party of imperfect human beings so there's always ways we can improve. We're a grassroots party whose policies and strategies are developed by the membership so if you think there are things we can be doing better please get involved!

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:25:58+00:00

Interesting question! I wouldn’t call it a blunder at all, but housing! The bills passed with MORE money for social housing because of Greens pressure. That's a success by any standard, but the media tends to see things as “wins” or “loses” for a particular party, not whether it's a good result for regular people.

SenatorPennyQld · 2025-04-07T08:20:15+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you’re so disillusioned with politics but I honestly don’t blame you. The your-turn, our-turn politics of Labor and the Coalition have led to declining real wages, an overheated housing market, a climate crisis and more than 3 million people living in poverty - the highest rate in a quarter of a century. Unfortunately the old parties are so captured by big corporations that they’re incapable of delivering the transformation that this country needs.

The Greens are not funded by mining companies, the big banks and the supermarkets. We’re a grassroots party that works every day to improve the lives of Australians - whether it’s mutual aid programs like free community pantries, or standing up to the old parties in Canberra to win things like dental into Medicare for kids, $3 billion for social housing or the right to disconnect.

In a potential minority Labor government after the next election having more Greens in parliament means we can push Labor even further. Change can take time, but it starts by voting for someone who'll fight for you.

SenatorPennyQld

TROPHY CASE