Return Government to the People

Citizens Party National Conference — Policy Platform Launch

Sunday, 17 November 2024

Links to individual presentations in the program below.

Take Back Economic and National Sovereignty!

Australia has a crisis of governance, the legacy of successive governments serving corporate interests and foreign powers ahead of Australians. Both major parties have pursued policies concentrating economic and political power in a handful of big banks, retailers, resource giants, and media companies, who profit while the public suffer cost-of-living and housing crises. The major parties have colluded to hand over military control of Australia to the USA (and UK) through the AUKUS partnership, with the public paying the enormous cost.

An unprecedented public backlash is shaking Australian politics. The combined major party primary vote is in terminal decline. Corporate CEOs complain the bigger parliamentary crossbench is subjecting them to painful scrutiny of their corporate abuses. The Australian Citizens Party (ACP) is leading a movement of citizen engagement in politics which has forced Parliament to reject policies giving more power to banks and corporate interests, and to take up a powerful policy to reclaim economic sovereignty—a public post office People’s Bank.

The ACP’s “Return Government to the People” conference will sound the call for citizens to join the fight for economic and national sovereignty the ACP is taking to the next election.

PROGRAM

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Click on a presentation title to watch the recording on YouTube.

Introduction – Citizens Party Policy Platform Launch

Panel 1 – National sovereignty — Australia needs an independent foreign policy

• Australia is not sovereign without an independent foreign policy
  John Lander
  Former Australian Deputy Ambassador to China (1974-76)
  Former Ambassador to Iran (1985–87)
• Subservience to a foreign power damages Australia’s most important trade relationship
  Richard Yuan ( in place of Kingsley Liu)
  Founder Australia-China Entrepreneurs (ACE) Club
  Founder ABC World Pty Ltd
• Australian government’s Gaza hypocrisy betrays its Muslim citizens
  Aisha Novakovich BA, LLB.
  Lawyer, Community Advocate, Entrepreneur

Panel 2 – Economic sovereignty — Australia needs a national bank

• Reclaim economic sovereignty with a post office People’s Bank
  Elisa Barwick
  Chief Editor, Australian Alert Service
• The Commonwealth Bank of Australia From Promise to Despair and Despoliation
  Dr Evan Jones
  Honorary Associate in Political Economy at the University of Sydney
• A People’s Bank will set standards for serving consumers
  Assoc. Prof. Andy Schmulow
  Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong

Panel 3 – Return integrity to government

• Abolish and replace ASIC
  John Adams
  Independent Economist and Principal Economic Analyst at Adams Economics
• Lawforce: Equality of Arms for financial victims
  Michael Sanderson
  Financial victims’ advocate
  Foundation member of ‘Bank Warriors’ and Advisor with ‘Bank Reform Now’
• Banking self-regulation has failed Australia
  Geoff Fader
  Chair of the Tasmanian Small Business Council
  Former chair of COSBOA

Panel 4 – An honest approach to governance

• True transparency in government: support and protect whistleblowers
  John Shipton
  Anti-war activist, leading advocate for his son Julian Assange
• The ACP’s principled approach to politics
  Dr Hakim Gassiep
  Secretary of Islamic Society of Melbourne Eastern Region (ISOMER)
• How the ACP will represent citizens in Parliament
  Robert Barwick
  Citizens Party Research Director and Victorian Senate Candidate