Party Games 9/54 Australian Sovreignty Party

The Australian Sovereignty Party brings us once again into the realm of the economic fringe. They have two main economic policies that just make one want to weep and then whack them alongside the head with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (which fortunately for this purpose is a pretty hefty tome. That diversion into the history of grain prices may not make for thrilling reading but does help you pack a punch).

First up is their plan to once again have the government create money, and to use this to fund government expenditures. One of the consequences of this will be bringing inflation down to zero. I'll repeat, the government creating money to pay its expenses will have the effect of reducing inflation to zero.

The second is their plan to revamp the tax system. They are going to replace all existing taxes with a debit tax. Every time money leaves one of your bank accounts you get charged a tax of 1% of the amount. This tax will apply to every transaction, so this means each time you transfer money between your accounts, or send money to a family member, or give to charity, you get charged the tax. It also means that there will be ripe opportunities for those who want to work on a cash basis to avoid the system. They estimate that this will bring result in a surplus of $235 billion mainly because it will bring in about twice the revenue the government currently gets. which when they also say that we will all be paying less tax because 1% is less than the current 10% GST does make it sound like someones getting charged somewhere that we're not being told about. Businesses doing lots of bank transactions are going to raise their prices to cover the costs of the extra 1% on every transaction, and I'm sure people aren't going to be happy if the go into overdraft because of the tax being taken out of their bank accounts.

They do better on some other matters. On internet privacy they oppose internet filters, and quite rightly put the onus on parents wanting to protect their children to do so themselves rather than restricting what everyone can access. They support the medicinal use of marijuana, and while not outright supporting decriminalization, encourage a full review of drug laws with that in mind. Their defense plan emphasizes good relationships with neighboring nations, but then diverts into a bit of anti UN spiel.

The ASP is also another proponent of Citizen Initiated Referendums, which again is set up as a way of binding parliament without going to the trouble of changing the constitution. I'm still not sure why so many small right wing parties think these are a good idea.

Website: http://sovereigntyparty.org.au/
twitter: @Aus_Sovereignty