An emerging Australian political party is writing serious cheques, demanding free universities, no income tax for under-25s, net zero and nuclear power, and drug decriminalisation.
And it hopes to solve it with an army of political social media influencers.
The Gen Z party emerged from the ether this week in a whirlwind.
“The Boomers in government have failed us,” its promotional material declared.
“Fossils in government must disappear.”
There were about 4.6 million Zoomers (ages 11 to 26) in Australia at last count, almost a fifth of Australia’s population, and it’s that demographic of voters and political aspirants that 19-year-old Melbournian Thomas Dolan wants to mobilize.
It’s not Dolan’s first foray into the political arena. Aged just 18 in 2022, he ran for the critical Victoria seat of Bayswater in the state election but failed, garnering just 2.2 per cent of the vote.
The tilt was under the banner of the Democratic Labor Party, a party known for its anti-communist, predominantly Christian, socially conservative views, which split from the Australian Labor Party in 1955.
Young voters in Australia have formed their own Gen Z Party to tackle the problems facing their generation. Getty Images
However, the political angle that Dolan is now following suggests a radical change in values.
Dolan told news.com.au that he believes his generation is much more involved in politics than they often think.
“There are 4.6 million Gen Zs in Australia with more turning 18 every year, and we all have to vote, but it’s like ‘who are we voting for?’ he said.
“Yes, we have Labor and the Greens, but there is no overall alignment.”
“Why are we voting for a group of lawyers to talk about our shared experiences and represent us in parliament?”
What do they want?
If the reform of the party’s self-proclaimed “socially progressive” policy reflects the generation at all, it offers some interesting insights.
The policy initiative, Dolan said, was inspired by a government-run youth summit that largely shied away from social reform but shared radical ideas for economic and environmental overhaul.
The party’s environmental plan involves joining forces with The Greens in their quest for Net Zero while ensuring all Australians become “fair and equal shareholders” of Australia’s natural wealth, first through taxing “dirty export” profits and by restoring resource mines to the National Trust.
Zoomers wants to see “onerous tax penalties” on transnational companies operating in Australia that create or use single-use plastic items.
The Gen Z party has said it also wants any profits from exported coal to be diverted to providing free electricity to Australians and funding the transition to clean energy.
As for clean energy, the party surprisingly said it was ready to embrace Australia’s energy boogeyman – nuclear power – citing its effectiveness in China, the United States, India and France.
His social reforms included working towards a “more rational, tolerant, non-judgemental, humane and understanding approach to drug use” and supporting a form of recognition of “the trauma that previous Australian governments have inflicted on First Nations people.”
Economic reforms aim to ease, or in some cases completely eliminate, financial stress for young Australians.
The party has pledged to secure housing, especially rentals, for younger Australians through an end to no-cause evictions, implementing a “Tenant Rights Enforcement Watchdog”, a two-year limit on rent increases and investment in social housing.
For those seeking higher education, the party wants “what the Boomers got” – free universities and TAFEs.
“When they get free education and power, what was once a right becomes a privilege,” said the party’s website, which also called for the retrospective abolition of student debt.
The final and perhaps central economic reform promoted by the new party is a zero percent income tax for those under 25 who, according to the party, “have been hit hardest by the cost of living crisis.”
As for further social policy reform, First Nations recognition and drug decriminalization aside, Mr Dolan said: “I want to hear, watch and see what Gen Z thinks is the best way to do things, and we do that by asking Gen Z what they want to talk.”
He hopes his party will be a “broad church of Gen Z views.”
Influence in parliament
Perhaps the most striking element of the Gen Z Party’s strategy is the section on its website entitled “Influence in parliament”, – which aims to do exactly what it says on the box.
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For Dolan, a self-proclaimed centrist who takes his political inspiration from Gough Whitlam, it’s a no-brainer.
He described it as a pre-package with the ability to reach untold numbers of people that traditional media no longer can.
“Influencers have shared similar experiences and worldviews with Gen Z,” Mr. Dolan said.
“If they accept bribes or lobbying donations from BP, their followers will call it quits.”
The website’s call – which asks influencers with 10,000 followers or more to apply to run for the party – hopes a contingent of politically aspiring social media influencers can “be our voice.”
“As an influential person, you will be able to bring a new perspective and represent our interests on issues we care about,” the party said.
“You have communication skills and have proven that you represent a large part of the Gen Z community.
“Parliament needs your enthusiasm. We need you.”
The party’s ambitious goal is to secure the balance of power in each state before “challenging the Boomers’ supremacy in the Australian Federal Government.”
The party first aims to register in Victoria, followed by Western Australia and New South Wales.
On January 16, the party will announce its first “Gen Z Influencer” to contest state elections in 2024.
Dolan said the response was overwhelming from those who supported his idea and those who were dead set against it – a response he found encouraging.
“Basically, we have to represent ourselves because those who we thought were representing us have failed,” he said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
