PRESS RELEASE: The “flea in the ear” of the next Federal Government
As one of the increasing number of minor parties who have grown their membership base using social media, the Australia Workers Party has established itself firmly as a progressive, pro-worker, anti-neoliberal party committed to act in the best interests of working people and their families.
The 2019 Federal election is the first election contested by the Australian Workers Party (“AWP”) with Senate teams running in NSW, Victoria and Queensland and also in the electorate of Lyne on the mid-north coast of NSW.
The party, which is gathering a broad grassroots support base, is self-funded, offers free membership and vows to challenge the unacceptable, such as poverty, bigotry and the growing number of the working poor.
AWP National Secretary, co-founder and Senate candidate for NSW Mark Ptolemy stated the party has one simple guiding principle; to view every proposal or policy on the premise of how it will benefit working people.
“Our goal is to be the loudest advocate for working people in Australian politics.
“We have seen Labor move to the centre and in many respects it’s policy base mirrors that of the LNP. It certainly shares the same neoliberal economic agenda as the LNP. An agenda that has failed middle and lower income earners over the years,” Ptolemy said.
“Life for ordinary working people is getting harder; stagnant wage growth, unaffordable housing, ever-increasing costs of living – all things given to us by successive ALP & LNP governments.
“We want to offer a range of alternate policies, all based upon common sense and all based on the principles of social and economic justice, plus we want to challenge the system, to bring about a more civil and compassionate national discourse,” Mark Ptolemy said.
The AWP has a range of policies including raising the tax free threshold to $75,000 to ease pressure off lower and middle income earners and to stimulate the economy, to push for free dental for all to be included in Medicare, to initiate a universal job guarantee, to gain a commitment to a goal of full employment for the next government, to call for a review of Parliamentary practices to end the infantile behaviour and increase the efficiency of Parliament.
Mark Ptolemy said, “With the likelihood of a Bill Shorten Labor administration, the AWP would like to be a ‘flea in the ear’ of the new government, to remind them of the people that they should be representing; ordinary working men and women and their families”.
Ends.
The AWP Senate teams are:
In NSW – Mark Ptolemy and Maria Nguyen
(Media contact: Mark Ptolemy 0414 993873)
In Vic – Narelle Everard and Kevin Gaynor
(Media contact: Narelle Everard on 0448 747 858)
In Qld – Gregory Bradley and Kath Wellstead
(Media contact: Greg Bradley on 0418 709 119)
The AWP candidate for Lyne is Ed Caruana
(Contact Ed on 0419 204 466)
AWP candidates would be pleased to respond to media requests:
AWP National Secretary:
[email protected]
View the goals and policies of the AWP on their website:
www.australianworkersparty.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ausworkersparty
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ausworkersparty