Every week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to talk about issues that tell us to keep privacy by rolling a dice. The numbers in which they land are the subjects that give them. This week, he talks to Adam Bandt. Last month, the 50-year-old Greens leader led his party to its most successful federal election result. The former labor lawyer lives with his wife and two daughters in central Melbourne.
“I don’t think we’re in the era of Bob and Blanche’s plush gown interview anymore!” Credit: Simon Schluter
MONEY
What did your parents teach you about money? To be careful what you have. But also to acknowledge that there are many people who do not have enough, and that this is a trait of society rather than a character trait of those people.
What is the best part of your job? I’m not here to invent numbers; I’m here to do things. So being able to put into practice things that you believe in, things that will make a big difference in people’s lives, is a pretty good feeling.
What aspects of the job do you hate? There are many things that are said in the chamber that are never picked up at the microphones, or that do not reach the Hansard, a sleigh with gutters that does not advance the national interest. Also, stay away from family. I have two daughters, both of whom were born while in politics. In a sense, they’ve never known anything different, but it’s hard.
You talked about reaching zero net emissions in 10 years while achieving full employment nationwide. Isn’t that an unrealistic and expensive dream? Well, I think anything that prevents the collapse of civil society and our economy through the climate crisis is money well spent. We are still trapped in this idea of talking about the climate crisis as if it were a room where the oven can be marked up and down. People think, “Oh, it’s going to get a little hotter, but then maybe in 20 years we can cool it down a little bit.” Not so. It’s about whether you go through a cliff or not. We are facing the collapse of large parts of civil society, the decimation of agriculture and business as we know it. And yes, the money is there: Australian billionaires increased their wealth during the pandemic. We just have to have the courage to ask or make these billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share. We can’t afford not to.
“It’s a reminder that as we decarbonize, we need to take care of the workers and the communities.”
Do MPs pay too much, too little or too little? Too.
And you say that yourself as a Member of Parliament? Let’s say MPs can’t get a pay raise until the minimum wage goes up. They may suddenly start to get a little interested in poverty.