Naomi Woodley reported this story on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 18:38:00

MARK COLVIN: The Greens Leader, Christine Milne, says the economic system is broken and no longer serving the needs of society or the environment. Senator Milne says the major parties have a 'surplus fetish', which could have devastating consequences for the future.



The Senator as also backed the intervention by the former Labor Minister, Lindsay Tanner, who says the ALP (Australian Labor Party) is losing its way, and lacks purpose. Government Ministers have spent the day dismissing his criticisms.



From Canberra, Naomi Woodley reports.



NAOMI WOODLEY: Christine Milne used her first major economic speech, since taking over the Greens leadership to pose a question.



CHRISTINE MILNE: How do we build an economic system that serves the needs of people and nature both for today and for tomorrow?



NAOMI WOODLEY: Senator Milne told the National Press Club in Canberra that the current economic system is broken.



CHRISTINE MILNE: Short-term profits and this year's carefully manipulated budget surplus are overriding the basic human need to care for one another, to plan for a secure future and to protect the natural world which sustains us.



NAOMI WOODLEY: Christine Milne says there's an over-reliance on gross domestic product as a measure of a nation's progress.



CHRISTINE MILNE: It ignores work done in the home and volunteer work across society. It disregards the entrenched gap between rich and poor. It loves a catastrophe like a car accident or the Queensland floods because they generate economic activity regardless of the human cost.



NAOMI WOODLEY: Christine Milne says part of the problem also lies with Labor and the Coalition's pursuit of a budget surplus at all costs.



CHRISTINE MILNE: The surplus fetish must end. We need a proper debate about what's good for the country over what time frame and how to raise the necessary funds to deliver it. The Greens are calling on the Government to either work with us to find the savings and revenue in a forward-thinking, caring manner, or use the upcoming mid-year economic forecast to delay their ill-advised quest for a surplus at all costs. And it should be delayed closer to 2015-16.



NAOMI WOODLEY: The Greens Leader says contrary to some opinion, her party doesn't want to dismantle the market economy, but would prioritise funding in education, health, renewable energy public transport, the arts, research and development, and lift unemployment benefits.



She says the Greens policies at the next election will be costed by the Treasury, or Parliamentary Budget Office. And they've already identified ways to save money, including removing subsidies for resource companies, and changing superannuation tax concessions.



CHRISTINE MILNE: The total additional revenue the Government could have raised through these simple and Treasury-costed steps is $13.2 billion over three years.



NAOMI WOODLEY: The Greens Leader is seeking to define her party's broader agenda, and differentiate it from not only the Coalition, but also Labor.



The Government's agenda received some criticism today from someone closer to home. The former finance minister, Lindsay Tanner, says Labor has lost its inner drive to develop big reforms. Christine Milne agrees.



CHRISTINE MILNE: Lindsay Tanner also said that the Labor Party hasn't come to grips with issues like asylum seekers. That it hasn't come to grip with issues like ecological sustainability. And that is one of its big problems.



NAOMI WOODLEY: And in a host of interviews to promote a new book Lindsay Tanner accused his former colleagues of exaggerating the extent of problems under Kevin Rudd's leadership.



LINDSAY TANNER: In my view, although there were issues and problems, the decision to remove him as prime minister should not have occurred.



NAOMI WOODLEY: The Opposition says it proves Labor still hasn't dealt with the way it dumped Mr Rudd. The Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon says the Government has moved on.



NICOLA ROXON: Since the time that Mr Tanner was in the parliament. And we are now focused on talking to the community about what it is our Government is delivering.



MARK COLVIN: The Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, ending Naomi Woodley's report.