My name is Jim Reiher, and I am a Christian, and I am standing for the Greens Party.

I became a Christian at 15 and have tried to live my life by the teachings and principles of Jesus and scripture. My journey over those years has seen me move between various denominations, and shift and hopefully grow in my understanding of living as a follower of Christ in our contemporary world. I am currently a member of the Berwick Church of Christ in Centre Road. I am a lecturer at for Tabor College: a non-denominational college that trains people to be counsellors, ministers of religion, youth workers etc.

But as a Christian, which political party should one align oneself to? Let me say from the outset that every party has some good and some bad policies, and no one party has got it all right (from a Christian point of view) – not even the so-called Christian parties. From that starting point, each individual Christian must decide which party is the most compatible with their understanding of how to live as a Christian in this world.

Sadly, there are too many “one issue Christians” out there. Some people accuse some parties (especially the smaller ones like the Greens) of being “one issue parties”. Not only are such people wrong (the Greens have terrific policies on all the important issues of our day) but they are also – sometimes – hypocrites. Why? Because some of those very same people are one issue voters.

Some Christians will not vote Green because one of our policies under the category of social justice is that we seek to treat gay men and women with equality and dignity. Just like we aim to treat everyone else – every other sinner. This one issue is for some, the only thing they think of when they think Green. They wont look at all our other policies, especially our conservation policies to care for the earth and our policies to work towards fighting poverty - which, I believe, are more Christian than the mainstream parties. No – some Christians have their minds made up! They are one issue voters.

But on the balance of all our policies, the Greens are a good option for Christians to support. In a nut shell, consider:

The Greens care for God’s creation. Our conservation policies alone should compel Christians to vote for us. God gave humankind the mandate to rule the world, but not to exploit it. Read Genesis 1 again! Adam was meant to care for the earth, not destroy it. To support parties that allow multinational companies the right to destroy some of our oldest and tallest forests in the country, for wood chip products – is a sin against God. Some super rich companies are getting richer still at the expense of our children’s heritage. We destroy the very creation that God saw and said “This is good!” The Greens do not want to stop development, but we want wise development – ecologically sound development. We want to preserve the things that matter most. We want clean air, clean water, good soil management, and more protected parks and forests. We want to implement policies that will contribute towards slowing down the climate warming that is happening. Caring for God’s creation is one of our strongest and most important policies.

We want to keep Medicare and make it stronger, and encourage doctors to bulk bill: medical treatment should be equally available to all, no matter what one’s income or status. We want dental cover to be a part of Medicare. And a strong Medicare system cares for the poor. Recall Proverbs 14:21 “happy is he who is gracious to the poor.” And verse 31: “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker. But he who is gracious to the needy honours Him.”

We want to make our tax system more progressive, like it use to be. The gap between the rich and the poor has deepened over the last ten years. Christians are supposed to be concerned with justice for the poor. II Cor. 8:13-15 captures this idea: “our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. As it is written, ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.’” And Proverbs 29:7: “The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor. The wicked does not understand such concern.”

We want to wean governments off tax revenue from the gambling industry. The Greens are the strongest party against the unethical dependence of governments on gambling revenue. Bob Brown and Tim Costello stood on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne, and Bob declared that the Greens are opposed to gambling revenue as a tax source for governments. It is a moral issue that is destroying too many families in this country. Why didn’t the Churches speak up in support of that speech? Why do Christians conveniently forget that on this particular moral issue (the gambling industry), we are well out in front of the rest of the pack? If you want to be a one policy voter, why not vote on the issue of the gambling industry?

The Greens believe in funding for schools to be distributed fairly. We believe in diversity and multiculturalism and so we believe in the right of private schools to exist and to promote their emphasis. But we believe that funding given to them should be more equitable and fair. A small group of the richest private schools should not get more funding than the struggling private or public schools – even if some of them are church schools. How can Christians agree with the inequity of the present system? God hates injustice and the crooked scale!

Regarding refugees and boat people: the Greens have the most Christian policy of all towards the treatment of these folk. Clichés like “their queue jumpers” or “some of them are terrorists” make us blind to the injustice we commit against these people. Jesus taught us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” People are fleeing from horrible regimes and governments. And what do many Christians accept? The present policy of throwing men women and children into “holding camps” – “detention centres” – lets call them by their real name shall we:… jails. We leave them there for up to three years, and we often send them back to the places they fled from. Lev. 19:33 says: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Love him as yourself…” Remember, Jesus said it too: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” How would you want to be treated if you were fleeing from an oppressive regime or miserable country?

Regarding war, the Greens have the best and most Christian policy: war is the last resort; war should be for defensive purposes, and if wars are going to be held to punish some bad leader out there, then the United Nations should be sanctioning it. We should bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. Christians should not start wars. Christians should not exaggerate and lie to justify crushing an enemy. When a leader lies about intelligence reports, or about weapons of mass destruction which did not exist, or about the seriousness of a threat to our people, they are breaking one of the ten commandments: “Thou shall not bear false witness”. Why don’t Christians scream out in horror at the breaking of that commandment by our current government?…. Christians should not be party to other world powers personal plans of dominance and economic expansion. The party that comes closest to Jesus Christ on this issue of war and peace is the Greens.

Remember Sept 11 . . . Which western politicians asked these kinds of questions?

• “How is it that these people hate us westerners, especially Americans, so much?” Or:
• “What have we done to contribute to such hatred?” Or:
• “Should we respond to violence with violence?” Or
• “If we really are Christians, should we bless those who curse us, instead of seeking revenge?” Remember the words of the apostle Peter: “Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead…” (I Peter 3:9) Or:
• “Where does forgiveness and doing good to those who hurt us, come into all this?” Or:
• “Instead of vengeance and hatred, could we spend the money we would spend on a war, on foreign aid and humanitarian relief instead? No strings attached. Didn’t Jesus say: When you do good, do it to those who can’t repay you in any way? How does that all apply here?

If you are more than a “one issue voter” and you seriously weigh all the major policy issues of our day, then I believe that you should – as a concerned Christian - be convicted to vote Green.

The general principles of the Greens can be found here. (This needs to link to the section headed ‘The Australian Greens’ which

How Greens Policies are a working out of Christian principles.

Regarding Ecology, the Environment and Economic issues related to these:

• We are meant to oversee and care for the creation, as we use it for our needs (Gen. 1:28-31; 2:15 – note the wording: “cultivate and keep”, not “exploit and deplete”).
• We are meant to be stewards of all God’s provision: not exploiting it for self-interest and personal profit (Matt 25:14-20).
• We are meant to think of others and not just ourselves: we should be concerned for all people of the world, and for those who will come after us (I Cor. 10:24; Phil. 2:4; Luke 6:31; I John 3:17).

Regarding Democracy, Social Justice and treating all people equally:

• All humanity is made in the image of God – and that gives every human being worth and dignity, even if sin has blurred that image of God within us (Gen.1:26; James 3:9)
• God shows no partiality – neither should we (Acts 10:34; James 2:9)
• God has shown us to call no person “unholy or unclean” – even if those people have different religions or lifestyles (Acts 10:28).
• Like Paul, even if we don’t agree with other people’s beliefs and life, we still show respect and use persuasion to convince otherwise (Acts 17:16, 22,23ff).
• We live and let live. We do unto others what we would like them to do to us (Mark 12:31; Matt. 7:12).

Regarding issues of Peace and War:

• God calls on us to show the alien in our midst respect and treat them “as we ourselves would want to be treated” (Lev. 19:33)
• God is a God of peace: one of the fruit of the Spirit is “peace” (Galatians 5:22).
• Jesus taught “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9).
• Scripture teaches that we should be prepared to suffer wrong rather than win our point (I Peter 3:9; I Cor. 6:7).
• We should do unto others as we would want them to do unto us, and not just seek to look after our own interests, but also the interests of others (I Cor. 10:24).

Regarding Global Responsibility and care for the poor:

• It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
• God’s favour is on those who care for the poor (Prov. 14:21,31; 28:27)
• It is foolishness in the economy of God, to build up treasures for ourselves on earth, instead of treasures for ourselves in heaven (Matt. 6:19-24; Luke 12:16-21).
• The parable of the sheep and the goats reveals the imperative for true Christians to be doing good, and caring for the poor and disadvantaged (Matt. 25:31-46).

Further information on policies

1. Economic – How the Greens would spend the surplus.

The following section on using the surplus (this point: number 1) is the only section of this document not taken from official Greens policy documents. It is my understanding of how we would probably use the surplus. It is consistent with Greens policies, but should be seen as one Green’s interpretation and priorities.

This year we saw the government receive $9 billion more than they had budgeted for. If the Greens had that the responsibility of stewarding that money . . . .First – a working assumption: The GST is raking in far more money than was ever anticipated, and that this will continue while we have the GST. Even if the GST would be removed, subpoints b and c below would be policies we will maintain by re-ordering government priorities.

The Greens would:

• NOT give a tax cut to the high income earners. Numerous polls have shown that the majority of people want infrastructure built: more hospitals, better resources to the poorer schools; better public transport. The Greens would not be wasting the surplus on tax cuts.
• We WOULD eliminate all HECS debt, and make higher education free. For about $2 billion a year, we could implement and maintain free university education in this country.
• We would include dental care in Medicare. It is outrageous that the human body is cared for by a terrific medical scheme in this country – well, most of the human body other than your teeth. For another 2 billion a year, we could maintain dental care in Medicare – permanently.
• We would put $1 billion into solar research and development
• We would fund alternative energies research in other areas, and invest in better soil management, to the amount of another $1 billion
• We would build hospitals in the short-listed most urgent locations necessary ($2 billion).
• And we would spend the last billion on improving public transport.

Our economic policies are described in detail on our web page. Key differences with the Greens and other parties include:

• We believe in growth and development, but wise development. We must be considering the best use of good fertile land, and the best care of our waterways, and the best long term goals for our air and for the climate of the planet. Development must go hand in hand with sustainability and ecological responsibility.
• We want to tax the producers of carbon dioxide (at $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted) and use that money to research alternative fuel development and improve public transport.
• We want to return to a more progressive tax system where those who earn the most, pay more proportionally than those who earn little. The number of “steps” in our tax system needs to be increased and adjusted more equitably.
• We want to promote eco-tourism: saving our forests and creating far more jobs than the wood chip industry could ever provide (estimates of up to 6 times the number of jobs).
• We support a global tax on international currency transactions
• We would support the elimination of the GST and seek to reprioritise government spending so that the ongoing important policies (like b and c above) would continue.

2. Global – Regarding boat people and refugees: we believe in more humane treatment of refugees, and that mandatory detention should not be allowed to exceed a few weeks, and that no child should be held in such camps. Temporary visas should be issued asylum seekers, and permission to live in the broader community given, after initial medical and political checks are made. To deride such people as ‘queue jumpers’ is to demonstrate ignorance and fear: for many of these folk, there are no queues for them to join or apply to. If they sought to leave their countries ‘legally’ they would be harassed and hindered.

Regarding international trade : The Greens would renegotiate the recently signed trade agreement with the US so as not to risk the integrity of our public utilities, or risk the possibility of being swamped by overseas products and demands.

Regarding the Iraq war : We would withdraw from it immediately. We should never have been a part of an act of aggression against another sovereign state, without UN approval.

Regarding overseas aid : We would increase it from the pitiful 0.03% of Gross Domestic Product, to at least 0.07% (the recommended UN figure). We would direct it to where it is needed the most, and not primarily to countries that will do us favours in return (After all, recall the teaching of Jesus: “do good to those who can’t repay you”.)

Regarding third world debt : The Greens support the elimination of third world debt and a complete revamp or elimination of the international bodies that maintain the current system.

Regarding the UN Millennium Goals . The Greens are in complete agreement with all clauses of the document. (It can be found at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals)

3. Social fabric – The Greens are passionate on issues of social justice. We sincerely believe that we must treat all human beings with equality and dignity. That is why we tolerate different religions, different lifestyles (that do not hurt others), and different values and beliefs. We are committed to a multi-cultural Australia, (not a “melting pot”, but rather a “salad bowl”!) where all people live and let live. We believe in the value of the family, but we recognise that there are many different types of families in this country – and all should be respected equally. We accept the reality that some families are traditional nuclear families with a mother, father and children. But we also acknowledge that other families are single parent families, extended families, and same sex families. Even though we may or may not personally agree with some expressions of family, we are of the genuine belief that we must treat all people and all families with respect and equality. There are many different people in our culture that you and I might not personally agree with. Despite that, we aim to all get on with one another and demonstrate to a desperate world that people of different values, practices and beliefs, can actually live in harmony with one another. We try to put into practice the teaching of the one we Christians call the Son of God: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

 4. The environment – The Greens are committed to improving the air, soil, water and climate temperature of our planet. We aim to protect biological diversity and ecological integrity. The use of mineral resources must be in balance with the earth’s capacity to supply them and to assimilate wastes arising from their use. We want to stop wood-chipping and charcoal production in high conservation value native forests. We want to have a wood industry (of course) but it must leave the old growth forests alone. We want to more logging down a faster path away from native forests and to plantations. Any worker displacement from the logging industry will be retrained for alternative jobs. We want to promote and support and develop clear production technology to minimise problems at their source. We want to put into place positive incentives for businesses investing in environmentally friendly technologies. We would sign the Koyoto protocol and work towards reducing green house gas emissions. We are opposed to genetically modified food crops.

 5. Indigenous affairs The Greens recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people as the original occupants and custodians of this land. We are committed to redressing discrimination and inequality across all aspects of society. We believe that our government should say ‘sorry’ to the Aboriginal community for atrocities committed against it over the centuries by our ancestors. And while many contemporary Australians are quick to say “But I didn’t do any atrocities” – and of course that is true – it is also true that many of us are the beneficiaries of the actions of those who went before us. We have a very real obligation to recognise injustice that has resulted in social, economic, and political disadvantage – and work towards redressing the injustices that still exist.

or further information on our policies, see our web page: www.greens.org.au