Abstract
This chapter contributes to the literature on Universal Basic Income advocacy and activism by presenting the strategies and framings that four Australian citizens are using to initiate a grassroots process of cultural change. Drawing on social movement literature, cultural change is placed at the heart of any radical economic and political change. By giving voice to these activists and advocates, the chapter aims at painting the picture of present UBI activism and advocacy in Australia: to delineate a roadmap, to locate synergies as well as irreducible differences. This chapter presents an account on how a UBI discourse is being articulated by ordinary citizens involved frontline, and how it might influence and affect the future feasibility of this policy.
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Notes
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SPEECH TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE AT: https://greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/National%20Press%20Club%20040418.pdf.
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Last updated on 31 October 2018.
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Digital Disruption: What do governments need to do? Productivity Commission Research Paper; 15 June 2016—Submission to the Australian Senate, Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry dated 8 February 2017—The Senate: Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers Hope is not a strategy—our shared responsibility for the future of work and workers Report tabled on 19 September 2018.
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Last accessed 8 August 2019 https://citizens-dividend.org/.
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The petition statement can be found here: https://www.communityrun.org/petitions/unconditional-basic-income, last accessed 8 August 2019 the petition had received 533 out of 600 signatures.
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Event details available here https://www.greeninstitute.org.au/events/conversation-starters-ubi/.
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As of April 2018 more than two-thirds of the country—24.5 million citizens or permanent residents—lived in greater capital city areas, compared to one third in rural areas (ABS, 2018).
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Luccioni, L. (2020). UBI Activism and Advocacy in Australia: The Present. In: Caputo, R.K., Liu, L. (eds) Political Activism and Basic Income Guarantee. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43904-0_9
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