11 February 2019

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is terrifying bankers with her refusal to play by the insiders’ rules — “The fear is, it’s like going in to talk to the FBI, anything you do or say can be used against you” — and she is setting the agenda with her push for a Green New Deal. Writing for Eureka Street, Osmond Chiu argues for a similar push in Australia: “Just as the focus of post-war reconstruction was not merely demobilisation but the maintenance of full employment, developing social security and economic development, decarbonising Australia must involve rebuilding faith that politics can deliver a better Australia. We need to ensure that our response leads to a good society and a life that people want to live… The idea that responding to climate change means a life of misery is nihilistic and will doom action. It must mean a better and fairer future for us.”