Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand: Perspectives from the Neoliberal Frontier (Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee)

"This is the first collective volume to ask whether a basic income could be viable in Australia and New Zealand's modern neoliberal welfare states. Contributions explore the historical basis for a basic income program in the region, the ideological nuances and complexities of implementation, and ideas for future development and application" "Basic income is an innovative, powerful egalitarian response to widening global inequalities and poverty experiences in society, one that runs counter to the neoliberal transformations of modern welfare states, social security, and labor market programs. This book is the first collective volume of its kind to ask whether a basic income offers a viable solution to the income support systems in Australia and New Zealand. Though often neglected in discussions of basic income, both countries are advanced liberal democracies dominated by neoliberal transformations of the welfare state, and therefore have great potential to advance debates on the topic. The contributors' essays and case studies explore the historical basis on which a basic income program might stand in these two countries, the ideological nuances and complexities of implementing such a policy, and ideas for future development that might allow the program to be put into practice regionally and applied internationally" Front Matter....Pages i-xv Neoliberal Frontiers and Economic Insecurity: Is Basic Income a Solution?....Pages 1-25 Front Matter....Pages 27-27 Basic Income as Public Equity: The New Zealand Case....Pages 29-51 Australian Basic Income: Efficiency and Equity....Pages 53-68 “Running on Empty”: Australia’s Neoliberal Social Security System, 1988–2015....Pages 69-91 Front Matter....Pages 93-93 Can Older Citizens Lead the Way to a Universal Basic Income?....Pages 95-114 Consumption Smoothing with Basic Income: The Role of Administrative Loans....Pages 115-132 Paying for a Basic Income....Pages 133-153 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 Greening the Australian Welfare State: Can Basic Income Play a Role?....Pages 157-177 Basic Income for Remote Indigenous Australians: Prospects for a Livelihoods Approach in Neoliberal Times....Pages 179-205 Disability, Citizenship, and Basic Income: Forging a New Alliance for a Non-disabling Society....Pages 207-251 Back Matter....Pages 253-268