16 News

I am pleased to announce the 22 recipients of the Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) grant round for 2024-25.

The AJF advances Australia’s foreign and trade policy interests with Japan by supporting partnerships in areas of shared interest and increasing Australian engagement with Japan.

The grant recipients in 2024-25 include:

• The Australian Antarctic Program Partnership at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, to develop new pathways for Japanese and Australian scientific collaborations in Antarctic and Southern science.
• An Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) workshop to convene leading Pacific experts from Australia, Japan and the Pacific, focusing on improving Pacific resilience to new security challenges.
• The University of Queensland’s initiative to advance higher education on sustainable construction in Australia and Japan through teaching workshops, a public guest lecture series, and a presentation at Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai.
• A Drift Consulting project to bring together Australian and Japanese experts to exchange knowledge and progress the use of Australian seaweed in livestock feed to reduce emissions.

A full list of successful grant recipients is available on the AJF website.

The Australian Government is strengthening its efforts to increase awareness of alcohol related risks of overseas travel, launching a dedicated advertising push to reach young Australians.

Best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles tragically died last year from drinking alcohol tainted with methanol while on holiday in Laos. No family should have to go through the pain of losing a child or a loved one in this way.

From next month, Smartraveller will roll out dedicated communications to raise awareness and educate Australians of the signs of methanol poisoning, how to protect themselves from drink spiking and broader alcohol safety – knowing the risks and watching out for your mates.

The campaign will ramp up across peak travel periods and school and university holidays, and include:

• Targeted advice and alerts to young travellers, including school leavers, and their parents through social media, text messages and messaging at Australia’s international airports.
• A new online safety hub on Smartraveller will be established by June 2025, which will host resources aimed at schools, universities and parents.
• Ahead of schoolies, a new advertising campaign will reach young people through the channels they use most including social media across multiple platforms and digital audio. Youth media engagement and partnerships will also be used to amplify these messages.
• Working closely with airlines and others in the travel industry to enhance the reach of these public service messages to young Australian travellers, focusing on certain destinations and regions.

The Australian Government will also work with education institutions and non-government organisations such as Red Frogs and the Nicole Fitzsimmons Foundation to deliver alcohol safety messaging through presentations to school students.

We want young Australians to watch their drinks and watch out for their mates overseas. We urge them to stay vigilant and check Smartraveller.gov.au for the latest updates.

The Australian Government has consistently called for a transparent and thorough investigation into the deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, and the Foreign Minister has made these expectations clear to the Lao Government.

We continue to press Lao authorities for progress on the investigation.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong:

“The families of Holly and Bianca are foremost in my mind today, and also the many families of other Australians who have lost loved ones.

“We want our children to be curious and explore the world – but above all else, we want them to be safe.

“These efforts will help young Australians travelling overseas to protect themselves from methanol poisoning, drinking spiking and other alcohol harms.”

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts:

“Alcohol consumption can result in tragedy in Australia but there are additional and different risks overseas.

“The Australian Government’s increased messaging and targeted advice to young travellers, including school leavers and their parents through social media will help raise awareness of the serious and varied risks from alcohol consumption overseas.”

Background

The CLP Government’s public housing reforms will fast-track evictions for tenants with unpaid rent, property damage, or antisocial behaviour, while also barring long-term incarcerated tenants from retaining housing. With an eight to ten year waitlist, these policies risk exacerbating homelessness and driving up costs for Territorians by increasing reliance on emergency services and crisis accommodation.

Kat McNamara MLA – Member for Nightcliff

“The CLP is setting the Territory up for failure. Evicting vulnerable tenants instead of supporting them will fuel homelessness, overcrowding, and crime.”

“Housing someone in prison costs over $120,000 a year. Keeping them in stable public housing costs a fraction of that. This policy isn’t just cruel – it’s a financial disaster.”

“We need real solutions: stronger tenant support, more public housing, and a government that actually invests in long-term housing security. Instead, the CLP is full of bluster, passing laws that are all stick and no carrot. They’re setting us all up for failure.”

“Kicking people out of housing after prison will increase reoffending, not reduce it. How can we expect someone to reintegrate when they’re facing nearly a decade on the housing waitlist?”

“The solutions are clear: more public housing with more tenant support. The CLP is ignoring them, and we’ll all pay the price.”

“A fair housing system means supporting tenants to stay housed – whether that’s through financial counselling, noise mediation for disruptive neighbours, or case management for complex needs. The CLP is choosing punishment over investing in these solutions.”

“I agree that action is needed to protect public housing residents, however, this is not the right approach.”

“The Government’s rushed legislation to gut environment laws must be scrutinised properly.

“Murky legal questions about the environmental consequences must be answered before the Senate rushes this legislation through.

“The Greens will move to send the Government’s legislation to inquiry. While made with a specific industry in mind – one that poisons our waterways and drives ancient wildlife to extinction – it is broad, and likely to have far reaching consequences beyond the rotten salmon industry.

“Rushing these laws through under the cover of the Federal Budget, without proper scrutiny or consideration has the potential to impact many other cases.

“Environment laws are supposed to protect the environment, not green-light destruction and extinction. At its best, this proposed legislation sidelines science and sends our wildlife to extinction, and at worst it drastically undermines legal protections and has far reaching consequences for our community and planet. An inquiry is the least that is needed.”

The Land and Environment Court has fined Peabody Coal just $196,560 of the maximum penalty of $5 million for the spilling of coal sludge into the Royal National Park in 2022 and 2023. The judgement shows that the pollution caused by Peabody’s Metropolitan Colliery had significant environmental impacts and caused lasting damage to the aquatic environment downstream of the spill. Despite being found to be mid-range offending, the small penalty will do little to dissuade future offences from occurring. 

Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said:

“The system of regulating polluters who harm communities and the environment is woefully inadequate, that is the only clear takeaway from this judgement,” 

“The American owner of the coal mine, Peabody Coal, responsible for this pollution makes billions of dollars in income from their Australian holdings. Despite taking our resources, and polluting our environment and climate, they pay no tax and even claim tens of millions of dollars in tax credits from the Australian people. This fine of less than $200 thousand isn’t even a drop in the bucket for this environment and climate vandal,” 

“As long as the profit motive for committing environment crimes is greater than the penalties our Governments are willing to impose on polluters, our communities and nature will be in the firing line for unethical business models that see pollution as a cost of doing business,” 

“This relatively small fine is a slap to the face for the environment, the community – and particularly those members of the community who uncovered this pollution in the first place. The coal mine knew they were polluting the beautiful waters of the Royal National Park, but it wasn’t until community members raised the alarm that an investigation started,”  

“This mine needs a closure plan, not permission to continue operating next to and polluting our oldest and most visited national park. What this investigation has shown is that the coal mine is simply unable to properly manage the flow of polluted water from their mine into our precious Royal National Park,” Ms Higginson said. 

Cooper Riach, Sutherland Shire Environment Centre:  

“It is clear that our environmental laws do not protect nature, and are instead protecting the profits of companies like Peabody.” 

“At some point we need to ask ourselves, which do we value more? The profits of American coal barons, or the protection of the oldest National Park in Australia.” 

“Ultimately this is not the right place for a coal mine, and until this mine is closed and completely cleaned up, it will continue to pollute the Royal National Park,” 

The Australian Greens have said today’s budget was a missed opportunity to deliver real cost of living relief by getting dental into Medicare, and to pay for it by making the big corporations pay their fair share of tax, which would have delivered more help than tiny tax tweaks that are 15 months away.

In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics – a home, food, and have access to world class health and education.

Instead, many people are struggling to afford the essentials while one in three big corporations is paying no tax.

Labor’s budget has delivered $56 billion in fossil fuel subsidies and $176 billion for wealthy property investors, but failed to deliver the bold reforms needed to support people being smashed by the skyrocketing cost-of-living.

The two new tax cuts announced by the government will barely scratch the surface for people struggling to pay for food or rent, and won’t come into effect for 15 months, with low income workers saving only 73 cents a day, which wouldn’t even cover one cup of coffee per week.

Meanwhile, the government’s previous stage three tax cuts delivered $4,500 in tax cuts for billionaires, with these new cuts increasing those savings to more than $5,000 for billionaires like Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer.

There are no increases to Job Seeker or Youth Allowance in this budget, meaning the more than one million on these income supports will remain in poverty.

And the government has forecast billions more in cuts to the NDIS.

On housing, the government has fixed some of the problems the Greens have highlighted in the Help to Buy scheme, but there is nothing new for renters, who didn’t even get a mention in the Treasurer’s speech.

Climate and the environment got zero mention in the Treasurer’s speech as well. Perhaps this is not surprising as Labor has approved over 30 coal and gas projects in this term of Parliament alone and is gutting Australia’s environment laws.

The government is also continuing to pour billions of dollars more into nuclear submarines as AUKUS costs increase, with funding in this budget blowing out from $12 billion to $18 billion.

Labor has also broken its promise on refugees, by failing to increase the humanitarian intake.

In a sign that Greens’ pressure works, Labor did commit to adopting part of the Greens’ plan to see the GP for free, by tripling the bulk-billing incentive.

Labor also locked in their commitment to wipe 20 per cent off student debt, a step towards the Greens’ plan to wipe it completely.

Labor has also made a significant investment in women’s sexual and reproductive health, including cheaper contraceptives, more accessible menopause treatment, and investment in the maternal health workforce. This follows a Greens’ campaign including two Greens-initiated Senate inquiries.

However, the Greens say it is disappointing that rather than locking in that cost-of-living relief right now, Labor has used the cover of the budget to do a dodgy deal with Dutton to gut environment and climate laws.

While everyone was focused on the budget, Labor and the Liberals have teamed up to ram through legislation in Parliament to gut our climate and environment laws making it easier for big corporations to trash our precious natural environment and approve more coal and gas. 

It shows you can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result.

This election the Greens will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act on what people need like getting dental and mental health into Medicare, seeing the GP for free, capping rent increases and lowering mortgages, and taking strong climate action.

The Greens’ previously announced plan to tax the excessive profits of big corporations across different sectors of the economy would raise $514 billion dollars over the next decade.

Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP:

“This tiny tax tweak budget was a missed opportunity to provide urgent cost of living relief, like dental into Medicare. Instead, Labor teamed up with the Liberals to gut our environment laws.

“An extra 73 cents a day in 15 months’ time won’t do much when your rent has already gone up hundreds of dollars a week.

“Billionaires and politicians still end up with tax cuts four times as big as low income earners.

“In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics: a home, food, and have access to world class health and education. 

“Under this Budget, one in three big corporations pays zero tax.

“We can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result.

“We should tax big corporations and billionaires to fund what we all need like getting dental and mental health into Medicare, seeing the GP for free, capping rent increases and lowering mortgages, and taking strong climate action.

“There will be a minority government and the Greens are within reach of winning seats right across the country. Last time there was a minority government, the Greens got dental into Medicare for kids. This is our chance to deliver it for everyone.

“If you want change, the first step is to vote for it.”

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Nick McKim:

“This budget is far more notable for what it doesn’t contain than what it does. It’s a massive, missed opportunity to deliver genuine cost of living relief funded by making ultra-wealthy billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax.

“Instead of colluding with Peter Dutton to weaken Australian environment laws, Labor should have spent this week working with the Greens to put dental into Medicare and better protect our environment.”

Greens Finance spokesperson, Senator Barbara Pocock:

“Australians need cost-of-living relief and a wealthy country like ours can afford world class health and education services.

“These vital services depend on a healthy, well-funded public sector. We must end the rorting of consultants and the endless outsourcing of government services to private contractors.

“The way to get value for money and to ensure adequate services is to build capacity in the public service. We need assurances from Labor that the reduction in spending on external contractors will actually reduce the government’s reliance on consultants.”