16 News

To mark World AIDS Day 2020 and support the ‘now more than ever’ theme, the Morrison Government will provide almost $6.2 million towards the ongoing battle against HIV, and has expanded access to Dovato® on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Today, more than 28,000 Australians are living with HIV and it is very pleasing that most have a suppressed viral load. That means they’re healthy and unlikely to pass on the virus to anyone else.
Australia’s collective and long term track record and leadership in HIV, working together to provide innovative treatments and supporting people living with HIV is respected globally, however – now more than ever – it’s important to maintain the focus.
To take us further along this path to virtual elimination and to support the health and mental wellbeing of people living with HIV, the Morrison Government will allocate:

• up to $1.5 million to the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) and National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) – over two years to develop a workforce development program that increases the knowledge and skills of the workforce and contributes to a reduction in new HIV infections
• up to $750,000 to the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AVIL) over two years to work with its members to implement a number of projects aligned to the key priority areas of the National Strategies; and
• up to $1.4 million to the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) over two years to implement a number of projects including a Hepatitis B Primary Care Referral Pilot Pathway, a trans and gender diverse health care model and review of user experience, a Primary Health Network engagement pilot and an update to the All Good online resource.

A further $2.5 million will support innovation in the sector with grants of up to $500,000 to provide positive outcomes for the National Strategies priority populations.
This funding is part of the $45.4 million investment allocated in the 2019–20 Federal Budget to implement five National Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategies, including the Eighth National HIV Strategy.
This is Australia’s roadmap to help further reduce new infections and improve health outcomes.
Our goals include virtually eliminating HIV transmission in Australia by 2022, reducing mortality and morbidity related to HIV and supporting those living with HIV by reducing stigma and discrimination.
Also from today, access to the important new treatment option Dovato® (DOLUTEGRAVIR + LAMIVUDINE) on the PBS will be expanded for the treatment of people living with HIV who have already used antiretroviral therapy.
Previously this medicine was only available on the PBS for people newly diagnosed with HIV who had not had treatment. The expanded listing for the once-daily treatment gives people with HIV more treatment options.
This PBS listing is expected to benefit approximately 28,000 people living with HIV in Australia. Without subsidy, it could cost them more than $8,500 per year, however will now cost as little as $6.60 with a concession card.
This expanded listing follows the recent expansion of other important medicines for people living with HIV over recent years including expanded PBS access to Biktarvy® for children with HIV from 1 September 2020.
The Eighth National HIV Strategy is available on the Department of Health website.

South Australians will now have access to electronic prescriptions through the Morrison Government’s ongoing investment in digital health.
Since May, electronic prescriptions have been introduced across the country, with South Australia joining Victoria, the ACT and metropolitan Sydney.
So far, more than one million electronic prescriptions have been issued. This includes over 800,000 original electronic prescriptions and over 400,000 repeat tokens to patients.
Significant progress has been made to connect Australia’s healthcare system, so access to healthcare information and providers is available whenever and wherever it is needed.
The Morrison Government has committed $2.4 billion to provide all Australians with access to telehealth, with more than 30 million Medicare-eligible telehealth services delivered since March. The Government has also invested $5 million to fast track electronic prescribing, and provided $25 million to support home delivery of medicines.
The use of My Health Record by healthcare providers has also grown significantly, providing Australians with secure access to their health information.
Since March, the volume of documents uploaded by healthcare providers like hospitals, pathologists and radiologists increased by 40 per cent. Currently there are more than 275 million clinical and medicines documents in the system that were uploaded by healthcare providers.
The My Health Record system provided life-saving access to health information for Australians during the Queensland floods and last summer’s bushfires, and has been an important digital health tool during the pandemic.
Minister for Health Greg Hunt said electronic prescribing was a “critical component” of the Government’s digital health approach to COVID-19.
“Along with the rollout of telehealth, this is a critical component of the Government’s utilisation of digital health infrastructure and services, which has been brought to the fore during the summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic,” Minister Hunt said.
“These initiatives are critical in delivering health services for all Australians now and into the future.”
Minister for Regional Health, Mark Coulton said e-prescribing had played a significant role assisting Australians living in regional, rural and remote areas, with their healthcare needs.
“Technology is helping to overcome the challenges of distance faced by communities in regional, rural and remote Australia when accessing healthcare and medication,” Minister Coulton said.

Labor will oppose the Morrison Government’s National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention legislation in the Senate, following a decision taken by the Caucus today.
When the Government introduced the legislation for a National Commissioner, Labor were sceptical it was not “bigger and better than a Royal Commission” as the Government claimed.
We supported referring it to a Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee inquiry so it could be thoroughly examined, and so veterans and families could have their say.
The inquiry reported back yesterday. It confirmed Labor’s, and many people’s concerns, that the National Commissioner won’t have the independence, scope or resources to ask the really hard questions only a Royal Commission can.
The overwhelming feedback from submitters and witnesses to the inquiry was that the scope of the role was too narrow and that interim National Commissioner Dr Bernadette Boss was not sufficiently independent given her long association with the Australian Defence Force.
A number of stakeholders have said we need a proper inquiry through a Royal Commission to get to the bottom of systemic problems and to propose practical solutions, which could include a body like the National Commissioner.
Unlike the Government, Labor has consulted widely with veterans and families, veteran advocates, and mental health experts.
When the Prime Minister announced the National Commissioner earlier this year, he ignored the pleas of parents like Julie-Ann Finney and Karen Bird, whose veteran sons tragically took their own lives.
These families were clear – they wanted nothing less than a Royal Commission into veteran suicide to get to the bottom of these needless deaths.
This was always going to be the real test for Scott Morrison and his legislation, and he has failed badly.
The Government needs to establish a Royal Commission into veteran suicide, so we can tackle this issue once and for all.
Our veterans and their families deserve nothing less.

Data shows more Australians are concerned about political corruption and doubt the Government’s ability to clean up our democracy, Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said.
Today’s report from Griffith University and Transparency International Australia found the number of Australians who view corruption as a “very big” or “quite big” problem, rising from 61% in 2018 to 66% in 2020. The number of those who think the federal government is handling corruption issues “very badly” has also risen from 15% to 19.4% over the same period.
Senator Larissa Waters, the Greens spokesperson for Democracy, said:
“The Morrison Government needs to wake up and realise they aren’t fooling anyone: two thirds of Australians now think political corruption in Australia is a serious problem, and they are right.
“The influence of big donors on policy-making is institutionalised, the public interest is constantly being traded for political interest, and the Prime Minister continues to throw integrity overboard by failing to act on the ongoing, multiple scandals involving his ministers.
“The Government is trying to muzzle effective accountability body, the ANAO, by starving it of funding so that audit capacity will be reduced by 20% over three years, while dragging its heels on a weak and utterly belated corruption watchdog almost a year my bill for one passed the Senate.
“Porter’s sham integrity commission has been designed to shield his mates from proper scrutiny. It wants one rule for its politicians, and another for everyone else.
“We are still waiting for the Prime Minister to call my federal corruption watchdog with teeth on for a vote in the House of Representatives, almost a year after the Senate passed it. Instead, the Government is conducting a  sham consultation on a model the public and the experts all say isn’t good enough.
“It’s starving the ANAO of the funds needed to do its job, it’s threatening journalists and whistle blowers, and it has rejected the Greens calls for a parliamentary code of conduct to prevent exactly the sort of behaviour Australians have grown sick of.
“To Morrison, I say: tick tock. I’m not the only one getting fed up with your government’s bad behaviour and delaying tactics.”

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says the latest reported emissions drop, driven by the Covid-19 shutdowns, should provide no cover for the Morrison Government.
Australia’s reduction targets are some of the weakest in the developed world and are under renewed pressure after the election of Joe Biden who has called on nations to lift 2030 targets.
Indeed, when volatile land clearing figures are excluded, Australia’s emissions are actually above 2005 levels.
“Covid is not a climate policy,” Bandt said.
“As Australia emerges from the worst of the pandemic, emissions are set to rise again because the government has no climate plan.”
“Without stronger, science-based 2030 targets and a plan to phase out coal, gas and oil, emissions are set to rise again as we get the pandemic under control.
“One of the biggest drops in emissions, caused by the lockdown, was transport. While the UK is phasing out combustion engine sales in a decade, Australia is either doing nothing, or in some states even worse by bringing in EV taxes.
“The pandemic is not an acceptable means of reducing emissions.”
“Joe Biden will host a climate conference in his first 100 days as President, and that will be followed by the Glasgow climate summit. Australia has a very narrow window to turn our ship around and lift 2030 targets, or we will find ourselves out in the cold with Saudi Arabia and Russia.
“The US and Europe are gearing up for a race to the top, with huge opportunities in booming markets for renewable energy, hydrogen and green metals and manufactured goods.
“Our biggest markets for coal and gas in Japan, China and South Korea are all ramping up their emissions targets too. Australia’s ‘gas-led’ recovery is an act of economic ruin.

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said he was appalled at findings by the Disability Royal Commission, released today, that cited “serious failures” by the Morrison government to make “any significant effort” to consult with disabled people during the early stages of response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The recommenations made by the Chair are a vindication of the outrage and distress felt by disabled people, and our families, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic” Steele-John said.
“It proves that we were shut out of emergency response planning at the beginning of the pandemic, or not even considered, and as a result our lives were put at risk.
“The recommendations made by the Royal Commission today are clear and actionable, and reflect the seriousness of the neglect experienced by disabled people at the hands of the Morrison government.
“I’m glad to see the Royal Commission doing the job it has been empowered to do; the Australian Greens strongly support all 22 recommendations.”

Labour market economist Professor Jeff Borland has told the senate inquiry looking into the JobSeeker COVID supplement rate that the higher rate of JobSeeker doesn’t impact on the rates of people seeking employment.
Rather than relying on anecdotal claims that unemployed people aren’t looking for work because of the rates of the coronavirus supplement, Professor Borland has looked at the market figures which show there has been no decrease in the number of people moving from unemployment to employment once the economy started reopening again, Senator Rachel Siewert said.
Professor Borland’s research shows:

• Vacancy rates have not returned to their rates prior to the pandemic;
• Increasing the JobSeeker Payment would not result in any significant financial disincentive for jobseekers to shift into employment;
• The COVID‐19 JobKeeper Supplement has not affected the speed with which jobs are being filled or caused a large‐scale shortage of labour; and
• The main drivers of labour supply in Australia since the onset of the pandemic have been macroeconomic conditions and direct effects of COVID‐19.

It’s outrageous that the Government have continued their ideological attacks on people on income support in the face of the worst recession of a generation.
The claims that having an unemployment payment above the poverty line is a disincentive for people looking for work is just demonising people accessing the social safety net and its simply untrue.
Professor Borland recently published Would a rise in JobSeeker affect incentives for paid work?