Month: February 2022

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has endorsed the use of the Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms (TSSR), making six recommendations to improve its continued operation and address industry concerns.

The TSSR reforms were enacted in September 2018 to help manage the national security risks of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference in Australia’s telecommunications networks and facilities.

The Committee commenced a review in late 2020 to ensure the operation, effectiveness and implications of the reforms were being achieved in line with the original intention of the government and the PJCIS when legislated in 2018.

The Committee today presented its recommendations which address industry concerns on the operation of the existing framework, as well as to complement the continued evolution of the government’s cybersecurity and critical infrastructure reform agenda.

The six recommendations cover:

ensuring that reforms and regulation are informed by the latest global network trends and threats;
ensuring that the aim of increased security and cyber-resilience is a central object of the Telecommunications Act 1997; and
increasing government and industry collaboration and information sharing in a collaborative working environment to ensure that threat-sharing is efficient, and that any further reforms are co-designed between industry and government to avoid regulatory duplication.
Chair of the Committee, Senator James Paterson said the lives and livelihoods of Australians depended on safe and secure telecommunication networks and facilities.

‘When our economy and way of life is so heavily reliant on telecommunication networks, this is an area of vulnerability that can be exploited by both state and non-state actors who may seek to cause us harm,’ Senator Paterson said.

‘That’s why we need appropriate safeguards that empower both service providers and the government to protect our networks from national security risks.

The Committee’s recommendations aim to refine the current operation of the reforms to help secure the telecommunications sector, to protect our economy and national security,’ Senator Paterson said.

Further information on the inquiry as well as a copy of the report can be obtained from the inquiry website.

Wetlands are some of the largest carbon reservoirs on earth, storing more than one-third of the world’s terrestrial carbon. In the last 50 years, where data is available, inland and coastal wetlands have declined by around 35 per cent worldwide, three times the rate for forests.
As a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention, Australia made a commitment to designate suitable wetlands for inclusion on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
Yet there have been only five new Australian additions to this list for the past decade, making Australia a laggard in comparison to other countries. Remarkably, Tasmania has not had a site listed for 40 years and is the only state in Australia without a Ramsar listing nomination since the 2000s.
Ramsar site nominations can be initiated by the Australian, state and territory governments, non-government organisations, community entities, trusts, Traditional Owners, individuals, private landowners, or a company. However, the cost of preparing a Ramsar submission can be upwards of $100,000.
This World Wetlands Day the Greens call on the state and federal governments – and all political candidates – to subsidise financial barriers to submitting Ramsar nominations by non-government entities. This is an investment in recognising and celebrating our natural heritage now and for future generations.
Greens Senator for Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said: 
“Australia is an international laggard when it comes to Ramsar listing our magnificent wetlands. It is a missed opportunity that states like Tasmania have not listed sites for 40 years now while other parts of the world are celebrating their wetlands with international recognition.
“The Australian Government’s own Directory for Important Wetlands lists 89 sites across Tasmania that meet some Ramsar eligibility criteria, with the Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay wetlands complex meeting almost every single criterion.
“Nearly 20 years ago the Federal Government tried to nominate Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay as a Ramsar site because of its significance as one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most critical shorebird breeding habitats – including for many globally endangered and protected species.
“Proposed nominations on state or private land require support from the relevant state government and unfortunately in this case the short-sighted Tasmanian State Government killed the Robbins Passage-Boullanger Bay nomination on behalf of a few local vested interests.
“If our governments are going to stop throwing their energy behind nominating wetlands for Ramsar listing, they should at least make it viable for the public to pick up the slack.
“As a starting point, the Greens are calling on all sides of politics to commit funds to progressing priority Ramsar wetland nominations.
“In doing so we support the theme of the World Wetlands Day this year which calls for ‘wetlands action for people and nature’, highlighting the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and planetary health.
“There’s never been a more important time to protect the outstanding wetlands we have before inappropriate development and climate change destroy what makes them so unique.”

A report requested by Unesco on the state of the Great Barrier Reef remains in question after the Morrison Government’s failure to publish its findings due to Unesco at 10am AEDT today.
The Morrison Government was urged to produce the report ahead of the Unesco World Heritage Committee’s vote in June on whether to declare the Reef on its list of World Heritage sites ‘in danger’.
Greens Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: 
“The Morrison Government has either failed to produce the report at all, or it is hiding it from public view. Given the hopelessness of this Government, both are equally possible.
“I suspect that if the report is complete it paints a damning picture that no amount of Morrison Government preamble, spin or carefully schemed cash splashes can fix – which is why the Government would be so desperate to keep it hidden.
“The biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef is climate change. Burning fossil fuels are literally cooking our oceans and killing marine ecosystems everywhere.
“The Morrison Government had ample warning and opportunity to show global leadership and compel global action on climate change by accepting its part to play in reducing fossil fuel emissions.
“Instead it’s chosen every trick in the book to distract from the fact that it has prioritised coal mines and gas projects over the health of the reef.
“The fatal mismanagement of the Great Barrier Reef is an indictment on the Morrison Government.
“The Greens call on the Morrison Government to either release the report, or explain why it has failed to meet its deadline.”
Greens Environment Spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Reef is dying on the Morrison Government’s watch. No amount of hiding the facts or spinning the truth will save it.
“The Great Barrier Reef is in danger because of climate change and pollution, and the Morrison Government’s support for the coal and gas industry is making it worse.
“The Environment Minister must front up to Parliament next week and tell the Australian people the truth about the damage done to one of the nation’s most iconic places.”

The unique research expertise and clinical capabilities located in Victoria have come together in a new, multi-institutional partnership to fight childhood cancer.
With the aid of a $9.6 million Morrison Government grant, the Victorian Paediatric Cancer Consortium (VPCC) will help advance childhood cancer research and treatment.
The VPCC gathers world leading expertise from the Monash Technology Precinct and the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, and has enormous potential to establish both Melbourne and Australia as global leaders in childhood cancer research.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Morrison Government is committed to ensuring every Australian child diagnosed with cancer has access to the latest, most effective treatment and the best chance of survival.
“Tragically, survival rates for some cancers among children and young adults have not improved in more than 25 years, and rates of several childhood cancers are slowly rising. Cancer kills more children in Australia than any other disease,” Minister Hunt said.
“The VPCC will focus on discovery research projects in next generation precision oncology, tumour immunotherapy and epigenomic.
“It will also run clinical programs aimed at improving survival times and rates, reducing children’s adverse reactions to treatment, and translating new discoveries into clinical treatment.”
The grant to the VPCC is provided over three years through the Medical Research Future Fund’s Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative. The grant defines childhood cancer as cancer in children from newborns to 19 year-olds.
The consortium is co-led by Professor Ron Firestein from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University, and Professor David Eisenstat, Head of the Children’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Neuro-Oncology Group Leader at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
The $20 billion MRFF is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research, helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system, which ensures a guaranteed funding stream to support Australia’s best and brightest health researchers.
Further information about the MRFF is available at www.health.gov.au/mrff.

The Australian Government has implemented further measures to protect remote communities during the current COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Territory (NT).
Remote communities in the NT continue to see escalating cases of COVID-19. The situation required a broader public health response to supplement the Northern Territory Government’s response.
As Minister for Health and Aged Care, I have made a determination under section 477 of the Commonwealth Biosecurity Act 2015 to prevent a person from entering or exiting remote regional zones in the Northern Territory. This is aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 across the Northern Territory and will be in place until the end of 17 February 2022.
This broader approach is complemented by more targeted restrictions for communities with high case numbers, namely Milikapiti, Milingimbi, Palumpa, Ampilatwatja, Elcho Island (including Galiwin’ku), Wessel Islands (including Martjanba) and Lajamanu.
These measures are based on the medical advice from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly. These measures will help to contain the current outbreak by restricting entry into, and exit from, these communities. This will assist in preventing the spread of the disease, including to neighbouring remote communities in the Northern Territory.
These Determinations were requested by the Northern Territory Government to supplement mechanisms they have implemented and is supported by the Central Land Council, Northern Land Council, Tiwi Land Council, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).
The approach is consistent with extensive planning undertaken by the Australian Government in partnership with the Northern Territory Government, the Aboriginal Advisory Group on COVID-19, NACCHO, Northern Territory Land Councils, the National Indigenous Australians’ Agency (NIAA) and the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector. This response was also:

• informed by the predictive modelling on an outbreak in a remote community by the Kirby Institute and University of Melbourne and modelling looking at an outbreak in a remote community in the context of vaccination by the Doherty Institute
• recognised in the Management Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations; and
• outlined in the Communicable Disease Network Australia’s National Guidance for Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities for COVID-19.

All residents of the Northern Territory are encouraged to continue to follow their local Health Department directions, to be tested in the coming days, and to book their vaccinations.
The measures are being implemented based on the best public health advice and will be in place only as long as necessary to keep the community safe.
The emergency determination will cover the Northern, Central and Tiwi Land Councils regions, and allow movement to continue within specific community wards as agreed with the Land Councils. The designated zones are:
Central designated zones
Barkly designated zone

• Alpurrurulam
• Alyawarr
• Patta.

  Central Desert designated zone

• Akityarre
• Anmatjere
• Daguragu
• Northern Tanami
• Southern Tanami.

MacDonnell designated zone

• Iyarrka
• Ljirapinta
• Luritja Pintubi
• Rodinga.

Tiwi Islands designated zones
Bathurst Island designated zone

• the ward of Bathurst Island.

Melville Island designated zone

• Milikapiti;
• Pirlangimpi.

Northern designated zones
East Arnhem designated zone

• the ward of Birr Rawarrang
• the ward of Gumurr Gattjirrk
• the ward of Gumurr Marthakal
• the ward of Gumurr Miwatj (with exclusions)
• the ward of Gumurr Miyarrka.

Roper Gulf designated zone

• Kuwarrangu
• Never Never
• Numbulwar Numburindi
• Nyirranggulung
• South West Gulf
• Yugul Mangi.

Victoria Daly designated zone

• the ward of Timber Creek, excluding the following:
  • NT Portion 7278 (Jiylinum Community Living Area);
  • NT Portion 3046 (Marralum Outstation);
• the ward of Walangeri.

West Arnham designated zone

• Gunbalanya;
• Maningrida;
• Minjilang;
• Warruwi.

West Daly designated zone

• Nganmarriyanga;
• Thamarrurr / Pindi Pindi;
• Tyemirri.

Australian Workers’ Union National Secretary Daniel Walton has told a Senate committee his union will not bow to demands from the federal government to cease speaking to ambassadors and the community about the dangers of the new Agriculture Visa and the culture of exploitation that exists within the farming industry.
Mr Walton appeared alongside fruit picker and Chinese national Kate Hsu before the Senate Select Committee on Job Security this morning.
“Unfortunately, exploitation is now a core part of many farmers’ business model,” he told the committee.
“A huge number of temporary visa places have been provided over the years for backpackers and seasonal workers, with barely any rules and inadequate monitoring, compliance, and enforcement. Since 2016, 11 different pieces of research have investigated exploitation of horticulture workers… and they have all come back with the same findings: underpayment, mistreatment, shocking conditions and exploitation are systemic.
“This is not just a few bad eggs. The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated hundreds of employers over 5 years in its Harvest Trail inquiry; more than half of its investigations found a breach of workplace laws. Three-quarters of these breaches involved underpayment. Poor pay and conditions have been justified on the basis of ‘labour shortages’ – that there are too few Australians willing to take up the work. But every day, Australians, including thousands of AWU members, get up to work in jobs that are just as tough and arduous as fruit picking. The difference is they have access to Australian standards of pay and Australian working rights.”
Mr Walton told the senators the situation would only be exacerbated by the government’s proposed new Agricultural Visa. The AWU has being repeatedly attacked by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud for speaking about the dangers of the new visa with ambassadors to Australia, but Mr Walton vowed to continue speaking out frankly.
“So far, all of the potential agriculture visa partners have seen right through this. Legislation to establish the visa was passed in October, yet not one country has signed up to join the program,” Mr Walton noted.
“Only Indonesia has been willing to publicly express an interest in the program, yet after an expensive trip last week, Minister Littleproud came back with no deal on the ag visa. Why didn’t Indonesia sign up? Because they understand that worker exploitation is rife in Australia.
“[Mr Littleproud has] told every regional newspaper and radio station that will listen to him that the AWU hates Australia, hates farmers, that we’re disgraceful, that we’re getting in the way. Yet, since the visa announcement in June last year, we reached out several times to discuss how we can deal with labour concerns in the horticulture sector. He’s still yet to take a meeting with us.
“We are still opposed to the ag visa, because the government hasn’t done enough to protect the workers already here, whether they’ve come from the working holidaymaker program like Kate or they’re hear under the Pacific programs. Instead of threatening and intimidating workers and their representatives we should be encouraging workers who are getting shafted to speak out, reach out so that we can find you a better workplace.”