Month: November 2022

Australia’s top veteran and partner employers, employees and entrepreneurs were celebrated last night at the 2022 Prime Minister’s National Veterans’ Employment Awards in Canberra.

These Awards showcase the talent on offer in the veteran community – as employees and entrepreneurs, and also recognise the organisations that actively recruit, employ and support veterans and families.

The Awards highlight the importance this Government places upon supporting veterans to ensure a successful transition out of the military and into civilian life.

Key to this is veterans being able to find a meaningful job soon after they leave service.

The Federal Budget allocated $24 million to the Veteran Employment Program, to support defence personnel in their transition to civilian life and employment, while ensuring the skills and experience veterans and their families bring to the workforce is acknowledged by the community.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese said:

“I congratulate all those recognised in our National Veterans’ Employment Awards for their commitment to the Defence and veteran community.”

“Australians owe a debt of gratitude to those veterans who have served the nation, and to their families who supported them throughout their service.”

“Initiatives such as the Veteran Employment Program and the National Veterans’ Employment Awards go a long way towards helping employers and the Australian community understand the benefits of employing veterans and their families.”

“The careers of Defence family members are often impacted in support of their serving partners, particularly when moving regularly.”

“I am pleased to see the valuable contribution of defence families recognised as part of this year’s Awards.”

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh said:

“Our Veteran Employment Program will build on existing initiatives to raise awareness, highlight the benefits of employing veterans and veteran families, provide support to businesses to attract, recruit and retain veterans, and provide support to translate veterans’ military skills and experience for the civilian workplace.”

“There is a need to address misconceptions around veteran employment, educate employers and provide practical support to address barriers to veteran and veteran family employment.”

“The Program will support veterans to recognise and communicate the value of their skills gained in service, skills like leadership, teamwork, agility, discipline and an ability to work under pressure – all critical skills in the modern economy, all in demand by employers.”

More information about the Awards and the 2022 winners can be found on the Prime Minister’s National Veterans’ Employment Program website. For more information on the Veteran Employment Program, visit the www.veteransemployment.gov.au.

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or openarms.gov.au. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072.   Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or defence.gov.au/health/healthportal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608.

A full list of winners is below.

Category	Name/Representative	Company
Veteran Employee of the Year	Nick Elston	GSA Management Consulting
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year	Garth Chester	Valenhold
Partner Employee of the Year	Katie Vidal	She Maps
Partner Entrepreneur of the Year	Kelly Willmott	Green Fox Training Studio
Employer of the Year – Large		Cubic Defence Australia
Employer of the Year – Medium		Bluerydge
Employer of the Year – Small		Viden
Excellence in Supporting Veteran and/or Partner Employment		Vertical Scope Group
Outstanding Employer of the Year		Bluerydge
Outstanding Contribution to Veteran and/or Partner Employment	Amanda McCue	Career Swag

The Albanese Government welcomes the final report from the Bell Inquiry, handed down today by the Hon Justice Virginia Bell AC.

The Inquiry examined the appointment of former Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, to administer multiple departments without disclosure to his colleagues or the public.

The unprecedented and inexcusable actions of the former Prime Minister were emblematic of the culture of secrecy in which the previous Government operated.

The Bell Inquiry confirms the Solicitor-General’s conclusion that the principles of responsible government were “fundamentally undermined” because Mr Morrison was not “responsible” to the Parliament, and through the Parliament to the electors, for the departments he was appointed to administer.

Justice Bell found the secrecy around the appointments was “apt to undermine public confidence in government” and was “corrosive of trust in government.”

The Inquiry has made six recommendations to improve transparency, accountability and restore public trust in Australian democracy, including:

• Legislation to require public notice of the appointment of Ministers to administer departments and hold offices;
• The publication of acting arrangements for Ministers; and
• The publication of details of which Ministers are appointed to administer departments and an outline of divisions of responsibilities where more than one Minister is appointed to the same department.

I will recommend to the next meeting of Cabinet that the Albanese Government accept all six of Justice Bell’s recommendations.

The quick implementation of these recommendations will ensure that the Australian public can have full confidence that this breach of trust will never happen again.

I thank Justice Bell and her team for the efforts in conducting this Inquiry.

The full report and recommendations can be viewed at: https://www.ministriesinquiry.gov.au/

“According to new data from Reconciliation Australia, national support for Treaty has jumped to 72%. That’s a 25% increase in four years!” Said Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson for First Nations.

Senator Lidia Thorpe said:

“We learnt yesterday that First Nations children are 10x more likely to be living in out of home care than non-Indigenous kids, less than half of them are living with First Nations carers. Forcibly taking children away from their community is an act of genocide, according to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

“Today, Reconciliation Australia showed us that 60% of First Nations people have experienced racism in the last six months.

“We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 26x more likely than their non-Indigenous classmates to be incarcerated.

“This is all evidence of systemic racism in this country. The solution is self-determination. It’s critical that First Nations people have more than just ‘a say’ over the matters that affect us. 

“Everyone is better off when we are free to steer our own course, yet successive Governments continue to lock First Nations people out of decision making processes and force policies onto us that continue the violent legacy of colonisation.

“We need a Treaty to redefine and rebuild the relationship between the Government and First Nations people. A Treaty will restore our right to make decisions for ourselves, our families, our communities and our homelands.

“Through real justice, we can build a society where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

“Treaty was promised by Bob Hawke’s Labor government in the 80s and it’s still unfinished business today. There’s growing support for First Nations people to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to making decisions about our community, our country and our culture. The Greens will keep fighting to make this a reality.” Said Thorpe.

The Greens have secured legislation that will enforce civil penalties of up to $1.1 million for bankers who do not ensure proper conduct within financial institutions.

“The Greens have secured million dollar fines for dodgy bank executives,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“We recently had a once in a century Royal Commission that uncovered a litany of misconduct. But most bankers who ripped off their customers went unpunished, or even left with massive payouts.”

“The new Financial Accountability Regime will require bankers to take reasonable steps to ensure that banks are not ripping off customers.”

“The amendments secured by the Greens will ensure that if bankers breach their accountability obligations then they will get hit hard in their hip pocket.”

“The Morrison Government used the cover of the pandemic to go soft on the banks – the Greens will not allow the rot set in again.”

“We recently forced the government to commit to implementing outstanding Royal Commission recommendations after running dead on them during the election campaign.”

“We’ve also just secured the inclusion of dividends paid by bank owned super funds in  a new super transparency report.”

The government’s response to ‘A Way Forward: Final report into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge’ is welcomed by The Greens, but the need for cohesive First Nations cultural heritage laws shouldn’t have taken global outrage at legal desecration to be acknowledged.

Greens spokesperson for resources Yamatji-Noongar Woman Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“It is disappointing to hear the government didn’t consult with the Traditional Owners before tabling their response to the reports. It seems the Minister is more concerned with positive media than consulting the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and building “genuine partnerships” through listening and learning.

“I asked in estimates whether the government would adopt recommendation 1 of the ‘A Way Forward’ report. I am disheartened to hear this is not the case. I don’t know how they can claim to respect First Nations culture when the ultimate say doesn’t lie with the Indigenous Minister.

“Senator Thorpe’s bill to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) must be fast-tracked if the government wants to “do better”.

“Stopping manufactured consent is paramount, as is consulting all stakeholders – this was highlighted in the recent ruling against Santos for failing to consult with all Traditional Owners regarding their Barossa Gas project.

“If the world hadn’t shown outrage at Rio Tinto’s actions, would there still be a push from Labor to reform cultural heritage laws? 

“The Minister has the opportunity now to prevent another disaster by protecting the Murujuga artwork and seven sisters songline that are currently under threat.”