Category: Australian News

The Albanese Government is supporting safe and connected communities throughout the Illawarra by providing $851,279 for the Shellharbour Integrated Child and Family Precinct.

The funding for planning is the first step in making this important project a reality. It will support a comprehensive business case, master plan and detailed designs for a holistic services hub to provide early childhood and family support services in one accessible location.

The planning work will consider the revitalisation of the site and connections to nearby services as well as parking and public transport. Local families and community stakeholders will be an integral part of designing the precinct to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

The project is being delivered by Karitane with Barnardos Australia and the University of New South Wales.

Planning for the Shellharbour Integrated Child and Family Precinct will consider options to provide a wide range of health, education and social care services in one accessible location.

This support is being provided through the Government’s $400 million regional Precincts and Partnership Program, which provides investment to transform regional, rural and remote places.

The program is investing $47.9 million to support the transformation of seven precincts across New South Wales. For more information, visit: infrastructure.gov.au/regional.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“This project demonstrates how my Government is building Australia’s future and strengthening regional communities.

“Having support services, education facilities and social care options all under one roof in the middle of Shellharbour will make a big difference to this beautiful and growing region.

“We want to support regional communities to grow and thrive, for our youngest and eldest Australians and everyone in between.”

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King

“We’re proud to partner with communities to bring important projects like this to life.

“Being a new parent is incredibly rewarding, but it can also be really challenging. A central hub for early childhood and family support will help new parents in the Shellharbour region get the services they need close to home.”

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones

“This precinct is a game changer for our community.

“It will help connect people to vital support services they need in an easy to access way.

“Labor is delivering for our regions and building a stronger Illawarra.”

The Albanese Government has imposed additional cyber sanctions in response to the 2022 cyberattack against Medibank Private.

The attack affected millions of Medibank’s customers whose personal and sensitive medical information was stolen. Some records were published on the dark web.

This is the first time that Australia has imposed cyber sanctions on an entity and the first time Australia has imposed sanctions on those providing the network infrastructure and services that make cyberattacks like this possible.

The Government is imposing these cyber sanctions on the Russian entity, ZServers, and five Russian cybercriminals who provided the network infrastructure and services used to host and release the data stolen from Medibank. The individuals are ZServers’ owner, Aleksandr Bolshakov, and employees Aleksandr Mishin, Ilya Sidorov, Dmitriy Bolshakov and Igor Odintsov.

ZServers and the five sanctioned individuals also provided enabling services that supported a range of other cybercrimes, including ransomware activities conducted by affiliates of LockBit and BianLian and other ransomware groups.

The sanctions announced today make it a criminal offence to provide assets to ZServers or the five sanctioned individuals, or to use or deal with their assets, with penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or heavy fines. The sanctions also ban the individuals from entering Australia.

Today’s sanctions follow the Government’s decisive action to sanction Aleksandr Ermakov, announced in January 2024, for his role in the Medibank Private data breach.

They are a result of the close collaboration between the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), other Commonwealth agencies and key international partners, including the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), who have all worked tirelessly to unmask these cybercriminals.

The UK and the US have also imposed sanctions on these malicious cyber actors, demonstrating our collective resolve to combat cybercrime.

These sanctions reflect the Albanese Government’s commitment in the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity, including by using sanctions to hold cybercriminals to account.

Malicious cyber actors continue to target Australian governments, critical infrastructure, businesses and individuals. Australia’s autonomous cyber sanctions framework is a key tool in imposing costs on cyber actors and protecting Australians from this threat.

Australians should report cybercrimes, incidents or vulnerabilities to the Australian Signals Directorate at 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371) or https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.

Australian businesses can help protect themselves from ransomware by updating devices, regularly backing up files and ensuring staff know to never visit suspicious websites, open emails from unknown sources or click on suspicious links. More information can be found at cyber.gov.au/ransomware

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles:

“These sanctions send a clear message to malicious cyber actors that there are consequences of trying to do Australians harm.

“The Albanese Government continues to take decisive action to hold to account those responsible for one of Australia’s largest cyber incidents.

“Importantly, this is the first cyber sanction against an enabler of cybercrime. Disrupting the criminal ecosystem in this way impacts hundreds of cybercriminals at once.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong:

“The Albanese Government is using all elements of our national power to make Australia more secure and to keep Australians safe.

“We are preventing, deterring and disrupting malicious cyber activity through attributions and targeted sanctions in the national interest.

“We will continue to work with our international partners to impose costs on cyber criminals and protect Australians from cyber threats.”

Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke:

“This Government established the cybersecurity portfolio because national security requires cybersecurity. This strong action is about keeping Australians safe.”

The Greens called on the government to consider public ownership of Rex following its entering administration in July last year, and welcome the news that the government may now purchase the airline.

Lines attributable to Elizabeth Watson-Brown MP, Greens spokesperson for Transport, Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities:

“The Greens welcome the news that the government is considering purchasing Rex. Not only would this save these vital regional services, a publicly owned airline will bring more competition to the current Qantas-Virgin duopoly dominating our aviation market.

“The Greens called for the government to consider purchasing Rex back in July last year, when it was clear that Rex was collapsing.

“The collapse of Rex would be a devastating blow to regional communities around Australia who are so reliant on their services. 

“But it’s not enough for the government to promise to be a backstop, they need to get on the front foot.

“The government has already given Rex $130 million in support since July last year and are still talking about subsidising private buyers. 

“The government has a bad record of shelling out millions in taxpayer dollars to prop up private airlines and getting nothing back. Public ownership is the only way to get an airline run in the interests of all Australians.”

The Greens (WA) on Wednesday evening will officially launch the LGBTQIA+ elements of their Social Justice platform for the 2025 WA State Election with a Queer Politics in the Pub event at the Aviary.

Queer Politics in the Pub, MC’d by Boorloo’s very own Miss Phoria (they/them), a queer, trans-nonbinary, disabled and Indigenous performance artist, will see a range of prominent LGBTQIA+ Western Australians join The Greens (WA) LGBTQIA+ Spokesperson, Dr. Brad Pettitt MLC (he/him), to discuss their perspectives on queer issues in Western Australia and take your questions on the current state of LGBTQIA+ politics, as well as the priorities and opportunities for reform as we approach the WA State election in March.

The Greens (WA) plan includes:

• Implementing a statutory declaration model for the legal recognition of gender that enables full self-identification and completely demedicalises the process;
• Reinstating funding for Inclusive Education Western Australia (formerly Safe Schools) that was quietly axed by WA Labor in October 2020 at a cost of at least $1.5 million per year; and
• Reforming the Equal Opportunity Act to:
  • Ban all non-life threatening surgeries on children born with intersex characteristics until they are of a legal age to provide consent; and
  • Ban archaic and harmful conversion practices.

Joining Dr. Pettitt on the panel are Alex Wallace (they/them), a queer rights activist with Queer Liberation Boorloo, former Transfolk WA Board member and Greens (WA) Legislative Council Candidate, Mia Krasenstein (she/her), former Board Member of Busselton Pride Alliance, human rights campaigner and Greens (WA) candidate for Vasse and Hannah Halls (she/they), volunteer for Albany Pride.

Event Details:

• Wednesday 12 February, 7pm – 9pm
• The Aviary Lounge Bar, Level 1/140 William Street, Perth

Alex Wallace:

“This is an important opportunity for WA’s queer community to hear from The Greens and members of our community about how we achieve real change this election.

“It was The Greens (WA) who continued to apply pressure in Parliament, on the back of community action for movement on LGBTQIA+ law reform in the last term of Parliament. 

“It was the Greens who drafted and put amendments to gender recognition reforms that would’ve made the legislation more like what the community sought.

“WA Labor voted against those community-sought amendments, while the WA Liberals and MOST WA Nationals voted DOWN the legislation in full. Only The Greens (WA) are unapologetically and fully on the side of the LGBTQIA+ community in Western Australia; every protest, every vote, every time.”

Mia Krasenstein:

“The greens have always been the party to stand up for the rights of the LBGTQIA community.

“As a queer woman, I wouldn’t throw my support behind any party that didn’t stand up for the LGBTQIA+ community and my community knows the Greens have always had their best interests at heart.

“We have consistently fought against discrimination, against conversion therapy, pushed for better education of gender and sexuality and gender recognition reforms.

“This Labor government has claimed they support  the LGBTQIA+ community but has consistently backtracked on promises when the time comes. The Liberals ran a huge “Vote No” campaign during the marriage equality vote; it’s clear where the major parties stand. 

“All we need is more votes to have more influence on better laws in parliament. Come and stand with us.”

WA Greens MLC Dr Brad Pettitt:

“It is a privilege to be invited to share the stage with these incredible folks and speak to the painfully slow reform on LGBTQIA+ rights, and extremely harmful rhetoric, by WA Labor in the last Parliament.

“Trans and gender-diverse folks in the community have been calling for a Statutory Declaration model that enables self-identification of sex and gender on birth certificates in line with Victoria’s  gold-standard laws, passed in 2019. This is the core of the Greens (WA) election commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community.

“What this Labor government rushed through without consideration of amendments put forward by the community was a bill that continues to medicalise trans, intersex and gender-diverse identities by requiring an application to be ‘supported by a statement by a doctor or psychologist certifying that the person has received appropriate clinical treatment’. 

“Also buried in the announcement was an acknowledgement from Premier Roger Cook that the rest of the promised reforms to the Equal Opportunity Act would only be legislated if and when this government wins a third term. 

“Hedging life-changing reforms on winning a third term of government is despicable and the Greens are in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community who have been rightly calling this out.” 

“In the next Parliament and with the balance of power in the upper house the Greens (WA) will fight to ensure that life-changing reforms to the Equal Opportunity Act and the banning of archaic and harmful conversion practices – reforms the community have been calling for and that WA Labor have promised since 2017 – are finally realised.”

One Nation will strengthen Medicare, with a focus on combatting fraud, as part of its plan to put more money in Australians’ pockets.

Party leader Senator Pauline Hanson said the Medicare system was being rorted by up to $3 billion a year – resources better directed towards lifting bulk-billing rates.

“When the Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance was released in April 2023, we learned Medicare was being rorted by up to $3 billion a year,” Senator Hanson said.

“There have been many examples of people using other people’s Medicare cards, doctors’ appointments being used to obtain cheap PBS-funded medicines which are then sold on the black market here and overseas for big profits, and even doctors falsely claiming funding for appointments they did not have.

“A lot of this could be prevented by requiring photo ID on our Medicare cards – this is our policy – and by ensuring Medicare is sufficiently resourced to ensure GPs are remunerated sufficiently.

“Like so many other small businesses in Australia, GPs are facing much higher operating costs – rents, rates, insurance, energy bills – and this is reducing bulk-billing rates.

These rates fell from 51.7% to 47.7% last financial year, with the average out-of-pocket cost rising to $45 per appointment. Almost 9% of patients either delayed their appointments or just didn’t go because of these out-of-pocket costs.

“We must have a hard look at increasing the Medicare rebate and better remunerate GPs to prevent their exit from the system. Australia is potentially looking at a shortfall of more than 10,000 GPs by the start of the next decade.

“Fixing Medicare and cracking down on fraud is part of our plan to slash government waste by $90 billion, putting $40 billion more in Australians’ pockets, paying down government debt and investing in Australia’s future.”

The Albanese Labor Government is building Australia’s Future, today announcing regional Australia will continue to receive critical aviation services into the future.

The Albanese Government will work with the Administrators of Regional Express Holdings (Rex), as part of an upcoming competitive sale process, to ensure crucial regional aviation services continue beyond 30 June 2025.

We will work with shortlisted bidders on what support the Albanese Government may be able to provide to maximise the prospect of a successful sale.

Terms of Commonwealth support will be subject to negotiation, but will be conditional on commitments by bidders to provide an ongoing, reasonable level of service to regional and remote communities, the need to provide value for money to taxpayers and good governance.

The Government is not a bidder in the upcoming sale process and would like to see a successful market-led outcome. However, in the event there is no sale, the Albanese Government will undertake necessary work, in consultation with relevant state governments, on contingency options, including preparations necessary for potential Commonwealth acquisition.

The Albanese Government is also providing further support through a waiver of the “use it or lose it” test for Rex regional flight slots at Sydney Airport, which will ensure its access to those slots until 24 October 2026.

This comes on top of the Albanese Government providing a loan of up to $80 million to keep Rex’s vital regional routes operating until 30 June 2025, and acquiring $50 million of debt from Rex’s largest creditor, PAGAC Regulus Holdings Limited, earlier this year to ensure the airline could continue to operate.

These actions make clear the Government’s ongoing commitment to maintaining access to aviation services for regional and remote communities, and recognises the critical role of the Rex network to local economies.

The Albanese Labor Government will back regional aviation just like we back regional telecommunications because we know our great country towns deserve quality services and connectivity just like our cities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“Regional Australians deserve access to quality and crucial regional aviation services.

“We are working collaboratively with the administrators of REX to ensure that regional services continue beyond June 2025, including looking at what support the Commonwealth can provide.

“Regional Australians can be assured that our Government will continue to fight to ensure these regional airfares remain available.”

Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher:

“The Albanese Government believes regional and remote communities deserve reliable, affordable and accessible air travel.

“That’s why we’re taking steps to ensure the best possible deal for the sale of Rex.

“Aviation services are essential for our regions, and our government is committed to seeing these services continue into the future.”

“When markets fail or struggle to deliver for regional communities the Government has a role to ensure people do not miss out on opportunities, education and critical connections.

“We are recognising that today and stepping in to keep these routes in the air.”

The Greens will move amendments to the Government’s NBN legislation this week to cap NBN Co executive salaries, and require the NBN to be recognised as a universal service. The Greens are in balance of power on the Bill and say their amendments will improve access and affordability for customers in the cost of living crisis.

The NBN Co CEO was paid more than $3m in 2023 making them the highest paid public servant in Australia, paid five times more than the Prime Minister. The NBN (Commitment to Public Ownership) BIll is due to be debated by the Senate on Tuesday. 

Greens Amendments will:

• Cap executive pay –  cap remuneration paid to senior executives at 5x the Annual Average Weekly Earnings, taking into account both base salary and bonuses
• Recognise the NBN as a universal service in the Act, with the NBN required to provide broadband in a way that is accessible to all Australians on an equitable basis

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens spokesperson for Communications.

“The NBN belongs to all Australians, but too many consumers are being crunched by rising bills and network faults.

“The Greens will circulate amendments on Monday to recognise the NBN as a universal essential service, requiring the NBN Co to provide reliable, high speed broadband on an affordable and accessible basis to all Australians.

“The Greens will also move to cap the obscene salaries of the NBN Co CEO and other executives. Something is clearly wrong when the publicly owned NBN.pays it’s executives millions of dollars while some Australians are struggling to pay their monthly internet bill or access a reliable service for a network Australians built and own. It doesn’t pass the pub test and it is not value for money for taxpayers.

“It’s galling that in the cost of living crisis we have the NBN Co CEO paid more than five times the Prime Minister – the highest paid public servant in Australia.”

Labor has bowed to pressure from community advocates and The Greens, committing to deliver affordable housing at the former WestConnex site on Parramatta Road.

This welcome news comes after the government initially refused to deliver any social, affordable, or public housing on this site. 

Kobi Shetty MP for Balmain said:

“The NSW Labor Government has been dragged kicking and screaming to deliver much needed affordable housing here in Camperdown. This will be incredibly welcome news to the countless people struggling to find an affordable place to call home.

“With the RPA hospital right around the corner, this site is calling out for affordable key worker housing so we can keep essential workers including nurses and teachers here in our city.

“While this is a step in the right direction, it still doesn’t go far enough. This is publicly owned land and it’s shameful that Labor is still refusing to deliver any public housing. 

“Across the state we have almost 60,000 vulnerable households on the waitlist for housing – more than 1600 here in the Inner West alone. This is a missed opportunity to provide a much-needed increase to our public housing stock. We will keep pushing Labor to deliver public housing for our community.

The NSW Labor Government could use funding from the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to ensure that the remaining 300 dwellings that are not Build to Rent, are set aside for public housing.

Jenny Leong MP for Newtown and Greens spokesperson on housing said:

“Eight months ago, Labor unveiled plans for 100 private homes on this piece of public land – now, after massive pushback from the community and the Greens they’re delivering more than five times this amount.

“We welcome more homes to solve the housing crisis, but these homes must be genuinely affordable, and public land must be used for public housing.

“More housing for essential workers is welcome, but NSW Labor needs to be up front about how they will ensure this is genuinely affordable. And they’re still selling off public land: Build to Rent is essentially privatised public housing without rent regulation and does little to ensure people aren’t in housing stress.

“Relying on the private market to solve the housing crisis that it created is futile. The Greens will continue working with communities to push for urgent, ambitious investment in public housing on public land.”

The NSW Government will introduce new laws to the NSW Parliament this week that will further criminalise peaceful protest and hand significant new powers to the NSW Police that will allow police to issue move on orders and arrest peaceful protestors for simply being near places of worship.

Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson said “Racism and acts of hate must never be tolerated, they must always be called out. We must always strive towards a more cohesive and inclusive society, but these new laws are extreme and completely unnecessary. The laws are overreach and the only purpose they serve is to further criminalise peaceful and legitimate protests,”

“Premier Chris Minns has proven again that he is a one-trick pony when it comes to law and order crack downs that are announced through conservative radio interviews. Now here we are back in the arena watching him being led by the nose when it comes to draconian criminal punishments, and more police powers to whip and kick the people of NSW,”

“It’s clear that the Minns Labor Government is not interested in the evidence, or the opinions of civil society organisations and experts. The Premier has ignored the Law Reform Commission report that he commissioned into hate crime laws, a report that recommended against these changes, and he is ignoring his own colleagues who know that these changes will entrench hate against marginalised communities in favour of some of the most powerful religious organisations in the world,”

“The NSW Police already have extraordinary powers to issue move on orders to people on the street, these laws will introduce more powers that are poorly defined and could cause peaceful protestors in Hyde Park and other public places to be arrested for the ‘crime’ of being near a Catholic church,”

“The Supreme Court has already found similar anti-protest laws unconstitutional and an impermissible burden on political communication. It is truly shameful that Chris Minns is doubling down on attacking the foundations of a healthy democracy instead of having a responsible conversation about social issues,”

“You cannot arrest your way out of these issues, it just drives people further away from reasonable and mature discussion. NSW already has more than enough powers when it comes to punishing protest and we should be doing more to protect peaceful protest, rather than just punishing everyday members of the community,” Ms Higginson said.

The Greens today have announced a Parliamentary Budget Office-costed plan to tax Australia’s billionaires, as a new revenue measure in the party’s Robin Hood reforms.

A core message of the Greens’ plan for minority government is taxing big corporations and billionaires to pay for essential services, including getting dental into Medicare, making it free to see the GP and 50c public transport fares.

In a minority government in 2010, the Greens got dental into Medicare for kids. Key cost of living measures, as well as responsible revenue measures to pay for them, will be a priority for the Greens in any minority government in 2025.

Under the plan, Australia’s 150 billionaires would pay an annual 10% tax on their net wealth with a 10% limit on capital flight in any year. The plan is expected to raise $23 billion over the forward estimates and $50 billion over the decade.

Between 2018 and 2024, during prolonged economic crises, the total wealth of Australia’s billionaires more than doubled to an eye-watering $584.5 billion. A recent Oxfam Australia report revealed Australian billionaires on average made $67,000 per hour last year, over 1,300 times the hourly wage of the average Australian.

After Donald Trump’s election with the support of billionaire backers, people across Australia are disenfranchised with the major parties, their trust in the political establishment is at an all-time low and concern about billionaires’ influence on politics is rising.

Adam Bandt, Leader of the Australian Greens:

“In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics: a home, food, and world class health and education. Instead, billionaires are making out like bandits while everyone else is being squeezed. 

“It’s time we turned the tables and made billionaires pay their fair share to fund the services people need.

“This election, we have a once in a generation chance. There will be a minority government and the Greens are within reach of winning seats right across the country.

“With a minority Government, the Greens can keep Peter Dutton out and tax billionaires to fund dental into Medicare, seeing the GP for free and real action on the housing and climate crisis.

“The Greens will keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act.”

Nick McKim, Australian Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson:

“Gina Rinehart should not have $40.6 billion while people in this country are sleeping in tents and cars. That’s the economic system that Labor and the Liberals are defending.

“The Greens’ plan will force billionaires to start giving back.

“The major parties will not take on the billionaires or big corporations while they’re on the payroll. Only the Greens can hold Labor and Liberals accountable and put people ahead of profit in minority government.

“The cost of living crisis is a political choice.

“There has been an obscene accumulation of wealth in this country in recent years. A billionaires’ tax will start to turn that around and help everyday Australians.”