Category: Australian News

Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith MP, today visited residents of the Wollongbar temporary accommodation pods, following Ballina Shire Council’s recent decision to extend the lease of the pod village by just six months.

In 2022, NSW Reconstruction Authority leased the land off Ballina Council to situate temporary pods to house displaced families after the devastating floods of the same year.

Earlier this month, these displaced families received a letter advising they had to move out of the Wollongbar pods by November 2024 due to the lease of the Council land being up.

Following a request from the Reconstruction Authority to extend the lease for as long as possible, Ballina Council voted to extend it by only six months, which means pod residents will have to leave early 2025.

Today, Tamara Smith MP and Greens Councillor Kiri Dicker visited residents of the Wollongbar pods to discuss what this means for the vulnerable people living there.

During her visit, Tamara Smith MP spoke with several families who shared their anxieties about the approaching deadline. Many expressed frustration and fear about finding suitable, long-term accommodation during a housing crisis, within such a tight timeframe.

“It beggars’ belief that there are sitting councillors on Ballina Council who have denied a 12 month extension of these vulnerable residents for no good reason”, Ms Smith said.

“There is an acute housing crisis, the Wollongbar community including our sporting clubs have been so generous and welcoming towards our flood affected neighbours, and the residents of the pod village have been exemplar.

“Who exactly would be hurt by extending the lease on humanitarian grounds?”

“The Reconstruction Authority asked for as much of an extension as possible in discussions leading up to a formal request but were informed that only two months was on offer. Thankfully our Greens Councillors pushed hard for longer and and we got a six-month extension.

“I reassured the residents that I am here to support them and to back in the work of the Reconstruction Authority who are doing everything they can to transition residents into secure housing. I am deeply disappointed with the councillors who voted to turn them out”, Ms Smith concluded.

Ahead of the official start of the Paris Olympics, the Greens are urging broadcaster Nine to only use Australian music for winning moments in their television and social media coverage.

The Greens’ call follows the successful campaign by Australian musician Jack River during the Tokyo Olympics which saw Seven add more local tunes to their coverage, as well as the establishment of Our Soundtrack Our Stories group alongside ARIA, which lobbies broadcasters, ad agencies and businesses to play more Aussie music.

Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“The Greens are urging Nine: Go for gold with Australian music.

“It’s great to see tracks by Jessica Mauboy and Tones and I selected for the team song and Nine’s promo video for the games, but Nine has an opportunity to go much further and give airtime to only Australian artists.

“Tones and I’s new track has already had more than one million streams demonstrating how significant the inclusion of Australian music is in these nationally significant moments for our homegrown artists.

“At a time when our artists are struggling after Covid lockdowns, festival cancellations and venue closures, and the cost-of-living crisis, all of our television and radio broadcasters can be doing so much more to support Australian music. But the Olympics is a big moment that shouldn’t go to waste.”

Australian Musician, Singer and Songwriter Jack River (Holly Rankin) said:

“Iconic Australian moments deserve to be tracked to iconic homegrown songs. Songs written by and for the next generation of Australians who are representing our country here and abroad.

“There are few moments where we stop to celebrate Australia and our people. I hope Nine can answer the call at this moment and soundtrack the Paris Olympics with great homegrown music.

“We have some of the best talent in the world; lets showcase it.”

People at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) have propagated around 3,000 native plants over the past year to help Murrumbateman Landcare Group (MLG) restore endangered grassy woodlands in the Yass region. 

The species – including various eucalypts, wattles, shrubs and groundcovers – were chosen by the MLG for their ability to withstand future climate conditions. The native tubestock plants were grown as seeds from both local and non-local sources to ensure genetic diversity and improve soil health on both private and public lands in the Murrumbateman region.

The seven people employed in the AMC’s Production Nursery and Horticulture Program have mastered various propagation techniques, including hot and smoke-water treatment as well as cold stratification, ensuring the plants’ optimal germination and resilience.

Minister for Corrections and Justice Health Emma Davidson said this program is just one of several opportunities offered to people at the AMC to learn new skills, build confidence and give back to their community. 

“Everyone has the power to make our environment more resilient to better respond to the climate crisis,” Minister Davidson said.

“There are commercial grow houses and stock gardens in AMC to empower those who care about our environment to take meaningful action and be part of the collective community effort to keep the ACT region’s environment thriving

“Programs like this help people learn and build new skills, explore their interests, and connect with the broader community. When people have opportunities like this, they feel a stronger sense of belonging, respect, and care for themselves and those around them.”

Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said this partnership demonstrates that rehabilitation and community engagement can go hand-in-hand with positive results.

“This approach aligns with our commitment to evidence-based rehabilitation programs that reduce recidivism and promote successful reintegration. It’s a powerful example of how innovative programs can deliver benefits for detainees and the community alike,” the Attorney-General said.

MLG volunteer Fiona Hamer, whose sheep farm is among the project’s revegetation sites, said she was thrilled to see the region’s blossoming biodiversity.  

“Last year’s (plants) went to the top of a rocky gully, plus a high ridge-line where they will help hold the soil and provide refuges for wildlife. This year’s plants are going into a windbreak that will connect bird-friendly plots from earlier years, help protect ancient remnant paddock trees, as well as reduce stress for lambing ewes by providing shade and shelter,” Ms Hamer said.

ACT Corrective Services Commissioner Bruno Aloisi:
“We are incredibly proud of the dedication and skill demonstrated by the detainees in this program. Their contribution to reforestation efforts not only benefits the environment but also equips them with valuable work and general life skills.”

AMC Production Nursery and Horticulture Program supervisor Leigh:
“This program has been running for three years now. It not only provides valuable horticultural skills to the detainees but also fosters a sense of purpose and connection to the environment.

“The experience has also given detainees a real sense of achievement while nurturing their own personal growth. For some, these programs are more than a way to pass the time of their sentences – it can open up pathways for life after prison.”

Murrumbateman Landcare Group Committee Members Gill Hall:
“This partnership is a wonderful example of how we can work together to achieve positive outcomes for both the environment and individuals involved. The detainees were able to raise some species that the nursery has struggled to grow in Murrumbateman. The tubestock we collect from them always looks so big and healthy, and we love having this connection with the AMC.”

The 46th session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee in New Delhi has overnight decided not to declare the Great Barrier Reef be placed on a list of World Heritage sites ‘in danger’.

This decision ratifies the draft recommendation made to Unesco in June 2024.

Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson:

“The devil is in the detail with this now-confirmed updated decision. The Albanese Labor Government will crow about the work it is doing to protect the Great Barrier Reef, but it is not off the hook, not by a long shot.

“Unesco has clearly called on the Albanese Government to increase its climate ambition to bring Australia into line with the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement. How do the Scarborough, Barossa and Beetaloo climate bombs, supported by Labor, stack up against this?

“When I travelled to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef in April this year to witness the destruction of the most recent bleaching event with my own eyes, one thing was undeniable – the Great Barrier Reef is in danger.

“This isn’t difficult – the more coal and gas mines the Albanese Labor Government rips open, the closer the Great Barrier Reef is to becoming irrevocably degraded and changed forever. It’s new coal and gas or the Reef, you can’t have both.

“Just this week the Albanese Labor Government announced new permits for gas drilling along Australia’s west and south-east coastlines. The science is clear – if we are to meet the Paris target, and protect the Reef, there can be no new coal and gas development. Labor continues to remain in denial.

“Australia remains one of the world’s largest exporters of both thermal coal and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Recent data in the UN’s Sustainable Development Report also shows that under Labor, Australia is the fourth largest per capita exporter of CO2 emissions embodied in fossil fuel exports in the world, with only Qatar, Norway and Brunei Darussalam beating us to the top of that unenviable and shameful list.

“Unesco gave the Albanese Labor Government until February this year to demonstrate drastically stronger climate ambition, or else risk the Great Barrier Reef being declared ‘in danger’. Federal Labor has categorically not increased its ambition and is relying primarily on actions taken by the Queensland state government to placate the concerns of Unesco.

“Rising global emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels are boiling our oceans and killing the Great Barrier Reef. Until the Albanese Government commits to ending new coal and gas this destruction will continue.”

The Australian Greens have urged Labor to support and establish a real federal Truth and Justice Commission that can inquire into historic and ongoing injustices against First Nations people and make recommendations to Parliament.

Not, as they have suggested, a bare-minimum, watered down version that won’t address the systemic oppression and racism that communities continue to face.

Overnight, The Age reported Labor was looking to establish a ‘minimalist’ truth-telling plan that would help educate Australians about First Nations history.

It would reportedly contrast the much stronger model in Victoria, which has seen the Yoorrook Justice Commission make many important recommendations for change.

Australian Greens First Nations spokesperson, Senator Dorinda Cox:

“The Greens have a bill for a Truth and Justice Commission before Parliament that Labor could help pass in the coming weeks. This bill is supported by key stakeholders and members of our communities. 

“If Labor is serious about First Nations justice and implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, as they promised, they would back our bill. 

“Why would they not want to give a voice to First Nations peoples and support processes that for the first time would record our rich and vibrant culture and heritage in both pre and post-colonial times? Which would allow us to move towards righting the wrongs of the past and healing as a nation.

“Instead they are suggesting ripping the guts out of a First Nations-led federal Truth and Justice Commission and pushing through a watered down ‘plan’ that will do nothing to address the injustices our communities continue to face and further the sideline reparative processes for healing this nation.

“A ‘minimalist’ model will do nothing and certainly won’t allow us to record the pre-colonial history of Australia and make recommendations to the Parliament on how to address the ongoing systemic issues, which will bring practical changes to close the gap for our people, we need something stronger like the Victorian model.

“We cannot change the past, but we can build a better future for First Nations and non-indigenous Australians with a federal Truth and Justice Commission, which will help us to heal and move forward together as a nation.” 

Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May returns to her Ballarat roots today to listen to community concerns about the current cost of living crisis.

“Time and time again, I’m hearing from people who can’t afford basic food items.” 

“People are telling me that they’re skipping meals and being forced to make tough choices between medical expenses, groceries and rent.”

According to the Ballarat Foundation, more than 12 percent of the population in Ballarat relies on some kind of support for accessing meals and groceries in order to survive.

“This shouldn’t be happening in a wealthy country like Australia, but that’s the reality when Labor refuses to take action on cost of living.”

“Here in Ballarat, like in so many regional communities across the country, shoppers have little choice but to shop at either Coles and Woolworths.”

“The Coles and Woolworths duopoly is blatantly price gouging. Shoppers are paying more for groceries, while supermarkets are profiting billions.”

“Having grown up in Ballarat, I’m hearing directly from locals who are fed up. People have had enough of the supermarket price-gouging, they’ve had enough of not being able to put food on the table for their kids – all while supermarkets make huge profits.”

The Greens are campaigning hard to hold Coles and Woolworths to account, the Senator said.

“Food and grocery prices won’t come down unless we make price gouging illegal, and create powers to break up the supermarket duopoly.”

“Only the Greens have consistently proposed measures in Parliament that will result in lower food and grocery prices.”

“It’s time for the Labor Party to decide whether to protect the profits of supermarket giants or provide relief to Australian shoppers in a cost of living crisis.

Over the next week I will travel to Laos for ASEAN meetings, Japan for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Republic of Korea for a bilateral visit. 

This year we proudly mark 50 years since Australia became ASEAN’s first dialogue partner. A strong ASEAN underpins regional stability, contributes to prosperity and reinforces the rules and norms that protect us all.

At the ASEAN-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Laos, we will progress outcomes agreed at the Special Summit held earlier this year in Melbourne.

In Laos, I will also attend the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and ASEAN Regional Forum, which provide important platforms for cooperation with ASEAN on regional priorities.

Australia strongly supports Laos’ leadership as the 2024 ASEAN Chair. Our friendship with Laos is built on longstanding development cooperation and people to people ties, forged over 70 years.

In Tokyo, I look forward to meeting my counterparts from Japan, India and the United States at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The Quad is working closely with Indo-Pacific countries and institutions to deliver on a positive agenda that responds tangibly to the region’s priorities and most pressing challenges.

Quad Foreign Ministers will take forward cooperation on infrastructure, supply chains, connectivity, education, research, humanitarian and disaster responses, counterterrorism and security.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a close friend and a comprehensive strategic partner. I look forward to meeting Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul to progress implementation of the outcomes from our May 2+2 meeting in Melbourne.

Australia and the ROK are building on our strategic alignment with expanded bilateral and regional cooperation, including on the energy transition and economic security.

While in the ROK, I will visit the UN Command Buildings in the Joint Security Area within the Demilitarised Zone, which is an enduring symbol of international cooperation in addressing North Korea’s challenges to security and stability.

This visit to Laos, Japan and the Republic of Korea is an opportunity to promote Australia’s interests and deepen collaboration with key partners and regional architecture in pursuit of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The Victorian Greens have thrown their support behind journalists from Nine newspapers who are set to strike for the next five days. 

Journalists from Nine mastheads such as the Age in Victoria have planned the industrial action after Nine Entertainment chief executive told staff the company was cutting 200 jobs, including 90 positions across the legacy mastheads. 

Journalists have asked for fair wages, greater diversity, protections against the use of AI and to reduce the number of redundancies. 

The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell says that these demands are fair and sensible and that journalists need a better deal to support bold, independent, and fearless journalism, which is at the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. 

Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell: 

“All strength to the journalists striking for fair wages, greater diversity, AI protections and fighting back against huge slashes in jobs. 

“It seems Nine are trying to cut costs at every corner instead of investing in public interest reporting which is what journalism is actually all about. 

“It’s a dire reminder of the consequences of successive governments handing over the bulk of our media to a couple of billionaires. 

“A free and fearless press that speaks truth to power is at the cornerstone of our democracy. This relies on good journalists who are empowered to do their job.”

The AFP has charged three men over the alleged forced marriage of two teenage children in Perth, the first time the AFP has laid charges in Western Australia for this crime.

The men – two of whom are related to the boy and one who is related to the girl – faced Perth Magistrates Court today (26 July, 2024) each charged with one count of causing a person to enter into a forced marriage in circumstances of aggravation, contrary to sections 270.7B(1) and 270.8 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth). The matter has been adjourned until next month (August, 2024).

The maximum penalty for the offence is nine years’ imprisonment.

Police will allege the teenagers, one of whom was aged between 13 and 15 and the other who was 17, wanted to date each other but the relatives told them they would have to be married for cultural reasons.

The men then allegedly facilitated the marriage of the children in a religious ceremony last year (2023).

AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Chwal said the definition of a forced marriage was when a person married without freely and fully consenting, because they had been coerced, threatened, or deceived, or because they were incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony, for reasons including age or mental capacity.

“The legal age for marriage in Australia is 18; and while a child aged 16 to 18 can obtain permission from a Court to marry, the person they wed must be an adult,” he said.

Det-Supt Chwal said forced marriage was a complex crime because it often involved family members as victims and perpetrators, and the number one priority for the AFP was the wellbeing and safety of victims.

“The AFP’s key focus is to disrupt and prevent this crime – by building awareness of the laws in Australia, the warning signs of forced marriage, and the help that can be provided to victims,” he said.

“If victims do not feel comfortable speaking directly to police, there are many services and agencies which can provide support to help ensure their safety.”

Det-Supt Chwal said forced marriage was not limited to any cultural group, religion or ethnicity.

“Anyone can be a victim of forced marriage, regardless of their age, gender or sexual orientation,” Det-Supt Chwal said.

Forced marriage has been illegal in Australia since 2013 and can apply to legally recognised marriages, cultural or religious ceremonies, marriages which occur in Australia or where a person is taken overseas to be married, and can include the conduct of those involved in facilitating the forced marriage.

If you suspect that you or another person is experiencing, or at risk of, forced marriage or human trafficking, call 131 AFP (237) or use the AFP’s human trafficking online information report. If you have immediate concerns for your safety, the safety of another person, or there is an emergency, dial Triple Zero (000).

The Support for Trafficked People Program is a key component of Australia’s response to support victims of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices.

If you or someone you know is being exploited, help is available. For information and confidential advice please contact Australian Red Cross. Call 1800 113 015 or visit redcross.org.au/stpp.

Common signs of forced marriage

Common signs of forced marriage include a person who may:

have a family history of elder siblings leaving education early, marrying early or indicating concerns of an early marriage;
be highly controlled by family or community members in and outside of the home, including surveillance; always accompanied; limited or no control of finances; limited or no control over life decisions, education and career choices;
have communications monitored or restricted;
express concern regarding an upcoming family holiday or overseas travel;
demonstrate feelings of conflict or concern for the ramifications if they do not go ahead with an agreed marriage or engagement; and,
express concern of physical or psychological violence for not fulfilling family or community expectations.

The Australian Government has imposed Magnitsky-style targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli individuals, and targeted financial sanctions on one entity, for involvement in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The individuals sanctioned today have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians. This includes beatings, sexual assault and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death. The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.

We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution.

The Albanese Government has been firm and consistent that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace.

Australia will continue to work for a just and enduring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

For further information on the sanctions frameworks, please visit: Australia and sanctions. For details on all individuals and entities listed under Australia’s sanctions frameworks, please visit: Consolidated List.