Category: Australian News

Today Australia has imposed targeted sanctions on 35 entities in Russia’s defence, technology and energy sectors, and 10 individuals, including Russian Ministers and senior officials, and senior military personnel in Belarus.

This action has been taken in careful coordination with our international partners to have maximum impact on those individuals and entities who play a role in directly or indirectly supporting Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions imposed today are directed at entities and individuals of economic and strategic significance to Russia, including:

• Russian companies supplying advanced technology, electronics and equipment to the Russian Armed Forces
• Russian entities involved in nuclear energy and Arctic resource extraction
• Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Belousov and Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko
• Major Russian defence entities, including Russia’s largest producer of military helicopters and its CEO
• Senior Belarusian military officials who have threatened Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity

Australia has already taken action to impose costs on Russia and has sanctioned more than 1,100 individuals and entities supporting the invasion of Ukraine.

We again call on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s senseless war.

The Australian Government steadfastly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We stand with the people of Ukraine who continue to show extraordinary courage in the face of Russia’s brutal invasion and unrelenting attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said:

“Today’s sanctions underline Australia’s commitment to working with partners to maintain pressure on Russia and those supporting its illegal and immoral war.”

“Australia’s sanctions regime against Russia reflects our support for the people of Ukraine and for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts said:

“Australia stands with the people of Ukraine who continue to show extraordinary courage.”

“Australia again calls on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukrainian territory and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia’s senseless war.”

The sacking of RBA Governor Dr Phillip Lowe is a victory for accountability, but nothing will change for renters and mortgage holders until Labor changes its approach.

“Replacing one RBA insider with another is business-as-usual, and a clear signal that renters and mortgage holders will keep getting smashed to solve a problem they didn’t cause.

“Corporate profiteering and spending by the wealthy are the domestic drivers of inflation. 

“Labor needs to tax corporate super profits and wealth. That would be anti-inflationary and reduce the pressure on the RBA to use the only tool it has. 

“The decision to sack Dr Lowe is vindication for the Greens who have been calling for him to go for some time. 

“Dr Lowe made a series of mistakes and poor calls that resulted in renters and mortgage holders getting smashed for inflation they didn’t cause.

“But corporate Australia will be heaving a giant sigh of relief today.

“It’s clear that interest rate rises will continue to be used as a tool to increase unemployment and suppress wages, and that monetary policy will not be used to address inequality or climate breakdown.”

New analysis by the Parliamentary Library reveals that in the decade since the Gonski Review Australian governments have increased funding to private schools at twice the rate of public schools.

The analysis of My School data shows that on a real-dollar, per student basis, combined recurrent funding from Commonwealth, state and territory governments to Independent schools increased 34.04% from 2012 to 2021, while spending on Catholic schools grew 31.17%. Spending on public schools only increased 16.92%.

The data also highlights the vast disparities between funding in different states and territories. While the Victorian government has increased recurrent funding to public schools by 22.16% per student since Gonski, public school spending has actually fallen in WA and the NT, while the Queensland government has increased recurrent funding to independent schools at nine times the rate of public schools (see table below).

Per student, public schools received $16,174 on average in recurrent government funding in 2021, while Independent schools, which are able to charge unlimited tuition fees, received $11,840.

Public schools in remote and very remote areas, which typically attract a higher funding loading to account for disadvantage, have also fallen further behind public schools in metro areas. Government funding to major city schools increased by 16.74% since Gonski, but only 14.47% and 10.58% to remote and very remote public schools respectively.

The analysis exposes the complete failure by Australian governments to enact the Gonski Review’s central recommendation: to ramp up funding to under-resourced public schools and wind back funding to over-resourced private institutions.

To clear the way for the federal government to finally close the public school funding gap the Greens will introduce a bill during the next parliamentary sitting to remove the Coalition cap that limits the Commonwealth contribution to the public sector to 20%.

Greens spokesperson on schools, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“Since the Gonski Review panel handed down its recommendations more than a decade ago, governments have increased spending to private schools at double the rate of funding increases to public schools.

“This is absolutely scandalous.

“Gonski recommended that to close the widening inequality gap between public and private schools, extra funding should be directed to under-resourced public schools, while funding to over-resourced private institutions should be wound back. All governments agreed to this plan.

“Yet the exact opposite has happened.

“We can’t continue to pretend that fairness is central to our national identity when our public school system is on the brink of collapse and elite private schools are swimming in cash.

“Average performance is falling, student engagement is dropping and teachers are fleeing the profession. For many students public school is no longer a doorway to a better future, but a system which amplifies and locks in generational inequality.

“Labor says public schools are ‘on a pathway’ to full funding. But for teachers, students, parents and carers it’s starting to look like a road to nowhere.

“The government will try to blame this appalling state of affairs on the Coalition, but this crisis falls just as heavily on Labor’s shoulders.

“Labor is in government federally and in every state and territory government on the mainland, they have the Greens in balance of power in the Senate, and they’re bragging about having a $19 billion surplus. There is no excuse at all for public schools to remain shortchanged.

“Our kids can’t wait any longer.”

Download the full data set

Real-dollar, per-student increase/decrease in recurrent state or territory funding to schools by sector, 2012-2021

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, has written to Lexus, Penfolds, Kennedy and Furphy urging them to follow Myer’s lead and end their sponsorship of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. 

Her letter cites an independent poll of 1,005 Australians conducted between May 31 and June 5 2023 by Lonergan Research which found that almost two thirds of Australians believe racing animals like horses and greyhounds for gambling and entertainment is cruel (64%). This figure has been steadily increasing – 59% in 2022 and 55% in 2021. A methodology statement is available below.

Senator Faruqi said:

“There’s a clear choice for Cup sponsors: move with the times or leave yourself stranded as one of the last few championing a barbaric industry with a business model of gambling fuelled animal cruelty.

“Businesses who sponsor horse racing have blood on their hands. 

“Corporate money fuels the deaths and injuries of countless horses and contributes to other horrible sides of racing carnivals, like problem gambling and spikes in domestic violence.  

“Horse racing is plain vile. It’s high time that luxury brands realise there’s nothing luxurious about sponsoring animal cruelty. 

“The Melbourne Cup is a grotesque festival of animal cruelty, consumerism, alcoholism and gambling. It belongs in the dustbin of history.

“The evidence shows that the tide of public opinion is fast turning, with a clear and steadily increasing majority of people believing that racing animals for gambling and entertainment is cruel.”

Lonergan Research Methodology Statement:

The research was commissioned by The Office of Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Australian Greens) and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard, and in compliance with the Australian Polling Council Quality Mark standards (www.australianpollingcouncil.com). Lonergan Research surveyed 1,005 Australians 18+ between May 31 and June 5 2023. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to the Government’s decision to progress five immediate action items following the release of the Universities Accord interim report, saying it represents a missed opportunity.

The Greens previously outlined their priorities for action:

1. Wipe student debt, or at the very least make the student debt system fairer by abolishing indexation on all student debt and raising the minimum repayment income to the median wage.
2. Raise the stipends for PhD students to at least the minimum wage. 
3. Extend paid parental leave to PhD students.
4. Lower the age of independence from 22 to 18, and raise student social security payments above the poverty line to at least $88 per day.
5. Pay students when undertaking mandatory unpaid placements. 
6. Reverse the fee hikes and funding cuts introduced as part of the Job-Ready Graduates Scheme.
7. Wipe Student Financial Supplement Scheme debts. 
8. Ensure that international students have access to safe and affordable housing. 
9. Boost government funding to universities and link it to ensuring increases in secure, permanent  and ongoing employment for staff
10. Cap vice-chancellor salaries.
11. Require universities to report casual employment data, including the number of casual employees and the cost of executive salaries.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Minister’s  decision to guarantee First Nations students a Commonwealth-supported university place is an important and positive step. The other announcements are well and good  but nowhere near what is needed.

“Soaring student debt has made university increasingly out of reach for young people, who don’t deserve to be saddled with a debt sentence simply for pursuing education. 

“If the Government really wants to improve access to university, they should make university free and wipe all student debt.

“The Government is burying its head in the sand when it comes to so many obvious, urgent things that need addressing, like student debt, unpaid placements, PhD students living under the poverty line and the corporatisation of unis leading to rampant casualisation and wage theft. 

“Labor is woefully out of touch when it comes to young people. We see it in their failure to act on the housing crisis and we are seeing it in their failure to address student poverty.

“It’s great that Labor will dump the cruel and punitive 50 per cent fail rule, which was introduced as part of the disastrous Job-Ready graduates scheme. However, they should also scrap the scheme’s fee hikes and funding cuts, which have been an unmitigated disaster.

“I’ve been calling for changes to university governance and greater democracy on campus for some time, so it’s good to see that the panel has considered this a priority. The corporate university model has been so damaging and corrosive.

“Greens analysis has found that over the last two decades, there has been a 43 per cent reduction in the number of elected positions on university councils. We have to give power back to staff and students.

“Moving deck chairs on the Titanic is not going to cut it. Big and bold ideas must be urgently implemented.

“It’s time to reimagine universities as essential, democratic places which exist to serve the public good. Free and well-funded university is necessary for equity and the functioning of a vibrant  democracy.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will welcome US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to Brisbane for the 33rd Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) next week.

The United States is Australia’s vital security ally and our closest global partner.

AUSMIN is the primary forum at which Australia and the United States set the strategic direction for our Alliance.

At AUSMIN 2023, Australia and the United States will discuss ways to deepen collaboration across the breadth of the relationship, including on defence and security cooperation, climate and clean energy, and economic resilience.

Following AUSMIN, Deputy Prime Minister Marles and Secretary Austin will travel to north Queensland where Australian and US military personnel are taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 with counterparts from 11 partner nations.

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“Australia’s defence cooperation with the United States is unprecedented in scale, scope and significance. Our partnership is built on an enduring foundation of trust, a long record of achievement and a shared vision for upholding the global rules-based order.

“Australia will continue to work with our partners, including the United States, to build a region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, including through the longstanding US Force Posture Initiatives in Australia.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“We look forward to welcoming our good friends Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin to Australia for this year’s AUSMIN meeting.

“Our Alliance is continuing to evolve with our strategic circumstances. We are broadening AUSMIN to integrate new areas for cooperation in line with the region’s priorities, including emerging technologies, the clean energy transition and the essential role of critical minerals.

“Australia and the United States want to better support our partners in the region, and to promote peace, protect sovereignty and foster prosperity.”

This week we’ve all heard a lot about the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games by Victorian premier Dan Andrews.

This debacle reeks of cynical vote-buying and rank political dishonesty. Andrews and his government worked hard on the games bid, the success of which was announced in an election year. The decision to host the event in regional centres rather than Melbourne appears to have been motivated by Labor’s need to shore up its electoral support in crucial regional seats. 

Now that the election has been won, Andrews doesn’t need the Commonwealth Games anymore. It was only eight weeks ago that $2.6 billion for the event was in Victoria’s Budget. Andrews claims the cost has blown out to more than $6 billion in just eight weeks. 

Premiers from other states raced to get in front of TV cameras to rule out stepping in to host the event. I think that is very telling: for them, the costs and economic benefits don’t stack up. Andrews must have been aware of this. 

The key question this raises about the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games is whether or not the Palasczcuk government has done the math on costs versus benefits. We already know the cost of upgrading the Gabba has blown out to almost $3 billion. What other nasty Olympic surprises are in store for Brisbane and Queensland between now and 2032? 

Whatever is to come, the fact remains the Victorian premier has done immeasurable harm to his nation’s reputation for sport and hosting significant international events, all for a vote-buying exercise. He is accountable for this embarrassing debacle and should resign, but Dan Andrews – the architect of the world’s harshest and longest pandemic lockdown – has never considered himself especially accountable to the people of Victoria. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Wellington, New Zealand from 26 – 27 July to meet with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, The Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.

Australia and New Zealand are close partners and allies. The leaders will discuss strengthening trans-Tasman cooperation in a range of areas including trade and investment, security and defence, our shared commitment to the Pacific region, and deepening connections between our people.

This visit follows the most recent Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting hosted by Prime Minister Albanese in Sydney in 2022.

This year Australia and New Zealand are celebrating 80 years of diplomatic relations, 50 years of the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, and 40 years of our Closer Economic Relations Free Trade Agreement.

The visit will take place during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

This will be the Prime Minister’s first official visit to New Zealand.

Prime Minister Albanese said:

“I am delighted to visit New Zealand to meet with Prime Minister Hipkins for our third bilateral meeting this year.”

“Australia and New Zealand share close ties and will mark important milestones this year in our trans-Tasman relationship.”

“I look forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Hipkins on ways to strengthen the special relationship Australia and New Zealand share.”

On the ninth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, we pause to remember the 298 lives lost, and their loved ones.

Australia, along with our international partners, has made substantial progress in our pursuit for truth, justice and accountability over the last year.

In November 2022, the District Court of The Hague made unequivocal and conclusive findings of Russia’s involvement in the downing of Flight MH17, and findings of guilt against Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko.

The findings and life sentences handed down by the Court were an important milestone in our collective efforts with the Netherlands to hold those responsible to account.

Following the finding, the Australian Government worked closely with the Netherlands and European Union to impose targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on persons involved in the downing of MH17.

The sanctions, announced last month, target Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko, who were both found guilty by the District Court of The Hague. The third convicted perpetrator Igor Girkin, was sanctioned by Australia in 2014 for supporting separatist activity in eastern Ukraine.

Russia must take responsibility for the role it played in this horrific act of violence, and stop harbouring those who contributed to the downing of Flight MH17 and the murder of all on board.

Australia maintains that Russia is responsible under international law for the downing of Flight MH17.

Along with the Netherlands, Australia is pursuing justice through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council.

Earlier this year, the ICAO Council in Montreal upheld the Council’s jurisdiction to hear Australia and the Netherlands’ case against Russia for the downing of Flight MH17.

Our thoughts remain with those who lost their lives, their families and loved ones

The Albanese Government is supporting access to high-quality, safe, and effective medicines in the Pacific and Southeast Asia by investing $13.3 million in new partnerships between the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and governments in our region.

These partnerships will work to strengthen regulatory frameworks for medical products and help to increase the availability of safe and effective medicines, which will result in better-quality healthcare for communities.

This investment includes $1.3 million towards the Indonesia-Australia Contaminated Medicines and Vaccines Program, which will help address the systemic regulatory challenges of substandard and falsified medicines.

Today’s announcement is part of the Australian Government’s five-year $620 million Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, which supports partner countries to build resilient and equitable health systems.

It builds on work done during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Australia played a key role in our region supporting partner governments, especially in Southeast Asia, to access life-saving vaccines and medical supplies.

Australia is listening to the region’s needs and is committed to working with our partners to address our shared health challenges. This in turn contributes to regional prosperity and stability.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong said:

“Improving the health and wellbeing of communities across our region, including through better access to safe and effective medicines, is critical to ensuring our shared prosperity and security.

“These new partnerships between the TGA and regional governments will help achieve the best possible health outcomes for the peoples of the Pacific and Southeast Asia.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler said:

“Australia’s investment in the health of our region is an important contribution to the Pacific and Southeast Asia’s recovery from COVID-19.

“I’m pleased the TGA is partnering with the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority to jointly tackle the challenge of substandard and falsified medicines.”

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy said:

“Strong, resilient and responsive health systems are an essential part of sustainable development.

“Australia has long supported strengthening health systems through our international development program.

“Partnerships for a Healthy Region demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our partner countries in this critical sector.”