Category: Australian News

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, will travel to France and the United Kingdom.

The second Australia-France Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations (2+2) will take place on 30 January in Paris and the Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) will be held from 1 to 2 February in London and Portsmouth.

In France, discussions with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu will develop and align French and Australian responses to the increasingly challenging strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe. Ministers will progress work towards a bilateral roadmap to strengthen collaboration across defence and security, resilience and climate action, and education and culture.

The meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will focus on modernising the bilateral relationship, elevating cooperation to tackle climate change, building economic resilience and contributing to global peace and security.

Senator Wong will also meet with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels. Australia’s partnerships with Europe and the UK work to foster a world that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, and in which sovereignty is respected.

Following these meetings in France and the United Kingdom, the Deputy Prime Minister will travel to the United States to meet with his counterpart, Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“In an increasingly challenging strategic environment, our longstanding defence relationships with France and the United Kingdom are essential to promoting stability, protecting the rules-based order and avoiding further conflict.

“I look forward to working with my French and UK counterparts to continue supporting Ukraine and ensure an inclusive, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

“The visit to the United Kingdom also provides an important opportunity to discuss AUKUS.”

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

“The Australian Government is committed to an enduring and productive bilateral relationship with France.

“Deepening practical cooperation with France in the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the priorities of our partners, is critical to our vision of regional stability.

“Close coordination with the EU is essential as we stand together to face challenges in Europe and in our region.

“We are modernising our longstanding relationship with the United Kingdom to face a changing world.”

Australia unequivocally condemns the horrific terrorist attack that claimed the lives of at least seven worshippers in Jerusalem on Friday evening.

Terrorism and violence against civilians can never be justified.

That such a cowardly and callous attack occurred on a day where we remember the atrocities of the Holocaust is utterly reprehensible.

Our thoughts are with the victims’ families, friends, and the Jewish community.

We are deeply concerned with escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

We call on all sides to exercise restraint, and to refrain from actions that harm civilians. 

Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and security.

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments are making it easier for Tasmanians to see a doctor by delivering an innovative four-year program to support stronger rural healthcare in the state.

Under the program, GP Registrars, including Rural Generalist trainees, will have the option of being employed by the Tasmanian Health Service as salaried employees, allowing them to do their final placement in GP practices across the state instead of changing new employers with each placement of 6 or 12 months.

By providing GP Registrars with guaranteed income and entitlements such as annual leave, parental leave, sick leave and other remuneration and benefits received by doctors working in hospital settings, the single employer model (SEM) will make working in rural and general practice more attractive and improve recruitment and retention of GPs in rural communities.

This will give medical graduates the best opportunity to build their careers while supporting our medical workforce in rural areas, making it easier for Tasmanians to see a doctor.

This is a model that has worked in its previous trials, we know it offers the security that many young doctors are after, and it provides a sustainable pathway to increase the number of rural GPs and highly skilled Rural Generalists across Tasmania.

The Australian Government will provide $8 million to support the program from 2022-23. This funding is part of the Australian Government’s commitment in the 2022-23 October Budget to work collaboratively with states and territories to co-develop and pilot innovative primary care models that aim to improve care pathways and reduce pressure on emergency departments.

The Tasmanian Government will contribute $5 million over four years including:

• $1 million in capital works for the Rural Medical Workforce Centre at the Mersey Community Hospital, and
• $1 million a year to support mandatory Rural Medical Officer rotations in paediatrics and anaesthetics, and additional skills posts.

Up to 20 GP Registrars will work across the state in regional, rural and outer metropolitan areas of need.

The Tasmanian and Federal Governments are working together to finalise the implementation arrangements for the trial, with opportunities for GP registrars, including Rural Generalist trainees, to commence from July 2023.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Australians in every postcode deserve access to world class health care.

“For too long we’ve seen communities across Tasmania like Huon Valley, Bridgewater, Deloraine and in Latrobe not be able to retain doctors.

“My Government is committed to making it easier for Australians to see a doctor by strengthening general practice, especially in rural areas.

“We will work in partnership with Tasmania and the other states and territories to provide the best possible support to our next generation of rural GPs.”

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said:

“This is all about making sure Tasmanians in rural and regional areas get what they deserve: access to local GPs and the health care they need.

“A single employer model will make rural practice more attractive for doctors and this agreement is a significant win for Tasmania. It will allow us to recruit more doctors and strengthen our rural communities.

“Our government has long been advocating to trial a Single Employer Model for GP registrars, including rural generalists, to make rural practice more attractive for doctors and we now look forward to making it happen. I’m committed to working in partnership with the federal government putting Tasmanians first and to deliver real solutions.”

Minister Butler said:

“Across the country we know after a decade of cuts from the former Government it’s never been harder for Australians to see a GP.

“And we know that here in in Tasmania, the situation is particularly challenging.

“This innovative program will make training and working in rural general practice a more attractive option for young doctors and importantly it will make it easier for Tasmanians to see a doctor close to home”

Australia Day is our chance to celebrate just how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country on earth.

Importantly, it is also an opportunity to reflect on how we can make it even greater.

It was in that spirit that we celebrated the Australians of the Year last night.

The winners and nominees represent the very best of our national character: our compassion and generosity, our courage and initiative, and our sense of service to community.

Today we welcome new citizens joining us in the great Australian family.

In choosing Australia as their home, they are embracing the values and qualities we hold dear: our belief in opportunity for all, the respect we have for hard work, the optimism that drives our aspiration and the Australian instinct for fairness, decency and care and respect for each other.

Australians uphold these qualities every day, in good times and bad.

As we’ve also seen in times of pandemic, fire, drought and the recent devastating floods, the worst of circumstances bring out the best in our people.

If there is an upside to tough times, it is that they have shown us we can be confident that whatever challenges the future brings, Australians will rise to meet them.

In our joys, our blessings and our hard-won triumphs, we celebrate what we have.

Just as importantly, we celebrate what we can be: the even greater Australia that is at our fingertips.

Later this year every Australian will have an historic opportunity to live the values that define us as a people.

And we can do it by heeding the gracious, patient call of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and answering it with a vote to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our nation’s birth certificate, the Constitution.

What greater way is there of celebrating our unique privilege of sharing this island continent with the world’s oldest continuous culture.

It would be an expression of pride that would also send to the world a message about our maturity and unity as a nation. 

We have so much to celebrate, so much to be proud of.

And we know we can be greater still. More prosperous, more equal, a country where the doors of opportunity are open to all.

An Australia where the spirit of the fair go is alive in all of us.

One thing you can always rely on Labor to do well is muck things up.  The federal Labor government has proposed a significant change to our constitution, known as “the voice”.

Unfortunately, the only aspects of their plans that have concrete information are:

1. Silence any dissent and refuse funding to opposing voices
2. Award themselves large amounts of taxpayer money to fund the “yes” side under the guise of “misinformation” campaigns
3. .. and if the Prime Minister loses the campaign he plans to legislate for a “voice to parliament” regardless of what Australians want

Anthony Albanese is on record as saying he hasn’t even sought the legal opinion of government lawyers about the ramifications of the “voice”.

Former High Court Judges have stated that a “voice” poses a significant risk of being hijacked by those who will tie the federal government up in legal challenges to everything parliament decides without first consulting the proposed third chamber of parliament (“the voice”).

We cannot rely on Anthony Albanese’s promise that everything will be okay. Although the radicals have all the money and support from extremist organisations, there is no certainty Labor will win a referendum.

It is crucial that we take action to stop this proposed change to our constitution.

The only way to defeat the “voice” is through hard work and effort. Our members, supporters, and volunteers are the very Australians who will stop Labor’s proposed changes.

One Nation strongly condemns a proposal supported by Greens indigenous affairs spokesperson Lidia Thorpe for non-indigenous Australians to pay a race based rent tax.

The rent tax scheme would see millions of Australians thrown further into poverty as their rents balloon or families pay more on top of their ever-increasing mortgages.

The model would see Australian property owners pay a weekly “rent” tax to Indigenous groups based on their ancestral claim to the land.

Any “Pay the Rent” scheme, which is being promoted and backed by celebrities, would see homeowners voluntarily paying a percentage of their income to a body led by Aboriginal elders with no government oversight or intervention.

A rent tax proposal is not only unnecessary, it’s also deeply flawed and unjust.

It is a form of discrimination that penalises property owners simply because of their race, and it would be a financial burden on hardworking Australians who have already paid taxes to support their communities.

One Nation believes this proposal is a distraction from the real issues facing Indigenous communities, such as poverty, unemployment, and crime.

Instead of proposing a controversial and divisive race-based rent tax, One Nation calls for Australians to unite as one country and reject the left’s pro-apartheid madness.

This scheme is the worst type of discrimination, and it is not a solution to the problem of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

In conclusion, One Nation strongly opposes the proposed “Pay the Rent” model and calls for a renewed commitment to addressing the real issues facing Indigenous communities through effective and unifying government policies.

Today marks 50 years since Australia ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The NPT is central to the Australian Government’s ambition of a world without nuclear weapons.

Australia made a binding commitment under the NPT to never acquire nuclear weapons.

In 1997, Australia was the first country to implement enhanced NPT safeguards under the Additional Protocol, which offers the highest international assurances of adherence to our non-proliferation obligations, and which Australia continues to strongly advocate.

The NPT has been critical to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and has been fundamental to global security over the past five decades.

As we face a deteriorating international security environment, including Russia’s desperate and reckless nuclear threats, Iran’s refusal to comply with its non-proliferation obligations, North Korea’s provocative violations of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, and the opaque nuclear arsenal build-up occurring in our region, the work of the NPT is critical.

Australia was also a founding member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and remains a steadfast supporter of its vital role in upholding the NPT. The IAEA facilitates access to the peaceful benefits of nuclear science and technology for global prosperity and socioeconomic development.

The Australian Government will continue Australia’s proud history of championing practical disarmament efforts. We will further strengthen global non-proliferation standards and share the benefits of nuclear science and technology with the world.

The Albanese Government deals with the world as it is, and is committed to taking the practical and meaningful steps necessary to shape it for the better – and we will continue to work for a world free of nuclear weapons.

A new Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) report by the Commonwealth Ombudsman into immigration detention reveals the disturbing and inhumane reality for those being detained, the Greens say. 

“This report shows that people in immigration detention centers are being subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment, including physical restraint without proper justification or medical guidance,” Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“The report also highlights the use of firefighting equipment on Christmas Island as a technique to control the movement of people in detention and to clear them from particular areas, which is completely unacceptable and must be investigated immediately.”

“Labor must now take responsibility for inhumane conditions in its immigration detention centres, and take immediate action to investigate and fix these issues.” 

“We cannot stand idly by as the basic human rights of those in detention are continually violated.”

“This report is yet another argument for a Royal Commission into offshore and onshore immigration detention, and an end to mandatory immigration detention.”

The report can be read here.

Over the weekend, the world marked the second anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. On the 22nd of January 2021, this treaty became binding on all states parties, entrenching its place in international law. 

In 2018, the Labor party adopted a resolution that commits it to signing and ratifying the TPNW in government. We are yet to see this happen. 

On the 28th of October 2022, Australia had an opportunity to vote ‘yes’ to the TPNW. Instead, we abstained. This was a move in the right direction, but not a big enough one. This vote provided an opportunity for Australia to reaffirm its commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

The co-chairs of the Parliamentary friends of the TPNW  released a joint statement, which can be read here:
 

Senator Jordon Steele-John said:

“The Australian Greens will continue to call on the Australian Government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

“Today marks 50 years since Australia ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Foreign Minister has been quick to announce the Government’s continued commitment to a nuclear free world, but wants “universal support” before ratifying the TPNW. This is a delaying tactic. “

“Last year, in a Senate urgency motion, Labor voted “no” that the government should instruct Australia’s representatives at the United Nations to vote in the affirmative during the upcoming UN First Committee vote on the Treaty on the Total Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and signal the government’s intent to sign and ratify the treaty. We are under no illusion as to the ALP’s intentions.”

“AUKUS will continue to undermine our commitment to a nuclear free world. Our friends in the region know it, Australians know it, and it’s time the government knew it too. Having nuclear submarines in our waters is destabilising the region. There is no doubt about this.”

“Across the globe and here in Australia, people are speaking up and opposing the continuing proliferation of nuclear weapons. . In opposition, Anthony Albanese was enthusiastic and explicit about the Labor Party’s commitment to sign the treaty. Yet, as Prime Minister, he has failed to show the political courage to do what is necessary. “

“The war in Ukraine and rhetoric about the use of nuclear weapons, particularly by President Putin, is a reminder that denuclearisation is urgent. The TPNW is the best instrument we have against this ever-present threat.”

“Australia must play a constructive role toward global disarmament, and we must not delay any longer. The Australian Greens will continue to work to make this a reality. “

“Almost 80 percent of Australians back the signing of the TPNW. The Labor party membership backed the signing of the TPNW. The Greens have been absolutely unwavering in our backing of signing the TPNW. Let’s get it done.”

Australian Greens Senator Larissa Waters has today written to the Iranian Ambassador stating her political sponsorship of Shaghayegh Khademi and Mahya Vahedi. 

Shaghayegh Khademi is a 23 year old who was abducted by security forces from her home in September 2022. After a 10 minute ‘trial’, in which she was not allowed a lawyer, she was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.

Mahya Vahedi is a children’s and women’s rights activist. According to her brother, she was arrested at her workplace on 15 January 2023 with no explanation. Her whereabouts are still unknown, and Senator Waters’ letter includes a demand for information about her situation.

Their families and the Iranian diaspora in Australia are greatly concerned for both women, as Iranian authorities have continued to carry out executions of people who joined protests following Jina Mahsa Amini’s death. 

The Australian Greens are calling on the Australian Government to do more than the current sanctions that are in place on some Iranian officials. The current sanctions do not go far enough and are not as strong as those imposed by other countries, including Canada. 

The community is desperately calling for more to be done to show Iranian authorities that these abhorrent acts will not be tolerated. 

Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women, Senator Larissa Waters said:

“Today I have written to the Iranian Ambassador, stating my political sponsorship of Shaghayegh Khademi and Mahya Vahedi. 

“Shaghayegh is only 23 years old, and faces 16 years imprisonment after a trial that was conducted in just 10 minutes – with no lawyer present. 

“Mahya is a children and women’s rights activist whose whereabouts remain unknown, since she was arrested with no explanation on 15 January 2023.

“We are in solidarity with protestors across Iran, and with all communities fighting for the rights of women. Until Iran is free, until women are free, we will join you and raise our voices until we are louder than the oppressors.

“The Australian Government’s response to Iran since Jina Mahsa Ahmini’s death in September 2022 has been too slow and has fallen short of what the community is asking for. 

“The Australian Greens remain in solidarity with the women of Iran. We condemn the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on protesters and request the release of all arrested protestors. 

“The Australian Government must clearly express to the Iranian regime that they, and countries like them, will face consequences from the international community for allowing violence against women and minorities within their borders.

“We are calling for the Australian Government to expand the Magnitsky sanctions to include financial asset freezing and further visa bans on people linked to the Iranian regime including key security officials, Basiji Militia, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp and the morality police.”