Category: Australian News

The Morrison Government will provide a $2.4 billion boost to the economy by cutting red tape as part of our Economic Recovery Plan to allow for a uniform scheme for automatic mutual recognition (AMR) of state and territory based occupational licences and registrations.
Under this reform, builders, electricians, plumbers, architects, real estate agents, security guards and other workers who hold an occupational licence in their home state or territory and who want to do the same work in another state or territory will be automatically deemed to have the necessary licence. These workers will also not need to pay any additional fees or apply for additional licenses.
The current mutual recognition regime for licensed occupations across Australia is complex, costly and imposes an excessive regulatory burden on businesses that operate across jurisdictions. Currently, around 20 per cent of workers in the economy are required to be licensed.
In November 2020 the National Cabinet endorsed a uniform, national scheme for AMR and in December 2020 the Prime Minister, State Premiers and the Northern Territory Chief Minister signed an intergovernmental agreement for the federal government to establish the scheme and the states and territories to implement it.
This reform will directly benefit over 124,000 workers who currently work across borders and an additional 44,000 who are expected to work across borders following these reforms. In particular, the reforms will benefit those workers living in border regions, those who relocate temporarily for work, fly-in fly-out workers and people who provide services remotely. The time and cost savings associated with AMR for these workers is expected to increase GDP by $2.4 billion over 10 years.
A uniform scheme means businesses can operate more seamlessly across Australia, which helps to create jobs, increase output, competition and innovation and lower prices for consumers.

The Morrison Government is putting the mental health of small business owners first with the with the launch of a coaching and support program.
NewAccess for Small Business Owners will provide free, confidential and tailored mental health coaching to small business owners.
The program is part of the Government’s $7 million BusinessBalance initiative, announced in the 2020-21 Budget. BusinessBalance provides immediate, short-term support of mental and financial wellbeing for small business as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said Australia’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and yet small business owners suffer more from depression and anxiety than the general population.
“Despite collectively employing more Australians, small business owners have the fewest resources to deal with their own needs, including their mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, putting our small business owners under even more financial and emotional pressure,” Minister Cash said.
“That’s why it is crucial to our economy that small business owners get the support they need towards recovery from COVID-19 and beyond.”
Developed by Beyond Blue, in partnership with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, NewAccess for Small Business Owners is designed to help small business owners who are feeling overwhelmed about everyday life issues, which may be caused by business challenges, staffing, relationships, health or loneliness. Coaches will have a small business background.
BusinessBalance also includes the Counting on U program, delivered through Deakin University, which is a free and professional development program that builds the mental health knowledge of trusted business advisers.
The advisers are trained in mental health first aid and relationship-building skills so they can recognise signs of mental and financial stress in small business owners and connect them to specialised services.
For more information about NewAccess for Small Business Owners, visit beyondblue.org.au/get-support/newaccess
For information on Counting on U and business advisor registration for upcoming training starting late April 2021, visit blogs.deakin.edu.au/counting-on-u/

Australia is working with Papua New Guinea to support the Government’s response to a concerning spike in COVID-19 cases to help save lives and support our closest Pacific neighbour’s health system.
By helping Papua New Guinea, we are not only helping our Pacific family, we are keeping our nation and our people safe.
The Australian Government has agreed to a request for assistance and will partner with Papua New Guinea on a comprehensive support package to help it respond to the crisis.
This includes the earliest possible supply of 8,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from Australia’s stock. It will enable vaccination of the country’s essential health workforce, with an initial rollout for the National Capital District. Future priorities will be determined with Papua New Guinea’s Government.
The Australian Government will also make a formal request to AstraZeneca and European Authorities for one million doses of Australia’s contracted supplies to gift to Papua New Guinea.
Our early vaccine assistance will be coordinated with the Papua New Guinean Government’s response, which has included their COVID-19 National Pandemic Response taskforce. We will also work with the WHO and UNICEF to ensure that it complements PNG’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan.
We are conscious of the close family and cultural connections of those people living in the Torres Strait Protected Zone. Both Governments are determined to protect our respective communities and avoid any cross-border COVID-19 transmission.
The roll out of vaccines in the Torres Strait Islands by the Queensland Government has already begun. The Australian Government will also work with the Papua New Guinea and Queensland Governments to address health security on both sides of the Torres Strait including support for making vaccines available in a timely way in Treaty Villages in the Protected Zone.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Papua New Guinea carries risks to the Australian people through incoming travellers. We are reviewing the adequacy of pre-departure COVID testing and on-arrival quarantine arrangements. We will be working with the Papua New Guinea Government over the coming weeks to investigate options for pre departure testing within 24 hours of departure.
In addition, we will suspend flights between Port Moresby and Cairns, and passenger capacity on flights between Port Moresby and Brisbane will be reduced by 25 percent.
To maintain emergency supplies and other essential services, freight flights will continue.
Charter flights from Papua New Guinea into Australia will also be suspended, with limited exceptions for medivac, humanitarian and other critical flights.
Australian Border Force will continue to enhance its presence in the Torres Strait.
As another element of our partnership, Australia is also deploying a forward team of three AUSMAT health specialists to Port Moresby. The specialists will work with Papua New Guinea’s health authorities on infection control, triage and emergency management and public health measures.
They will also advise on further Australian assistance and deployment of clinical care teams.
Australia is also providing the following new targeted support:

• Supply of PPE and other equipment for Port Moresby General Hospital and other facilities, as well as 200,000 facemasks;
• Working with the WHO on expanding warehouse capacity to increase storage for PPE and streamline its distribution;
• Supply of hospital tent facilities outside Port Moresby General Hospital for safe triaging and referral and transfer of patients;
• Supporting St John’s PNG and National Capital District Provincial Health Authority to establish Taurama Aquatic Centre as an isolation facility for mild to moderate cases with up to 120 bed capacity.
• Funding support for the re-opening of the Rita Flynn Testing and Isolation Facility to relieve pressure on the Port Moresby General Hospital;
• Funding St John’s Ambulance’s COVID-19 operations in Port Moresby, including patient transport, COVID-19 testing and PPE distribution to clinics;
• Supporting the COVID-19 National Control Centre with information management, risk communications, quarantine management and health financing; and
• Scaling up surveillance, testing and clinical care capacity in Port Moresby and provinces with known outbreaks, and testing of samples in Australia.

The Australian Government will also provide essential PPE supplies to the PNG Government including:

• Surgical Masks – 1 million
• P2/N95 respirator masks – 200,000
• Gowns – 100,000
• Goggles – 100,000
• Gloves – 100,000 pairs
• Hand sanitiser – 100,000 bottles
• Face Shields – 20,000
• Non-invasive ventilators (plus appropriate quantity of consumables) – 200

This new support is in addition to the $144.7 million support that Australia is providing to Papua New Guinea over 2020-21 to 2022-23 through our regional vaccine access initiative. This funding will support Papua New Guinea prepare for a COVID-19 vaccination campaign and assist with the procurement and delivery of doses.
It also builds on our $80 million contribution to the multilateral COVAX Facility’s Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for developing countries, which will support vaccine access for around 20 percent of populations at greatest risk in 92 developing countries. The COVAX facility has indicated that it will deliver 588,000 vaccines for Papua New Guinea by June.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia has already provided assistance of over $60 million dollars in assistance to help Papua New Guinea respond to the crisis.
At the inaugural Quad Leaders’ Summit last weekend the Prime Minister, Indian Prime Minister Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Suga and US President Biden agreed on a signature initiative to work together to boost vaccine production and distribution to countries in the Indo-Pacific.
We have reached out to our Quad partners to look at what more we can do together to support Papua New Guinea.

The Greens will vote against the Online Safety Bill because it is poorly drafted and could lead to widespread, unintended consequences.
“This Bill would make the eSafety Commissioner the sole arbiter of internet content in Australia ,” Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.
“It creates extraordinary powers for any one person to hold, let alone an unelected bureaucrat.”
“It also fails to provide for timely reviews or appeals of decisions made by the eSafety Commissioner.”
“We are concerned that people opposed to sex work, pornography and sexual health for LGBTIQ+ people could abuse the complaints process to seek to have lawful online adult content removed.”
“Public interest news that involves violent imagery, such as footage of police violence, could also be taken down.”
“However, the Greens recognise the need to stamp out online abuse, violence, racism and far right extremism, so we call on the government to withdraw this Bill and redraft it.”

The Senate has today recognised that the climate crisis is the greatest threat to our health this century.
“The fact is, the climate crisis is a health emergency”, Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said.
“The Government acted on the science when it came to the COVID crisis and yet for decades they have refused to act on the science when it comes to the climate crisis.
“In Parliament today there are over 30 health leaders, including two former chief state health officers, calling for a National Strategy on Climate Change, Health and Wellbeing.
“We urgently need a National Strategy on Climate Change, Health and Well-being to protect our community and our future generations.”
The motion reads:
I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move that the Senate –

1. Notes that the World Health Organization has acknowledged climate change to be the greatest threat to health this century;
2. Recognises that acting on climate change is the greatest opportunity to improve health;
3. Also recognises the Australian Government, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, has an obligation to consider health in its climate change response;
4. Applauds the growing calls from the health sector to act on climate to protect our health, including the 30 health leaders in Parliament today meeting with representatives to discuss climate change and health; and
5. Calls on the Government to urgently develop a ‘National Strategy on Climate Change, Health and Well-being’, which is supported by more than 50 health, social welfare and conservation groups.

Refugees that the Australian Government exiled to Papua New Guinea contracting COVID should prompt their immediate evacuation to Australia, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.
“For years, Labor and Liberal Governments have deliberately withheld adequate medical treatment from people in their care,” Senator McKim said.
“The refugees who have contracted COVID need to be medevacced to Australia, and all other refugees in PNG need to be brought to Australia to prevent them contracting the illness.”
“With COVID now out of control in Papua New Guinea, all remaining refugees must be brought to Australia.”
“Their immune systems have been damaged by eight years of brutality, and they are particularly susceptible to disease.”
“It is unconscionable for Peter Dutton to continue to try to wash his hands of responsibility for refugees who sought Australia’s protection and remain in his duty of care.”

An invite-only drinks at Parliament House with Elbit Systems – Israel’s largest privately-owned weapons company – has been facilitated by former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, highlighting the urgent need for reforms in Australian politics to stop the revolving door of politicians becoming lobbyists.
Australian Greens peace and disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said Elbit Systems – a worldwide purveyor of advanced unmanned aircraft (drones), and advanced surveillance and electronic warfare equipment, including weapons considered illegal under international laws of war such as white phosphorous and cluster bombs – have no place in the halls of Australia’s parliament.
“Elbit systems was awarded contracts worth roughly $89 million between August 2018 and May 2019 when Christopher Pyne was Defence Minister. Now, barely 18 months later, he is here inside Parliament House spruiking weapons on their behalf at an invite-only event for sympathetic MPs!” Steele-John said.
“Christopher Pyne’s lobbying firm – Pyne and Partners – now lists Elbit Systems as one of its major clients, a relationship that was clearly forged when he was Defence Minister.
“As our Defence Minister he was paid by the taxpayers to make decisions in the public interest, not to network for his own personal financial gain. This is one of the most egregious and sickening examples of the revolving door of former politicians becoming lobbyists for their big corporate mates that I have seen.
“Elbit is a company that markets their weaponry as being ‘field tested’ by the Israeli Defence Force, a reference to the extensive use of Elbit Systems equipment in Palestine where they have profited from the ongoing occupation and oppression of Palestinian people.
“In taking Pyne to task for this association, the Greens join a growing international outcry.
“Those who have divested from Elbit include the Norwegian Pension Fund, Danish financial watchdog Danwatch, the French investment firm AXA Investment Managers, and global banking giant HSBC. Norwegian Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen was clear in his views, saying ‘We do not wish to fund companies that so directly contribute to violations of international humanitarian law’, violations that Christopher Pyne overlooks in his pursuit of personal profit.”

The Government is launching a $15 million competitive grant round to kick start Australian clinical trials exploring the use of potential breakthrough combination therapies for the treatment of debilitating mental illnesses.
It is estimated four million Australians experience a mental health disorder ever year, and almost half of all Australians will be affected at some point in their lifetime. The most prevalent mental illnesses are anxiety disorders – affecting more than 14 per cent of adults each year – depression and substance abuse disorders. Evidence also suggests that up to 12 per cent of Australians experience PTSD during their lifetime
Many of the standard treatments for these illnesses can have varied efficacy and recovery rates, and there have been few advances in novel pharmaceutical discoveries in recent years.
However, there is now a strong and emerging body of international evidence that shows that substances such as ketamine, psilocybin, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), when used in a controlled environment and supported by psychological/ psychiatric care, offer a promising new approach to effectively treating pernicious mental illnesses that are resistant to first-line treatments.
Several have been granted ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ status for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Government’s $15 million Innovative Therapies for Mental Illness Grant Opportunity under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) will accelerate global efforts by supporting Australian-led research into the use of these approaches to combat resistant illnesses such as PTSD, major depressive disorder, addiction disorders and eating disorders that are impacting the lives of so many Australians.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Government’s MRFF is helping ensure that Australia’s medical research sector remains at the forefront of global innovation.
“The early results of trials in Australia and internationally are extremely encouraging, but more research is desperately needed before these approaches can be used by psychiatrists outside of controlled clinical trials. It is vital that we continue to support the search for new and better treatments for mental illness.”
“This grant opportunity will boost local research into potentially life-saving therapies and offers hope all those suffering from mental illness, including our Veterans and emergency service personnel dealing with the devastating effects of PTSD,” Minister Hunt said.
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said mental health and suicide prevention is one of our Government’s highest priorities.
“The prevalence and impact of mental illness is devastating for individuals, families and communities. This bold initiative is about ensuring that we explore every avenue of potential treatment for Australians diagnosed with a mental illness,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.
The MRFF is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system. It is also a capital preserved fund, which matured at $20 billion in July 2020.
Through the MRFF, the Australian Government has committed $614 million to support and encourage clinical trials.
Funding for the 2021 Innovative Therapies for Mental Illness Grant Opportunity will be over three years from 2021–22, with project activity up to five years.
Applications for grants for Australian clinical trials to assess innovative therapeutics, including ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA, supported by psychological/ psychiatric care, are now open via GrantConnect (www.grants.gov.au) and close on 21 July 2021.
Further details are available on the Department of Health website.

The Morrison Government has welcomed the launch of a new campaign encouraging Australians to consider jobs in aged care.
The campaign, “Bring your Thing”, commissioned by the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council, highlights the diverse range of skills and professions employed in aged care, including chefs, hair stylists, maintenance workers, and social coordinators.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Senator Richard Colbeck, said he hoped more Australians will consider a career in aged care.
“One of the great messages in the campaign is that working in aged care, where human connections are at the core of the roles, is meaningful and rewarding,” Minister Colbeck said.
“If you’re looking for work while you study, or want flexibility in a job that’s interesting and meaningful, the support and care sector might be just what you’re looking for.”
The campaign coincides with the Government’s substantial boost to the aged care workforce around the country to meet increasing demand for services, particularly for home care.
“Over the next two years, our Government will invest $92 million to attract, train and support 18,000 new personal care workers to the home and residential care sector,” Minister Colbeck said.
“As one of the five pillars of our response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, our workforce initiatives will ensure there are sufficient opportunities for the right workers to gain the necessary skills and training to work in aged care.”
Minister Colbeck said the campaign is an achievement against strategic action 1 in A Matter of Care: Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy.
“This is yet another achievement for the council against the recommendations in the Strategy,” Minister Colbeck said.
It follows the launch of the council’s Voluntary Industry Code of Practice last month.
Developed in consultation with consumers, providers, and peak bodies, the code provides a framework for a culture of proactive reform from aged care providers.
“The work of the Council is critical to boosting the aged care workforce, which is why the Government funded this campaign as part of an investment of $10.3 million to the Council in the last budget,” Minister Colbeck said.

Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to work with Lebanon and the international community to deliver an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the explosion at Beirut Port on the 4th of August, 2020.
Australians were all deeply shocked and distressed by the blast, which killed 200 people, including two-year old Australian Isaac Oehlers, wounded 7,000 people and left 300,000 people displaced.
That shock was compounded by reports that there had been multiple and repeated warnings of the danger posed by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate being stored at Beirut Port.
Despite ongoing Lebanese inquiries into the explosion, and despite around 50 separate calls for an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, the prospect of an outcome that delivers real justice for the victims seems as remote as ever.
This is simply not good enough and amounts to a deep betrayal of the rights of the victims of this unprecedented and terrible event.
It is time the Australian Government stepped up to rally the international community to ensure that the Lebanese people get the answers they deserve.
Today in Geneva, Legal Action Worldwide and Human Rights Watch will host a side event on the proposal in the margins of the Human Rights Council. Issac’s mother Sarah Copland will participate, but the Australian Government will not be formally represented at the event.
This is yet another disappointment for Australia’s interests in getting to the bottom of how the events of that day transpired.
The Oehler family, and the many Lebanese Australians who were impacted by this tragedy, deserve better from the Morrison Government – it needs to act now.
Labor calls on the Government to support publicly such an inquiry and work with like-minded states to deliver it.
Shadow Foreign Minister Senator Wong has written directly to Foreign Minister Marise Payne on this matter, but we have seen no sign of action