Category: Australian News

The Greens have slammed the government’s knee-jerk climate denialism as the world delivers yet another stark warning that we risk losing the Great Barrier Reef.
Quotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt:
“It’s coal or the reef, but you can’t have both.
“The Great Barrier Reef is under threat because of the mining and burning of coal and gas.
“We have ten years to save the Reef, but on the same day the Reef is put on death watch, Liberal and Labor support opening up new gas fields.
“Barnaby Joyce has been brought back from the dead to kill the Reef. He has been brought back to fight for the billionaires, like Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, who want to build more coal mines in the Galilee Basin.
“If the world heats up over 1.5 degrees, the Reef will die. The only party in Australia with climate targets in line with 1.5 degrees is the Greens.
Quotes attributable to Greens Queensland Senator and co-Deputy Leader, Larissa Waters:
“It’s a cruel irony that on the day that the World Heritage Committee has, after eight years of warnings, recommended that the Great Barrier Reef be declared ‘in danger’, that a reactionary climate-denier has been elevated to the second-highest office in the land.
“The government’s claims that it’s been blindsided by this news are laughable. UNESCO has been warning since 2012 that the Reef could be placed on the ‘In Danger’ list, and while the government has twiddled its thumbs 50% of the Reef’s coral cover has been lost.
“More than 60,000 people rely on the Reef for employment and yet the government, which talks a big game about jobs, is prepared to let an entire industry die while it lets its fossil fuel donors dig and burn their way to climate catastrophe.
“Queenslanders and Australians have had enough of the Morrison government’s climate denial, they’ve had enough of them ruling for the billionaires and doing favours for big corporations, and I cannot wait until they’re condemned to the opposition benches. Bring on the election.”
Quotes attributable to Greens Environment Spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young:
“Australia’s Environment Minister says her government was “blindsided” by the UN declaring the Great Barrier Reef “in danger”.
“No, Ley wasn’t ‘blindsided’ she had her eyes closed, ignored the science and kept taking donations from the fossil fuel industry.
“The Great Barrier Reef is in danger. The world knows it. They’re worried. Yet here in Australia the Government constantly ignores all the warning signs.
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our environment and yet the government still doesn’t have a plan to reduce pollution.
Quotes attributable to Greens Oceans Spokesperson, Peter Whish-Wilson:
“The Government granted $443.4 million to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to avoid a UNESCO ‘in-danger’ listing, following an explicit warning in 2017 from the UNESCO Committee that this was pending.
“At the time it seemed absurd that a small private business was given the go-ahead to manage one of Australia’s greatest public assets, which is why in 2018-19 the Greens initiated and chaired a Senate inquiry into the suspicious grant.
“After months of hearing evidence, the National Audit Office disclosed the original motivation of the grant was to avoid an UNESCO World Heritage “in danger” listing.
“The whole Senate inquiry could have been avoided if the Government had come clean about the true motivations for setting up the grant. Clearly they wanted to avoid the global political embarrassment of having UNESCO downgrade the world heritage values of our planet’s greatest coral reef system.
“Having the Great Barrier Reef declared as ‘in danger’ will potentially lead to similar listings for other reefs around the world. This would be the loudest siren call ever to protect our oceans – and perhaps this is necessary for us to take the radical action needed to save our oceans.

The Coalition Government has appointed Graeme Barden as the new Executive Director of the nation’s industrial chemicals assessment and regulatory body, the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS).
Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said he was pleased that AICIS will be in the capable and experienced hands of Mr Barden for the next five years.
Mr Barden distinguished himself during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as First Assistant Secretary in the Office of Health Protection and Response in the Department of Health.
“I welcome Mr Barden to the role of Executive Director. He brings significant technical experience in chemical regulation policy and has previously held leadership roles in the Office of Chemical Safety and the Health Protection Policy Branch of the Department,” Minister Coulton said.
Minister Coulton said Mr Barden’s appointment follows the retirement of the inaugural Executive Director, Dr Brian Richards.
“I’d like to thank Dr Richards for his service as the Director of the former National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) since 2012,” Minister Coulton said.
“Dr Richards led reforms to Australia’s industrial chemicals regulation, culminating with the commencement of AICIS in 2020.”
AICIS was formally established on 1 July 2020, to replace the 30­-year-old National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) to better protect Australians.
It is responsible for the assessment and evaluation of certain industrial chemicals and regulating their importation and manufacture in Australia.
AICIS also provides information and makes recommendations to the Australian Government and the states and territories about managing the risks of industrial chemicals.
An open recruitment process, chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, was conducted to appoint a new Executive Director.
Minister Coulton said AICIS has been well served by Acting-Executive Director, Dr Roshini Jayewardene, who will hand over to Mr Barden on Thursday, 1 July 2021.

The Greens will oppose the Streamlined Participation Requirements and Other Measures Bill 2021 that will rip $457 from people receiving Jobseeker and $346 from people receiving Youth Allowance.
“This Bill makes significant changes to employment services, mutual obligations and compliance for income support recipients and the Government is seeking to rush this complex bill through Parliament with next to no scrutiny”, Senator Rachel Siewert said.
The most insidious components of this Bill will delay payment for an estimated 144,000 people using digital employment services. It will mean people engaging with online servicing will only receive income support payments after signing their job plan online. The Department estimates that this change will save them an average of $457 per Jobseeker and $346 per Youth Allowance recipient.
While out of touch Government MP’s might not believe these sums to be significant, for people who have lost work, it means the difference between secure housing, having food on the table, and being able to pay your bills.
This will also place pressure on jobseekers to accept a job plan that is not suitable for them, putting them at risk of being subject to harsh penalties such as a payment suspension.
In contrast, those undertaking face-to-face servicing will receive their first income support payment from the date they attend an initial appointment with their provider.
One of the consequences of the “streamlining” undertaken in this bill is that Parenting Payment is being further entrenched as a participation payment when it comes to job plans, compliance, and employment services.
Parents should not be subjected to compliance measures and this represents the continuation of a significant policy shift that first started under the introduction of the punitive ParentsNext program and which significantly undermines the caring work undertaken by parents.
I have serious concerns about a provision allowing the health and education of a child to be included in a Parenting Payment recipient’s job plan.
There is no reason why the health and education of a child is relevant to a Parenting Payment recipient’s job plan or income support payment.
The changes in this Bill only implement some of the recommendations from the Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel report, I Want to Work.
This Bill continues the Government’s cruel and punitive mutual obligations and JobActive scheme which entrenches poverty rather than supporting people to find work.
The Government has failed to adequately explain why this Bill needs to be rushed. The rushed nature of this process rings alarm bells and suggests the Government is seeking to avoid proper scrutiny of this legislation.
We call on the Opposition and crossbench to support people on income support and oppose this Bill if it comes to the Parliament next week.
 
The Greens dissenting report can be found here.

With the elevation of coal-hugging Barnaby Joyce to the Deputy Prime Ministership, the Greens will renew focus on coal and 2030 climate targets in winnable inner-city seats held by Liberals, as part of the party’s push to secure balance of power in a minority Parliament at the next election.
The Greens have already released a shortlist of lower house electorates from which they will pick their campaign priority seats at the next election, including the Liberal-held Ryan, Brisbane, Higgins and Kooyong, as well as two inner-city seats where the Liberals finish first on primary votes, Macnamara and Griffith.
“This is a coal-fired coup in the Coalition,” said Greens Leader, Adam Bandt.
“Inner-city voters don’t want a coal-hugging government, and this move from the Nationals makes a minority Parliament more likely at the next election.”
“Scott Morrison is now tied to Barnaby Joyce, and instead of getting out of coal and gas, they’ll deliver more of it, sadly with the Labor Party’s support.”
“Inner-city voters can send a climate message to the government by voting Greens.”
“Net-zero by 2050 is too late, but it’s also clearly too much for the Nationals, who get 4% of the vote but 100% control of climate policy.”
“The Nationals are climate terrorists and they are holding the whole country hostage.”
“This whole government has to go.”

Australian Greens Anti-Racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the Liberals and Nationals have yet again supported and passed a hateful One Nation Senate stunt, joining the far-right party in agreeing that critical race theory should be ‘rejected’ in the national curriculum.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The government has a damning track record of indulging far-right politics and One Nation stunt motions in the Senate.
“Fear-mongering about critical race theory is nothing more than a culture war beat-up by Fox News and their local outpost of cranks, Sky News.
“It turns out the pandemic didn’t kill the so-called culture wars that are being manufactured again by the far-right in the parliament. The government is in competition with One Nation in an effort to appeal to the Sky News crowd.
“Critical race theory is basically a study of systemic racism. But it has become a bogeyman for the far-right—first in the US, now here—in their fear-mongering about anti-racism and racial justice.
“The government cannot viably claim to be taking far-right hatred seriously when they fall in line behind crap like this.”

Australian Greens Disability spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has backed calls for the NDIS to scrap its age cap and allow disabled people over the age of 65 to access the supports they need to live a good life.
Senator Steele-John said it was both arbitrary and discriminatory to block disabled people over the age of 65 from accessing the NDIS.
“Older Australians with a disability deserve to be able to access the supports and services that they need to live a good life, just like everyone else,” Steele-John said.
“Disabled Australians who were over the age of 65 when the NDIS was first introduced back in 2013 have lived the last 8 years – a time in their life when they should be afforded care and dignity above all else – without the extra support they need to be able to fully enjoy their retirement.
“Anyone could be involved in an accident that results in disability – it could be a parent or a friend – and, if they’re over the age of 65, they would be excluded from accessing supports through the NDIS. It’s discrimination.
“When they legislated the NDIS back in 2013, the Liberals deliberately amended the Age Discrimination act to enable people over the age of 65 to be excluded from receiving support through the scheme.
“To discriminate against disabled people based on their age goes against the fundamental values upon which our NDIS was built, and the Morrison government should urgently scrap the age cap to ensure everyone has access to the supports and services they need to live a good life.”

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed news that Mark Vaile will not be made Chancellor of the University of Newcastle.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This is a huge win for the university staff and students who fought this terrible appointment, and for the Hunter community.
“Coal bosses have no place in university leadership. The university community spoke out, organised, and knocked this appointment on its head.
“The next chancellor should be appointed in consultation with the university community and reflect their demands for a university that leads on the big problems we face.
“We are in the middle of a climate emergency and communities are demanding leadership that will tackle this crisis with the urgency it demands.
“We need to build and nurture universities that are democratic, equitable and sustainable. There is no time to delay,” she said.

A study involving 15,000 Australians which aims to develop a next-generation, standardised diagnosis for melanoma is one of 30 clinical trials and cohort studies to be funded through the Morrison Government’s $74 million investment to find better ways to prevent, detect and treat disease.
The $3.2 million melanoma cohort study, led by Associate Professor Victoria Mar from Monash University and Alfred Health, will be the first in the world to document on such a large scale the whole skin surface of participants with histopathology images and other patient details.
The Morrison Government’s investment will support 20 clinical trials and 10 cohort studies for up to five years and will fill important gaps in knowledge about the causes of disease and test the effectiveness of new approaches to disease prevention, detection and treatment.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the trial would help to discover more effective diagnosis options thousands of Australians who are tested for skin cancer each year.
“Skin cancer costs the Australian healthcare system more than $1 billion annually. Australia has the highest rate of melanoma, the deadliest form, for which there is currently no standardised diagnosis,” Minister Hunt said.
“This study will use cutting-edge, total-body 3D imaging machines across metropolitan and regional Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, with the research team working to develop next-generation diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for early detection of melanoma and skin cancer.”
“Clinical trials and cohort studies are crucial sources of evidence for the improvement of health and healthcare. Each of these projects has the potential to improve health outcomes here in Australia and across the globe.”
Awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and commencing in 2021, the funded projects will investigate a range of health issues.
This includes:

• A trial led by University of Melbourne/Orygen’s Associate Professor Simon Rice will determine the effectiveness of the online social media-based intervention Affinity to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviours in young people seeking care for major depressive disorder.
• A clinical trial in Papua New Guinea led by Dr Holger Unger of the Menzies School of Health Research to assess the advantages of combining the anti-malarial treatments sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine to clear malaria among pregnant women while reducing the adverse outcomes such as miscarriage and stillbirth (fetal loss), low birth weight, and neonatal death.
• A clinical trial led by Associate Professor Leanne Sakzewski from the University of Queensland will include 150 children with cerebral palsy (CP) to compare a new intervention, ACTIVE STRIDES -CP, with usual care.

By testing new healthcare interventions in volunteers under controlled conditions, clinical trials underpin decisions on whether to use a new diagnostic, drug, vaccine or procedure. Cohort studies uncover risk factors and causes of disease by following groups of people over time, sometimes many years.
A full list of grant recipients is below and available on NHMRC’s website: www.nhmrc.gov.au.

One in four young Australians are affected by a mental illness every year. Many young people have also been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it more important than ever to ensure access to youth mental health services.
headspace provides free or low cost youth-friendly support in four key areas—mental health, related physical health, substance misuse, and social and vocational support. It offers a safe, welcoming place where young people can get non-judgmental professional help and peer support, so they can tackle their challenges in a way that is right for them.
The additional funding will help headspace services that are experiencing high demand across the country to:

• expand services, improving access to high quality, youth friendly mental health support
• refurbish, expand or relocate headspace facilities to increase service capacity and make them more welcoming
• deliver new strategies such as triage and a walk-in single session approach, workforce training, and access to more group activities.

40 headspaces services located in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will benefit from grants of up to $1.8 million each.
The grants are part of the Government’s $152 million investment in the headspace Demand Management and Enhancement Program, to reduce wait times and make capital improvements.
In addition, our Government has allocated $278.6 million in the 2021–22 Budget, as part of our record investment of $2.3 billion National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, to further expand and enhance the national headspace network. Ten new headspace centres will be developed and five headspace satellites will be upgraded to full headspace centres, bringing the total number of headspace services across Australia to 164.
The headspace services which will receive funding through this grant opportunity are:

These investments will ensure better social and health outcomes for young Australians, giving them the opportunity to reach their full potential in life.
The funding reinforces our Government’s strong commitment achieving better mental health for all Australians, and will complement the existing investment of $6.5 billion in mental health services in 2021-22.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through headspace, Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.

An Albanese Labor Government would welcome local government back to Parliament by re-establishing the Australian Council of Local Government.
In 2008, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese established the Australian Council of Local Government as then Local Government Minister to “provide a new nation building partnership between the Commonwealth and local government.”
It was an annual meeting with the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Mayors, Shire Presidents and local government stakeholders engaging directly on matters of significance to local and federal governments.
The Liberals abolished the Council, ripping away an important function of the relationship between the two levels of government.
The Prime Minister kicked local government to the kerb when he replaced COAG with the National Cabinet.
As the closest level of government to our communities, local government served as an important part of the COAG process. The Liberals ignored the voices of our communities when they push local government to the kiddies table.
In addition to re-establishing the Australian Council of Local Government, Labor is also committed to putting local government on National Cabinet.
Throughout bushfires, floods and the COVID pandemic, council workers have been vital to providing services to help get us through.
The Liberals will never make local government a priority.
Only the Australian Labor Party will.