Category: Australian News

Despite the conduct of politicians having declined year on year and public confidence in democracy bottoming out, both major parties have rejected the need for binding, independently enforced parliamentary standards proposed by the Greens.
Responding to today’s bipartisan recommendation of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee to oppose the Greens Parliamentary Standards Bill introduced in October 2019, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on democracy, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“With scandal after scandal and regular poor behaviour, the public generally thinks politicians are all corrupt, in it for themselves, and behave like pork chops in parliament.
“With parliamentary sittings due to resume shortly, sadly we clearly need stronger, independently enforced standards that apply to all parliamentarians and their senior staff to act with integrity, avoid conflicts of interest, and use resources in the public interest.
“In recommending this bill not be passed, the major parties have failed the test of whether they want to set an example for the public and help to end corruption and restore public trust in democracy, rather than act like spoilt toddlers.
“Alarming levels of disrespect had been allowed to flourish in parliament, from corruption and selfish opportunism to appalling behaviour that would not be tolerated in any other workplace.
“Pauline Hanson wearing a burqa in the Australian senate as part of a political stunt, Fraser Anning talking about the ‘final solution’ in his maiden speech, James McGrath threatening to leak my address on national television last year – all show how desperately needed parliamentary standards are.
“The existing Ministerial Standards are weak, opaque, and enforced completely at the Prime Minister’s discretion – it’s not good enough. Those standards have not deterred the litany of questionable behaviour by Ministers, both in and out of the chamber.
“Parliamentarians have a duty to serve and to represent, and should set a good example – if people in such positions of leadership can be openly sexist, homophobic, and corrupt, what kind of license does that give the rest of the country?” Senator Waters concluded.
Additional Information
The report, including the Greens dissenting remarks, is available here: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query%3DId%3A%22publications%2Ftabledpapers%2Fabcd6bf1-160f-4476-89d2-50ec04e594ec%22
The Greens bill requires all politicians to respect others, to avoid conflicts of interest, to act with integrity, and to ensure that power and public resources are always used in the public interest.
It would establish a new independent enforcement agent with teeth, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who can investigate breaches of the code of conduct and take action when politicians’ behaviour fails to meet public expectations.
For serious allegations, the new Public Standards Commissioner could refer the matter to the Greens proposed National Integrity Commission for a more comprehensive investigation.
The bill also sets out a process to review and strengthen existing standards for lobbying, post-parliamentary employment, political donations, and campaign financing.
In their additional remarks, the ALP did again voice its support for a federal ICAC; the Greens’ bill for a federal ICAC passed the Senate with Labor’s support almost a year ago.

Today we recognise and celebrate the contribution of young people across Australia as part of International Youth Day.
Established by the United Nations, International Youth Day offers a chance to raise awareness of the need to ensure the engagement and participation of youth at every level.
Minister for Youth and Sport, Richard Colbeck, said while the COVID-19 pandemic is putting a lot of demands on young people, they are rising to the challenge.
“Australian youth face significant challenges in this unprecedented period,” Minister Colbeck said. “But across every State and Territory, there are shining examples of young people offering hope in hard times.
“Of course, 2020 has been a difficult year for everybody – none more so than for young people trying to navigate through their education or early careers.”
Minister Colbeck said around Australia, a range of projects are providing support and showcasing the important role young people are playing across the community.

• In Tasmania, the West Tamar Youth Advisory Council has been supported to transfer its activities online due to COVID-19.  The Council is determined to continue engaging in the community and has been holding online interviews to continue to give young people a voice. The online content also includes sessions covering study tips and information as well as virtual cooking classes;
• In Far North Queensland, Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG), an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth led volunteer group, aims to empower young people through workshops, training, storytelling and advocacy opportunities; and
• In Victoria the University of Melbourne Pathways to Politics Program for Women aims to increase female participation in politics by equipping young women with the skills and knowledge to succeed in running for elected office, and to thrive as political leaders.

Nationally, the Country to Canberra project is empowering rural teenage girls to reach their leadership potential, running programs that provide education, leadership and mentorship opportunities.
Minister Colbeck said the Morrison Government also recently launched a $1 million program to help all young Australians reach their full potential, providing Youth Advocacy Support Grants to organisations advocating on behalf of young people, especially those from disadvantaged or marginalised backgrounds.
“Projects like these give a voice to our young people,” Minister Colbeck said.
“They help keep young Australians connected in a physically-distant world and they remind the community just how important it is for young people to actively participate in and contribute to our society.”
Additionally, The Morrison Government is delivering unparalleled support for young Australians through the vital JobKeeper program, providing education and new opportunities through the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees package and JobTrainer and helping young people realise the dream of owning their own home and more young tradies to stay in work through HomeBuilder.
Minister Colbeck said work continues on the completion of the 2020 Australian Youth Development Index — a one-stop shop for information related to the most significant issues young Australians face.
“Good public policy hinges on solid evidence-based research and current statistics,” Minister Colbeck said. “It will be a valuable resource.”

Today I was pleased to announce at a special Caucus meeting that I have appointed Senator Jenny McAllister to the role of Shadow Assistant Minister for Communities and the Prevention of Family Violence.
In this role Jenny will support the excellent ongoing work of Linda Burney MP who is a champion for vulnerable Australians as Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services.
The creation of this new role reflects the importance of social services to Labor and the community. This portfolio will play a crucial role in tackling economic and social disadvantage, and family and domestic violence.
Jenny has been a strong advocate for women and for Australians facing financial hardship.
I am confident Jenny will perform this role with the compassion, integrity and dedication she has brought to her continuing roles as Shadow Cabinet Secretary and Shadow Assistant Minister to the Labor Leader in the Senate.

The Australian Government recognises the extraordinary service, dedication and sacrifice of Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean and the Prime Minister has written to the Governor-General requesting he seek the approval of Her Majesty The Queen to posthumously award a Victoria Cross for Australia.
Our view and policy has always been that consideration of the awarding of a retrospective Victoria Cross would only occur in light of compelling new evidence or if there was evidence of significant maladministration.
There was a clear conflict of advice between the 2013 Inquiry into Unresolved Recognition for Past Acts of Naval and Military Gallantry and Valour (the Valour Inquiry) and the 2019 review of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal as to whether the case of Teddy Sheean met those standards.
There were further differences of opinion in the interpretation of what was contained in those reports. This conflict prevented a clear recommendation from being made and needed to be resolved before proceeding further. That’s why the Prime Minister commissioned an expert panel to provide further advice on the subject.
The panel has identified maladministration in the consideration of Teddy Sheean’s actions, as well as compelling new evidence that his previously awarded Mention in Dispatches should be replaced with a Victoria Cross.
Overturning a decision relating to a Victoria Cross nearly 80 years later requires compelling reasons. The panel has articulated those reasons clearly.
This is an exceptional case for an exceptional Australian.
The panel found that:

• Teddy Sheean was done a substantial injustice in consideration of his actions in the original decision-making period of 1942-45, constituting maladministration;
• On the basis of all the evidence now available, higher recognition for Teddy Sheean is supported;
• Teddy Sheean’s courageous sacrifice of his life to save his shipmates meets the eligibility criteria for a Victoria Cross for Australia; and
• the highest level of recognition should be accorded in this exceptional case.

This report is also testament to the dedication of Teddy’s family and friends, as well as Tasmanian Veterans’ Affairs Minister Guy Barnett and Member for Braddon and ex-serviceman Gavin Pearce to ensure that Teddy received the recognition he deserved. The frustration they have felt at times should not be underestimated but it is the Government’s duty to uphold the highest evidentiary standards for the awarding of a Victoria Cross. We are pleased this process has provided an avenue for their efforts to be validated and rewarded.
The Government thanks the expert panel for their detailed work in preparing their report and recommendations, particularly the efforts of panel’s chair Dr Brendan Nelson AO.
The panel’s report can be found at Historic Victoria Cross Report of the Expert Panel

Labor welcomes the Prime Minister’s concession today that Teddy Sheean is a war hero fit to be awarded a Victoria Cross (VC).
Today’s outcome is the correct decision. Teddy showed extraordinary bravery, sacrificing his own life to save and protect his comrades.
The Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal (DHAAT), Teddy’s family and supporters, our veteran community and all Tasmanians can all be proud that they did not give up on this fight to finally see justice for Teddy.
But it should not have taken a review of a review to do the right thing.
Earlier this year, the Minister for Defence told the Senate:
“…the government’s view is that the 2019 review by the tribunal did not present any compelling new evidence that might support reconsideration of the valour inquiry’s recommendation. That is also my view, and that is also the view of Defence.”
But we know the independent DHAAT – the most appropriate body to make such recommendations – already found new evidence and recommended that Teddy be awarded a posthumous VC.
There was never any ambiguity in the evidence they found as the Prime Minister has suggested in his announcement today.
The Prime Minister’s backflip comes only now, even after:

• The independent DHAAT unanimously recommending Teddy be awarded a posthumous VC following its 2019 review;
• His own Minister for Defence Personnel was in support of this decision to award Sheean a posthumous VC;
• The Chair of the DHAAT felt compelled to write to the Minister for Defence, forcing her to correct the record because she got the facts so profoundly wrong and saying she had misled the Senate;
• There already being a review, which Mr Morrison responded to by initiating another review of a review on this issue;
• Mr Morrison explaining one of the reasons for not recommending a VC for Teddy was he didn’t want to offend the Queen;
• More time and money has been wasted, with this process costing the taxpayer more than $62,000 for his own personal review panel.

Labor congratulates Teddy’s family and their fellow Tasmanians who campaigned so strongly to recognise Teddy’s bravery in the way he deserves.

Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to ensure MPs who cannot attend Federal Parliament because of COVID-19 can still contribute to debate via videolink.
The Chief Medical Officer has provided advice that Victorian MPs who want to attend Parliament will need to isolate at home or in the ACT for 14 days before sittings begin.
Labor does not dispute the medical advice but it clearly means many Victorian MPs, particularly those with caring or family responsibilities, will not be able to attend.
The Government must therefore ensure those MPs can still participate – and represent their constituents – by giving speeches, and asking and answering questions.
It has never been more important for Victorians to have their say in our Parliament. Given the medical advice, allowing Victorian MPs to contribute to debate via videolink will ensure the Victorian people can continue to have their voices heard.
For weeks Labor has been calling on the Government to put in place the arrangements that would allow Parliament to resume on August 24.
That’s why we called for a bipartisan working group with House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan to ensure sittings could proceed.
It is disappointing Mr Morrison sought his own advice from the CMO before the working group had an opportunity to determine whether other protocols may have been possible. The working group was productive and cooperative.
Proper parliamentary scrutiny of the Morrison Government should not be a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic – particularly as it engages in the biggest spending program in Australian history.
The cancellation of Parliament should always be a last resort.
While Australians are adjusting the way they do their work or run their business to be COVID safe, it is fair that they expect their Parliament to keep working in their interests during this crisis.
 

The Greens have written to  the Prime Minister requesting that he urgently update the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to examine the impact of profit-making corporations on the provision and quality of aged care services.
The Greens say it is a scandal that private aged care providers are making mega-profits while failing to protect their residents from the coronavirus with the sector raking in $1.7 billion in profit in the 2018-19 financial year, at the same time as many not-for-profit providers are struggling with chronic underfunding.
A survey by accounting firm StewartBrown found that in March 2020 almost two thirds of aged care providers were operating at a loss, more than at the same time the previous year and part of a continuing trend where financial viability is bringing about pressure on quality of care and the viability of services. The situation is even more challenging in rural and remote areas, leaving these older Australians particularly vulnerable.
The Greens are also calling for the inclusion in the October Budget of an urgent $3 billion investment in aged care to increase hours of care, increase the staff to resident ratios and ensure a minimum of at least one registered nurse is rostered on 24/7 in each facility.
Greens Leader, Adam Bandt said:
“It is time to rethink the privatisation of aged care.”
“Privatisation and deregulation, driven by thirty years of neoliberal ideology, have produced a perfect storm of a casualised workforce and substandard service, and it is causing heartache for residents and their families.”
“Big corporations are profiting from the misery of their residents and the failure to protect their workforce. Worse, the public is subsidising these big corporations’ mega-profits while standards of care keep slipping.”
“The Prime Minister must act. After the problems in NSW early in the Covid crisis and now in Victoria, the government is on notice that privatisation is failing older people and residents in aged care facilities across the country are particularly vulnerable,” Bandt said.
Greens spokesperson on Aged Care, Senator Rachel Siewert said:
“There must be an immediate injection of $3 billion dollars into aged care to ensure adequate nursing and staff to resident ratios ensuring proper levels of care for residents. The PM must also update the terms of reference of the Royal Commission to look at the impact of profit making corporations on this aged care scandal.”
“The next step is to implement recommendations designed to end clinical failures identified by many including a Senate inquiry in April 2019.”
“The government had plenty of time to act before Covid arrived to overwhelm a system that we already knew was failing our vulnerable older people and their families. Now they have no excuses.”
“It is an absolute scandal that while the taxpayer is propping up the giant profits of corporations,  residents and workers are not being properly protected from the coronavirus,” Siewert said.
Source quoted: https://www.stewartbrown.com.au/images/documents/StewartBrown_-_Aged_Care_Financial_Performance_Survey_Sector_March_2020.pdf

The Greens have welcomed a new report from the Grattan Institute today, Cheaper childcare: A practical plan to boost female workforce participation, which illustrates that government investment to lower the cost of early learning will improve gender equity and opportunities for women’s financial independence.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson on Education, said:
“Expensive childcare has held Australian women back for far too long. The reality is that child-rearing in Australia is highly gendered, and it’s women who lose independence and income when decisions have to be made about who will stay home.
“Government should invest in early learning and make it fee-free for all. This will benefit women, and it will benefit the whole community.
“Early learning and care should be recognised as a critical part of a child’s development, and funded as such by the government.
“It should be fee-free so every family can access it without barriers. It is an essential service,” she said.
Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Senate Leader and spokesperson on Women, said:
“This report confirms what women have been saying for years: childcare in Australia is unaffordable and inaccessible, and mothers, more often than not, are paying the price.
“It also highlights that fairer parental leave and workplace flexibility for both parents are needed to give families more choices when juggling caring responsibilities.
“But instead of looking at these options, the Liberal government is trying to force women back into the kitchen.
“Women are bearing the worst economic impacts from Covid, losing more jobs or hours of work than men, and performing a much higher care load.
“And our Treasurer’s response is to tell the women of Australia to have more babies to boost the economy.
“You want a real economic stimulus? Help women return to work by making childcare permanently free and making it easier for parents to share care.”

Today’s Aged Care Employee Day is a timely opportunity to thank all aged care workers for their outstanding devotion to senior Australians in care.
Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians Richard Colbeck said there has never been a more difficult time to work in aged care.
“The impact of COVID-19 in Victoria and New South Wales particularly has been simply tragic and devastating,” he said,
“The commitment of everyone working in the aged care sector throughout our nation has never been so vital.
“It’s important we promote and recognise excellence across the diverse and dynamic fields of endeavour in the age services sector.
“The passion and achievements of organisations, teams and individuals in the service of senior Australians is paramount as we work to increase community involvement in aged care and services.”
Minister Colbeck encouraged all Australian to reflect on the dedication and sense of duty of aged care workers.
“They devote themselves to the care of our loved ones, each and every day,” he said.
“Aged care employees deserve our gratitude and can be assured that their work is highly valued.”

The Greens are calling on the South Australian Government to guarantee the state won’t lose a single gigalitre of water allocated to it under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan after a feasibility study into SA’s desalination plant showed the Liberal Party was gearing up to cut SA’s allocation.
Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The feasibility study – released more than a year after it was conducted – shows the Liberals have been gearing up to cut SA’s River Murray allocation permanently.
“Cutting SA’s water would be devastating for our river system, environment and our community’s water supply. The South Australian Government must rule out any moves in this direction, immediately.
“A reduction in water flowing over the border risks the health of the entire river system. Cuts to South Australia’s allocation is bad news for the environmental health of the Murray-Darling from top to bottom.
“Has Minister Speirs forgotten he is the representative for South Australia’s water and environment, not big upstream irrigators?
“The study shows the desal plant is not effective, not good for South Australia, not good for taxpayers and not good for the environment.
“Not only will it never be a substitute for water flowing down the river, it is outrageously expensive to run. The desal plant will cost taxpayers in the vicinity of 40 times the market value of water.
“This would make Adelaide’s water the most expensive in the country, and we’d still have a dead river.
“The Federal Water Minister finally released the review in the Water for Fodder program today too and together with the feasibility study it’s clear a second round of this program should be ruled out.
“The Greens will move to disallow the Water for Fodder Program in the Senate when the Parliament sits later this month. SA’s water supply needs to be protected, and we cannot afford to lose 60GL more, so upstream farmers can get some water. It puts the whole river system in jeopardy and will cost taxpayers an absolute fortune.”