Category: Australian News

There is new hope for thousands of Australians with cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma with new and amended medicines listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from today.
To help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, the Australian Government is expanding subsidised access to a breakthrough medicine that combats high cholesterol, with up to 30,000 Australians per year expected to benefit.
From 1 May, the PBS listing of Repatha® (evolocumab) will be extended to include patients with certain types of high risk cardiovascular disease caused by high cholesterol.

• Patients with non-familial hypercholesterolemia (abnormally high cholesterol) who have atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and meet certain conditions will now have access to Repatha.
• The listing of Repatha will also be extended to include more patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (genetic high cholesterol).

Hypercholesterolaemia results in abnormally high levels of cholesterol in the blood can lead to blockages in the arteries, hardening of the arterial walls, and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke without proper treatment.
Repatha is a breakthrough new medicine that can dramatically lower cholesterol levels which can reduces a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Patients might otherwise pay over $5,400 per year for Repatha. With the PBS subsidy, they will only need to pay $41 per prescription, or $6.60 with a concession card.
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in Australia, with 43,477 deaths attributed to it in Australia in 2017. It is estimated cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every 12 minutes.
Also from today, Australians with rheumatoid arthritis will benefit from the listing of Rinvoq® (upadacitinib) on the PBS.
Patients might otherwise pay more than $16,000 per year for Rinvoq but with the PBS subsidy will only pay $41 or $6.60 with a concession card.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease affecting about 458,000 Australians. It attacks the body’s healthy tissues, targeting the lining of the joints, causing inflammation and joint damage.
It can cause significant physical disability, pain, fatigue and mental health issues.
Currently, there is no cure, but rheumatoid arthritis medicines can reduce pain and stiffness and prevent long-term joint damage.
Rinvoq® will be a new treatment option for people with severe rheumatoid arthritis providing them with more choice in how they manage this painful condition.
Around 5,000 patients per year already access a comparable treatment, and may benefit from this new treatment option.
Also from 1 May, Australians with uncontrolled severe asthma will now have access to Fasenra Pen®.
Fasenra® (benralizumab) is currently listed on the PBS as a syringe for injection for the treatment of uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthma.
This new pre filled pen will allow patients who choose to self administer Fasenra to be treated at home, rather than attend a clinic to access the medicine through a syringe injection administered by a health professional.
Over 1,000 patients per year access Fasenra through the PBS and may benefit from the listing of Fasenra Pen®. Without the PBS subsidy, patients might otherwise pay up to $23,000 per year.
These new and amended listings were recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,350 new or amended listings on the PBS.
This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month or around one each day – at an overall investment by the Government around $11 billion.
The Government’s commitment to making sure Australians can access the medicines they need, at affordable prices, remains rock solid.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Family, Ageing & Community Services spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert have said that today’s 2020 Rental Affordability Snapshot, released by Anglicare Australia, has highlighted the dire state of housing affordability in Australia, as well as the need for a permanent increase to the JobSeeker Payment (which has been temporarily increased for six months).
Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
“The near-complete lack of rental homes affordable for people even on the increased JobSeeker payment underlies the need for sweeping changes to boost social and affordable housing in Australia.
“There needs to be an urgent increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance combined with an expansion of social housing.
“Renters have really suffered during this pandemic. While facing unemployment, wage losses and enormous instability, many have had to fight to keep a roof over their heads in a housing market that structurally favours property owners and landlords.
“The system is completely rigged, especially against people on low incomes. It’s time for a complete overhaul of neoliberal housing policies that have led us here and to recognise housing as a human right.
“We need a massive increase in social housing by building 500,000 new publicly-owned homes and a reversal of unfair tax incentives that have contributed to the marketisation of housing over decades,” she said.
Senator Rachel Siewert said:
“This report highlights how important a permanent increase to the JobSeeker payment is in ensuring that no one is living in poverty.
“Even with the temporary JobSeeker increase there are still very few affordable properties to rent for people on income support.
“This needs to be a wake up call to the Government, everyone in our community should have safe, affordable housing and an income to ensure this,” she said.

Greens Senators Janet Rice and Larissa Waters have called for Bridget McKenzie to appear before the sports rorts senate committee following unanswered questions in the Senator’s submission to the inquiry late yesterday.
The Prime Minister should bring to a vote the Greens’ National Integrity Commission Bill when parliament resumes in May to ensure fair allocation of future funding.
Senator Janet Rice, Greens spokesperson for Sport said:
“Senator McKenzie’s submission raises more questions than it answers.
“Senator McKenzie’s defense seems to be that the ANAO report is based on an email from an advisor in her office, one that she claims to have never seen.
“If Senator McKenzie wants to hang her case on this email, she must authorise its release to the senate inquiry.
“Senator McKenzie’s claim that the colour-coding of the spreadsheet was to ensure a geographical spread in funding is laughable. If that’s the case, she needs to explain exactly how the colours matched geographic regions rather than political leanings.
“Though we’ve seen an avalanche of evidence revealing the direct involvement of the Prime Minister’s office, Senator McKenzie’s submission omits an explanation of the Prime Minister’s involvement.
Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Senate Leader and spokesperson on democracy said:
“The constant blame shifting in this scandal does nothing to address underlying integrity issues with the Morrison government.
“As plans are made for allocating funds for recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, it’s critical public confidence is restored in how recipients are chosen.
“The process must be fair and transparent, and Ministers should be held accountable for decisions.
“This is why an independent federal corruption watchdog, with real power, is vital.
“The Prime Minister should bring on the vote for my National Integrity Commission Bill when parliament resumes in May”.

Australian Greens Senator and Education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi has rejected the government’s bizarre cash incentives for private schools to re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This is yet another special deal for private schools. Ninety-nine percent of public schools are underfunded as they work to support kids and families through this pandemic. Their students need urgent investment, not the 99% of private schools that are overfunded.
“What the Minister proposes is a bizarre approach to both school funding and public health.
“School re-openings should be based on considerations of the health and wellbeing of students and teachers, as well as careful discussions with school communities, not on whether private school boards are willing to accept bribes from the Minister in the form of advance funding.
“It is despicable of the government to try and put pressure on public schools in this way.
“We know the combination of economic conditions and exorbitant fees at private schools is very likely to cause student withdrawals. An advance for next year based on current enrolments will inevitably include money for students that won’t be there.
“This comes only weeks after the Liberals and Labor pushed $3.4 billion in additional private school funding through parliament during an emergency COVID-19 sitting.
“Days after indicating that Newstart payments would return to below the poverty line, the government has found money in its back pocket to pay out billions of dollars to private schools ahead of schedule,” she said.

The Greens have called on the Federal Government to push to end the global trade of wildlife, backing the calls of conservation and animal protection groups including Humane Society International and World Animal Protection, who want the commercial trade and sale in markets of wild animals to be banned.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“If the Australian Government wants to really lead from the front on this issue it will call for an end to the global trade of wildlife, not just an investigation into wildlife markets.
“The science is well established on the link between wildlife consumption and the transfer of zoonotic diseases to humans.
“There cannot just be an investigation of wildlife markets in China or other countries like Indonesia as the Prime Minister seemed to be suggesting today. Ultimately the trade of wildlife for consumption and other purposes, which is a global issue including in Australia, must end.
“A push to end wildlife markets is welcome but it must be accompanied by a push to end the trade of wild animals, otherwise very little will have been achieved in the battle to prevent future pandemics like Covid19.
“The Prime Minister also needs to commit to looking at wildlife trade in his own backyard. The Federal Government needs to close the loopholes in our laws that allow our rare and endangered native animals to be traded for profit and ensure they are protected here where they belong.
“Ending the trade of wildlife would not only help keep the global community safe from future pandemics but also help protect the world’s precious wildlife for future generations.
“Wildlife trade impacts biodiversity, can cause diseases to be transferred between other wildlife species putting them at risk, drives poaching and trafficking and ultimately fuels the extinction crisis around the world.
“We cannot go back to the way things were before COVID-19, we must change our ways for the sake of our own health and the planet’s.”
 

The Greens have called on the Prime Minister to stand down Minister Angus Taylor until he can provide a full account of a doctored document used in a media attack by his office on the Sydney Lord Mayor.
“The Prime Minister has asked Australians for their trust in recent days but he has thrown integrity overboard by his failure to act on the ongoing, multiple sagas involving Minister Taylor,” said Greens Senate Leader and spokesperson on Democracy, Senator Larissa Waters.
“Despite promising to cooperate with the police investigation, the Minister declined to be interviewed directly about where the documents originated. What does the Minister have to hide?
“The PM was quick to stand down Senator Bridget McKenzie over her role in the Sports Rorts saga, but appears unwilling to act against Minister Taylor.
“From this document saga to allegations the Minister intervened to help out his family farm and failed to properly declare his interests, there have been serious questions around Minister Taylor’s conduct for many months.
“It’s high time he was stood down as a minister until these serious allegations can be resolved.
“Australia urgently needs an independent federal corruption watchdog with teeth that can investigate integrity issues.
“No more mucking about, the Prime Minister must bring on a vote on my National Integrity Commission Bill when parliament resumes in May,” she said.

Greens Spokesperson for Communications Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has today written to Minister Paul Fletcher asking him to extend the free-to-air broadcast licences for Community TV in Adelaide and Melbourne.
The current broadcast licences expire on June 30, after six short-term licence renewals which caused much instability for the sector leading to closures of stations in other capital cities.
“Given the significant concessions the Federal Government has offered to commercial broadcaster in recent weeks, including spectrum fee relief and a suspension of the local content rules, if seems only fair that community, not-for-profit broadcasters can be at least given an extension of their licence,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“Covid19 has created an uncertain future for many in the communications and arts sector, this is one area the government has the ability to easily and painlessly help offer some stability and support.
“It would be a terrible shame at any time to lose Community TV, let alone in the midst of a global pandemic. All the Minister has to do is renew the licence, CTV isn’t asking for money, only a spectrum to broadcast on.
“If there is no alternative use for the spectrum and it will just become ‘white noise’ there is no reason to not renew the licence. Given CTV has been advised by ACMA there is no alternative use planned for at least five years then the renewal period should be for that length of time.
“It is unfair CTV continues to have to fight the same battle with the Morrison Government. The case for renewal is even stronger given the global coronavirus pandemic which has resulted in more people consuming even more broadcast content than ever.
“CTV provides content for culturally and linguistically diverse members of our community and therefore programming that isn’t available on commercial TV.
“Right now, Government should be providing certainty where it can to workers and the community.
“CTV is an invaluable service for multicultural communities, journalists, screen and media practitioners and students as well as many volunteers. It would be a terrible shame to take CTV away for no reason at all and the Greens will doing all we can to help save it.”

The Federal Government’s decision to fast-track COVID-related domestic and family violence matters and parenting disputes in the family court must be backed in with extra funding to ensure the system works and can be continued beyond the current crisis, according to Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters.
“The Greens have consistently called for extra resources for the family court system and a triage approach to cases involving domestic or family violence. The significant rise in these cases during the COVID-19 crisis highlights the need for quick access to justice,” she said today.
“The proposal to hear COVID-related cases within 72 hours is a significant step forward. However, quick, fair, and child-safety focussed outcomes will only be achieved if additional funding is given to courts and community legal services to implement the new system.
“It is also critical that the triage list becomes a permanent feature of the Family Court, and that more is done to assist at-risk women and children who have not yet reached the court system.
“The government should urgently introduce a support package that includes:

• additional funding for the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court to implement the triage system;
• additional funding for frontline domestic and family violence services, particularly legal services; and
• more support for Safe at Home programs, including safe technology services.

“The Greens will ask the Joint Select Committee into Australia’s Family Law System to monitor the operation of the COVID-19 list, and will call for a permanent triage system to keep women and children safe,” Senator Waters said.

The Morrison Government has taken decisive and unprecedented action to protect Australians and the economy from the effects of the coronavirus, with Government support for the economy totalling $320 billion or 16.4 per cent of GDP.
With the coronavirus pandemic having a major health and economic impact globally Australia has made important gains in containing the spread of the virus. The near-term outlook depends critically on this ongoing success and our ability to gradually ease restrictions so people can return to work.
It is reasonable to expect that the pace and scope of any easing in containment measures will become more clear in the period ahead while economic data on the current state of the economy will become more readily available.
Given the high degree of uncertainty around the economic impact of the coronavirus on the domestic and international economies, last month the Government took a decision to release the 2020-21 Budget on 6 October 2020.
In the interim, the Government has continued to provide updates on the fiscal position through the release of the Australian Government General Government Sector Monthly Financial Statements. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is also releasing additional and more frequent information to enhance understanding of the social and economic impacts of the coronavirus.
Building on these updates, the Treasurer will provide a Ministerial Statement to the House of Representatives and the Minister for Finance to the Senate on 12 May 2020. The statement will outline the impact of the coronavirus on the economy and the Government’s actions to date.
The Government will also provide an economic update on the economic and fiscal outlook in June, following the release of the March quarter National Accounts.
Australia entered the coronavirus crisis from a position of economic strength. The Government returned the Budget to balance for the first time in 11 years, while government debt to GDP was about a quarter of what it is in the United States or United Kingdom, and about one seventh of what it was in Japan.
The measures we have implemented are temporary, targeted and proportionate to the challenge we face and will ensure Australia bounces back stronger on the other side, without undermining the structural integrity of the budget and maintaining our commitment to medium term fiscal sustainability.