Category: Australian News

The Greens welcome any improvements to deal with Crown of Thorns starfish, but it is a bandaid solution while the big threats to the Reef – climate change and water quality – continue to be ignored.
“Funding COTs while ignoring climate and water quality is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Queensland Senator and Greens Leader in the Senate, Larissa Waters.
“The Great Barrier Reef has faced three of the worst coral bleaching episodes in its long history in the last five years, because of coal-driven climate change.
“While extra funding to control Crown of Thorns starfish is welcome, the Institute for Marine Science has previously pointed out that action on Crown of Thorns will only be successful if climatic conditions are stabilised to stem bleaching and coral damage from cyclones.
“Yet thanks to the regular donations and job offers by the coal and fossil fuel industry to both sides of politics, the climate crisis continues unabated, and the Reef’s death warrant is being written.
“The 60,000 people who rely on a healthy Reef, and the World Heritage status of this biodiversity icon, demands so much better from the donation-hooked large political parties,” said Australian Greens Senate Leader Larissa Waters.

Australians on lower incomes are set to receive further assistance from today as the Morrison Government delivers the second economic support payment.
A $750 payment will be made to approximately five million Australians at a cost of $3.8 billion. It will go to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders.
This payment is the second of two $750 economic support payments provided by the Morrison Government to help lower income Australians manage the financial impact of the Coronavirus.
The first economic support payment was delivered in March and April this year.
The Treasurer said “the Morrison Government is helping to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs with $259 billion or 13.3 per cent of GDP in total economic support.”
“The second $750 economic support payment will inject $3.8 billion into the economy and provide an economic lifeline to millions of Australians at a time when they need it most.”
“The Morrison Government will continue to do all that is necessary to ensure Australia bounces back stronger on the other side.”
Minister for Families and Social Services, Anne Ruston, said the second economic support payment will be delivered progressively throughout July.
“Approximately five million lower-income Australians will receive the second $750 Economic Support Payment this month,” Minister Ruston said.
“This payment is providing additional support to eligible pensioners, families, veterans and concession card holders, who do not get the fortnightly Coronavirus Supplement as part of their current payment.”
Minister for Government Services, Stuart Robert, said “if you are living in Australia and getting an eligible payment or concession card on 10 July 2020, you will get this payment automatically.”
“There is no need to do anything to get the second Economic Support Payment. If eligible, people will see the $750 payment arrive in their bank account between 15 July 2020 and the end of July 2020.”
Combined, the first and second Economic Support Payments are expected to deliver over $9.4 billion in additional assistance to Australian households.
More information on support being provided by the Australian Government during the coronavirus pandemic can be found at www.australia.gov.au.

Domestic violence victim-survivors, Aboriginal Australians and people who’ve lost their jobs and homes as a result of COVID-19 will be among those to benefit from a Commonwealth funding boost of more than $15.6 million for NSW’s legal assistance sector.
Attorney General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman said $13.26 million of the funding would support frontline legal services helping disadvantaged people manage the ‘new normal’ of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the face of an unprecedented health crisis, our State’s frontline services have gone above and beyond the call of duty. This includes our tireless healthcare care workers, our police and emergency services and those who provide free legal assistance,” Mr Speakman said.
“As people face job losses, tenancy issues, financial insecurity and, horrifically, the increasing risk of violence behind closed doors, there are more people than ever contacting Legal Aid, Community Legal Centres and the Aboriginal Legal Service in search of legal support.
“This investment will help meet this increase in need, and ensure vulnerable members of our community know their rights and get the advice they need to help overcome hardships.”
The NSW Government will direct more than 40 per cent of the Commonwealth investment towards frontline services helping people experiencing domestic and family violence.
“We have heard horrific stories from victims and advocates about domestic violence perpetrated while victims have been isolated alongside their abusers due to COVID-19,” Mr Speakman said.
“In the last 10 weeks alone, seven people have been tragically killed in domestic and family violence incidents across NSW.
“We all have a part to play in tackling this epidemic. This funding will help victim-survivors get the advice they need to ensure perpetrators are held to account, support them in escaping violent households and ultimately help us save lives.”
The funding package will also enable the legal assistance sector to increase its ICT capabilities to deliver more services remotely and to reach more people across NSW. A total of $2.35 million  has been allocated to help legal assistance services transition to greater virtual service delivery.
The COVID-19 Project Agreement is part of the Commonwealth Government’s $63.3 million commitment to support legal assistance services respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Today’s funding allocation to the NSW legal assistance sector supports frontline services and ICT capabilities as follows:
Legal Aid NSW – $5.24 million to boost staff and respond to increases in demand for its civil and family law, domestic and family violence and child protection services, and more than $1.26 million to support ICT enhancements.
Community Legal Centres (CLCs) – $4.34 million to increase frontline service delivery capacity across the CLC sector, and more than $1.09 million to support ICT enhancements in the CLC sector.
Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) – $3.68 million to bolster the capacity of the ALS to deliver services including family and criminal law and child protection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW. ALS will also receive ICT funding directly from the Commonwealth Government.

NSW has reached a major milestone in the fight against COVID-19, with more than one million tests carried out in NSW since January.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the people of NSW should be proud of this achievement and thanked the community for doing their part to help keep NSW COVID-safe.
“NSW has one of the highest COVID-19 testing rates in the world and reaching one million tests already is an incredible result,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I want to thank everyone in NSW who has come forward and been tested. This needs to continue – if you have the mildest of symptoms it is so important you come forward and get tested.
“If you have already been tested and were negative but develop symptoms again, you need to come forward and get tested again.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said high testing numbers is critical to finding new cases and controlling the spread of COVID-19.

A total of 1,007,662 tests have been done since testing began, including 18,524 over the past 24 hours.
“NSW Health Pathology have been the quiet achievers during the pandemic, working incredibly hard behind the scenes, doing almost 60 per cent of these tests, averaging 7,500 a day,” Mr Hazzard said.
“They’ve also received around 290,000 registrations for their pioneering SMS Results Service that has halved the average waiting time for negative results.”
Mr Hazzard warned that the virus is likely circulating among people in the community with mild symptoms and the risk of outbreaks and a resurgence of cases remains.
“While this is a fantastic response from the community, we must keep up the fight against COVID-19 and not allow complacency to set in.”

New data shows cutting JobKeeper too early could have devastating consequences for workers, businesses and communities
Thousands of businesses and workers in each state, territory and local community are being held hostage by the Liberal and National Government’s decision to keep the JobKeeper review secret.
The impact of withdrawing JobKeeper too early in local communities can be seen on a new website  which highlights how damaging the Morrison Government’s plan to suddenly withdraw support for the economy in the last week of September will be.
To find how much damage will be done to any local area users simply type in their postcode to discover the scale of job losses and money lost to the community.
We already know that nearly 900,000 business across Australia and approximately 3.3 million workers could be at risk if JobKeeper is ripped away suddenly in September.
Credible economic institutions including the Reserve Bank have repeatedly highlighted the significant uncertainty Australian businesses and workers are facing, and the need for ongoing economic support as the virus outbreak continues.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg’s decision to keep the JobKeeper review secret is adding to uncertainty in the business community and is a handbrake on the recovery.
The recent virus outbreak in Victoria and the necessary new restrictions make it even more important that the Government clarifies the future of JobKeeper.
The Government must consider better targeting and tapering JobKeeper, but it can’t just turn off the tap when businesses and households are struggling with new restrictions.
If the Government continues to mismanage this recession it will be a jobless recovery, and nobody wants to see that.
Australians desperately need an effective, well-executed response to this crisis, and a plan to bolster the recovery and set Australia up for the future.

Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has described the Morrison Government’s ideological determination to cut taxes for high income earners as ill-timed and irresponsible, and criticised Labor for backing the move.
The tax cuts would increase inequality in Australia:

• The biggest beneficiaries of the proposed stage 2 tax cuts would be those earning over $120,000.
• These cuts would give high income earners, including those with incomes over $1,000,000, an extra $2,430 per year.
• Previous analysis from the The Australia Institute has shown that more than half (54%) of the Government’s Stage 2 & 3 income tax cut package flows to the top 20% of income earners

“What good is a tax cut if you don’t have a job?” Bandt said.
“Tax cuts mean less money in the public purse to invest in job-creating, nation-building projects, which is the pathway to recovery.
“Labor’s support for the Liberals’ tax cuts will turbo-charge inequality and slow the economic recovery.”
“The biggest beneificiaries of this move are higher income earners. Millionaires will benefit more from these tax cuts than low-income earners.”
“A tax cut for the rich isn’t going to re-open Melbourne restaurants, or resuscitate the arts sector. There’s no basis for it, other than the usual Liberal/Labor trickle-down ideology.
“Tax cuts won’t do anything to help the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have lost their jobs due to the epidemic. To float billions in tax cuts as the government pulls vital supports like childcare and JobKeeper is reckless in the extreme.
“Instead of cutting taxes for millionaires, the Government should stimulate the economy through investment in green infrastructure, rebooting Australian manufacturing and expanding JobKeeper to cover casuals, temporary visa holders and the higher education sector.
“It’s hard to believe, but even as 5 million Australians head back into lockdown, we’re seeing the Coalition push for massive, expensive tax cuts for millionaires and Labor backing them to the hilt. The Greens will fight for services and investment instead of tax cuts,” Bandt said.

Over the past 12 months, 86.1% of Australians did not have to pay to visit their GP.
Figures for the past 12 months show:

• An increase of more than 5.5 million free bulk-billed GP visits compared to the same period last year
• The number of fully subsidised services across Medicare rose with an additional 9.6 million bulk-billed services delivered for a total of 343.6 million.

The Morrison Government’s commitment to Medicare and bulk billing remains rock solid.
In March, to help reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19, the Government introduced new temporary Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth items.
The Government’s rapid response meant better protection for patients and health care providers.
During this period, the COVID-19 temporary telehealth and telephone items represented 3.4 per cent of services across Medicare. This included:

• 110,060 telehealth consultations provided by GPs, specialists and allied health professionals.
• 1,137,873 phone consultations provided by GPs, specialists and allied health professionals.

The uptake of the COVID-19 temporary telehealth items was most pronounced for GPs. In March, 7.5 per cent of GP visits were provided through via phone (999,470 services) or telehealth (65,996 services).
We doubled bulk-billing incentives to support these critical services because of the health emergency.
The Government unveiled a comprehensive $2.4 billion health package to protect all Australians, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with chronic conditions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, from COVID-19.
Australia has one of the best health systems in the world, founded on Medicare.
The figures released today show Medicare, under this Government, is supporting the health and wellbeing of Australians more than ever.

The Greens are calling on Environment Minister Sussan Ley to immediately release the interim report into Australia’s environment laws handed to her a week ago by the independent reviewer.
Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who successfully moved an order in the Senate for the interim report to be released by today at the latest, said:
“The Environment Minister has sat on the interim report into Australia’s environment laws for a week already and then today tried to claim releasing it would reveal Cabinet deliberations. This is a pathetic excuse for keeping it hidden from the public.
“The 10-year statutory review into the EPBC Act is supposed to be independent of government and therefore any interim report cannot possibly reveal Cabinet deliberations.
“The Minister was handed the interim report a week ago, there is no excuse for holding onto it any longer, it should be released immediately in full.
“Graeme Samuel who is leading the review has said he intends to consult on the interim report yet he cannot do that if the community and stakeholders are unable to even see it.
“The Auditor-General’s assessment of the government’s management of the environment and our wildlife, released last month, was scathing.
“The Environment Minister and the Federal Department have failed to protect the environment and are, simply put, incompetent. Refusing to release the interim report suggests it highlights further ineptitude and failures by the government which they are trying to cover up.”

As Melbourne goes back into stage 3 lockdowns, the Federal government is pulling the major childcare supports which played a positive role in the initial outbreak response.
Dan Tehan’s announcement of a new semi-subsidy will risk the viability of many centres who will neither be able to return to normal operations, nor collect full income if parents keep their kids at home.
“The Government is tying itself up in knots. It would be far simpler and fairer to extend free childcare after 12 July,” Greens Leader, Adam Bandt said.
“Dan Tehan has presented no evidence that free childcare shouldn’t continue, so why change it now, in such a precarious moment?”
“The safest course of action would be to extend free childcare after 12 July with a guaranteed relief payment and extend JobKeeper to all childcare workers.
“Childcare centres have had a tough time and many are on the brink. They deserve some policy consistency and certainty so that they can focus on working with health authorities to ensure safe and hygienic practices.
“I’m concerned that the Morrison government appears impatient to start withdrawing social supports that were a vital part of Australia’s largely successful efforts to flatten the curve.
“From chasing after businesses who may have been paid JobKeeper in error to cutting childcare, it looks like Scott Morrison’s instincts are wrong again, and we need another united effort to drag him over the line again,” Bandt said.

More than 6,100 older Australians will live independently for longer following a $325.7 million investment in new home care packages by the Morrison Government.
The extra 6,105 home care packages brings the total number of additional packages to over 50,000 since the 18-19 Budget, at a cost of more than $3 billion.
Home care package numbers will increase to 164,135 in 2022-23 – up more than 170 per cent since Labor were last in office – with funding increasing by 258 per cent due to growth in high-level packages.
Following a request from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Federal Government has agreed to extend its reporting period for a further three and a half months due to the impact of COVID-19.
The Commission will now deliver its final report by 26 February, 2021.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government remained focused on the needs of older Australians, particularly as the country battled the impacts of COVID-19.
“Our number one priority for older Australians is to keep people safe and healthy and to live independently,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said the suspension of Royal Commission hearings had reduced the ability to engage with stakeholders at the height of the pandemic.
“While these delays are have been caused by unprecedented circumstances, we’re committed to ensuring the Royal Commission has the time and resources it needs to do its important work.”
As part of its inquiry, the Royal Commission has recently announced it will examine the impact of the virus on residential aged care and home care, including responses from the sector and governments.
Minister Hunt said it would serve as an important review.
“This further investment in home care supports our senior Australians who are seeking assistance to stay longer in their homes,” Minister Hunt said.
“The extension of the Royal Commission is in response to the delays due to COVID-19 and the opportunity for the Commission to inquire into the impact of the pandemic on aged care.”
Minister Colbeck said the latest investment of $325.7 million toward 6,105 home care packages was another step toward reducing wait times and connecting more senior Australians to essential care sooner.
“We remain focused on ensuring the health and wellbeing of those people we love most,” Minister Colbeck said.
“From additional home care packages, to improvements to medication management, additional dementia training support for workers and funding to ensure younger people can move to more age-appropriate support – the Federal Government continues to prioritise the needs of senior Australians.
“We look forward to receiving the Royal Commission’s final report. The Government will carefully consider the Commissioners’ recommendations.”
As part of the extension, the Hon Tony Pagone QC will be formally appointed as the Chair of the Royal Commission.
Commissioner Pagone has been acting in the role since late 2019, following the death of the Honourable Richard Ross Sinclair Tracey AM RFD QC.