Category: Australian News

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called the announcement from live exporters that they will a impose three-month ban on sheep trade to the Middle East during northern summer as too little, too late.
In reaction to the voluntary suspension, Senator Faruqi said:
“While welcome, to be frank this is too little, too late. We know that this is the last ditch attempt for the live export to save itself before it is consigned to the history books forever.
“A voluntary and self imposed suspension over the Northern Summer is wholly inadequate and can be overturned at any time. History has shown we cannot let the industry regulate itself. The only option we have is to phase out the industry and transition to a chilled meat industry.
“My bill to ban the live export of has passed the Senate. The Government can stonewall and run protection for only so long. It’s time they allowed a free vote so we can end this cruel trade once and for all,” she concluded.

Australia must strengthen environmental laws, backed up by real investment, if it is to heed the recommendations of last week’s UN Biodiversity Conference in Egypt.
“The Senate has heard the UN’s clear signal to the world that our planet is in the midst of an extinction crisis,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The Government must listen to the experts who say we are at a tipping point in protecting the environment and our biodiversity, not put their heads in the sand. We need environmental laws with teeth, backed by real funding, if we want to be part of a global solution.
“The World Wildlife Fund has called out Australia as one of the worst biodiversity managers on the planet. We have a responsibility to our unique flora and fauna, to reverse this harrowing trend of extinction.
“Australia would fail to explain to future generations and the rest of the world, if the koala was driven to extinction. We have the golden opportunity to be the generation that saves the planet and the myriad species that live here.
“The Greens are fighting for urgent action on climate change, and to protect our environment and biodiversity, while the Morrison Government further abandons the environment.”
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s motion, below, passed the Senate this afternoon.

That the Senate— notes that

1.      The 14^th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (the Conference) took place in Egypt from the 13^th to the 29^th of November 2018.

2.      The United Nations Report to the Conference demonstrated that Australia is failing to meet international targets, especially in parts of the country where land clearing and habitat destruction are widespread.

3.      The World Wildlife Fund also issued a report as part of the Conference that placed Australia amongst the worst performers on biodiversity in a group of 100 nations.

4.      The Conference called on governments to scale up investments in nature and people towards 2020 and beyond and to accelerate action to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Targets by 2020.

 Calls on the government heed the recommendations of the Conference.

Greens climate and energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, has welcomed Labor’s decision to back his Coal-Fired Power Funding Prohibition Bill, introduced into the House of Representatives yesterday.
The bill will prevent the government from underwriting either new or existing coal-fired power stations and will stop any indemnification of coal-fired power stations against a future carbon price or policy to limit emissions. The government has flagged that it may provide such support.
Mr Bandt said he will now continue talks with the crossbench to secure majority support and passage of the bill through the Parliament.
“This bill is as financially responsible as it is environmentally responsible,” said Mr Bandt.
“This power-sharing Parliament must act to stop the government from recklessly exposing taxpayers to huge liabilities by underwriting coal.
“If we move this week, we have an opportunity to halt the government’s rush to sign contracts over Christmas.”

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale has congratulated Sen. Larissa Waters on her return to the position of Co-Deputy Leader of the Greens, a position she vacated as a result of her resignation from the Parliament over questions of eligibility under Section 44 of the constitution.
“It’s wonderful to see Larissa resume her role as Co-Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens. Losing Larissa was a huge blow to the party and to the Parliament, so it’s wonderful to be able to welcome her back to this leadership position and put that chapter well and truly behind us.
“Larissa brings a wealth of experience to the parliamentary leadership team, as well as a long a distinguished track record as an advocate for the environment, women and transparency in Government. I’m confident that she’ll bring her unique voice to the position and that our party room will be richer for it.
“I’d like to thank Sen Rachel Siewert for all her hard work in the role, which she took up in addition to her duties as Party Whip. Rachel is a tireless advocate for Australia’s first peoples, as well as for the millions of Australians receiving Government support, and she has elevated their voices in our party room.
“I’m so honoured to be returning to the Co-Deputy leadership of the Greens, a party with the vision and commitment for a fairer and more sustainable future for all of us. I’m pleased that the women’s portfolio is now back in party leadership at a most pivotal time for women, not just in politics in Australia but across a range of issues impacting women’s equality around the world,” Sen. Waters said.
Adam Bandt MP will remain in his position as Co-Deputy Leader.
Sen. Rachel Siewert continues as Party Whip.

Australian Greens climate and energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, says the Morrison government must heed Sir David Attenborough’s warning that climate change is a threat to human civilisation.
Mr Bandt also called on the government to avoid being a wrecker at the climate conference.
Attenborough’s warning came in the opening sessions of the UN global climate summit in Katowice, Poland. The representatives of the world’s countries are seeking agreement on the ‘rulebook’ that will implement the Paris Agreement to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees.
“Scott Morrison must heed Sir David Attenborough’s warning,” Mr Bandt said today.
“Human civilisation is at risk. We must take emergency action on climate change, starting with keeping coal in the ground.”
“The government and Labor’s support for the Adani coal mine flies in the face of Sir David’s warning.”
“I have seen first-hand Australia’s antics at previous climate summits, supporting loopholes to let the big polluters off the hook. Australia must stop being a wrecker in Poland.”

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today introduced the Coal-Fired Power Funding Prohibition Bill 2018 into the House of Representatives, which prevents the Commonwealth from providing financial assistance to coal-fired power plants. The scope of Mr Bandt’s bill is intended to be wide enough to prevent the government using the mechanisms outlined in the Underwriting new generation investments consultation paper to underwrite and provide financial support to coal-fired power stations.
“It isn’t just environmentally irresponsible to bankroll coal-fired power stations, it is economically reckless.
“The government shouldn’t be trying to shovel money to coal-fired power stations in the few months left before the election.
“Propping up aging, unreliable coal-fired power stations won’t just make climate change worse, but it will make our grid less reliable and expose the taxpayer to significant liability.
“To satisfy its coal-hugging backbench, the government is even offering to indemnify coal companies against the ‘carbon risk’ of future greenhouse policies.
“The taxpayer will be left paying for stranded assets and compensating big polluters.
“We need to urgently pass this legislation to prevent the government from signing contracts over summer to build new coal-fired power.

Despite promising before the Wentworth by-election that removing discrimination in schools was an urgent priority, the Morrison government has teamed up with Centre Alliance to ensure discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, teachers and staff in schools remains, say Greens.
“We saw an outrageous display from the Morrison government teaming up with Centre Alliance to push the discrimination-free schools bill off the agenda today. This means the parliament won’t deal with discrimination in schools until next year,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.
“Before the Wentworth by-election the Prime Minister promised he would remove discrimination from schools as a matter of urgency. This is yet another lie from the Prime Minister.”
“The dirty tricks displayed today demonstrate a desperate Scott Morrison’s willingness to play games with the lives of LGBTQ+ people.”
“Schools should be discrimination-free for all LGBTQ+ people – that means students, teachers and staff.”
“The Greens were ready to act today to remove discrimination against teachers as well as students, as is supported by three quarters of the Australian population. It is so disappointing that political games and dirty tricks have delayed this long overdue reform.”

Australian Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has called on the Federal Government to urgently implement the recommendations  of the Senate ‘Inquiry into the management of PFAs contamination in and around Defence bases’ , which has called for compensation and a new Coordinator-General to coordinate the national response to the PFAS contamination issue.
Senator Faruqi was the Greens representative on the inquiry. The report can be found here.
Senator Faruqi said: “The Australian Greens welcome this report and although much more remains to be done, it is a really important step to resolving the long running and damaging issue of PFAS contamination. I want to thank and acknowledge community members across the country for their continued advocacy for the protection of our environment, the scarce water resources we have in Australia and the health of our people and communities.
“If the government cares about the community, if they care about our environment, they should urgently accept the recommendations of the report. They don’t have to wait for months to provide a response.
“The community has waited long enough. Communities have suffered enough. It’s time to take concrete action to help them. And it’s time concrete action is taken now.
“It should not have taken years of community campaigning for Defence to be accountable for the contamination it had created. The failure of Defence to take responsibility for this matter may have had significant health and social implications for communities. Consistent with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, Defence has an obligation for all costs associated with testing, containment, remediation, as well as compensation of affected people.
“It is worth remembering that this issue is not restricted to Defence properties. Other Federal Government properties as well as properties formerly owned by the Federal Government, such as airfields and former defence sites should be fully investigated by the Commonwealth Government and the same measures applied.
“I strongly encourage the Commonwealth Government to urgently develop a buyback program for properties where contamination is significant. The reality is that the effects of PFAS contamination are not known yet and we know that some properties will be significantly affected.  There are no options but for compensation to include buyback,” she concluded.

A Shorten Labor Government will introduce the most comprehensive contemporary music policy by an Australian government.
From encouraging more Australian children to learn and play music, to assisting young bands reach overseas markets, to more support for live music and ensuring fans aren’t being ripped off when they buy tickets – Labor wants to see more Australians making music, listening to music, and seeing music live.
The music industry contributes nearly $6 billion to the Australian economy each year. According to ARIA, the Australian music industry will be worth $100 billion globally within a decade. Live music alone supports around 64,000 jobs in Australia. More Australians attend live music than sport.
Labor wants to make sure the live music industry continues to grow, and to see more Australians with stable jobs in a thriving local industry.
Labor’s music policy all comes back to one single objective: We want to inspire the next generation of Australian artists and to see more international success stories.
Labor wants to make sure Australian kids have the chance to learn music, regardless of where they live. While many Australian kids are lucky enough to have parents who encourage them to learn an instrument at a young age, more and more kids now rely on their school to learn to play an instrument. To help schools facilitate learning, a Shorten Labor Government will provide $7 million in extra support for music education and music teachers. The funding will go towards expanding school programs such as SongMakers which brings musicians into schools, and Song Room, dedicated to providing music and art lessons to disadvantaged kids.
One of the biggest barriers for younger musicians is having a space to practice together. Labor will provide $5 million in grant funding to establish and grow music hubs around the country. This funding will provide support to councils, schools, neighborhood centres or community spaces to set up a music hub where students and musicians in the local area can come, learn, collaborate and practice. Funding could be used for soundproofing, equipment, instruments, acoustic assessments or refurbishments.
Labor wants more emerging artists to have the opportunity to record an album for public release and to play at live music venues. Labor will commit over $10m to the “new Sounds Australia” to deliver the functions of the office of live music to help them work with local governments to remove barriers for live music venues around the country. This means more places for young musicians to play, but also more venues for music lovers to see live performances locally. Labor will also double the funding to the New Recordings program to help a further ten new Australian artists record an EP. The current program allows for ten albums to be recorded a year, and has helped artists such Courtney Barnett and Alex the Astronaut gain an audience.
One of the key foundations of Sounds Australia is to showcase Australian music overseas. Labor’s commitment to the new Sounds Australia will expand its reach and build on the 1500 Australian groups that have been showcased at international events in over 23 countries. This means more musicians have a pathway to staying in the industry and more Australian music is heard here and around the world. Part of showcasing our music overseas will be small grants that are made available to help promote emerging Australian bands around the world, particularly in new markets such as Asia. Sounds Australia and the Association of Artists Managers will work together and, when needed, provide modest grants to assist with practical measures to help bands get a foothold including costs of airfares, local management and connections and assistance with booking venues. These grants could mean the difference between a new band making it in a new market or not.
Labor’s music policy will also include measures such as:

• cracking down on ticket scalping websites such as Viagogo
• increased funding for music and mental health programs.

The policies we are announcing today are aimed at boosting every aspect of Australian music. We want Australian music to be heard, Australian artists to stay in the industry and the next generation to be inspired. And we want to make it easier for music fans to buy tickets to the bands they love.
We believe in what our songwriters, musicians, performers and music industry do. We think it matters. Our Australian soundtrack matters. Let’s turn up the volume.
More information on Labor’s policy can be found here.

Labor will give Aussie sports and music fans a fair go, cracking down on ticket gouging which locks fans out of major events.
Labor will introduce a national ban on the use of ticket-buying bot software, which flood ticket websites to purchase the most tickets possible, causing ordinary consumers to miss out.
It is estimated bots account for as much as 30 per cent of the traffic to primary ticketing sites in the moments after a major event goes on sale.
We will also introduce a national cap on the resale price of tickets at 110 per cent of the initial face value.
This will mean fans will get a fair go on accessing tickets to sporting blockbusters, as well as concerts, musicals and theatres.
Ticket scalping is a growing scourge – instead of the sales going to our footy clubs and local businesses, artists and the music industry, fraudsters are building profit models and forcing consumers to pay exorbitant prices for tickets, or missing out completely.
Labor will act. A Shorten Labor Government will introduce a cap of 110 per cent of initial face value price for any resold tickets and make sure laws are consistent across all states and territories through federal legislation.
This crackdown will aim to cut the business model for websites like ViaGogo, which relies on selling tickets to music and sports fans at exorbitant, inflated prices and can often leave consumers stranded with useless tickets that have been sold multiple times.
Labor will also ban the use of ticket-buying bot software, which prevents ordinary consumers from accessing popular concerts and major events.
This will ensure genuine fans get fair access to tickets, and won’t have to compete with sophisticated software designed to buy as many tickets as possible when popular events go on sale online.
A Labor Government will also boost consumer protection by:

• Strengthening disclosure requirements for all ticket sellers; and
• Allowing for the fair resale of tickets, preventing primary ticket sellers cancelling legitimately purchased on-sold tickets
• A national ban on speculative ticket listing

The ACCC will conduct a review of these measures after twelve months of operation, with a view to further strong action if required.
We understand that consumers need the ability to easily on-sell tickets if they need to, and others may want to purchase tickets at the last minute. These reforms won’t prevent that – they will simply mean that ticket sellers can’t significantly profit from desperate fans.
The Liberals have been too paralysed by their own instability to take action on this issue, only introducing disclosure requirements for resellers last month and failing to act on ticket gouging at all.
Labor will prioritise Australian sports and music fans to make sure consumers get an overdue fair go.