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The Greens have celebrated a win for people on income support payments following Labor’s announcement on income support payments.

The Greens have previously called for all income apportionment debts to be waived, in keeping with the Royal Commission recommendation which would see a 6 year limit imposed on debt collection. Background on these issues here

The debts affected by income apportionment are at their most recent from 2020, and are on average 19 years old. Still no legal time limit on debt collection exists. On Monday, the Greens introduced a bill which would implement the outstanding Robodebt recommendations including the 6 year time limit.

Greens questioning in Estimates revealed the Department currently holds debts dating back to the 1970s. 

Senator Penny Allman-Payne, Greens spokesperson for Social Services:

“This is a tremendous win for the Greens and for advocates who have been calling on Labor to waive these income apportionment debts and protect people living in poverty from serious harm.

“Like Robodebt, the income apportionment scandal has shown the systemic issues with the way our welfare system brutalises people living in poverty over ridiculous errors.

“When you’re living week to week on poverty payments, a debt notice from the government can cause your whole life to spiral. Tragically for some it has led them to take their own lives. 

“The work unpicking Robodebt is far from done. The Greens will continue to push Labor to implement the outstanding Robodebt recommendations including the six year limit on debt recoveries, and to stop the rampant suspension of welfare payments which takes life-saving funds out of the hands of over a hundred thousand people each month.”

The Greens have reintroduced their two key Bills to take on corporate profiteering – one to give the ACCC divestiture powers to break up corporations when they misuse their market power, and another to make price gouging illegal across the economy.

“Corporate giants are bleeding people dry while the Labor Government sits on its hands,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“Coles and Woolworths have built their empires on exploiting their market dominance. They gouge shoppers, farmers, and workers.”

“The Greens’ Bills would finally give the ACCC the teeth to break them up and outlaw price gouging across the whole economy.”

“Two weeks ago the Reserve Bank found that declining competition and increased mark-ups have reduced productivity and left the average person $3000 worse off over ten years. That’s the price of letting corporations run the economy for their own benefit.”

“Now, in the profit-reporting season, the evidence is in black and white. Australia’s biggest oligopolies are raking in staggering profits off the back of ordinary people’s pain.”

• Insurance giant IAG just booked $1.359 billion net profit, up 66% on last year.
• Commonwealth Bank pulled in more than $10 billion, their highest in at least a decade.
• Coles pocketed nearly $1.2 billion, a 3.1% jump on last year.

“Since Labor came to power in 2022, food and groceries have risen on average by 14%. For some essentials it’s much worse: bread is up nearly 20%, cheese 20%, eggs 40%, and oil nearly 30%.”

“Labor promised to ban supermarket price gouging but have gone missing in action. If they were serious about helping people through this cost-of-living crisis, they’d back the Greens’ Bills.”

The Senate has today voted to establish an inquiry into the Government’s proposed social media age ban and search engine age verification codes following a motion by the Australian Greens. The inquiry will examine the privacy implications and effectiveness of the proposed measures.

The inquiry comes amid growing concerns that the proposed age verification system will require all Australians to provide personal data to access social media platforms and search engines, raising significant privacy and civil liberties questions.

The inquiry will soon begin accepting public submissions. Further details will be announced promptly.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge and Digital Rights Spokesperson said: 

“This isn’t just about kids – it’s a national age verification system and identification system being sold as online safety for children.

“The age ban will force all Australians to hand over personal data to access social media and the verification codes will mean the same for search engines. Everybody will have to go through age-checking to make this work. 

“Instead of the much promised digital duty of care, the Government is focusing on bans and codes that will encourage big tech to vacuum up everyone’s private information. 

“The current approach risks driving young people away from safer regulated platforms and towards spaces where bullying and image-based abuse has no limits. 

“This inquiry will examine what actually works globally and presents an opportunity for evidence-based policy that upholds fundamental human rights. 

Greens Communications Spokesperson and Chair of the Environment and Communications Committee Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“Trying to fix all the harms of social media and online platforms by simply banning under 16s from using them is never going to work. This inquiry is about continuing the conversation about how we keep all people safe online and holding the big tech platforms to account for protecting their users.”

Labor has played politics with workers by refusing to support Greens’ amendments to expand flexible working arrangements and introduce the right to work from home for all Australians.

The Greens say Labor knocked down Australians’ right to work from home because it was a Greens’ idea.

The Australian Greens put forward amendments today to expand Australians’ right to work from home, which followed an amendment yesterday calling for the Government to legislate a right to work from home for up to two days a week, where it is reasonable to do so – and Labor rejected both amendments.

The Greens’ amendments would have expanded eligibility to all workers to request flexible working arrangements, including the right to work from home and called on the Government to legislate a right to work from home for up to two days a week, where it is reasonable to do so. 

Australian Greens spokesperson for employment and workplace relations, Senator Barbara Pocock:

“Labor has voted down a reasonable right to work from home, because they say they are “not at the behest of the Greens.” In doing so, they have chosen to play politics over protecting workers’ rights. 

“Labor knocked back the right to work from home – not because it’s a bad law and not because it won’t work – but because it was a Greens’ idea. Labor shouldn’t let their ego get in the way of workers getting rights.

“Two-thirds of voters support this right, as do 75% of Labor voters. Labor needs to act.

“The world of work has changed – technology has made remote and flexible work not only possible but in many workplaces, normal. The law should catch up with that reality and make sure every worker has the right to request arrangements that suit their lives.

“Labor is supposed to be the party of the worker and it holds the biggest majority in parliament since WWII. Labor has the power to make real progress for workers. Labor had the chance to vote with the Greens to protect flexible working arrangements, including the right to work from home, but instead voted against it.

“We know that flexible work arrangements, including the right to work from home, delivers enormous benefits. Flexible work arrangements help people balance jobs with study, with family and community life, and also boost workforce participation, especially for women and people with caring responsibilities. The evidence is clear that flexible working arrangements can reduce community time, improve well being and increase productivity.

City of Newcastle will seek the final tick of approval from the NSW Government for a $63 million plan to buffer Stockton’s coastline from erosion.

Councillors voted unanimously last night to endorse the Extended Stockton Coastal Management Program (CMP) and formally submit it to the NSW Environment Minister for certification.

City of Newcastle’s Executive Director of Planning and Environment, Michelle Bisson, said this was a significant milestone in the long-term protection and enhancement of Stockton’s coastline.

“The adoption of this Extended CMP establishes a clear pathway for the delivery of mass sand nourishment supported by regular sand top-ups, which has been identified as the most feasible, viable and acceptable long-term solution, and has received overwhelming community support,” Ms Bisson said. 

“It also includes vital short-term actions for the urgent protection of critical public assets in Stockton.

“The CMP was developed in collaboration with the community and government agencies and is the culmination of many years of hard work by the project team and advocacy from the Stockton Community Liaison Group.

“We now look forward to receiving certification from the NSW Minister for the Environment, which is a crucial step to unlock grant funding eligibility and streamline approval pathways for critical protection works.”

The Extended Stockton CMP covers a geographical area stretching from Little Beach to the Port Stephens Local Government Area boundary.

It contains 79 management actions, including beach nourishment and sand management activities, urgent interim coastal protection works for critical assets like the Mitchell Street seawall, and the development of a coastal monitoring and decision-making support system.

It is forecast to cost $63 million to implement over the next decade, with City of Newcastle expected to invest around $25 million into its delivery, most of which will be directed towards the construction of coastal protection structures to mitigate immediate risks.

The Federal Government will contribute $1.47 million primarily through the Coastal and Estuarine Risk Mitigation Program (CERMP) for sand sourcing investigations.

The NSW Government is earmarked to contribute approximately $35 million, which includes its $21.5 million election commitment for mass sand nourishment, however this is not scheduled to occur until the 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years.

Ms Bisson said this delay means that the construction and renewal of expensive coastal protection structures itemised in the CMP, which are necessary to protect critical public assets in the short term, are likely to be required before mass sand nourishment is delivered.

“The Extended Stockton CMP sets a long-term strategy to offset the impacts of the NSW Government-owned Newcastle Harbour infrastructure, including the entrance breakwaters and artificially deepened navigational channel,” Ms Bisson said.

“The implementation of the mass sand nourishment program and the investigation and determination of a governance, funding and implementation framework for ongoing sand top-ups will be led by NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and guided by the Stockton Special Advisory Panel, chaired by the State Member for Newcastle.”

Community engagement played a crucial role in shaping the final plan, with 90% of respondents supporting ongoing sand top-ups as well as mass sand nourishment during the public exhibition period. A petition with 1,233 signatures also underscored the strong community desire for a holistic sand nourishment strategy led by the NSW Government.

For more information on the Extended Stockton CMP, visit the project page on City of Newcastle’s website.

The Minns Labor Government is boosting staff numbers to speed up the processing of Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) Recovery Grants for impacted primary producers, by doubling the number of people working on assessments by the end of this week.

This initiative is already reducing processing times for grants to primary producers who are recovering from recent natural disasters.

Since June, the RAA has received almost 2,000 applications and has approved more than $23 million in payments.

The initial rollout faced some delays due to the large number of applications lodged, but with many applications now processed the focus has shifted to ensuring payments get out the door faster.

By the end of this week already received applicants will either had their claim assessed or received a direct update on the status of their application and what, if any, information is still required.

The time for processing an application has been reduced to 25 business days, and the Minns Government has directed that the goal needs to be 20 business days as soon as possible. This is compared to Queensland’s current 22 business days application waiting period.

The additional staff will work directly on assessments, ensuring straightforward applications are fast-tracked, and more complex cases have the extra resources to speed up the appropriate review.

The Minns Government has also in the last month improved the application experience for farmers by making it easier to upload documents and images, especially for larger sized files.

Another improvement has been to provide an easy-to-use guide that contains ‘application tips’ to support primary producers through the application process.

To apply for assistance: www.raa.nsw.gov.au and Grant Application Tips

Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:

“Our message to primary producers is clear, we have implemented improvements to processing applications but there is more work to do, and I understand their concerns regarding the waiting time for payments.

“That’s why we are doubling the number of people on the job, to clear the backlog and get more payments out the door.”

The number of inmates in NSW correctional facilities completing traineeships has more than doubled in the past four years, with offenders learning new skills and improving their job prospects post-release.

While many inmates enter prison with limited education or work experience, traineeships inside correctional centres address these gaps and provide them with nationally recognised qualifications and practical job skills, with the aim to reduce reoffending across the state.

Education and skills training plays an important role in reducing recidivism, with BOCSAR data from 2021 revealing that 12 months after inmate trainees were released from custody, there was a 45 per cent reduction in property offending among all groups of trainees.  

The Department of Education’s Training Services provides funding and regulatory support for these vocational education programs, delivered to inmates through Corrective Services Industries.  

Through the Smart and Skilled program, the NSW Government is also giving inmates access to quality training that builds real-world skills and supports rehabilitation.  

A strong partnership between the Department of Education and Corrective Services NSW has meant training providers, such as TAFE NSW, can deliver courses in areas of skills shortage, with fees waived for eligible inmates.

In the past financial year, there were 906 inmate trainee participants within Corrective Services NSW correctional facilities – a significant increase since 2021, when there were 250 inmate trainees.  

For example, at the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre within the Long Bay Correctional Complex, there are currently 39 inmates studying and completing skills courses with registered training providers, including TAFE NSW.

These traineeships take place across numerous industries, including the Reg Boys Bakery and print unit.

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan, and Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong visited these two industry units on Tuesday to see the operational model first-hand.

Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong said:

“Community safety is one of the Minns Labor Government’s top priorities.

“We are committed to keeping our communities safer by reducing reoffending and supporting rehabilitation through education and vocational training.  

“These vocational education programs are currently enabling more than 500 inmates across NSW correctional facilities real opportunities to turn their lives around.

“It takes collaboration across agencies and communities to break the cycle of reoffending, and together, we are working to turn challenges into opportunities.”

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said:

“These traineeships are excellent demonstrations of our agencies working together to deliver real outcomes.

“The Regs Boys Bakery and the Print Unit are two shining examples of the range of skills training provided to inmates, ranging from hospitality to logistics to construction.

“These are nationally recognised qualifications that are not only instrumental to improving inmates’ employability but also developing their personal confidence and self-esteem.

“We are proud to provide inmates with these quality opportunities to participate in meaningful work and develop skills they can use in the community upon their release.”

Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Gary McCahon PSM said:

“Rehabilitation is the path to reducing reoffending.  

“When we equip inmates with skills and confidence, we open doors for their future in the community.

“Every individual has the potential to change, and our role is to guide and support that change, restoring hope and dignity.” 

The Minns Labor Government is investing in four key projects to boost the Riverina’s local economy and deliver jobs as part of its plan to build economic development in regional NSW.

This funding is part of the Minns Government’s approach to delivering smart investment, with local partners, to make a real difference for regional communities.

The Minns Government’s NSW Regional Development Trust will firstly invest $5.72 million and funding recipients will invest a further $17.74 million, to deliver new manufacturing technology and expand tourism.

The four Riverina economic development projects receiving funds are as follows:

$2.5 million – for a new state-of-the-art bottling line at the Leeton Juice Facility

• Australian Juice Processing and Bottling will install a new bottling line featuring automated and continuous operation that will include heating and blow moulding of containers, as well as filling, capping and labelling functions.
• This equipment will increase facility output to up to 100,000 containers per hour.

$2.27 million – to develop a Regional Demonstration Hub for chilling and freezing

• Staughton Group will build a Regional Demonstration Hub for inline chilling and freezing to transform regional food processing.
• The project will deliver new technologies to upgrade chilling and freezing infrastructure for regional food processors and provide equipment and services to regional NSW abattoirs and food manufacturers.
• The new technologies will help make food manufacturing more sustainable and profitable.

$568,959– to build the Hillston Arid Zone Botanic Garden

• Carrathool Shire Council will develop an eight-hectare Arid Zone Botanic Garden in Hillston which will include the delivery of water and electricity services to the site, irrigation systems, a free camping and caravan area, an Aboriginal cultural learning area, irrigation systems, and the conservation of two existing scar trees on site.
• The development will bring tourists to the region and boost spending on accommodation and in local restaurants and shops creating positive economic outcomes for the community.

$382,428 – to deliver an agritourism and hospitality program

• Wagga Wagga City Council will deliver a program to strengthen agritourism and hospitality businesses in Wagga Wagga and surrounding areas.
• The program will include two masterclasses for up to 140 businesses to build skills in the tourism sector, mentorship for 20 businesses with one-on-one support and business coaching, and an industry familiarisation tour.
• It will also deliver front-of-house training for 150 individuals to learn barista skills, wine service, bartending skills and bushfood education, a hospitality HR advisory service, and support for local businesses to exhibit at the Good Food & Wine Show.

Investments from the Regional Development Trust are reviewed by the Regional Development Advisory Council, an independent body appointed by the Minister for Regional NSW to provide advice to government on investments that must aim to meet the interests of regional communities.

Further announcements on successful projects across NSW from the Regional Development Trust will be made in the coming months.

Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:

“The Riverina has many opportunities in industry, agritourism and hospitality, and the Minns Government is proud to support projects that will create jobs and boost local businesses.

“Investments that embed new technology into the Riverina’s local food processing businesses will bring productivity gains and expand production capacity, to ensure we can grow jobs and feed Australians and the world.

“Regional NSW has wonderful landscapes and people that can be supported with our Regional Development Trust investments to build their skills and agritourism attractions to attract Australian and international travellers.

“I’m looking forward to visiting the completed Hillston Arid Botanic Garden which will showcase the region’s unique beauty and keep visitors and locals coming back for more.”

The Minns Labor Government is continuing to build a better New South Wales, with a system overhaul set to improve water affordability, availability and reliability across our regions.

Over the next two years, the NSW Government will explore a new funding model for local water utilities (LWUs) to address critical inefficiencies with the current system of project-based capital grants.

The reform is part of the highly successful Town Water Risk Reduction Program, which recently received a $15 million boost to help improve delivery of water and sewerage services in rural and remote towns.

In 2023, the NSW Government called for a Review of Funding Models for Local Water Utilities to investigate new models that could help reduce service risks without privatisation or forced amalgamations.

The NSW Government can now unveil its response to the Productivity and Equality Commission’s report, launching a new plan to reform the sector by 2027.

Key areas of reform include: 

• Improving cost-of-living support through a review of the customer affordability and hardship programs funded directly by the NSW Government.
• Implementing a better funding model that gives the state’s 92 LWUs greater long-term financial stability and directs government funding to where it is most needed.
• Establishing basic levels of service through sector reform.

The plan was developed following extensive consultation with LWUs, water agencies and industry partners.

We will continue to work closely with the sector, particularly LWUs in Western NSW, to co-design ways that they can operate most cost effectively, reduce risks, and deliver better services to customers.

For more information, visit our website here.   

Minister for Water Rose Jackson said:   

“The Minns Labor Government is committed to ensuring every person in NSW always has access to high-quality drinking water and wastewater, no matter what postcode they call home. 

“This work builds on the $32.8 million for the Town Water Risk Reduction Program to tackle the most severe risks to town water, now we have a plan to safeguard the cost of service delivery.

“The previous funding model put our most remote communities at a disadvantage, where the economics of a small customer base servicing a huge land area just don’t add up.

“This plan provides a roadmap to direct government funding where it’s needed most and lock in the future of town drinking water in every corner of NSW.”