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With a Senate Committee into the Juukan Gorge crisis due to conclude today, the Greens have announced a comprehensive $767 million ‘Caring for Country’ plan to expand protections for Indigenous areas and sacred sites, fund more First Nations ranger programs and legislate environmental personhood to areas of First Nations significance – ensuring that future crises’ like that at Juukan are avoided. 
“Caring for Country is our birthright as First Nations people. Successive governments have undermined Aboriginal land rights and heritage protections to favour big corporations, who often make big donations to the Liberal and Labor parties,” said the Greens spokesperson for First Nations: Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe.
“To avoid the kind of destruction we saw at Juukan, we need better laws to protect First Nations heritage and Country.
“That’s why the Greens will legislate environmental personhood to areas of First Nations significance. Environmental personhood is giving nature, or parts of nature (like mountains, rivers, and lakes) rights in the same way that humans have rights.
Environmental personhood reconfigures our relationship to the lands we inhabit through an Aboriginal lens. We rely on our lands, waters and sky to survive. Likewise, our lands, waters and sky rely on us to survive. Our plan, released today, reflects this ongoing connection to Country.”
The Greens will: 

• Strengthen laws to protect First Nations tangible and intangible heritage, knowledge, and intellectual property
• Expand Indigenous Protected Areas that are owned, cared for and managed by First Nations people
• Triple funding for First Nations ranger programs as Ranger programs deliver up to $3 worth of environmental and socio-economic value for every dollar spent. This is a $767m commitment

“Billionaires, big polluters and big corporations will foot the bill. They have profiteered off stolen lands for decades. It’s about time they Pay the Rent and work with us to heal Country, for everybody’s benefit.” Said Thorpe.
Yamatji-Noongar Senator for Western Australia Dorinda Cox: the Greens spokesperson for Mining and Resources said:
“Juukan Gorge was legally obliterated, sanctioned and given permission for ‘the right to destroy’ by the current and brutally unfair law, that saw the economic benefits of mining more important than the connection of First Nations people to their Country,” she said.
“The destruction has caused deep trauma and shock for not only the First Nations people of the immediate area, and in WA, but across Australia and the world.
“The consequential hand wringing and apologies by the mining companies mean nothing if our laws continue to allow proponents to legally get away with destroying these cultural sites.
“Our people, our lands, for now and into the future need certainty, not a wink and a nudge that we can trust mining companies to do the right thing, because history has shown us that we can’t trust them.
“I now call on all shareholders, investors, mining company boards and executives to stick their necks out and publicly call on the WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson to rethink the draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill and give First Nations people the final right to say ‘No’, rather than giving him the final say.
“Aboriginal people want to see the Bill before it is introduced into Parliament, we want to make sure that it includes internationally recognised best practices around Free, Prior and Informed consent, otherwise it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
“We have been waiting 50 years for this Bill to make First Nations the primary decision makers of their cultural heritage, and this once in a lifetime moment cannot be lost to us,” she said.
Unfairness of the Bill: 

• The Minister still gets the final say, even if Traditional Owners say no;
• The draft Bill still allows proponents to legally destroy cultural heritage sites;
• Aboriginal people are not the primary decision makers.

 
To find out more about Caring for Country, see: https://greens.org.au/campaigns/caring4country

The Greens have today announced that in the balance of power after the next election, they will push to boldly reform our defence force to ensure a peace-focused approach is prioritised.
This announcement coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan, Operational Detachment A574, on 19th October 2001.
Australian Greens Peace Spokesperson, Senator Jordon Steele-John said:
“The Greens are committed to reducing defence spending, this will make $312 billion available over the next decade for essential services our community needs. We can build 1 million homes, ending homelessness. We could improve ventilation in schools, making our kids safe. We could get dental and mental health into Medicare. We could increase income support so no one in the country needs to live in poverty.
“Our Australian Greens Towards Peace plan will renegotiate our alliance with the United States, close all foreign military bases in Australia, reduce defence spending and prioritise peaceful efforts in our region to tackle the climate crisis.
“As we reflect on the war in Afghanistan, it’s clear there was a complete lack of any overarching strategic objective from the very beginning. It’s been 20 years of bloodshed, trauma, and occupation. And many in our community have expressed deep sadness and anguish at the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded.
“We must never again participate in a colonial war of aggression. Our goal must always be peace.
“Our community does not want our future to be at the behest of the United States of America. The Australian Greens are committed to re-negotiating the ANZUS alliance, we will not proceed with the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal, and we will close all foreign military bases across Australia.
“This is the plan we need to ensure a peaceful future for our country. Our plan will make Australia a better global citizen, and can ensure everyone in our community has what they need to live a good life.”
The details of The Australian Greens plan:

• Reduce defence spending to 1% of GDP by 2026 ensuring that Australia has a light, readily deployable, and highly mobile force that is commensurate with our size and location;
• Renegotiate the US alliance with the terms of a new relationship focused on making Australia safer and a better global citizen;
• Pass War Powers legislation that is currently before the Senate to require Parliamentary approval for decisions that commit Australia to war;
• Close all foreign military bases in Australia;
• Sign and ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty; and
• Ban the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons.

From today, a new Head to Health pop up clinic will open its doors providing additional mental health support for Canberra residents who have been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Morrison Government invested more than $1 million to rapidly establish a Head to Health pop-up clinic as the ACT navigates the COVID-19 outbreak.
Canberra residents seeking help can call a dedicated number (1800 595 212) to talk to a mental health professional and be directed to the most appropriate care for their individual needs. Telehealth services will also be available.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said residents will also be able to access face-to-face services from November 1, 2021.
“Mental health is a key part of Australia’s pandemic response and the current restrictions across the country have been taking a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, including those in the ACT,” Minister Hunt said.
“This clinic will play an essential role in supporting ACT GPs, private and public hospitals and emergency departments, by providing accessible mental health care.”
When fully operational, the clinic will have a team of mental health support workers, including psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers, care coordinators, peer support workers and other allied health professionals with experience in mental health.
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said similar pop-up clinics in Victoria and New South Wales were supporting thousands of Australians.
“This clinic is using the same model of care as the 15 HeadtoHelp clinics we established in Victoria during their extended lockdown in 2020, and the 10 which opened in NSW on 6 September 2021,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.
“Established in record time, these clinics are readily accessible and free, and they are making a real difference for people affected by the pandemic.”
Video and phone supported mental health and assessment services will be available, as well as COVID-safe face-to-face support where recommended by a clinician.
Senator for the ACT, Zed Seselja, said “These are extraordinary times and the Morrison Government recognised very quickly that the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country and here in the ACT was of great concern.”
“As the ACT starts to open back up again, many Canberrans are facing mental health pressures and these services will ensure they can access mental health support when they need it.”
The clinic will form a strong alliance with existing or planned ACT Government mental health services, allowing a coordinated territory-wide approach to intake, assessment and referral processes for mental health services to be adopted.
The Morrison Government continues to make mental health a national priority, investing a record $2.3 billion in the 2021-22 Budget for the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to lead landmark reform of the mental health system. This includes a record $6.5 billion in mental health and suicide prevention services and supports in 2021-22, doubling since 2012-13.
The ACT ‘Head to Health Pop Up’ clinic will operate until 30 June 2022.
In addition, Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service any time via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can also seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.

The Morrison Government has now paid out around $234 million to support more than 6,250 child care services across locked down areas of New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
Fortnightly payments of 25 per cent of pre-lockdown revenue are available to child care services impacted by lockdowns. Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services are eligible for payments of 40 per cent.
These payments will continue until those jurisdictions allow all children to return to child care and for OSHC, all school levels return to face-to-face learning.
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the payments were keeping services open and ready to welcome back children once lockdowns lift.
“Thanks to these payments, services have stayed open, staff have been kept in work and families have had much needed fee relief during these lengthy lockdowns, Minister Tudge said.
“It is a condition of the payments that services pass on gap fee waivers to families, meaning our child care subsidies continue to flow to services, without parents paying for days their children can’t go to care.
“Now that our vaccination rates are soaring and lockdowns are ending, families can get back to work knowing their local child care centre or after school care is still open.
“Given each jurisdiction is easing restrictions at different rates, we will keep payments flowing until kids are allowed back to child care and back in classrooms.
“I want to take the opportunity to thank all the hard-working educators and staff who have remained on deck throughout the pandemic to care for the children of essential workers.”
The payments are in addition to existing supports, such as additional allowable absences from care and gap fee waivers which allow Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy to continue even when children are not attending.
Payments have been made to 3,405 services in NSW ($120 million), 2,586 in Victoria ($99 million) and 266 in the ACT ($15 million).
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, over $3 billion has been invested in the child care sector to support families.