Author: admin

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to Labor’s move to dump its commitment to winding back negative gearing.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This is a cowardly and pathetic backflip. House prices and rents are skyrocketing, and Labor is throwing fuel on the fire.
“In the middle of a housing affordability crisis, Labor has caved to wealthy investors and the Liberals. This is a shocking move and a betrayal of young people in particular.
“Not too long ago, Labor was calling out negative gearing and the CGT discount as ‘tax subsidies’ that ‘benefit the wealthiest Australians’ and are ‘skewed to high income earners’. What, exactly, has changed?
“It seems that for Labor, short-term, cheap politics have trumped any semblance of a commitment to progressive and equitable public policy. Shame!”

The Morrison Government must urgently deliver targeted and adequate funding support to the the Arts and Entertainment Industry, the Greens say.
Greens Spokesperson for Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“Australia’s Arts and Entertainment Industry has been pummelled by this crisis from the very beginning and it is still suffering.
“The Morrison Government has failed to provide adequate support to help the Industry survive, to help workers put food on the table and pay rent, and to keep doors open in the future.
“The Greens are calling for the RISE fund to be uncapped so that those who need support can get it.
“The Morrison Government had no problems uncapping the grants for the construction industry and extending initial funding even further, why won’t they do the same for the arts and entertainment industry?
“The arts, entertainment and tourism industries in particular, have not been able to recover and have had little support. JobKeeper should never have been taken away and should be reinstated immediately.
“The government must also establish a federal insurance guarantee for the Arts Industry.
“Gigs and festivals across the country have been cancelled or postponed and not for the first time. The industry needs to know it is insured for any losses incurred due to snap lockdowns and Covid outbreaks or it will struggle to reschedule events and recover.
“I wrote to the Treasurer and Arts Minister months ago calling for an insurance guarantee. It seems much like the pleas of the entire Industry, this has fallen on deaf ears.
“The support given by the Morrison Government to workers in lockdown states is insufficient and will not help many artists and entertainers due to the nature of their work.
“The Arts Minister needs to show he truly understands the Industry he is supposed to represent and start walking the talk, by making more money available and getting it out the door faster.
“We stand to lose a generation of artists and entertainers, many have been lost during the past year already, it will be on the Morrison Government if that happens.”

Labor’s Powerful, Transparent and Independent National Anti-Corruption Commission

An Albanese Labor Government will establish a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The ever-growing list of scandals surrounding the Morrison Government shows why Australia needs a powerful and independent anti-corruption commission and why Mr Morrison and his colleagues will do everything they can to stop one from being established.
The Liberals deny there is a problem, make endless excuses, and have put forward a draft bill for a commission designed to be so weak, so secretive and so lacking in independence that instead of exposing corruption, it would cover it up.
Every state and territory in Australia has its own anti-corruption commission and Labor believes it is now long past time for a Commonwealth body to be established to tackle corruption in the federal government.
Anti-corruption commissions are powerful and independent investigatory bodies that serve the public by uncovering corruption and by ensuring that members of a government, including politicians, are held to account if they engage in corrupt conduct.
The Albanese Labor Government’s National Anti-Corruption Commission will operate as a standing Royal Commission into serious and systemic corruption in the federal government. It will have a broad jurisdiction to investigate and hold to account Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians, personal staff of politicians and other Commonwealth public officials.
Labor’s National Anti-Corruption Commission will also be able to ‘follow the money’, meaning it can also investigate private individuals and companies involved in systemic and serious corruption by public officials.
This is in stark contrast to Mr Morrison’s weak and conflicted proposal which would be unable to instigate its own independent inquiries into Government corruption, prevented from holding public hearings into politicians or public servants, and banned from investigating any of the multiple past scandals of the Morrison Government.
After eight long years in office the Liberals have failed to take any action to tackle corruption, leaving the Commonwealth the only Australian government without a body dedicated to tackling corruption by public officials.
The Morrison Government’s refusal to honour its election promise is allowing corruption to go unchecked, enabling ministers to avoid being held to account for their actions and undermining public confidence in the Australian Government.
An Albanese Labor Government will put an end to the Morrison Government’s shameful inaction by establishing a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission.

An Albanese Labor Government will deliver the same legislated tax relief to more than 9 million Australians as the Morrison Government.
The Shadow Cabinet and Caucus have today confirmed that Labor in government will uphold the legislated changes to personal income taxes and maintain the existing regimes for negative gearing and capital gains tax.
Labor is providing certainty and clarity to Australian working families after a difficult two years for our country and the world.
Our focus is on making sure Australia emerges from this crisis stronger and more resilient – with an economy that works for working families not the other way around.
When it comes to the economy, the next election will be about the Prime Minister’s dangerous and costly failures to manage the pandemic.
His failures on vaccines and quarantines have caused lockdowns 18 months into this pandemic, and those lockdowns are causing billions of dollars in damage to the economy.
Over eight long years in government, the Coalition’s record is clear in the lives of everyday Australians: stagnant wages, insecure jobs, increased costs for health care and childcare, longer waits to see a GP, and a trillion dollars in debt.
Their own Budget forecasts a decline in real wages over the next four years and independent analysis by the McKell Institute shows that their policies have made the average worker $13,000 a year worse off.
Improving the Budget is all about growing the economy, cracking down on waste and rorts, creating more opportunities for more Australians in more parts of the country, and creating a society that is stronger after COVID-19 than it was before.
It also means ensuring our broader tax system is fair and sustainable, especially when it comes to making sure that multinational corporations are paying their fair share of tax and we will have more to say about that.
After promising eight surpluses and delivering eight deficits – including the largest in Australia’s history – this Government’s only legacy will be generational debt without a generational dividend.

The Morrison Government has secured an additional 85 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, providing access to additional booster vaccinations that will protect Australians in the future.
Through continued engagement with Pfizer-BioNTech, the Government has secured 60 million doses in 2022, and 25 million doses in 2023. Delivery will begin in the first quarter of 2022 and enable booster coverage throughout the year.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new supply schedule that the Government had successfully negotiated with Pfizer-BioNTech would provide every Australian with a booster vaccine if required.
“We have secured an additional 85 million doses of Pfizer, which brings Australia’s total Pfizer doses to 125 million,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is a significant shot in the arm for Australia’s vaccine supply. Every Australian will have access to a booster shot if it is needed.
“This will ensure individuals, families and communities have certainty about their continued protection against the evolving threat of COVID-19 over the next two years. We have turned the corner in Australia’s vaccine programme and this is another milestone on our pathway back to a normal life.”
Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said this reaffirmed the nation’s vaccine supply and provided additional capability to manage booster timing requirements if recommended by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
“These additional doses further expands and strengthens Australia’s vaccine capacity,” Minister Hunt said.
“More than 280 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been secured to support the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.”
“We’ve taken this step on advice from the expert Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group.”

The Australian Government is launching its 10th DonateLife Week today by calling on the country to take just one minute to join The Great Registration Race for DonateLife Week and register as organ and tissue donors.
Launching DonateLife Week today, the Minister responsible for the Australian Government’s national program to increase organ and tissue donation, Dr David Gillespie, said there are around 13 million Australians aged 16+ who are eligible to register as organ and tissue donors – but haven’t. People aged 25 and under, those born overseas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are least likely to be registered.
“Having spent the majority of my career as a doctor, organ donation is a topic close to many clinicians’ hearts, including mine,” Minister Gillespie said.
“We know most Australians actually support organ and tissue donation, in fact, a recent poll of 60,000 Australians showed 4 out of 5 say they’d be willing to donate their organs when they die.
“So the problem isn’t that Australians are against organ and tissue donation – it’s that they’re not sure if they’re eligible to register, don’t know how to or simply haven’t got around to it.”
Last year saw a 12 per cent reduction in the number of people receiving a transplant, a 16 per cent decrease in organ donors and a 16 per cent drop in registrations due to the impact of COVID-19.
“With around 1,800 Australians on the organ transplant waitlist, including almost 40 kids and teens aged 18 and under, the demand for donors has never been greater,” Minister Gillespie said.
“I encourage every Australian to take a minute of their time and get online this DonateLife Week and register, and just as important – tell their family they want to be a donor.
“Any Australian aged 16 and over can sign up online. It doesn’t matter how old you are, your medical history, your lifestyle, what country you’re from or how healthy you are – you can still register as an organ and tissue donor.
“Don’t rule yourself out even if you think you’ve lived an unhealthy life or have suffered illness; let doctors make that decision if the time comes.
“Even if you are unable to donate your organs, you could still transform the lives of others by donating tissue, such as bone, skin or corneas which could help someone suffering burns, significant sporting injuries or facing blindness.”
The Great Registration Race for DonateLife Week runs through July and August with a big push from today for DonateLife Week, encouraging up to 100,000 more Australians to get their phone and Medicare card out to register and get involved.
“Imagine the hope this can bring to these 1,800 Australians waiting for a life-saving transplant if they see 100,000 people register as donors? This really could save and transform lives.”
DonateLife Week is the Australian Government’s key public awareness initiative to encourage people to register as organ and tissue donors and to tell their family they want to be a donor.
Registering is easy and only takes one minute at donatelife.gov.au/register