The Greens have called on the PM to drop the veil of secrecy and release the review by Stephanie Foster into processes for responding to serious incidents at Parliament House.
Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:
“The Prime Minister’s description of what Ms Foster has recommended seems positive, but forgive me for not taking the PM’s word for it given his appalling track record on women’s equality and safety.
“The Prime Minister must release the Foster review. He must say whether he will act on her recommendations, on what timeframe, and with what resourcing.
“An independent complaints body is long overdue and has been called for by Brittany Higgins, and by many others including the Greens for many years.
“Important questions need answering which Ms Foster was unable to answer in senate estimates today.
“The Prime Minister must answer if and how the complaints body will be able to sanction MPs, given the gaping holes in existing processes, and given the Prime Minister’s track record of keeping alleged abusers within Cabinet.
“The Prime Minister must say if the recommended independent complaints body would be retrospective, and if workplace safety training would be compulsory for MPs.
“We know from Senate Estimates yesterday that policies for dealing with serious incidents have not been updated since Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape more than two years ago. It’s an astounding failure.
“After months of revelations of vile, abusive and misogynistic behaviour in this building the women who work in Parliament House can wait no longer for the PM to face up to his responsibilities and ensure a safe workplace for all.”
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Taylor AWOL while coal clunkers fail again
The Greens have today warned that the ongoing crisis in the Queensland energy market is a sign of things to come if we continue to rely on an aging coal fleet to keep the grid secure.
It has been reported that the fire at the Callide Power Station left over 470,000 homes and businesses without power, and the market operator was forced to issue a Level 2 Lack of Reserve notice at 4:44pm to manage the risk of further rolling blackouts.
CS Energy, the operator of Callide Power Station (and joint owner of Callide C with multinational InterGen), has announced this morning that one of their generating units may be out for up to 12 months, and are yet to confirm a timeframe for when the three remaining generating units will come back online
These events come at a critical juncture, with Minister Taylor having used his speech at the 2021 Australian Energy Week Conference on Tuesday to spruik a “physical retailer reliability obligation”, a scheme that would force electricity users to pay coal fired power stations for their available capacity.
“The Greens are relieved by the news that no-one was harmed by the fire at Callide Power Station”, said Adam Bandt, Leader of the Australian Greens
“However, Tuesday’s events make clear that we cannot rely on coal-fired power stations to keep the lights on while we transition to a zero emissions electricity grid.”
“It’s no surprise that 24 hours since the fire began, the Energy Minister is nowhere to be seen. The Liberals’ lie that coal is required for grid stability is unravelling before their eyes.
“Minister Taylor is trying to smuggle in a new scheme that would force households and business to subsidise our aging coal-fired power stations under the banner of ‘reliability’.
“With Australia’s increasingly unreliable coal-fired power station fleet, now is the time to press the accelerator on the renewables and batteries revolution
“Minister Taylor must now front the media and make clear how his new reliability scheme, which would push up bills for households and businesses, would supposedly prevent events like Tuesday’s coal-fired power outage from happening.
Promoting Cancer Screenings to Improve Early Detection Rates
The Australian Government is increasing its efforts to promote cancer screenings to support and improve outcomes for all Australians, including $9.7 million for a new National Bowel Cancer Screening Program awareness campaign.
The campaign will aim to increase the numbers of Australians taking their free bowel cancer test and will focus on men aged 50 to 59 years, people living in regional and remote Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and individuals from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities.
Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Australia and is more common in people over the age of 50. Each year, more than 15,000 cases are diagnosed and more than 5,000 lives are lost to bowel cancer.
When detected early, however, the great majority (around 90%) of bowel cancers can be successfully treated.
Bowel cancer is one of the types of cancer targeted by Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, Cancer Council Australia’s flagship event.
In 2020, the Biggest Morning Tea was hit hard by COVID-19. I encourage everyone to hold a morning tea or take part in one this year, in a COVID safe way.
Cancer Council Australia does fantastic work raising funds for research, funding prevention initiatives, communicating about cancer prevention and screening, and most importantly, providing support to people diagnosed with cancer.
Our Government is increasing its efforts on cancer screening to help more Australians to get early treatment and beat the disease.
As part of the 2021-22 Budget we announced a number of measures to support our already strong national cancer screening programs, including:
- more than $100 million to improve early detection of breast and cervical cancer, which includes $67 million to continue the expansion of BreastScreen Australia’s mammogram services to women aged 70 to74 years.
- $6.9 million in 2021-22 to establish the feasibility of a new national lung cancer program, and to trial new cancer care nurses for lung cancer patients; and
- $32.8 million with the aim of eliminating cervical cancer in Australia by 2035, through the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP).
Last month, we also held a Ministerial Roundtable with Cancer Australia, the first step in the development of a visionary ten-year Australian Cancer Plan.
The Plan will set out the key national priorities and action areas over the next 10 years to improve outcomes for Australian’s affected by cancer. It will also cover prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and palliative care, while providing for the unique needs of specific cancer types and populations.
These initiatives consolidate Australia as a world leader in the early detection of cancer.
130,000 Additional Vaccines for Victoria
The Australian Government is releasing an additional 130,000 vaccines to support Victoria to accelerate vaccinations in the state, including in the Whittlesea Local Government Area.
This support will be provided through an immediate release of 40,000 doses this week and an additional 15,000 doses each week for six weeks.
Further, from Monday, the Altona North Commonwealth Vaccination Clinic will commence vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine, this is in addition to the AstraZeneca vaccine they are currently administering.
All 16 residential aged care facilities in the Whittlesea Local Government Area are fully vaccinated.
In the surrounding Local Government Areas of Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik, 66 of the 67 residential aged care facilities have received at least one dose with the final residential aged care facility in these Local Government Area’s to receive their first dose clinic this week.
There are 598 residential aged care facilities in Victoria. 569 facilities have received a first dose clinic, with 361 fully vaccinated with both doses. The remaining 29 facilities will be prioritised.
The Government will provide further support as required to help Victoria to respond to this outbreak.
Landmark exhibition showcases art and culture of the Torres Strait
Works of art never before seen outside of the Torres Strait will be displayed in Newcastle as part of a landmark exhibition focusing on the artistic traditions of the Torres Strait Islander culture.
The Torres Strait Island flag was raised at City Hall today for the first time in the building’s 92-year history to coincide with the Newcastle Art Gallery exhibition. It will be flown at City Hall permanently as a mark of respect for the local Torres Strait community.
Four years in the making, WARWAR: The Art of Torres Strait was developed by Newcastle Art Gallery in collaboration with highly awarded artist and curator Brian Robinson.
It will include over 130 works of art drawn from the Gallery’s collection, as well as newly created pieces and key loans from, local, state and national institutions, artists and private collections.
Several pieces have not been seen outside of the Torres Strait, including new works from Badhulgaw Kuthinaw Mudh (Badu Art Centre), Ngalmun Lagau Minaral Arts (Moa Arts) and Erub Erwer Meta (Erub Arts).
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the free exhibition provided an important opportunity to strengthen ties with local Torres Strait Islanders and showcase their traditions and customs to the wider community.
The exhibition title, WARWAR, is a traditional Eastern Island word in the Meriam Mer language, which translates into English as ‘marked with a pattern’.
“WARWAR is a landmark event for Newcastle Art Gallery and the Hunter region, representing the first time a Torres Strait Islander exhibition of this calibre and size has been seen outside of a major city in Australia,” Cr Nelmes said.
“It provides an important opportunity for City of Newcastle to engage with our large Torres Strait Islander community, some who have never seen these culturally significant works of art before, or seen their culture celebrated in such a significant way.
“To strengthen these ties further, we raised the Torres Strait Island flag at City Hall for the first time in a special ceremony today in front of members of the local Torres Strait community. It will remain there permanently, even once the exhibition ends.”
Newcastle-based artist Toby Cedar, who won the 2020 CAIF Ports North Sculpture Award, and teaches dance and culture locally, said the exhibition was an important acknowledgement of Torres Strait Island culture.
“It is extremely special to me to be a part of this exhibition as it will be showcasing our rich Torres Strait Islander art and culture,” Mr Cedar said.
“For many people, the exhibition will be the first time they have learnt anything about the Torres Strait Islands and our People, which is very important to me. The way Brian has curated the exhibition in separate stages explains our history and stories very well.
“It is wonderful that all of the local and surrounding Torres Strait Islander communities will have access to view many of the artifacts from our past here right in NSW, with many of the pieces being shown for the first time.
“I will also be very proud to see our Torres Strait Island flag flown at City Hall for the first time with my family as it makes me feel my people are being included and acknowledged alongside the other flags that are already flown there.”
Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton said the Gallery had been actively acquiring works of art from Torres Strait Islander artists since 2017, many of which will be on display for the first time. Works of art on loan from major Australian institutions that have also never been publicly displayed before make the exhibition an incredible opportunity for the community to experience and gain a new appreciation and understanding of the culture here in Newcastle.
“WARWAR features a diverse range of works of art that showcase the evolution and strength of Torres Strait Islander tradition and society through arts practitioners from the 19th century and the emergence of the contemporary art traditions of today,” Ms Morton said.
“It explores issues of cultural maintenance, Christianity, language and the impact of globalisation on the physical environment of the Torres Strait Islands, which are located in the narrow stretch of water between the land masses of Zai Dagam Daudai (Australia) in the south and Naigai Dagam Daudai (Papua New Guinea) in the north.”
Exhibiting artists include Joseph Au, Grace Lilian Lee, Glen Mackie, Billy Missi, Laurie Nona, Brian Robinson, Dr Ken Thaiday and Alick Tipoti.
Guest curator Brian Robinson said Warwar: The Art of Torres Strait is an important part of the unique Ailan Kustom (island customs) from which wisdom, strength and creativity is drawn from.
“It is through visual art, dance, and song that ancestral stories and legends are maintained and passed on to the younger generation, and it is important that exhibitions such as this are supported to assist in this preservation,” Mr Robinson said.
“Newcastle Art Gallery have played a pivotal role in the co-curation of this unique exhibition, which contributes to the development, enhancement and understanding of this amazing indigenous culture.
“For the local Torres Strait Island communities, the exhibition is a way of reconnecting back to the islands; back to family and friends; back to a rich and vibrant history defined by amazing customs imbued with ceremonies and rituals that have endured for thousands of years.”
WARWAR: The Art of Torres Strait will run from 29 May – 22 August 2021 at Newcastle Art Gallery and has been specifically timed to coincide with significant dates including Mabo Day, Reconciliation Week, ‘Coming of the Light’ and NAIDOC Week.
Newcastle Art Gallery will program bespoke events on each significant date in collaboration with local Torres Strait Island artists and performers, while a Curator and Artist Talk will be held on Saturday 3 July featuring exhibition guest curator Brian Robinson and local artist Toby Cedar in conversation with Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton.
South West Sydney’s Newsest High School Opens
Students at one of NSW’s newest high schools officially opened their school today with the Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell and Member for Wollondilly Nathaniel Smith.
The students moved into the multimillion-dollar redeveloped Picton High School last month, one of five new and upgraded schools in NSW to open their doors in Term 2.
The $112 million Picton High School caters for students from Years 7-12, with 73 new learning spaces,administrative staff and support facilities, a new library and a covered outdoor learning area (COLA).
The project also included the refurbishment of 11 teaching spaces, new special education facilities and an upgrade of the existing bus and car pickup and drop-off area to increase safety for all users.
Ms Mitchell said it was exciting to visit the school and see how much students and staff were enjoying the new classrooms and facilities.
“Communities across NSW are seeing real improvements at their local schools, with everything from new canteens and playgrounds, to major upgrades, new schools and redevelopments like we see here at Picton High School,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The Liberals & Nationals Government have delivered 15 new and upgraded schools this year as part of our ongoing and record-breaking investment in school infrastructure.”
Member for Wollondilly Nathaniel Smith was excited with the delivery of this major redevelopment for his electorate.
“We want all our students to have the very best learning environments, and these great new facilities at Picton High School will benefit the local community for generations to come,” Mr Smith said.
The new school will accommodate approximately 1,500 students and has been master planned to allow future expansion. The sporting fields and an agricultural shed are due for completion in late 2021.
The NSW Government is investing $7 billion over four years, continuing its program to deliver more than 200 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.
National Sorry Day
Today we commemorate the Stolen Generations on National Sorry Day.
On this day we remember the Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities as a result of past government policies of assimilation.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Don Harwin said the NSW Government has previously made a 10-year commitment to provide reparations for the Stolen Generations.
“Today is a day to recognise the grief, suffering and loss endured by the Stolen Generations and the ripple effects still felt today,” Mr Harwin said.
“The state government will provide direct resources to Stolen Generation Organisations to support survivor-led collective healing for survivors and their descendants.”
The NSW Government has already committed $3 million in new funding to preserve sites of the former Aboriginal children’s homes in Kinchela, Bomaderry, Cootamundra and Parramatta. The former homes are sites of truth telling and education.
“It is a privilege to work with the Stolen Generations Advisory Committee. I especially want to acknowledge the courage, determination and strength of Stolen Generations survivors. It is their leadership inspiring change to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma,” Mr Harwin said.
“These sites hold memories of unimaginable childhood trauma, heartbreaking loss and terrible abuse suffered by many Stolen Generations survivors. By working with survivors to preserve the memories of these sites we will ensure the legacy of this history is never forgotten.”
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Religious and Multicultural leaders receive covid-19 vaccine
More than 30 NSW religious and community leaders have come together to encourage all eligible individuals from diverse faith and cultural communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The leaders met with Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard and Minister for Multiculturalism Geoff Lee at the mass vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park.
“Thank you to community leaders across NSW who have shown leadership throughout the pandemic and continue to provide trusted information to their communities. It is critical to vaccinate our citizens as quickly and as safely as possible,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“There are Cultural Support Workers at the mass vaccination centre who can guide people through the entire process in 25 different languages.”
The mass vaccination centre is now administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to members of the general public aged 50 and over, along with GPs and other NSW Health clinics throughout the state.
The majority of the community leaders have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
More than 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered across the state, including more than 360,000 by NSW Health and more than 760,000 by GPs and related providers.
Mr Hazzard thanked the leaders for guiding their communities through such a difficult year in our fight against the virus.
“The pandemic has been extremely challenging for everybody, including people of faith, with many of the normal practices turned on their head, but vaccination is our path back to normal,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Our message to all members of the community is simple – get the COVID vaccine, it will help keep you and your loved ones safe and out of our intensive care units.”
Mr Lee said the COVID-19 vaccine has been taken up across faith communities and encouraged community members to get the vaccine.
“We are working with our faith and community leaders to ensure everyone in our community has access to reliable information about the COVID-19 vaccines,” Mr Lee said.
People aged 50 and over are encouraged to book their AstraZeneca vaccination through their GP in the first instance, but if they are unable to obtain the vaccine from their GP, appointments can also be booked in NSW Health clinics.
Those aged 40-49 can now also register their interest in receiving the Pfizer vaccine. They will be contacted and invited to make a booking when there is availability at clinics.
To book a vaccine and for more information go to: nsw.gov.au/
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccines in your language, please see:
https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-information-in-your-language
Police investigate stabbing – Muswellbrook
A man has been airlifted to hospital following a stabbing last night in the state’s Hunter Valley region.
About 6pm (Wednesday 26 May 2021), emergency services attended Tobruk Avenue at Muswellbrook following reports a man had suffered stab wounds.
Police have been told the 18-year-old was walking in a laneway between Glenbawn Place and Tobruk Avenue when he was approached by two males and assaulted.
The injured man realised he was stabbed in back and upper arm.
He was able to walk to a nearby residence where he was assisted, and police were contacted.
The man was treated at the scene before he was taken to Muswellbrook Hospital. He was then airlifted to John Hunter Hospital with a punctured lung and remains in a stable condition.
A crime scene was established and was forensically examined.
Officers from the Hunter Valley Police District are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Man in critical condition following collision – Lake Macquarie
Two people have been injured, one critical, after four cars collided near Lake Macquarie this morning.
About 6.45am (Thursday 27 May 2021), emergency services were called to the northbound lanes of the M1 Motorway at Cooranbong, about five kilometres north of the Mandalong Road exit, following reports of a crash between four cars.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated a man aged in his 70s – before he was airlifted to John Hunter Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.
A second male, believed to be aged in his 50s from a different vehicle was also treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.
Officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police District and Traffic and Highway Patrol attended and established a crime scene that will be examined by the Crash Investigation Unit to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
It is expected there will be traffic diversions in place for some time while specialist police conduct an examination of the crash site.
For the latest traffic updates, go to livetraffic.com
As inquiries continue, police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam vision to contact police.