16 News

The Greens say Labor’s decision today to wave through changes to the Electoral Act that will increase membership minimums and give existing parties veto power over new rivals’ names, limits democratic participation and entrenches the two-party system.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
“The Libs and Labor are running scared. They know they’re on the nose with the electorate and they know their share of the primary vote is collapsing. This is a blatant and utterly shameless attempt to shore up their power.
“Today, the old parties have told all Australians that they are willing to use their combined numbers in parliament to entrench their duopoly and shut out diverse voices.
“With an election looming dozens of minor parties are now at risk of being deregistered. It’s an attack on our democracy at a time when neither the Libs nor Labor can be trusted to act in the interests of anyone else other than their corporate donors.
“The Bill refers to ‘Party Registration Integrity’. Lack of integrity in the major parties is exactly why the crossbench is the largest in history. But rather than change their behaviour, the big parties just want to close the doors to new players.
“A healthy representative democracy should welcome wide and diverse political engagement. What does it say about our own democracy that both the government and opposition are in lockstep on such undemocratic reforms?
“Thankfully, Labor has backed the Greens in opposing changes that would saddle civil society organisations with significant financial and disclosure burdens and make it harder for them to engage in public debate. I urge the crossbench to join us in opposing those changes and protecting public interest advocacy.”

“First Nations people have been a priority group for the COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, yet our vaccination rates in Western NSW are among the lowest in the country,” said DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe, the Greens Senator for Victoria.
“When COVID-19 hit, governments around the country sent our communities body bags, not the PPE we asked for. I’m hearing reports of healthy people being forced to stay in overcrowded homes with people who have COVID-19. They need to stop blocking us from being healthy.
“People have been turned away from supermarkets and food has been withheld from families while staff underwent training. How much training to you need to deliver a box?
“Walgett only has a four–bed hospital, the next nearest hospital is three hours away. Smaller towns are entitled to the same quality of healthcare and access to essentials as major cities. These communities have been neglected for decades and because of this First Nations people are getting sicker and dying earlier. It’s not good enough.
“First Nations people know what’s best for our communities. Elders in western NSW are demanding more vaccines, nurses to support Aboriginal Medical Services and suitable accommodation so people can quarantine effectively and safely.
“Aboriginal children between the ages of 10 to 19 make up 40% of cases of COVID-19 in western NSW. We don’t know what impact COVID-19 has on growing bodies, but we shouldn’t be putting kids at risk. Children and teenagers must be included in vaccine targets now.” said Thorpe.
Greens Senator for NSW Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Communities across New South Wales and the country have been massively let down by a botched-up vaccine rollout. This has had disproportionate and harmful impacts on First Nations and multicultural communities across our state.
“Systemic racism has clearly played a role in the government’s failure to keep communities safe and an obsession with policing over public health measures that actually work.
“Communities must be supported, not vilified and blamed as part of a strategy to distract from the government’s own failures.”
The Greens are calling for all eligible 12+ year olds to immediately be included in vaccination targets and rollout, adequate resourcing in terms of medical supplies and personnel, full access to health services and more intensive care units to meet higher demand.

The Australian Greens have slammed Labor for joining the Liberals in allowing $21 million of public money to be handed to a company deeply connected to Minister Taylor and the Liberals, using public money to fund new gas projects in a time of climate crisis.
At today’s Labor Caucus meeting, the party confirmed it intends to vote with the government on a Greens disallowance motion that would have blocked $50m from being gifted to gas companies headquartered in tax havens that want to kick start a 6% rise in Australia’s pollution.
The Senate Environment Committee has uncovered compelling evidence of the scheme being rorted to suit Liberal Party donors and billionaire ‘Liberal Life Members’. Previous moves to challenge the gas-fired recovery have succeeded in the Senate with Labor’s support, but Labor’s vote with the government would ensure it is blocked.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:
“Yet again, Labor is siding with the Liberals to support gas and coal, forking over public money to corporate gas donors to fast-track climate collapse” Mr Bandt said.
“There’s 68 years’ worth of Australia’s pollution in the NT gas basins, and the gas needs to stay in the ground. In the middle of a climate crisis, public money should not go to new gas projects. Every time Labor votes with the Liberals, it pushes us closer to the existential brink.
“After Sports Rorts and Car Park grants, it’s shocking that Labor is backing another Liberal party slush fund. Everything about this grant scheme stinks.”
Australian Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Let’s be very clear what’s happened here: in the middle of a climate crisis the Morrison government has gifted $21 million in public money to a major donor’s company to frack the Northern Territory. And Labor today has said, ‘Yes, we think that’s fine.’
“Unlike Sportsrorts and Pork and Ride, the Senate could stop this rort from the start. The disallowance would have terminated a $50 million slush fund for Liberal party mates to cook the planet, put groundwater at risk, and ignore the wishes of First Nations communities. $50 million that could go to health, education, public housing. Labor had the chance to do things differently, and they folded. Again.
“We’re disappointed, but we shouldn’t be surprised. We know that Labor and the Libs dance to the tune of their massive corporate donors. Today is proof that both parties will sell out the environment, the climate and First Nations people to keep their campaign coffers full.”
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Beetaloo grants program has given millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a bunch of gas cowboys.
“The Department confirmed under evidence there was no proper due-diligence before granting millions of dollars of public money to the Liberal-linked Empire Energy. The $21m cheque was handed over on a ‘first in, first served’ basis.
“This is another rort with favours for mates, Liberal Party donors, and an alleged insider trader. The only criteria that seems to be applied to approving these grants is being mates with the Liberal Party.
“The evidence uncovered by the Senate Inquiry shows this fund has already been poorly administered and not only is the taxpayer being rorted, our climate is being ripped off too.
“The Parliament should not ignore this evidence and should vote to terminate this fund.”

The Greens have reiterated their calls for at least 80% of the whole population, including kids, to be vaccinated before we can start lifting restrictions, writing to Scott Morrison urging National Cabinet this Friday to agree to include children in vaccination targets.
Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said:
“Scott Morrison’s plan will have kids leaving the cave and going straight to the ICU,” Mr Bandt said.
“Yesterday I wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to stop excluding under 16s from the vaccination targets and to at least to seek further expert advice about the impact of Delta on children and teenagers.
“Morrison’s targets are a political solution to an epidemiological problem. Having lower targets might make them easier to meet but won’t make us safer.
“The Prime Minister is desperately trying to use vaccination targets as a club to bash the premiers, chief health officers, and public, but Delta infections and transmissions amongst children are rising and kids and teenagers need to be included in vaccination targets.
“Terrifying new modelling from ANU today highlights the risk of dropping restrictions before people have been able to get vaccinated. Grattan Institute modelling is clear that we need at least 80% of the entire population, including kids, vaccinated before we can open up safely.”
Greens spokesperson Health Senator Rachel Siewert said:
“The Government hasn’t settled on a vaccination target for Phase D yet. But when Morrison does finally release a plan for Phase D, it’s critical that the target rate includes children and teenagers and that the rate ensures we don’t end up with thousands of deaths and our ICUs overwhelmed.
“The ANU report today found that if we drop all public health measures and manage COVID like the flu, our health systems will be overrun with hospitalisations and we will see tens of thousands of deaths. There are now various models released and the Government needs to consider these and not just rely on the Doherty modelling as input.
“We can’t afford to have half-baked vaccination targets of 80% of the adult population, which actually equates to 65% of the entire population.
“This modelling gives a dangerous glimpse into what would happen if we reopen at 65% vaccination rates”

The Morrison Government has welcomed the passage in the Parliament of legislation to continue critical powers to respond to the evolving threat posed by terrorism.
The Government’s highest priority is to keep Australians safe. Our law enforcement and security agencies are among the best in the world and we have to ensure they have the powers they need.
The Counter‑Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Sunsetting Review and Other Measures) Bill 2021, passed yesterday evening, provides for the continuation of key counter-terrorism powers, including control orders and preventative detention orders, noting these provisions are still under review by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. The Bill also extends declared areas offences for a further three years, as recommended by the Committee.
These powers are critical to managing terrorism threats and remain a necessary component of Australia’s counter-terrorism framework in the current threat environment and looking to the future.
In particular, control orders are a vital tool for managing the terrorist risk posed by persons of concern. These orders allow a Federal Court to impose conditions on a person in the community. Since September 2014, when the national terrorism threat level was raised to ‘probable’, 21 control orders have been issued, the majority of which have been sought for terrorist offenders on their release from prison.
The Bill will also extend the reporting date for the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor’s review of continuing detention order provisions, noting that consultation for that review has been affected by COVID travel restrictions.
The first continuing detention order was made in December 2020, in relation to Mr Abdul Nacer Benbrika.
Since September 2014the Government has taken 22 tranches of legislation through Parliament, with the single purpose of keeping Australians safe.

The Morrison Government will provide additional targeted support for thousands of child care providers impacted by extended COVID-19 lockdowns, through new fortnightly payments.
Child care services in Commonwealth-declared hotspots will be eligible for payments of 25 per cent of their pre-lockdown revenue. Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services will be eligible for payments of 40 per cent.
This will apply to services seven days after the hotspot is declared, where states have directed families to keep their kids at home.
Where kids are still allowed to attend, the supports will kick in four weeks after the hotspot declaration.
The measure is in addition to the existing Commonwealth supports, including gap fee waivers which allow Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy to continue even when children are not attending.
The new payments will immediately benefit child care services in affected areas of Sydney and the ACT and OSHC services in Metropolitan Melbourne.
All other services in Metropolitan Melbourne, regional Victoria and regional NSW will become eligible after seven days of lockdown, and payments will be backdated to today.
The supports will also be available for services who meet the criteria in any future extended lockdowns.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the payments would immediately help around 3,600 services caring for almost 300,000 children in Greater Sydney, as well as nearly 900 OSHC services in Metropolitan Melbourne and nearly 300 services in the ACT.
“The child care and early education sector is critically important for Australian families and our economy, and these payments will help keep services open and staff employed,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“The sector has been doing an incredible job to provide essential care for Australian kids during the pandemic and we are backing them in while attendance rates are down.
“These payments will ensure our high quality child care and early education centres are there on the other side of these lockdowns.”
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the payments build on the support already being provided to the sector through the Child Care Subsidy and broader economic supports.
“Giving families additional absence days and allowing gap fee waivers has kept many children enrolled and means services have still been able to receive the Child Care Subsidy even if kids haven’t attended,” Minister Tudge said.
“Importantly the new payments are targeted to services that have seen attendance levels fall by at least 50 per cent and are conditional on centres keeping staff in work and passing on support for families.
“The measures will encourage services to pass on gap fee waivers to parents, meaning those keeping their kids home during lockdown won’t be paying out‑of‑pocket costs when they aren’t using the service.
“The package recognises the impact extended lockdowns are having on the sector.”
Payments will be contingent on services:
Streamlined payments will be available to services in around two weeks.
Families in affected areas are not required to do anything.

All National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants aged 12-15 years will be able to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from this Wednesday, 25 August. All NDIS participants aged 16 years and over became eligible in June.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said today’s decision by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) would make a big difference to the lives of children with disability and their families.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news to the disability sector and government and will help ensure some of our most vulnerable Australians can be vaccinated as soon as possible,” Minister Hunt said.
“This is an important protection for over 40,000 children with disability and we encourage their parents and carers to book them in for a vaccination and ensure they can be protected against COVID-19.”
NDIS participants join the current cohort of children aged 12-15 to be prioritised for the Pfizer vaccine, including:

• children with specified medical conditions that increase their risk of severe COVID-19, including severe asthma, diabetes, obesity, cardiac and circulatory congenital anomalies, neuro developmental disorders, epilepsy, immuno-compromised and trisomy 21
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• all children aged 12–15 years in remote communities, as part of broader community outreach vaccination programs that provide vaccines for all ages (≥12 years).

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC welcomed today’s announcement.
“I have made representations to Minister Hunt calling for eligibility to be expanded to all NDIS participants aged 12 to 15 years. I am so pleased ATAGI has now approved this expansion in the vaccine rollout for NDIS participants.
“I will continue to work with the disability sector and am passionate about ensuring our most vulnerable Australians are vaccinated as soon as possible.
“The COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the disability sector continues to increase at pace and there are now more than 8,200 vaccination points available.
“More than 123,000, or 46%, of NDIS participants over 16 years have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 28% have received two doses. This is an increase of more than 90,000 participants and a 300% increase since early June.
“More than 18,500, or 68% of NDIS participants in shared residential accommodation have received at least one dose, and almost 53% receiving two doses. This is an increase of more than 12,300, meaning we have tripled the number of people vaccinated since early June 2021.”
“Many participants require bespoke vaccination arrangements that are more complex than in the general population and aged care facilities. This includes the crucial need to ensure informed consent or appropriate decision-making for individuals before the vaccine is delivered and administered.
“There has been a concerted and sustained effort across Government and the disability sector to communicate the importance of vaccination, and to increase the points of access available to people with disability, including specialist disability vaccination hubs.”
The Government expects further recommendations regarding the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the remainder of children aged 12 to 15 shortly.
Parents and carers should check the COVID-19 eligibility checker from 25 August to book in their child’s vaccination.