16 News

The Greens say the Government should abandon the Cashless Debit Card not continue to throw money at the failed punitive program.
“The $30 million “Job Ready Package” intended for the Cashless Debit Card Trial sites must be invested in supportive measures, for all people in regional, rural and remote areas that need support and training.
“According to a budget leak some portion of the “Job Ready Package” money will be allocated to assisting with helping people get tax file numbers, driver’s licences or other documentation, this should be happening right now in all areas.
“It’s frankly ridiculous that Employment Providers who are being paid billions in Government money are not already providing this essential and very basic support.
“Helping people address key barriers like poverty or assistance with administration or access to the internet has been recommended extensively by people in the Jobactive program and by experts for years.
“Now we finally have some tacit acknowledgement that we need to help people address what is stopping them finding work rather than just punishing them or telling them to “get a job”.
“It’s appalling that Government Senators keep spinning out their tired lines on how good the Cashless Debit Card is. It’s absolute rubbish and it needs to be called out.
“This Government has been unable to provide ANY compelling evidence that the card has had a positive outcome or achieved any of its supposed aims.
“The Government has spent billions pushing this punitive scheme, and millions on flawed evaluations trying to prove that this approach works and to justify their punitive approach.
“Government Senators claim they know what communities want when First Nations organisations have been extremely clear that this card is contrary to the Closing the Gap objectives of self-determination and free, prior informed consent.
“The card doesn’t work. It’s racist, discriminatory and punitive. If there was a genuine will to assist people with the barriers they face we would see investments in wrap around services that are delivered by the community and abandonment of the card.
“This card causes loss of dignity, shame and stigmatisation, this is what people have said when asked in the Government’s evaluations.”

An Albanese Labor Government will make it the first priority of Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund to deliver mRNA vaccine and RNA medicine manufacturing capacity right here in Australia, creating jobs and a new high-tech manufacturing industry.
The Morrison Government has had over a year to invest in this capability and they haven’t, once again leaving Australia missing out on new jobs and manufacturing opportunities.
We currently do not have capacity to manufacture state of the art mRNA vaccines and RNA medicines like the Pfizer vaccine in Australia and this not only undermines our ability to tackle the COVID-19 crisis over the longer term, but it means we miss out on a new global industry estimated to be worth $5.5 billion in just three years’ time.
That is why the first task of Labor’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund will be to explore partnerships with key industry players, states and investors to deliver the latest mRNA vaccine and medicine manufacturing technology to our shores to grow jobs, boost our recovery and safeguard our health and security.
Labor’s plan is about more than just a COVID-19 vaccination, it is about creating the advanced manufacturing industries that will power good new jobs and a stronger economy and provide an ongoing sovereign capability for decades to come.
mRNA vaccines and RNA medicine is state of the art technology, and with Labor’s priority to manufacture this science here, we will have more promising, effective medications like flu vaccines, high blood pressure medications, statins and cancer treatments and vaccines.
We don’t want to be caught off guard like this again. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us we need to be a country which makes things, and the state of the art sovereign vaccine capability should be top of the list.
Under Labor, Australia won’t be left behind. Under Scott Morrison, we already have been.
Labor has a plan for reconstruction that will rebuild Australia’s manufacturing base, create good jobs and safeguard our health and prosperity.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has been successful in another prosecution of unlawful conduct in the building and construction industry.
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) and several of its NSW officials have been penalised more than $1 million for coercing and unlawfully picketing a Sydney-based crane company, Botany Cranes, in January 2019.
The officials admitted to the conduct that was aimed at coercing Botany Cranes to sign-up to a CFMMEU enterprise agreement and reinstate a CFMMEU delegate.
The Morrison Government re-established the independent ABCC on 2 December 2016, to ensure building and construction sites are fair, efficient and productive. This is the second highest penalty since the agency was re-established.
As noted in the Court ruling: “The [CFMMEU] is a serial recidivist in such contravening behaviours…its history of contraventions of industrial law is appalling. That history reflects an embedded culture throughout the organisation of conscious and often, as here, flagrant breaches of the law.”
“…Its conduct, through its three senior officials in this proceeding, displayed utter contempt for the rule of law… Its conduct here demonstrates that the culture of the Union, and its senior officials, is simply “might is right” or “Union – power”. That conduct has no place in our society…
To date, more than $25.7 million in penalties have been awarded in cases brought by the ABCC and its predecessor agencies, with more than $13.7 million in penalties awarded since the ABCC was re-established in December 2016. The CFMMEU and its officials account for the majority of these penalties, at nearly $12.4 million.
Despite profligate law-breaking by unions and tens of millions of dollars in fines, Anthony Albanese and the Labor party want to abolish the organisation holding unions to account.
By proposing to dismantle the independent organisation charged with ensuring promoting and enforcing compliance with workplace laws, Labor is sending a clear message that unions like the CFMMEU need fewer checks and balances, not more.
It is clear Labor is on the side of union officials and not the workers, who will ultimately have to foot the bill for these significant fines.
The building and construction industry that employs 1.1 million people should be able to get on with the job without disruptions and delays caused by coercion and unlawful pickets.

The Australian Government is investing an additional $6.7 million to support and improve outcomes for all Australians affected by cancer.
In 2020, an estimated 150,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia, with around 50,000 Australians tragically passing away.
As part of this investment;

• $4.7 million to support strengthening supportive and primary cancer care and genomic cancer clinical trials in Australia; national leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer control, and the development of an Optimal Care Pathway for Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs).
• $2 million to investigate children’s brain cancer, breast cancer, melanoma and lymphoma, and other important areas of cancer research through Cancer Australia’s Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS)

The funding will be delivered in partnership with Cancer Australia, who today is convening a Ministerial Roundtable at Parliament House as part of the first step in the development of a visionary ten-year Australian Cancer Plan.
The Australian Cancer 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.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said, investing in cancer research and support and the establishment of an Australian Cancer Plan demonstrated the Government’s commitment improving cancer outcomes.
“While Australia is a world leader in cancer control and we have made great strides in improving cancer mortality and survival rates, cancer still has significant impacts on individuals, families, communities and the health system,” said Minister Hunt.
“We must continue to take action to address the multifaceted challenge of tackling cancer and in particular the disparities in outcomes among cancer types and many population groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
CEO of Cancer Australia, Professor Dorothy Keefe thanked the Minister for the opportunity to develop an innovative Australian Cancer Plan in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, and to establish a framework for shared responsibility for implementation.
“The heart of modern medicine should be patient centred care that focuses on equity of outcome”, said Professor Keefe.
“The Plan will build on current achievements, investments, capabilities and current evidence, but with a focus on the future of patient centred and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander focussed cancer care. It will harness emerging evidence, technologies and innovations to improve outcomes and benefit all Australians affected by cancer.”
Cancer Australia will develop the Australian Cancer Plan in consultation with key stakeholders within two years.