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Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said Australia should never have got involved in the Afghanistan War and the decision today to follow the US lead, and return our 80 remaining troops by September, had come two decades too late.
“The Afghanistan War has been an absolute disaster,” Senator Steele-John said, “Knowing what we know now, Australia never should have taken part.”
“The complete lack of any overarching strategic objective from the very beginning meant that troops on the ground were left to their own devices.
“Furthermore, the lack of oversight from chain of command meant that individual patrol commanders were enabled to set their own objectives which, as we have seen from the horrific allegations in the Brereton Inquiry report, fell far outside the behaviour Australians expect from our troops.
“The war has had a terrible and lasting impact on the Afghani people, whose country we occupied for two decades. Innocent people, including children, are dead, families have been torn apart and villages have been left in ruin.
“On top of the dreadful cost that we also have paid dearly in the lives of our own, and in resources, Australia must acknowledge the terrible legacy that we have left in Afghanistan and compensate the families, and the communities, affected by our occupation.”

Today, Thursday, 15 April 2021, marks 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its findings, along with 339 recommendations.
In the three decades since the landmark inquiry, 474 First Nations people have died – that we know about – either in custody or in police pursuits.
Too often these deaths are the result of assault, neglect or preventable suicide. There are proven ways to reduce the causes of incarceration and reduce deaths in custody, and as a nation, it’s time we got on with it.
First Australians represent three per cent of the general population.
But in the time since the Royal Commission, First Nations people as a proportion of the imprisoned population – adults and our young people – has doubled from 14 per cent to 30 per cent.
In some places, it is nearly 90 per cent.
If we want to reduce deaths in custody, we need to reduce incarceration rates.
If we want to reduce incarceration rates, we need to reduce crime and recidivism.
If we want to reduce crime and recidivism, we need to break the cycle of disadvantage – the socio-economic drivers of these unacceptable trends.
This is why Labor is announcing a suite of substantive measures today to begin to turn the tide on the incarceration and the deaths:

• Expanding justice re-investment to tackle the root causes of crime and recidivism;
• Ensuring coronial inquests into deaths in custody are comprehensive, adequately resourced and inclusive of the voices of families and First Nations communities; and
• The establishment of national consolidated real-time reporting of deaths in custody.

$79M TO EXPAND JUSTICE REINVESTMENT
It is no longer good enough just to be tough on crime. We need to be smart and effective on it too. We need to be tough on the causes of crime – the socio-economic drivers of disadvantage.
Labor will boost funding for up to 30 communities to establish justice reinvestment initiatives from 2023 to expand existing services to reduce crime and recidivism – including rehabilitation services; family or domestic violence support; homelessness support and school retention initiatives.
It involves a community-led and holistic approach to keeping at risk individuals out of the criminal justice system.
And it necessarily requires co-ordination with local police and courts.
States and territories would contribute half of the program costs and will benefit from reduced prison costs.
We will establish an independent national justice reinvestment unit to assist communities and evaluate program performance.
To be successful, justice re-investment initiatives will need to be tailored to local needs and developed in partnership with First Nations communities and organisations, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and with Family Violence and Prevention Legal Services to ensure that the voices and experiences of First Nations women are heard.
In Bourke, the community-led Maranguka Project is an example of justice reinvestment delivering results. Anevaluation by KPMG showed significant reductions in domestic violence, re-offending and juvenile charges, along with improved school retention.
The project was assessed as saving the NSW economy $3.1 million, five times the operating cost of the project in the same year.
Justice reinvestment projects are now being established in Mt Druitt and Moree.
A federal justice re-investment body and federal and state support for justice reinvestment were recommendations of the Australian Law reform Commission’s 2018 Pathways to Justice report.
On average, it costs $110,000 per year to keep someone in prison. Over time, justice re-investment means fewer people will be in prison, more than paying for the up-front cost of the programs. It means less crime and savings for taxpayers.
$13.5M FOR MORE EFFECTIVE CORONIAL INQUESTS
Coronial inquests should lead to real and lasting change, preventing deaths in custody and saving lives.
Coronial inquests should be comprehensive and more inclusive, by ensuring that the voices of families and First Nations communities are heard.
Labor will provide specific standalone funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services to ensure First Nations families can access culturally appropriate, timely, and fair legal assistance before, during and after all coronial processes.
CONSOLIDATED REAL-TIME REPORTING OF DEATHS IN CUSTODY
And Labor will establish consolidated real-time reporting of First Nations deaths in custody at a national level.
In government, Labor will convene a national summit bringing together First Nations and state and territory representatives to ensure coordinated action on First Nations deaths in custody.
Labor would work with the states and territories to set up a national process for real-time reporting of deaths in custody, with all deaths to be publicly reported within 24 hours.

The release of a new report shows only the Greens have a climate policy in line with the science.
The Climate Council report, Aim High, Go Fast, which drew from new data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies the need for 75% emissions reduction from Australia by 2030 – in line with the Greens policy but 3 times the Coalition’s current target (26-28%). Meanwhile the Labor party has no articulated 2030 target at all.
The Greens announced updated targets in June 2020 which match the ambition outlined in the new report.
Today the Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, called on the government and opposition to accept science-based targets of 75% by 2030 and net zero by 2035 ahead of the Climate Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.
“The reality is stark and should be a call to drastic action for anyone who acknowledges the science,” Greens Leader Adam Bandt said.
“A tripling of our target is the only way to have any chance of keeping within our carbon budget.
“There is nowhere for the Liberals and Labor to hide. To have any credibility on climate they need to adopt these targets and rapidly transition out of gas and coal.
“For politicians that want to be honest with coal communities and the Australian public at large, this report reiterates what that honesty looks like. If you don’t have a plan to get out of gas and coal, your climate plan is a sham.
“The repeal of the successful Greens-Labor price on carbon has proven to be an act of economic and environmental sabotage. If we had continued on that trajectory we would be marching into these global summits as players in the new green economy, but instead we’re a target of ridicule and potential sanctions.
“The good news is that the rest of the world are lifting their ambition, but that makes the Australian government’s position a diplomatic as well as a climate risk,” Bandt said.

The Australian Government is getting on with the job of rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to regional, remote and rural Australia, with almost 500 facilities in New South Wales signed up to administer the vaccine.
Federal Regional Health Minister and Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton today visited a clinic in Gunnedah, NSW where the rollout is underway.
“I’m pleased to be at Barber Street Practice in Gunnedah to visit one of the many GP clinics across rural Australia which has signed up to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations,” Minister Coulton said.
“Everyone, no matter where they live in Australia, will be offered a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is free and the consult appointment for patients to receive their vaccinations is also free.”
The Government has established almost 1,500 primary care vaccination sites in rural Australia to administer vaccines under phase 1b to support Australians living in rural, regional and remote communities.
“Although cases of the virus have remained low in rural Australia, the Government’s targeted COVID-19 vaccine program will keep communities, like Gunnedah, safe,” Minister Coulton said.
“GP clinics, like this, provide a great service to their local community, as do all doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals living and working in country Australia.
“I’m pleased to see so many people in rural, regional and remote Australia continue to be eager to get the jab when it’s their turn.”
The COVID-19 vaccination program is one of the largest logistical exercises in Australia’s history – protecting the lives of millions of people across the country.
The Government is working closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services, general practices, state and territory governments, Primary Health Networks, General Practitioner-led Respiratory Clinics and community pharmacies, to ensure that everyone living outside our major cities has access to COVID-19 vaccinations if they choose to.
Recent updated advice from the vaccine expert taskforce, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to the Government is that the risk of a very specific blood clotting side effect from the AstraZeneca vaccine is four to six in one million people.
This is a rare, but serious side effect of this particular vaccine so on that basis the recommendation is that it is preferred that the Pfizer vaccine be provided to adults under the age of 50.
The Government is working through this implication with the states and territories as an urgent priority.
Minister Coulton said it was important to note the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine remains highly effective at preventing death and severe illness among people who have contracted COVID-19—and the incidence of this blood-clotting syndrome is very rare.
For more information about the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy, visit health.gov.au.

Labour force figures released today by the ABS show that the Australian labour market continued to recover strongly in March 2021, with employment increasing by a robust 70,700 over the month, exceeding all market expectations.
There are now a record 13,077,600 Australians in work, with the level of employment now 74,300 (or 0.6 per cent) above its pre-COVID level in March 2020 and 947,100 (or 7.8 per cent) higher than the trough in the labour market recorded in May 2020.
The increase in employment over the month was due, entirely, to a rise in part-time jobs, which increased by 91,500 (or 2.2 per cent) in March, to a record high of 4,203,400. Part-time employment is now 76,800 (or 1.9 per cent) above the level recorded in March 2020.
While full-time employment fell by 20,800 (or 0.2 per cent) over the month, to 8,874,200 in March 2021, the decline this month was not surprising, given the five consecutive monthly increases totalling 359,600 recorded between October 2020 and February 2021.
Women accounted for the vast majority of the rise in employment in March, up by 55,400 (or 0.9 per cent), to a record high of 6,229,600 in March 2021, while male employment also rose, by 15,300 (or 0.2 per cent).
Aggregate hours worked continued to increase in March, up by 38.3 million hours (or 2.2 per cent), and are now 21.8 million hours (or 1.2 per cent) above the level recorded in March 2020.
The level of unemployment in Australia fell by 27,100 (or 3.4 per cent) over the month, to 778,100 in March 2021, but remains 62,100 (or 8.7 per cent) higher than it was a year ago.
The unemployment rate also decreased over the month, by 0.2 percentage points, to 5.6 per cent, but is still above the 5.2 per cent recorded in March 2020.
The stronger labour market conditions that continued into March also encouraged more people to enter the labour market, with the participation rate increasing by 0.2 percentage points over the month, to an historic high of 66.3 per cent in March 2021, above the 65.9 per cent recorded a year ago.
The rise in overall participation was driven, entirely, by women, with the female participation rate increasing by 0.4 percentage points over the month, to a record high of 61.8 per cent in March 2021.
The Government welcomes today’s positive labour force results, but acknowledges the economic and labour market fallout from COVID-19 will continue for some time to come. The Government has provided unprecedented direct economic support to help rebuild the economy and put Australia back on the road to recovery.
This includes record levels of investment in skills and training, new infrastructure projects, tax cuts, unprecedented business investment incentives and new targeted support, such as the $1.2 billion aviation and tourism package.
The Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, described as ‘key’ to saving jobs by the OECD, will continue to create employment opportunities in Australia and will help to secure this country’s economic and labour market future.

Australian Greens Disability spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today the Government’s plans to stall the introduction of compulsory independent assessments was an acknowledgement of the broad opposition to the controversial changes from disabled people and peak advocacy organisations.
“It’s pretty clear that the new NDIS Minister has seen the writing on the wall about compulsory independent assessments,” Steele-John said, “Which is a direct result of pressure from our community, who have been campaigning against them from the very beginning!”
“But, the Liberals have a track record of introducing dodgy legislation, pushing it back due to community pressure only to re-introduce it later on when everyone’s guard is down.
“This is exactly the same tactics this government used to ram the racist cashless debit card legislation through the Senate in the final hours before we parted for Christmas break at the end of last year, and it is exactly what I anticipate they will do with these changes to our NDIS.
“We must not back down now. Earlier this week we saw proof – in the form of a leaked internal document – that Scott Morrison and the Liberals are trying to kick disabled people off the NDIS and cut money out of our plans because they think that disabled people are a financial burden.
“When the plan to introduce compulsory independent assessments was announced, our community said very clearly that this proposal was just a smokescreen for blocking access and cutting support.
“Scott Morrison, the Liberals and their mates in the agency told us we were being ridiculous; they told us these changes were about “consistency” and “fairness”. We knew they were lying and now we have proof.
“Let’s be clear – the Morrison government has been gaslighting disabled people for years about their plans for the NDIS. Why would we trust them now when they say they will consider the evidence and feedback from the second Independent Assessment trial before making a decision about the future of these changes?
“As disabled people our concerns, conclusions and instincts are so often dismissed. Today’s announcement is a reminder that our collective bullshit detector is more than a match for this trash-fire government!”