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Further sickening revelations about the existence of an illegal drinking establishment at Tarinkot base in Afghanistan, and the involvement of senior commanding officers at that establishment, are yet more evidence of the culture that General’s Campbell and Burr are not fit to implement the recommendations of the Brereton Inquiry report.
Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John the revelations were yet more evidence of the horrific cultural problem that existed within our ADF throughout Afghanistan while General’s Campbell and Burr were in senior leadership positions, and that has been allowed to continue to this very day.
“Chief of the Defence Force, General Campbell, and Chief of Army, General Burr, have irresolvable conflicts of interest; it is impossible for the public to trust that commanding officers will be held to account when the process is led by the top brass who themselves held commanding roles during the period of time when many of these alleged crimes were committed,” Steele-John said.
“If this level of alleged systemic failure had occurred within a financial institution, it would be totally inappropriate for the reform of that institution to be led by an individual who held a senior executive position during the time that alleged criminal activity occurred.
“It is simply unimaginable that the top brass were unaware of the existence of this drinking establishment or the fact that it was frequented by commanding officers. Given what we’ve seen reported today in The Age, it was clearly an open secret.
“The perception that there has been a deliberate cover up, or that the top brass have turned a blind eye to the behaviour of our ADF personnel in Afghanistan, is undermining the process that must be undertaken.
“It is untenable for either General Campbell or General Burr to play a role in the implementation of recommendations from the Brereton Report; they must both immediately resign.”

In a major boost to Australia’s film and television industry, the Morrison Government will extend two measures that will support the continued production of quality, local screen content as the sector recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The highly effective $50 million Temporary Interruption Fund (TIF) will be extended for a further six months, to provide coverage for productions that commence principal photography prior to 31 December 2021.
The Morrison Government will also retain at 40 per cent the Producer Offset rate for feature films with a theatrical release. In addition, as announced last year, the Government will raise the Producer Offset rate from 20 to 30 per cent for other eligible formats such as drama and documentary content for television and streaming platforms.
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said these support measures would enable the local screen industry to continue to create quality Australian productions and keep thousands of jobs and businesses in the local production sector.
“Despite our successes in managing COVID-19 in Australia, the continuing severity of the pandemic internationally is a problem for screen production, with insurers still not providing coverage for COVID-19 related events,” Minister Fletcher said.
“TIF has been vital in providing the certainty that productions need to secure financing, and it will have assisted with more than 12,000 production roles and 5000 business contracts in its first year of operation.”
The 40 per cent Producer Offset supports around 50 Australian feature films per year with total average rebates of around $124 million. This injects over $300 million per year into the Australian economy, and underpins the tremendous success Australian feature films have had at the box office in recent times.
Minister Fletcher said, “Australian feature films play an important role in our cultural identity and resonate strongly with audiences at home and abroad. After consulting with Australian feature film producers and considering the feature film environment abroad, we have determined that retaining the offset at 40 per cent is appropriate to ensure the ongoing vitality of the sector.”
TIF and the Producer Offset are administered by Screen Australia. Eligibility criteria, guidelines and how to apply are available at: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-support

The Australian Greens have lashed the Morrison Government’s vaccine rollout, saying that tonight’s announcement of a health advisory to no longer vaccinate many people under 50 would have been avoidable if Australia had a domestic mRNA manufacturing capacity.
“The government’s rollout is in shambles. This is precisely why Australia should have built domestic mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity at the start of the pandemic,” Senator Siewert said.
“We shouldn’t be playing catch-up – completely rewriting our vaccine strategy weeks into the rollout, with vaccine choice determined by availability, not evidence based health policy.
“If we had domestic mRNA manufacturing capacity established in Australia, we wouldn’t be telling under 50’s that they should only be vaccinated where ‘the benefits outweigh the risk’. We would be vaccinating them with the best, safest vaccine.
“If we had domestic mRNA vaccine production ability, we could be shifting our rollout to other vaccines, like Novovax or Pfizer.
“Instead, Scott Morrison is seemingly just making it up as we go along.
“We need to make sure that people here are rapidly vaccinated with the best available vaccine, and that we’re able to play our role in supplying vaccines to the Pacific.
“To do that, we need a publicly-owned mRNA vaccine manufacturer in Australia.
“Scientists and health experts have backed the Greens’ call for Australia to build mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity on our shores.
“With publicly-owned domestic manufacturing capacity, we won’t just be able to make sure that everyone here is inoculated against new pandemics as they come, but we’ll be a vaccine production hub for the region.”

The Australian Government is investing $8.75 million over four years to provide additional health services in the Northern Territory as part of its commitment to strengthen Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
Delivered through the Northern Territory Pathways to Community Control program (NT P2CC), the funding will provide First Nations people with access to effective, high quality, comprehensive and culturally appropriate primary health care services.
This investment builds on the $4 million already committed for transition activities occurring in West Arnhem, demonstrating the strong partnerships that exist between the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government and other key members of the NT Aboriginal Health Forum, including the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT).
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said community driven approaches to delivering health services were delivering major benefits for First Nations people.
“We have held extensive consultation with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which is key to giving communities real control over their own health and wellbeing,” Minister Hunt said.
Northern Territory Minster for Health, Natasha Fyles, said, the Northern Territory Government welcomed the Commonwealth’s ongoing commitment to supporting community control.
“We look forward to working in partnership with the Commonwealth to deliver on this important initiative. This is the continuation of our commitment to local decision making, and recognition of the importance of listening to the community and working hand-in-hand to meet community needs,” Ms Fyles said.
Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, CEO, John Paterson, said, AMSANT welcomed the ongoing funding commitment from the Australian Government to continue transition to community control health services.
“This is consistent with the Closing the Gap National Agreement priorities to strengthen Aboriginal decision making and enhancing Aboriginal community control organisations,” Mr Paterson said.
The National Agreement on Closing the Gap, released in July 2020, identified health as a priority sector.
The NT P2CC program, which falls under the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP) will continue to make an important contribution to realising the commitments made under the National Agreement.
To date, the IAHP has successfully transitioned health services to community control in Yirrkala (2012), Milingimbi (2016), Ramingining (2019), Gapuwiyak (2019) and Maningrida (2021). The Yirrkala clinic has already recorded improvements in care and patient numbers, and has had success in lowering childhood anaemia and increasing immunisation rates.
The additional funding will be available from 1 July 2021 and will be focused on the priority regions for transitioning of West Arnhem, Maningrida and Central Australia.

The Morrison Government continues to make it easier for Australians to eat well and reduce the risk of chronic health conditions linked to diets high in saturated fats, sodium and sugars.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck said the Government was working with food companies to reformulate products and improve the nutritional value of many common foods.
“The Healthy Food Partnership Reformulation Program is about improving overall population health and wellbeing,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The reformulation of food products helps all Australians to eat well and not unknowingly overdo the intake of salt, sugars and saturated fats, which can increase the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer and type 2 diabetes.”
Food companies participating in the program will work towards reducing the levels of sodium, saturated fat or sugar in foods they manufacture, in line with the specific nutrient targets identified for certain food categories.
“The program will operate over four years to reach reformulation targets, giving food industry time to make any necessary changes to their products,” Minister Colbeck said.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting intake of foods high in risk nutrients—salt, added sugars and saturated fat—while enjoying a wide variety of nutritious foods including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean meats and low fat dairy.
“More than a third of Australian’s energy intake is from discretionary foods high in saturated fats, sugars and/or salt and the reformulation program will support Australians to better follow the advice in the Australian Dietary Guidelines,” Minister Colbeck said.
The Government established the Healthy Food Partnership to improve the dietary habits of Australians by making healthier food choices easier and more accessible, and by raising awareness of appropriate food choices and portion sizes.
The Partnership is a non-regulatory, collaborative forum between the Australian Government, food industry bodies and public health groups which aims to tackle obesity, encourage healthy eating and empower food manufacturers to make positive changes to their products.
All food industry businesses are encouraged to participate in the Partnership Reformulation Program.
Further information about the Healthy Food Partnership is on the Department of Health website at www.health.gov.au/healthyfoodpartnership