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The Greens say quarantine facilities need to be established out of cities and that facilities must be publicly funded and run.
“Our hotel quarantine system needs to be watertight. The UK, South Africa, Brazil variants are becoming the dominant variants in other parts of the world and we must keep these from getting out into our community”, Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said
“Governments need to publicly fund and run our hotel quarantine system and establish facilities outside of the city centres in regional areas such as Avalon, Melbourne Airport or Toowoomba which have already been floated.
“Some medi-hotels would continue to operate to support Australians arriving from high risk countries or those needing medical care.
“It is critical that the issue of aerosol spread of Covid-19 is addressed in all quarantine facilities. We must ensure all facilities are well-ventilated, with adequate airflow changes assessed by engineers as recommended by the experts, and that all quarantine workers have full PPE.
“We need a common sense approach to give people fresh air and reduce aerosol transmission of Covid-19.
“The Federal Government needs to step up. Quarantine is a Federal responsibility and needs to be funded as such.
“The bickering that has been occurring between the State and Feds on quarantine arrangements is not serving the community well.
“We need a public health response.
“People have a right to come home and we need to keep our community COVID free, the quarantine system as it stands can’t assure that.”
 

The Government’s long overdue Evaluation of the CDC in Ceduna, East Kimberley and the Goldfields Region: Consolidated Report has been publicly released over a year and a half after it was due.
“I can see why the Government has been holding on to this report and wouldn’t release it before the Senate debated the extension of the Card late last year. It has nothing definitive to back up the grand claims the Government has been making about this scheme for many years now.
“As I recall, the Cashless Debit Card was going to get people to find work, stop gambling, stop drinking and stop taking illicit drugs.  Their evaluation supports none of these grand claims.
“The evaluation is quite clear that it is not possible to attribute changes in trial sites to the Cashless Debit Card alone.
“This evaluation is full of qualifiers like “complex findings” and that “the findings from this evaluation are mostly nuanced and specific, that is, they are findings that may apply up to a point and for some people, but not for others.”
“What the evaluation has found is that “the quantitative evidence suggested that under the current circumstances the majority of CDC participants would prefer to opt out of the CDC trial” and that “feelings of discrimination, embarrassment, shame and unfairness as a result of being on the Card were reported across all trial sites by a majority of CDC participants.”
“If the Government is going to make such significant interventions in people’s lives, then they need robust evidence.
“The evaluation itself notes the difficulty in evaluating the so-called trials because they were never set up to be properly evaluated. A point that was repeatedly made when the Card was first introduced.
“These trials were always about targeting First Nations peoples, stigmatising people on income support and those with addiction issues rather than addressing the underlying causes of disadvantage.
“The card is racist and discriminatory and should be abandoned.”
 
https://www.dss.gov.au/families-and-children-programs-services-welfare-reform-cashless-debit-card/cashless-debit-card-evaluation

Electricity bills are expected to fall in the second half of 2021 and beyond, thanks to continued action by the Morrison Government to reduce energy prices for families and businesses.
Introduced by the Morrison Government in July 2019, the Default Market Offer protects customers from excessively high standing offer contracts and also acts as a reference price, making it easier for customers to shop around and compare offers from different retailers.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has today released its draft determination for the Default Market Offer for 2021-22, signalling further substantial price reductions for households and businesses across New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia.
Under the AER’s draft determination, residential customers on standing offers in New South Wales could save as much as $136 a year on their electricity bills compared to 2020-21. Those in south-east Queensland could be better off by $69 a year, while households in South Australia stand to save as much as $117 a year.
Small businesses in New South Wales could end up slashing their energy costs by $577 a year compared to 2020-21, while those in south-east Queensland and South Australia will save more than $300.
Low wholesale prices are driving the savings for both residential and small business customers, with prices across the National Electricity Market at their lowest levels in years.
Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said these price falls are a result of action taken by the Morrison Government to deliver affordable, reliable energy for Australian households and small businesses.
“Thanks to the Morrison Government’s energy policy, hundreds of thousands of Australian families and small businesses are paying less on their electricity bills,” Minister Taylor said.
“These are significant reductions to the cost-of-living pressures faced by hard-working Australians, with Government policy ensuring that consumers pay less for their electricity and have more money in their hip pockets.”
“This year’s price drops are on top of the previous cuts to standing offer prices that were achieved when the Default Market Offer first came into force in 2019.
“Residential customers could be paying up to $802 less in New South, $794 less in south-east Queensland and $707 less in South Australia compared to before the introduction of the DMO.
“For Small businesses the savings are substantial. Small business owners could be saving up to $3,354 a year in NSW, $2,955 in south-east Queensland and $2,878 in South Australia, compared to what they were paying in 2019.
“There are even greater savings available for households and businesses who shop around, so I would encourage everyone to check the competitiveness of their deal using the Government’s free price comparator website energymadeeasy.gov.au.”
ABS statistics show household electricity bills doubled under Labor, whereas under this Government, Australian households have now experienced eight consecutive quarters of year-on-year electricity price falls.
Public submissions for the Default Market Offer draft determination close 18 March 2021. The AER is expected to release the final determination in late April 2021.
More information is available on the AER website: https://www.aer.gov.au/news-release/draft-dmo-2021-22-open-for-consultation

The Australian Greens have slammed the Prime Minister’s continued failures to address a toxic parliamentary culture today, calling for an independent inquiry into the failures in responding to Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt also said that it was an issue with men’s behaviour that men needed to solve, and that the PM’s own words underscored his lack of understanding of the problem at hand.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:
“You shouldn’t need to consult your wife or have daughters to know that women who have been raped should be listened to, believed & supported.”
“Women aren’t “finding themselves in vulnerable situations”, Prime Minister. Men are putting them there.
“Rape and sexual assault is a problem that men need to solve, but the Prime Minister hardly spoke about men at all.
“The ‘boy’s club’ culture means many men feel able to sexually assault women without fear of consequence, allegedly even here in one of the country’s most secure buildings.
“It’s time the PM started getting men to change the way they act and respect women.”
Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for democracy, Senator Larissa Waters, said:
“The Prime Minister has been missing in action for years on acknowledging that cultural change is necessary to keep women safe in parliament, and that his party has a problem with women.
“There’ve been three young Liberal staffers sexually assaulted who have come forward so far, and no doubt many others who are yet to speak out.
“Brittany Higgins’ case is deja vu of the worst kind.
“The Prime Minister’s decision to charge his own Department with reviewing Brittany’s case, and the broader complaints process, puts the fox in charge of the henhouse.
“With two senior staff from the Prime Minister’s office up to their necks in the cover-up of Brittany Higgins alleged rape, including the PMs ‘fixer’, the PMO is part of the problem.
“Ordering two internal reviews does not give anyone confidence that real change will flow, it’s a continuation of the culture of cover-up that has seen this issue fester and more women assaulted.
“We need an independent review of how the existing complaints process let Brittany down. And a broader review of the toxic culture at APH with recommendations for reform to ensure the women that work here are safe.
“The Greens called for an independent investigation into the culture in Parliament many months ago, and yesterday called for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to do that review.
“The Prime Minister should pick up the phone to both Ms Higgins and to our Sex Discrimination Commissioner to have an independent, qualified body do the job.”

Australians are being urged to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation by strapping on their joggers and striding out as part of the 15^th annual Gift of Life DonateLife Walk.
Launching the Walk in Canberra with parliamentary colleagues, Federal Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Mark Coulton, said the long-running event will this year be held virtually to ensure COVID-safety and nation-wide participation.
“Community events like Gift of Life’s DonateLife Walk offer unique opportunities for Australians from all walks of life to spruik the benefits of organ and tissue donation and have fun while doing it,” Mr Coulton said.
“Engaging with community groups helps amplify the voice of donor families and those waiting for life-changing transplants — giving local communities a great opportunity to be part of the national push to increase donation.”
The coronavirus pandemic had a serious impact on Australia’s national program to increase organ donation, including the cancelation of many community events throughout the year.
“The challenges of 2020 saw a reduction in the number of people receiving a life-giving transplant and it is clear more donors are needed,” Mr Coulton said.
“After such a difficult year, it is critical we each take the important moment to discuss organ and tissue donation with our friends and family and register to say “yes” to becoming a donor.
“I encourage Australians to sign up for Gift of Life’s DonateLife Walk and walk five kilometres in teams, small groups, or as individuals at their favourite walking circuit anywhere across the country, any time between 22 and 28 February 2021.
“By signing up for the walk, sharing your walk online, and registering to become a donor at donatelife.gov.au, you will be doing your bit to help ensure more Australians can receive a
life-changing organ or tissue transplant.
For more information and to sign up for 2021 Gift of Life’s DonateLife Walk visit: giftoflife.asn.au.
Gift of Life’s DonateLife Walk is supported through a Community Awareness Grant from the Organ and Tissue Authority.
Applications for the next round of grants close at 5:00pm AEDT on Sunday, 7 March 2021.

Brittany Higgins has shown true courage. Ms Higgins’ account of her rape in the Defence Minister’s office is sickening. We admire Ms Higgins’ bravery in coming forward, and hope she is now getting the genuine support and justice she is entitled to and the police investigation proceeds swiftly.
There is a clear need for a review into the workplace culture at Parliament House and electorate offices.
To ensure that the review has the confidence of the public and of parliamentary staff, it must be truly independent with bipartisan oversight. To ensure that, the review should be led by an expert from outside of government.
Similar reviews, including of the Australian Defence Force, and the parliaments of Victoria, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, were all led by experts from outside government.
The terms of reference for the review, the conduct of the review and the implementation of its recommendations, should be overseen by a bipartisan group of federal parliamentarians.
Staff should be given the opportunity to participate fully and for their voices to be heard in a confidential and respectful way.
The Presiding Officers have responsibility for the control and management of Parliament House. As such, they must also play a role in the review.
The aim of an independent, bipartisan review should be to ensure the safety of anyone who works at Parliament – parliamentarians, their staff, all staff of the parliament and others who come in contact with them.
We would expect the review to examine issues including:

• An assessment of existing policies, processes, and workplace culture including the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984;
• The establishment of a truly independent complaints process which provides unbiased advice for complainants centred on their well-being;
• Properly resourced support services including high quality trauma-informed counselling;
• A clear focus on cultural change

The Australian Labor Party is in the final stages of adopting an updated version of its existing harassment processes and policies.
We renew the offer made on 12 November, 2020 to work with anyone in this building who wants to make this a safer and more respectful workplace.
All workplaces around Australia need to be safe.
A good place to start would be implementing the recommendations of the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces which was presented to the Federal Government in March 2020.