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Greens Senator for NSW and Education Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called for universities in Australia to undertake a human rights review of all their research partnerships following allegations Australian universities are contributing to the surveillance state in China.
Senator Faruqi said:
“It is completely unacceptable for Australian universities to be involved in projects that could impede the human rights of ethnic minorities and political dissidents.
“The Greens are calling on all universities to review their partnerships and research projects to ensure that their work is not contributing to oppression and abuses of human rights in China or anywhere else in the world.
“Let’s not pretend foreign influence is restricted to the Chinese Government. University partnerships with the likes of Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other companies who profit from war and support the US military-industrial complex have gone without scrutiny for far too long.
“Universities accepting funding from any organisation or Government to develop weapons of mass surveillance technology likely to result in oppression are ethically compromised.
“The Greens want to see all universities have a proper review of all their research and assess whether or not it is compatible with human rights and global peace,” she concluded.

Greens Senator for NSW and Housing Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has welcomed the Senate supporting her call for the Commonwealth to review the adequacy of Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments. The Productivity Commission has found that two thirds of low-income renters in Australia are in rental stress – spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
Senator Faruqi said:
“It is fantastic to see the Senate supporting the Greens’ motion to review the level of rent assistance, particularly during Anti-Poverty Week.
“It is unacceptable that so many people already on low incomes are falling into financial stress just to put a roof over their head. Everyone has the right to a safe, secure and permanent home.
“When even the Productivity Commission concludes that rent assistance hasn’t kept up with rising rents, you know we have a problem.
“We know low-income renters in particular are being squeezed between soaring rents and a lack of proper social support. I urge the Government to act immediately and announce a review so we can get on with resolving this long-running issue,” she concluded.
The motion
I give notice that on the next day of sitting, I shall move—That the Senate:
1. Note that:
a. Anti-Poverty Week runs from 13th to 19th of October.
b. The Productivity Commission has found that two thirds of low-income renters in Australia are in rental stress – spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.
c. 170,000 Australian households are left with less than $35 a day after covering their rent
d. The Productivity Commission has stated that Commonwealth Rent Assistance has not kept up with rising rents.
2. Calls on the Federal Government to review the adequacy of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

The Senate has today passed a Greens’ motion calling on the Federal Government to rule out giving any public funding to dam and water infrastructure projects that circumvent environmental assessment and don’t abide by proper environmental protections.

The motion moved by Greens Spokesperson for Water and the Environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, was in response to the NSW Government’s plans to water down environmental rules to fast-track approvals for new dams and pipelines.

“The Murray-Darling River is in environmental collapse and bypassing environmental protections will do more harm,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“Plans to override environmental protections will have negative impacts on downstream communities and the health of the River system.

“The NSW Government has itself admitted its building dams “for the future and to give hope” to communities that are running out of water. Its own allocation rules mean water in any new dams won’t even be used for the community or the environment.

“All evidence shows spending more public money on these dams will only deliver more water for big corporate irrigators. Building dams will not make it rain.

“The Federal Government’s decision to spend public money on new dams that won’t go through proper environmental and economic assessment is reckless and they should follow the will of the Senate and rule it out.”

The Federal Government has today refused to rule out the privatisation of National Parks for high-end resorts, again putting the interests of their rich mates ahead of everyday Australians and the environment, the Greens say.
“Today I called on the Government to honour the century old Australian ethos that National Parks should be for the people and not for private high end resorts which exclude ordinary Australians and devalue prime park qualities, and they refused,” Greens spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“What’s clear is the Liberal National Party are standing true to their ethos of privatisation and selling out the rest of us out in favour of their corporate mates. Australians will not just stand by and allow this to happen to our National Parks.
“Here in South Australia, fragile coastal sites in the wild and unspoilt parts of Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island are under threat because of a proposal by a private corporation for a luxury development.
“Just last week we saw hundreds of people rally on the steps of SA Parliament, together with former Greens Leader Bob Brown, against this proposal. They’re not only disgusted they weren’t consulted on the project, but also that $830,000 of their taxpayer money was given to The Australian Walking Company to help them profit off public land.
“The same private company has already developed parts of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, and other locations across Australia including Uluru and Hinchinbrook Island under threat.
“These precious wild areas should be protected – it’s shameful any government would allow, let alone pay a private company to destroy it.”

The Morrison Government is working to keep Australians safe from telephone scammers, starting with the introduction of strict new identification measures to combat the hijacking of mobile numbers by fraudsters to illegally access personal and financial information. Fraudulent number porting affects thousands of consumers each year with average losses of more than $10,000.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher, today announced new telco regulations which mandate stronger industry-wide identity verification measures before mobile numbers can be transferred from one provider to another.
Two‑factor authentication – such as inputting a code on a website or responding to a text message – is a proven and highly effective security measure and will be required before a number can be ported.
Many Australian telcos – including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone – have already introduced stronger pre‑port verification measures. However telcos representing more than one million mobile services are yet to implement these consumer safeguards, putting all Australian mobile users at risk of fraudulent number porting.
“The Government expects all telcos to pull their weight. I want Australians to be confident that every telco has put in place strong verification processes to stop fraudulent mobile number porting and the devastating consequences it can have for victims,” Minister Fletcher said.
“That is why I have issued a formal direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to make new rules mandating stronger identity verification processes before mobile numbers can be transferred. The entire industry needs to put in place a solution otherwise those telcos without safeguards in place will be a magnet for fraudsters.”
The Government has set up the Scam Technology Project, led by the ACMA working with experts from Australia’s major telecommunications companies, and charged it to develop technology-based solutions to combat telecommunications-based scams.
“If criminals are using technology to scam Australians, we need to make sure we are using technology to fight back. The measure I am announcing today is the first outcome from the Scam Technology Project – but I expect there will be more in coming months,” Minister Fletcher said.
“Criminals will continue to look for new ways to rip off Australians using the telephone system. That is why tackling telecommunications scams is a priority for the Morrison Government.”