16 News

The Australian Government’s push for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a low-emissions fossil fuel has been exposed with a new report finding no evidence LNG  is any ‘cleaner’ than coal.
The Conservation Council of Western Australia’s Clean State report states an international review of LNG infrastructure found the threat to the climate from LNG is ‘as large or larger than coal’ when levels of methane emissions are included.
Greens co-deputy leader and spokesperson on mining and resources, Senator Larissa Waters, said the expansion of the West Australian LNG industry was a massive climate bomb and the primary driver of recent national emissions growth.
“LNG is as much a ‘clean gas’ as tobacco is a ‘health product’, and the tactics of denial, influence and misinformation are disturbingly similar,” she said today.
“The Coalition is out spruiking LNG as a ‘clean gas’ when the evidence shows WA LNG facilities pump out more carbon pollution than the state’s oldest coal-fired power stations.
“The report released today tells us emissions from WA’s gas infrastructure have become Australia’s fastest-growing pollution source and places our Paris Agreement commitments at risk.
“It comes the days after an unprecedented statement from 11,000 scientists warning of “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” if the world does not take action including leaving fossil fuels in the ground.
“The Greens have also backed communities concerned about the risk from the gas industry with a bill since 2011 to allow landholders to say no to gas and to ban fracking.
“Despite the appalling lack of planning for the climate emergency, Australia is in the fortunate position of having abundant, low-cost renewable energy resources ready to power our economy and society.
“New large-scale renewable infrastructure is now ready to displace both coal and gas. Our economy is in the doldrums and nation-building projects in renewable energy can deliver the rapid de-carbonisation needed while creating new jobs, boosting regional economies and investing in coal-affected communities.
“Political donations are the major brake on a cleaner, renewable-powered future for Australia. We have the technology, the know-how and the majority of the community is ready for change,” Senator Waters said.

The Greens have condemned the Liberals for trashing democracy and deceiving voters after the party’s acting Victorian director admitted in court today that signs written in Chinese at polling booths on election day were designed to look like official Australian Electoral Commission signage.
The signs were posted at 13 polling stations in Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong and at 29 polling booths in nearby Chisholm, which was won by Liberals candidate Gladys Liu.
Greens co-deputy leader Senator Larissa Waters said the Liberal official’s admission today was the latest in a long line of Liberal party moves aimed at weakening democracy and silencing the community from having its say.
“The Liberal Party has stooped to dirty tactics and tricks designed to hoodwink voters during elections because the community has noticed it no longer provides leadership or any real plan on critical issues such as climate change or housing affordability,” she said.
“This is not the type of democracy the community deserves, this is a circus led by a clown who holds everyday Australians, their aspirations and the issues that matter most to them in contempt.
“The Liberals have an unhealthy disrespect for transparency and accountability. It starts at the top with the Prime Minister failing to deal with Ministerial conflicts of interest and extends to allowing a revolving door between industry and government and allowing ‘cash for access’ meetings.
“This failure of integrity and culture of rampant self-interest is probably why the Prime Minister has not brought on a vote in the House of Representatives on my bill establishing a Federal corruption watchdog with teeth.
“The Liberals are governing in the best interest of their donors including the mining and gambling industries rather than delivering for our community, society or environment.
“Public trust in democracy will be further eroded by the revelations of election sign deception in court today. The Greens call for strong, urgent action to stamp out corruption, increase transparency and restore public trust in democracy,” Senator Waters said.

The Greens have today referred the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party to the AFP over signs used at Victorian polling places during the federal election in May this year.

“The Liberals have admitted in the Federal Court this week that their signs were intended to convey the impression that they were from the Australian Electoral Commission,”  Greens Justice spokesperson Nick McKim said.
“This is a clear admission that they were trying to impersonate a Commonwealth body, which appears to be a crime under laws that the Liberals themselves introduced last year.”
“They have been exposed and it is time they were held to account.”
Greens Democracy spokesperson Larissa Waters said:

“If you’ve got to lie to the public to get votes, you don’t deserve to be in government. The AFP should investigate these frauds.”

“People want their democracy back and they deserve to be told the truth by those seeking their votes.”

The Australian Government’s push for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a low-emissions fossil fuel has been exposed with a new report finding no evidence LNG  is any ‘cleaner’ than coal.
The Conservation Council of Western Australia’s Clean State report states an international review of LNG infrastructure found the threat to the climate from LNG is ‘as large or larger than coal’ when levels of methane emissions are included.
Greens co-deputy leader and spokesperson on mining and resources, Senator Larissa Waters, said the expansion of the West Australian LNG industry was a massive climate bomb and the primary driver of recent national emissions growth.
“LNG is as much a ‘clean gas’ as tobacco is a ‘health product’, and the tactics of denial, influence and misinformation are disturbingly similar,” she said today.
“The Coalition is out spruiking LNG as a ‘clean gas’ when the evidence shows WA LNG facilities pump out more carbon pollution than the state’s oldest coal-fired power stations.
“The report released today tells us emissions from WA’s gas infrastructure have become Australia’s fastest-growing pollution source and places our Paris Agreement commitments at risk.
“It comes the days after an unprecedented statement from 11,000 scientists warning of “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” if the world does not take action including leaving fossil fuels in the ground.
“The Greens have also backed communities concerned about the risk from the gas industry with a bill since 2011 to allow landholders to say no to gas and to ban fracking.
“Despite the appalling lack of planning for the climate emergency, Australia is in the fortunate position of having abundant, low-cost renewable energy resources ready to power our economy and society.
“New large-scale renewable infrastructure is now ready to displace both coal and gas. Our economy is in the doldrums and nation-building projects in renewable energy can deliver the rapid de-carbonisation needed while creating new jobs, boosting regional economies and investing in coal-affected communities.
“Political donations are the major brake on a cleaner, renewable-powered future for Australia. We have the technology, the know-how and the majority of the community is ready for change,” Senator Waters said.

Greens Senator for South Australia and Spokesperson for the Environment and Water, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young responded to the announcement SA is giving 100GL of Murray River water to NSW and Victoria and increasing use of the state’s desalination plant:

“South Australians are being taken for mugs, as the Federal and SA Governments cut a deal to reduce water flowing into the Lower Murray.

“The Liberal and National Parties have a history of selling SA short when it comes to the Murray.

“Firing up the desal plant doesn’t deal with the chronic over-allocation of water, corporate greed or drought.

“Cutting SA’s river water allocation in favour of turning on the desalination plant is short-term thinking and I worry SA will be left carrying the can, with less water flowing downstream, higher water prices for Adelaide, and no political will to tackle upstream greed and over-allocation.

“The State Government has still not released its report into the cost-benefit of the desal plant, which is now months overdue, and yet today they have traded away more water from the Murray.

“This looks like the SA Liberals bending over backwards for their upstream Coalition mates, while back at home South Australian taxpayers, homeowners and the environment will be left carrying the cost.

“Minister Littleproud today failed to outline how the government will ensure the water cut from SA will even end up where it should. The Murray-Darling Basin has been riddled with dodgy accounting, mismanagement, and out-right water theft, why should anyone believe that this isn’t anything more than just another slush fund for the National Party and their corporate irrigator mates?

“It’s hard to believe that putting the National Party in charge of spending more public money on water allocations will end pretty.

“In the medium and longer term, the consequences of reducing flows by 100GL to the Lower Murray could be significant for the health of the River.

“The SA Libs had a chance today to extract a proper commitment for the remaining 450GL under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Instead SA will now prop up NSW and Victoria left struggling because of corporate greed.

“We’re all being taken for mugs, but SA is again copping it the worst. We saw five Federal Ministers front a press conference today to talk about drought and not one of them mentioned action on the climate crisis. If you don’t have a plan to tackle the climate crisis, you don’t have a drought policy.”

The Greens have condemned the Liberals for trashing democracy and deceiving voters after the party’s acting Victorian director admitted in court today that signs written in Chinese at polling booths on election day were designed to look like official Australian Electoral Commission signage.
The signs were posted at 13 polling stations in Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong and at 29 polling booths in nearby Chisholm, which was won by Liberals candidate Gladys Liu.
Greens co-deputy leader Senator Larissa Waters said the Liberal official’s admission today was the latest in a long line of Liberal party moves aimed at weakening democracy and silencing the community from having its say.
“The Liberal Party has stooped to dirty tactics and tricks designed to hoodwink voters during elections because the community has noticed it no longer provides leadership or any real plan on critical issues such as climate change or housing affordability,” she said.
“This is not the type of democracy the community deserves, this is a circus led by a clown who holds everyday Australians, their aspirations and the issues that matter most to them in contempt.
“The Liberals have an unhealthy disrespect for transparency and accountability. It starts at the top with the Prime Minister failing to deal with Ministerial conflicts of interest and extends to allowing a revolving door between industry and government and allowing ‘cash for access’ meetings.
“This failure of integrity and culture of rampant self-interest is probably why the Prime Minister has not brought on a vote in the House of Representatives on my bill establishing a Federal corruption watchdog with teeth.
“The Liberals are governing in the best interest of their donors including the mining and gambling industries rather than delivering for our community, society or environment.
“Public trust in democracy will be further eroded by the revelations of election sign deception in court today. The Greens call for strong, urgent action to stamp out corruption, increase transparency and restore public trust in democracy,” Senator Waters said.

Older Australians cannot wait for action on aged care and the Morrison Government must act now before Parliament resumes in November to fix our country’s broken aged care system.
Labor has today launched a new campaign urgently calling on the Morrison Government to act now on aged care.
Scott Morrison has said there might be some action by Christmas, but why is the Government waiting when we know the system is so bad?
Labor has set a deadline for the Prime Minister to take action before Parliament resumes in November.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report this week laid bare the disturbing state of Australia’s aged care system.
There is not one part of Australia’s aged care system that isn’t impacted by crisis.
While Labor is prepared to work constructively with the Government to progress long-term reform challenges in aged care, there is action the Government must take now.
There are three actions the Royal Commission says the Morrison Government needs to do urgently to help fix our country’s broken aged care system:
1.    Ensure older Australians are getting the care at home when they need it most.
2.    End the overreliance of chemical restraints in aged care.
3.    Stop the unacceptable number of young people entering residential aged care.
Older Australians and their loved ones cannot wait until the final report of the Royal Commission, which is handed down in November 2020, for action on aged care.
This includes the 120,000 older Australians waiting for care at home, with waiting times blowing out to almost two years for the highest levels of care.
It is shameful that 16,000 people died in a wealthy country like Australia in just one year while waiting for this care.
The Liberals have been asleep at the wheel for six years, with four Ministers and billions ripped out while Australia’s aged care system has lurched from one crisis to another.
It’s time to act now on aged care – for our loved ones who built the country we are rightly proud and for every Australian who wants to age with dignity and autonomy in care.

Drought-hit farmers, small businesses and rural towns are set for an immediate cash injection to keep stock fed and watered, keep businesses open, keep locals in work and pump funds into local economies.
The Prime Minister said the Coalition Government’s next step of measures to combat the drought’s impact was ready to flow.
“We are stepping up our drought response once again to meet the increasing needs as the drought’s effects also step up,” the Prime Minister said.
“Since the budget we have already committed an additional $355 million to step up our drought response. Today’s announcement triples this to more than $1 billion since the election, as well as more than $1 billion in new interest free loans, to see people through.
“This is money into the pockets of all those farmers and graziers who know they have a future, but are currently struggling to keep their operations running as the crippling effects of this drought continue to bite that we’ve heard from out on the ground. They are backing themselves and we are backing them to make it through to the better days that will be ahead.
“It’s not only farmers doing it tough in drought. Our next step in drought support also has an eye squarely on those communities feeling the strain as work dries up and spending in local stores slows down.
“There is no silver bullet to this drought. Each time we introduce further help we listen, we learn and we adjust our response because we know each community has different needs and priorities that need the resources and cooperation of every level of government.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government’s latest initiatives would deliver an extra $709 million worth of direct support.
“Communities across Australia are suffering the effects of the prolonged dry spell and today’s announcement is the next step in the measures to help ease the burden of the drought,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“This suite of measures go to the heart of what matters to these communities. From small businesses to primary producers, we are working with communities to take the pressure off one of the worst droughts in history.
“Not only is the Government continuing to respond as the drought progresses, but we are working on measures to assist in the recovery when the rains come, which includes the Government’s billion dollar investment in water infrastructure.
“By redirecting $200 million from the Building Better Regions Fund into drought communities and an extra $138.9 million into our Roads to Recovery initiative, we’re getting local projects and infrastructure work underway to keep finance flowing, trades in work and money rolling through local stores.”
Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie said a new loans program for small businesses and making existing drought loans interest free for two years would deliver immediate support for everything from buying fodder to transporting stock and agisting cattle through to paying staff and purchasing new equipment. The Regional Investment Corporation’s mandate sets its interest rate just to cover administration and borrowing costs.
“These loans mean farmers and small business owners can do what they need to, right now at zero cost,” Minister McKenzie said.
“Farmers will not have to pay a cent for the next two years and we’ll keep assessing the program if the drought runs longer than that to ensure repayments are affordable.
“With $200 million worth of loans committed already, we estimate the new small business program and the changes to the Drought Loans for farms will see around $1.2 billion issued over the next three years that they can put to their priorities.”
Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said as the drought escalates, so does the government’s response.
“The package will boost local jobs and respond to individual community needs,” Minister Littleproud said.
“We’ve had strong demand on the Drought Communities Extension Programme and we’re extending it to six new areas.
“On top of the $1 million we’ve delivered to 122 councils we’ll make another $1 million available for those still in need.
“We’ve also set up a $50 million fund for council projects in drought-hit communities for things like community hall renovations and playground upgrades.
“This will boost rural economies with more jobs and more business for regional suppliers like the local hardware store.”
Minister Littleproud said the Federal and South Australian Governments had also struck a deal to secure up to 100 gigalitres of water for farmers to grow fodder, silage and pasture at a discounted rate.
“100 gigalitres will produce up to 120,000 tonnes of feed for animals on farms in drought,” Minister Littleproud said.
“This will help farmers maintain their breeding stock during the drought so when it breaks farmers can recover faster.”
Minister Littleproud said the Government had also released the Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan. The plan draws on the Drought Co-ordinator Major General Stephen Day’s report and the Government’s response, which was also released today. The Plan, Report and the Government’s response are available at http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/drought/drought-policy.
The Government will continue to listen to drought-affected Australia, respond and step up.
Further information on the support available for drought-affected farms and communities and how to access it is available at http://www.agriculture.gov.au/drought/
Summary of Federal Government support

Existing support	New support
Looking after our farming families here and now
Simplified and expanded access to the Farm Household Allowance and extended it to a 4 in 10 year payment. Households are eligible for around $105,000 as well as an additional payment of $13,000 for couples $3,000 cash payments for families under the Drought Communities Support Initiative Built the National Drought Map so all data and support services are in one place Invested $25 million to help our farmers combat pests and weeds; $2.7 million to improve regional weather and climate guides; and $77.2 million for Bureau of Meteorology radars $2 billion available in concessional loans through the Regional Investment Corporation to help farmers and small businesses prepare for, manage through and recover from drought $5 million for the Rural Financial Counselling Service	Making new and existing drought loans for farmers interest free for two years so they purchase fodder, pay for freight and pay their farm hands. Years three to five will be interest only payment and years six to 10 will be interest and principal. Current scheme is the first five years are interest only payments, and interest and principal payments for the balance of the loan term A new program for small businesses dependent on agriculture with loans worth up to $500,000 that can be used to pay staff, buy equipment and refinance. It follows the same new payment scheme as the Drought Loans for farmers $10 million to support schools facing financial hardship as a result of ongoing drought conditions, including fee concessions for boarding students $5 million from the Community Child Care Fund will help assist centres that are experiencing decreased demand and financial pressure due to families from drought-affected areas being unable to pay for child care
Supporting jobs and investment in local communities
$1 million for 122 councils and shires in drought-affected areas to invest in projects that support jobs and business income $30 million for targeted mental health support $50 million funding for major charities to assist rural Australians in desperate need with up to $3,000 in individual support payments	An additional $1 million for each of the 122 drought-affected councils and shires if they need it $1 million each for new drought-affected councils and shires including Greater Hume, Hilltops, Lockhart and Upper Lachlan in NSW, and Kangaroo Island and Tatiara in SA $50 million discretionary fund to support projects in Local Government Areas impacted by the drought Redirecting $200 million into a Building Better Regions Fund drought round to support new projects that deliver social and economic benefits to drought-affected communities $138.9 million additional Roads to Recovery funding in calendar year 2020 for the 128 Local Government Areas eligible for the Drought Communities Programme Extension
Long term resilience
Future Drought Fund worth $5 billion to be a sustainable source of funding to improve drought resilience and preparedness $1.5 billion for 21 dams, irrigation projects and pipelines across Australia	100 gigalitres of water that will be used to grow up to 120,000 tonnes of fodder as well as silage and pasture to secure supplies for the months ahead.