Category: Australian News

The AFP is warning parents and guardians over a concerning online trend emerging in Australia involving young victims who are being coerced into producing extreme sexual and violent content over the internet.

Sadistic sextortion is a rising online crime type that involves extreme online groups targeting children as young as twelve years old on social media and messaging platforms to coerce them to self-produce explicit material to gain acceptance into extreme online communities.

These online communities use different names and monikers to operate on social media or messaging platforms, and consist of members from all around the world. To gain access to a majority of these groups, prospective members are coerced by group members to produce or live-stream explicit content online.

In some cases, the offenders are the same age as the victims being targeted.

AFP intelligence has identified that sadistic sextortion offenders will initiate an online relationship with a victim on social media or messaging platform before encouraging them to produce an image or video performing an explicit sexual or violent act.

The offender will then share the content with other members in the online group, who will attempt to extort the victim by threatening to share the material with their family or friends, unless the victim produces more videos and extreme content.

The offender will relentlessly demand more content from victims that often continues to escalate in its seriousness including specific live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self-harm, and live online suicide.

The Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) commenced an investigation into reports of an alleged serious sadistic sextortion offender in WA, 14, accused of targeting victims around the world in 2022.

Police seized the offender’s phone and later identified child abuse material (CAM) and videos of animal cruelty.

The offender was charged and received a juvenile caution in relation to the matter.

AFP Commander of Human Exploitation and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Helen Schneider said intelligence received by the ACCCE suggested most offenders in extreme online groups were not motivated by money, but were instead focused on obtaining status or notoriety within the group.

“Unlike sextortion, these offenders are not motivated by financial gain. Instead, they are driven by exploiting vulnerable victims into producing abhorrent content for their deranged amusement,” Commander Schneider said.

“Unfortunately, some victims in these groups, do not see themselves as victims. They do not believe they are being coerced into performing these extremely horrific acts and therefore are unlikely to report it to the authorities.

“Without information or assistance from victims and members of the public, it can be extremely difficult for police to identify offenders and shutdown these dangerous groups.”

Commander Schneider said the AFP urged parents and guardians to be aware of the warning signs of young people being groomed by coercive groups online.

‘If parents believe their child is engaging in harmful activity online, it’s important to have a conversation with them to understand the situation and provide appropriate support,” Commander Schneider said.

“Warning signs children may be engaging in harmful activity online may include increased screen-time on computers or phones, isolating themselves from friends and family or being secretive about who they are interacting with online.

“Whether a child is or has been a victim of sextortion online, please reassure them it’s not their fault and report it to the ACCCE.”

If you think you are a victim or know of someone who is a victim of sadistic sextortion
DO stop the chat
DO take screen shots of the text and profile
DO block the account and report it to the platform
DO get support from a trusted friend or family member, or professional support services and seek mental health support if required. Kids Helpline offers free and confidential sessions with counsellors.
DO report the crime to the ACCCE
DON’T send more images or pay as this will lead to more demands
DON’T respond to demands
DON’T enter into further communication
DON’T think you are alone
If you’re concerned about your or someone else’s safety, dial Triple Zero (000) or contact your local police station.

The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.

The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.

If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.

Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found on the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit the ACCCE website.

The NSW Attorney General has been blasted by crossbench and opposition MPs in Budget Estimates this morning in a fiery exchange that exposed the impotence of the Minns Labor Government’s “tough-on-crime” posturing. 

Under questioning, it was revealed the Attorney General could not identify any evidence or consultation that suggested more severe penalties for knife offences or expanded police knife-wanding powers have reduced crime or would ever reduce knife crime.

The Hon. Susan Carter presented BOCSAR stats showing that certain violent knife offences have actually increased since the introduction of harsher penalties for knife offences last year

Ms Sue Higginson presented evidence from the The 2023 Griffith University Review of Queensland wanding powers which found no evidence that police wanding powers had reduced the rate of knife possession or violent knife offences and had been disproportionately used to target First Nations children and young people.

No prior consultation was undertaken on youth bail reforms with legal experts or community groups

88% of children refused bail under Labor’s youth bail reforms were First Nations children

The new Moree youth remand facility announced in March this year will not be operational before the expiration of NSW Labor’s youth bail reforms next year

The LECC will have no role overseeing the implementation of knife wanding powers, in spite of their offer to do so

The Attorney General repeatedly stated he would not apologise for legislation introduced without community and legal expert consultation and admitted that the legislation will result in the further over-incarceration of First Nations people, particularly children and young people.

Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson said “This morning was a dreadful display of the realities of a tough on crime, law and order agenda. It is not based on evidence, will not reduce crime but means this government has functionally abandoned its commitment to Closing the Gap targets,”

“More First Nations young people and children are in prison than ever before in NSW because of the headline-chasing, tough-on-crime posturing of the Premier and Attorney General in the last 12 months,”

“It is an unconscionable political failure that the drivers of crime are so widely, well and long understood and that more has not been done to date to reform our approach in NSW,”

“Being tough on crime may be responsive to radio shock jocks and be cathartic for bully-boy lawmakers but it has not, has never, and will never make our communities safer,”

“Crime prevention requires community empowerment and resourcing, therapeutic responses, extraordinary compassion and understanding and the leadership to drive it and it is the leadership that is absent,” Ms Higginson said.

The NSW government will fail to deliver meaningful change in response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into community and outpatient mental health care without significant additional funding.

The inquiry was initiated by the Greens in July 2023 to hear from people with lived experience and people on the front lines of providing mental health care. The committee is chaired by Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens spokesperson for Health including Mental Health and former GP.

Out of the 39 recommendations in the final report, the government has supported 24, supported 8 in principle, and noted 7.

Key takeaways

Funding for the mental health system	The NSW government has failed to support recommendations to increase and maintain funding across the mental health system, or to explore innovative revenue streams to fund mental health services.
Mental health crisis and emergency responses	The government has supported several recommendations towards a health-led response to mental health emergencies, with police only activated as a secondary response to those emergencies (supported in principle).  The government has not supported a recommendation to improve mandatory comprehensive mental health training for police officers. The government has not supported a recommendation to expand the Safe Haven program to be a 24/7 program where feasible.
Mental health workforce	The NSW government has failed to support recommendations to increase pay for public mental health clinicians in line with other states, or to increase resourcing for formal clinical supervision. Recommendations to integrate peer workers into the broader mental health workforce and into emergency departments were supported. The government has supported recommendations to advocate to the federal government to address funding and workforce gaps in primary care and mental health services and to provide HELP fee relief for mental health priority courses.
Other recommendations	The government has agreed to look to initiatives that provide mental health care outside of traditional clinical settings, explore opportunities for embedding mental health clinicians in general practice, improve service directories and system navigation, and implement best practice for data collection on gender and sexuality. The government has stated it is considering introducing 5-year funding agreements for NSW Mental Health Community Living Programs to improve consistency of care for consumers and growth and stability of the workforce, but that the availability of funding is a consideration.

The inquiry comes after data released recently by the federal government shows that across 2022-23, 205,830 people aged 12-64 in NSW required psychosocial support but 166,040 were not receiving it. That’s over 80% of those people needing but not receiving psychosocial support services. That percentage is second only to the NT at 82.3%. 

Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens NSW spokesperson for Health including Mental Health, and former GP:

“There are some important steps forward to take out of the government’s response. Commitments to bolster the role of peer workers, better integrate mental health care and primary care and streamline system navigation are important and welcome.

“After a long-fought campaign by the Greens, the government has supported moving to health-led responses to mental health emergencies. The fight continues now to ensure this is implemented in full so that people in crisis receive the care they need and do not come to harm at the hands of police.

“It’s a slap in the face to hard working, skilled, and increasingly burnt out mental health clinicians that the government has not supported increasing their pay in line with other states. Services will continue to be understaffed and unable to deliver the care that people deserve while our health workforce moves interstate.

“These recommendations don’t get pulled out of thin air within the walls of Parliament. They were informed by the testimonies of hundreds of people, many who relived painful memories and trauma to advocate for change. 

“Without new funding for community mental health services, people across NSW will continue not to be able to access the care that they need, and the mental health system will continue to be reactive and crisis-driven,” said Dr Cohn.

The UK has suspended 30 arms export licences to the State of Israel including the direct transfer of parts of the F-35 fighter jet. The UK did this because of the mounting legal risk for any government that actively supports a genocide.

The Albanese Government is increasingly isolated in its refusal to introduce any form of ban or suspension in the two-way arms trade with the State of Israel. This is despite rulings by the International Court of Justice and the UN calling on countries to stop the export of military equipment to the State of Israel.

There are currently 66 active Australian military export permits approved by the Albanese Government to send military equipment to the State of Israel. These include goods being sent to Israeli manufacturers for repair and uplift, including weapons as part of the two-way arms trade, as well as dual-use goods and weapons parts and components.

Australia provides a critical supply line for the Israeli military’s F35 fighter jets, with contracts through over 70 companies, including the sole global manufacturers for specific parts.

While the information on the F35 supply line in Australia recently disappeared from Government websites, the head contractor for the F35 Lockheed Martin said: “Every F35 built contains some Australian parts and components.”

The UK’s arms ban does have a significant and inexplicable exemption for the indirect supply of F35 fighter jet parts to Israel through the US.

The UK ban follows a Dutch court ruling in February this year that ordered the Netherlands Government to stop exporting weapon parts for the F35.

Greens Senator and Defence Spokesperson David Shoebridge said: “What will it take for the Albanese Labor government to ban the two-way arms trade with Israel?

”The UK’s move shows the growing legal and political risk for the Albanese government as it allows Australian industry and weapons exporters to support a real-time genocide.

“Australian law shields decision makers from criminal liability for supporting war crimes by placing a political veto to prosecutions in the hands of Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus. However, this does not provide a shield to international prosecutions through the International Criminal Court.

“Labor has agreed to an almost $1 billion contract with Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit and millions more to firms such as Rafael Systems who are making record profits from arming those committing genocide.

“There is only one valid legal and moral response to an ongoing genocide, and that is to do everything in your power to stop it. This is a test that Labor is comprehensively failing,” Senator Shoebridge said.

The report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights into compulsory income management has recommended the complete abolition of the scheme. This follows years of advocacy from communities and the Greens arguing the racist and oppressive program should be repealed. 

Last year, the Greens successfully passed amendments that ensured oversight of the expanded compulsory income management scheme through the Joint Committee on Human Rights. 

This review considered whether the scheme was compatible with human rights and what its impact had been on communities where it was imposed. 

Evidence considered including the dramatically different rate of exemptions granted for compulsory income management with First Nations people much less likely to apply for an exemption and significantly less likely to get an exemption. 

The evidence also showed that the move away from the Cashless Debit Card was marked by a very poor transition plan, no support for those impacted and no financial counselling. This was a real opportunity for empowerment and support that was missed. When compulsory income management is fully abolished this mistake should not be made again. 

Greens Senator and Social Services and Government Services Spokesperson Penny Allman-Payne said: 

“Labor must not continue to kick the can down the road – they need to commit to abolishing compulsory income management as a matter of urgency.

“The Greens, advocates, academics, and people on income management will not stop fighting until Labor keeps their promise and abolishes compulsory income management once and for all.

“Labor promised voters they would end compulsory income management. Since they’ve been in government all they’ve done is expand it through the SmartCard.” 

Greens Senator, Justice Spokesperson and PCJCHR member David Shoebridge said:

“We heard the evidence on this inquiry that Compulsory Income Management was oppressive, racist, unequally applied and deeply unfair. 

“This scheme has systematically discriminated against First Nations people.

“It is extremely positive that the majority report calls for an end to income management and the progressive majority in Parliament is ready to support quickly terminating this unfair program. 

“Despite the compelling evidence we heard in this inquiry to end income management the Coalition still support it in what can only be seen as an ideological attack on poverty. 

“This report says compulsory income management should end, and what we say as Greens is that it should end now.”

An ACT Greens motion calling on the Labor party to sever its ties to pokies and donate its pokies-seeded investment capital to the Alliance for Gambling reform has passed the ACT Assembly. 

“The Labor Party is impossibly compromised on gambling policy,” said Andrew Braddock, ACT Greens MLA for Yerrabi.  

“Today, the quiet part has now been said out loud. 

“The Greens introduced the motion because the ACT Labor Party has avoided, delayed, and ultimately rejected best-practice gambling reforms that were presented to it through the term of the Assembly.  

“The Labor Party has blocked positive gambling reforms in the ACT and let down the community and we must ask, what is preventing them from taking the action that all the advocates and experts are calling for? 

“The ACT Greens endeavour to work closely with Labor to achieve progressive outcomes for the community, but we are forced to call out Labor’s significant, entrenched failure on the issue of gambling reform.” 

“The Greens will continue to stand with gambling harm minimisation advocates, and push for the implementation of best-practice reforms”, said Mr Braddock.   

For the third time, the old parties combined to reject an amendment to the ACT Budget from ACT Greens MLA Jo Clay to phase out the ACT Government’s $41 million subsidy to the horse racing industry.

“The ACT Greens believe that the ACT Government should invest public money in industries that support community need, or bring benefit to the community,” said ACT Greens MLA, Jo Clay.

“Currently, the horseracing industry receives more public money than the Canberra Raiders, ACT Brumbies, Canberra United and all community sports programs COMBINED.

“What’s more, they get this money outside of any grant process or public tender.

“I don’t think anyone in the community would think this is a good or fair use of taxpayer dollars.

“The Canberra Racing membership has declined and event attendance has dropped. Despite the huge financial injection from the ACT Government, they have moved from a surplus to a deficit and their liabilities have doubled.

“We’ve heard the industry claim their activities contribute $81M to the economy. But they admit the majority of this is from gambling and gambling advertising. And that figure is not high – the ACT’s creative industries contribute $2.9 billion to our local economy.

“The horseracing industry also claims to create 500 jobs – this is a pretty generous reading. It looks like they are including every job in sports administration in Canberra. A closer reading of their report based on hours of work indicates that their direct employment accounts for only 2 FTE jobs.

“The horseracing industry is a dying industry that has lost its social licence.

“It is not the job of government to prop up this dying industry. Public funds need to go towards the public good. What are we getting for our public funding?

“The 2022-23 MOU provided $6.8M of public funds to the Canberra Racing Club. That year, the Canberra Racing Club gave out $5.96M in prize money and $976,000 in payments to key management personnel. It looks an awful lot like the public is funding horseracing prize money and CEO salaries.

“This is just not OK and the community will be rightly disappointed that both ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals voted today to continue this waste of public funds.

“The ACT Greens recognise the need to support the workers and animals involved as the industry transitions. In order to do that, the Greens propose phasing out public funds rather than stopping them immediately,” said Ms Clay.

Background

Since 2011, the ACT government has spent or pledged more than $100M of public money to the horseracing industry. The current MOU is here. It provides funds to the Canberra Racing Club and the Canberra Harness Club. In 2022-23 it provided $6.8M to the Canberra Racing Club and in 2023-24 it provided $6.9M to the Canberra Racing Club. In total, over $8 million is provided in public funding each year to the Canberra Racing Club and Canberra Harness Racing Club under the MOU.

Canberra Racing Club’s Annual Reports are online. Annual Report 2022-23, Annual Report 2021-22, Annual Report 2020-21, Annual Report 2019-20.

Clay’s amendment to the budget and Explanatory Statement can be provided on request.

The horseracing industry has produced an Economic Impact Report. It’s not a public document but Clay obtained a copy under FOI. The report claims an economic contribution to the ACT economy and notes that 60% of that contribution is from gambling and gambling advertising. Clay has put questions to the horseracing industry about the information in this report in the interests of a transparency and is waiting on answers to those questions.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, will host their Japanese counterparts for the 11th Australia-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultation in Victoria on 5 September 2024.

The meeting with Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kamikawa Yoko, and Minister of Defense, Kihara Minoru, will advance our bilateral cooperation and defence and security priorities.

The Deputy Prime Minister will host Minister Kihara for a Defence Ministers’ Meeting in the Geelong region today. The Foreign Minister will also host Foreign Minister Kamikawa for a bilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting tomorrow.

Australia and Japan have never been closer, and this visit is an opportunity to deepen our Special Strategic Partnership, underpinned by mutual trust, complementary economies, and a close affinity between our people.

We are working together to support an Indo-Pacific region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous.

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP:

“I am honoured to welcome Minister Kihara to my hometown of Geelong. I look forward to discussing our shared ambition to strengthen our defence partnership, building on our 2022 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation.

“Our defence cooperation with Japan is a pillar of regional stability. Our strong strategic alignment supports collective deterrence and stability in the Indo‑Pacific.”

Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:

“Japan is an essential partner for Australia, and our two nations work closely together, including through ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Quad, to make a vital contribution to the region’s security and prosperity.

“I am pleased to have travelled to Japan three times in the past 12 months, a sign of our close and regular engagement.”

All Western Australian public schools will be fully and fairly funded by the Albanese and Cook Governments following a historic bilateral agreement signed today. 

The bilateral agreement will increase funding for all Western Australian schools to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2026.

Western Australia has become the second state or territory to sign on to the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, delivering record funding to its schools and introducing targeted reforms which will help WA students to catch up, keep up and finish school.  

Today’s bilateral agreement formalises the Statement of Intent, signed by both Governments earlier this year.

Under the agreement, the Australian Government will invest an estimated additional $785.4 million from 2025 to 2029 in Western Australia public schools. The Western Australian Government will invest at least an equivalent amount over this period, bringing total additional investment in public schools to approximately $1.6 billion.

This means the Commonwealth will increase its share of funding from 20 per cent to 22.5 per cent of the SRS by 2026, and the Western Australian Government will increase its funding share to at least 77.5 per cent of the SRS by 2026.

Funding will be tied to reforms in the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, including:

• Year 1 phonics and early years numeracy checks to identify students in the early years of school who need additional help.
• Evidence-based teaching and targeted and intensive supports such as small-group or catch-up tutoring to help students who fall behind.
• Support for students to come to school ready to learn, such as greater wellbeing support for learning and engagement, including counsellors, school psychologists and health nurses.
• Trialling place-based approaches to delivering a full-service school model in at least four WA public schools from 2026 which includes community, health and social services support.
• Recruiting more co-ordinators to better support students with the most complex needs.
• Identifying opportunities to reduce workloads and better support teachers and school leaders through professional learning.
• Providing more support and pathways for people to transition to a teaching career in Western Australian public schools, with a focus on First Nations people, people with disability and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The head agreement also includes the following key national targets by 2030:

• Increasing the proportion of students with Year 12 or equivalent certification by 7.5 percentage points, compared with 2022 results.
• Reducing the proportion of students in the Needs Additional Support proficiency level in NAPLAN by 10 per cent.
• Increasing the proportion of students in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency levels in NAPLAN by 10 per cent
• Increasing the student attendance rate for all students, returning it to pre-pandemic levels.

The Western Australia bilateral agreement can be accessed here. The BFSA Heads of Agreement can be accessed here.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“I know firsthand the power of a good quality education. I want to make sure that every student in Australia, no matter where they live and learn, receives every opportunity.

“That’s why we are working hand in hand with the Cook Government to fully fund Western Australian schools, in a landmark agreement signed today.”

WA Premier Roger Cook

“Every Western Australian school student deserves access to a quality education.

“WA public schools have received high levels of State funding under my Government, and this new landmark agreement with the Federal Government takes support for our schools to the next level.

“Importantly, the additional funding will be tied to reforms that will help our students keep their learning on track, and assist those at risk to catch up – ensuring no student in a WA public school is left behind.”

Minister for Education Jason Clare

“This is a historic day for public education in Western Australia.

“It shows what can be done when governments work together. It shows that we can fully fund public schools and invest in the reforms that will make a real difference to the students who really need it.

“This agreement means all Western Australian public schools will now be fully funded. This is massive day for public education in WA.

“Today’s agreement builds on the agreement signed with the Northern Territory to fully fund NT public schools.

“The Albanese Government will continue to work together with remaining states and territories to fully fund public schools across the country.”

WA Minister for Education Tony Buti

“We are so happy to be getting this done for the people of Western Australia.

“This funding will focus on improving equity and excellence in schools, supporting the wellbeing of students and teachers, and providing a strong and sustainable workforce of teachers and non-teaching school staff.

“We are currently delivering record levels of reform and investment into public education, which is working to help ensure all students and their families have access to a great education.”

The Greens have announced their election policy to establish a National Renters Protection Authority that will enforce national tenancy standards and the Greens proposed rent freeze and ongoing caps. The NRPA would have the power to independently investigate and fine landlords and real estate agents, as well as referring serious offenders for prosecution by states and territories.

Under the Greens plan to establish the NRPA, costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office at $200 million per year on average, the Authority will have 1000 staff in a range of locations nationwide, allowing them to investigate rental breaches as well as offering advocacy, advice and education to renters all around the country. 

The NRPA will be able to issue on-the-spot infringement notices of up to $3,756 to individuals (12 Commonwealth penalty units), or $18,780 (60 penalty units) to real estate agencies. Serious or repeat offenders could be fined up to $15,650 (50 penalty units) for individual landlords or $78,250 (50 penalty units) for agencies, subject to sanctions such as removing a real estate agents’ licence to practise or referred for prosecution by states and territories. 

The NRPA is part of the Greens broader plan to coordinate national tenancy standards by distributing $2.5 billion a year (indexed) to the states and territories in exchange for introducing model tenancy standards including:

• a 2 year freeze on rent increases, 
• ongoing 2% cap on rent increases, 
• right to guaranteed lease renewal
• access to 5 year leases, and 
• nationwide minimum standards covering ventilation, heating, cooling and insulation. 

The NRPA would help to enforce these new standards, while the $2.5 billion a year would in part go toward bolstering state and territory respective tribunals dealing with tenancy disputes. 

Along with proactive investigations targeted at compliance with new rent caps, rights to lease renewal and minimum standards, the NRPA would be the first port of call for renters nationwide facing unfair rent hikes, retaliatory evictions, unfair bond claims, landlords who won’t make essential repairs or a notice to leave without reason.

Right now around most of Australia there’s zero protection against unlimited rent increases and nothing to stop renters being forced to move without warning every year, and there’s nothing in Labor’s weak patchwork of ‘Better Deal for Renters’ that will change this.

The states can’t even agree that every renter deserves a working kitchen, electricity supply, heating or cooling or a house free from mould. According to a new report released this week, a year on from Labor’s Better Deal announcement, renters around the country remain vulnerable, with National Cabinet reforms falling short in protecting tenants. National Shelter’s Emma Greenhalgh called on the Commonwealth to play a leadership role in coordinating national rental reform, saying that “states and territories have not done enough to strengthen renters’ rights amid the unprecedented housing crisis”.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:

“For too long renters have been treated like second-class citizens by both Labor and the Liberals.

“Unlimited rent increases should be illegal. Unliveable rentals should be illegal. That’s what a National Renters Protection Authority would achieve.

“Labor and the Liberals think they can tinker around the edges with a fundamentally broken housing system but renters will punish them at the ballot box.”

Max Chandler-Mather, MP for Griffith, Greens spokesperson for housing and homelessness:

“Across this country, there are 7 million renters who are powerless in their own home, unable to push back against unfair rent hikes, dodgy agents and landlords who never do basic repairs. 

“In a system stacked against renters, The National Renters Protection Authority will fight to protect every renters’ right to a secure and affordable home.

“Any renter will be able to tell you about the terrible anxiety that comes when a landlord or real estate breaks the rules and the NRPA is about ensuring every renter has someone to call when that happens. 

“Australia is one of the worst places in the world to be a renter, we desperately need a national body with teeth to fight in their corner and enforce stronger renters rights across the country.

“Governments treat renters’ rights like an opt-in scheme for property investors but the Greens are fighting for legal enforcement of minimum standards and limits on rent increases.

“What’s the point of minimum standards for renters if there’s nobody to call when the landlord or real estate breaks the rules?

“There will be no more pleading with the landlord to send a plumber, fix the heater or send an electrician – it’s your right to have a liveable rental home, and the Greens will make that a reality.

“Over the next 10 years Labor will give property investors $176 billion in tax handouts while millions of renters get screwed.”