Category: Australian News

The NSW Forestry Corporation has today been convicted and sentenced in the NSW Land and Environment Court for offences relating to native forest logging in 2020, and has been fined $360,000 and ordered that they cover the legal costs of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

The breaches were as a result of the Forestry Corporation failing to accurately map two known Environmentally Significant Areas in the Yambulla State Forest and actual harm caused to 53 eucalyptus trees, and potential harm to 3 threatened bird species in the area.

Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said “The crimes committed by the Forestry Corporation on this occasion are not isolated, and their ongoing logging of native forests in NSW is regularly reported by the community as having occurred unlawfully,”

“This conviction has taken more than four years to complete and dozens, if not more, of other unlawful logging operations have been undertaken while the investigation and prosecution was underway. This makes a mockery of the lawful requirements that the Forestry Corporation must comply with, and demonstrates that the current system of enforcing compliance is failing to protect native forests and the threatened species that live within them,”

“The Court found that there is a high likelihood of the Forestry Corporation reoffending and that it does not have good prospects of rehabilitation. These findings are a damning indictment of Forestry Corporation’s integrity and demonstrates why we are calling for them to be barred from logging our public native forests,”

“This $360 thousand dollar fine is a significant part of the entire dividend that was budgeted to be returned to NSW by the Forestry Corporation, with just $9 million expected in 2024-25. This essentially means that 4% or Forestry’s entire expected return to NSW has been lost as a result of a single breach of the law – of which many more have been reported,”

“The Government is ultimately responsible for the Forestry Corporation, and have a duty to protect the people and environment of NSW from this rogue state-owned corporation. Everyday that this untrustworthy Corporation is doing more damage to the forests, and all at the expense of the people of NSW,” Ms Higginson said.

The Greens say Labor’s Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (BFSA) locks in public school underfunding for a decade and fails to provide a coherent roadmap to deliver on its objectives.

The BFSA, which replaces the expiring National Schools Reform Agreement, would commit the Commonwealth to funding only 22.5% of public school resourcing for most states and territories by 2029, leaving another generation of public school kids and parents behind.

And the agreement’s enabling initiatives, to which Commonwealth funding is tied, would ramp up student surveillance and testing, but are all but silent on student wellbeing and inclusion and don’t address the growing divide between the overfunded private system and the neglected public system.

Greens spokesperson on Primary & Secondary Education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:

“This is not a plan for full funding. This is a plan to lock in underfunding for another decade, ensuring another entire generation of public school kids misses out on the education they deserve.

“Labor claims that if all the states and territories sign up to its plan they’ll be able to deliver ‘full funding’ to public schools by 2029. This is plainly untrue.

“For one thing, the Gonski review never promised ‘full funding’ – it promised enough funding to get 80% of kids in a school up to the minimum NAPLAN standard. And for another, with the exception of the ACT, every state and territory is claiming a 4% deduction for non-school expenditure from their funding contribution.

“Labor has refused to commit to unwinding these dodgy Morrison-era deals despite being given multiple opportunities to do so.

“The BFSA reforms would require states and territories to do more surveillance, more monitoring and more testing. It does nothing to fundamentally reform our outdated education model, make schools more inclusive or reverse the growing inequities between the public and private systems.

“The Education Minister is waving the mission accomplished flag while teachers are fleeing the system, student disengagement and school can’t/school refusal is rising and cashed-up private schools draw more and more kids out of the public system.

“Even state Labor education ministers are begging Federal Labor to properly fund public schools, because they know that this is a make or break moment for the future of public schooling in this country.

“Labor needs to up the Commonwealth share of funding to a minimum of 25% in every state and territory, deliver 100% SRS funding to all public schools at the start of the BFSA in January 2025, and immediately end the overfunding of wealthy private schools that bank billions in public handouts every year.”

The Disability Community Royal Commission response was the opportunity for the Labor Government and the community’s work to achieve disability justice. They have failed.

The disability community has been waiting for the government’s response to the Disability Royal Commission for 11 months. Given the length of time, the disability community was hoping for a comprehensive and considered response. What they have received appears to be neither.

The Labor government has not committed to ending the cycle of segregation that so often leads to the abuse, violence, neglect, and exploitation of disabled people uncovered by the Commission. They made little to no mention of education, housing, or employment in their response.

Disabled people could have had genuine representation in government, but the Anthony Albanese government have confirmed that they will not support the recommendation to implement a federal Disability Minister.

There is also no action in sight from the government on issues such as forced sterilisation and marriage inequality for disabled people, which continue to plague our society in 2024.

The cycle of abuse, neglect and violence is ongoing and this response does nothing to set up a frame work to stop or even monitor it.

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Australian Greens spokesperson on Disability Rights:

“Labor claims there is no need to implement the core recommendations of the DRC, stating they are addressing these issues through other work. By ‘other work,’ do they mean cutting $14.4 billion from the NDIS? That clearly does not help disabled people.

“The only acceptable response to the profound injustices uncovered by the DRC is action. Labor’s continued inaction disrespects the immense contributions and emotional labour of the disability community to the DRC.

“We need the Government to commit funding for the radical transformation required to end ableism and discrimination in this country. We need a Minister for Disability to ensure this reform happens. We need collective liberation: to immediately raise the DSP, and end segregation in our workplaces, schools, and homes.

“Disabled people will no longer accept being kept out of view, restrained to our beds, locked in institutions, or subjected to ableism and segregation by government policies. Labor’s lacklustre response to the DRC shows they are willing to let these injustices continue, in order to balance their budget.

“Only 13 out of 222, or less than 6%, of the recommendations were accepted. Disabled people and our families gave so much to this commission, and this government has given so little in return.”

The Albanese Labor Government has handed a further $11 billion to the Australian subsidiary of a British weapons manufacturer to build just the steel hulls for three Hunter Class Frigates, making them some of the most expensive ships ever built, if we ever get them. 

The initial $2.25 billion contract was for just the design and “productisation” of the Hunter Class Frigate, however, it was amended without tender this month and jumped to nearly $15 billion. It is understood that the additional $11 billion provided by the Government is just for the hulls of three ships, not including any weapons, radar or other essential equipment.

At $4 billion each, the Albanese Labor Government is now overseeing one of the most expensive ships ever built. The ship’s design has also been plagued with issues, as it is significantly outclassed by other ships that cost significantly less.  

This contract change comes a decade after the project was initiated and following the review of the Australian Navy’s surface fleet earlier this year that slashed the number of ships from nine to six. The Greens referred the Hunter Frigates program to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) last year.

Senator Shoebridge, Greens Spokesperson for Defence, said: 

“The Hunter Frigate program is turning into a black hole for the Labor Government to pour billions of dollars into. 

“The Albanese Labor Government has now had multiple opportunities to course correct but they have doubled down on failure.”

“If we look at countries like South Korea they are manufacturing bigger and better-equipped ships for a fraction of the price. 

“This is not about investing in defence, it’s about rewarding failure by politicians who repeatedly prove themselves incapable of holding Defence to account.
 
“The Greens referred this program to the NACC because it showed clear signs of corruption, but this whole program also shows a complete disregard for the public interest, value for money and what is in the best interests of the defence of Australia.

“Over the next decade, the Albanese Government has planned for nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars to be spent on Defence. If that spending looks like the Hunter Frigates program we will blow endless billions of dollars and end the decade far less safe.”

Today’s quarterly inflation figures confirm what Australians are feeling and Labor is denying: Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have failed to tame inflation.

Consumer prices grew by 1% in the quarter, increasing headline inflation to 3.8%.

Core inflation – the RBA’s preferred measure – is even higher at 3.9%, well above the RBA’s target, and above both the RBA and Treasury’s forecasts.

Inflation impacts absolutely everyone because we all face higher prices, higher interest rates and higher taxes.

Under this Labor Government, prices have increased by more than 10%, including:

• Food by 11%
• Housing by 15%
• Rent by 15%
• Electricity by 22%
• Gas by 25%
• Health by 11%
• Education by 11%
• Financial and insurance by 17%

For the last two years, the RBA has had its foot on the brake. But Labor keeps pressing down on the accelerator, with big spending policies that have only fuelled the inflationary fire.

There is no doubt that the cost of living pain Australians are feeling is here to stay because of Labor’s economic mismanagement. There is no plan to reverse the enormous collapse in their standard of living.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor says the Albanese Labor Government has completely failed to tackle inflation.

“Australians are in enormous pain because of Labor’s homegrown inflation crisis.

“After three failed budgets, Labor’s added $315 billion in extra spending, adding fuel to the inflationary fire. But the people left to pick up the bill are hardworking Australians.

“Australia is at the back of the pack when it comes to tackling inflation – we are the only G10 country which has had core inflation rise compared to December.

“Despite causing this mess, this weak government has left it up to the RBA and ordinary Australians to clean it up.

“Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers must stop pointing the finger at others, and finally acknowledge who is responsible for this mess – themselves.”

One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson talks tough in Canberra, but an act of kindness for a mum and her daughter shows she also has a heart of gold.

One Nation firebrand Pauline Hanson has shocked a working Queensland mum with a striking act of kindness, agreeing to personally shell out for a surgical operation to help the mother’s nine-year-old daughter get back on track in life.

Mum Kahlia Byrnes’ daughter Kadee suffers from chronic tonsillitis and has reportedly waited seven years for procedure at a public hospital to fix the distressing condition.

Ms Hanson said she was “disgusted” to hear about the wait time and at a public event near Yeppoon in Central Queensland on Monday, revealed to Ms Byrnes she would personally cover the cost for a private operation.

“Straight away I said, we’re going to get this operation done,” she told media.

She then turned to the Ms Byrnes and said: “Kahlia you don’t know, I’m paying for it. It’s not right.”

Ms Byrnes thanked Ms Hanson and hugged her.

“I just want her (Kadee) to have the surgery so she stops being sick all the time, she doesn’t want to be sick herself,” she said.

“She’s just miserable when she’s sick all the time.

“I’m very happy that it is going to end this way and that she is finally going to have a surgery and she is going to able to live a life as a normal nine-year-old.”

Ms Hanson blamed the Queensland Labor government for the wait times.

In a statement to 7News, Central Queensland Health and Hospital Service chief executive Lisa Blackler acknowledged the “challenges” families faced while waiting to access health care.

“The longest category 2 patient waiting for ENT surgery at Rockhampton Hospital is currently 249 days,” she said.

The Albanese Government has today announced more than 15,000 Aussie families have been connected with free internet as part of the School Student Broadband Initiative – delivering real cost of living support for families doing it tough.

The SSBI – launched in February last year – fulfils an election commitment to help to narrow the digital divide for families who otherwise have no access to broadband at home.

Since its launch the SSBI has:    

• Connected 15,000 eligible families to a free NBN service across all states and territories, with more than a third living in rural and regional areas.   
• Saved 15,000 families thousands of dollars each, by connecting them to a free NBN service until the end of 2025, and;
• Benefitted students and families across a range of situations, including single parents and domestic and family violence victim-survivors.

The initiative – which is being implemented by NBN Co with $8.8 million from the Albanese Government – will end up supporting up to 30,000 families across the country.

To apply, families are encouraged to contact the National Referral Centre – run by Anglicare Victoria – on 1800 954 610 (Monday – Friday, 10am – 6pm AEDT), or visit: www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet

To be eligible, a family must:

• Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school.
• Have no active broadband service over the NBN network.
• Live in a premise where they can access a standard NBN service.
• Not have had an active NBN service during the previous 14 days.

The Government is also considering options to continue to support participating families at the end of 2025, including asking the NBN Low-Income and Digital Inclusion Forum to examine discounted products.

For more information on the SSBI visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/SSBI

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese

“We want to ensure no Australian child is left behind in their learning due to cost of living pressures.

“This program is helping to connect Aussie kids with vital educational materials and removing pressure from parents that are unable to afford the internet.” 

Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland

“Reliable, quality, high speed internet is not a luxury or a nice-to-have – it’s essential, including for our young people and school students, and it’s great to see so many people reached and milestones hit in recent months.

“The School Student Broadband Initiative is delivering on our commitment to narrowing the digital divide and promoting equitable access by reducing the affordability barriers families may face to access an increasingly online world.”

Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith MP, today visited residents of the Wollongbar temporary accommodation pods, following Ballina Shire Council’s recent decision to extend the lease of the pod village by just six months.

In 2022, NSW Reconstruction Authority leased the land off Ballina Council to situate temporary pods to house displaced families after the devastating floods of the same year.

Earlier this month, these displaced families received a letter advising they had to move out of the Wollongbar pods by November 2024 due to the lease of the Council land being up.

Following a request from the Reconstruction Authority to extend the lease for as long as possible, Ballina Council voted to extend it by only six months, which means pod residents will have to leave early 2025.

Today, Tamara Smith MP and Greens Councillor Kiri Dicker visited residents of the Wollongbar pods to discuss what this means for the vulnerable people living there.

During her visit, Tamara Smith MP spoke with several families who shared their anxieties about the approaching deadline. Many expressed frustration and fear about finding suitable, long-term accommodation during a housing crisis, within such a tight timeframe.

“It beggars’ belief that there are sitting councillors on Ballina Council who have denied a 12 month extension of these vulnerable residents for no good reason”, Ms Smith said.

“There is an acute housing crisis, the Wollongbar community including our sporting clubs have been so generous and welcoming towards our flood affected neighbours, and the residents of the pod village have been exemplar.

“Who exactly would be hurt by extending the lease on humanitarian grounds?”

“The Reconstruction Authority asked for as much of an extension as possible in discussions leading up to a formal request but were informed that only two months was on offer. Thankfully our Greens Councillors pushed hard for longer and and we got a six-month extension.

“I reassured the residents that I am here to support them and to back in the work of the Reconstruction Authority who are doing everything they can to transition residents into secure housing. I am deeply disappointed with the councillors who voted to turn them out”, Ms Smith concluded.

‘RIGHT TO A SAFE CLIMATE’ COULD BE ENSHRINED IN VICTORIAN LAW, DUE TO PUSH BY YOUNG VICTORIANS, SUPPORTED BY THE GREENS

Today young people from across Victoria will come to Parliament to attempt to enshrine the ‘right to a safe climate’ in Victoria’s human rights charter. The move is supported by the Victorian Greens who will introduce the legislation.

The move comes just weeks after a Federal Labor-led Senate Committee rejected a bill to legislate a duty of care, which – developed following 2022’s historic but unsuccessful Sharma v Minister for the Environment case – would have ensured that lawmakers consider the health and wellbeing of young people when making decisions that cause climate harm. 

Many other jurisdictions have similar measures enshrined into their Charter of Human Rights, including in the ACT here in Australia as well as places like Colombia, the Philippines, South Korea and even the state of Montana in the US. 

This Bill will add the Right to a Safe Climate to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. The Bill legislates the fact that every Victorian deserves the right to a safe climate and provides a legal tool for future generations and frontline communities, who are most impacted by the climate crisis, to hold governments to account for any actions that make climate change worse, such as opening new coal mines or gas drilling.

Prominent youth climate activist Anjali Sharma has endorsed the Victorian Greens Bill, saying that the right to a safe climate is long overdue in Victoria. Anjali is known for her landmark legal case, Sharma v Environment Minister. Now she’s championing the campaign for a federally legislated duty of care and thrown her support behind the Right to a Safe Climate in Victoria.

Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell: 

“Young people across Victoria are terrified about the world they’re going to inherit. Young people know they’re the ones who have to live with the consequences of climate change, which is made worse by Labor and Liberal Governments opening up new coal mines and gas drilling.”

“The Greens MPs are proud to stand alongside these brave young people who are calling for their right to a safe climate to be put into Victorian law..”

climate activist, Anjali Sharma: 

“Young people have been campaigning for the recognition of their right to a safe climate and safe future for many years. 

“To legislate this would be a recognition of the intergenerational inequity of climate change, the fact that current and future generations will be worst affected by climate disaster and that governments have an obligation to ensure that the young people of today and tomorrow can continue to experience the world in the same way that generations before them have.

“Young people are staring down the barrel at a world that could be characterised by climate disaster increasing exponentially in frequency and severity. 

“The right to a safe climate is universal and inalienable, and to legislate this in Victoria is long overdue. 

“Immediate and decisive recognition of this right is needed to ensure we can provide current and future generations with the safety and security they deserve in the face of runaway climate change.”

Jesse, 26-year-old bushfire survivor and the Co-Founder of Victorian Parliament’s Youth Advisory Group: 

“In February 2009 when I was ten years old, I saw the Black Saturday bushfires from my own backyard. My mum told me to pack my favourite things and a change of clothes. My family had to flee in case our house burnt down.

“This event was traumatic for my local community. While my family was lucky, many people lost their lives, including three of my Year 5 classmates. And everyone at my primary school suffered from this trauma in one way or another.

 “Climate change is an existential threat that disproportionately affects young people. A safe climate is a human right, that is not an abstract idea, and the Victorian State Government has a responsibility to act on it.”

A report released today from the Electoral Matters Committee (EMC) into Victoria’s group voting system finally backs what the Greens have been calling for, for years, recommending that group voting be scrapped in Victoria. 

Victoria is the only state in the country where voting for a party above the line gives that party full control of a voter’s preferences. It means that parties can make backroom deals that undermine the will of the voter and funnel people’s votes to parties they would never support. 

Ahead of the 2018 and 2022 state elections, Glenn Druery arranged microparties into preference-swapping cartels, in exchange for money. Successful candidates paid him 50-60 thousand dollars.

The Victorian Greens spokesperson for integrity, Dr Tim Read welcomed the EMC report, saying that the Greens and experts have been calling for group voting tickets to be scrapped for years. 

He added that Labor must commit to electoral reform now so that we don’t see a repeat of the seats for cash scandal, which has put people into the upper house on as little as 0.6% of the vote. 

The undemocratic system leaves many Victorians completely unaware of who they’re voting for in the Upper House and must be reformed before people go to the polls in 2026. 

Greens spokesperson for integrity, Dr Tim Read: 

“Group voting tricks voters into electing parties they haven’t heard of and may not support, ahead of candidates with a larger vote, leaving Victoria with an unrepresentative upper house.

“Upper house politicians elected by group voting are more accountable to the backroom preference dealer who took their money than they are to voters.

“Our Parliament should reflect and authentically represent the people of Victoria, not be a reflection of backroom deals between parties. 

“We need group voting reform now. Labor needs to take these recommendations seriously and ensure that group voting is scrapped by the 2026 election so that the people elected to the Upper House reflect the people they serve.”