Category: Australian News

The Albanese Labor Government continues to politicise the health of regional Australians rather than take real action, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health Anne Webster says.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler will announce a review into the Monash Modified Model, the District of Workforce Shortage and Distribution Priority Areas (DPAs), which effect the distribution of doctors throughout Australia.

“I have been calling for a review of all of these challenges for months but Minister Butler fails to acknowledge his Government bled the regions of doctors by expanding the DPAs,” Dr Webster said.

“He opened the door for International Medical Graduate Doctors to leave the regions for peri-urban settings, with exits from regions increasing by 57 per cent in the first 6 months after his policy change. This has been a major factor in GP clinics closing in Mallee and around Australia.

“Regional health is in crisis, as I have been saying since my appointment as Shadow Assistant Minister in December. Action and funding is needed to address regional health issues now, not after another review that will only confirm what regional Australians and our health workforce already know. In fact, the Coalition set a number of these reviews in motion 20 months ago.

The Minister’s announcement comes after the Coalition-instigated Strengthening Medicare Taskforce which recommended the creation of an independent workforce planning agency, expanded training pathways for doctors in regional and remote areas and greater incentives for practitioners to work in regional Australia. These were already key initiatives of the Coalition Stronger Rural Health Strategy.

“Minister Butler’s proposed Distribution and Thin Markets Review shows how thin the Albanese Labor government has been on action, thin on funding and thin on caring about the plight of regional Australians,” Dr Webster said.

“The Coalition’s strategy included a range of incentives, targeted funding and bonding arrangements that give doctors more opportunities to train and practice in rural Australia. It also strengthened the role of nurses and allied health professionals to deliver more multidisciplinary, team-based models of primary health care. Initiatives such as the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, Junior Doctor Training Program and More Doctors for Rural Australia program were all targeted to improve access to doctors for people in regional Australia.

“Regional Australians collectively are missing over $6.55 billion annually in spending on healthcare access compared to those in the city, according to the Nous Report commissioned by the National Rural Health Alliance.

“Without doctors providing primary care in regional Australia, the health costs are falling on stretched regional emergency departments. Only 6.5 per cent of total Government health funding goes to General Practice. Government spending on an equivalent visit to the GP is $80 compared to an Emergency Department visit for the same illness at over $600. Primary Care needs more funding as it keeps people out of hospital. Funding for Regional Primary Care is essential for efficient and effective regional health care delivery.”

Economist Chris Richardson, during his appearance on ABC’s program Q&A, stated that immigration is exacerbating the housing market’s troubles in Australia. One Nation has consistently argued that the housing crisis stems from excessive immigration without the parallel construction of new homes—a point frequently raised by the party.

Richardson acknowledged a connection, noting that Australia’s mismanagement of housing over the past four decades suggests a need to reconsider immigration policies. “For 40 years, we’ve transformed housing into a source of anguish, marking a profound national failure,” he asserted.

Whenever there’s support for the call to reduce immigration, One Nation feels compelled to share this development widely.

Richardson’s remarks came with a caveat: “Ideally, I’d prefer not to limit migration, but our colossal national mishandling means we must temporarily address immigration as part of the solution.”

The discussion with Richardson honed in on establishing a condition (perhaps legally) between immigration and housing availability.

One Nation’s stance is to address the backlog in housing demand before contemplating a rise in immigration. Furthermore, the party maintains that the economy should be able to finance and establish the infrastructure necessary to support housing people, including educational institutions, hospitals, and law enforcement. Additionally, One Nation says that Australia should achieve full employment before considering an increase in immigration levels.

The Greens have backed Australian Education Union calls for Commonwealth, states and territories to close the public school funding gap, but have called for greater ambition and urgency.

A new report shows the public system will continue to be underfunded by $6 billion a year under current agreements. The AEU has called for full funding to all public schools by 2028, but the Greens say funding should be delivered at the start of the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA), in January 2025.

A recent Greens-commissioned poll found that almost two-thirds of Australian parents believe the public school system is underfunded, while half of all private school parents would move their children to a public school if the system was properly funded.

Greens Education (Primary & Secondary) spokesperson, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“A free and high-quality public education should be a bedrock of any thriving democracy, not a nice-to-have that’s conditional on who’s in government or which way the political winds are blowing.

“The 2011 Gonski reforms were held up as the solution to end funding inequities in the school system, but it was undermined by Labor from the start, which capitulated to the Catholic and Independent school sectors, and further eroded under a decade of Coalition rule.

“Declining student engagement, teacher shortages, falling scores, school can’t, disruption in the classroom – these are all directly linked to the fact that teachers do not have the resources and support they require to give kids the attention and care they need.

“Public schools have been underfunded for decades. Why should students, parents, carers and teachers wait another five years for the bare minimum resources they deserve?

“With the new NSRA due next year, and Labor in power federally and in every mainland state and territory, this is the perfect opportunity to end decades of decline and fully fund the public education system.

“Labor must deliver 100% funding to all public schools at the start of the next NSRA in January 2025.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Chair of the Senate Inquiry into the Optus outage and Greens spokesperson for communications:

“I’d like to thank the former CEO of Optus for fronting up in person to the Senate Inquiry last week to answer questions. 

“This was never about which individual is CEO, this is about ensuring millions of Australians have access to what is an essential service; including the ability to call 000 in an emergency, access government services, contact loved ones, and make and take essential payments. 

“The Senate Inquiry will continue to focus on solutions, including stronger regulations for telecommunications companies, so that in the evident of outages and network failures the community can have confidence that their public interests and safety is protected.”

The Liberals’ list of demands to pass the government’s PRRT reforms makes Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ choice even more stark, the Greens say.

Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said:

“Labor’s choice is now abundantly clear: work with the Greens and deliver fairer tax returns from gas corporations and more budget revenue, or work with the Liberals to cut a sweetheart deal for the gas cartel.”

“The Liberals’ demands would require Labor to squib on the agreement they made with the Greens on the Safeguard mechanism, and wind back critical consultation mechanisms with First Nations people.”

“The Liberals demanding such an outrageous deal for their gas cartel mates is simply taking the piss, and Mr Chalmers must hold the line.”

“The Liberals’ proposed changes would put industry interests over the public good.”

“The gas industry has paid barely any tax on billions of profits for years. It’s time that they paid more tax and the Greens stand ready to work withMr Chalmers to deliver that.”

Greens portfolio holder for First Nations, Resources, Trade, Tourism and Sport, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“The Liberals new demands on the PRRT reforms show they are in bed with the gas cartel and hell bent on giving companies who pay very little tax, more power to continue environmental and cultural destruction.

“Any talk about ‘restarting offshore gas investment’ and ‘overhauling assessment regulations’ needs to be seen for what it is – an attempt to boost the gas cartel’s profits and destroy cultural heritage and rights of First Nations people.

“The cultural and environmental impacts of the gas industry must be considered, and we have seen several Federal Court cases lead to injunctions, all with similar themes that ‘consultation’ must include the relevant people who will be affected by the project and hold the stories for land and sea country; this also means free, prior and informed consent has been obtained.

“Governments are  cosying up with the mates in the fossil fuel industry hatching this plan, aided by the Coalition wringing their hands and salivating for a new deal to pass this legislation. We see this at a state level in WA, and at a federal level too, and clearly the Liberals are singing from the same ‘State Capture’ songbook.”

This week the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will travel to India to meet with their ministerial counterparts and attend the second India–Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

The Australia–India relationship has never been more consequential. We are working together through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as Quad partners and beyond to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a cornerstone of our relationship and an opportunity to progress our work together to shape the type of region we want.

Ministers will advance cooperation on our shared regional interests, including in defence, security, renewable energy and technology. They will also discuss deepening trade and investment ties.

The Deputy Prime Minister will represent the Australian Government at the ICC World Cup on Sunday evening, where Australia will take on India in the final.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles will also meet his counterpart, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to discuss ways to continue driving forward the Australia–India defence relationship and discuss the shared challenges facing our region.

Foreign Minister Wong will meet with her counterpart Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar for the long-standing annual Australia–India Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue.

The Deputy Prime Minister will then travel to the United Arab Emirates to meet with his ministerial counterparts between 21 and 22 November.

This is the first visit to the region by an Australian Defence Minister in five years and the first visit by the Deputy Prime Minister. This sends an important signal that Australia remains committed to Middle East stability. Australia supports the ongoing efforts of international partners, including the UAE, to prevent the Hamas-Israel conflict from spreading.

The Australian Government is sincerely grateful for the UAE’s assistance as we undertook assisted-departure flights for Australians affected by the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and for the UAE’s ongoing support in hosting Australian Defence Force personnel.

While in the UAE, the Deputy Prime Minister will have the honour of meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The UAE is Australia’s most significant regional defence partner, and largest trade and investment partner with two-way trade valued at $9.2 billion in 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is one of practical, tangible actions that directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region.

“This year has seen a number of firsts in our defence relationship, including an Indian submarine visit to Perth and Australia’s hosting of Exercise Malabar, demonstrating the growing closeness of our defence and security partnership.

“Our cooperation with India is at the heart of Australia’s approach to ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains open, inclusive and resilient.

“Australia remains committed to maintaining our close bilateral defence and economic relationship with the UAE through dialogues, training and industry cooperation.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“The India–Australia partnership is central to the stability and prosperity of our shared region.

“Along with our deepening defence and security cooperation, Australia is committed to partnering with India more closely for the benefit of our region, in the Indian Ocean, in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific.”

The Albanese Government’s Social Housing Accelerator will build around 4,000 homes for Australians who need them.

The Government is today releasing final implementation plans for the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator that shows how many homes each state and territory government will deliver with funding from the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth funding for these homes must be committed in full by state and territory governments by 30 June 2025.

This is another example of the Albanese Government working with states and territories to build more homes.

The $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator is in addition to our new $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

Today’s announcement builds on the agreement by National Cabinet to deliver the most significant housing reforms in a generation.

This agreement includes a new national target to build 1.2 million new well‑located homes, the National Planning Reform Blueprint, and A Better Deal for Renters.

At National Cabinet, the Albanese Government also committed a further $3 billion to the New Homes Bonus to incentivise states and territories to undertake the reforms necessary to reach the 1.2 million well‑located homes target.

A new Housing Support Program will provide another $500 million to help local and state and territory governments deliver new housing supply in well‑located areas.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Australians in every part of the country deserve the security of a roof over their head.

“Working with every state and territory government, our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator will make a huge difference for thousands of Australian families.

“My Government has an ambitious housing agenda, including the delivery of 30,000 affordable and social homes through our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.”

Minister Julie Collins said:

“We recognise Australia is facing housing challenges, which is why we’re taking immediate action with our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator.

“This new funding, and the homes we are announcing today, will mean more Australians will have a safe and affordable place to call home.

“The Social Housing Accelerator is just one part of our ambitious housing reform agenda, which is already making a real difference right across the country.”

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, and Senator Larissa Waters welcome reports today that a national ombudsman on student safety will be proposed at next week’s Education Ministers meeting, as long as the oversight body has the teeth to actually hold universities accountable for their failure to protect students from sexual assault on campus.

Deputy Greens Leader & Greens spokesperson on Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:

“Sexual violence on campus is widespread and systemic. The ombudsman must have real teeth, be properly resourced and have solid enforcement powers, so the failures of universities and TEQSA are not repeated.

“I welcome the idea of a student ombudsman, but it must be made concrete urgently and have the powers to hold universities accountable for their responsibility to keep students safe. For too long governments and unis have failed students on campus, where hundreds of assaults are still occurring each week. 

“A proper complaints mechanism, combined with transparency, oversight and accountability for universities must inform every approach the government takes to address sexual violence on campus, including the student ombudsman. We’ve only come this far due to the hard work of activists like EROC, Fair Agenda and the STOP Campaign. 

“Universities have failed to make real change to protect students, so the government must step in and do so quickly. Unis must be safe places for students to learn and thrive.”

Greens spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters said:

“The conduct of universities in covering up the sexual assaults and harassment that happen on campus rather than seriously addressing student concerns and keeping students safe has been reprehensible. 

“The government has finally heard the calls of advocates like End Rape on Campus, Fair Agenda and the STOP Campaign and is now floating ‘the idea’ of a national ombudsman, to oversight these issues. 

“Federal, state and territory education ministers are meeting Tuesday to negotiate changes to university governance; the demands of students and advocates for an independent, expert-led oversight body must be at the forefront of those negotiations.

“We don’t care what it’s called, taskforce or an ombudsman, as long as it’s a body that actually holds universities accountable for the safety of students on campus and in residential halls.

“To be effective this oversight body must; be independent and expert-led, be transparent, have an effective complaints avenue, and actually enforce meaningful accountability for those unis who don’t make the grade.”

The Greens are calling on the health minister to urgently fix the issue of insurance for midwives, who are currently unable to provide critical care for women and people in early labour.

Birthing on country initiatives are being particularly impacted, and an immediate fix is essential to ensuring continuity of care and culturally-safe birthing models.

Greens spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“The Government needs to urgently fix the issue of insurance for midwives, once and for all. The recent discovery of a loophole in the midwives’ insurance cover means that the care midwives provide to people in early labour before they reach the hospital is not covered and therefore cannot be provided lawfully.
 
“It is unacceptable that the insurance contract was ever approved by government with this gaping error within it. 
 
“Midwives are essential to improving access to maternity and reproductive healthcare, particularly in regional and remote parts of the country.
 
“To learn they are suddenly no longer covered to perform these services has direct implications on the livelihoods of midwives, and on the health outcomes of the people they are caring for during pregnancy and birth.
 
“Midwives should be supported to perform more reproductive healthcare procedures and be funded to do so.”

Greens spokesperson on First Nations Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“First Nations women have been giving birth on Country for thousands of years using our Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing. First Nations parents can experience trauma when forced to be away from Country during the birthing process, or when a hospital doesn’t provide the appropriate culturally safe care. 

“Receiving that culturally sensitive and safe care on Country improves health outcomes for mums and babies and that opportunity should be available to all expectant First Nations mums as it can help close the gap. Women deserve maternity care that works for them and their bubs.

“The Senate inquiry into reproductive healthcare recommended support for midwives in birthing and a broader range of reproductive healthcare, and for more birthing on Country services and that must be immediately fast tracked.”

The Labor government has voted down Greens amendments to its Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Transition to Work) Bill 2023 that would have raised the rate of income support, abolished mutual obligations and extended the work bonus for everyone.

The government’s Bill seeks to extend the temporary work bonus that was introduced last year for aged pensioners and some veteran recipients – leaving behind all other income support recipients in a poverty trap.

It also extends the nil rate period for Jobseeker and other income support recipients, meaning income recipients are able to work longer without their payment being cancelled. The Greens know this is simply tinkering at the edges and avoiding the change needed to the system – raising the rate of income support and abolishing mutual obligations.

Senator Janet Rice said:  

“While this bill takes small but important steps to assist income support recipients entering the workforce, we also know that these measures are just tinkering around the edges of a broken system.” 

“If Labor can increase the amount pensioners can work to $300 a fortnight – why can’t they do the same for Jobseekers, people on the parenting payment and Disability Support Pensioners under 21?” 

“Our safety net should encourage people to supplement their support payment with income from work. But right now Jobseekers and other income support recipients are only allowed to earn up to $150 a fortnight before their payment is reduced.” 

“It is completely astounding that Labor has decided to grant the work bonus to pensioners, and not include all income support recipients.”

“Over 43% of Jobseeker recipients have a partial capacity to work, meaning they are sick and/or disabled. Disabled or sick people don’t always have the capacity to sustain long term employment and may only be able to work intermittently.” 

“Labor is doing nothing for them. If you’re struggling to find employment, if you’re suffering from an illness, if you’re living with a disability, if you have caring responsibilities – forget it. Labor will not give you the full support you need to meet your basic needs.”

“Payments below the poverty line mean hunger, they mean illness, they mean hopelessness. None of those realities are conducive to finding meaningful, sustainable work.”

“If Labor really wanted to help people find meaningful work, they would raise the rate of all income support payments to above the poverty line and abolish mutual obligation requirements.” 

“The evidence shows that having more money and more time allows people to turn their attention away from day-to-day survival and towards creating a financially and emotionally sustainable future.”

“Our amendments aren’t new and they aren’t complicated. Each of these measures were implemented in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and they can be implemented again. The problem is Labor’s lack of political will to end poverty.”

“This is just one set of amendments – today, the Greens introduced three sets of amendments on three different bills trying to address the core problem of our social safety net, but Labor voted with the Liberals against them every time.”