Category: Australian News

WhatsApp’s AI depiction of gun-wielding children when promoted with ‘Palestine,’ demonstrates the need for immediate investigation into racist portrayals of Palestinians across Meta from Australia’s eSafety commissioner. 

This comes after Deputy Leader of The Australian Greens and spokesperson for anti-racism, Mehreen Faruqi, questioned the eSafety commissioner in Senate Estimates on Meta’s shadowbanning and censorship of content voicing support for Palestinians and reports that Meta translated ‘Palestinian’ and the Arabic phrase “Praise be to Allah” to “Palestinian terrorists.”

Senator Faruqi said: 

“Layer by layer the racism and biases in these mega social media platforms are unraveling for all to see. 

“The AI imagery of Palestinian children being depicted with guns on WhatsApp is a terrifying insight into the racist and Islamophobic criteria being fed into the algorithm. 

“This is right on the heels of Meta translating bios of Palestinian activists to label them as terrorists and shadowbanning Palestinian content. Meta has so far failed to address the issues or give a compelling explanation. 

“How many more racist ‘bugs’ need to be exposed before serious action is taken? The damage is already being done. Meta must be held accountable. 

“The eSafety commissioner must urgently investigate the racist and Islamophobic imagery being produced by Meta.”

Australia deplores the Russian Federation’s decision to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It is an affront to all who want a world without nuclear weapons. 

President Putin is once again showing his contempt for international rules and norms in pursuit of his own political objectives. His actions undermine global peace and stability.

Australia joins partners to call on the Russian Federation to reverse this course of action immediately.

With 178 ratifications, the Treaty is an essential part of the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, with the goal of ending nuclear weapons tests permanently.

Achieving universal membership of the Treaty is fundamental to this goal.

Australia urges all countries which have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty without delay.

Australia welcomes the efforts of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation to pursue universalisation and entry into force of the Treaty

The murders of five women in just 10 days must increase the urgency of governments and communities to tackle violence against women and their children.

The cross-party federal Parliamentary Friends of Ending Violence Against Women calls for renewed focus on this epidemic of violence to turn the tide on these horrific gendered killings.

Counting Dead Women Australia has confirmed seven women – Katherine Safranko, Heather Dean, Krystal Marshall, Thi Thuy Huong Nguyen, Lilie James, Analyn ‘Logee’ Osias and Alice McShera – were killed by violence in October, bringing the total to 43 for 2023. 

We must tackle the root causes of violence against women, and to transform harmful social norms, with well-funded, expert-led respectful relationships education in schools, sporting associations, workplaces and across all aspects of society. 

We need funding for the frontline services that provide emergency housing, wrap around support, legal advice, counselling and healing, and long term affordable housing.  

We know that First Nations women are eight times more likely to be murdered as a result of violence, and we know that there is violence in every suburb and community across the country. 

We also know this is an issue that crosses party lines and work across governments has started.  

We have seen the power of multipartisan commitments to ending this violence through the adoption of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children and funding to deliver the strategy, changes to workplace regulation including a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and support for Respectful Relationships Education in schools. We have also seen efforts to address perpetrator behaviour through a Healthy Masculinities project and Stop It At the Start campaigns. 

Governments at all levels must continue to prioritise this issue with funding and leadership, and each of us must drive the cultural change we need to end the epidemic of violence against women in our communities.

Senator Larissa Waters
Bridget Archer MP
Alicia Payne MP

Co-convenors of the Parliamentary Friends of Ending Violence Against Women and Children

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Today’s decision in GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore has overturned the ruling that the Church is able to use so-called “permanent stays” to block survivors of abuse from seeking compensation. 

Now that the High Court has rebalanced the law to protect survivors, there is an urgent need for national law reform so that cases which have been unjustly stayed before today can recommence. This is what happened when the Parliament changed the law to remove  statute of limitation restrictions following the Royal Commission. 

Greens Senator for NSW and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said: 

“This is an important win for survivors who have increasingly been facing bully boy tactics from ruthless institutions seeking to avoid accountability. 

“Institutions that have protected paedophile priests for years should not be able to use this as a reason to not face survivors in court. 

“It’s now time to unfreeze all cases where survivors of abuse are affected by unfair and oppressive permanent stays. 

“We now need urgent reforms to the law to overturn past permanent stays so survivors can have their day in court. Justice can’t wait any longer.” Senator Shoebridge said. 

Sue Higginson Greens State MP and Spokesperson for Justice said:

“This is a good and just outcome and some survivors are breathing a deep sigh of relief. The work to achieve substantive justice must now begin for all of those survivors who have been denied justice, including those who have been forced into compromised settlements because of the Catholic Churches abuse of this legal power. 

“I will do all I can in NSW to this end” Ms Higginson said. 

New ABS data has blown apart the Treasurer’s claim that working Australians are better off under the Albanese Government.

In the September 2023 quarter, living costs for working households rose 2.0 per cent, with an annual rate that is almost twice that of the Consumer Price Index.

What is more, data showed these Australians were most impacted by rising mortgage costs, and can only expect more pain from Labor’s lack of a plan to tackle inflation.

This comes at the same time the IMF has warned that more needs to be done to contain Australia’s “high and persistent inflation”.

Shadow Minister for Finance, Senator Jane Hume said these figures confirm that inflation is what’s fuelling the pain that Australian households are feeling right now.

“This new data from the ABS reinforces what Australians already know, it is tough under this Albanese Labor Government.

“We know that inflation is going to be higher for longer, because of the Labor’s lack of action. That means that interest rates are also going to be higher for longer. The data shows it is working Australian mortgage-holders who are feeling it most.

“Labor was elected on a promise to make life ‘cheaper’ for Australians, but like so many of their promises, this one is well broken. With interest rates rising and real wages going backwards, Australians are continuing to pay the price for Labor’s cost of living crisis.

“Tackling inflation is the only way we can give cost of living relief to all Australians, but unfortunately Labor doesn’t have a plan. Australians can’t afford another year of Labor’s inaction.“The fact that this new data comes as the IMF has flagged additional rate rises will be needed is of great concern.”

The Albanese Government is making it easier to see a bulk billing doctor for more than 11 million Australians, with the largest investment in bulk billing in the 40-year history of Medicare.

From today, the incentive that general practitioners receive to bulk bill children under 16, pensioners and other Commonwealth concession cardholders will be tripled for most common GP consults.

It will be easier to find a bulk billing doctor for around 5 million children and their families and 7 million pensioners and other concession cardholders.

Together, these patients account for around 3 out of 5 visits to the GP.

At the 2023-24 Budget, the Albanese Government also announced a $1.5 billion indexation boost to Medicare payments, with the increase also taking effect today.

Together, the indexation boosts in July and November have delivered the largest increase to Medicare payments since Paul Keating was Prime Minister, delivering a larger increase in one year than the former government delivered over seven years.

The indexation boost and tripling of the bulk billing incentive provides a significant increase to the Medicare payments that GPs get to bulk bill eligible patients.

In our major cities, a doctor will get 34% more for a standard bulk billed consultation of under 20 minutes (a Level B consultation), taking the Medicare payment for eligible patients to $62.05.

In regional and rural Australia, a doctor will get around 50% more for the same visit, taking the Medicare payment to between $72.80 and $81.10, depending on location.

A new Medicare rebate for GP consultations of 60 minutes or longer will also commence today, giving patients a rebate of $191.20 and doctors the time to provide better care for people with complex physical and mental conditions.

Patients registered with MyMedicare will now be able to access Medicare rebates for longer telephone consultations from their registered practice.

MyMedicare is the foundation upon which a stronger, more personalised Medicare will be built, with patients to get more tailored quality care from their regular general practice, doctor and primary care team.

Since voluntary registration for MyMedicare opened to patients on 1 October, more than 150,000 people have registered with their preferred general practice and will now get access to longer telehealth consults.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“We’re delivering the biggest investment in Medicare in over 40 years, with more incentives for bulk billing and 58 new Urgent Care clinics across Australia.

“These changes to the Medicare bulk billing incentive will make it easier, and cheaper for more than 11 million Australians to visit a doctor.

“Combined with our cheaper medicines policy, electricity bill relief, cheaper child care and increased rent assistance, we’re continuing to deliver targeted cost of living relief without adding to inflation.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said:

“The tripling of the bulk billing incentive will help over 5 million children and their families, and more than 7 million pensioners and concession card holders to see a bulk billed GP.

“Doctors’ groups have called this a ‘game-changer’ and GPs right around the country have said this will help them maintain and even shift back to bulk billing.

“Peter Dutton froze the Medicare rebate when he was Health Minister 10 years ago – a freeze that remained in place for six long years and led to a very substantial decline in bulk billing in general practice.

“Bulk billing is the beating heart of Medicare and Labor will always strengthen it.”

After a long illness, Deborah Chemke passed away last night. 

Our first thoughts today are with Mark Dreyfus, her beloved husband of 44 years, their children Joe, Tom and Laura, and their grandchildren. 

Everyone who knows Mark knows he adored Deborah. She was his most trusted source of advice and his constant inspiration. Above all, she was Mark’s great love.

From a chance encounter on a Sydney beach grew an enduring relationship built on love, respect, admiration and profound devotion.

Deborah was a skilled linguist and a woman of great intelligence and inner strength. That she came to this country from her native Chile was very much Australia’s good fortune. 

No one considered themselves more fortunate than Mark. In each other they found their own universe.

All of us who count Mark as a friend know Deborah’s illness has been an incredibly difficult time for their family. Yet through it all Deborah, Mark and their loved ones showed extraordinary grace and courage. 

Our deepest sympathies to all who mourn for Deborah Chemke today. May you always carry the glow of her in your hearts.

And may she rest in eternal peace.

The Greens say that while 98% of public schools remain underfunded a new government advertising campaign to encourage people to pursue a teaching career will do little to reverse the mass exodus of teachers from the profession.

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

“If Labor’s advertising campaign encourages more people to consider teaching as a career, and to remind the community of the vital role that teachers play in society, then that’s good.

“But what awaits these new teachers when they enter the classroom? A lack of resources and support staff, mountains of paperwork, and a workload that is impossible for many teachers to sustain.

“Teachers aren’t leaving the profession because they’re not getting enough nice TV commercials made about them – they’re leaving because the conditions are appalling, and they’re not able to do the jobs they love.

“If the government wants to attract and keep teachers in the classroom it needs to make sure they have the resources and support they need to actually teach. Because right now, only 1.3% of public schools receive the bare minimum funding they need.

“With the new National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) due next year, and Labor in power federally and in every mainland state and territory, there has never been a better time to end decades of decline and fully fund the public education system.

“Every public school in the country must be funded to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard at the start of the next NSRA, in January 2025.”

Key elements of today’s report from the Productivity Commission call for more water buybacks and accountability measures, as a Senate Inquiry into the Murray Darling Basin hears today that bogus & expensive irrigation infrastructure projects should be scrapped. The Greens, who are in balance of power on the amendment to the Water Act, have welcomed elements of the PC report.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens Spokesperson for the Murray Darling Basin and the Environment said:

“‘Buy more water for the environment and stop funding expensive, dodgy irrigation projects’ is what we’ve heard today from the Productivity Commission and the Senate Inquiry. It’s a message the Government should heed.

“The Greens can not rubber stamp the Government’s amendment to the Water Act as it stands. The Bill must include a guarantee that the water promised for the environment and South Australia will be delivered on time and not delayed again. 

“The Productivity Commission has today said the current plan is failing to deliver water for the environment and that more water buybacks are the most cost effective way to protect the Murray Darling Basin from vested interests.

“Today’s Senate inquiry has also heard from almost all witnesses that the bogus and costly irrigation infrastructure projects which have failed to deliver water should be scrapped, and money should instead be used for buybacks. The Productivity Commission has also clearly recommended that a range of dodgy and expensive water supply projects should be scrapped.

“We can’t afford another decade of delay, broken promises and political buck-passing on the Murray Darling Basin. As we head into a hot, dry, El Niño summer, the Murray Darling Basin is at serious risk.

“A river system dies from the mouth up – which is why it’s crucial that the Coorong, lower lakes and Murray mouth get the water science says is needed.”

The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to Bundaberg locals with a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) provider selected following an Expression of Interest process.

The Indigenous Wellbeing Centre on Barolin Street in Walkervale will be established as the Bundaberg Medicare UCC and will start seeing patients from late November 2023.

The Bundaberg Medicare UCC will deliver on the Australian Government’s commitment to make it easier for people in Queensland to get the urgent treatment they need – from highly qualified doctors and nurses – while taking pressure off the nearby Bundaberg Hospital.

The Medicare UCC will be open for extended hours, 7 days a week, and offer walk-in care that is fully bulk billed for everyone.

Over 41 per cent of presentations to the Bundaberg Hospital are for non-urgent or semi-urgent care.

The Bundaberg clinic is one of 11 Medicare UCCs being established across Queensland – located in Cairns, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Northern Brisbane, Murrumba Downs, Rockhampton, Southern Brisbane, Toowoomba and Townsville. The Australian Government will continue to work closely with Primary Health Networks and the Queensland Government to deliver the remaining Medicare UCCs, all of which will open this year.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“All around Bundaberg and the surrounding areas, when Queenslanders need urgent care that isn’t life threatening – the Bundaberg Medicare UCC in Walkerville will be here to help.

“Prior to the election last year, we committed to rolling out 50 new Urgent Care Clinics across the country.

When we complete our rollout – we’ll have exceeded our target and there’ll be 58 centres giving Australians urgent care, taking pressure off emergency departments all over the country.”

Minister Butler said:

“The Bundaberg Medicare UCC will make a big difference to patients in the region who will be able to walk in seven days a week and get free urgent care from a nurse or a doctor.

“The clinic will ease pressure on Bundaberg Hospital, so that its hard-working doctors and nurses can focus higher priority emergencies.

“The Bundaberg Medicare UCC is just another way the Government is strengthening Medicare and making it easier to see a doctor.”

Minister Fentiman said:

“We know that our state is experiencing exponential growth, and it’s great to see the Albanese Government providing free healthcare options for Queenslanders.

“Urgent Care Clinics are designed to take pressures off our health system and GPs by being an accessible and community-based alternative to busy hospitals.

“I’m thrilled that the Bundaberg community who will soon have this wonderful clinic open and available for their urgent health needs.”

Assistant Minister Chisholm said:

“This new Medicare UCC will offer high-quality care for residents in the Bundaberg region who need to see a medical professional for a health issue that is urgent and requires treatment but is not life-threatening and doesn’t require attending the emergency department.

“The Bundaberg Medicare UCC will ease pressure on emergency departments and offer more convenient care for the local community – closer to home, at short notice, and free under Medicare.

“As the Wide Bay Burnett region continues to grow, that means more demand for local hospitals. Our government is committed to delivering the health services that regional Queensland needs to improve waiting times and protect lives.

“This is another example of the Albanese Labor Government delivering for Queensland’s rapidly growing regions.”