Category: Australian News

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is urging all South Australians to support the YES campaign as it kicks off in Adelaide today.

“Today’s YES campaign launch is a historic moment for our country, and it’s taking place in Adelaide because South Australia is a crucial state in this referendum.

“SA is the make or break state in this referendum. The positive polling results we have seen today show the Yes vote leading narrowly, but that it can’t be taken for granted.

“There will be no “maybe” box on the ballot paper. It is either Yes or No. Yes for doing what is right, or No for continuing the wrongs of the past.”

“SA was the first State to give women the vote and now we can take Australia forward again. 

“Now that the official YES campaign has kicked off, I urge all South Australians to get involved and help us get this really important reform across the line.

“Over the coming weeks, we will be out and about around the state campaigning to make sure South Australia returns a strong YES vote.”

Senator Hanson-Young will be attending the announcement of the date event in Adelaide this morning.

The Greens have warmly welcomed the announcement of the referendum on 14 October and recommitted their support for the campaign for Yes.

South Australian Senators Sarah Hanson-Young and Barbara Pocock represented the Australian Greens party room at the government’s announcement in Adelaide this morning, and Greens Leader Adam Bandt campaigned in Melbourne this morning and will visit Adelaide on Friday.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:

“As the first political party to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, the Greens are proud to support the campaign for Yes.

“First Nations people are the experts on First Nations policy. When they give advice, governments must listen and act.

“A successful Yes vote at this Referendum is a step towards justice for First Nations people, and towards the solutions that First Nations people have been fighting for for decades.”

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

“A successful Referendum will amplify First Nations voices. Our voices will be heard, and the government will have a responsibility to listen and act.

“First Nations self-determination will lead to better outcomes in housing, health, education and more.

“Together we demand a future where no matter who we are, we are all treated equally, and First Nations people are no longer left behind.

“I want to see this happen in my lifetime, for my children, for my Elders, for my mob, for every First Nations person and for every Australian. We must not squander this moment.

“The Greens were the first party to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. The first step is a successful Yes at the Referendum in October.”

The Opposition is calling on the Prime Minister to stand up to his union mates and reaffirm Labor’s commitment to AUKUS.

Reports that the Australian Education Union (AEU) are considering boycotting a STEM program, inviting high school students to participate in a competition to design nuclear-powered submarines (the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Propulsion Challenge), are concerning.

Australia is less than four years away from Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) at HMAS Stirling. We face a massive task ahead to prove to our partners that we can safely own, operate, maintain, and regulate nuclear-powered submarines.

We all have a responsibility to encourage young Australians to get involved in this nation-building task and educate them about the benefits AUKUS will have for generations to come.

But commentary coming out of Labor and the unions is unsettling and puts our requirement to be ‘sovereign ready’ at risk.

The Prime Minister must show leadership by standing up to the AEU and guarantee that the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Propulsion Challenge will go ahead.

I am pleased to announce the Governor-General has accepted my recommendation to appoint Adam Fennessy PSM as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Mr Fennessy is an accomplished public sector leader including as the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries and then the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning between 2013 and 2017. Mr Fennessy was the Victorian Public Service Commissioner between 2020 and 2022. He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding public service to government departments in Victoria.

Mr Fennessy is currently the Dean and CEO of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

With his strong subject matter knowledge in primary industries, including well-established relationships with industry, and significant experience in organisational transformation, Mr Fennessy will be able to make an immediate contribution to the strategic leadership of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the broader Australian Public Service.

The five year appointment begins on 18 September 2023.

The office of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was vacated on the retirement of Mr Andrew Metcalfe AO, on 4 August 2023. On behalf of my government I thank Mr Metcalfe for his dedicated service and leadership, including as Secretary of three Departments of State since 2005.

The Greens have condemned the Forestry Corporation of NSW for threatening endangered species by logging the habitat of the great glider in Tallaganda state forest.

They are calling on state and federal governments to urgently act to scrap the Regional Forest Agreements to end native forest logging and protect endangered species.

Australian Greens’ spokesperson for forests Janet Rice said: 

“This forest and these gliders are national heritage – the Commonwealth has a responsibility to protect them, particularly in light of how much forest burnt in 2019 in NSW and Victoria. 

“It shouldn’t be up to the vandals of the NSW forestry commission to send greater gliders closer and closer to extinction. 

“If we want zero extinctions as Tanya Plibersek has promised then we need to end native forest logging across the country immediately.

“Forests are going to be under even greater threat from fire in the future with more extreme conditions due to global heating.

“The Regional Forest Agreements have allowed for decades of reckless destruction of native forests across Australia, pushed native wildlife to the brink of extinction, endangered our water supplies, heightened bushfire risk, and made the climate crisis worse.

“Native forest logging is a dying industry and there’s no way around it. 

“We need a permanent, national ban on native forest logging and a just transition plan for forestry workers.” 

NSW Greens’ spokesperson for forests Sue Higginson said:

“The NSW Government must immediately pause all plans to log Tallaganda Forest. We can not allow Greater Glider extinction logging and make no mistake, that’s what this is. 

“There are dozens of Greater Glider den trees in Tallaganda that are proposed to be logged, but Forestry Corporation have only mapped a single tree for habitat protection across the 5,000 hectares that they want to destroy.

“Forestry Corporation are legally required to conduct pre-logging fauna and flora surveys but they can not have done this adequately as their report has drastically under-assessed the Greater Glider habitat and population in this area that is critical for the survival of the Greater Glider.

“I’ve called on the NSW Minister for Environment and the Environment Protection Authority to use their powers and issue an immediate stop work order for logging operations in Tallaganda State Forest until an independent review of the Greater Glider habitat can be undertaken.

“The NSW Government has committed to zero extinctions in NSW but the continued logging of critical Greater Glider Habitat, one of only two remaining in the state, is a blatant failure to take the necessary actions to prevent the extinction of Greater Gliders.”

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is urging all South Australians to support the YES campaign as it kicks off in Adelaide today.

“Today’s YES campaign launch is a historic moment for our country, and it’s taking place in Adelaide because South Australia is a crucial state in this referendum.

“SA is the make or break state in this referendum. The positive polling results we have seen today show the Yes vote leading narrowly, but that it can’t be taken for granted.

“There will be no “maybe” box on the ballot paper. It is either Yes or No. Yes for doing what is right, or No for continuing the wrongs of the past.”

“SA was the first State to give women the vote and now we can take Australia forward again. 

“Now that the official YES campaign has kicked off, I urge all South Australians to get involved and help us get this really important reform across the line.

“Over the coming weeks, we will be out and about around the state campaigning to make sure South Australia returns a strong YES vote.”

Senator Hanson-Young will be attending the announcement of the date event in Adelaide this morning.

The Albanese Labor Government is presiding over a staffing crisis at Services Australia, with a top agency official conceding that understaffing is drastically impacting the delivery of vital government services and payments during the cost of living crisis.

In an interview on 3AW radio yesterday, Services Australia’s long-time agency spokesperson, Mr Hank Jongen PSM, admitted that widespread delays to the processing of Paid Parental Leave was a result of understaffing, saying “in reality, we are understaffed in our service delivery,” adding that “we are currently actively trying to recruit staff to help us address call centre and processing delays.”

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy Paul Fletcher said Government Services Minister Bill Shorten must urgently order a review into Services Australia’s workforce arrangements.

“Labor has unleashed waves of job cuts at Services Australia without doing any proper planning which is clearly affecting service delivery,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Labor cut average staffing levels for this financial year, going from 36,685 in 2022-23 to 35,956 in 2023-24.

“In June, 600 call centre jobs were axed after a multi-million contract with Serco was scrapped, with no public explanation offered.

“It’s no wonder that Mr Shorten has repeatedly refused to release data about how long Australians are having to receive a Centrelink or Medicare payment.

“Across the country, major businesses are deploying smart technologies to improve how they engage with customers without increasing the headcount.

“Learning from the positive digital transformation journeys of the private sector and translating those lessons into the public sector should be on Mr Shorten’s to do list.”

Mr Fletcher said digital technology could help address many of the government’s service delivery challenges, but just isn’t being prioritised.

“Australians going online to access services via MyGov are also being let down by this government, which puts digital transformation in the too hard basket,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Over 1000 specialist ICT jobs were abolished in December last year and, more than six months on, Mr Shorten still hasn’t responded to the MyGov User Audit.

“The government needs to urgently review the viability of Services Australia’s current workforce arrangements which includes an examination of the impact of its contractor cuts and the health of its digital service delivery channels.”

The Immigration Minister Andrew Giles is flying around Australia campaigning for the Yes vote as the number of failed asylum seekers in Australia passes 75,000 and a Labor-commissioned report that recommends action gathers dust.

According to the latest Home Affairs data, under the Anthony Albanese Labor Government:1940 people made an asylum claim in July — which is a record number of asylum seekers under this Labor Government.21,718 asylum seekers have now arrived under Labor.There are now a record 75,017 fake asylum seekers in Australia awaiting deportation.Just 12 fake asylum seekers were deported in July.

The Immigration Minister Andrew Giles should be taking action to deal with the growing asylum seeker problem, instead he is flying around the country campaigning for the Yes vote. Giles has attended Yes campaign events in Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, and Canberra.

In March, the Government was handed a report by former chief commissioner of Victoria Police Christine Nixon that contained recommendations to stem the growing problem of asylum seekers arriving by plane. That report is gathering dust.

Since Labor were handed the Nixon report an additional 7,073 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia.

Labor would rather do nothing than try something. Labor has put the Nixon report and the problem of fake asylum seekers in the too hard basket, alongside addressing the housing crisis and cost of living pressures.

Anthony Albanese and Andrew Giles would rather fly around the country promoting the Voice than roll up their sleeves and deal with the problems hurting Australians.

Fake asylum seekers are choking our courts and visa system, denying genuine asylum seekers and Australians access to justice.

The Coalition wants a better Australia, not Labor’s big Australia.

The Coalition is demanding the Albanese Labor Government be transparent and reveal how long Australians are having to wait to receive government payments, including Centrelink and Medicare claims, with recent attempts to do so stonewalled.

In June, Coalition MPs asked Government Services Minister Bill Shorten how long Australians were having to wait to receive these government payments.

Mr Shorten responded to the questions by saying, “Services Australia does not collate or record data by electorate.”

However, Questions in Writing obtained by the Opposition for the previous Parliament, reveal that Services Australia does in fact use electorate-level data and that this data was provided to Labor MPs when the Coalition was in government.

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy Paul Fletcher said the move to block the release of the data didn’t pass the pub test, especially amid a cost of living crisis.

“The Opposition is calling on Mr Shorten to urgently release the requested data to better inform policymaking and empower citizens,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Every community is different and Labor must come clean on how claims processing is going on an electorate level so we can work together to implement targeted solutions to areas most in need.”

Mr Fletcher said Mr Shorten is a serial offender when it comes to trying to avoid accountability.

“Under Mr Shorten, every question ever asked of him during Senate Estimates has been answered past the due date,” Mr Fletcher said.

“In May this year, the Speaker had to formally write to the Minister because formal Questions in Writing were left unanswered for more than 60 days.

“It has also been revealed that Centrelink call wait times have skyrocketed under his watch.”

The Albanese and Cook Governments have signed a landmark agreement to power the next stage of Western Australia’s growth with affordable and more secure renewable energy.

The Commonwealth-Western Australia Rewiring the Nation deal will bolster WA’s energy security by expanding and modernising electricity grids in Perth, the South West, as well as in the North West Pilbara region.

The Albanese Government will provide up to $3 billion through concessional loans and equity investments to WA through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to new builds and major upgrades to transmission in the state’s major electricity grids – the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and the North West Interconnected System (NWIS).

Priority projects in these grids were identified through WA’s demand assessment processes, with recent Australian Energy Market Operator modelling supporting the need for sustained investment in transmission infrastructure in the SWIS.

An investment of this scale is expected to support around 1,800 construction jobs and unlock future projects across WA, helping to empower regional communities.

The SWIS is WA’s main electricity network and serves more than 1.1 million residential and business customers in Perth and across the South West. It starts north in Kalbarri, runs through Perth down to Albany in the south and extends to Kalgoorlie in the east.

This deal will finance priority projects across the SWIS to increase the supply of renewable energy and connect it into the grid by plugging in renewable generation hubs.

Initial modelling suggests that in 20 years’ time, the SWIS grid will need to have up to five times more electricity than is available today as new industrial users connect to the grid.

Investing in new energy grid projects will ensure the SWIS remains fit-for-purpose and ensure cleaner, affordable and more reliable energy for West Australians into the future.

The Pilbara’s NWIS consists of largely standalone networks owned by private companies and public entities with only a very small proportion (less than two per cent) of electricity generated from renewables.

This agreement will support more renewable energy in the NWIS, while ensuring existing infrastructure upgrades are coordinated between industries and governments.

This Rewiring the Nation deal builds on the momentum of the Pilbara Industry Roundtable, a significant WA Government-led initiative, which included some of the state’s major resources companies.

It will unlock economic development and speed up decarbonisation by bringing on more renewable energy and sharing it more efficiently across different users.

The Australian and WA Governments will work closely with First Nations Australians to understand their views on this investment and support their participation in the state’s clean energy transformation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Today we are joining forces with the Cook Government on a $3 billion landmark deal to deliver affordable cleaner energy to West Australians.

“Rewiring the Nation will help future proof WA’s energy supply, while also creating new jobs in energy, mining and manufacturing.

“On the weekend I visited Karratha and saw firsthand the economic power of the Pilbara – as the global economy decarbonises we need to provide opportunities for regions like the Pilbara to be powered by as much renewable energy as possible.”

Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook said:

“In WA we are delivering on our sensible and achievable plan to decarbonise our existing industries and create new clean energy industries as we transition to net zero, unlocking new projects while supporting new and ongoing local jobs.

“This significant package means we can accelerate the development of key energy transmission projects to facilitate decarbonisation, while also building on my Government’s climate action plan and initiatives already underway towards more secure, cleaner, reliable and affordable energy supplies.

“I thank the Commonwealth Government for its confidence in WA and the way in which they have approached negotiations for a Rewiring the Nation allocation for WA, and I want to acknowledge the efforts of WA Energy Minister Bill Johnston for spearheading the concept and undertaking consultation to garner the support and commitment of key industry players in WA.”

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said:

“This announcement is about driving cheaper, more reliable energy in WA and setting the state up for years to come.

“Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy and the Rewiring the Nation deal will put downward pressure on electricity bills for WA consumers in the years ahead.

“The Australian and West Australian Governments are enabling WA to capitalise on the renewable energy transformation and make the most of the incredible jobs opportunity that comes with it.”

Western Australia Minister for Energy Bill Johnston said:

“The agreement has been informed by WA Government modelling, specifically from the South West Interconnected System Demand Assessment and the Pilbara Industry Roundtable process, and I thank private industry for their commitment to undertake a crucial role in decarbonisation.

“It is expected the private sector will largely fund the cost of renewable energy generation and transmission infrastructure in the Pilbara, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars over the coming decades.

“The low-cost finance program will help unlock this significant investment.

“Keeping Western Power in public hands has allowed the State Government to support this significant program of works by funding transmission infrastructure in the SWIS – where we have already funded $126 million in the recent Budget to kickstart early network planning.”