Category: Australian News

The Greens have condemned the Albanese Government’s Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Amendment (Using New Technologies to Fight Climate Change) Bill 2023, calling it a naked attempt to facilitate more oil and gas development in our oceans.

Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: 

“This Bill is a naked attempt to facilitate more oil and gas development in our oceans through legitimising carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a commercially viable and effective climate solution. 

“This is despite evidence identifying CCS as a public relations and delaying tactic for the coal and gas industry to pretend it is doing something other than jeopardising our future on this planet.

“Pumping carbon under the sea from gas rigs or storing it underground just doesn’t stack up. The importing and exporting of carbon dioxide for sub-seabed sequestration risks turning Australia’s oceans, and those of our near neighbours, into the dumping grounds for the world’s pollution. Meanwhile, the CCS industry has largely been a ploy and a distraction designed to greenwash a dirty industry and delay the inevitable. 

“The Greens are incredibly concerned that this legislation appears to be motivated to primarily facilitate the Santos Barossa project, its related Bayu-Undan CCS projects and other fossil fuel projects off Australia’s northern coastlines, as well as provide this government and its mates in the fossil fuel cartel political cover to open up new areas of our ocean to fossil fuel exploration.

“The Albanese government should be taking tangible, meaningful steps to fight climate change by ending the expansion of new fossil fuel projects. Instead it has taken the valuable time and energy to draft and bring forward a Bill that appears to be written by the fossil fuel industry, for the fossil fuel industry.

** See the Greens’ dissenting report to the Bill’s inquiry here.

The Greens have welcomed the AEU’s new campaign for fully funded public schools and are calling on governments to stop gifting money to elite private schools and finally deliver on the promise of Gonski.

Greens spokesperson on schools, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“Congratulations to the AEU for launching their For Every Child campaign for fully funded public schools. The union is right: public school kids deserve 100% funding.

“But schools can’t wait until the end of the next national funding agreement to get the money they desperately need. That’s 2028. Another five years away.

“That means a public school student in year 7 today will graduate high school having never experienced a fully resourced education.

“There are currently 2.6 million kids enrolled in public schools in Australia. About 2.5 million of them have never experienced a single day at a fully resourced school. Not one day. How many more kids are governments prepared to let down? What’s an acceptable number?

“Things are getting desperate. Overworked teachers, often forced to pay for basic educational resources schools can’t afford, are leaving in droves. Out-of-pocket costs for parents and carers are soaring. More students are disengaging and performance is dropping. 

“Australia now has one of the most privatised and inequitable school systems in the world. It’s a system that heaps privilege onto a fortunate few under the guise of ‘parental choice’, while robbing millions of disadvantaged kids of their futures.

“Labor has an historic opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. They have a weak and chaotic opposition, friendly governments in every mainland state and territory, and a budget surplus of $20 billion. They could end this crisis tomorrow.

“The Greens are calling on Labor to guarantee full funding to all public schools from the start of the next national funding agreement in January 2025.

“Our kids can’t wait any longer.”

The Albanese Government must set the record straight and address rising fears about what science programs will be axed as a result of a $25 million cut from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). 

Concerns continue to be raised from within the AAD about the future of Australia’s Antarctic science programs, following an email sent to staff revealing the division is set to cut approximately 16% of its operating budget. 

Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said:

“Science is the currency of the Antarctic Treaty and if the Albanese Government wants to secure Australia’s leadership role in the region it must properly fund our scientific efforts.

“It’s shocking that we are not hearing more from the Australian Government on this, given we claim 40% of Antarctica as Australian Territory.

“AAD staff are languishing in uncertainty right now. It’s time for the Albanese Government to put its money where its mouth is: prioritise science and fund all Antarctic projects as originally planned.  

“Science programs have suffered a death by a thousand cuts in Antarctica. The Morrison Government had a penchant for big announcements and cutting ribbons on Antarctic projects, but not for investing in people and critical science programs. Whether or not Labor reverses these latest cuts will show us if it is any different.

“Instead of funding fossil fuels, the Albanese Government should be funding science – especially at this juncture in history when scientists are warning of a reduction in Antarctic sea ice equivalent to a once every 7.5 million year event.

“More than ever our planet depends on us understanding the Antarctic region, and that means we need to fund the necessary science to achieve that.” 

Greens’ Social Services spokesperson, Senator Janet Rice, has slammed Labor’s paltry increase to Centrelink payments that will leave millions of people on poverty-payments.

The Greens introduced a suite of amendments to Labor’s Strengthening the Safety Net Bill –  including implementing recommendations from the Government’s-own Robodebt Royal Commission, the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, and the Womens’ Economic Inclusion Taskforce – to help make life easier for the most vulnerable Australians. 

Senator Janet Rice, Greens spokesperson for Social Services said:

“The Labor Government claims they’re leaving no one behind. Labor is leaving everyone on JobSeeker behind with this bill.

“If Labor cared about helping those struggling the most, they would have backed the Greens amendment to raise all Centrelink payments above the poverty line to $88 a day.

“While the Greens will never stop a cent going towards the people who need it most, this bill was pathetically inadequate at addressing the systemic problems plaguing our social security system and still leaves millions of Australians on poverty-payments.

“We know the cost of living crisis has hit those on JobSeeker hardest. Labor managed to find room in the budget for $9000 a year in Stage 3 tax cuts for every billionaire and politician in the country, but can’t raise Centrelink above the poverty line for struggling Australians.

“When it comes to income support, we don’t have a real safety net. As a witness at the bill’s  inquiry said: “I wouldn’t call it a safety net, I would call it a parachute with holes. If you are on JobSeeker, you are going to hit the bottom at some point.”

“All this bill does is put a tiny patch on some of those holes. The increase works out to be around $4 a day, which is less than a cup of coffee and won’t help anyone pay their rent.

“The Greens tried in good faith to improve this bill in ways we thought Labor could support, even proposing amendments based on the Government’s-own Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee and the Robodebt Royal Commission that Labor established, and a recommendation from the RC report that the Prime Minister tearfully endorsed.

“Instead of listening to the community, and their own advisory bodies, the Labor Government teamed up with the Liberals to vote all these amendments down, betraying Robodebt victims, single mothers, and everyone on Centrelink payments struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

“Labor ignored an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in lifting Australians out of poverty and building a strong social safety net for everyone who needs it.

“With paltry bills like this from Labor that don’t even keep pace with record rent hikes and skyrocketing grocery prices, we are in real danger of creating a permanent underclass of people in this country that can’t afford to participate fully in society.

The Greens have offered to pass the Government’s gas tax changes through the Senate if the revenue from the changes is doubled by lowering the deductions cap from 90% of assessable receipts to 80%.

Documents provided to the Senate under an Order for the Production of Documents show that this is within the range originally advised by Treasury to the Treasurer.

Greens Treasury spokesperson Senator Nick McKim has written to Treasurer Jim Chalmers to make the offer, which has the support of Senators David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell. 

Gas companies are currently sitting on a staggering $277 billion of uplifted tax credits that they have to burn through before they will have to pay any super profits tax. This is greater than the GDP of New Zealand.

Doubling the minimum revenue that these gas giants will be assessed against from 10% to 20% of their assessable receipts would raise $2.6 billion in much needed revenue over the forward estimates period. 

This proposal will only affect five LNG projects that are raking in billions in unearned super profits off the back of the Ukraine invasion. The government’s proposal is intended only to plug the gap in declining revenue from the old Bass Strait fields as they run out. 

These five massive gas projects have never paid a cent in royalties or super profits tax.

Treasury spokesperson, Senator Nick McKim said:

“The gas cabal has been playing the major parties like fiddles. This is a chance for Labor to take a small step towards making fossil fuel corporations pay their fair share of tax.”

“Labor now has a very clear choice. It can work constructively with the Greens to double the additional revenue from gas companies, or settle for half that amount in exchange for weakening environmental regulations for gas projects to the satisfaction of the Dutton Opposition and the gas cartel.”

“Ten gas companies and lobby groups were in the room designing this tax with Treasury officials. These daylight robbers all signed non-disclosure agreements and came up with a proposal that wasn’t previously part of Treasury’s review.”

“No other taxpayer gets such access to the government that they can design their own tax rates.” 

“Labor appears to have forgotten that it is Parliament, not gas companies, that sign off on the laws of the land.”

Greens’ Social Services spokesperson, Senator Janet Rice, has slammed Peter Dutton’s policy of ripping money from the poorest Australians, and Labor’s paltry increase to income support that will leave millions on poverty-payments. 

Senator Rice will introduce a suite of amendments in the Senate to improve Labor’s Safety Net Bill and help the most vulnerable Australians out of poverty. 

The amendments will include raising the rate of Centrelink payments above the poverty line to $88 a day; implementing the Robodebt Royal Commission’s recommendation to re-instate a six year limit on Social Security Act debt-recovery that was removed by the Abbott Government; lifting the base rate of Centrelink payments to the level recommended by the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee; lifting the eligibility age of the Parenting Payment Single from 14 to 16 (recommended by the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce); increasing the amount people can earn while on income support; and Australia’s first ever legislated National Poverty Line.

Senator Janet Rice, Greens spokesperson for Social Services said:

“Labor’s Jobseeker increase is woefully inadequate. It works out to be around $4 a day, which is less than a cup of coffee and won’t help anyone pay their rent. Not that people on Jobseeker can afford to go out with friends for a coffee as it is. 

“This increase doesn’t even cover the record rent hikes or skyrocketing grocery prices, and still leaves people on payments well below the poverty line. Even Labor’s own expert Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee said these payments are nowhere near enough.

“$4 a day is not going to cut it for people who tell me they’re only showering once a week because they can’t afford the hot water. It’s not going to cut it for people who are only eating one meal a day. And it’s not going to cut it for people who are living in tents or in cars rather than being able to afford a roof over their head.

“We know the cost of living crisis has hit those on Jobseeker hardest. Labor managed to find room in the budget for $9000 a year in Stage 3 tax cuts for every billionaire and politician in the country, but can’t raise Centrelink above the poverty line for struggling Australians. 

“But it is outrageous the Liberals’ wont even support this paltry increase and want to leave many of the most vulnerable recipients, including those with serious health issues who can’t work, living in poverty with no increase at all. An income free area alone is not enough. 

“We want Labor to do far more to help struggling Australians, but we are outraged that the Liberals would rip away even this tiny increase in payments. 

“Peter Dutton is deplorable, and the Greens will fight tooth and nail against any attempts from the Liberals to take money from people who need it most.

“Centrelink payments must be raised above the poverty line to $88 a day. If Labor is serious about helping people, they should back the Greens amendments that will make life easier for millions of Australians.

“We know the community is supportive of these measures that are so important for people who are living in abject poverty on Centrelink payments. It’s vital that we don’t have a permanent underclass of people in this country that can’t afford to participate fully in society.”

The Greens warn that despite the Great Barrier Reef’s one year reprieve from being declared “in danger”, the iconic marine ecosystem remains under serious threat – including from the Albanese Government and its reckless approval of new fossil fuel projects.

Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: 

“This Unesco decision isn’t kidding anybody who has had their eyes wide open to the unprecedented and troubling changes we are witnessing in global marine environments, especially from new marine heatwaves. 

“The world will still be watching the Great Barrier Reef moving forward. As a custodian of this great natural wonder the Albanese Government should remember this decision is no cause for celebration, but a clear warning: if we get another El Nino event this summer the Great Barrier Reef may still be listed in danger come February. 

“The burning of fossil fuels is literally cooking our oceans and degrading marine ecosystems across the globe, and nowhere else has this been more politicised than on the Great Barrier Reef. 

“The high-profile Great Barrier Reef is a barometer for the declining health of marine ecosystems everywhere, and the Albanese Government must show leadership on mitigating the root cause of the decline in these fragile ecosystems by not expanding or approving new fossil fuel projects.” 

Greens senator for Queensland, Larissa Waters said:

“The World Heritage Committee has kept the Great Barrier Reef on the “In Danger” watchlist for another year, so the pressure is now on for the Albanese Government to stop approving new coal and gas. 

“Labor continues to approve new fossil fuel projects putting at even further risk the Great Barrier Reef, which supports countless miraculous species of creatures, corals and plants, and provides a livelihood for 60,000 tourism workers.

“Recurrent bleaching as a result of the climate crisis has already changed the Great Barrier Reef forever. More than half the coral cover of the Reef has been permanently lost in successive mass coral bleachings of the Reef since 2015. 

“Climate change is the biggest threat to the Reef yet the Albanese Government has approved 3 coal mines in less than 2 months. How many more times do global scientists have to say no new coal and gas?”

The Coalition will not support Labor’s proposed Misinformation laws.

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said the Government’s exposure draft of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 would suppress legitimate free speech in Australia.

“This is a very bad bill. The Government should rip it up,” Mr Coleman said. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to our democracy, and the Coalition will always fight for it.

“The Bill gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) extraordinary powers. It would lead to digital companies self-censoring the legitimately held views of Australians to avoid the risk of massive fines.”

The many problems with the Bill include:

• The definition of “misinformation” is so broad that it could capture many statements made by Australians in the context of political debate.
• Authorised content by the Albanese Government can’t be misinformation, but criticisms of the Albanese Government by ordinary Australians can be misinformation.
• Nothing an academic says can be misinformation, but statements by somebody disagreeing with an academic can be misinformation.
• Good faith statements made by entertainers cannot be misinformation, but good faith statements made by ordinary Australians on political matters can be misinformation.
• Journalists commenting on their personal digital platforms could have their content removed as misinformation.
• If the Minister has a favoured digital platform, then that platform could be entirely removed from the application of the misinformation laws.

Under the Albanese Government’s proposed laws, ACMA would gain sweeping powers to require any Australian to appear at a time and place of its choosing to answer questions about misinformation or disinformation. Heavy fines would apply for non-attendance.

“The Albanese Government has got this horribly wrong,” Mr Coleman said.

“This Bill is appalling and will be strongly opposed by the Coalition.”

Today, on World Day against Trafficking in Persons, we reaffirm the Australian Government’s commitment to tackling these abhorrent crimes.

This year’s global theme is to ‘reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind’.

The Government is committed to bolstering our efforts to counter human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery, working with partners at home and abroad to disrupt these global crimes and enhance support for victims and survivors.

To mark this day, the Attorney General’s Department alongside the Australian Federal Police and civil society partners is delivering a national social media awareness campaign to encourage us all to ‘Look a little deeper. Human trafficking happens in Australia’.

The campaign will be translated into multiple languages to boost its reach. In particular, it aims to raise awareness of the false promises used by perpetrators to deceive and recruit victims into modern slavery.

The Albanese Government is delivering an ambitious policy program to address the insidious scourge of human trafficking and modern slavery. This includes:

• $24.3 million boost to the Support for Trafficked People Program over the next four years;
• $8 million over four years to establish Australia’s first federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner;
• $2.73 million over the next two years through the Modern Slavery Grants program;
• $1 million to United Nations trusts supporting victims of trafficking rehabilitate and recover;
• Up to $24 million of Official Development Assistance over the past financial year; and
• Support for the first facility dedicated to combatting trafficking in persons in Southeast Asia.

Our efforts have been recognised globally, with Australia maintaining a Tier One ranking in the US Government’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report for 20 years in a row.

Australia continues to speak out on the issue in global forums, including as a co-chair of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime.

Late last night, an Australian Army MRH-90 helicopter impacted waters close to Hamilton Island.

A search and rescue commenced immediately.

Sadly, the four aircrew who were on board are yet to be found.

The families of the four aircrew have been notified of this incident.

Our first thoughts are with the loved ones of the missing.

All Australians hold them in our hearts and we hold onto hope as the search and rescue teams go about their work right now. We have the utmost confidence in their professionalism and skill.