16 News

The Albanese Government is supporting Palau’s renewable energy transition by investing a further $16.4 million to upgrade the country’s electricity network infrastructure.

The upgrade will provide improved network reliability while increasing the amount of renewable energy used in the grid. It builds on Australia’s support for Palau’s first large-scale solar power plant and battery storage facility.

This project, financed by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, has reduced carbon emissions from diesel generators and supported Palau in reaching its renewable energy targets.

Australia and Palau will today sign a letter of intent to form a bilateral partnership under the Australia-Pacific Partnership for Energy Transition. A renewable energy partnership will provide practical support for Palau’s energy transition priorities, including strengthening Palau’s energy system with technical, planning and policy support, as well as providing skills and training for a renewable energy workforce.

Australia is supporting the region’s transition to renewable energy by sharing climate adaptation technologies, and by financing projects that include solar construction and hydro power refurbishment.

Our region is at the frontline of the climate crisis, the single largest threat to the lives, livelihoods, culture and security of Pacific peoples.

Australia will continue to work with our Pacific partners to safeguard climate resilience in the region.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong:

“Palau, and other Pacific nations, can count on Australia to take meaningful action on climate change – at home and in partnership with the region.

“Ensuring climate security in the Indo-Pacific is vital to sustaining a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.

“Australia is supporting Pacific nations’ transition to renewable energy and this investment is another important step in achieving this goal”.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen:

“The Australian-backed solar facility will deliver around 20 per cent of Palau’s annual energy needs.

“We are committed to working with our Pacific neighbours to accelerate the renewable energy transformation and build clean energy industries across our region.

Minister for Defence Industry and Pacific Island Affairs, Pat Conroy:

“Australia listens to the priorities of the Pacific family – and acts on them.

“From backing Palau’s first large-scale solar power plant and battery storage facility to upgrading Palau’s energy grid, Australia’s investment in Palau’s energy transition is an investment in Palau’s future.

“We will continue partnering with our Pacific neighbours to deliver on their priorities.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Anti-Racism and Higher Education has responded to Anthony Albanese’s backing of the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism and continues to call for urgent funding for the implementation of the National Anti-Racism Framework. 

Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:

“It’s a real shame that rather than urgently funding the full implementation of the National Anti-Racism Framework (NARF) to stamp out all forms of racism, the Prime Minister has backed a plan that will silence and punish voices raised against the genocidal state of Israel.

“It’s been months since the completion of the national anti-racism framework and we haven’t heard a peep from the Prime Minister about fully implementing it, but he has jumped on a Trump-like plan to attack universities and further crack down on their staff and students.

“Conflating criticism of Israel with racism and hate speech is not only wrong, it is downright dangerous.

“The calls to withhold funding from universities are dangerous. We have seen from Trump’s America where this path leads – where student expression is banned, and universities like Harvard are punished for permitting protests against genocide. The report’s call for investigations into ‘foreign funding’ of protests, just echoes Trump’s conspiracy theories used to justify extreme intervention into independent universities.

“Anti-racism work should not have a hierarchy, racism is racism. It is harmful for all those who bear its brunt including First Nations people, Muslims, Jews, and Palestinians.

“I call on the Prime Minister to drop the double standards, end this trip into authoritarianism and get serious about tackling all racism.

“It feels like we’re living in a fever dream, where Labor and Liberal are so focused on covering up Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people that they’re are determined to stop and stifle criticism and condemnation of these atrocious actions — all in the name of a thinly veiled effort to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.”

Greens MP Sue Higginson has renewed calls for reform of NSW Police after two police officers pleaded guilty to assaulting, capsicum spraying and kicking a naked, mentally unwell 48-year-old woman in Western Sydney.

Last year, the NSW Government noted but refused to implement a recommendation from the Greens-led inquiry into Equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care in New South Wales, which called for the improvement of mandatory comprehensive mental health training currently provided to police officers in consultation with consumers and carers.

Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said “This case is horrifying and involved police officers taunting a naked and mentally ill woman and bragging about violently assaulting her to their friends. What will it take for the Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley to accept that there is a serious cultural problem within the NSW police.

A mentally ill woman has been assaulted because NSW police stubbornly continue to send police officers to attend to mental health crises. It is clear from this incident that police are continuing to endanger the community when they are called to respond to people experiencing mental health issues.

We know that misogyny, racism, victim-blaming and bigotry is rife throughout the NSW Police force and it’s violating the people the state should be protecting. The people of NSW should not have to wait for the outcome of the current cultural review that is underway for the Government to act to change toxic police culture.

The Greens-led mental health inquiry made clear recommendations to the NSW government for police reform and investment in mental health supports. If the government fails to implement these recommendations, cases like these will only become more frequent.

If the Premier and the Police Minister do not act to ensure mental health professionals attend mental health crises, rather than police, we will see this happen all over again and the blame will squarely be at the feet of NSW Labor.

Communities are in danger precisely because of Labor’s failure to invest in evidence-based supports for mental health and their failure to confront cultural problems within the NSW police.”

The Greens welcome UNESCO including Murujuga on the World Heritage List and hope Labor will now ensure its survival by cancelling the draft approval for the North West Shelf.

Leader of the Australian Greens and First Nations spokesperson, Larissa Waters:

“The Murujuga Cultural Landscape is an awe inspiring illustration of culture and stories beginning tens of thousands of years ago. 

“It truly deserves World Heritage listing, just as it deserves protection from North West Shelf’s acidic emissions so its ancient stories can continue to be told. 

“A word of warning to Minister Watt, the world is now watching. Cancel the draft approval for the North West Shelf and prove Labor is willing to stand up for the oldest art gallery in the world.

“We applaud staunch advocates Raelene Cooper and Save Our Songlines for fighting to ensure Murujuga’s strictest protection from Woodside’s money grab.

“UNESCO had warned that Woodside’s gas plant threatened the longevity of the rock art prior to the listing, but Minister Watt successfully lobbied other nations when he should have simply rejected Woodside’s climate bomb extension in the first place.

“This highlights why World Heritage laws need to be strengthened, and once again shows Labor needs to bolster Australia’s limp environmental laws.”

The Coalition has welcomed the Special Envoy’s plan to combat antisemitism but expressed its deep disappointment at the Government’s lack of leadership on what has been a significant national issue since October 2023.

We note that when the Prime Minister was asked directly if he would commit to implementing the plan in full he refused to do so. Despite being willing to launch the plan today it is not clear which measures the Albanese Government supports and which it does not. Australians deserve some clarity on this.

Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley said the report confirms what Jewish Australians have been telling us for months, that antisemitism has surged to crisis levels while the Prime Minister has refused to show national leadership.

“The Coalition welcomes the work of the Special Envoy, but it should not fall to one individual to shoulder this fight against hate. The Government must show leadership. The Prime Minister must act,” the Leader of the Opposition said.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community and re-affirm our commitment to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s 15-point action plan. That’s the benchmark against which the Prime Minister should be judged.

“This report shows antisemitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement. It’s a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts.”

The report is described as a ‘policy-oriented framework for government and the Australian community’, and details 49 key actions necessary to combat antisemitism. However, it appears that only three of those actions would be led by the government: the removal of deductible gift recipient status from charities promoting antisemitism, changes to funding agreements for festivals and cultural institutions, and the potential establishment of judicial inquiry.

Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser said the report exposes a lack of commitment from the Government.

“This is a work plan for the Special Envoy not a commitment by the Albanese Government,” Mr Lesser said.

“Fighting the tidal wave of antisemitism cannot be left to the Envoy alone, it needs the Prime Minister’s commitment, not just to hear the Envoy’s advocacy, but to action her policies.

“The Jewish community is telling us that Australia now leads the world in fire-bombings and other violent attacks on Jews. In such an environment we want to see the prime minister leading the fight on antisemitism and being accountable for the outcome. It’s time his actions matched his words.”

Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Hastie said the plan made clear that there is an antisemitism crisis gripping Australia which demands a whole-of-government response.

“The Jewish community is under siege, and the time for half-measures is over. This demands the full weight of the Commonwealth’s resolve, starting with the Prime Minister”, Mr Hastie said.

“Attacks on our Jewish community strike at the very heart of our democracy. If we want to remain a safe, united, and free country, we need a coordinated national response that defends Australian values in every sphere of our society”.

Shadow Minister for Education Senator Jonno Duniam said that it should not take a report for the Prime Minister to have offered serious action to combat antisemitism at our universities.

“Australian universities have been a breeding ground for antisemitism and the Federal Government’s inaction to seriously address this crisis is a stain on our society. Their delayed action has left many students on our campuses feeling unsafe. It should not have gotten to this point, but the Coalition will work constructively in the interests of protecting all Australians, including Jewish Australians.”

Shadow Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Senator Paul Scarr said every community has a right to live in Australia in peace, safety and harmony – free from fear and vilification.

“It goes to the very heart of what it means to be Australian. Now is the time for action. This is not just a political imperative. It is a moral obligation. This is about protecting our Australian way of life. Protecting what it means to be Australian”

The report highlights the stark divide between those over 35 and those under 35 in their attitudes to antisemitism, and the role of online platforms in driving antisemitic attitudes.