Category: Australian News

An Albanese Labor Government will deliver cheaper child care to almost every family in the system after locking in a more generous subsidy rate for families with more than one child under six if Labor forms government.
 
In his first Budget Reply speech as Leader, Anthony Albanese announced Labor’s plan to deliver cheaper child care by increasing the maximum subsidy rate to 90 per cent for families up to $80,000, removing the annual subsidy cap, and smoothing the taper rate down more gradually from the new 90 per cent rate.
 
Scott Morrison was dragged into making modest changes to the system in the 2021 Budget, which matched Labor’s policy to remove the subsidy cap and introduced a higher subsidy for families with more than one child under six – changes which meant hundreds of thousands of families missed out on more support.
 
Labor will lock this higher rate in – meaning under Labor, 96 per cent of all families in the system will be better off. 1.26 million families will be better off – five times more than under the Morrison Joyce Government.
 
Labor’s plan for Cheaper Child Care will:

• Lift the maximum child care subsidy for one child care;
• Increase CCS rates for every family with one child in care earning less than $530,000 in household income; and
• Lift CCS rates for the second and more children in care.

Importantly, Labor’s policy extends to outside school hours and vacation care – which miss out under the Liberals.
 
Labor also get the ACCC to design a price regulation mechanism to drive out of pocket costs down for good, and the Productivity Commission will conduct a comprehensive review of the sector with the aim of implementing a universal 90 per cent subsidy for all families.
 
Scott Morrison’s child care system has completely failed Australian families.
 
The cost of child care has never been higher than it is now.
 
Over the past 12 months, child care costs soared by 6.5 per cent – almost double the rate of inflation. Fees have increased by 41 per cent since the Liberals formed government. For the average family, this means they are paying almost $5,000 more in fees.
 
Child care costs are eating a bigger and bigger hole in household budgets and are putting more financial strain on Australian families.
 
Under Scott Morrison’s recent changes to the subsidy, hundreds of thousands of families will miss out on relief compared to Labor’s Cheaper Child Care Plan. And the Government still has no plans to control fees in the future.
 
Only Labor has a plan to fix child care.
 
We also know that improving our child care system is a fundamental economic reform that will boost workforce participation and drive productivity growth.
 
Conservative estimates show a return on investment of $2 for every $1 invested, and economists have estimated a GDP boost of between $4-$11 billion per year.

An Albanese Labor Government will stop the neglect and put security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care for older Australians.
 
Our plan will put nurses back into nursing homes, giving carers more time to care. It will lift wages in the sector, deliver better care and improve transparency and accountability.
 
Our detailed five-point plan will:

• Require a registered nurse on site 24/7 in residential care
• Give carers more time to care through an increase to 215 minutes of direct care a day
• Formally support a pay rise for aged care workers
• Require better food for residents
• Require more transparency in the system so we know taxpayers’ money is going on care

The global pandemic and a Royal Commission have confirmed what so many Australians already knew – our aged care system is in crisis.
 
More of us are living long enough to need extra care in our later years. But currently that thought fills a generation of Australians and their families with dread.
 
We acknowledge that there are aged care workers who show up to work every day and do their absolute best. And they will be the first to tell you that the system is at breaking point.
 
Australians fear that the final chapter of their life and the lives of those they love will be an aged care facility that can barely meet their needs, let alone afford them real dignity.
 
For far too long the Morrison-Joyce Government has turned a blind eye to operators who put profit ahead of the people – they can’t be trusted to fix their broken system.
 
Labor deeply believes that the older Australians who built this country deserve aged care homes that genuinely look after them.
 
We will make aged care a place people want to work, knowing that they will be respected and valued for the unique work they do.
 
Labor’s plan will change aged care in this country for the better, end the neglect and ensure older Australians and their families receive the care they deserve.

The Australian Government is taking further action to increase the economic costs to Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, by applying an additional tariff of 35 per cent for all imports from Russia and Belarus.

On 1 April 2022, Australia will issue a formal notification withdrawing entitlement to the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff treatment and applying an additional tariff of 35 per cent to all imports from Russia and Belarus. This will take effect from 25 April 2022 and will be in addition to general duty rates that currently apply.

This action follows Australia’s joint statement, with other like-minded members of the World Trade Organization, strongly condemning Russia’s actions and committing to take all actions we consider necessary, as WTO members, to protect our essential security interests.

Australia stands in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression and the Morrison Government is providing $91 million in military assistance.

To support the people of Ukraine, we are providing $65 million in humanitarian assistance, 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal to support Ukraine’s energy security, as well as temporary protection visas and assistance to Ukrainian community groups in Australia.

We continue to work with partners to impose the maximum costs on Russia, through targeted sanctions on individuals and entities, the prohibition of energy, oil and gas products from Russia, and a ban on exports of alumina and aluminium ores (including bauxite) to Russia.

This includes listing more than 500 individuals and entities to date. Our sanctions on Russia make up the largest ever imposition of sanctions by Australia against any single country.

A prohibition on imports of oil and other energy products will also commence on 25 April.

We strongly support similar action by our international partners to revoke MFN trading arrangements with Russia and Belarus, consistent with their national processes.

We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure Russia is held to account for its actions.

Australia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and continues to call on Russia to cease its unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Australian Government will provide further military support to Ukraine in response to Russia’s brutal, unrelenting and illegal invasion, at the request of the Ukrainian Government and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

To meet that request, in partnership with the Australian defence industry, we will provide an additional $25 million AUD of defensive military assistance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This will bring Australia’s total military assistance so far to $116 million.

On top of this support is Australia’s $65 million of humanitarian assistance, 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal to meet Ukraine’s energy needs, as well as temporary protection visas and support for Ukrainian community groups in Australia.

The new $25 million package of additional defensive military assistance will include tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and unmanned ground systems, rations and medical supplies.

The Australian Government will continue to identify opportunities for further military assistance where it is able to provide a required capability to the Ukraine Armed Forces expeditiously.

The Government will not disclose further specific details of the package or delivery arrangements at the direct request of Ukrainian officials and our other partners.

Australia stands with Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion.

We will continue to impose the maximum costs against Russia through targeted sanctions on individuals and entities, including President Putin and his circle of oligarchs and propagandists, military commanders and members of Parliament.

ViiV Healthcare Australia has welcomed the announcement that Cabenuva (cabotegravir prolonged-release suspension for injection and rilpivirine prolonged-release suspension for injection) has been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as the first long-acting treatment for Australians living with HIV.

It will be reimbursed for virologically suppressed adults living with HIV-1 who have no known or suspected resistance to either cabotegravir or rilpivirine to maintain viral suppression with six doses per year after initiation.1

This listing is an important development for the more than 29,000 Australians currently living with HIV2, many of whom currently take medications daily.

In recommending the reimbursement, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) commented that, “some people living with HIV in certain populations, such as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, those living in rural or remote settings, and individuals with complex living or social circumstances, had issues adhering to a daily oral regimen and would potentially have improved quality of life from a long-acting injectable option.”3

HIV is commonly treated with daily oral antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, people living with HIV often experience challenges related to the daily dosing of ART, including fear of unintentionally revealing their HIV status, anxiety over adhering to their daily medication and or the stress and painful memories from daily medication intake.4

Dr David Baker, leading GP in the treatment of people living with HIV from East Sydney Doctors, said the addition of Cabenuva on the PBS may help reduce the burden of the disease on people living with HIV.

“Over the last 20 years we’ve made great progress in developing effective treatments for HIV that can suppresses the virus in the body to undetectable levels, however until now it has required daily treatment. The introduction of a long-acting injectable treatment means that eligible people living with HIV will only need to be treated every two months, rather than every day. This approach has the potential to help lessen the burden of treatment and reduce the worry and stigma that comes with having to take treatments daily,” said Dr Baker.

Dr Matthew Shields, a sexual health physician at Taylor Square Private Clinic, commented that the new long-acting treatment is another option for people living with HIV that may provide increased control over their sexual health and well-being.

“We know that historically HIV treatments have played a significant role in reducing stigma, leading to improved sexual health and wellbeing for those living with HIV. The reimbursement of a long-acting injectable treatment will only help to further this progress, as it has the potential to improve quality of life for people living with HIV by reducing the daily reminder of their HIV status and also removing the anxiety around potentially forgetting the daily oral tablets,” said Dr Shields.

According to Scott Harlum, President of the National Association for People with HIV in Australia (NAPWHA), treatment innovations have the potential to improve quality of life for people living with HIV.

“The approval of long-lasting injectable anti-retroviral treatments are a welcome development for people with HIV. As an additional treatment option, long-lasting injectable treatments can reduce the burden of taking daily medication and further assist people with HIV adhere to their treatment regime. This, in turn, helps ensure people with HIV are able to maintain an undetectable viral load which is both good for their own health, but also eliminates any risk of transmission of HIV,” he said.

Dr Fraser Drummond, Medical Director at ViiV Healthcare Australia, said the reimbursement of Cabenuva represents a shift in the way HIV is treated by offering people living with HIV a new approach to care.

“Long-acting HIV treatments have the potential to reduce the fear of disclosure and the anxiety of having to remember to take a pill every day,” said Dr Drummond.

“ViiV Healthcare is dedicated to ensuring no one living with HIV is left behind. Adding this first-of-its-kind regimen to our portfolio of innovative medicines in Australia shows how committed we are to this mission,” he said.

13 YARN, Australia’s first – and only – national Indigenous-led crisis hotline is now up and running. Funded by the Australian Government (through the Department of Health), the new purpose- built, 24/7 national telephone helpline is codesigned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people specifically to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line has been developed in collaboration with Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia and is run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the support of Lifeline.

All Crisis Supporters will be of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and are provided with clinical and cultural support. As the line grows, helpline staff will be embedded in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities across Australia, with a virtual workforce and training model ensuring that information and expertise can be shared to every corner of the country.

National Program Manager Marjorie Anderson said every aspect of 13 YARN has been designed to be culturally appropriate – from the non-typical conversation approach to the welcome message and Aboriginal hold music.

“13 YARN offers a confidential one-on-one over the phone yarning opportunity for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. It’s a place where they can connect and receive help from a trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter,” Ms Anderson said.

“We believe there is always hope at the end of a yarn, we know how to listen without judgement or shame, and we believe in the power of storytelling to heal.”

Anyone can access the line by calling 13 YARN [13 92 76] around the clock, where they will be assisted for their immediate situation and, if necessary, referred to culturally appropriate programs and services to make sure there is ongoing support.

Initial feedback has been encouraging, with one caller saying the service was completely unique.

“There’s never been a national service run by mob, that’ll let me spin a yarn, and will take the time to listen, anytime that I need it,” they said.

Other smaller existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island crisis lines will be supported by 13 YARN, which will openly share resources and expertise to build on the network of resources and programs available for people in need.

Funding for an independent evaluation of the impact of 13YARN has been included to ensure the service stays on track and remains fit for purpose.

If you, or someone you know are feeling worried or no good, we encourage you to connect with 13 YARN [13 92 76] and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Mining company Cadia Holdings Pty Limited has been fined $15,000 by the NSW Environmen Authority (EPA) for failing to conduct continuous air quality monitoring in 2020 and again in 2021 at its central west NSW site.

The company’s licence requires continuous air monitoring while the company mines for minerals or carries out mineral processing at the Cadia Valley Operations site.

EPA Acting Executive Director Regulatory Operations Greg Sheehy said that while dust deposition monitoring was conducted appropriately at the site, the need for continual air monitoring should not be ignored.

“Continual air monitoring of dust allows the operator to understand and reduce any potential negative impacts related to air quality,” Mr Sheehy said.

“A constant measurement of air quality is not only a licence requirement, it also helps keep the community and surrounding environment safe.”

Cadia Holdings advised the EPA that power supply issues were responsible for the failure to continuously monitor dust.

Mr Sheehy said Cadia Holdings had committed to improve its continuous air quality monitoring network by the end of the past financial year, but the work was not yet complete.

The EPA will continue to assess air quality in the area around the mine and monitor the progress of improvements to the company’s air quality monitoring network.

The fine of $15,000 is the largest that the EPA can issue under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Any concerns regarding air quality or dust emissions can be reported to the EPA on 131 555.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a review of the listing and re-listing of eight organisations as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (the Criminal Code).

The listing of these organisations, made by regulations tabled in Parliament this week, triggers the application of a number of offences under the Criminal Code relating to membership of, support for or associating with the organisations.

Hamas is listed for the first time in its entirety, replacing the previous listing of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas). This follows a recommendation of the PJCIS to the Government to consider broadening the listing in October 2021.

The Government has determined that Hamas is an ideologically and religiously motivated violent extremist organisation, which supports a strategy of armed resistance in pursuit of its goals of establishing an independent Palestinian state, and destroying Israel as a political entity. Hamas’ leadership has stated that there is no neat separation between the organisations’ political and paramilitary components and implied that the Brigades’ activities, including the use of terrorism, are sanctioned by and carried out as part of the wider Hamas organisation. Public statements made by Hamas’ political leaders have supported and advocated terrorism-related activities.

National Socialist Order (NSO), formerly known as Atomwaffen Division, has been listed as a terrorist organisation for the first time. The Government has determined that NSO is a nationalist and racist violent extremist group, founded in the United States in 2015, which advocates the use of violence to initiate a race war and establish a white ethno-state.

Two organisations, Hay’at al Tahrir al-Sham and Hurras al-Din, are listed for the first time in place of the previously-listed organisation Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, on the basis that these two groups are successors to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which is now defunct.

Four groups previously listed as terrorist organisations have been re-listed for a further three years by these regulations: Abu Sayyaf Group, Al Qa’ida, Al Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb and Jemaah Islamiyah.

Under section 102.1A of the Criminal Code, the Committee may review listings of terrorist organisations and report its findings to each House of the Parliament within the 15 sitting day disallowance period for the relevant regulations.

Members of the public are invited to make submissions to this review, for likely consideration by the new PJCIS once formed in the next Parliament after the election. Submissions should be provided no later than Friday 13 May 2022.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

The Greens have slammed the Morrison Government for using the budget for cynical electioneering purposes, while simultaneously destroying what makes lutruwita/Tasmania unique. 

Greens Senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said:  

“This is an election Budget for the next 6 weeks, designed by the Morrison Government to buy and bribe its way back into office. There is no plan, no vision for Tasmania. 

“Sadly, the environment and climate are the big losers in this budget. 

“This Government has spent the last term of parliament trying to remove our federal environment laws and hand back powers to the states. Now it’s putting millions into deregulating and fast-tracking our environmental regulation process – in short, scrapping environmental laws by stealth.  

“Mark my words, this will be bad for Tasmania and will lead to more environmental conflict, destruction and exploitation of our wild and special places, which is the last thing our state needs. 

“There appears to be no critical funding for Tasmania’s Antarctic Gateway science programs, nor for protecting the Southern Ocean and the Great Southern Reef.

“The Great Barrier Reef again gets billions in Budget funding for “reef adaption” measures to combat climate change and invasive species, but Tasmania’s Great Southern Reef – which is critically important to our communities and fishing industry and faces equally critical threats – doesn’t get a cent.

“Ultimately it’s a budget full of sugar hits and band-aid solutions – both of which are bad for the long-term health of Tasmania.

“Tasmanians being wooed by “big ticket” infrastructure measures would do well to remember it’s not budget benevolence that’s motivated the Government to spend big on Tasmanian infrastructure projects – it’s a track-record of budget blowouts.  

“Budget blowouts rip money away from other essential services, like getting dental and mental health into Medicare, ensuring everyone has a liveable income and roof over their head.

“What this Budget shows clearly is that we need to kick the Liberals out and get the Greens in balance of power to push the next Government to tackle the climate crisis and cost of living pressures by taxing the billionaires.”

The Greens say the Morrison Government has bungled its last chance to show it takes women’s safety and economic security seriously with an underwhelming budget of half-measures and spin.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“With an election looming it’s little wonder that the Morrison Government is desperately trying to improve its standing with Australian women, who have been abandoning the Liberals in droves.

“But this ain’t it. While some announcements are a step in the right direction, and we particularly welcome the $25 million allocated to the Illawarra Trauma Recovery Centre that the Greens have championed, the budget is largely a grab bag of bare-minimum measures that fall well short of what we know is needed to make women safe and ensure their economic security.

“The funding to address gendered violence is well short of what women’s organisations say is needed.

“The Greens have committed to the sector’s call for $1 billion per annum for frontline services to meet existing demand, because it is unconscionable to underfund services which stop women being killed in this epidemic of domestic violence.

“Whilst awareness raising and training is crucial, it should be additional to rather than instead of the frontline and specialist services that the sector says are needed to meet the critical shortfall in support for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence.

“The government’s so-called ‘enhanced’ paid parental leave plan doesn’t increase PPL payments, doesn’t add superannuation contributions, and does nothing to actually incentivize shared care. In fact it may have the perverse effect of leading mothers to take all 20 weeks of parenting leave with fathers taking none. Under the Greens’ 26-week PPL plan payments would match salaries up to $100k, super would be added, and ‘use it or lose it’ incentives built in to encourage shared parenting.

“The $100 million promised for crisis, transition and affordable housing is pitifully small compared to the $7.6 billion investment the sector says is needed to provide emergency and permanent housing for women, particularly older women at risk of homelessness. The much-trumpeted expansion of the Family Home Guarantee is no help because it will simply increase house prices and encourage people to get into debts that they cannot service.

“The government has also shown a stunning lack of commitment to addressing violence against First Nations women. Instead of a dedicated, standalone National Plan to End Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women, they’re saying there will be a First Nations ‘action plan’ sitting under the overarching National Plan. That is clearly not what First Nations groups have called for.

“They’ve also baked in real cuts to community controlled First Nations family violence services over the forward estimates, and delivered no funding at all for the sector’s peak body.

“This Budget will not close the gender pay gap. Childcare is still not free, care work is still undervalued, and the minimum wage and income support payments, which more women than men receive, are still too low. This Budget will not deliver economic security for women.

“We welcome the additional funds for the Human Rights Commission to monitor Respect at Work recommendations, but this is undermined by broader cuts to the Commission’s budget and the fact that there is still no commitment to the key recommendation: a positive duty on all employers to make workplaces safe.

“Australian women have spent nearly a decade trying to convince this government that their safety and economic security are issues that must be taken seriously. But in place of decisive and material action they’ve been served up talkfests, Cabinet reshuffles, flowery speeches and shiny baubles by a toxic and arrogant government that treats women as a PR problem to be managed.

“This was the PM’s last opportunity to stand up for Australian women. Once again he failed because he is a sexist dinosaur – it’s long past time to give him and his boys’ club the boot.”