Category: Australian News

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says workers deserve to be safe at work, backing ACTU calls to ensure worker safety.
Bandt, a former industrial relations lawyer, rejected the claim by some employers that the demands were a threat to business, saying that ensuring workers’ safety is the best way to keep businesses going as the virus continues to spread.
Greens leader, Adam Bandt MP said:
“If a workplace is unsafe, workers have the right to stop work.
“Governments should have thought more about worker safety before letting Omicron rip.
“It’s workers who keep our economy and supply chains going and it is vital that all workers are protected.
“Free RAT tests, upgraded masks and improved ventilation should be a priority in workplaces.
“Keeping workers safe is key to securing supply chains and supporting businesses through Omicron.”

As part of a major national rollout of mental health services, a Head to Health centre is now open in Darwin. People living in the Darwin region seeking assistance for their mental health will have access to critical additional services providing quality support.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman and Senator for the Northern Territory, Dr Sam McMahon, today welcomed the official opening of Darwin’s new Head to Health centre at 16 Scaturchio Street, Casuarina.
“We know that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of many Australians,” Minister Hunt said.
“Making sure people have access to quality mental health services no matter where they live is a Morrison Government priority.
“The Government’s investment in Head to Health centres like this one in Darwin will boost mental health and wellbeing access and support. It will save lives and improve lives.”
The services provided at the Casuarina centre are recovery focused, trauma informed and person-centred.
Assistant Minister David Coleman said, “Head to Health centres are designed to provide a welcoming, low stigma, ‘no wrong door’ entry point for adults to access mental health information, services and supports.
“For local residents, better access to a multidisciplinary team operating over extended hours, without needing a prior appointment or paying a fee, makes it easier to ask for and get help, Assistant Minister Coleman said.
“The opening of this centre seeks to ensure people in Darwin and the region have access to culturally appropriate, high quality, person-centred care—where and when they need it. It is a place where people can come to rest, yarn and heal.
“The centre will provide a safe place for people experiencing high levels of distress, or who are at heightened risk of suicide.”
Senator for the Northern Territory, Dr Sam McMahon welcomed the opening of the new centre and said, “It will help people get the support they need by providing care where there aren’t any available services appropriate to their needs or while they are waiting to be connected to longer-term care.”
“Our Government is committed to improving mental health services across Australia and here in the Northern Territory.  To do so, we have invested considerable funding to improve services now and into the future,” Dr McMahon said.
“This centre will integrate with other services to address fragmentation and offer seamless care pathways, with an emphasis on ensuring consumers and carers do not need to retell their story.”
Minister Hunt said the new Head to Health Darwin centre will also play an essential role in the community by supporting local GPs, private and public hospitals and emergency departments by providing accessible mental health care.
Assistant Minister Coleman confirmed the Morrison Government’s commitment to working towards zero suicides and transforming the mental health system to ensure that all Australians can access the right care and essential services whenever and wherever they need.
The service has been commissioned by the Northern Territory Primary Health Network and will be operated by Neami National in partnership with Larrakia Nation.
As part of the 2019–20 Budget, the Government committed $114.5 million to fund the trial of eight ‘Head to Health’ Adult Mental Health Centres, with one centre to be established in each state and territory, including $14 million for Darwin Head to Health.
An additional $487.2 million was announced under the 2021–22 Budget to expand the program to an additional 32 sites (eight new centres and 24 satellites) and provide ongoing funding for the initial eight trial sites.
The Morrison Government is providing unprecedented funding and support for mental health, investing a record $2.3 billion in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, delivering significant reform of the mental health system and ensuring all Australians have access to high quality, person-centred care.
Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service any time via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can also seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline
(13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

As Omicron case numbers grow, the Australian Government will make temporary changes to Telehealth to give GPs and specialists additional flexibility to support their patients safely, including the continued supply of PPE and online support. An additional $24 million has been committed to fund these changes and builds on the $34 billion provided since the pandemic began.
Telehealth has been a vital support during the pandemic providing greater flexibility in healthcare delivery at the most critical time and it continues to be a fundamental part of the pandemic response.
The Government will introduce temporary specialist inpatient telehealth MBS items (video and phone) and initial and complex specialist telephone consultation items, and longer telephone consultations for GP’s (level C) until 30 June 2022.
These services will be made available nationally rather than targeted to Commonwealth-declared hotspots as they were previously, recognising the high infection rate and need to provide healthcare support across the community.
Enabling specialist medical practitioners to provide telehealth consultations to hospital in-patients as a temporary measure will support continuity of care for patients when their doctor cannot attend the hospital due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Helping GPs and specialists manage their patients with mild symptoms will relieve pressure on Australia’s hospital system, ensuring people who need hospital care can get it, and our hard-working hospital staff can sustain their incredible efforts through the current Omicron surge.
These short term telehealth measures will also help to minimise risks for patients who would otherwise have to travel for a face-to-face consultation, especially people living in rural and remote Australia, vulnerable and older patients.  They will also benefit people who are immunocompromised, under the care of a psychiatrist, living with cancer or pregnant.
The Government will also expand the MBS item for GPs caring for COVID positive patients in the community through face-to-face consultations to include patients that have tested positive through a rapid antigen test (RAT). This aligns with National Cabinet’s decision on 5 January 2022 that RAT tests no longer need to be confirmed by PCR.
To support GPs and others providing face to face care for COVID-positive patients, the Government is also providing comprehensive packages of personal protective equipment (PPE) to GPs, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and GP Respiratory Clinics.
Over the next three months, over 20 million units of PPE will be provided for primary care, including nine million p2/n95 masks for GPs and three million for pharmacists across Australia. These are being prioritised for rural, regional and remote areas where access to PPE can be challenging. Shipments began before Christmas and are continuing nationwide.
The Australian Government has also worked with Healthdirect to develop a national assessment, triage and notification infrastructure. This will connect people who test positive with the appropriate level of care and advice based on guidelines developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (soon to be available in multiple community languages). This is expected to commence in Queensland on 17 January 2022 with other states to follow.
Through this service, Healthdirect – which already provides the National Coronavirus Hotline, symptom checker and a range of online resources – will be the point of contact for anyone with a positive COVID result to receive assessment, information on what to do and connect them to appropriate care.
This is supported by community care pathways developed across jurisdictions to ensure GPs have the information they need to manage patients, and that people recovering at home can be referred to social support services if they face challenges during their isolation period.
These measures join the $180 million Living with COVID package for primary care announced last year, which extends the reach and role of GP Respiratory Clinics. Patients with COVID positive results can safely attend these clinics for assessment and management, rather than presenting at emergency departments in non-urgent circumstances.
Like regular practices, GP Respiratory Clinics will guide and support people to monitor their symptoms at home and seek additional medical assistance when appropriate.
Throughout the pandemic the Australian Government has worked closely with state and territory governments and peak organisations to respond to changing circumstances. We have listened to our frontline workers and made changes to help them help their patients.
All these changes support GPs and specialist medical practitioners to manage the significant increase in Australians with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.
They will ensure continuity of care for Australians, whether they have COVID or other conditions, relieve pressure on the hospital system during the current Omicron surge, and help communities all over the country to get through the present challenges as soon as possible.
Information relating to COVID-19 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phoning the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080 or visit www.aus.gov.au.

The Morrison Government is investing more than $21 million to help turn vital medical research into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for patients.
The grants announced today will support projects targeting a range of health issues affecting Australians, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are:

• $10 million from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Cardiovascular Disease Research Centre, the Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator
• $10 million from the MRFF Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Diabetes Research Centre, the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations
• $1.76 million in industry-led fellowships for researchers and clinicians from the MRFF Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative.

Australian medical researchers are among the best in the world. Our Government’s investments will help take their innovations from bench to bedside and ensure that their research is pursued, to make a real difference to people’s lives while also boosting our economy and creating jobs.
The MRFF funding to establish the research centres for cardiovascular disease and diabetes will be used to accelerate the development of new therapies towards clinical practice and improved patient care.
This investment will be supplemented by substantial co-contributions from the sector, with more than $11 million in cash and $23.3 million of “in kind” support committed by the research centres’ partner organisations, leveraging the Government’s own $20 million commitment.
Both national research centres are uniquely placed to foster collaborations across academia, industry, and community and consumer groups, enabling considerable advances towards tangible products and solutions for sustainable health and economic benefits.
The Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator will help to transform the field of cardiovascular disease research in Australia by bringing a new sector-wide focus on clinical impact and clinical entrepreneurship.
The Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations will deliver novel interventions for debilitating diabetes complications, building an ecosystem of translation, commercialisation and clinical impact for the diabetes sector.
I am also pleased to announce the next cohort of REDI Fellowships to support Australian researchers, clinicians, and professionals in medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals gain real world experience and skills by being deployed into industry settings.
REDI is a four-year initiative supported by the MRFF and delivered by MTPConnect.
The ten researchers and clinicians selected as REDI Fellows will be working on priority research projects covering a broad range of fields, from robot-assisted electrode insertion to precision cancer diagnostics and new antibiotics targeting drug-resistant “superbugs”.
The MRFF is a $20 billion endowment fund which is providing a sustainable, long term boost to Australia’s medical research sector.

Investing in medical research projects with the potential to deliver better health outcomes to more Australians is a Government priority.
That is why the Morrison Government is investing more than $25 million in three companies working at the cutting edge to save lives and improve lives.
The investments from the Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) announced today will support projects targeting a range of health issues affecting Australians. They are:

• $10 million to Cynata Therapeutics to support work on the large-scale manufacture of stem cells
• $5 million to Acrux Limited to develop drugs that are taken through the skin, not as injections or pills
• $10.6 million to Axial Therapeutics for the treatment of neurological diseases and disorders, harnessing ground-breaking science in the microbiome-gut-brain axis, including developing a new therapy for children with autism.

The $500 million BTF consists of equal parts Commonwealth and private sector funding, to commercialise high potential medical discoveries.
The Morrison Government is backing Australia’s next generation of medical advances and the investments mean these businesses have the potential to take their technology to the next level.
The BTF investment in Cynata Therapeutics means it can continue its work to develop commercial scale manufacture of stem cells, without the use of multiple bone marrow donors.
Stem cells are used to treat a range of diseases including heart disease, osteoarthritis and stroke.
Acrux Limited will use its BTF funding to develop and commercialise topical drugs (gels, creams and ointments). This is an alternative to needle injections or oral medications that may need to be taken several times a day and may have an unpleasant taste.
The BTF investment will allow Axial Therapeutics to advance its gut-restricted molecular therapy for irritability in children with autism. It will also be used to progress the company’s program of drug discovery for serious neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, based on the microbiome gut-brain axis.
Our Government continues to invest in the cutting-edge medical technologies and treatments that will save lives, while growing a sector that can create jobs for Australians now and into the future.
2021 New Biomedical Translation Fund Investments

An Albanese Labor Government will improve Australia’s disaster readiness by investing up to $200 million per year on disaster prevention and resilience.
Thousands of Australians who face bushfires, floods and cyclones every year deserve to be protected by a Federal Government who plans ahead and invests to keep them safe.
Labor’s Disaster Ready Fund will curb the devastating impacts of natural disasters by investing in important disaster prevention projects like flood levees, sea walls, cyclone shelters, evacuation centres, fire breaks and telecommunications improvements.
These investments will literally save lives, not to mention the taxpayers’ funds that have to be spent on recovery and repairs when disasters hit.
Australians are renowned as the best disaster responders in the world. They deserve to be backed by a government that looks forward, plans and prevents the worst.
Instead, the Morrison Government continues to sit on a $4.7 billion Emergency Response Fund that has done nothing to help.
Three years after it was announced, the ERF has not spent a cent on disaster recovery and has not completed a single disaster prevention project. The only thing it has done is earn the Government over $750 million in investment returns.
Labor will revamp the failed ERF so that it spends up to $200 million per year for disaster prevention and resilience.
If matched by State, Territory or local governments, it would provide up to $400 million annually for investment in disaster prevention and resilience – something called for by groups as broad as the Government’s own Productivity Commission, insurers, local governments and disaster relief bodies.
Labor’s Plan for Disaster Readiness will also:

• Continue to fully fund disaster recovery through the existing Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements
• Cut red tape so disaster resilience funding can get out the door faster
• Improve the efficiency of disaster recovery processes, to simplify and speed up payments to disaster victims and repairs to damaged infrastructure.
• Assist with spiralling insurance premiums in disaster-prone regions, by reducing the risk of expensive damage to homes and businesses.

As with COVID-19, the Morrison Government’s failure to plan and prepare for natural disasters has left Australians vulnerable.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We know weather events are on the horizon – we have the smarts and the resources to prepare and prevent. We just need a government with a plan.
Only an Albanese Labor Government will keep Australians safe and communities strong in the face of natural disasters.
Only Labor will build a better future for disaster prone communities.

• Increase the physical footprint of the event in the city of Rockhampton,
• Invest in more infrastructure to meet growing requirements of a technology enabled event,
• Revitalise the international program to reconnect with international customers and supply chain partners.

The Australian Greens are calling on the Morrison Government to immediately suspend mutual obligations on jobseekers and others on income support to protect the community during Omicron’s rapid spread.
Australian Greens spokesperson for community affairs and social services, Senator Janet Rice said:
“Before the pandemic, mutual obligations were already gross, discriminatory and ineffective; now meeting the requirements is putting people in direct danger.
“Forcing people on JobSeeker and other income support – many of whom might be sick or caring for someone who is sick – to attend interviews, job services provider appointments and other face-to-face activities is putting thousands of people at further and unnecessary risk of contracting COVID.
“The Morrison Government must immediately suspend mutual obligation requirements until the pandemic is over, or better yet, abolish the broken system altogether.
“Morrison must stop pretending the pandemic is over and realise people are struggling more than ever to keep their heads above water. The government has made the deliberate choice to keep JobSeeker and other payments below the poverty line, and made the COVID disaster payments prohibitively difficult to access for most people who need them.
“The government must immediately and permanently raise income payments for all who need it back to the $550 a fortnight pandemic supplement we saw in 2020.
“We are still in the middle of this pandemic. But unlike 2020, the Morrison Government has no plan and is providing almost no support to the people that most need it.
“If the government has $100 billion to spend on dangerous nuclear submarines, they have enough not to force people to live in poverty.”

Greens acting Leader, Nick McKim says the confusion and mismanagement of the pandemic on a Federal level is symptomatic of a Government led by people who want government to do as little as possible.
The Morrison-Joyce ‘small government’ neoliberal ideology has contributed to failures on quarantine, vaccination rollout, aged care and massive pressure on state run health systems.
The Greens will take a message to the election that a better resourced, better run government willing to take responsibility for programs can do more to mitigate and adapt to the twin challenges of climate and covid.
Greens acting leader Senator Nick McKim said:
“Confusion continues around testing, vaccines for kids, aged care and isolation rules. Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce don’t really believe in government, and it shows.
“The Greens know that a democratic government can be a powerful force for good, and that the Australian people are becoming increasingly sick of a government that wants to outsource every responsibility.
“We should make big corporations and tycoons pay their fair share of tax so we can fund government programs to respond to the challenges of Covid and climate change.
“Australia deserves better than people who scream about wanting no government at all, while occupying the highest offices in the government.
“At every turn the neoliberal ideology has stopped us from taking action, from purpose-built quarantine to domestic mRNA vaccine production. The government always claims it’s ‘too hard’, but really they would just ideologically prefer a corporation do it.
“We also need a government led response on climate. Market incentives alone are not going to move fast enough for Australia to do it’s part to meet the Paris goals for a safe climate.”

The Morrison Government is investing in the future competitiveness of Australian health and medical research with more than $44 million for postgraduate scholarships, international collaboration and research infrastructure and equipment through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Investment in health and medical research capability through postgraduate scholarships and international partnerships is critical to both create and maintain Australia’s competitive sector.
This funding is part of the $1 billion available for NHMRC’s 2021 grant round, the highest yet through the Medical Research Endowment Account.
The postgraduate scholarships will create opportunities for many graduates in medicine and health sciences to pursue their ideas and tackle the health challenges facing our community.
Today’s investment also includes funding to support international collaboration by established researchers.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said sharing scientific knowledge enables Australian researchers to develop best practices and build international research networks that will accelerate discoveries and their translation into better health outcomes.
“NHMRC’s international partnerships bring researchers together to promote global health objectives and strengthen Australian participation in international research efforts,” Minister Hunt said.
“This announcement is also an investment in the next generation of Australian medical research leaders, with the careers of many of Australia’s foremost health and medical researchers kick-started by an NHMRC postgraduate scholarship.”
Funding announced today comprises:

• $25.7 million to contribute to infrastructure costs of research for 21 independent medical research institutes through the Independent Research Institutes Infrastructure Support Scheme (IRIISS).
• More than $7.24 million to support the early research careers of 65 outstanding health and medical graduates through NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships.
• More than $2.8 million to support collaboration with our regional neighbours, sharing vital resources and ideas to combat complex regional health challenges through NHMRC’s participation in the e-ASIA Joint Research Program.
• More than $2.5 million to support collaborative research with partners through the 2021 NHMRC – European Union Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) Grants and NHMRC – National Institute for Research Health (UK) Collaborative Research Grants.
• $5.7 million for 45 grants for the procurement of equipment to support the highest quality health and medical research.

“A strong health and medical research system relies on scientists, clinicians and others working together to share knowledge and accelerate discoveries and their translation into better health outcomes,” NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso AO said.
“This collaboration begins with postgraduate research students learning from their mentors, sharing skills and ideas, and continues with international partnerships when researchers around the world come together to solve shared health challenges.”
NHMRC Postgraduate scholarships

NHMRC e-ASIA 2021 Joint Research Program

2021 NHMRC-European Union Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research – JPND

2020 NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme Round 3