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Staff from the Environment Protection Authority will walk off the job in Parramatta today in protest at the Minns Labor Government’s plan to axe hundreds of roles.
 
The lunchtime protest sends a clear message. The people who test the water we drink, monitor air quality, and respond to asbestos and contamination are being thrown aside. These are the workers who protect NSW households every day, and now they are being treated as expendable.
 
Under Chris Minns the EPA faces $20 million in cuts and 370 roles delimited.
 
Labor said before the election that jobs were safe. The truth is the opposite. So many of our public sector people who believed Labor’s promises have been duped.
 
The anger felt at today’s protest reflects what is happening right across the public sector.
 
The government workforce feels betrayed and ignored. Morale has plummeted. Staff are burnt out and tired of being told everything is fine while their jobs disappear.
 
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said this is a government that talks about integrity but hides behind spin while gutting from our agency designed to protect the environment.
 
“When workers who protect our environment are walking off the job, you know Labor has lost control. Chris Minns has turned his back on the people who keep NSW safe,” Mr Speakman said.
 
Shadow Minister for Energy, Climate Change and Environment said EPA culture was being destroyed, and staff were already looking for work elsewhere.
 
“EPA staff have contacted me sharing their concerns that these cuts will ‘strip the organisation of experience and knowledge’. In the EPA staff members own words “you actually invested in us, Labor are cutting…” said Mr Griffin.
 
When the EPA is gutted, toxic sites go unchecked, pollution risks rise, and public safety is compromised. Labor’s cuts aren’t just reckless, they’re dangerous.
 
This protest is a warning. The public sector is breaking under Labor’s cuts, and the government is pretending not to notice.

Four Australian‑developed quantum technology clocks have been successfully trialled in the United States, as part of the Albanese Government’s $2.7 million investment towards these AUKUS Pillar Two capabilities.

Held over a six-week period in Washington D.C., the trials saw Adelaide‑based QuantX Labs and the University of Adelaide each contribute two quantum clocks, which were tested by AUKUS partners under various environmental conditions to evaluate their performance and potential for defence applications, including communication and navigation systems.

Quantum clocks are used to assure the synchronisation of communications networks, detect GPS spoofing and jamming, and provide reliable position, navigation and timing in contested environments.

Integrating this technology into AUKUS partners’ militaries will enhance the Australian Defence Force’s ability to operate in environments where GPS navigation is unreliable or unavailable.

These world‑leading clocks have been developed in Adelaide through $2.7 million in Australian Government contracts, in conjunction with the Defence Science and Technology Group, and sovereign industry and academic partners. This is part of the Albanese Government’s increased investment in advanced capabilities, including up to $3.8 billion over the next decade in the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator.

The outcomes of the quantum clock trial will be shared among AUKUS partners to inform analysis of how quantum clocks may be used in future defence operations.

Quantum technology will play a vital role in the future of the Australian Defence Force, as identified in the 2024 National Defence Strategy and the Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy.

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“Australian industry has long been at the forefront of quantum technology.

“This collaboration harnesses expertise and experience from AUKUS partners and leverages emerging technologies to deliver the capabilities our militaries need.

“Through AUKUS Pillar II, we are achieving capability development faster than any one of our nations could achieve alone.”

The Albanese Government is pleased to announce a strategic contract that paves the way for Australian battery technology to be used in the AUKUS submarine design, supporting local innovation and hundreds of jobs.

South Australian-based PMB Defence is partnering with BAE Systems in the United Kingdom to enable the potential integration of its advanced nickel zinc battery system into the design of the future conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines. PMB will also supply battery technology for other Royal Navy submarines.

The contracts between PMB and BAE, valued in excess of $34 million, have already seen PMB add 20 staff to its workforce in South Australia with the company anticipating adding more jobs as it scales up to meet production requirements. These new jobs add to the 450 positions already created at BAE and ASC as a result of the AUKUS program. 

This is another significant milestone in the AUKUS partnership and underscores the importance of collaboration across our respective industrial bases in delivering future submarine capability. It follows extensive collaboration between the Australian Submarine Agency, PMB Defence, and UK Ministry of Defence stakeholders, and has accelerated entry of Australian products into UK and US submarine supply chains.

PMB is a world-leading manufacturer of submarine battery systems, producing the main storage batteries for the Collins-class submarines, which have been in operation with the Royal Australian Navy since 1996. If successful through the design phase, it is expected these batteries would be built at PMB’s facility in South Australia – supporting a sovereign, local workforce.

The future SSN-AUKUS submarines are being developed trilaterally, based on the UK’s next generation design that incorporates technology from all three nations, including cutting-edge US submarine technology, such as propulsion plant systems and components, a common vertical launch system and conventional weapons. AUKUS partners will also develop a joint combat system, as an expansion of the existing US-Australian combat system. 

Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:

“The Albanese Government will always back Australian innovation and this strategic contract reinforces the fact that Aussies are world leaders when it comes to defence technology.

“Australian industry is our greatest strategic asset. The contract for the AUKUS design, which comes on the back of work PMB has secured for other Royal Navy submarines, will create dozens of new well-paid high-skilled jobs for locals, on top the hundreds at BAE and ASC that AUKUS has already delivered. 

“AUKUS is expected to create around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years, and the Albanese Government is committed to making it easier for Australian industry to tap into a multi-billion-dollar, multi-decade opportunity.”

The Senate has voted to establish two further Senate inquiries into Labor’s aged care reforms, amid concerns that the new Act which came into force on Saturday will fail older Australians. (See background on the new Act here)

The previous Senate inquiry into  Aged Care Service Delivery , which explored the transition period leading up to the new Act on 1 November, revealed that the aged care waitlist was more than double what had previously been reported (with over 200,000 Australians waiting for care). That previous inquiry was instrumental in forcing the early release of 20,000 home care packages needlessly withheld by the government.

Now that the Act is in force, two new inquiries have been established today:

The first inquiry will investigate the government’s planned transition of the Community Home Support Program (CHSP), which currently serves more than 800,000 older Australians with at-home supports through “block funding” to providers like Meals on Wheels. 

The second inquiry will investigate the ability for older Australians to access care under the Support at Home program, including the impacts of new pricing mechanisms and co-payments.

The government intends to transition CHSP into Support at Home and has only funded the program up until 30 June 2027. The government has failed to answer previous questions about the impacts of closing CHSP on demand for Support at Home packages, leading to concerns that existing services will be forced to close their doors and waitlists for aged care will only blow out further.

As with the previous inquiry, both the newly established inquiries will be chaired by Greens Spokesperson for Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne.

Full terms of reference for the inquiries are below.

Lines attributable to Greens Spokesperson for Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:

“Older people across the country – hundreds of thousands of whom are on fixed incomes – are copping increased costs for their care at home so that privatised aged care providers can make bigger profits. That’s a broken system.”

“Labor’s Minister for Aged Care, Sam Rae, has tried to hide the truth of these aged care changes, but now the reality is setting in and older Australians are waking up to new care arrangements they cannot afford.”

“Older Australians are still dying waiting a year or more for care, and rather than boost needed supports like the Community Home Support Program, they’re planning to close them.”

“Our parents and grandparents need leaders who will fight for them and their right to care, but instead Labor and the Liberals are shaking pensioners down for cash while propping up the profits of privatised aged care.”

“The Greens will ensure older Australians and their advocates are heard, and fight to fix this system so that everyone can access the care they need at the time that they need it.”

Community Home Support Program Inquiry

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 April 2026: the transition of the Community Home Support Programme to the Support at Home Program, with particular reference to:

1. the timeline for the transition of the Community Home Support Programme to the Support at Home Program after 1 July 2027;
2. the expected impact of this transition, including on:
   1. waiting periods for assessment and receipt of care;
   2. the lifetime cap of $15,000 on home modifications;
   3. the End-of-Life Pathway time limits; and
   4. thin markets with a small number of aged care service providers. 
3. aged care provider readiness for the transition, including their workforce; and
4. any other related matters.

Co-payments inquiry

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by the Tuesday of the last sitting week of November 2026: the Support at Home Program, with reference to:

1. the ability for older Australians to access services to live safely and with dignity at home;
2. the impact of the co-payment contributions for independent services and everyday living services on the financial security and wellbeing of older Australians;
3. trends and impact of pricing mechanisms on consumers;
4. the adequacy of the financial hardship assistance for older Australians facing financial difficulty; 
5. the impact on the residential aged care system, and hospitals;
6. the impact on older Australians transitioning from the Home Care Packages Program;
7. thin markets including those affected by geographic remoteness and population size;
8. the impact on First Nations communities, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and
9. any other related matters.

The Greens have secured a Senate inquiry into the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, exposing one of the most regressive tax breaks in Australia’s system which is inflating house prices by incentivising speculative investment in property.

A separate Senate inquiry by the Greens will examine intergenerational housing inequality in Australia, including tax settings, rental and homelessness policies, and public housing investment. It will investigate solutions for tackling intergenerational housing inequality to address the widening gap between current and future generations.

The housing inquiry will commence at the conclusion of the CGT inquiry in mid March. 

Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim:

“The CGT discount is the most unfair and unequal tax break in the entire Commonwealth tax code which is supercharging house prices and locking first homebuyers out.

“PBO analysis commissioned by the Greens show that 50% of the benefits of the CGT discount go to the richest 1% of income earners. This unfair tax break is fuelling the housing crisis by turbocharging speculative investment while locking renters and young people out of home ownership.

“This inquiry will shine a light on how the CGT discount has supercharged inequality, funnelled money away from productive investment, and turned homes into financial assets instead of places of shelter and community.

“The Albanese Government said reforming the original Stage 3 tax cuts was impossible, until they weren’t.

“The CGT discount is orders of magnitude more unfair than the original Stage 3 tax cuts, and it’s long past time for it to be reformed.

“The Greens will use this inquiry to make the case for fairness: that someone who goes to work every day to earn a living should not be subsidising tax breaks for property speculators.” 

Greens spokesperson for housing and homelessness Senator Barbara Pocock:

“We don’t have a functioning housing system in Australia; we have a generational lottery, where young people are staring down the barrel of lifelong renting, precarious leases, and a housing market rigged against them. Housing should not be an intergenerational tug-of-war.

“In Australia, we’re seeing declining rates of home ownership among young people, increasing rental security and affordability, and rising rates of homelessness. With house prices forecast to increase by 9 percent next year on top of more than 6% this year, which will only fuel the housing crisis.

“An inquiry into our housing crisis is a matter of urgency. This inquiry will investigate the causes of Australia’s intergenerational housing inequality, including the $181m tax breaks for wealthy investors – the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing – that are locking out first home buyers and forcing rents to skyrocket.

“Australia’s housing crisis cannot be solved unless we tackle intergenerational inequality. We need solutions to get young people, first home buyers and renters access to affordable and secure housing.”

The Albanese Labor Government joined with the Coalition today to vote against an inquiry into AUKUS.

Labor’s vote for secrecy follows both the UK and the US undertaking reviews into the AUKUS agreement, and ignores the chronic supply and logistical issues with the nuclear submarine programs in each AUKUS country.

The Inquiry proposed by the Greens would have allowed a Senate committee to take for public submissions on all aspects of the AUKUS deal, including environmental impacts, defence impacts, costs, and independence.

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Defence and Foreign Affairs, said:

“AUKUS is a $375 billion nuclear-powered raid on Australia’s public wealth.”

“The fact that the Albanese Government have voted for secrecy in this multi-decade, multi-hundred-billion-dollar gamble shows contempt for transparency and the very real concerns of the Australian public.

“The Albanese Government has already begun handing over the first $10 billion to the US and UK as part of AUKUS, without any binding agreement to either get submarines or a refund when it all unravels.

“The US is producing barely half the number of submarines needed to make AUKUS viable, and the UK’s nuclear program is in meltdown.

“Ignoring these critical supply failures in our AUKUS partners is not a credible defence strategy. But instead of a hard-headed review the Albanese Government’s response is to close its eyes and wait for the next photo op.

“Polling from the Australia Institute shows that Australians want a more independent foreign policy, not to align ourselves closely with US President Trump.

“Only 8% of people strongly agree with Defence Minister Richard Marles when he talks of our “shared values” with the United States.

“AUKUS is a limitless drain on our public funds that makes Australia less safe and even more dependent on Washington.

”Today’s vote shows how out of touch the Canberra national security bubble is from ordinary Australians who don’t like Donald Trump, don’t want war with China and want their Parliament to fund Medicare and public schools before nuclear submarines.”

Read the full inquiry terms of reference here.

Greens spokesperson for arts and communications, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young:

“The Greens have long campaigned for local content quotas on streaming platforms to support Australian stories on our screen. Big tech companies like Netflix and Amazon who make massive profits from Australians should be required to have Australian content and give something back to the Australian economy.

“A country that invests in its community and democracy, invests in its own cultural assets and story tellers.

“We will look carefully at the detail of the bill and reserve our position until we know it is strong enough to ensure a strong future for our screen industry, including children’s content.

“Australians deserve to see themselves and their communities reflected on their screens. Telling our own stories helps us makes sense of who we are here at home and around the world.

“Generations of Australians grew up on a diet of Australian shows like Playschool, Round the Twist, and Bluey. The next generation of Aussie kids deserve better than American junk.”