16 News

People at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) have propagated around 3,000 native plants over the past year to help Murrumbateman Landcare Group (MLG) restore endangered grassy woodlands in the Yass region. 

The species – including various eucalypts, wattles, shrubs and groundcovers – were chosen by the MLG for their ability to withstand future climate conditions. The native tubestock plants were grown as seeds from both local and non-local sources to ensure genetic diversity and improve soil health on both private and public lands in the Murrumbateman region.

The seven people employed in the AMC’s Production Nursery and Horticulture Program have mastered various propagation techniques, including hot and smoke-water treatment as well as cold stratification, ensuring the plants’ optimal germination and resilience.

Minister for Corrections and Justice Health Emma Davidson said this program is just one of several opportunities offered to people at the AMC to learn new skills, build confidence and give back to their community. 

“Everyone has the power to make our environment more resilient to better respond to the climate crisis,” Minister Davidson said.

“There are commercial grow houses and stock gardens in AMC to empower those who care about our environment to take meaningful action and be part of the collective community effort to keep the ACT region’s environment thriving

“Programs like this help people learn and build new skills, explore their interests, and connect with the broader community. When people have opportunities like this, they feel a stronger sense of belonging, respect, and care for themselves and those around them.”

Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said this partnership demonstrates that rehabilitation and community engagement can go hand-in-hand with positive results.

“This approach aligns with our commitment to evidence-based rehabilitation programs that reduce recidivism and promote successful reintegration. It’s a powerful example of how innovative programs can deliver benefits for detainees and the community alike,” the Attorney-General said.

MLG volunteer Fiona Hamer, whose sheep farm is among the project’s revegetation sites, said she was thrilled to see the region’s blossoming biodiversity.  

“Last year’s (plants) went to the top of a rocky gully, plus a high ridge-line where they will help hold the soil and provide refuges for wildlife. This year’s plants are going into a windbreak that will connect bird-friendly plots from earlier years, help protect ancient remnant paddock trees, as well as reduce stress for lambing ewes by providing shade and shelter,” Ms Hamer said.

ACT Corrective Services Commissioner Bruno Aloisi:
“We are incredibly proud of the dedication and skill demonstrated by the detainees in this program. Their contribution to reforestation efforts not only benefits the environment but also equips them with valuable work and general life skills.”

AMC Production Nursery and Horticulture Program supervisor Leigh:
“This program has been running for three years now. It not only provides valuable horticultural skills to the detainees but also fosters a sense of purpose and connection to the environment.

“The experience has also given detainees a real sense of achievement while nurturing their own personal growth. For some, these programs are more than a way to pass the time of their sentences – it can open up pathways for life after prison.”

Murrumbateman Landcare Group Committee Members Gill Hall:
“This partnership is a wonderful example of how we can work together to achieve positive outcomes for both the environment and individuals involved. The detainees were able to raise some species that the nursery has struggled to grow in Murrumbateman. The tubestock we collect from them always looks so big and healthy, and we love having this connection with the AMC.”

The 46th session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee in New Delhi has overnight decided not to declare the Great Barrier Reef be placed on a list of World Heritage sites ‘in danger’.

This decision ratifies the draft recommendation made to Unesco in June 2024.

Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson:

“The devil is in the detail with this now-confirmed updated decision. The Albanese Labor Government will crow about the work it is doing to protect the Great Barrier Reef, but it is not off the hook, not by a long shot.

“Unesco has clearly called on the Albanese Government to increase its climate ambition to bring Australia into line with the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement. How do the Scarborough, Barossa and Beetaloo climate bombs, supported by Labor, stack up against this?

“When I travelled to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef in April this year to witness the destruction of the most recent bleaching event with my own eyes, one thing was undeniable – the Great Barrier Reef is in danger.

“This isn’t difficult – the more coal and gas mines the Albanese Labor Government rips open, the closer the Great Barrier Reef is to becoming irrevocably degraded and changed forever. It’s new coal and gas or the Reef, you can’t have both.

“Just this week the Albanese Labor Government announced new permits for gas drilling along Australia’s west and south-east coastlines. The science is clear – if we are to meet the Paris target, and protect the Reef, there can be no new coal and gas development. Labor continues to remain in denial.

“Australia remains one of the world’s largest exporters of both thermal coal and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Recent data in the UN’s Sustainable Development Report also shows that under Labor, Australia is the fourth largest per capita exporter of CO2 emissions embodied in fossil fuel exports in the world, with only Qatar, Norway and Brunei Darussalam beating us to the top of that unenviable and shameful list.

“Unesco gave the Albanese Labor Government until February this year to demonstrate drastically stronger climate ambition, or else risk the Great Barrier Reef being declared ‘in danger’. Federal Labor has categorically not increased its ambition and is relying primarily on actions taken by the Queensland state government to placate the concerns of Unesco.

“Rising global emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels are boiling our oceans and killing the Great Barrier Reef. Until the Albanese Government commits to ending new coal and gas this destruction will continue.”

The Australian Greens have urged Labor to support and establish a real federal Truth and Justice Commission that can inquire into historic and ongoing injustices against First Nations people and make recommendations to Parliament.

Not, as they have suggested, a bare-minimum, watered down version that won’t address the systemic oppression and racism that communities continue to face.

Overnight, The Age reported Labor was looking to establish a ‘minimalist’ truth-telling plan that would help educate Australians about First Nations history.

It would reportedly contrast the much stronger model in Victoria, which has seen the Yoorrook Justice Commission make many important recommendations for change.

Australian Greens First Nations spokesperson, Senator Dorinda Cox:

“The Greens have a bill for a Truth and Justice Commission before Parliament that Labor could help pass in the coming weeks. This bill is supported by key stakeholders and members of our communities. 

“If Labor is serious about First Nations justice and implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, as they promised, they would back our bill. 

“Why would they not want to give a voice to First Nations peoples and support processes that for the first time would record our rich and vibrant culture and heritage in both pre and post-colonial times? Which would allow us to move towards righting the wrongs of the past and healing as a nation.

“Instead they are suggesting ripping the guts out of a First Nations-led federal Truth and Justice Commission and pushing through a watered down ‘plan’ that will do nothing to address the injustices our communities continue to face and further the sideline reparative processes for healing this nation.

“A ‘minimalist’ model will do nothing and certainly won’t allow us to record the pre-colonial history of Australia and make recommendations to the Parliament on how to address the ongoing systemic issues, which will bring practical changes to close the gap for our people, we need something stronger like the Victorian model.

“We cannot change the past, but we can build a better future for First Nations and non-indigenous Australians with a federal Truth and Justice Commission, which will help us to heal and move forward together as a nation.” 

Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May returns to her Ballarat roots today to listen to community concerns about the current cost of living crisis.

“Time and time again, I’m hearing from people who can’t afford basic food items.” 

“People are telling me that they’re skipping meals and being forced to make tough choices between medical expenses, groceries and rent.”

According to the Ballarat Foundation, more than 12 percent of the population in Ballarat relies on some kind of support for accessing meals and groceries in order to survive.

“This shouldn’t be happening in a wealthy country like Australia, but that’s the reality when Labor refuses to take action on cost of living.”

“Here in Ballarat, like in so many regional communities across the country, shoppers have little choice but to shop at either Coles and Woolworths.”

“The Coles and Woolworths duopoly is blatantly price gouging. Shoppers are paying more for groceries, while supermarkets are profiting billions.”

“Having grown up in Ballarat, I’m hearing directly from locals who are fed up. People have had enough of the supermarket price-gouging, they’ve had enough of not being able to put food on the table for their kids – all while supermarkets make huge profits.”

The Greens are campaigning hard to hold Coles and Woolworths to account, the Senator said.

“Food and grocery prices won’t come down unless we make price gouging illegal, and create powers to break up the supermarket duopoly.”

“Only the Greens have consistently proposed measures in Parliament that will result in lower food and grocery prices.”

“It’s time for the Labor Party to decide whether to protect the profits of supermarket giants or provide relief to Australian shoppers in a cost of living crisis.

Over the next week I will travel to Laos for ASEAN meetings, Japan for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Republic of Korea for a bilateral visit. 

This year we proudly mark 50 years since Australia became ASEAN’s first dialogue partner. A strong ASEAN underpins regional stability, contributes to prosperity and reinforces the rules and norms that protect us all.

At the ASEAN-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Laos, we will progress outcomes agreed at the Special Summit held earlier this year in Melbourne.

In Laos, I will also attend the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and ASEAN Regional Forum, which provide important platforms for cooperation with ASEAN on regional priorities.

Australia strongly supports Laos’ leadership as the 2024 ASEAN Chair. Our friendship with Laos is built on longstanding development cooperation and people to people ties, forged over 70 years.

In Tokyo, I look forward to meeting my counterparts from Japan, India and the United States at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The Quad is working closely with Indo-Pacific countries and institutions to deliver on a positive agenda that responds tangibly to the region’s priorities and most pressing challenges.

Quad Foreign Ministers will take forward cooperation on infrastructure, supply chains, connectivity, education, research, humanitarian and disaster responses, counterterrorism and security.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a close friend and a comprehensive strategic partner. I look forward to meeting Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul to progress implementation of the outcomes from our May 2+2 meeting in Melbourne.

Australia and the ROK are building on our strategic alignment with expanded bilateral and regional cooperation, including on the energy transition and economic security.

While in the ROK, I will visit the UN Command Buildings in the Joint Security Area within the Demilitarised Zone, which is an enduring symbol of international cooperation in addressing North Korea’s challenges to security and stability.

This visit to Laos, Japan and the Republic of Korea is an opportunity to promote Australia’s interests and deepen collaboration with key partners and regional architecture in pursuit of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The Victorian Greens have thrown their support behind journalists from Nine newspapers who are set to strike for the next five days. 

Journalists from Nine mastheads such as the Age in Victoria have planned the industrial action after Nine Entertainment chief executive told staff the company was cutting 200 jobs, including 90 positions across the legacy mastheads. 

Journalists have asked for fair wages, greater diversity, protections against the use of AI and to reduce the number of redundancies. 

The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell says that these demands are fair and sensible and that journalists need a better deal to support bold, independent, and fearless journalism, which is at the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. 

Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell: 

“All strength to the journalists striking for fair wages, greater diversity, AI protections and fighting back against huge slashes in jobs. 

“It seems Nine are trying to cut costs at every corner instead of investing in public interest reporting which is what journalism is actually all about. 

“It’s a dire reminder of the consequences of successive governments handing over the bulk of our media to a couple of billionaires. 

“A free and fearless press that speaks truth to power is at the cornerstone of our democracy. This relies on good journalists who are empowered to do their job.”