Category: Australian News

The Greens have today announced a plan to build 125,000 new homes and sell them to people locked out of housing for $300,000.
Young people locked out of the housing market could decide a number of key inner city elections around the country, including Griffith in Brisbane.
With a tight election looming, a win in Griffith could put the Greens in the balance of power, and push the next government to make housing more affordable.
The Greens are campaigning on the issue of housing affordability, promising to offer good quality $300K homes to first home buyers.
The Greens victory in South Brisbane in the recent state election, and a perception that Labor has abandoned renters and first home buyers, has given Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather a huge boost.
On current polling, a power-sharing Parliament is the most likely outcome of the coming election and in the balance of power, the Greens will push for billionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share of tax so we can build affordable housing.
Griffith Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather said:
“People are telling us they feel abandoned by Labor, and locked out of the housing market.
“We’ve knocked on 30,000 doors and we’re hearing over and over from renters that they can’t imagine owning a home. Parents are worried about their kids struggling to buy a home.
“Almost 1 in 2 people in Griffith rent and with skyrocketing rents and house prices we’re seeing a new constituency of families shifting to the Greens on the basis that Labor has abandoned them when it comes to affordable housing.
“We want to tax the billionaires and big corporations, and build homes that everyone can afford.
“In the balance of power, we can fight for everyone’s future, not just the big donors and big banks.”
Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:
“With wage growth going backwards for young people, house prices skyrocketing and billionaires making big profits, we’ve got to do something different.
“Labor has joined the Liberals in abandoning renters, backing billions of dollars in public handouts to people who already own five, six or seven homes, pushing up prices and locking people out of housing.
“The movement in Griffith now feels like Melbourne in 2010, when young people changed the course of politics by putting the Greens in balance of power. If young people back the Greens in Griffith, we can kick the Liberals out and put the Greens back in balance of power, where we will push the next government to tax the billionaires and build secure homes everyone can afford.”
Greens Spokesperson for Housing Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Housing in this country is completely cooked. Some people are making huge profits from housing, while others are struggling to keep a roof above their heads.
“Homelessness is not inevitable. Governments must make the choice of ensuring everyone has a safe and affordable place to live, and to obliterate homelessness and housing insecurity forever.
“A massive build of new homes will reduce inequality in Australia dramatically. Safe, secure, high-quality housing is a human right, not a privilege reserved only for those who are able to afford to
pay through the nose for it.
“Our innovative shared equity ownership scheme will help tens of thousands of people buy their first home for $300,000.
“People who have been locked out of a home due to skyrocketing prices and a housing system stacked against them will be able to own a high-quality sustainable house and make it their home at
an affordable price.
“In a property market rigged for speculators and wealthy investors, buying a home is well out of reach for most people. It’s currently too expensive for many people to both pay rent and save for a deposit. The Greens plan tackles this head-on.
“Whether you are renting a home or buying one, a housing system should work for people, not profit.”

The Greens have today announced that in balance of power after the next election, they will push a plan to build one million new publicly-owned, affordable, high-quality and sustainable homes.
The Greens’ push for secure housing comes as property prices surge to record highs and a generation has been locked out of home ownership, unable to save enough for a deposit, while they continue to face rising rents.
One million new homes, built over 20 years, will clear public housing waiting lists, make housing more affordable, end homelessness, and ensure everyone has a roof over their head.
As part of this plan, The Greens’ shared equity ownership scheme will make it easier for people to buy their first home for $300,000.
On current polling, a power-sharing Parliament is the most likely outcome of the coming election and in the balance of power, the Greens will push for billionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share of tax so we can build affordable housing.
To deliver this plan, the Greens will push to establish a Federal Housing Trust, which will:

1. Build 750,000 new public and community houses to slash public housing waiting lists and end homelessness;
2. Build 125,000 new shared ownership homes, which will allow first-home buyers to buy a home in suburbs they want to live in for $300,000.
3. Build 125,000 new public universal access rental homes to provide secure housing for more people and move towards universal housing.

The Federal Housing Trust will construct and manage all dwellings in partnership with states, territories and community housing providers.
The Greens plan also includes a Capital Grants fund to provide State and Territory governments with $1.5 billion each year for three years, and then $2.5 billion divided evenly over the next 7 years, for public housing improvements.
This plan has been costed by the Parliament Budget Office and is expected to impact the fiscal balance by $7.5 billion over the forward estimates period and $22.9 billion over the decade.
New public and community housing
The Greens will invest in public and community housing which will end the waiting lists and ensure everyone has a roof over their head and a place to call home.
750,000 new, sustainable public and community homes built over 20 years will end homelessness in Australia and provide housing security for everyone in crisis or need.
The Greens will push for 125,000 new public universal access rentals to be built focused on creating affordable housing for more people, and move towards universal housing for all. This plan will help people who have been priced out of where they need to live. Essential workers like teachers and nurses, as well as others, will be able to rent a home from the government. This scheme of 125,000 homes will allow people to live closer to work or their community.
All tenants in Federal Housing Trust homes will pay the lower of 25 percent of their income or market rent.
Own your first home
The Greens have a plan to build 125,000 high-quality sustainable homes and give people who have been locked out of home ownership the opportunity to purchase up to 75% equity in their home. Our Shared Equity Ownership Scheme will make it easier for people to buy their first home, in suburbs they want to live in, for $300,000.
The government will provide low cost loans, which will be simple to service.
Rather than selling off public homes to private developers, these homes are kept permanently by the government as part of a Federal Housing Trust, meaning they will always be available to those who have less opportunity to own a home.
These homes will be owner-occupied. When people want to leave, they can sell back their share to the government’s Federal Housing Trust at an appreciated rate linked to property price growth nationally.
Quotes attributable to Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens:
“With so many people locked out of the housing market, we urgently need the government to act and ensure everyone has somewhere secure to call home.”
“The housing market is broken and the government must step in. As well as slashing public housing waiting lists, the government should build good quality homes in good locations that people locked out of the market can afford to buy.
“In balance of power, the Greens will kick the Liberals out and push the next government to tax the billionaires so we can build homes everyone can afford.”
Quotes attributable to Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Housing:
“Housing in this country is completely cooked. Some people are making huge profits from housing, while others are struggling to keep a roof above their heads.
“Homelessness is not inevitable. Governments must make the choice of ensuring everyone has a safe and affordable place to live, and to obliterate homelessness and housing insecurity forever.
“A massive build of new homes will reduce inequality in Australia dramatically. Safe, secure, high-quality housing is a human right, not a privilege reserved only for those who are able to afford to pay through the nose for it.
“Our innovative shared equity ownership scheme will help tens of thousands of people buy their first home for $300,000.
“People who have been locked out of a home due to skyrocketing prices and a housing system stacked against them will be able to own a high-quality sustainable house and make it their home at an affordable price.
“In a property market rigged for speculators and wealthy investors, buying a home is well out of reach for most people. It’s currently too expensive for many people to both pay rent and save for a deposit. The Greens plan tackles this head-on.
“Whether you are renting a home or buying one, a housing system should work for people, not profit.”
Paying for our plan:
By making billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax and winding back handouts to big polluters, we can build a better life for all of us.
1 in 3 big corporations pays no tax and many big corporations and billionaires send their profits offshore tax free.
The Greens will tax billionaires with a new ‘billionaires tax’, require big corporations making excessive profits to pay a ‘corporate super-profits tax’ and axe billions of dollars in handouts to the coal, oil and gas giants that are driving the climate crisis.
When big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share, everyone can have the services they need for a better life.

The Australian Government has secured access to two additional COVID-19 treatments to support the National Plan to Transition Australia’s COVID-19 response, following expert medical advice.
Under a new  management with Roche Products Pty Ltd, Australia will be supplied with 15,000 doses of the COVID-19 antibody-based therapy, Ronapreve.
First supply of this treatment is expected to be available by the end of this month through an initial shipment of 5,000 doses and will be held in the National Medical Stockpile.
Use of this treatment will occur in line with the regulatory approval by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and advice from the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce.
Ronapreve is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies – casirivimab and imdevimab. It is designed to block infectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The two monoclonal antibodies bind to two different sites of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and flag the virus as ‘foreign’, prompting the body’s immune response.
Ronapreve can be administered intravenously for COVID-19 patients in a health care facility and is expected to be targeted for use in unvaccinated people who are at risk of developing severe disease. Treatment with ronapreve has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death by up to 70% in patients with confirmed COVID-19.
In addition, the Australian Government has secured access to 500,000 treatment courses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral antiviral drug, to be used in combination with the protease inhibitor drug ritonavir, subject to regulatory approval by the TGA.
This treatment which is still undergoing clinical trials is expected to help to reduce the severity or onset of illness in adults who contract, or have been exposed to, COVID-19. It is expected to be available over the course of 2022, subject to final clinical trials being completed by Pfizer and the necessary TGA approval process.
This oral antiviral treatment is taken every 12 hours for five days and is designed to block an enzyme the virus needs in order to multiply early in its lifecycle.
Co-administration with a low dose of ritonavir is expected to help slow the metabolism, or breakdown, of the treatment in order for it to remain active in the body for longer periods of time at higher concentrations to combat the virus.
Ritonavir has been used extensively in combination with other antivirals for other viral diseases to help slow metabolism in a similar way.
On 1 October 2021, the TGA granted provisional determination to Pfizer Australia in relation to this treatment which means that Pfizer can apply to the TGA for approval through this fast track approval process once the clinical trials are complete.
Whilst vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19 our Government continues work to ensure that Australians have early access to safe and effective treatments as they are made available. These agreements reinforces our strong response to managing COVID-19 outbreaks and ensures that Australia benefits from new pharmaceutical technologies.
As with all COVID-19 treatments, both of these medications will be rigorously assessed by the TGA for safety, quality and effectiveness before it can be registered for use in Australia.
The TGA is treating all COVID-19 treatment applications with the greatest priority as part of the Department of Health’s response to the pandemic.
Following regulatory approval by the TGA, Ronapreve will join other COVID-19 treatments including sotrovimab and remdesivir that are already available to health professionals, through the National Medical Stockpile to help treat people with COVID-19.
Australia has also secured an advanced purchase agreement for 300,000 courses of the promising oral COVID-19 treatment Molnupiravir for supply in 2022 subject to TGA approval.
These purchase agreements have been supported by the Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group, which is the Australian Government’s expert group advising on COVID-19 vaccine and treatment purchases.
Further review of the clinical guidelines for use of these treatments in Australia will be undertaken by the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce.
 

Greens Leader Adam Bandt, Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Greens Health spokesperson Jordon Steele-John have joined teachers and parents calling for a national COVID Safe Schools action plan as students return to schools in NSW, Victoria and the ACT and public health restrictions are eased across the country.
The Greens want the Commonwealth to work with states and territories to ensure proper ventilation audits of schools, installation of HEPA filters and air quality monitoring and proper social distancing and mask wearing requirements are implemented as schools open up.
Medical experts have called for a national strategy and warned about spread of the virus in schools and increased illness amongst students, teachers and their families unless proper COVID-safe measures are implemented.
The OZ Sage medical expert group has warned that 1–3% of unvaccinated children could be hospitalised without proper protections. Currently children under 12 are not eligible for vaccination. Long COVID is likely to be experienced by large numbers of kids.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:
“The Prime Minister and National Cabinet must act. Schools are starting to open across NSW and Victoria and the virus is likely to circulate through zero COVID states. We need to ensure kids and teachers are protected as much as possible. There needs to be a national plan.”
Greens education spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi said:
“It’s important that school children are back in the classroom as soon as practicable, but we have to make sure it’s safe. School communities are understandably concerned. There must be Commonwealth support and coordination for all states and territories to implement comprehensive measures across all schools.”
Greens health spokesperson Jordon Steele-John said:
“We have already seen the virus spread through schools in Australia, and as schools have opened up in Europe and the United States, we’ve seen the virus spread.
“Vaccination of teenagers and teachers is not enough to ensure all school children are looked after. We need to address ventilation and other protections including masks in all schools, at all ages.
“NSW Parliament added ventilation when politicians returned to the building. If we are making these changes for politicians, we must urgently do it for our kids.”

The Green says revelations that community grants from the Building Better Regions Fund were disproportionately awarded to Coalition seats once again shows the urgent need for a federal corruption watchdog.
On Monday the Greens will lodge a concurrence motion in the Senate, which could ultimately force the House to vote on the Greens’ National Integrity Commission Bill, which passed the Senate more than two years ago.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Sportsrorts 1 & 2, carporks, now ‘building better rorts’ – another day, another rort. And still no federal corruption watchdog! Are there any buckets of public money this government hasn’t used for its own electoral gain?
“The Australian people are sick of waiting for this government to deliver on their 1000-day-old promise for a corruption watchdog – so I will move a motion to seek to force the government’s hand.
“Next week in parliament I will move a concurrence motion which, if passed in the Senate, would force the House to vote on whether to debate my National Integrity Commission Bill, which passed the Senate two years ago.
“The Government has already twice blocked the bill from even being debated and voted on in the House but the Greens have been pushing for a federal corruption watchdog for 11 years now and we won’t stop despite this government using every excuse in the book to block and delay.
“This is the dodgiest government in Australian history. If we had an effective federal anti-corruption body more than half of the Morrison Cabinet would be facing serious questions about their integrity.
“Morrison’s ICAC proposal is a fraud. Many of the misconduct scandals involving current and former Government MPs would not be caught by his toothless model. It wouldn’t hold public hearings nor be able to initiate investigations without a referral from the government.
“But parliament doesn’t need to keep waiting for the long-delayed and pathetically weak Morrison model – because the Senate has already passed the Greens’ National Integrity Bill, which got top marks last week from the Centre for Public Integrity in a comparison of the various models.
“Our bill would establish a strong, independent, effective body that allows for public hearings, retrospectivity and the ability to investigate anonymous tip-offs, balanced with appropriate safeguards and privacy provisions.
“It passed the Senate more than two years ago – the PM just needs to bring it on for debate in the House and the Australian people could have a federal anti-corruption body in place by Christmas. There’s no more time to waste.”

The Federal Government has comprehensively failed to make the case for trying to exempt the Future Fund’s investments from Freedom of Information laws.
“We need far greater scrutiny of the Future Fund’s investment decisions, not less,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator McKim said.
“It is through the Freedom of Information scheme that we learned of the Future Fund’s $3.2 million investment in Adani Ports.”
”The Government has completely failed to justify this exemption, and it is clearly trying to keep the investments away from public scrutiny.”
“The Greens will oppose this legislation and we urge Labor and the crossbench to join us.”
“This is public money, and the public have a right to know how it is being invested.”
The Greens’ additional comments on the Investment Funds Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 [Provisions] can be found here.

Forensic research by the ABC has shed new light on just how important a ban on political donations from the gambiling industry is. The ABC’s Hitting the Jackpot investigation revealed that over $81million has been given since 1999 to Liberals, Labor, Nationals and minor parties.
With gambling industry profits completely at the mercy of government regulation, the Greens say it’s clear that the gambling industry is buying influence and favour, and the Liberal, Labor and National parties are happy to comply.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
“It’s time to ban political donations from the gambling industry. They have bought policy outcomes that reap them profits and increase misery for so many for so long. The Greens have been pushing for this for a decade in federal parliament but the big parties won’t bite the hand that feeds them.
“Australians are the world’s biggest losers to gambling, while the Liberal, Labor and National parties have hit the donations jackpot.
“Donations open doors to Minister’s offices, giving privileged access to industries profiting at the expense of the Australian public.
“Weak political donations laws mean that not only is it completely legal for the government to accept donations from industries that stand to benefit from weak government regulations, but that we don’t even know where more than a third of those donations are coming from. This is a stain on our democracy.
“The Greens Banning Dirty Donations Bill to ban donations from gambling, mining and other sectors while capping donations from everyone else is already before the Senate and ready to be voted on – but only if the major parties are willing to turn their back on the tens of millions in donations from the gambling industry filling their re-election coffers.
“The Greens have a comprehensive plan to clean up politics and stop politicians writing policies for the highest bidder.  We will:

• Ban dirty donations from industries like gambling, fossil fuels, pharmaceuticals, banking, defence, alcohol and tobacco
• Cap all political donations at $1,000
• Require real-time disclosure of donations
• Improve transparency of the Lobbyists Register
• Release Ministerial diaries so the public can see who’s meeting with who
• Stop the revolving door between politics and industry lobbyists
• Establish a strong, independent corruption watchdog

The Morrison Government is investing up to $30 million in health and medical research to help bring ground-breaking discoveries to fruition.
Through the Medical Research Future Fund, our government will open two new grant opportunities across key areas of medical research.
Firstly, a new grant opportunity will open targeted at Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions in Children and Adolescents, with funding up to $20 million over four years from 2021-2022.
An estimated 880,000 musculoskeletal problems in children and adolescents are managed in primary care in Australia each year.
Musculoskeletal conditions that affect children and adolescents include juvenile idiopathic arthritis, juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus, back and hip conditions, muscular dystrophies and musculoskeletal pain.
The intended outcome of this grant opportunity is to improve the health care for children and adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal conditions by developing superior diagnostic approaches and by building evidence for best treatment approaches, including improved therapeutic regimes and validated models of care.
Secondly, a grant opportunity will open to help researchers develop and implement new approaches for improving patient care and health outcomes through better use of health information.
The Research Data Infrastructure grant opportunity provides up to $10 million for projects that bring together information held in different systems or platforms or that use novel methods like artificial intelligence to answer important health questions.
Better use of data will help to enable earlier diagnosis and increase the effectiveness of treatments and improve health outcomes.
It will also help reduce the probability of adverse reactions, better prevent diseases by identifying risk factors, and improve the monitoring of the effects of medical drugs.
These grants will continue to help our world-leading health and medical researchers build evidence to develop superior diagnostic approaches, and best treatment approaches, including improved therapeutic regimes and models of care.
Health and medical research remains our best hope to improve health outcomes for all Australians. It saves lives and improves lives.
The $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) supports Australia’s world class health and medical researchers by investing in innovative and game changing discoveries for the health of all Australians.
To apply for these grants please visit the GrantConnect website (https://www.grants.gov.au/).

In a clear expression of confidence in the Morrison Government’s economic management, Fitch Ratings have affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating and upgraded its outlook to stable from negative.
Emerging from a once in a century pandemic and the greatest economic shock since the great depression, Australia remains one of only nine countries to maintain a AAA credit rating from all three major credit rating agencies.
Despite the economic recovery being “temporarily disrupted by recent lockdowns, Fitch Ratings “expect Australia’s economic recovery to continue” with the economy forecast to grow by 4.5 per cent in 2022 compared to a median of 3.6 per cent amongst other AAA rated countries.
This strong economic outlook is expected to see the labour market “snap back rapidly with the unemployment rate forecast to average 4.7 per cent in 2022” which would be the lowest annual rate since 2008.
Fitch Ratings also noted “the pace of vaccination has accelerated in recent months, allowing a gradual easing in restrictions that will facilitate a strong rebound in consumption from pent-up demand, particularly as households have large accumulated savings to draw down, and targeted fiscal support has remained during the lockdowns.”
This fiscal support following the most recent delta outbreak has included $11.1 billion in COVID-19 Disaster Payments to 2.25 million Australians and around $5.2 billion in business support from the Commonwealth.
Fitch Ratings also expressed its confidence in the Government’s budget management stating it has “rising confidence in the path of fiscal consolidation and stabilisation of the public debt ratio over the medium-term and the underlying strength of the economic recovery.”
The Morrison Government’s economic recovery plan is working, but the job is not done yet. We must stick to the National Plan agreed to at National Cabinet to open up safely and secure our economic recovery.

The Australian government is calling for stakeholder input following the opening of the consultation period for the draft Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan.
Primary health care matters to everyone.  It is the front line and first point of contact with the health care system for most Australians, and it is central to keeping people healthy and well in the community, wherever they may live and across all stages of their lives. Our primary care system is world class and has been a central driving force at the heart of our COVID-19 response.
Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled healthcare systems around the world to change the way they operate and deliver health care practically overnight.  The Primary Care sector has underpinned our COVID response in communities across Australia, we have accelerated the use of telehealth as part of usual care and highlighted the value of local collaboration across providers and systems to save and protect lives.
We need to ensure that our system can continue to deliver the best, contemporary health care, to meet today’s and tomorrow’s health challenges.
The Australian Government recognises the immense value of primary health care in providing high quality outcomes and experiences for all Australians.  In August 2019, the Government announced the development of a Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan as part of Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan.
While the pandemic represents a once-in-a-generation challenge for healthcare systems, it also represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to harness this unprecedented momentum, to work with an industry that has been primed for change through its experience of operating in the conditions of a global pandemic.
The Plan draws on input from consultations with individuals and organisations across the country from late 2019, and during 2020 and 2021. It represents a high-level response to the draft recommendations of the Primary Health Reform Steering Group, which has been working since October 2019 on future directions for primary health care reform.
The focus of the 10 Year Plan is on Australia’s primary health care services provided through general practices, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), community pharmacies, allied health services, mental health services, community health and community nursing services and dental and oral health services.
The Plan also focuses on the integration of primary health care with hospitals and other parts of the health system, aged care, disability care and social care systems.
You can now provide feedback on the draft plan, and individuals and organisations with an interest in primary health care and what a future focused system can deliver for all Australians are encouraged to share their views.  Written submissions can be provided until 11:59pm, 9 November 2021 at https://consultations.health.gov.au/primary-care-mental-health-division/draft-primary-health-care-10-year-plan