Category: Australian News

The next phase of the Australian Government’s $31 million public information campaign begins today to inform Australians, with the vaccination program underway.
At the end of Friday after four full days of operation and Monday as a setup day, almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated, including 8,110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities.
Both the state and territory teams alongside the aged care in-reach teams are ramping up their operations, with more vaccines being distributed across the country in the next week.
The initial advertising campaign, which launched on 27 January 2021, focused on informing the Australian community about the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s world-leading independent approval process.
The second round builds on these safety messages and informs the community about Phase 1a of the vaccination program rollout, which prioritises those who are the most at risk of serious illness from the virus.
The advertising is important, so people understand how the vaccination program is operating, how they can find out when it will be their turn and answer any questions they have about the vaccines. They can go to Australia.gov.au and use the Vaccine Eligibility Checker to confirm which phase of the rollout they will be in.
The campaign will continue to run across a variety of channels, starting with television, and continuing on radio, press, digital, social, mobile, search and in medical settings and shopping centres including billboards and signs.
There are two advertisements, one which is animated, and a second which features a registered nurse, Melanie, who explains the rollout and the current priority groups.
Special committees representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people with a disability and the multicultural communities are consulted regularly to ensure messaging is clear, appropriate and disseminated through the best communication channels to reach all people in Australia.

A 2020 report on organ and tissue donation and transplantation shows that despite the significant impact of COVID-19, around 4,000 Australians benefitted from the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donation from a deceased donor.
The Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Mark Coulton, said the 2020 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report confirms Australian generosity and willingness to give complete strangers a second chance through organ and tissue donation.
“This report shows that even when the chips are down and a global pandemic interrupts the national transplant program, Australian generosity shines through.
“Last year, despite the pandemic, some 1,644 Australians’ death provided the gift of life and sight to another Australian,” Minister Coulton said.
“We are very grateful to these Australians and their families for making organ, eye, and tissue donations possible.”
The report, released today, shows 1,270 Australian lives were saved through an organ transplant in 2020, due to the generosity of 463 deceased organ donors and their families. The report also shows 2,277 Australians received corneal transplants in 2020 from 1,318 donors.
“A corneal transplant can make a remarkable difference to someone’s quality of life.
“More than 23,500 Australians have thankfully received the gift of sight since the national program began in 2009,” Minister Coulton said.
Minister Coulton said it is important to also recognise the great power of tissue donation.
“Whether they gave heart valves to repair genetic defects in young children or skin grafts to help treat infection and trauma, the 290 deceased tissue donors in 2020 made a great difference to many lives.
“Last year, 182 living donors improved the lives of another Australian; predominantly by donating kidneys and in one case, a partial liver.
“Living donors make an incredibly generous sacrifice to improve the life of someone else.
“Organ transplants are not without risk to those who donate, and their act of kindness mustn’t be understated,” Minister Coulton said.
Last year, just 29 kidney transplants took place in Australia from living donors through the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program. This figure represents a 42 per cent drop compared to 2019.
Organ and Tissue Authority CEO, Lucinda Barry, said 2020 outcomes were primarily impacted by the program’s suspension due to COVID-19 concerns in early-March, with the program gradually returning in earnest from September.
“The reality is there were 210 fewer kidney transplants across living and deceased transplant programs, mostly due to the impact of transplant program suspensions,” Ms Barry said.
“These suspensions were a responsible reaction to concerns within the health sector for hospital capacity and transplant patient welfare as the global pandemic took hold in Australia.”
Minister Coulton said the report once again demonstrates the need for more Australians to discuss donation with their friends and family and to register as a donor.
“We need all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation, to understand what they and their loved ones wish, and to register to become a donor at donatelife.gov.au,” Mr Coulton said.
“It takes less than a minute.”
The 2020 Australia Donation and Transplantation Activity Report is available at:  donatelife.gov.au/outcomes.

Federal Labor congratulates Queensland on its bid to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games being named as the International Olympic Committee’s preferred candidate.
The Queensland bid will now be the only one in targeted discussions with the IOC, making Australia a clear favourite to continue its proud history of successfully hosting major international sporting events.
From the 1956 Melbourne Olympics to Sydney 2000, five Commonwealth Games and numerous world championships, Australia has proven we know how to set the stage and deliver world-class sporting events on a global scale.
New International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosting guidelines mean prospective Games hosts can reduce costs and use existing infrastructure.
A Queensland Olympics would deliver jobs, accelerate infrastructure development, and provide a boost to a tourism, trade and the economy, which have been hit hard by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Queensland’s bid is successful, the 10-year lead-in to the 2032 Games would provide a great platform to engaging a generation of Australian kids in sport and help boost participation so more can enjoy the health benefits of an active lifestyle.
Federal Labor looks forward to continuing to work with the Queensland State Government, Council of Mayors South East Queensland, Australian Olympic Committee, Paralympics Australia, Federal Government, and other key stakeholders towards a successful bid and the benefits to be realised for sport, tourism, infrastructure, trade and the economy.

Rural and Indigenous health experts are meeting regularly to ensure rural communities continue to be central to the phased rollout of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Remote Vaccine Working Group will provide advice to the Federal Government and identify issues as the rollout continues towards Phase 1B and beyond.
Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to every corner of the country was complex and that was why the Federal Government had a plan and was listening to expert advice from rural health stakeholders.
“COVID-19 case numbers in rural and remote areas have been low, but the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine into regional, rural and remote communities is a vital part of the Government’s vaccine strategy to ensure everyone in Australia is protected,” Minister Coulton said.
“The TGA has found the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be safe, they are free, and you’ll be able to receive your vaccination near where you live.”
The vaccine demonstrates it will stop people becoming very sick – keeping them off ventilators and out of hospital.
Minister Coulton said the Working Group – made up of the Commonwealth Department of Health, the National Indigenous Australians Agency and state and territory agencies – draws on expertise from health representatives. Many of the health experts have also participated in Rural and Remote Health Roundtable chaired by the Minister since the start of the pandemic.
“The leadership and expertise of these professionals provide important voices to the Working Group to ensure the rollout is done in genuine partnership and enables all rural Australians to be vaccinated close to where they live.”
Minister Coulton said the rural health workforce and representative bodies had been integral in managing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We commend the efforts of our doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and allied health workers in rural and remote areas,” Minister Coulton said.
“We genuinely appreciate the ongoing leadership of the rural health sector, and we are in this enviable position because of the care and advice this sector has provided us over the past year.”
The Australian Government is working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services, general practices, state and territory governments, Primary Health Networks, GP-led respiratory clinics and community pharmacies to ensure that Australians living in regional, rural and remote locations have access to a COVID-19 vaccination if they so choose.

The Morrison Government’s latest attempt to weaken Australia’s environmental laws completely ignores their own expert’s recommendations and will lock in the demise of our wildlife and iconic natural places, the Greens say.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“This move by the Morrison Government is a death sentence for Australia’s koalas and wildlife.
“The Morrison Government has blatantly ignored their own expert’s recommendations and is instead taking a chainsaw to environmental protections.
“They have absolutely no intention of reversing the unsustainable environmental trajectory Professor Samuel warned about in his once-in-ten-year review. They haven’t even bothered to respond after more than 100 days sitting on the final report.
“The Morrison Government’s only plan is to weaken environment laws to make it even easier to mine, log and pollute.
“This latest bill is a push to satisfy big miners, big developers and big polluters who donate to the Liberal party.
“We need strong environmental standards and laws that protect our iconic natural places and precious wildlife and an independent watchdog to hold governments and corporate interests to account. This bill doesn’t even get close to delivering that.”

“Peter Dutton has finally confirmed when he was told about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations and outed himself as a rape apologist in the process.  Mr Dutton is now the fifth government member who knew about the allegation, but apparently didn’t bother to pick up the phone to the PM”, said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women.
“The AFP this morning has called out a culture of silence that makes it harder to hold perpetrators to account.  Ministers need to report criminal allegations, or provide genuine support for their staff to do so.
“At the International Women’s Day event today, the PM spoke a lot about ‘protecting women’ and the rule of law.  Yet he failed to  acknowledge that it is men who are harming women, and continues to oversee a culture in which alleged crimes are covered up.
“The terms of the Gaetjens review released today make it clear that it is yet another narrow exercise in arse-covering.  The government yesterday voted against making the terms public, and it’s no wonder.
“Rather than a comprehensive inquiry into government mishandling of a rape allegation, Mr Gaetjens will investigate only what the PM’s staff knew – not what the PM knew, not what other Ministers knew, and not whether the appalling allegations that his staff have been backgrounding journalists against Brittany Higgins are true.
“In other concerning news today, it appears that the alleged rapist visited Parliament House for a private event after he was dismissed in 2019. I will be asking the President of the Senate to confirm who invited him to that event, who signed him in, and which MPs and/or Ministers were in attendance at the event.
“If the PM was serious about protecting and respecting women, he would ask himself how a man fired following rape allegations could be allowed back into the building, and why so many people in his government did so little in response to an alleged rape of a staff member just metres from his office.”

Australian Greens Anti-Racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that all key government agencies have indicated in initial PJCIS committee submissions that the threat of far-right extremism is growing.
However, the Greens say substantial policy change and political action is nowhere to be seen.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The unanimity of federal authorities on the growing threat of far-right extremism stands in sharp contrast to the dismissive rhetoric of Government MPs.
“The Liberals have completely failed here. Laws on extremist hatred must be strengthened and enforced. There are still no dedicated programs for tackling far-right extremism in the community, and no commitment to an anti-racism strategy or campaign.
“When MPs have their heads in the sand, or even tacitly endorse far-right ideas, it totally undermines the government’s response to this threat.
“The government was dragged into this inquiry kicking and screaming, and even deflected a clear-eyed focus on far-right extremism and white supremacy. Now they have to look at the evidence and respond accordingly.”

Queensland is a step closer to hosting an Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time in the state’s history following a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to enter into exclusive negotiations for the 2032 event.
The decision is a game-changing development for the Bid which has long been supported by all levels of government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has welcomed the decision from the IOC and reaffirmed the Commonwealth Government’s support to host the Olympic Games for the third time, and Paralympic Games for the second time.
“Since we announced our early support for the Bid in 2019, we’ve been working with the state and local governments, the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia to put forward the best possible case for South East Queensland 2032,” the Prime Minister said.
“On two occasions, I took up the case directly with IOC President Dr Thomas Bach and I know how enthusiastic the Committee is about working with Australia.”
“Today’s announcement from the IOC is a positive development but we still have a lot of work to do.”
“Particular credit must go to the Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien who has campaigned heavily to bring the event to the Sunshine State. It will see Queensland beamed around the globe, while delivering an economic and jobs boom.
“We saw how Sydney 2000 brought our nation together and took Australian sport to a new level, and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do again if we’re successful in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games again in 2032.”
Federal Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said Australia has an enviable reputation for its ability to hold world class international sporting events, having recently hosted the AFC Asian Cup 2015, the Sydney 2018 Invictus Games, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
“You don’t have to be a sports fan to understand the profound impact hosting these major events can have on host cities, regional areas and the nation,” Minister Colbeck said.
“Just next year Australia will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the FIBA Women’s World Cup, and the UCI Road World Championships.
“Last year we also successfully secured hosting rights for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which will be co-hosted with New Zealand, and we are actively working with Rugby Australia to submit a host bid for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027.”
Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien said Queensland was ready, willing and able to host the Games in Australia in 2032.
He said Queensland is well placed in this regard, with more than 80 per cent of the venues existing or proposed to be delivered through temporary solutions.
“These Games will be a legacy event—affordable, beneficial and sustainable for Queensland and Australia,” Mr O’Brien said.
“This is a great milestone, but the real prize lies in being announced as the host ideally later this year. That would be an enormous shot in the arm to ‘brand Australia’ as we continue our economic recovery effort.”
Minister Colbeck and Mr O’Brien will continue to lead the candidature process on behalf of the Commonwealth Government with the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in partnership with the Queensland Government, the South East Queensland Council of Mayors, the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia.
Finalisation of the candidature process is a matter for the IOC.

The Greens have responded to sickening reports of a violent assault by a man with a swastika on a First Nations woman and her daughter in Western Australia.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens Anti-racism spokesperson, said:
“This is a horrendous act of racist violence and I hope the perpetrator is identified and prosecuted without delay.
“Far-right extremists and neo-Nazis are feeling emboldened. This is the crisis the government refuses to take seriously.
“The Liberals do not acknowledge racism and far-right extremism as existential threats to the community.
“The government has refused to commit any funding to anti-racism initiatives, or dedicated programs to tackle the far-right. The Liberals even go out of their way to re-write motions in parliament to remove references to far-right extremism.
“This horrific flamethrower attack is yet another wake-up call for the government. They must act now, or it’s only going to get worse.
“My thoughts are with the targets of this vicious attack, who I hope are getting the support that they need,” she said.
Senator Lidia Thorpe, Greens First Nations spokesperson, said:
“Right wing extremism is real, and the threat is growing.
“Racism kills. It harms people. I am appalled at this terrible act of violence – this shocking hate crime.
“But it doesn’t come from nowhere. There is a clear link between the politics of hate, and acts of hate. When politicians and prominent public figures spend years encouraging and amplifying the politics of hate, the inevitable outcome is violence.
“I’m ashamed that racial hatred and division is a standard being set out of Parliament.
“Right now, there is a moment of reckoning around the culture at Parliament House. This place should be setting the standard – but right now, it’s rife with discrimination of all kinds, including racism, sexism and misogyny.
“It’s absolutely necessary for politicians of all stripes not only to stop the racism in this place, but to send a clear message that it’s not in any way acceptable. We are meant to be uniting this country, not dividing it.”