Category: Australian News

The median cost of childcare is the highest it’s ever been and there are worrying signs for service quality, according to new figures from the Productivity Commission. The new data also confirms that demand for early childhood education and care is higher than ever before.
The Greens say that this is a call to action for the Australian government to invest in universal, high-quality and fee-free early childhood education, and deal with the crisis facing early learning.
Greens education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
“With costs higher than ever before, and more families’ income eaten up by expensive early learning fees, we need a new approach.
“Early learning costs in Australia are out of control. High fees make access harder, and limit choices for women, who have to give up study, career and work opportunities.
“There are worrying signs for service quality in this report, with breaches of the National Quality Framework and serious incidents on the rise. For years, early childhood educators and unions have been crying out to the government for more support to ensure high-quality, safe early learning, and keep up with demand.
“We must not only secure the place of early learning as an essential service in the eyes of the government, but expand public operation of childcare and lock in the right to free and universal childcare for all,” she said.
Background:

• More children than ever before are accessing ECEC, with almost 800,000 in centre-based care. [Table 3A.15]
• New high for average hours of attendance per week – 30.0 hours nationwide for centre-based care. [Table 3A.16]
• Median weekly cost is up to $523 per week for 50 hours of CCS approved services nationwide. [Table 3A.22].
• Out-of-pocket costs are increasing across the board, year-on-year [Table 3A.23, as compared to last year’s data].
• Worrying signs for service quality:
  • Confirmed breaches of the National Quality Framework up to over 25,000 breaches or 182.3 per 100 services for centre based care for 2019-20. Up from 158.8 in 2018-19 and 155.3 per 100 services in 2017-18. [Table 3A.33]
  • Serious incidents per 100 services marginally higher as well. Up to 138.1 for centre-based care from 133.5 in 2018-19 [Table 3A.34]

The Greens welcome Labor’s calls to limit political donations, and look forward to their support for the Greens bill to cap all donations at $1,000 a year when it is debated on 15 February.
Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for democracy, Senator Larissa Waters, said:
“The Greens have fought for years to clean up our democracy and put a cap on donations of $1,000 a year no matter who you are: big corporation, union, or individual. We’re glad that, after years of opposing Greens moves to cap donations, Labor has decided to change their tune.
“The Senate will debate the Greens bill to cap all donations at $1,000 a year on 15 February, and the Greens will seek to bring it to a vote. Then we will see whether Labor want genuine donations reform, or are just cranky that Clive Palmer gave $75,000 to the National Party instead of them.
“The Greens have reached out to Labor and the crossbench to discuss the cap on donations.
“Political donations data released yesterday once against showed the major parties are owned by the mining, gambling, alcohol, property and banking industries. The sheer volume of money spilling into the system is shocking: political parties in Australia received $168 million in donations in the 2019-2020 financial year, and just 5% of donors accounted for half of declared donations.
“We know that donations to the two major parties have tripled between the 2016 and 2019 elections.
“Once again, the data shows how big corporations are buying influence in the major parties. The coal, oil and gas industry continued its regular donations spree, with $313,500 worth of donations disclosed to the Liberals and Nationals, and $346,850 to Labor. In the same year, Australia got a ‘gas-led recovery’, tax subsidies for fossil fuel companies, and no plan to transition to clean energy.
“Democracy should be about serving people, not corporate interests. It’s time Labor put their money where their mouth is and worked with the Greens to get the influence of big money out of parliament.”

New figures released by Universities Australia today that more than 17,000 university jobs have been lost in the past year are devastating but unsurprising, the Greens say, as the impacts of the Morrison Government’s abandonment of universities has been made clear. All eyes are on the new minister, Alan Tudge, to prevent further carnage.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens Education spokesperson, said:
“The Covid-19 crisis has smashed universities and the Morrison government allowed it to happen.
“Every single one of these estimated 17,000 job losses was preventable.
“Not only were universities specifically excluded from JobKeeper support, the government forced on them a massive overhaul of fees and funding that will mean further cuts in the years to come.
“Universities immediately need a big funding boost to help them weather the Covid storm without further job losses and austerity. This is a test for Alan Tudge and his commitment to education.
“The current situation is completely unsustainable. We can’t just cross our fingers and hope for the best. Alan Tudge needs to intervene to prevent any further damage,” she said.

Following threats from Google to withdraw services from Australia, the Greens have called on the Morrison Government to investigate the establishment of a publicly owned search engine.
“Google’s threat to shut down their search services if they don’t get the laws they want shows that the corporate giant has far too much power – not just over the market but across the community,” Greens spokesperson for Media and Communications Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The government needs a plan for how Australians will continue to be able to access essential information online if Google Search were to be taken offline. We need an independent search engine that is run in the public interest not for the profit of a corporate giant.
“Google’s threat to leave Australia shows we cannot be reliant on corporations to provide essential services such as access to information online. This is an opportunity for the government to investigate setting up a publicly owned search engine that could be the gateway to the internet for Australians. It would mean Australians can search the internet with the peace of mind that their data is not being sold off to advertisers and corporations.
“The internet is an essential service for most Australians. Currently, access to the internet is controlled by a small number of very powerful corporations. We should not seek out another foreign giant to fill the gap of Google, whether it’s Microsoft or anyone else, as they will still profit off the data of Australians and be beholden to shareholder interests. A publicly owned and independent search engine would be an important step forward in restoring a free and open internet.
“A publicly owned search engine that is accountable to the public and not shareholders would be able to be set up with global best practice data privacy standards to ensure users own their own data and have control over what data is collected on them and how it is used.
“Like the ABC, a public search engine should be independent of the government of the day and be there to provide access to information for all Australians.”

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines into regional, rural and remote communities is an vital part of the Australian Government’s vaccine strategy to protect country people and managing the fight against the virus in the regions.
The Australian Government is working with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, General Practices, state and territory governments, Primary Health Networks, General Practitioner-led Respiratory Clinics and community pharmacies, to ensure that Australian’s living in regional, rural and remote locations have access to a vaccination if they choose to.
To further strengthen our rollout delivery across Australia, both GP’s and pharmacies have been invited to join the nation-wide effort to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. This will integrate more than 2,000 vaccine sites across Australia.
GP’s will join the rollout from phase 1B, with pharmacies to begin vaccine distribution from phase 2A.
The Australian Government is committed to providing safe and effective vaccines free to everyone in Australia, no matter where they live.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said it is expected that there will be thousands of sites that will support the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations in Australia.
“We already have several agreements for the supply of approximately 140 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including those produced by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novavax,” Minister Hunt said.
“Access to vaccines approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration has been prioritised, ensuring those at greatest risk are vaccinated first.”
“We are working hard to ensure site readiness including specific handling requirements and sufficient cold chain capacity in locations that will be handling frozen vaccines.”
“This includes undertaking detailed implementation planning with peak bodies, jurisdictions and vaccination providers to ensure access to doses and to minimise wastage,” Minister Hunt said.
The Government has worked extensively with Pfizer and AstraZeneca and our logistics providers, DHL and Linfox, to ensure that either vaccine can be safely delivered throughout Australia.
Minister for Rural Health, Mark Coulton said Australia’s world class primary health workforce would be critical to the success of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout across the nation.
“The rural health workforce – including doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and allied health professionals – have continually risen to the challenges of COVID-19 over the past year and will play a pivotal role in support the rollout of vaccines across regional Australia,” Minister Coulton said.
“I have held regular discussions with rural health stakeholders to ensure the impacts of COVID-19 are specifically considered in a rural context. The sector have provided valuable insights and considerations to the vaccine rollout and distribution across regional Australia.
“Our comprehensive response to the pandemic, including the establishment of GP Respiratory Clinics, developing a remote retrieval strategy and extending telehealth to protect regional Australians have been extremely successful in containing the virus.
“While cases of the virus have remained low in rural areas, the rollout of the vaccine is the next key aspect of our plan to keep our communities safe.”
Minister for Indigenous Australian, Ken Wyatt said the rollout of the vaccine program to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout Australia, particularly in remote communities would be a sizeable undertaking.
“For this reason we will continue to listen to the advice and expertise of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group on COVID-19, which has informed all aspects of the COVID-19 response since early March 2020,” Minister Wyatt said.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have an increased risk of acquiring and developing serious outcomes from communicable diseases due to multiple factors, including social determinants of health.”
The Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy is available at health.gov.au

The latest figures put beyond any that doubt who calls the shots of Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party.
Political donation data released by the Electoral Commission shows that in 2019-20, unions provided almost $5 million to Labor.
“At a time when Australians most need cooperation rather than partisan politics, not even a global pandemic has slowed down or caused any rethink at all to the massive amounts of money the union movement has funnelled to its mates in the Labor Party,” Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Christian Porter, said.
“Surely that money would have been better spent with a focus on the real and immediate needs of workers during the last year.
“At a time when union members are most in need of practical assistance, the unions still seem to be focused on business as usual – transmitting of huge amounts of membership fees to Labor politicians. That there are better ways to spend money for workers benefit during a pandemic is evidenced by the fact that at the same time millions in membership fees goes direct to Labor and political campaigning, the ACTU continues to ask government for funding to support awareness campaigns for workers. How does that work?
“The CFMMEU is one of Labor’s biggest source of funds, providing $568,000 to Labor.
“This is the union that has had fines of more than $19 million dollars by courts for breaking industrial laws.
“Whilst Anthony Albanese seeks to make a virtue of publicly rebuking the CFMMEU’s John Setka, he’s happy to keep taking the cash from a union that the Federal Court has labelled the most recidivist corporate offender in Australia’s history and is still pledging to scrap the regulator which is keeping the militant union in check.
“Labor’s hypocrisy on these issues is stark. It says one thing when publicly under pressure over the CFMMEU’s bullying, intimidation and coercive tactics on building sites, but is still happy to accept the union’s cash and do its bidding on IR policy.
“In the previous year, 2018-19, the CFMMEU put almost $2 million into Labor’s coffers at the same time it was securing the vote of every Labor MP and Senator against a Bill designed to end the CFMMEU’s stranglehold on the construction industry.
“In addition to the $5 million pumped into Labor coffers from unions, the union movement spent almost $2.5 million on its own campaigns against the Government in support of Labor. And just in the last 24 hours we have see even more union funds in support of Labor in a campaign using some of the most disgraceful and insensitive, violent imagery ever seen used in an Australian political campaign.
“It’s time for Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party to stand up to the CFMMEU and reject the union’s cash. That’s would be a real show of leadership”.

Data released today reveals the true impact the Coronavirus pandemic had on life-saving organ donation and transplantation rates in 2020, prompting calls for more people to register as a donor.
National organ donation and transplant data for 2020, released by federal Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Mark Coulton, shows while Australia’s donation rate has doubled over the past decade, the national program took a hit in 2020 due to COVID-19.
“Australians from all walks of life faced great challenges and adversity in 2020 and those waiting for life-changing organ transplants were no different,” Minister Coulton said.
“Last year saw a 12 per cent reduction in the number of people receiving a transplant and a 16 per cent decrease in organ donors, compared to 2019.
“Most significantly, 18 per cent fewer kidney transplants were performed, resulting in 153 fewer renal patients receiving the kidney transplant they need.”
Minister Coulton said the 2020 data exceeds earlier predictions, which serves as a testament to the highly-skilled DonateLife teams, as well as dedicated donation and transplantation staff across the country.
Organ and Tissue Authority CEO, Lucinda Barry, said at the start of the pandemic, the transplant sector took precautionary steps and suspended kidney transplant programs from late-March through to mid-May.
This was due to the concern about hospitals being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients and also to prevent transplant patients at high risk being exposed to the virus. Urgent heart, lung, liver and paediatric transplants continued during this time for critically ill patients.
“It’s not surprising to see that the 2020 outcomes have been impacted, but minimising the risks to transplant and waiting list patients has been the priority for everyone involved,” Ms Barry said.
“To minimise the impacts, our DonateLife teams worked hard with transplant teams to navigate the challenges facing hospitals and with logistics — including with COVID-19 restrictions, flight reductions and border closures — so that patients received the best possible outcomes.”
Minister Coulton said despite the obvious impacts, 1,270 Australian lives were saved in 2020 through an organ transplant thanks to the generosity of 463 deceased organ donors and their families.
“Families have continued to show their strength and generosity in agreeing to donation, even with the added COVID-19 complexities in intensive care units,” Minister Coulton said.
“Around 1,650 Australians are waitlisted for a transplant and more than 12,000 others are on dialysis — many of whom may need a kidney transplant.
“The best chance we have to address the challenge of a longer waitlist is to have more Australians say ‘yes’ to donation.”
Minister Coulton said data shows that registering to become a donor and talking to your family about your decision has a direct influence on consent rates, so encouraged people to have the chat and register today.
To register to become a donor or to double-check your registration, visit: donatelife.gov.au .
Living organ donation and eye and tissue donation outcomes will soon be released in the Organ and Tissue Authority’s 2020 Activity Report.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and the Commonwealth continue to closely monitor the situation in New Zealand. The Commonwealth and AHPPC are receiving daily briefings on the matter.
Based on updated information from New Zealand today, Acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd has recommended the Commonwealth not extend the pause in safe travel zone flights from New Zealand beyond 2pm, 31 January 2021. The Commonwealth has accepted this advice, meaning green zone flights will commence this afternoon.
In making this recommendation, the Acting CMO noted there have been no further confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community in New Zealand since the initial three cases originated from transmission within hotel quarantine. The Acting CMO also noted all close contacts of the three New Zealand cases have returned negative test results, and there have been no further cases found to date in the casual contacts, previous residents of the hotel or hotel staff.
The Acting CMO notes flights from New Zealand are sufficiently low risk given New Zealand’s strong public health response to COVID-19. Given there is still a small risk of further associated cases being detected in New Zealand, with an abundance of caution, the Acting CMO has recommended pre and post flight screening be implemented for the safe travel zone flights for the next ten days. The screening will check that travellers have not been identified as close contacts, or have not visited any of the contact tracing areas of interest in New Zealand, and if they have, that they have been tested and have received the negative test results required by the New Zealand authorities.
Currently, to be eligible to fly on a safe travel zone flight, passengers must have been in New Zealand for the previous 14 days. The Acting CMO recommends that time spent in hotel quarantine does not form part of the required 14 days in New Zealand.
The AHPPC will continue to monitor the situation in New Zealand very closely, and will receive daily reports from the New Zealand health authorities on the results of the continuing contact tracing related to this outbreak.

Australian adults living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will soon have more affordable access to a life-changing treatment option, thanks to its expanded listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
On 1 February, the Government is expanding the listing of Vyvanse® (lisdexamfetamine) to include patients who are diagnosed with ADHD after they turn 18 years old.
The PBS listing extension means Vyvanse® is now subsidised for Australians diagnosed as adults, rather than as children.
Around 20,000 patients accessed a comparable treatment for this condition and could benefit from this new treatment option. Without PBS subsidy, patients might pay more than $1,200 per year for treatment. They will now pay $41.30 per script, or $6.60 with a concession card.
ADHD can look different in adults, with some symptoms overlooked. This medicine may help to increase a patient’s ability to pay attention, stay focused, and stop fidgeting.
Some studies suggest that up to three per cent of Australian adults have ADHD.
The Australian Government continues to make important medicines available to Australians at affordable prices.
This listing has been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,550 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $12.4 billion.
The Government’s commitment to ensuring Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.

Australians with a rare, fatal heart condition will soon have subsidised access to a ground-breaking medicine for the first time, thanks to its new listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
From 1 February, Uptravi® (selexipag) will be PBS listed for the first time to treat Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), for use in combination with existing PAH therapies.
It is estimated over 700 Australians could access Uptravi® for PAH through the PBS each year. Without subsidy, patients might pay more than $41,000 per year to access this medicine.
As a result of this listing, patients will now only pay $41.30 per script or $6.60 for concessional patients.
This listing can provide some patients with improvement in daily activities and quality of life, as well as delaying the need for injectable treatments and reducing the risks associated with IV infusions.
PAH is caused by narrowing or blockage of the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs. The heart needs to pump against this higher pressure to keep blood flowing through the lungs, making it work harder which can eventually cause heart failure.
PAH is a complex disease and can advance quickly if left untreated. Uptravi® can delay the progression of PAH for some patients.
The Australian Government continues to make important medicines available to Australians at affordable prices.
Each of these listings has been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,550 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $12.4 billion.
The Government’s commitment to ensuring that Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.