Category: Australian News

Australian Greens Senator and Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has released figures showing that The Gardens outside Newcastle is the deadliest track in New South Wales. The second deadliest tracks were Gosford, Nowra and Lismore with six deaths each. Wagga Wagga was the most likely for a dog to die, with one in five race meets resulting in a dead greyhound.
Across all tracks in New South Wales, stewards reports reveal that throughout 2019, 63 dogs died on track and 2,530 dogs were injured in greyhound racing. The most common reason dogs were put down was a fractured hock, which in most cases should not require euthanasia. Dogs are being killed because they are no longer profitable, showing that the industry hasn’t changed.
Senator Faruqi said:
“2019 has been another brutal year in greyhound racing, with dogs dying across the state. Across NSW at least one dog has been killed and 48 injured on track each week, but the Newcastle track is the deadliest with 8 dogs dying for the sake of a bet this year.
“Greyhound racing can never be made safe for animals. We know that only half of dogs make it out of racing alive. Drugging and doping of dogs continues. The original reasons for the ban are still very much present. We must reinstate the ban on this so called sport once and for all.
“$41 million in taxpayer money has been sunk into greyhound racing and gambling industry since the Liberal’s backflip and dogs are still breaking their necks, spines and legs for the sake of a bet. I’m dismayed that taxpayers are propping up this bloodsport. At the very least, we cannot allow public money to subsidise the gambling and racing industry.
“This is the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds more dogs are killed each year off track with the Government’s annual report showing that in 2018-2019, 538 dogs died off the track from injuries or because they are considered ‘unsuitable for rehoming’, which is the latest industry euphemism for disposable dogs. We know 40% of dogs still leave racing in a body bag.
“Forcing dogs to run and putting them at risk of death and injury for human entertainment and gambling is unacceptable.
“We also know that many of these dogs die after suffering entirely treatable injuries, such as a fractured hock. The owners simply don’t want to pay vet costs once a dog no longer turns a profit which is appalling. These dogs are quite literally running for their lives.” she concluded.
Tracks, Deaths and Injuries (according to Stewards Reports)

Track	Deaths	Injuries	Race meets	Deaths/Meet	Injuries/Meet
Bathurst	2	118	49	0.04	2.41
Broken Hill	0	1	3	0.00	0.33
Bulli	1	113	45	0.02	2.51
Casino	2	122	50	0.04	2.44
Coonabarabran	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
Coonamble	0	3	1	0.00	3.00
Dapto	2	118	47	0.04	2.51
Dubbo	4	117	37	0.11	3.16
Gosford	6	141	46	0.13	3.07
Goulburn	4	271	76	0.05	3.57
Grafton	2	150	49	0.04	3.06
Gunnedah	3	50	23	0.13	2.17
Kempsey	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
Lismore	6	103	41	0.15	2.51
Maitland	2	93	46	0.04	2.02
Morree	1	1	1	1.00	1.00
Muswellbrook	0	4	2	0.00	2.00
Nowra	6	134	46	0.13	2.91
Potts Park	1	8	2	0.50	4.00
Richmond	4	292	99	0.04	2.95
Tamworth	1	1	1	1.00	1.00
Taree	0	3	1	0.00	3.00
Temora	0	8	5	0.00	1.60
The Gardens	8	250	99	0.08	2.53
Wagga Wagga	5	84	25	0.20	3.36
Wauchope	0	3	2	0.00	1.50
Wentworth Park	3	338	101	0.03	3.35
Young	0	2	1	0.00	2.00
Grand Total	63	2530

Manufacturing jobs are the heart of regional Queensland. There is no better example than the aluminium industry, which directly employs 3,000 hardworking, highly skilled Australians in good regional jobs. Almost 900 of those jobs are in Gladstone at the Boyne Island smelter.
Australia has a long and proud history as an aluminium producer and I want to see the aluminium industry grow, not shipped offshore because of the energy policy mess created by Scott Morrison.
Australia is the world’s largest producer of bauxite and a substantial producer of alumina. We have been producing aluminium for well over 50 years, but Australia now only has four aluminium smelters left. These smelters are crucial employers in regional centres and produce a strategically and economically vital metal.
Aluminium isn’t just another industry, It’s strategically important in sectors like construction and transport.
Through their inability to deliver a national energy policy, the Liberal National Government has placed the future of Australia’s aluminium industry at risk.
Since the Government’s energy crisis began in 2015, wholesale electricity prices have increased by 158 per cent. In the months since the embattled Energy Minister Angus Taylor took office, wholesale prices have risen by 20 per cent.
Rio Tinto, which has a stake in three out of four Australian smelters, has said Australian energy costs “are very, very high by any kind of global standard”, and as a result, “the current situation is not sustainable.”
Producers have been warning for years that the price and reliability of our energy system isn’t good enough to sustain a local industry able to compete internationally. Boyne Island has previously had to cut staff and production during periods when power prices have become unsustainably high. There continues to be a risk of plant closures.
Internationally, it is clear that the future of the industry is in low carbon aluminium, supported by renewable power, a future the Liberal Nationals are dead against.
The future of the aluminium sector is threatened by the LNP’s big headed refusal to accept a future driven by new technologies and new opportunities.
Its strength, durability, flexibility, corrosion resistance and the fact it is 100 percent recyclable, makes aluminium the perfect metal to support not only the industrial economies of the last century, but the clean energy economies of the future.
Labor is calling for the Government to finally get its act together, deliver a national energy policy that supports new investment in clean affordable, reliable energy, and support a crucial sector that their incompetence has put at risk.
They need to do this urgently, before we see any of our four aluminium smelters close.  If there are any further closures in this important industry, the blame will lie with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Energy Minister Angus Taylor.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) confirms the resilience of the Australian economy and that the Budget is on track to return to surplus for the first time in 12 years.
Despite significant revenue write-downs on the back of sustained global and domestic economic headwinds, surpluses of $5 billion this financial year and cumulative surpluses of $23.5 billion over the forward estimates are expected to be delivered.
Budget surpluses are expected to continue to build to over 1 per cent of GDP in the medium term.
Spending growth remains under control, with just 1.3 per cent average annual real growth in spending over the forward estimates period and payments as a share of GDP at 24.5 percent in 2019-20 falling to 24.4 percent by 2022-23, below the 30-year average.
As part of our responsible and considered economic plan our tax-to-GDP ratio remains below our cap of 23.9 per cent.
The outlook for the Australian economy is positive. GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2019 has been stronger than it was in the second half of 2018 with MYEFO confirming that the economy is forecast to grow by 2¼ per cent in 2019-20. Growth is forecast to improve to 2¾ per cent in 2020-21, which is faster than any G7 nation and well above the OECD average of 1.6 per cent.
As the IMF and the OECD have done, we have downgraded global growth in 2019 and 2020 as economies the world over experience the challenges from global trade tensions.
The labour market remains strong with more than 1.4 million jobs created since we came to Government. Jobs growth of 2.0 per cent through the year is stronger than any G7 economy and more than double the OECD average of 0.9 per cent and almost three times the 0.7 per cent growth Australia was experiencing when we came to office.
The strong labour market has seen welfare dependency drop to its lowest level in 30 years, which is helping to keep real growth in spending to the lowest of any Government in 50 years.
As part of our responsible fiscal management, we continue to make prudent assumptions for commodity prices – the iron ore price is assumed to decline to US$55 per tonne by the end of the June quarter 2020, while metallurgical coal prices are assumed to remain at US$134 per tonne and thermal coal prices are assumed to remain at US$64 per tonne.
The Government’s management of Australia’s finances has ensured we have the capacity to deal with domestic and international challenges including the devastating drought and global trade tensions. The Government is continuing to invest record funding in the essential services Australians rely on, while at the same time delivering tax relief and restoring the nation’s finances to pay down debt.

A STRONGER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE ECONOMY

The Government is accelerating and creating new road and rail projects to tackle congestion and to get people home sooner and safer.
The total transport infrastructure investment will be over $100 billion over 10 years, including an additional $4.2 billion over the next four years.
Over half of this additional funding will be spent in regional areas, giving a much needed boost to these communities.

STRENGTHENING AND SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

The Government is providing significant support to those affected by drought with almost $1.3 billion in additional payments and loans committed since the Election.
More than $300 million will be invested in the Drought Communities Program to help eligible councils to complete local capital works and drought relief projects.
The Government is also redirecting $200 million from the Building Better Regions Fund into drought-affected communities and funding an extra $138.9 million in Roads to Recovery in 2020 for 128 Local Government Areas impacted by drought.
The Government is also assisting drought-affected communities with two-year interest-free loans to support cash flow for farmers and other viable businesses.

QUALITY AND SAFETY IN AGED CARE

All Australians deserve safety and quality care as they age, so the Government is taking steps to strengthen the aged care system while the Royal Commission continues its work in the lead up to its final report next year.
The Government will provide $624 million to respond to the Interim Report of the Royal Commission, and to build on recent improvements to standards, oversight, funding, and transparency in the care of older Australians.
This includes an additional 10,000 home care packages, improved medication management, more dementia training and support for aged care workers and providers, and more work to remove younger people with disability from residential aged care.
This funding is part of the record funding that we are already providing for aged care, with total spending on aged care expected to increase from $21.4 billion in 2019-20 to $25.4 billion in 2022-23.
The Government is also working to deliver longer-term reforms that will enhance the quality of care for older Australians in line with the findings of the Royal Commission.
The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook for the 2019-20 financial year is available via the Budget website.

Data released in the ATO’s Tax Transparency Report today showing that a third of our largest companies paid no corporate tax last year are proof that the system is rigged in favour of big corporations who make massive political donations, said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.
“We have two sets of rules in this country: one for big corporations who can afford to donate to Labor or the Liberals and another for the rest of us – and this report proves it,” Di Natale said.
“What kind of message does it send when a multi-billion dollar corporation like Whitehaven Coal pays less tax than a nurse on $54,000 a year? It’s time that we ended the loopholes that allow big, polluting companies to opt out of paying their fair share towards our essential services.
“If you can afford to make massive political donations so political parties will deliver policies that increase your company profits, then you can afford to pay your fair share of tax,” said Greens Democracy Spokesperson Sen. Larissa Waters.
“Our democracy is sold out. We need to stop the rorts that let big corporates get away with tax avoidance and remove the toxic influence of donations from our parliament .”
NOTE: Of the top 100 companies that paid no tax, 22 are fossil fuel companies:
EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD
AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG PTY LTD
CHEVRON AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD
SHELL ENERGY HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED
PEABODY AUSTRALIA HOLDCO PTY LTD
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED
HOPE DOWNS MARKETING COMPANY PTY LTD
QGC UPSTREAM HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED
SANTOS LIMITED
BHP (AUS) DDS PTY LTD
PIONEER SAIL HOLDINGS PTY LTD
PUMA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) HOLDINGS PTY LTD
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED
INTERNATIONAL POWER (AUSTRALIA) HOLDINGS PTY LTD
PETRONAS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED
CNOOC GAS AND POWER (AUS) INVESTMENT PTY LTD
QUADRANT ENERGY HOLDINGS PTY LTD
ULAN COAL MINES LIMITED
CLERMONT COAL MINES LTD
BANPU AUSTRALIA CO. PTY LTD
CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA GAS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

After dragging its feet for over half a year, the Morrison Government has finally delivered its response to the Final Report of the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry.
While its findings were broad-ranging, the recommendations do not go anywhere near far enough to restore funding to the ABC and SBS, protect local content quotas and fund public interest journalism, said Senator for SA and Greens’ Spokesperson for Communications Sarah Hanson-Young.
“Despite weeks of chest-thumping, the Morrison Government has buckled to the pressure of the tech giants in its lacklustre response to the review,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“The recommendations from the ACCC were modest at best. Yet, the Liberals could barely commit to implementing them. Instead, they’ve kicked the can down the road by announcing yet another review and yet more consultation.
“The Government has side-stepped much needed reform to protect Australian journalism and content. Everyday Australians deserve to know that regardless of how they consume their news and entertainment that it is factual, quality and is a good dose of Australian made.
“We know that Australian content and children’s content must be protected, to ensure that Australian voices and stories continue to be heard. We also know that streaming video on demand (SVOD) services don’t abide by the same rules on local content as other players.
“The Greens will fight hard in the Parliament for proper protections and support for Australian journalists and content creators.
“There have been successive reviews of news media over the last decade, from the Finkelstein Review to the Convergence Review, and a separate Senate Inquiries into the Future of Public Interest Journalism and Australian Content. Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world, and right now, ours is continuing to trend in the wrong direction.
“It is clear that decisive action must be taken now, and not over some ambiguous, non-committal work period, as outlined by the Liberals today.
“The Commonwealth must play a stronger role in strengthening the health and diversity of our news media. Now is not the time to be complacent.”

The Greens have condemned the Liberals’ plan to introduce nuclear power at the behest of their big corporate mining donors, in the Coalition-majority led report of the House Standing Committee on Environment and Energy.
“This report should alarm all Australians. It has belled the cat on the Coalition’s open mind on nuclear power in Australia,” Said Senator for SA and Greens Spokesperson for Nuclear, Sarah Hanson-Young.
“At the behest of the nuclear and mining lobby, the Morrison Government endorsed report opens the door nuclear power stations and subsequent waste dumps here in Australia.
“This is absurd at best and dangerous at worst.
“As NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean said earlier this week, Australia is best placed to take advantage of renewable energy, which is now the lowest cost form of new energy electricity generation.
“It has been proven, time and again, that nuclear power is expensive, water intensive, deeply dangerous, with an unresolvable issue of dealing with toxic nuclear waste.
“Nuclear power has no benefit but a legacy of deadly waste on our children and their environment for thousands of years to come.
“Yet the Liberals are clearly doing the bidding of their mines and minerals lobbyist masters by even entertaining the notion of further nuclear power.
“We know the future is in renewable energy. The Greens and South Australia are leading the way by diversifying our sources across wind, solar and storage.
“It is incumbent upon the sensible centre of the Liberal Party to quash this notion, once and for all.”

Greens spokesperson for the climate crisis, Adam Bandt MP, has labelled Scott Morrison and his government a pack of climate cheats and said he has been caught out.
The government’s climate cheating strategy is in tatters because:

1. Currently, the Paris Agreement rules do not allow for dodgy carryover credits and current negotiations in Madrid are moving towards explicitly banning the use of such credits, with over 100 countries rejecting their use.
2. Most of the government’s claimed carryover credits rely on commitments made under Kyoto II, however advice suggests that on a strict legal basis, Kyoto II is still not in force because it lacks ratification from enough countries. If this situation remains, none of Australia’s claimed Kyoto dodgy carryover credits will have any legal basis.
3. However, even if Kyoto II is in force as the government suggests, action by the rest of the world has triggered a lift in our targets, as per our Kyoto II commitment. As such, most of Australia’s claimed dodgy carryover credits will be wiped out.

Mr Bandt has written to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reductions regarding these issues. The letter was sent just days before a new Climate Analytics report, released overnight, challenged the legality of Australia’s use of carryover credits.
Quotes attributable to Mr Bandt:
“Scott Morrison is a climate cheat and he has been caught out. Not only is there no moral basis for using these so-called credits to cheat our way out of our climate commitments, there is arguably no legal basis either.
“Further, today he has doubled-down on his cheating by misleading the public and falsely saying that the concern expressed in Madrid ‘does not apply to what Australia’s practice is’. Just like his Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, when the Prime Minister is caught out fudging the numbers he doubles-down with a lie.
“Negotiations on the Paris rulebook may ultimately ban this dodgy carryover scam, but before then the government must explain why they have misled the public about our Kyoto targets.
“Action by the rest of the world has triggered a lift in our targets, and once that happens, 70% of these spurious credits disappear.
“Not only that, but it appears the legal conditions for creating these so-called credits never existed in the first place.
“If Australia cannot abide by our international obligations, we risk jeopardising international trade deals, such as the current negotiations with the European Union.
“As Australia burns and Sydney chokes, Scott Morrison must quit his climate cheating and act on the climate emergency.”
Background
Australia’s Kyoto II commitment includes a clause to increase Australia’s targets “by up to 15% by 2020 if there is a global agreement which falls short of securing atmospheric stabilisation at 450 ppm CO2-eq and under which major developing economies commit to substantially restrain emissions and advanced economies take on commitments comparable to Australia’s”.
Australia’s ratification of the Paris Agreement (and the Doha amendment, which gives effect to our Kyoto II obligations), means that the conditions for the 15% increase in Australia’s target under the second commitment period have been met. There is no longer any basis for Australia to refuse to lift its 2020 targets by up to 15%.

Data released in the ATO’s Tax Transparency Report today showing that a third of our largest companies paid no corporate tax last year are proof that the system is rigged in favour of big corporations who make massive political donations, said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.
“We have two sets of rules in this country: one for big corporations who can afford to donate to Labor or the Liberals and another for the rest of us – and this report proves it,” Di Natale said.
“What kind of message does it send when a multi-billion dollar corporation like Whitehaven Coal pays less tax than a nurse on $54,000 a year? It’s time that we ended the loopholes that allow big, polluting companies to opt out of paying their fair share towards our essential services.
“If you can afford to make massive political donations so political parties will deliver policies that increase your company profits, then you can afford to pay your fair share of tax,” said Greens Democracy Spokesperson Sen. Larissa Waters.
“Our democracy is sold out. We need to stop the rorts that let big corporates get away with tax avoidance and remove the toxic influence of donations from our parliament .”
NOTE: Of the top 100 companies that paid no tax, 22 are fossil fuel companies:
EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD
AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG PTY LTD
CHEVRON AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD
SHELL ENERGY HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED
PEABODY AUSTRALIA HOLDCO PTY LTD
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED
HOPE DOWNS MARKETING COMPANY PTY LTD
QGC UPSTREAM HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED
SANTOS LIMITED
BHP (AUS) DDS PTY LTD
PIONEER SAIL HOLDINGS PTY LTD
PUMA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) HOLDINGS PTY LTD
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED
INTERNATIONAL POWER (AUSTRALIA) HOLDINGS PTY LTD
PETRONAS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED
CNOOC GAS AND POWER (AUS) INVESTMENT PTY LTD
QUADRANT ENERGY HOLDINGS PTY LTD
ULAN COAL MINES LIMITED
CLERMONT COAL MINES LTD
BANPU AUSTRALIA CO. PTY LTD
CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA GAS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

After dragging its feet for over half a year, the Morrison Government has finally delivered its response to the Final Report of the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry.
While its findings were broad-ranging, the recommendations do not go anywhere near far enough to restore funding to the ABC and SBS, protect local content quotas and fund public interest journalism, said Senator for SA and Greens’ Spokesperson for Communications Sarah Hanson-Young.
“Despite weeks of chest-thumping, the Morrison Government has buckled to the pressure of the tech giants in its lacklustre response to the review,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“The recommendations from the ACCC were modest at best. Yet, the Liberals could barely commit to implementing them. Instead, they’ve kicked the can down the road by announcing yet another review and yet more consultation.
“The Government has side-stepped much needed reform to protect Australian journalism and content. Everyday Australians deserve to know that regardless of how they consume their news and entertainment that it is factual, quality and is a good dose of Australian made.
“We know that Australian content and children’s content must be protected, to ensure that Australian voices and stories continue to be heard. We also know that streaming video on demand (SVOD) services don’t abide by the same rules on local content as other players.
“The Greens will fight hard in the Parliament for proper protections and support for Australian journalists and content creators.
“There have been successive reviews of news media over the last decade, from the Finkelstein Review to the Convergence Review, and a separate Senate Inquiries into the Future of Public Interest Journalism and Australian Content. Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world, and right now, ours is continuing to trend in the wrong direction.
“It is clear that decisive action must be taken now, and not over some ambiguous, non-committal work period, as outlined by the Liberals today.
“The Commonwealth must play a stronger role in strengthening the health and diversity of our news media. Now is not the time to be complacent.”

The Morrison Government has failed its own deadline on integrity with the first anniversary of its commitment to a national integrity commission passing with no action.
A year ago today the Prime Minister and Attorney-General announced they would establish a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.
At that time, Mr Morrison insisted work had already been underway on the proposal “since January” – meaning it’s now been almost two years since the Government claims to have started working on a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.
In September, Mr Porter promised that draft legislation would be produced “well within” 12 months of the December 2018 announcement.
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Leader of the Opposition) (14:55): My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister introduce legislation into this parliament to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission that he promised last year?
Mr PORTER (Pearce—Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Leader of the House) (14:56): We have been through this a number of times and the reality is that we have taken time and care. A draft is well advanced. That will go out to public consultation. Of course, it was the case that members opposite said that when they came into government they would take 12 full months of consultation before presenting a draft. We’ll do it well within that time.
House of Representatives, 11 September 2019
Given the scandals which continue to rock this tired third-term Government, it’s clear why the Prime Minister and Attorney-General are not in the least bit interested in integrity.
Despite overwhelming public support for a national integrity commission the Government had to be dragged to supporting one, kicking and screaming all the way.
Unlike the Morrison Government, Labor believes tackling corruption and promoting integrity is essential to restoring public trust in government.