Category: Australian News

Greens Acting Leader, Adam Bandt MP, will move to amend laws designed to implement the controversial Indonesian, Peru and Hong Kong free trade agreements currently before the House of Representatives.
His amendments will seek to delay the implementation of the agreements until guarantees on local jobs and protections from corporations being able to sue governments are included, and until the human rights situation in Hong Kong is resolved.
Many Labor members and unions are up in arms about the agreements.
Greens Acting Leader Adam Bandt MP said:
“Liberal and Labor have done a dirty deal to fast-track laws that will give corporations more rights than governments or workers.
“These dodgy deals allow corporations to boost their profits by suing governments who do things like lift the minimum wage or pass laws to protect the environment.
“Labor’s ‘big win’ appears to be an unenforceable side-letter from the Liberals that existing loopholes will continue to apply.
“The Greens stand with the workers and civil society groups who want these agreements rewritten so that basic rights are protected.
“We will move amendments to the bills to ensure jobs are advertised locally, corporations can’t sue our government and the Hong Kong deal is delayed while the conflict there continues.”

The Morrison Government will provide immediate access to life-changing medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to help support people with cystic fibrosis, saving them and their families up to $250,000 per year.
From 1 December 2019, the life-changing cystic fibrosis medicine Symdeko® will be listed on the PBS for patients with cystic fibrosis over the age of 12, who have specific gene mutations.
The current listing of Orkambi® will also be expanded for children aged 2-5 years of age, allowing earlier access to this life changing medicine.
Patients can gain access to Symdeko® and Orkambi® immediately, with the manufacturer agreeing to the Government’s request to provide early access, until the medicine is listed on the PBS on 1 December.
This is expected to provide new or improved treatment options for up to 1,400 patients.
People might otherwise pay up to $250,000 a year for Symdeko®, or for Orkambi®, but with the Government’s investment they will now only pay a maximum of $40.30 per script, with concessional people paying just $6.50.
In Australia, one in 2,500 babies are born with cystic fibrosis, and there is currently no cure.
Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. A defective gene causes a thick, sticky build-up of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.
The average life expectancy for Australians with cystic fibrosis is 38, still less than half that of the average Australian.
This is why it is so important to provide access to new medicines that can extend the lives of people with cystic fibrosis.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) recommended these medicines be listed on the PBS.
PBAC is independent of Government by law and in practice. By law, the Federal Government cannot list a new medicine without a positive recommendation from PBAC.
Unlike Labor, we are subsidising all drugs recommended by the independent medical experts.
Since 2013, the Government has listed more than 2,200 new or amended items on the PBS.
This represents an average of around 30 listings per month – or one each day – at an overall cost of around $10.6 billion.
Our commitment to ensuring that all Australians can access affordable medicines remains rock solid. Our plan for a strong economy continues to deliver record funding for essential health services that saves lives.
More information these new PBS listings:

• Symdeko® will be made available through the PBS for the treatment of people with cystic fibrosis who have two copies of the f508del mutation in the CFTR gene, and are 12 years or older.
• Symdeko will also be made available for people with cystic fibrosis who have only one copy of the f508del mutation, and have one other residual function mutation.
• The current listing of Orkambi®, used to treat people with cystic fibrosis who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene, will be expanded so that children can commence subsidised treatment from two years of age.

Labour force figures released today by the ABS underscore the continued strength and resilience of the Australian labour market, with seasonally adjusted employment increasing by 14,700 over the month, to stand at a record high of 12,944,000 in September 2019.
Employment has increased every month for the last three years. This is the greatest number of consecutive monthly increases in employment recorded since the inception of the monthly labour force series in February 1978.
Seasonally adjusted employment is now 311,600 (or 2.5 per cent) higher than it was a year ago and is well above its decade annual average growth rate of 1.8 per cent.
Importantly, seasonally adjusted full-time employment rose strongly in September, by 26,200 to a record high of 8,847,200, and is now 191,700 (or 2.2 per cent) higher than it was a year ago.
Notably, full-time employment comprised 61.5 per cent of total employment growth over the last year.
Part-time employment fell by 11,400 in September but is 119,900 (or 3.0 per cent) higher than it was a year ago.
While the participation rate by 0.1 percentage points to 66.1 per cent in September 2019, it is 0.7 percentage points higher than it was a year ago.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points in September 2019, to 5.2 per cent.
The Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, welcomed today’s positive jobs figures, which reflect the Government’s prudent economic policy stance.
“Since the Government came to office in September 2013, a total of 1,467,500 jobs have been created, an increase of 12.8 per cent, but the Government will not be resting on its laurels,” Minister Cash said.
“The Morrison Government’s strong Budget position is facilitating a record infrastructure spend, which will help create tens of thousands of jobs across the country, the most significant tax cuts Australia has seen in more than two decades, which is putting an extra $20 billion into Australian taxpayers’ pockets, as well as a plan to create 80,000 apprenticeships.”
While ABS labour force figures can jump around from month to month, today’s data continue to reflect a strong labour market and highlight the success of the Morrison Government’s efforts to stimulate ongoing, sustainable jobs growth, even in the face of significant global and domestic headwinds.

Greens Senator for NSW and Education Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has slammed Labor and the Liberals for striking a deal to sell out TAFEs and universities. The two parties voted today to abolish the $4 billion Education Infrastructure Fund, which was focused on building research and education infrastructure.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Labor and the Government have teamed up to stab education in the back by abolishing billions in education funding.
“I don’t expect any better of the regressive Liberals who have cut education funding at every turn, but Labor used to be the party of education. Now they are just selling out communities and young people to remain politically relevant.
“Labor are so eager to please the Liberals they voted to abolish the infrastructure fund they themselves established. The reality is unis, TAFEs and research have all suffered under this Liberal-National Government. Education in Australia is being dangerously underfunded.
“I’ve seen with my own eyes the impact of the fund in Port Macquarie where I lived and worked and where the fund contributed to the Joint Health Education Facility which is training doctors to meet demand for care in rural and regional areas.
“We must fund disaster relief and support communities facing the brunt of the climate crisis, but the Greens will not be party to the Government’s long-running campaign to cut our universities and TAFEs to the bone while their climate inaction endangers all of us,” she concluded.

Legislation tabled in the NSW Parliament last night effectively tears up the Murray-Darling Basin Plan leaving the environment and downstream communities high and dry, the Greens say.
“NSW has been waiting for an excuse to get out of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and they’ve found one,” Greens Spokesperson for Water and the Environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The Nationals are exploiting the drought crisis to blow the Plan up.
“The whole purpose of the MDBP was to manage the River in times of drought. The water sharing arrangements are designed to stop communities being pitted against each other and to avoid water wars in times of crisis.
“When speaking to the Water Supply (Critical Needs) Bill last night, the NSW Water Minister was clear that water would be reallocated at the expense of end-of-system flow requirements.
“The Coalition is putting their corporate mates in charge and they’re not actually doing anything that will put water back into the River system so towns have water to drink and family farms have water for stock and crops.
“Australia’s biggest river system is being destroyed by climate change, coal and corporate greed while the Libs and Nats fight amongst each other about who gets to announce policies that don’t deal with any of these issues.
“Towns need drinking water but it should come from corporate irrigators, not the environment or downstream users. There’s no way South Australians will let NSW and the Coalition get away with this.”

Greens Senator for NSW and Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has reacted to a shocking ABC 730 exposé into the abuse and cruel slaughter of race horses at knackeries and abattoirs.
Senator Faruqi said the Federal Government needs to urgently establish a national horse traceability scheme so horses leaving the race industry can be tracked for their whole lives.
Senator Faruqi established an inquiry into horse traceability that is due to hand down its report in the coming months.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The horse racing industry has blood on its hands. I am absolutely sickened and angered by what this footage shows. It is much worse than what many of us had imagined.
“I’m sure people across Australia would be shocked and shattered at the extent and level on animal abuse we saw in the expose.
“The horrific abuse and suffering of horses once they have stopped making a profit shows the callousness of the industry that purports to look after them. They should hang their heads in shame.
“I have long said that when animals and gambling mix, animals always suffer.
“The horse racing industry’s euphemism for horses they can no longer profit from, ‘wastage’, betrays how sickeningly little regard they have for the horses they breed. If the industry wants to breed horses, they must take responsibility for their whole life.
“Part of the solution is transparency. The Federal Government must urgently establish a national horse traceability register which will allow tracking of horses throughout their lives so the industry has no more excuses for not ensuring every horse has a dignified retirement.
“I want to thank the brave activists who risked their safety to expose this barbaric cruelty,” she concluded.

Evidence heard during the medevac inquiry made an overwhelming case for keeping the legislation in place, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.
“The evidence heard during this inquiry made it clear – medevac has saved lives,” Senator McKim said.
“The government’s refusal to transfer sick people from offshore detention to Australia under previous arrangements caused death, mental anguish and untold suffering among refugees and people seeking asylum.”
“The medevac repeal Bill shows that the government puts political imperatives ahead of people’s medical needs.”
“They have made the crass calculation that some lives are worth sacrificing for broader political outcomes, despite their legal and moral obligations.”
“Decisions about medical care should be made by medical experts, not politicians or bureaucrats.”
“The Greens will oppose the medevac repeal legislation.”
The Greens’ dissenting report can be found here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/RepairMedicaltransfers/Report/section?id=committees%2freportsen%2f024304%2f72235

This Government is loose with the truth.
24 hours after it emerged their dam announcement was based on false figures, they have made up more total fantasy.
Today in Question Time the Treasurer said the drought was the “number one call on the budget.”
This is cold comfort to the thousands of farmers desperately struggling to survive on the land, who are not receiving one cent of direct funding from the Future Drought Fund.
Farmers have been left high and dry by the Morrison Government and now the Government is misleading by suggesting they are spending more money on farmers than anyone else.

For a second consecutive day Scott Morrison has refused to defend his economic record by debating the state of the Australian economy in the Parliament.
After more than six years in office the Government has produced:

• The slowest economic growth in a decade;
• The worst wages growth on record;
• Almost two million Australians being unemployed or underemployed;
• A decline in GDP per capita last year, with flat growth in the last quarter;
• Record levels of household debt;
• Consumer confidence at a four-year low;
• Business confidence well below average; and
• Sluggish productivity growth.

In Parliament today we repeatedly invited Mr Morrison to defend his economic record and allow time for a serious debate on the economy.
He ran from the issue.
He is ashamed of his economic record. He should be.
Mr Morrison has no plan to stimulate our nation’s sluggish economy and is so out of touch and arrogant that he believes he is above the scrutiny of the Parliament of Australia.

The introduction of the Greens Parliamentary Standards Bill in the Senate today will be a strong test of whether Labor and the Liberals genuinely want to stamp out corruption and restore public trust in democracy.
The bill creates a binding, independently enforced code of conduct for all Federal politicians and staff.
The Australian community’s trust in politicians and government has plummeted to 31 per cent, with less than a quarter of the community expressing trust in Federal Ministers and MPs [1].
Greens Co-Deputy Leader and spokesperson on democracy, Senator Larissa Waters, said the community can no longer tolerate the ongoing scandals and politicians’ misbehaviour.
“Alarming levels of disrespect have been allowed to flourish in the Australian Parliament, from appalling behaviour in the chambers that would not be tolerated in any other workplace to outright corruption and selfish opportunism,” she said today.
“Today the Greens will introduce a much-needed Parliamentary Standards Bill in the Senate to help lift the bar, as a large step towards restoring public trust in democracy.
“The centrepiece of the new bill is a binding, enforceable code of conduct for all Ministers, parliamentarians and senior staffers.
“The Greens bill requires all politicians to respect others, to avoid conflicts of interest, to act with integrity, and to ensure that power and public resources are always used in the public interest.
“It would establish new independent enforcement agent with teeth, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who can investigate breaches of the code of conduct and take action when politicians’ behaviour fails to meet public expectations.
“For serious allegations, the new Public Standards Commissioner could refer the matter to the Greens proposed National Integrity Commission for a more comprehensive investigation.
“The bill is a large step towards restoring public trust in democracy, but more needs to be done. The bill also sets out a process to review and strengthen existing standards for lobbying, post-parliamentary employment, political donations, and campaign financing,” Senator Waters said.
Full copy of National Integrity (Parliamentary Standards) Bill 2019 available here: http://bit.ly/NationalIntegrity
[1] Democracy 2025’s Trust in Democracy Report, December 2018 https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Democracy2025-report1.pdf