Category: Australian News

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said that Angus Taylor’s comments that he had an “open mind” on the use of nuclear energy, following Barnaby Joyce’s push for nuclear, shows the energy debate in this country is getting hijacked by right-wing ideologues with a fixation on dangerous technologies like nuclear and coal.
Mr Bandt warned that lifting the nuclear moratorium opens Australia up to a Chernobyl-style meltdown in Australia.
“No-one who wants to keep Australians safe from global warming and nuclear meltdowns would have an ‘open mind’ on nuclear energy,” said Mr Bandt.
“The Minister took a tiny step forward by admitting pollution is rising in Australia, but he’ll take 50 steps back unless he closes his mind to nuclear power.
“The gap between fantasy and reality with this government is growing. On Sunday, the share of renewables in the NEM hit more than 43% yet on Tuesday, the Energy Minister is playing footsies with nuclear power.”

Freedom of the press and whistle-blower protection will finally get the hearing they deserve as the Senate votes in favour of an inquiry to be chaired by Senator Hanson-Young.
“This week’s arrest of four French journalists highlights how badly we need to rethink press freedom in Australia,” Greens media spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Press and whistle blower protections have been steadily eroded and the government just wants to sweep this under the carpet.
“Today the Senate voted for an inquiry into press freedom and whistle-blower protection showing that there are some in our Parliament who care about a frank and fearless media.
“The raids on the ABC and a Newscorp journalist sent chills through the country. The erosions of freedoms in Australia must be wound back.
“The ability of citizens to speak truth to power must be maintained and that is why whistle blowers must be protected and journalists allowed to do their job.
“This inquiry will get to the bottom of what has gone on and ensure a future for a free press in Australia.”
Terms of reference
That the following matters be referred to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by the third sitting day of December 2019:

1. disclosure and public reporting of sensitive and classified information, including the appropriate regime for warrants regarding journalists and media organisations and adequacy of existing legislation;
2. the whistle blower protection regime and protections for public sector employees;
3. the adequacy of referral practices of the Australian Government in relation to leaks of sensitive and classified information;
4. appropriate culture, practice and leadership for Government and senior public employees;
5. mechanisms to ensure that the Australian Federal Police have sufficient independence to effectively and impartially carry out their investigatory and law enforcement responsibilities in relation to politically sensitive matters; and
6. any related matters.

Further police crackdown on journalists highlights importance of Senate inquiry into press freedom, Greens say.
“The arrest of journalists in Queensland today is incredibly alarming,” Greens media spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“A free press is a fundamental pillar of democracy and it seems, here in Australia, it is under threat. Arresting journalists for doing their job has eerie echoes of a police state.
“The impact of what is happening in the Galilee Basin will affect us all and it is imperative that the community debate and concern can be reported on.
“We urgently need a thorough examination of press freedom in Australia to ensure those who hold power to account are able to keep doing their job without fear or favour. The Senate has the opportunity to vote for just such an inquiry tomorrow.
“Australia’s international reputation is at stake when foreign journalists are arrested, held and charged for reporting what is going on in Australia.”
Terms of reference
That the following matters be referred to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by the third sitting day of December 2019:

1. disclosure and public reporting of sensitive and classified information, including the appropriate regime for warrants regarding journalists and media organisations and adequacy of existing legislation;
2. the whistle blower protection regime and protections for public sector employees;
3. the adequacy of referral practices of the Australian Government in relation to leaks of sensitive and classified information;
4. appropriate culture, practice and leadership for Government and senior public employees;
5. mechanisms to ensure that the Australian Federal Police have sufficient independence to effectively and impartially carry out their investigatory and law enforcement responsibilities in relation to politically sensitive matters; and
6. any related matters.

The Government will again seek to establish a new, secure, revenue stream to enable drought resilience, preparedness and recovery. The Government will re-introduce legislation to establish the Future Drought Fund (the Fund), which will grow to be worth $5 billion to support rural and regional communities.
In February, Labor abandoned Australian farmers and the rural and regional communities they support by voting against the Future Drought Fund. This despite their own Senators clearly supporting the Bill during the Senate committee inquiry into it.
Labor now have a second chance to do the right thing by Australian communities that are suffering the effects of drought by supporting this important legislation.
Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said that the Fund would guarantee a long-term source of funding to support important projects that will build drought resilience in Australia’s regions.
“The Future Drought Fund will support research, development and innovation to contribute to a sustainable and drought resilient agriculture sector in Australia,” Minister Littleproud said.
“If Labor decide to vote against this Bill again it will be one of the lowest acts I’ve seen in Australian politics. To politicise the misery of Australian farmers would be as low as you could get.”
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said that Labor needed to support the legislation, which would provide reliable and sustainable funding for drought relief and resilience projects into the future.
“The Future Drought Fund was announced in the 2018-19 MYEFO. We took it to the 2019 election. Labor needs to respect the wishes of Australia’s regional farming communities and support this legislation,” he said.
The re-introduced legislation includes amendments proposed in the House of Representatives by the former Member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, and supported by Government and other Members of the House of Representatives crossbench.
The exposure drafts of the Future Drought Fund Bill 2019 and the Future Drought Fund Bill (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019 and the accompanying draft Explanatory Memorandum are publicly available at https://www.finance.gov.au/australian-government-investment-funds/governance/.

The debate on establishing a Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling will begin today in the Senate, with a Greens Bill to establish a commission of inquiry.
“This Parliament has a chance to get to the bottom of the Murray-Darling’s woes and ensure those responsible for its ill-health are held to account,” Greens water spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Like the Banking Royal Commission, the Senate’s support for a bill to establish a commission is an essential step in cleaning up the management of the Murray-Darling and stopping the rorts.
“Farmers, communities and ecosystems throughout the Basin are suffering. We know there are problems with the way it is being managed, and Australians deserve answers.
“Most of the money allocated for the Plan has been spent and the River is still in deep trouble. The only way to ensure we get the answers we need, and those responsible are held to account, is with a comprehensive Royal Commission.
“The South Australia Royal Commission began this important work but was hampered by the refusal of the federal government and other Basin States to participate. A million fish dead and revelations of ongoing mismanagement mean we must have answers.
“Our Bill will be before the Parliament today and I urge every Senator to do the right thing by the River, River communities and the environment and support a Royal Commission.”
Link to Bill: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1187
Terms of reference
(1)    The Commission must inquire and advise the Parliament in relation to the following matters:
(a)   any misconduct relating to, or affecting, the management of the Basin water resources;
(b)   the legislative and administrative framework for implementing, managing and enforcing the Basin Plan;
(c)    the impact that the implementation, management and enforcement of the Basin Plan has had on the environment, agriculture and communities that rely on the Basin water resources;
(d)   the suitability and effectiveness of the existing legislative and administrative framework for the management of the Basin water resources, including any adverse effects that framework has had on the management of the Basin water resources (whether or not those effects are the result of misconduct);
(e)   the allocation of funds by the Commonwealth and the Basin States to implement the Basin Plan, and the impact of funded projects (including water buybacks and efficiency measures) in facilitating environmental watering in the Murray-Darling Basin;
(f)     the likely impact of climate change to the Basin water resources, and any appropriate measures to take to adapt those resources in light of that impact;
(g)   any matter reasonably incidental to a matter mentioned in the above paragraphs.
(2)    Without limiting paragraph (1)(a), misconduct includes any conduct of a person or body (whether or not a public agency):
(a)   that adversely affects, or that could adversely affect, either directly or indirectly, the honest or impartial performance or exercise of a public agency’s functions or powers; or
(b)   that constitutes or involves an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a law of the State; or
(c)    that constitutes or involves a contravention of a civil penalty provision under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State; or
(d)   that would attract any other penalty under a law of the Commonwealth or a State, including a breach of a standard or licence condition; or
(e)   that constitutes or involves breach of trust, fraud in office, nonfeasance, misfeasance, malfeasance, oppression, extortion or imposition.
(3)    The Commission is not required to inquire, or to continue to inquire, into a particular matter to the extent that it is satisfied that the matter has been, is being, or will be, sufficiently and appropriately dealt with by:
(a)   another inquiry or investigation; or
(b)   a criminal or civil proceeding.
(4)    In inquiring and advising in accordance with subsection (1), the Commission may give priority to matters which, in the Commission’s opinion, have greater potential for harm.

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for Education, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said that new TAFE data released today shows the continued decline of TAFE and must be a wake up call to save TAFE.
A new report by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research has shown that for government funded vocational education: student numbers have dropped 1.9%, subject enrolments have dropped 5.7%, and training hours have dropped 6.4%.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This new data once again proves what communities have been saying for some time, TAFE is being slowly destroyed by government neglect and a lack of funding.
“TAFE is an essential part of our public education system but has been deliberately decimated by state and federal governments. We want to see private for-profit providers removed entirely from federal funding of vocational training and TAFE given as close to 100% of funding as possible.
“The Greens have a plan to rebuild TAFE as the vocational training provider of choice for students. We will remove the Gillard-era contestable funding requirements and make TAFE and uni free for all,” she concluded.

Australian Greens Immigration Spokesperson Nick McKim has been ordered to leave Manus Island on the sixth anniversary of the commencement of indefinite offshore detention.
“The veil of secrecy continues to surround Australia’s detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru,” Senator McKim said.
“As a member of the Australian Parliament it is my duty to examine the conditions in which Australia’s detainees are being kept.”
“This has been six long years of cruelty and deprivation.”
“The mental health of detainees is at an all-time low.”
“The deliberate cruelty of the Labor and Liberal parties has removed all hope that these men had for the future.”
“The Australian Greens will continue fighting to ensure all refugees and people seeking asylum are given the freedom and safety they so desperately need.”
Senator McKim was ordered to leave Papua New Guinea on Friday despite having an official passport and multiple entry visa.
“In my six visits to Papua New Guinea I have always followed local laws and been respectful to everyone.”
“It is the Labor and Liberal parties who wear the shame of this bloody chapter, not the people of Papua New Guinea.”

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for International Development, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said that climate justice must be central to Australia’s development assistance program following reports that the Foreign Minister, Senator Marise Payne, received the climate change strategy six months ago but is yet to release it.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Climate change is an existential threat to our neighbours and must be front and centre of our foreign aid program. The poorest, who contribute the least to climate change, are often the hardest hit by rising sea levels, extreme weather events and environmental damage.
“Given our dirty hands in producing climate changing emissions, we have a special responsibility to deliver climate justice.
“I urge Senator Payne to urgently release the climate strategy and provide funding to support action on climate change, particularly for our neighbours in the Pacific and South-East Asia.
“The reality is Australia exports climate change. Once our coal exports are counted, we are the world’s sixth largest contributor to climate change. Every tonne of coal we ship out brings us and our neighbours one step closer to the climate precipice,” she concluded.

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for Housing, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to today’s Australian Institute of Health and Research report which shows Australia has lost 20,000 public housing units in the last decade. She welcomed the increase in community housing, but said public housing must be a bigger part of the housing mix.
Senator Faruqi said:
“It is time for the Federal Government to step in and show leadership on the housing crisis. We know that social housing in general has not kept pace with demand.
“It is a national shame that 140,000 people are still on public housing waiting lists.
“The reality is that Government-owned public housing is an essential part of the housing mix, but State Governments have increasingly been shirking their responsibility to build it. Public housing is a crucial part of our social safety net that has been eroded over time. We need to reverse this.
“I am particularly disturbed to see waiting times for people classified as being in the greatest need increasing, rather than decreasing. The most vulnerable in our society shouldn’t be forced to wait over a year for the basic right of a roof over their heads.
“The Greens have a plan to build 500,000 new public and community homes through a Federal Housing Trust. Everyone has the right to a safe, secure and permanent home,” she concluded.

The government must rule out drilling in the Great Australian Bight rather than passing the buck to the regulator, Greens say.
“Pressure from the overwhelming majority of South Australian’s to protect the Bight must be acted on by the government,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“South Australians and increasing numbers of Australians around the country want a ban on drilling in the Bight.
“The Morrison government is grossly mistaken if they think a tick and flick ‘audit of the regulator’ will satisfy community concerns. It is the role of the government to represent the people and the people have made their wishes clear.
“This ‘audit is nothing more than a box ticking exercise. The terms of reference are so narrow that it makes a mockery of the real concerns of tens of thousands of South Australians who remain opposed to drilling in the Bight.
“All MPs have the opportunity to protect the Bight by supporting my Bill to ban drilling in the Great Australian Bight. They should think long and hard about what their constituents expect of them.
“The Bight is home to many threatened species, and responsible for thousands and thousands of fishing and tourism jobs. It must be protected, not exploited for more dangerous fossil fuels. Anything less is not good enough.”