Category: Australian News

The first mammal to go extinct in the world from climate change, the Bramble Cay Melomys, is just the tip of the iceberg, say the Australian Greens.
“This is a national tragedy, but the extinction of the Bramble Cay Melomys is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Australian Greens Senator Janet Rice, Chair of the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s animal extinction crisis.
“Climate change is pushing other threatened animals to the brink of extinction, yet the Morrison government’s lack of action means nothing is being done to protect them.”
“We have other animals like the Spectacled Flying Fox where one third of the population dropped dead out of the sky in one afternoon during Queensland’s December heatwave.”
“The recovery plan for the Melomys was never implemented. The Morrison government could have done more but turned a blind eye.”
“This tragedy was entirely preventable. No species should go extinct. This is a political choice.”
“The burning and exporting of Australia’s coal is the single largest contribution to climate change that Australia makes. Australia’s addiction to coal and coal exports is the death warrant for many of our other threatened animals.”
“The Labor and Liberal parties need to quit coal now and stop taking millions of dollars in donations from the coal industry.”
“It’s also clear the Environment Department has learnt absolutely nothing from the tragic Melomys extinction, with no current plans in place to conduct a review into how the extinction of the Bramble Cay Melomys occurred or learn what must happen to ensure more species don’t follow it down the tragic path to extinction.”
Other animals at risk of extinction due to climate change include the Spectacled Flying Fox, the Mountain Pygmy Possum, the Lemuroid Possum, and the Northern and Southern Corroboree Frog.

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, responded today to the comments from Labor frontbencher, Richard Marles, that “The global market for thermal coal has collapsed, and wonderful – that’s a good thing – because what that implies is the world is acting in relation to climate change.”
Quotes attributable to Mr Bandt:
“He’s right. That’s why Richard and Labor should support my bill to phase out thermal coal.”
“Labor can’t say its wonderful countries overseas want to burn less coal and then support expanded coal exports.”
“We need a plan to phase out coal mining in Australia by 2030 so the industry can transition in an orderly and just way.”

“Just when you begin to hope that the Labor Party was starting to find a backbone on refugees, Bill Shorten has gone to water,” said Australian Greens Leader, Dr Richard Di Natale.
“Despite his Deputy saying the Government’s policy to transfer sick patients to Christmas island for treatment was ‘difficult to understand’ and his Immigration spokesperson saying the reopening the centre was ‘silly’, Bill Shorten thinks it’s ‘fine’.
“Buying into Scott Morrison’s propaganda that there is any need to reopen Christmas Island, or that it has the required medical facilities, is a failure of leadership.
“All it took was the prospect of an election campaign fought on refugees for Bill Shorten to get spooked and start aligning himself with the Liberal Government on the issue once again.
“A government that is determined to shun the will of the parliament and refuse to bring sick people here for treatment, deserves a strong opposition – not a benign collaborator.

The Minister for Mining and Resources Matt Canavan has been exposed for lying about any oil from the Great Australian Bight staying in Australia.
“While Matt Canavan has told the public Equinor would keep oil in Australia, the company has denied it. Equinor’s polite rebuke of the Minister’s comments on ABC this morning expose the flimsy spin from the Morrison Government,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“While the Norwegian oil giant lobbies for approval to drill in the Great Australian Bight, it is clear that South Australians are set to gain very little if the project were to go ahead. The workforce will be imported, the oil exported and the profits sent overseas. Meanwhile, South Australia’s tourism and fishing industries are all put at risk.
“This project is about profit for a Norwegian oil giant, pure and simple. Equinor’s own oil spill modelling shows our state’s economy would take an $86 billion hit. It would decimate our thriving tourism and fisheries industries.
“At a time when we know we must transition away from fossil fuels to arrest climate change, the costs of opening up a new oilfield to the planet are too great. Foreign profits cannot be put before people and the environment.
“The Greens will continue fighting this project, and pursuing World Heritage protection for the Bight. We back our tens of thousands of jobs in tourism and fisheries, and our beautiful Kangaroo Island over big oil any day.”

I want to acknowledge today’s historic Parliamentary vote to support a Royal Commission into violence, abuse and neglect of people with a disability.
As somebody who worked as a disability support worker, I can attest to the grave need for this.
For too long, we have been hearing the horrific stories of people with disability who have endured violence, abuse and neglect. This is intolerable and it is time we confronted this reality.
I was particularly distressed to learn of deaths in my own region as a result of “practice failures” at disability services provider, Lifestyle Solutions. This case prompted me to write to the Prime Minister in 2017 requesting an urgent independent review into abuse of people with disability in care.
A Royal Commission will mean people with disability, their loved ones and their carers can tell their stories and seek justice at the highest level.
Australia should lead the way on being an inclusive and supportive society, but we must first shine a light on the terrible abuse that is happening across the country every day.
This vote confirms that the Australian Parliament has zero tolerance for any sort of abuse of people with disability – but now it must be followed by action.
I urge the Government to follow through on its parliamentary promise. It must now work in partnership with people with a disability to design the Terms of Reference and establish a Royal Commission as a matter of urgency.
 
Sharon Clydon – Labor Federal

Having weakened Australia’s tough border protection measures, Labor today walked away from another important matter of national security – in so doing it has ended bipartisanship on national security matters.
The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening the Citizenship Loss Provisions) 2018 Bill seeks to strengthen powers to deal with dual-national terrorists whose sole aim is to harm Australia and Australians.
These are people who have betrayed their allegiance to Australia. Who have committed barbaric atrocities fighting for ISIS, sworn allegiance to ISIS and plotted to harm innocent Australians.
We should be able to strip such people of their Australian citizenship.
Yet Labor’s Mark Dreyfus seeks any reason to oppose such measures and puts forward bizarre arguments supporting the legal rights of known terrorists to remain in our community and maintain their Australian citizenship.
The legislation before the Parliament was drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel with advice provided by the Chief General Counsel of the Australian Government Solicitor.
Yet Mr Dreyfus prefers to rely on his Labor lawyer mates to find any reason to delay, stymie or reject the Government’s proposed amendments to enable us to deal with terrorists who have no right to remain Australians.
This is not a single instance, Mr Dreyfus is a serial offender.
He sought and continues to seek to water down laws to enable law and intelligence agencies access to digital communications. He is stalling the Identity Matching Services Bill which aims to implement a COAG agreement to protect Australians from identity fraud and he defends Labor’s opposition to mandatory mini mum sentences for firearms offences.
Infamous ISIS terrorist Neil Prakash forfeited his Australians citizenship, yet Mr Dreyfus argues he has not and remains an Australian.
Under this Government 12 terrorists have lost their Australian citizenship.
During the last Labor period of Government – no one – not one- person lost their citizenship for any reason.
This is another crucial test for the Leader of the Opposition.
Having caved in to Labor’s radical Left and agreed to trash the Coalition’s successful border policies, does he support Mr Dreyfus’ constant efforts to thwart legislation that seeks to protect Australia and Australians?
If Mr Shorten and Mr Dreyfus want to run the lawyer line to look for some technicality to allow terrorists to remain or return to our country – that is an issue for them.
The Morrison Coalition Government will seek to keep them as far from our shores as possible.

Equinor is moving full steam ahead to drill in the Bight and The Greens are fighting to stop them.
“We cannot let this project go ahead. Equinor wants approval within months. The Greens are standing with South Australians to fight this all the way,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“We are not prepared to let South Australian tourism and fishing industries be put at risk for the sake of multinational corporate profits, no matter what spin Equinor tries to put on it. The reality is the Bight is too precious to risk. Drilling for oil in the middle of a whale sanctuary is madness.
“The Bight waters are rough and remote. Equnior has nothing to lose and everything to gain from this project. In the case of an oil spill, it will be South Australians, not Equinor, who pay the price. At a time when we know we must transition away from fossil fuels to arrest climate change, the costs of opening up a new oilfield to the planet are too great.
“Instead of opening up another oilfield, Australia should be showing the world how great the Bight is. It is home to some of the most unique wildlife in the world – 85 per cent of marine life found in the Bight is found nowhere else. The Greens are pursuing World Heritage protection for the Bight, supporting our jobs in tourism and fisheries, and our beautiful Kangaroo Island over big oil.
“Labor and the Liberals want to risk all we love about the Bight to do the bidding of the oil and gas industry. The 73 per cent of South Australians who want World Heritage protection for the Great Australian Bight can have faith that the Greens are fighting with them to protect the Bight and stop this project.”

Greens Co-Deputy Leader and climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today introduced two private member’s bills into the House of Representatives that lay down a challenge to the old parties on the mining and export of thermal coal. The first would prohibit the mining of thermal coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, effectively outlawing the Adani mine, and the second would phase out the export of thermal coal entirely by 2030.
“As a country, we haven’t opened a new coal basin in 50 years and now’s not the time to start,” said Mr Bandt.
“The emissions from exported Australian coal exceed Australia’s domestic emissions. We cannot continue to profit off coal that is making global warming worse.
“It disgusts me that as Australia is simultaneously sweltering, drowning and burning, the old parties are even entertaining the prospect of new coal mines.
“The science demands that we stop burning coal. As the second largest thermal coal exporter in the world, Australia needs to act.
“It’s time to export sunlight, not coal. If Labor and Liberal cut their addiction to coal mining, we could start transitioning out of this dirty industry and towards the clean, cheap and promising export market of the future: renewable energy.”

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today that it was not enough for the government to allow a motion calling for an urgent Royal Commission into the violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of disabled to pass unopposed in the house of Representatives – they must vote in favour of it and take action.
“It is not enough to simply let this motion pass on the voices – Scott Morrison, and the government he leads, must  acknowledge the seriousness of this issue, vote for it and take action to immediately establish a Royal Commission,” he said.
“Contrary to the Attorney General’s comments on Insiders this morning, there is no added layer of complexity in taking action on this issue. If the Government was able to pre-empt the Four Corners investigation into the Aged Care sector by announcing a Royal Commission in record time, then they can do the same here and deliver justice for disabled people.
“Anything less is just empty politics as usual by the Morrison government. He has draft terms of reference in his inbox – what more does he need?”

Greens Co-Deputy Leader and climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today introduced two private member’s bills into the House of Representatives that lay down a challenge to the old parties on the mining and export of thermal coal. The first would prohibit the mining of thermal coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, effectively outlawing the Adani mine, and the second would phase out the export of thermal coal entirely by 2030.
“As a country, we haven’t opened a new coal basin in 50 years and now’s not the time to start,” said Mr Bandt.
“The emissions from exported Australian coal exceed Australia’s domestic emissions. We cannot continue to profit off coal that is making global warming worse.
“It disgusts me that as Australia is simultaneously sweltering, drowning and burning, the old parties are even entertaining the prospect of new coal mines.
“The science demands that we stop burning coal. As the second largest thermal coal exporter in the world, Australia needs to act.
“It’s time to export sunlight, not coal. If Labor and Liberal cut their addiction to coal mining, we could start transitioning out of this dirty industry and towards the clean, cheap and promising export market of the future: renewable energy.”