Category: Australian News

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said free higher education is the key to ensuring equitable access to jobs of the future. An Alphabeta ‘Future Skills Report’ has found that Australians will need new skills to adjust to the future of work and will need to spend an additional three hours a week in education and training and that the average Australian worker will likely change jobs 2.4 times over the next two decades.
Details of the Greens free higher education package for universities and TAFEs can be found here.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Technology is rapidly changing the way we work and learn. Students graduating today will be working in industries we haven’t even imagined yet. If we are to take advantage of automation and technological change, we need to ensure that people are able to retrain and re-skill without incurring crushing debts over and over again.
“Automation offers incredible opportunities but if we do not properly plan for it, we are open to the risk of leaving huge numbers of people behind. We know that learning, upskilling and reskilling are essential for workers to be able to thrive in the jobs of the future, particularly those whose industries will be disrupted by technology.
“Removing fees for higher education will mean people will be able to move seamlessly between jobs and careers without the threat of huge debts. It’s time to make education free again,” she concluded.

New research showing the harm caused to LGBTIQ+ people by the marriage equality vote including elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress, is not a surprise, say Greens.
“We all knew the postal survey was going to cause harm to LGBTIQ+ people – everyone from medical experts, mental health organisations, community groups and LGBTIQ+ people continuously warned against it,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.
“This research reiterates that we never should have had a public vote to determine something that we already knew – that the vast majority of Australians support marriage equality.”
“Instead of politicians doing the job we were elected to do, Malcolm Turnbull capitulated to the hard right of the Liberal party and put LGBTIQ+ communities through months of torment.”
“The postal survey legitimised homophobia and transphobia, it gave a platform to hateful views and speech that would normally not be acceptable in our community.”
“There must never again be a public vote on a matter of human rights.”
“I’m relieved that we finally achieved marriage equality, but LGBTIQ+ people remain under threat. The anti-LGBTIQ+ movement have now turned their attention to further entrenching discrimination in our schools.”
“Schools, indeed our society, must be discrimination-free zones for all LGBTIQ+ people.”

A Shorten Labor Government will invest $25 million to rejuvenate Great Keppel Island, helping to grow tourism, create jobs and deliver an $80-million-a-year boost to the region’s economy.
Great Keppel has amazing, untapped tourism potential but it is held back by a lack of basic infrastructure, including drinking water and a reliable power supply.
Federal Labor’s investment – which matches the Queensland Government’s investment – will deliver new infrastructure for permanent and reliable electricity and water supply on the Island.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will visit Great Keppel Island on Wednesday morning to make the announcement.
“I’m taking a hands-on approach to job creation in Central Queensland,” Mr Shorten said.
“This is a beautiful part of Queensland with massive potential. You just need a government in Canberra that listens and acts.
“Russell Robertson has been on the phone to me about how important this investment is. He’s done a fantastic job advocating for Great Keppel Island and the entire region.”
Shadow Minister for Regional Services Stephen Jones said water quality and reliable power supply presents significant challenges for island businesses and residents.
“The island relies on diesel-powered generators as the main source of power, and access to drinking water is through rainwater harvesting or bottled water from the mainland. This is costly and time consuming, and is holding Great Keppel back,” Mr Jones said.
“This funding will see key infrastructure built on the island, including a permanent and reliable supply of power and drinking water. Our investment will aim to grow tourism on Great Keppel and the surrounding region, supporting existing tourism operators, residents, and future tourism development projects.”
Shadow Minister for Tourism Anthony Albanese said with improved infrastructure, it is expected that the island will accommodate about 860,000 visitors, workers and residents a year, and contribute more $83 million per annum to the local economy.
“We know tourism operators need reliable water and power, and the lack of these basic services is a barrier to investment. Labor’s commitment will allow for sustainable development, meaning more visitors, more jobs and more money going to local businesses,” Mr Albanese said.
Labor Candidate for Capricornia Russell Robertson welcomed Labor’s investment to rejuvenate Great Keppel Island.
“This is a great day for the Capricorn Coast. I’ve been working for months to secure this investment for our region, and now we know a Shorten Labor Government will deliver it,” Mr Robertson said.
“I’ve been calling on both Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison to make this commitment, but Bill is the only one who has listened.
“Michelle Landry has been too caught up in the chaos in Canberra to secure this funding. She’s forgotten Great Keppel Island exists at all.
“Great Keppel is the most beautiful on the Great Barrier Reef. Everyone knows that infrastructure funding for Great Keppel Island will mean more visitors, more jobs and more money going into our local economy.
“As your local member, I’ll make sure Great Keppel gets the investment, infrastructure and jobs it deserves.”
Mr Shorten said only Labor is committed to rejuvenating Great Keppel Island.
“I believe in a fair go for all Australians, and that means a fair go for Central Queenslanders.
I’m determined to deliver job-creating infrastructure for Central Queenslanders, and I can pay for it because I will make multinational companies pay their fair share of tax.”

Australian Greens Senator For NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has visited the Port Stephens area and heard first hand from local residents about their concerns over multiple threats in the Williamtown, Saltash and Bobs Farm areas, including PFAS contamination and a proposed massive increase in sand mining.
On the PFAS contamination issue, Senator Faruqi said:
“Residents are sick and tired of having to fight the federal government for compensation for the pollution of their land and water by the Department of Defence. They have been fighting a David versus Goliath battle for years.
“I’m concerned to hear that there has been no ‘off-base’ clean up and remediation of contaminated water and soil, especially in the drains.
“I sat on the Senate Inquiry into the issue and I strongly believe that there needs to be a proper compensation package. Importantly it must include buybacks of properties that have been significantly affected.
“The Federal Government caused the PFAS pollution so they must take full responsibility for it. The community has waited long enough. Communities have suffered enough. It’s time to take concrete action to help them. And it’s time concrete action is taken now.
On the proposed sand mine in Bobs Farm, Senator Faruqi said:
“The proposal for a huge new sand mine at Bobs Farm is very concerning and has the potential to impact on the water supply for nearby farms and will involve significant clearing of bushland. Parents at the nearby school are really worried about the pollution from the mining as well as the nearly 200 truck movements a day right past the school.
“This project clearly doesn’t have community support and has significant environmental risks. I’ll be making a submission opposing the proposal” she concluded.

A former Returned Services League (RSL) NSW State President has been charged with fraud following an investigation by the Financial Crimes Squad.
In December 2016, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Financial Crimes Squad established Strike Force Whitbread to investigate reports of the misappropriation of funds within the NSW RSL.
Strike force detectives obtained large volumes of documentation early in the investigation, which have undergone forensic accounting analysis.
Following extensive inquiries, police met with a 70-year-old man at Armidale Police Station about 9am today (Wednesday 23 January 2019).
He was charged by way of a Future Court Attendance Notice for two counts of dishonestly obtain a financial advantage or cause disadvantage by deception.
The man is due to face Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday 7 March 2019.

A Shorten Labor Government will deliver better emergency care for the people of Cairns by investing in a major redevelopment of the Cairns Hospital Emergency Department.
A recent review of the hospital called for a number of high priority improvements to the emergency department while a more substantial expansion is planned.
Labor will invest $15 million to deliver these improvements as part of our Fair Go Action Plan to protect Medicare and fix our hospitals.
This commitment comes on top of our promise to put $60 million towards a new dedicated training facility at Cairns Hospital, which will help attract and retain health workers in Far North Queensland.
The new facility will help address the critical health workforce shortage that risks undermining the quality of health care in this region.
But that is a longer-term project.
The Emergency Department redevelopment is something we can deliver in the next 12 to 24 months – delivering tangible health benefits to this community.
The redevelopment will improve safety for patients and staff alike and bring down wait times.
It will include:

• An increase in adult short stay capacity from 8 to 16 adult beds
• A 4-bed pediatric short stay unit
• Improvements to resuscitation bays and trauma treatment spaces
• Front of house improvements to provide dedicated space for ambulance offload
• And better telehealth facilities.

Population growth has made Cairns Hospital Emergency Department one of the busiest in Queensland, with activity going up by 4 per cent each year. In 2017-18 the number of presentations exceeded 70,000 for the first time.
That’s why we have to invest now in this hospital.
Labor believes Australian should get the best quality health care whenever they need it – no matter if you live in downtown Brisbane or Far North Queensland.
That’s why the last federal Labor Government invested $12m in Cairns Hospital through our Health and Hospitals Fund.
The Liberals on the other hand just cut and cut and cut from health. As Treasurer, Scott Morrison cut from health and hospitals in every Budget he authored.
His government has cut $7.2 million from Cairns Hospital under the current 2017 to 2020 funding agreement.
That’s equivalent to 20 nurses, or 11,000 emergency department visits, or 17,500 outpatient appointments. And it’s part of a $160m cut to Queensland hospitals and a $715m cut nationwide.
Now Morrison is trying to lock in those cuts for another five years – a dud deal that the Queensland Labor Government is resisting.
Labor will reverse the Liberal cuts with our $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund, which we will use to fund projects like this one.
Only Labor can be trusted to fix Queensland’s hospitals.

The Liberal National Government must reject the advice of the self-serving Mining Lobby pushing for changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Greens say.
“The Environment Minister must stand up for environmental protections, not fall to her mates in the mining industry,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“It’s almost laughable that the Minister for the Environment would even consider the ‘advice’ of the mining industry in drafting new laws to protect the environment, sadly however this is no laughing matter. Our environment is under constant threat because the mining industry continues to push for more coal, more gas, more oil drilling and now they want nuclear.
“The only thing the Minerals Council seem to want to protect are the profits of the mining industry, at the cost of Australia’s environment and a safe climate.
“Nuclear energy is an old technology that Australia has outgrown. We are moving toward a renewable energy future. It’s happening, it’s here and we shouldn’t be looking back.
“We need stronger environmental laws that continue the ban on nuclear energy, and protect our natural world from big corporate interests.
“Adani is pressing ahead with its plans to open a mammoth coal mine with little regard to critically endangered black-throated finch populations. There are cases for strengthening our environmental laws all around the country, in part to pull the mining industry into line.”
“Calls to relax our environmental laws from the mining sector should be ignored by this Government if they are serious about ‘improving’ environmental protections.”