Category: Australian News

Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, will visit Broken Hill and Menindee tomorrow (17 January) to meet with locals and see first hand the devastation occuring in the Murray Darling system as a result of mismanagement and climate change. Senator Faruqi is a civil and environmental engineer who has worked on water management for the last two decades.
Senator Faruqi will also meet the Broken Hill Greens Convenor, Eve-Lyn Kennedy. Senator Faruqi will be available for media on Thursday and on Friday morning.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The shocking scenes of the fish kills is the result of consistent abuse of the environment for greed and profit. The ecosystem is collapsing because politicians have pushed the Murray Darling River system to the brink.
“The continued abuse of the Murray Darling System is nothing new and, sadly, what we are seeing now is the inevitable result of years of neglect and incompetence, especially by the National Party. The Nationals must be held to account.
“The Liberal and National Parties are more interested in appeasing big corporate interests than looking after the needs of the community and fostering a healthy river system.
“The Greens have been the most consistent advocates for protecting the Murray Darling. Greens in Broken Hill have been fighting for years to have politicians listen to the reality of what is happening to their community.
“For years there has been over-extraction from the system, restricting environmental flows that allow the Murray Darling to function. This has been devastating for communities and the environment.
“Climate change is the elephant in the room. If we don’t take urgent action to stop our planet warming, extreme heatwaves and drought will become more and more common.
“I’ll be meeting with locals and touring the area to see the extent of the situation and hear ideas about how to fix it.
“The axing of the National Water Commission under the Abbott Government was a reckless move that has led to a lack of national leadership and no independent auditing of water management in Australia.
“This is a huge wake up call. We need to urgently return the environmental flows that have been stripped. The Greens have called for a Royal Commission to expose the mismanagement, greed and corruption that has caused this,” she concluded.

The Greens are urging the Liberal National Government to lift the freeze on water buy backs to restore much-needed flows to the Murray Darling Basin.
“Today, I’m writing to the Water Minister David Littleproud  asking him  to lift the ban on water buy backs immediately so water can be secured for the river to avoid further environmental collapse. Buying back water is the most economically efficient and environmentally effective way to restore the river and help stem the damage done to the environment,” Australian Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“We know millions more fish could die within the next few months. This ecosystem is in collapse because there is not enough water going to the environment. The Minister should fix this, or he should go.
“This is a man-made problem caused by the mismanagement and incompetence of Barnaby Joyce and the Liberal National Party. Barnaby Joyce crowed about stopping water buybacks, ensuring water meant for the environment went to big corporate irrigators.
“While the environment goes without, the cotton industry continues to profit. We need a Royal Commission into the mismanagement and over extraction of water in the Murray Darling Basin.
“Putting fish back in the river is not going to work when there is not enough water. The Murray Darling Basin is a living ecosystem crying out for urgent relief – which means putting the environment, and our river communities ahead of the cotton industry.
“The Liberal National Government has failed the river while there is plenty of water in the storage dams of big cotton irrigators upstream.”

Seismic testing is the first step to drilling in the Great Australian Bight and will have devastating outcomes for SA, the Greens say.

“This is a bad decision – bad for our marine life, bad for Kangaroo Island, and bad for SA. Seismic testing is the first step to drilling in the Bight, and an oil well 90km off Kangaroo Island is a disaster for South Australia,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“It seems as though after endless chances for the Norwegian company to finesse their plan, the regulator has buckled, doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry.

“PGS now has the green light to send seismic blasts into waters 90km from Kangaroo Island. This is an area sperm whales migrate through and where blue whales feed, sending constant blasts into the water for three months straight will devastate our marine life.

“The last time we had seismic blasting in the Great Australian Bight, whales beached themselves at Ardrossan and died. There is never a safe time for seismic blasting, and our environment will suffer for the regulator’s decision today.

“NOPSEMA has ignored the community, the fishing industry and Traditional Owners who want our Bight protected. 74% of South Australians want to see the Bight protected, and thousands of people have joined The Greens’ campaign to nominate the Bight for World Heritage Protection

“The Greens are fighting tooth and nail alongside the South Australian community to stop big oil and gas drilling off the coast of Kangaroo Island and in the Bight. The impact on our tourism industry and the marine life off our coast would be devastating.”

The Liberal National Government are hiding critical information about draining the Menindee Lakes twice in three years, the Greens say.
“The Government’s refusal to release this information, by order of the Senate, stinks of a cover-up and puts them in contempt of the Senate,” Greens water and environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“For over six weeks we’ve been waiting for answers from the Minister about why water was released from Menindee Lakes twice in three years. We still don’t know how or why those decisions were made. I was concerned about it back in November, and now after the death of a million fish it’s even more concerning.
“The Liberal National Government cannot be trusted to deal with this environmental disaster, and they can’t be trusted to be open with River communities. The cover-ups must end if we are to see this river, and the faith of the people who rely on it, restored.
“Water Minister David Littleproud is following in the footsteps of his predecessor Barnaby Joyce, standing up for corporate cotton interests rather than the communities that rely on this vital river system for survival.
“Australians want a healthy river system and a government that stands up for the environment. It’s clear this government is concerned about keeping big cotton happy at the expense of the river we love.”

The Federal Water Minister must force the NSW and QLD Governments to urgently invoke their powers and embargo the cotton industry’s water extraction from the Murray Darling Basin after widespread fish deaths, the Greens say.
“The Federal Water Minister must intervene and force an embargo on water extraction for cotton irrigation as a matter of urgency. The Federal and State Governments must act to stop over extraction, and lift the freeze on environmental water buybacks,” Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“We need an emergency intervention to the unfolding ecological disaster in our river system. The NSW and QLD Water Ministers must use their emergency powers to embargo further water take for cotton irrigation.
“The Liberal National Party is trying to blame this on drought when in fact it is cotton, corruption and climate change killing these fish and our river. We should be putting people and the environment before big corporate cotton growers.
“Greedy cotton farmers upstream are still storing water and irrigating their crops. We are watching this river die along with the hundreds of thousands of fish floating along the banks of the lower Darling.
“There was a 1,000km algal bloom in 1991 and we did not see mass fish death at this scale. This is the clearest demonstration of what happens when a political culture of robbing the environment for corporate interests goes unchecked.
“We are spending $13 billion on the Murray Darling Basin Plan and it has failed at the first drought. This is the consequence of terrible mismanagement by all levels of government.
“Rivers die from the bottom up. The Coorong is dying, the Lower Darling is in the midst of ecological collapse. Our river won’t survive if we continue putting corporate irrigators above all else.
“The Murray Darling river system is the lifeblood of communities, from QLD to SA, and for too long governments have prioritised their big cotton grower mates over the environment and the communities who rely on the river to survive.
“There must be an immediate embargo on water extraction on the river if we are to have any hope of making positive steps in managing this precious resource.”

The Australian Government has commenced national consultations on a proposal to establish a National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders.
A National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders would be the first of its kind in Australia and would make certain information about child sex offenders available on a publicly accessible website.
Consultations have begun with state and territory governments and law enforcement agencies and will also involve non-government stakeholders.
The Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said a register would be an important measure to improve protections for families and children.
“It would have a strong deterrent effect on offenders and ensure that parents are not in the dark about whether a registered sex offender has access to their children,” he said.
“The abuse and exploitation of children is a global epidemic that is becoming more prevalent, more organised and more extreme.
“Thwarting that exploitation is a key priority for me as Minister for Home Affairs. I have always fought for the protection of children and this is a battle that we must win.”
Some states and territories already publicly release information about child sex offenders in specific circumstances. However, a nationally consistent approach would afford nationwide community protection and ensure offenders cannot evade public scrutiny.
Reports of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Australia continue to rise – reports to the Australian Federal Police soared by 77 per cent in 2018 over 2017.
Mr Dutton said the Morrison Government was already making substantial efforts to protect children – including establishing the Australian Centre to Combat Child Exploitation – and a national public register of sex offenders would complement and enhance those efforts.
“It will send a clear message that Australia will not tolerate individuals preying on the most vulnerable members of the community – our children.
“I look forward to working with state and territory government and key non-government stakeholders on this important initiative,” Mr Dutton said.
Non-government stakeholders are expected to include the Law Council of Australia, National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, Carly Ryan Foundation, Bravehearts, the Alannah and Madeleine Foundation and other interested child protection and advocacy groups.

The proportion of working age Australians receiving welfare benefits has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services Paul Fletcher said today.
New Department of Social Services analysis of recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics population data shows that 14.3 per cent of the working-age population was receiving working-age income support payments in June 2018.
This is a sharp drop on the previous year’s level of 15.1 per cent and markedly lower than the figure of 16.5 per cent when Labor left office.
“Our plan for a stronger economy is working,” Mr Fletcher said.
“We’ve created more than 1.2 million jobs and we’re getting people off welfare and into work.
“In fact, over the last year, full-time employment growth has accounted for 63.1 per cent of the total increase in employment.”
Mr Fletcher said the Government’s success stood in sharp contrast to Labor’s plan, announced today.
“Labor want to junk the principle of mutual obligation that has reduced welfare dependency to record lows and helped create 1.2 million new jobs. They want and consign many more Australians to a life of welfare dependency,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Labor’s plan means welfare payments would balloon again and they’d be paid for by higher taxes on those working.
“It’s taken sustained hard work by the Liberal National Government to steadily bring down the share of the working population which depends on welfare.
“But Labor’s announcement today confirms that if they get into government they will abandon our successful approach.
“The figures are very clear – the share of the working population on welfare always goes up under a Labor Government.”
Mr Fletcher said labour force participation increased to 65.7 per cent in November 2018, which was close to a record high.
“We’ve brought unemployment down from 5.7 per cent when Labor left office to 5.1 per cent,” Mr Fletcher said.
“The best form of welfare is a job – and today’s figures show that our plan to generate more jobs and get more Australians off of welfare is working.”

More than 800 non-citizen criminals were stripped of their visas for serious crimes in 2018.
One hundred had their visas cancelled for committing child sex offences or for involvement in child exploitation and pornography, 53 were stripped of their visas for domestic violence as were 34 rapists or other sexual offenders
About 500 criminals who committed violent offences are among those stripped of their visas, including 13 for murder, seven for manslaughter, 125 for assault and 56 for armed robbery.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said the Government is committed to protecting our communities and keeping Australians safe.
“There’s no place in our country for people who come here and harm Australians,” Mr Dutton said
“We welcome people from all round the world, but those few who think they can live in Australia and be involved in criminal actions need to know they won’t be staying long.”
Under the previous Labor Government, in the five years between 2009 and 2013, just 582 visas were cancelled under the character provisions in s 501 of Migration Act 1958.
Since 2014, the Coalition has cancelled a total of 4150 visas – more than seven times that of Labor.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said the Government was sending a strong message to non-citizen law breakers.
“Over the past five years, the Government has stripped 4150 non-citizens of their visas after committing serious and abhorrent crimes such as child sex offences, domestic violence assaults and murder,” Mr Coleman said.
“Foreign nationals who think they can flout our laws and harm Australian citizens should expect to have their visa cancelled.
“It is a privilege to enter and remain in Australia and we have no tolerance for those who put Australians in danger.”
To keep Australians safe, the Government has significantly strengthened the character provisions in the Migration Act, introducing mandatory cancellation provisions in December 2014. These changes provide that a non-citizen’s visa must be cancelled if they are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment or have been convicted of a sexual crime against a child.
More recently, the Government introduced into Parliament the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 to introduce a list of designated offences into s 501, providing clear and objective grounds for the consideration of visa refusal or cancellation.
Designated offences include offences involving violence, sexual assault, domestic abuse and the use or possession of weapons , whereby the offence carries a two year or more maximum jail sentence.
The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 is expected to be debated in the first sitting period of 2019.

More reports of dead native fish floating in their thousands in the Lower Darling sends a dreadful signal on the health of the River.
“This is what a river in death throes looks like. Between the Government handing water to big corporate irrigators, the Murray Darling Basin Plan not accounting for climate change, and mismanagement of environmental flows, our river – and our native fish – are dying,” Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The Greens have been fighting for more water for the environment to prevent massive species loss and toxic algae outbreaks. The river needs water to survive.
“At every turn the State and Federal Governments are working to take more and more water away from an already struggling environment; including holding back the 450GL promised to South Australia, and draining the Menindee lakes.
“It is not good enough for bureaucrats to say this issue is contained to the Lower Darling. Generations of fish are dying in spawning waters. These incidents will have repercussions throughout the Lower Darling and into the Murray where hundreds of thousands of fish could be affected.
“The Government is blaming drought to cover up the fact that they’ve allowed water to be ripped away from the environment, putting this precious ecosystem at serious risk.
“The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is failing to return the water promised, and needed, to keep the system alive. Every time the Federal Government cuts water to environment in favour of big corporate irrigators and the cotton industry, the River gets sicker.”

Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has launched a campaign for an inquiry into a National Horse Traceability Scheme. A register would ensure all horses in Australia, including racing horses, would have lifetime tracking.
The national register would benefit biosecurity, including for the prevention and management of Emergency Animal Diseases such as equine influenza and African Horse Sickness; improve safety for riders; tackle backyard breeding; and combat rural crime.
Senator Faruqi said:
“A national register is sensible public policy. By properly tracking horses we can improve safety and biosecurity, and stop racing horses being discarded at knackeries when they’re no longer profitable.
“Tens of thousands of horses are bred in Australia each year, including around 17,000 by the thoroughbred and standardbred horse racing industries alone. In addition to this, thousands of horses are also bred by ‘backyard breeders’. As it stands, we have very little information about where these horses end up.
“Animal welfare advocates, safety advocates and the racing industry itself agree about the need for a centralised national register. We are just stuck on the exact model.
“An inquiry will be an important opportunity to bring everyone together and provide national leadership on what a scheme might look like and how it could be implemented.
“Similar registers already exist in the UK, Europe, and Canada. It is well past time for Australia to establish one.
“I look forward to engaging with the Government, Opposition and the crossbench to establish the inquiry.
“If this inquiry is established, it will give all stakeholders, including the racing industry, horse breeders and animal welfare groups an opportunity to present evidence so we can decide on the best way forward.”