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This week Labor’s central climate policy, ‘Safeguard Mechanism’, dropped, and what a disaster it is. The system is a marriage of the worst part of Labor and the Greens policy. The new bromance between Labor and Greens is hurtling Australian towards economic ruin, but doing nothing for what they claim are climate concerns.

The best deconstruction of the ‘safeguard mechanism’ came from Senator Malcolm Roberts who outlined why the bill is a fraud. He argued that the Labor government is putting a Liberal National Climate Policy on steroids to destroy Australia to appease their globalist masters.

The bill establishes a new form of carbon credits, or Safeguard Mechanism Credit Units (SMCs), which is essentially a carbon dioxide tax that will affect companies that produce goods in the country. However, the lack of detail in the bill is concerning as the amount of carbon dioxide that companies will have to reduce is undefined, and they will be forced to buy undefined carbon dioxide credits and pay an undefined carbon dioxide tax.

This Green/Labor bill will affect the country’s production and make things more expensive, resulting in fewer goods being produced. This, in turn, will lead to unnecessary scarcity, which will only benefit the rich who can afford it. The government should focus on what’s in the national interest and not force scarcity to appease foreign organisations.

The carbon dioxide credit industry is a scam. The government-appointed panel, which claimed to be independent, was not truly independent, and the Chubb review was a complete sham designed to pave the way for this bill. Australia is already at Net Zero, sequestering or sinking three times more carbon dioxide than it produces. Therefore, the author sees no reason why a carbon dioxide credit scheme is needed in the country.

The Safeguard Mechanism Crediting Amendment Bill 2022 is a fraud that will only benefit foreign organisations, predatory billionaires, and the rich, while hurting Australia’s production and making things more expensive for everyone. Australia is already at Net Zero, and therefore, there is no need for a carbon dioxide credit scheme in the country.

Yunupingu walked in two worlds with authority, power and grace, and he worked to make them whole — together.

What he could see was not the reinvention of Australia, but the realisation of a greater one.

With his passing, consider what we have lost.

A leader. A statesman.

A painter. A dancer. A singer and musician who always carried his father’s clapsticks and felt the power they carried within them.

Australian of the Year in 1978. Member of the Order of Australia. National treasure.

A remarkable member of a remarkable family.

A great Yolngu man. A great Australian.

A man who stood tall in his beloved country, and worked to lift our entire continent in the process. 

Yunupingu understood a fundamental truth: if you want to make your voice count, you have to make sure that it’s heard.

He made sure with the sheer power of his advocacy for land rights.

He made sure when he helped draft the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, which delivered such a powerful message that resounded within the walls of the nation’s Parliament. 

And he made sure when he took part in that masterclass of concise and — he hoped — unifying eloquence, the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

As he put it: 

“At Uluru we started a fire, a fire we hope burns bright for Australia.”

At Garma last year, after I announced the details of the referendum, he asked me, “Are you serious this time?” I replied: “Yes, we’re going to go for it.” 

When I spoke with him just over a week ago, I told him I was confident we would get there. This brought him some comfort, as did his totems of fire and baru, the saltwater crocodile, which watched over him in his final days.

Now Yunupingu is gone, but the gurtha — the great tongue of flame and truth with which spoke to us — is still with us. As it burns away all that is superfluous and false, it lights the path ahead for us.

Just as he saw what was going on around him with great clarity, he was crystalline when he turned his gaze within.

In his own words:

“My inner life is that of the Yolngu song cycles, the ceremonies, the knowledge, the law and the land. This is yothu yindi. Balance. Wholeness. Completeness. 

A world designed in perfection, founded on the beautiful simplicity of a mother and her newborn child; as vibrant and as dynamic as the estuary where the saltwaters meet the freshwaters, able to give you everything you need.”

He belongs to all of that now.

Our hearts go out especially to the Yolngu, the Gumatj clan, and the great Yunupingu family.

To all who loved him, to all who were moved by him, to all there who have gazed out to where the Gulf of Carpentaria meets the sky.

We will never again hear his voice anew, but his words – and his legacy – will keep speaking to us.

Yunupingu now walks in another place, but he has left such great footsteps for us to follow here in this one.

THE AUSTRALIAN GREENS DISSENT TO A REPORT RELEASED BY THE MAJOR PARTIES THAT COULD SEE PETER DUTTON UNILATERALLY SEND AUSTRALIANS TO WAR

Today the parliamentary inquiry into international armed conflict decision-making has released its report into the way Australia decides to go to an overseas war. 

This report fails to recommend any meaningful reforms and will continue to see the Prime Minister able to act unilaterally in sending Australians to war. 

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Greens spokesperson for Peace and Foreign Affairs said: 

“The inquiry report does nothing to stop the abuse of power that saw John Howard able to send Australians to an illegal war in Iraq in 2003 and it does nothing to add accountability to one of the most grave decisions a nation can make.

“The Greens strongly believe that the decision to send Australians to war should be with the parliament and not made in cabinet backrooms shielded from transparency or accountability to the Australian community. This position was supported by 94 of the 111 submissions to the inquiry. 

“In the last 25 years, we have seen governments led by both major parties unilaterally wage war across the Middle East in Australia’s name without the consultation of the parliament or the consent of the Australian people.

“There is deep irony in the fact that the instigating factor as to whether and where Australians have been deployed since 2001 has been a vote of elected American representatives, not our own.

“The Albanese government has broken its promise to the Australian community for a meaningful review of this process by having senior Ministers like Richard Marles and Penny Wong publicly undermine the committee’s work and investigation.

“This Labor government seems intent on reliving the mistakes of the past that have caused such human suffering by relying on an unfounded legal interpretation that lets the Prime Minister unilaterally send Australians to war without even approval from the Governor-General.

“History will remember this moment Labor’s missed opportunity to create meaningful change. Instead, they chose to maintain a status quo that could one day see Peter Dutton with an unchecked ability to wage war.”

More Information

• Senator Steele-John is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
• The committee conducted an inquiry into international armed conflict decision-making between September 2022 and March 2023. 
• The final report is available, here. 
• The Australian Greens dissenting report is available, here. 

Today marks one year since Australian citizen, Ms Cheng Lei, faced a closed trial in Beijing on national security charges.

12 months on, she is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial.

We share the deep concerns of Ms Cheng’s family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.

Our thoughts today are with Ms Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children.

The Australian Government has advocated at every opportunity for Ms Cheng to be reunited with her family.

Australia has consistently called for Ms Cheng to be afforded basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment in accordance with international norms.

We will continue to provide consular support to Ms Cheng and her family, and to advocate for her interests and wellbeing.

We are pleased to announce that the Governor-General, His Excellency the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), has accepted the advice of the Government to appoint the Honourable Justice Debra Mortimer as Australia’s new Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court).

Justice Mortimer is only the fifth Chief Justice of the Federal Court and the first female Chief Justice appointed since the Court was established in 1976.

Justice Mortimer has served on the Federal Court since 2013. Her Honour’s appointment as Chief Justice will commence on 7 April 2023 upon the retirement of the Honourable Chief Justice James Allsop AC.

The Government congratulates Justice Mortimer on her appointment and looks forward to her distinguished contribution to the justice system as she leads the Federal Court.
The Attorney-General consulted extensively on the appointment, including all state and territory Attorneys-General, the heads of the Federal Courts and state and territory Supreme Courts, the Law Council of Australia, and the Australian Bar Association.

Justice Mortimer is widely recognised for her legal acumen, intellectual capacity and judicial leadership.

The Government is grateful to all members of the legal profession who provided nominations and assisted with its consideration of candidates for this very important role.

We also take this opportunity to thank Chief Justice Allsop for his outstanding judicial service. Chief Justice Allsop’s affiliation with the Federal Court first began in 1980 when he commenced his distinguished legal career as an associate to the inaugural Chief Justice, Sir Nigel Bowen. In 2001, Chief Justice Allsop was appointed as a judge of the Court, and spent several years on the Bench, before moving from the federal courts in 2008 to take up an appointment as President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. In 2013, Chief Justice Allsop returned to the Federal Court, this time as Chief Justice, where he has since served with great distinction.

On behalf of the Australian Government we thank Chief Justice Allsop for his dedicated service to the Federal Court and broader contribution to the Australian legal system, and wish him all the very best for the future.

The Greens have today introduced the Ending Poverty in Australia (Antipoverty Commission) Bill 2023 to the Senate. The bill lays out a legislative framework for the interim Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, but without the glaring problems of the current model. 

If passed, the Anti-Poverty Commission would provide Parliament with independent and transparent advice on the causes of poverty in Australia, how to reduce it, and advice on the minimum levels for social security payments, including JobSeeker, the Parenting Parent, Youth Allowance, the Age Pension, and the Disability Support Pension. 

This advice would be given by independent Commissioners, appointed in consultation with state and territory ministers, and under scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee, as is done with the ANAO and the NACC. 

The bill also includes a legislated requirement to establish a National Poverty Line, which will enable the Commission to refer to a benchmark when measuring poverty and reviewing social security payments.

If passed, this would be an historic and important step towards ending poverty, marking the first time an Australian government has adopted an official poverty line.

Senator Janet Rice, Greens social services spokesperson said:

“Right now, woefully inadequate government payments are leaving millions of women, children, uni students, jobseekers and renters in poverty.

“Australia needs a fully independent, transparent and representative commission to advise the Parliament on our social security system and what needs to be done to fix it.

“While the Greens support the concept of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, Labor’s current model is led by a former minister with members appointed entirely at the Government’s discretion, and is constrained by needing to take into account  the government’s current  policies. 

“It’s unclear if anyone on the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has any lived experience of poverty or surviving on social security payments. It does currently include the Chair of the Business Council of Australia.

“In contrast  the Commissioners of the Anti-Poverty Commission would be free to give advice based on the evidence, and not be caged-in by the Government’s fiscal strategy and existing policies.

“Australia needs a national definition of poverty, one that takes into account different needs and contexts, and one that the government can be held accountable to.

“For far too long, governments have used the lack of an accepted measure of poverty as an excuse to keep people living on inadequate payments.”