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Greens Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Peace and Nuclear Disarmament will accept IPAN’s petition and table it in the Australian Senate today. 

Senator Jordon Steele-John said:

“I am proud to receive and table in the Senate Independent and Peaceful Australia Network’s petition which has been signed by 26,700 members of the community.”

“The petition represents the view of many in our community who want Australia to withdraw from the AUKUS agreement, and want Australia to stop being at the beck and call of the United State of America and their military ambitions. 

“The world is facing an unprecedented climate crisis and rapidly expanding wealth inequality. The solutions to these things will take global cooperation. The AUKUS pact escalates tensions in the Asia-Pacific and significantly increases the likelihood of nuclear arms proliferation among non-nuclear armed states. 

“Our community has broadly rejected AUKUS and no one wants nuclear submarines to be floating off the coast near Brisbane or near my hometown of Rockingham in WA.

“Instead of investing billions of dollars into submarines that no one needs or asked for, we must reallocate funding from the military to services our community actually needs; things like free dental care included under Medicare, properly funding the NDIS, or building more affordable and accessible homes.”

Annette Brownlie, Chairperson of the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) said:

“Community opposition to the secret deal of AUKUS dropped on the Australian people one year ago, is evidenced by this petition being tabled today in the Senate by Senator Jordon Steele-John signed by 26,700 Australians.

“The large number of Australians who have signed these public calls for peace with priority being directed to healthcare not warfare is an indication of the depth of concern in the community about the defence and foreign policy directions of the Australian Government.

“The financial blowout for Australians in this era of war talk and preparations is absurd with costs of over $170B estimated for the nuclear-propelled submarines alone.

“Around the world, people are speaking up opposing the war preparation economy and we in Australia need to build the public voice for independent peacebuilding policies, an end to the AUKUS pact and calling on the current government to urgently sign the United Nations Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).”

The Greens have called on Labor to support its bill to establish a National Energy Transition Authority, which was introduced in the Senate today by Gladstone-based Queensland Senator Penny Allman-Payne.

The National Energy Transition Authority Bill 2022 establishes a new independent public authority to guide Australia’s shift from an economy powered by polluting coal and gas to one powered by reliable, secure and low-cost renewable energy.

By providing national coordination, expert advice and funding, the National Energy Transition Authority will work with communities, workers, unions, energy companies and governments at all levels to plan the pipeline of clean energy projects, creating good, secure jobs and opening up new export markets while pushing down power prices for homes and businesses.

During negotiations on the Climate Change Bill the government agreed to consider the Greens’ proposal for a transition authority, a body that has the support of coal and gas workers and communities, unions, climate and energy experts, businesses and rank and file Labor members.

From next week Senator Allman-Payne will host a series of roundtables and public forums in the Latrobe Valley, Hunter region and Gladstone to discuss the bill with stakeholders and community members.

Greens spokesperson for Industry, Transition and Regional Development, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“The climate crisis is happening before our eyes. In the past few months we’ve seen record flooding on Australia’s east coast; apocalyptic fires throughout Europe; and a third of the land mass of Pakistan submerged by torrential rains and fast-melting Himalayan glaciers.

“The biggest contributor to the climate crisis is the extraction and burning of coal and gas, which is why the IPCC, the International Energy Agency, climate scientists and environmental groups all say we must open no more coal and gas projects.

“To keep global heating below 1.5 degrees we also have to phase out existing coal and gas and transition rapidly to a zero emissions economy – and the good news is that this is already starting to happen. The global market for coal is drying up and renewable energy is taking off across the country.

“But what’s missing is a plan for a fair and equitable transition that ensures we are able to rapidly and responsibly exit coal and gas while securing the futures of the workers and communities who are at risk of being left behind.

“We know from similar energy transition bodies in Europe that if you plan the transition, workers can move into new well-paid jobs, be redeployed through industry-wide pooling or benefit from early retirement. But it needs government leadership.

“The only thing standing in the way of the creation of a National Energy Transition Authority is the Labor Party. Labor has said they will consider the Greens’ proposal, but we think they should listen to what workers, unions, businesses and their own members are saying and commit to backing our bill.

“If the government and Greens are able to work together to make this authority a reality during the life of this parliament, we will blunt the Coalition’s climate scare campaigns and render them even more irrelevant than they already are, while securing the futures of tens of thousands of workers across the country.”

About the bill:

The core functions of the NETA are:

• to support communities and workers affected by the closure of coal and gas extraction and power generation to adapt, including by helping to attract new public and private investment in job-creating industries and social infrastructure to affected areas, and ensuring ongoing equivalent employment or social services are provided;
• working with employers in relevant industries to encourage workforce pooling, to enable workers to shift between employers where skills are transferable; and
• planning with workers and relevant agencies to assist workers nearing retirement age to transition to a voluntary, financially secure retirement.

The Authority will draw on a Diversifying Coal Communities Fund of $2.8 billion over 10 years, which will approve and fund local plans across the nation, developed by regionally based transition bodies in partnership with the Authority.

The NETA’s board will be composed of experts in energy, workplace planning and engineering, along with worker representatives, and will be responsible for developing strategic plans to manage the energy transition. The Authority will be independent of government but guided by government policy and decision-making that may overlap with the Authority’s work.

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government’s Cheaper Childcare Bill, introduced to parliament today, doesn’t go far enough, and should make early education and care universal and free.

Senator Faruqi said:

“We have an opportunity here to deliver universal and free childcare. This bill does not go anywhere near far enough.

“Expensive and inaccessible childcare has held women and families back for too long.

“Rather than spending $243 billion on the obscene Stage 3 Tax Cuts, we could have free childcare for a fraction of the cost.

“Making early childhood education and care free for all would be so beneficial for children, families and the whole community.

“This bill does not tackle the workforce crisis in early education. Educators must receive better pay and conditions that reflect the skill and responsibility of the work they do every day.

“At the very least, the bill should scrap the Activity Test that restricts access to subsidised childcare, and the new subsidy rates should be brought forward to commence at the start of next year rather than waiting until July. People need support now.”

In the wake of Roe v Wade, the Australian Greens will today establish a Senate inquiry into abortion access in Australia. 

This inquiry will identify what can be done federally to alleviate the physical and financial barriers to accessing contraceptives, sexual and reproductive healthcare and termination services, as well as options to improve the quality and availability services, particularly in regional and remote Australia.

Greens leader in the senate and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“Abortion remains expensive and inaccessible for many, especially those who already face massive healthcare barriers, including First Nations people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

“In the wake of Roe v Wade, the federal government should look at what it can do to eliminate Australia’s barriers to accessible and affordable abortion.

“Access to safe, legal abortion remains a postcode lottery in Australia, with different rules, costs and availability depending on where you live. Some people are having to travel for hours at significant expense to access this basic healthcare service.

“In remote and regional areas, like Townsville and Mackay, many women are forced to travel long distances, at significant expense, to access to sexual and reproductive health services including long-acting contraception, medical and surgical abortions and counselling.

“The Greens support calls for national consistency on abortion laws, provided they are best practice, which would be ascertained through the inquiry.

“The Greens will resist any attempt in Australia to wind back reproductive rights. And we’ll continue to work to ensure people have access to legal, free and safe pregnancy termination services and a full range of contraception options, including unbiased counselling, no matter where they live.

“The impacts of poor sexual health literacy, lack of access to contraceptives and quality reproductive healthcare are clear. This inquiry will provide an invaluable insight into the barriers people are facing and how the federal government can intervene to fix them.”

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, spokesperson for Health said:

“Improper access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, is a serious healthcare issue and must be addressed as such.

“Too often women, trans, and non-binary folks, are left behind by our state and federal governments when it comes to healthcare. 

“The Australian Greens will continue to demand better support and care for those who need any reproductive services whenever, wherever, and however they want to access it.

“This inquiry would champion every single person’s human right to accessing the services and care that they need in a timely, accurate, and culturally appropriate manner.”