16 News

An Albanese Labor Government will provide more support to Australians rebuilding their lives after natural disasters by boosting funding for a Veteran-led disaster response organisation.  
 
Disaster Relief Australia (DRA), a fully-Veteran led organisation, has been working since 2016 to provide relief to communities in the wake of natural disasters, deploying hundreds of veteran volunteers across Australia and the world.  
  
Under an Albanese Labor Government, Disaster Relief Australia will receive $38.1 million over three years to expand this program. 
  
The funding will allow DRA to add another 5,200 volunteer veterans to its ranks – a total of 6,700 veteran volunteers able to provide over 13,600 volunteer days per annum. 
  
The funding covers costs relating to deployment, recruitment, equipment, and training. 
  
Over the last three years, Australia has watched Scott Morrison refuse to take responsibility and go missing in action when natural disasters have struck. 
  
Now, as communities recover from devastating floods, Scott Morrison has politicised flood recovery, caring more about who flood victims voted for than what help they need. 
  
An Albanese Labor Government will put Australians first. We will increase support for organisations like the DRA assisting on the ground and never use recovery funding as a political football.

The Morrison Government will invest $50 million to create a new business and research partnership with the University of Adelaide to help build new defence technologies and products, creating 1,000 new jobs.

The University of Adelaide will work with 52 business partners – including 35 small businesses, and the University of New South Wales – to develop and build Australia’s sovereign defence industry in increasingly uncertain times.

The project aims to develop 100 new defence products and the University of Adelaide estimates it will create 1,000 new jobs over the next four years.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the University of Adelaide is the second Australian university to receive funding through the Trailblazer program which is designed to focus Australia’s considerable research power on Australia’s National Manufacturing Priorities.

“Our national economic plan is supercharging Australia’s research and development, creating more jobs and helping build a stronger economy for a stronger future,” the Prime Minister said.

“We are investing $270 billion in building our sovereign defence capability, creating jobs right around the country, and through our Trailblazer program we will now back in Australia’s brightest and best to develop new defence industry technology and products.”

Acting Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert said the University of Adelaide and its industry partners have promised $188 million in co-investment, matching public funding by more than 3 to 1.

“The investment of industry partners, and especially by the 35 partner small businesses, shows that our homegrown defence firms are hungry to innovate and to help secure Australia in the increasingly uncertain Indo-Pacific strategic environment,” Minister Robert said.

“This project will help harness the cutting-edge defence research being done in our top universities, and ensure that our defence forces have access to defence technology at the global cutting-edge, including applications of quantum materials, hypersonics and robotics.

“This Trailblazer funding means more jobs right here in Australia, a stronger economy and stronger national defence.”

The University of Adelaide is the second successful Trailblazer to be announced, with further announcements expected in coming weeks.

Curtin University was selected as a Trailblazer from a two-stage competitive assessment process where universities were required to submit expressions of interest and then more detailed business cases.

The Morrison Government has invested $362 million in the Trailblazer Universities program – an initial $243 million announced in November last year and an additional $119 million through our Regional Accelerator Program announced on Budget night. This is part of the Government’s $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Action Plan, which will focus the considerable research power of our universities on Australia’s National Manufacturing Priorities.

Australia’s leading suicide prevention and mental health organisations are among the recipients of $30 million in funding for workforce training, research and national leadership initiatives aiming to reduce the tragic toll of suicide in Australia.

Funded through the 2021-21 Budget’s expansion of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Support grant programme, leading mental health groups will receive funding for national advocacy, research translation, and evidence-based training for communities and organisations, with programs to be delivered across Australia.

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, said the program was an important part of the Government’s commitment to suicide prevention.

“In 2020, there was a 5.4 per cent reduction in the number of suicides compared to 2019, with the national rate of 12.1 per 100,000 being the lowest recorded since 2016.

“While the reduction in the rate is encouraging, still far too many people die by suicide every year. Our Government is committed to working towards zero suicides, recognising the immense value of each and every life.”

The funding includes investment in Suicide Prevention Australia’s work to deliver national leadership by informing, influencing and building capacity in the suicide prevention sector.

The University of Melbourne will receive funding to strengthen the evidence of suicide prevention models and translate it into policy and practice.

Training is an important focus of the new investments. headspace National will receive funding to help university staff identify mental health issues, and Mental Health First Aid International and Wesley Community Services – Lifeforce Suicide Prevention Training will receive support to increase the reach of their respective training programs.

Wesley Lifeforce will also continue their work through the Wesley LifeForce Suicide Prevention network, building the capacity of communities to respond to and support those at risk within their region. Black Dog Institute will deliver evidence-based suicide prevention support services to Primary Health Networks, to increase reach and support for at-risk communities.

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said the new funding ensures the future of existing and successful programs and invests in innovative, new and emerging projects or strategies.

“Through record investments, the Morrison Government continues to transform the mental health and suicide prevention system to ensure that it delivers innovative, effective and person-centered care when and where it is needed,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.

“The program reflects our multifaceted approach to suicide prevention which aims to ensure that every Australian can be supported in the way that works best for them,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.

Funding for these projects forms part of the Morrison Government’s latest round of the newly expanded National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program, an investment of over $114 million through the 2021-22 Budget.

Suicide prevention is a key pillar of the Government’s landmark National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan.

The Plan recognises Australians deserve a system that acts early to help people before mental health conditions and suicidal distress worsen, and that whole-of-government and whole-of-community changes are needed to deliver preventative, effective and compassionate care.

Since 2012–13, the Coalition Government’s investment through the Health portfolio in mental health and suicide prevention has more than doubled, growing from $3.3 billion to an estimated $6.8 billion in the 2022–23 Budget.

This is in stark contrast to Mr Albanese’s time in Cabinet, where Labor cut funding for mental health.

In the 2011-12 Budget, Labor announced a $580 million cut to Medicare subsidised mental health services, including a reduction in the number of Medicare sessions available under Better Access from 18 to 10 per year and a reduction in Medicare rebate for preparation of mental health treatment plans by GPs.

Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline

(13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.

If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.

Australia is deeply disappointed by the signing of a security cooperation agreement between Solomon Islands and China, announced by the Chinese Government.

We respect Solomon Islands’ right to make sovereign decisions about its national security.

Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australia’s national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed, noting its potential to undermine stability in our region. We continue to seek further clarity on the terms of the agreement, and its consequences for the Pacific region.

We welcome recent statements from Prime Minister Sogavare that Australia is Solomon Islands security partner of choice, and his commitment that Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other military institutions of foreign powers.

Australia is consulting the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency in a manner consistent with our regional security frameworks.

Through RAMSI and again in response to the recent unrest, the Pacific family has always supported the Solomon Islands to address their security needs. We will continue to strongly encourage the Solomon Islands to engage in regional dialogue and to work with the Pacific family first, including prior to seeking security assistance from China under this arrangement.

The Type 1 Diabetes community are calling on the government to keep its commitment to fund a new insulin management system. While many welcomed the election promise from the Coalition and Labor to fund continuous glucose monitoring for people with Type 1 Diabetes, those who had been waiting for good news about the reimbursement of the Omnipod DASH System have been left disappointed. 

Users are currently paying for the technology out of their own pocket despite commitments from the outgoing Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt. In late 2021, Mr Hunt told the media of Omnipod, “I guarantee if they approve it, we will fund it.” Despite being approved and recommended for funding, no further announcements or financial commitments have been made from either side of the political aisle.

Stacey Moragiannis, a Melbourne resident who has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for 43 years, has been advocating for better access to diabetes management technologies. Ms Moragiannis has been using Omnipod DASH System since November 2021 and no longer feels like a ‘diabetic’.

“I had a complete change of my lifestyle and now can do anything without being stressed about the amounts of insulin I need. I no longer feel like a Type 1 Diabetic. I am currently self-funding Omnipod by drawing down on my mortgage. I am fearful that without public subsidy, I will not be able to self-fund for much longer and I will have to come off Omnipod therapy,” said Ms Moragiannis.

Kelly Caven, a Queensland resident whose son Liam is an Omnipod DASH System user, says her family is self-funding the Omnipod at over $400 per month which has caused a huge financial and mental burden. 

“The government needs to be held accountable in providing a reasonable timeframe for funding so that more kids like Liam can access it,” Says Ms Caven. 

The Coalition committed $273M to deliver continuous glucose monitoring devices and this was quickly matched by Labor. People with Type 1 Diabetes who use the Omnipod DASH – a discreet, tubeless insulin pump – have been left out of any benefits as the technology does not fit with current funding models. 

Joanna Sader, Country Manager for Insulet Australia, says the company is doing everything it can to secure public funding for its Omnipod DASH system. 

“The Omnipod DASH insulin delivery system has been rigorously approved and a commitment was made by Minister Hunt to fund this technology. The Diabetes community need to know when this will happen. Hopefully good news will be coming,” said Ms Sader. 

Inclusion of Omnipod DASH System on the NDSS (National Diabetes Services Scheme) would create important equity of access for Australians living with Type 1 Diabetes. The type 1 diabetes community remains hopeful that the government will follow through on its funding promise prior to the federal election in May. 

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says that Anthony Albanese’s unconditional surrender to the Liberals on coal means Labor has given up on climate action, the Paris Agreement and is now aiding the real enemy with 114 new coal and gas projects.

Neither the Liberal or Labor emissions targets are in line with the science or Paris Agreement, and even their weak targets don’t take into account the 114 new coal and gas projects on the books. 

The Greens are pushing for a freeze on all new coal and gas projects.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP said:

“This is a dark day in the fight against global warming.

‘I challenge Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese to look the people of Cobargo, Mallacoota, Lismore or Ballina in the eye and tell them opening a new coal mine is a good idea. 

“Coal and gas are the main causes of the climate crisis, but Labor and Liberal want more.

“We’re in the fight of our lives against the climate crisis, but Liberal and now Labor are aiding the enemy by backing more coal and gas. Liberal and Labor are backing 114 new coal and gas projects around the country.

“Liberal and Labor say they care about the climate crisis, but talk is cheap. If you open new coal mines, you’re not serious about climate. 

“You can’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it.

“Only the Greens in balance of power can stop new coal mines.”

The Greens have announced their plan for animal welfare ahead of the federal election.

Both the Coalition and Labor have ignored animal welfare over the last term of parliament, and actively supported industries that harm animals. The Greens believe we must properly care for animals and treat them with respect and compassion. We will fight to protect animals from cruelty and suffering and end harmful practices that put profit ahead of the welfare of animals.

As part of our plan, the Greens will push to:

• Enact strong, national laws to end animal cruelty, protect the welfare of animals, and hold corporations and individuals to account
• Ban the cruel practice of live export of animals overseas
• End inhumane, intensive factory farming with a just transition for workers employed in those industries
• Shut down the gambling-fuelled industries of horse and greyhound racing, and end the export of greyhounds for commercial purposes
• Tackle the cruel global shark fin trade by banning the import and export of shark fins
• Establish an Independent Office of Animal Welfare to enforce the rules and ensure animal welfare is never ignored again

The Greens full policy initiative is available here.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Animal Welfare, said:

“Animals are sentient beings, not commodities. Yet every day their welfare is compromised in the name of corporate profit, as they are made to suffer for gambling, entertainment and food.

“Too often, animal welfare gets sidelined, and over the last three years we have seen Labor and the Coalition turn a blind eye to animal cruelty and actively support industries that harm animals.

“We need strong animal cruelty laws and an Independent Office separate from the Department of Agriculture to enforce these laws and protect animals.

“Cruel practices that are harmful to animals must be brought to an end. That means shutting down industries such as live export and racing.

“The live export industry continues to hold immense power over this government, which has recently relaxed restrictions on live sheep export during the Northern Hemisphere summer that were designed to protect the animals from mortality and heat stress.

“It’s time we put animal protection squarely on the agenda for this election and put in place strong policies that will protect their welfare.

“We know people care about animals. It’s high time for politicians to listen.”

On the eve of the 31st anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handing down their recommendations, The Greens have today called for urgent end to torture and abuse in prisons and other places of detention, like police watch houses, and some aged care facilities.

Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe, Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations said:

After the Australian government fully ratified the Convention Against Torture they were required to stamp out torture and abuse in places of detention by setting up an independent body to inspect these facilities. They failed to do this by their own deadline.  They need to go.

I am hearing some of the most horrific stories of abuse, torture, and cruel and degrading treatment of imprisoned people, particularly First Nations people. An independent oversight body of places of detention will absolutely keep imprisoned people safe and prevent more deaths in custody. No wonder the Morrison Government hasn’t prioritised this.

There is a cruel lack of oversight in prisons and places of detention in this country. Until that changes, people will continue to die in custody, First Nations people in particular.

The Greens have a plan to provide $382m to establish this oversight body in partnership with the states and territories so that all imprisoned people have their human rights respected and affirmed while imprisoned. 

The Greens will also establish a fully independent and impartial Police Ombudsman system to handle complaints about the conduct of police officers and take appropriate action. The system we have now, where police investigate themselves when they are accused of wrongdoing, is completely inappropriate.

This is in addition to The Greens plan to:

• continue working with the families impacted by deaths in custody to fully implement the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
• raise the age of legal responsibility to at least 14; and
• more than double funding for legal assistance services to keep people from getting caught in the quicksand of the criminal legal system.

The Greens election policy platform can be found here: https://greens.org.au/platform 

An Albanese Labor Government will provide more support to Australians rebuilding their lives after natural disasters by boosting funding for a Veteran-led disaster response organisation.  
 
Disaster Relief Australia (DRA), a fully-Veteran led organisation, has been working since 2016 to provide relief to communities in the wake of natural disasters, deploying hundreds of veteran volunteers across Australia and the world.  
  
Under an Albanese Labor Government, Disaster Relief Australia will receive $38.1 million over three years to expand this program. 
  
The funding will allow DRA to add another 5,200 volunteer veterans to its ranks – a total of 6,700 veteran volunteers able to provide over 13,600 volunteer days per annum. 
  
The funding covers costs relating to deployment, recruitment, equipment, and training. 
  
Over the last three years, Australia has watched Scott Morrison refuse to take responsibility and go missing in action when natural disasters have struck. 
  
Now, as communities recover from devastating floods, Scott Morrison has politicised flood recovery, caring more about who flood victims voted for than what help they need. 
  
An Albanese Labor Government will put Australians first. We will increase support for organisations like the DRA assisting on the ground and never use recovery funding as a political football.