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The countdown is officially over for the highly-anticipated international adaptive sports competition as the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 kicks off in The Netherlands.

The Invictus Games is an international adaptive multi-sports competition that will bring together up to 500 serving and former military personnel from 20 nations who have been wounded, injured or become ill during their military service.

The combined Australian team includes 32 serving and former serving military personnel along with over 100 of their family and friends. The team are enjoying the hospitality of The Hague during the games that run from 16 to 22 April 2022.

Chief of Joint Capabilities, Lieutenant General John Frewen said the competitors were an inspiration to many and were doing Australia proud.

“Many of our competitors have found that this incredible opportunity improved their lives and are approaching everyday tasks with renewed vigour. They are looking for opportunities to play more active roles in helping their fellow service men and women in their road to recovery,” Lieutenant General Frewen said.

“The Games are an opportunity to honour the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have defended our freedoms and values and to pay respect to their courage and determination to overcome adversity to be able to compete on the world stage.

“I would like to acknowledge the family and friends who have supported the ongoing recovery of our wounded, injured and ill personnel. I know they feel immense pride at the achievements of the competitors.”

Previous Invictus Games have been held in London (2014), Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017) and Sydney (2018).

Competitor biographies are available online at www.defence.gov.au/events/invictus-games-hague-2020-aus-team-members.

The Morrison Government has committed $2 million dollars to the Good Friday Appeal helping support Victorian children as they face the hardest health battles.

The Good Friday Appeal has raised money for The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne for over 90 years, helping them to provide world class care for children.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Good Friday Appeal symbolised the best of Australia.

“Our youngest Australians deserve all the support and care we can give them when they’re in need,” the Prime Minister said.

“This $2 million pledge is a first from the Federal Government because we want to support the generous and significant commitment from the community, and help encourage even more people to get involved.

“This isn’t just about backing the doctors, nurses and carers who make such a difference, it’s about supporting the services that help these young patients’ families too.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the Appeal had a special place in the heart of all Victorians.

“As a Victorian, I know the Good Friday Appeal forms part of so many Easter celebrations here in the state,” Minister Hunt said.

“For over 90 years, they’ve raised funds to help deliver care and support for not just sick kids, but for their families helping them through their battles.

“These donations help to drive research and innovation, secure funds for new equipment, improve patient and family care, as well as additional education and training for staff.

“They quite literally help to save lives and protect lives.”

The Appeal brings all sectors of the community together to raise funds every year, culminating in a telethon on Good Friday.

Since 1931, nearly $400 million has been raised to deliver the best possible care to patients and support for their families.

Those wishing to make their own donation to the Appeal can do so at www.goodfridayappeal.com.au.

The Greens have called for an end to native forest logging in addition to plantation forestry reform following the Morrison Government’s announcement today about increasing its self-reliance on wood supply. 

Greens Senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said:

“It’s no surprise that the Liberal Party is announcing another taxpayer-subsidised lifeline to support the loss-making forestry industry in Tasmania prior to an election.

“Over recent decades the logging industry has received billions in taxpayer subsidies to keep it afloat; this is just another chapter in that sad saga.

 “The Government refuses to rule out using unsustainable native forest products in its new ‘innovation hub’ – and on that basis alone the Greens are likely to use any future balance of power situation in parliament to block this funding package.   

“With states across Australia ending native logging, it’s clear that the Tasmanian forestry industry won’t be able to continue in its current form forever. It’s destroying Australia’s incredible natural heritage, and consumers are waking up to the damage.

“The plantation forestry sector must not be recklessly expanded to create more job opportunities in research and manufacturing – the current system is broken, and we need to be smarter about what we’ve got. 

“Many of Tasmania’s plantation forests are grown at the taxpayers’ expense, only to be shipped out for processing in Asia. Just holding back a handful of these shiploads would meet Australian building needs.”

Greens spokesperson for forests, Senator Janet Rice said: 

“Logging Australia’s native forests is environmental vandalism and economically unviable. The Greens will end the destructive native forest logging that is destroying wildlife habitation, water catchments, carbon stores.

“Ninety percent of the timber industry is already plantation based. We need to complete the shift to 100% plantation based industry and  cease the devastating destruction done by logging our precious native forests. 

“Only the Greens have a clear plan to end native forest logging through a $70m sustainable forestry package that will create genuinely new and sustainable jobs in ecotourism, farm forestry, plantation forestry and elsewhere.”

More information:
Green Australia – our plan to restore nature, save our forests & animals, and green our cities & suburbs

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has described the dirty deal done on the eve of election caretaker period between the Morrison government and NT Labor to fast-track the Beetaloo methane gas project as a climate crime.

The Beetaloo project will increase Australia’s emissions by up to 13%.

Fracking the Northern Territory is an insult to traditional owners who don’t want it to happen and a climate crime. 

We have learned today that the Liberal government with the NT Labor government did a dirty deal on the eve of caretaker to fast-track this climate disaster, giving a staggering $872 million dollars of public money to subsidise gas corporations.

There are 114 new coal and gas projects currently on the books. The biggest are proposals for fracking for methane gas in the Northern Territory. 
The Greens have said stopping new coal and gas projects will be a top priority for the Greens in balance of power.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP said:

“On the eve of an election, Labor and Liberal’s dirty gas deal is a climate crime.

“Liberal and Labor are giving $872m of your money to big gas corporations to make the climate crisis worse.

“Public money should go to schools and hospitals, not to fast-tracking climate collapse.

“The Beetaloo project will lift Australia’s emissions by up to 13%. 

“If we open new coal and gas mines, we’ll blow our climate targets. You can’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it.

“Gas is as dirty as coal and the Beetaloo gas project will be worse for the climate than the Adani coal mine.”

Assertions made by the Minerals Council of Australia this week about rates of permanent mining jobs are misleading and cover up the rampant use of insecure labour hire across the industry, the Mining and Energy Union said today.

ABS figures on rates of casualisation in the mining industry don’t tell the full story because they exclude the large proportion of the workforce employed through labour hire companies.

The major labour hire companies like WorkPac, One Key and Programmed that dominate mining employment are categorised as belonging to the ‘Administrative and Support Services’ industry rather than Mining.

The lack of accurate data makes it difficult to assess true rates of casualisation in mining.  However there can be no question for anyone close to the mining industry that long-term casual employment has been the preferred employment model for labour hire companies in mining over the past decade – only challenged through union campaigning and legal action.

Data consistently shows that around half of the mining workforce are in casual or insecure labour hire work arrangements. Labour hire mineworkers are consistently paid around one-third less than permanent workers on site Enterprise Agreements. Even when full-time with the labour hire company, labour hire mining jobs are insecure as contracts can be chopped and changed at any moment.

Queensland’s Coal Mining Board of Inquiry (11.27-11.29) found that rates of direct permanent employment in the state’s coal industry had fallen from 94% in 1996 to less than half in 2017.

Data from Coal Long Service Leave shows an increase in casual hours worked between 2011 and 2019 and substantially lower hourly rates for casuals than permanent mineworkers.

Mining and Energy General President Tony Maher said:

“For anyone willing to look, there is data to show what is really happening in the industry. That is, that mining companies use outsourcing strategies to drive down wages, reduce job security and prevent workers from organising to improve their position.

“But for us, the best data is the experience of our members. Our members tell us that permanent workers are a shrinking minority on many crews, that there just aren’t any permanent roles offered any more, that labour hire workers are treated like second class citizens.

“Mining companies are raking in profits off sky-high coal prices at the moment and they can afford to provide secure, well-paid employment.

“The Minerals Council would be better off urging its members to fix the insecure work crisis in the industry rather than peddling misleading, hand-picked data.”

Fact sheet: Casuals in the mining industry

The Greens today announced their commitment to providing people in rural and regional
communities with access to free mental and dental health care through Medicare.

The commitment is part of the Greens’ broader $77.6 billion investment into free dental
care over the decade for all Australians, which was also announced today. Under the plan,
people will still be able to choose their dentist and routine and therapeutic dental services
will be bulk-billed or rebated.

Right now, many critical dental services are not available in regional and rural communities. If they are, they often have unacceptably long wait times.

Further compounding the issue is vast travel distances and increased costs of healthy
food choices and oral hygiene products. As a result, people living outside the major centers experience considerably poorer oral health outcomes than people who live in urban areas.

The Greens are the only party to commit to free and universal dental care under Medicare,
ending the outdated exclusion of oral health from Australia’s public health system.

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John said:
“We know that people who live in rural and regional communities have poorer oral health than people who live in major cities.

“That’s not good enough. Postcode should not be a determinant of health in this country.
“Dental services often aren’t available in regional WA, where there are fewer dental
practitioners than in urban areas. Coupled with longer travel distances and limited transport options, the impact on dental health for people in the regions is significant.

“In 2012, The Australian Greens secured free dental care for kids. We’re committed to ensuring that right extends to every person in Australia, no matter their age or where they live.”

Yamatji-Noongar woman and Greens Senator Dorinda Cox said:
“People living in rural and regional areas have the right to expect the same level and quality of dental services as city residents.

“But some regions in country WA have had some of the lowest rates of practising dentists in the country for decades, which means some residents wait years for treatment.

“While rural and regional areas – including remote Aboriginal communities – have been
identified as priority areas for dental services by various governments in the past, it’s clear that not enough has been done to ensure these communities get access to the services they need.

“The Greens are committed to ensuring that regional dental outcomes are brought in line with the standards we see in the city.”

Fossil fuel corporation 3D Oil has been exposed divulging to investors that it will commence drilling for its next cash bonanza off the coast of King Island next year. 

Managing Director of 3D Oil Noel Newell told investors “We are planning to drill in 2023 with Conoco [Phillips].”

The permit – T/49P – covers an area of 4,960 km2 in water depths of less than 100m. 

Greens Senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said: 

“Just a few weeks ago Scott Morrison killed oil and gas drilling project PEP-11, located offshore of Sydney and Newcastle, due to significant community and environmental concerns. Labor leader Anthony Albanese also supported this project being stopped. 

“Stopping PEP-11 led to the NSW state government permanently banning oil and gas drilling off its beaches in state waters. If it’s good enough for NSW why not Tasmania or Victoria? 

“How is this not a serious double standard? King Island fishing communities and thousands of other Tasmanians do not want to see their coastlines and marine environments risked by new fossil fuel projects, especially in a time of climate emergency when the exact product they are seeking is warming and killing our oceans.

“Labor and Liberal need to commit to stopping this dangerous project, and like with PEP-11, they need to pledge this prior to the election so Tasmanians know where they stand.

“The undisputed authority, according to the government, on global energy systems – the International Energy Agency – said last year that to reach net zero by 2050, not one single new coal, oil or gas project can be built. Not one. 

“Australia already has enough oil and gas in reserves to trigger catastrophic climate change and yet this project intends to recklessly rip open another one, putting local fisheries and communities in jeopardy to drill for something we simply do not need.

“We are in a climate change crisis. Why risk unravelling the marine food chain, obliterating critical ecosystems and destroying local livelihoods for the sake of a few wealthy investors in the fossil fuel industry?

“Labor and Liberal are both beholden to big donations from oil and gas companies – it is the Liberal and Labor party’s predictable greed that allows fossil fuel corporations like 3D Oil to divulge plans to investors to do what they want, when they want.

“The only way to stop this unconscionable destruction is to kick the Liberals out and put the Greens in the balance of power at the next election. 

“Last year I introduced the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline) Bill 2021 to the Senate. This legislation would provide the mechanism necessary to permanently stop misguided and destructive offshore gas projects like what’s planned for the Otway Basin in their tracks – but we need the numbers in parliament to ensure it gets through.

“New Zealand, Greenland, Spain, Denmark, Costa Rica, France, Belize and Portugal have all implemented bans on new oil and gas exploration – there is no reason Australia shouldn’t do the same.”

The Greens have condemned this morning’s intense operation to remove peaceful protesters from defending the ancient forests in takayna/Tarkine from being flattened for a proposed toxic tailings dam. 

Greens senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said: 

“This smacks of cynical politics – it looks to me like another attempt to inflame a long-standing environmental battle in takayna/Tarkine by the Government  for its own self-interest. 

“Morrison can see that he is on the nose with Australians – they don’t trust him and can see through his spin. He’s desperate, resorting to divisive culture wars as a vote-winning strategy. 

“Australians see the true value of these forests and that they are worth more standing, but the Liberals are only interested in divisive rhetoric to try and salvage votes in a marginal electorate they desperately need to win to have any hope of retaining government. 

“If our so-called Environment Minister was doing her job properly then MMG should have been prosecuted for breaching federal environmental law when it commenced works in threatened species habitat – including that of the masked owl – illegally. 

“Instead Minister Ley is more interested in using the environment as a political football than actually looking after it.

“If this Government thinks that sacrificing our threatened species habitat and aggravating an environmental battle to maintain votes is going to win the hearts of the people of Braddon then she’s clearly not been paying attention to what’s happening on the ground down here in Tassie.

“People are increasingly aware of takayna/Tarkine’s significance, and the Government’s short-sighted treatment of it, and we will not stop in the fight to protect it. 

“The Greens are ready to work alongside the community to protect takayna/Tarkine from any profit-hungry destruction MMG thinks it might be able to get away with under the watch of this reckless Government. 

“takayna/Tarkine is home to Australia’s largest temperate rainforest, full of First Nations sites of significance and enormous ecological value. It is a unique place that needs protecting from the threats of logging, mining and other industrial activities.

“When we kick the Liberals out, the Greens will push to secure protections for takayna/Tarkine and all Tasmania’s incredible forests.” 

The Australian Government has imposed targeted financial sanctions on 14 Russian state-owned enterprises of strategic and economic importance to Russia.

Today’s listings include defence-related entities such as transportation company Kamaz, and shipping companies SEVMASH and United Shipbuilding Corporation.

Sanctions extend to electronic component company Ruselectronics, which is responsible for the production of around 80 per cent of all Russian electronics components. They also target Russian Railways, which is one of the world’s largest transportation companies and one of the largest single contributors to Russia’s GDP.

Our targeting of Russia’s state-owned enterprises in coordination with key partners undermines their capacity to boost the Russian economy. By preventing dealings with these important sources of revenue for the Russian Government, we are increasing the pressure on Russia and undercutting its ability to continue funding Putin’s war.

The Australian Government reiterates our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the people of Ukraine.

We again call upon Russia to withdraw its military forces immediately from Ukraine.