16 News

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s status as a National Human Rights Institution is under threat because of the Morrison Government’s meddling with how it appoints Commissioners.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, The Greens spokesperson for Justice said:

“Human rights are the tools we use to fight for our basic dignities and freedoms. These tools belong to all of us, but Scott Morrison and Attorney-General Michaelia Cash are deliberately blocking us from asserting our rights and dignities by deliberately meddling with the Australian Human Rights Commission.”

“Scott Morrison and his Attorney-General Michaelia Cash have put our Human Rights Commission in danger of being downgraded to a B level institution. They need to go.”

“Scott Morrison and Michaelia Cash have starved our Commission of funding, appointed their mates to plum jobs and they have utterly and completely failed at ensuring the Commission can lead the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They don’t care about us.”

“The Australian Human Rights Commission ensures that we are treated as equals in our society regardless of who we are or where we come from. That’s why Scott Morrison and Michaelia Cash are so keen to destroy it.”

“The Greens will enact a human rights charter, which also includes environmental rights, to ensure no one is stopped from asserting their rights and dignities. We will also work to ensure that there is a fair, transparent, and accountable process for the appointment of Commissioners, judicial officers and members of tribunals.”

For information about our plan for justice for all, visit: https://greens.org.au/platform/equality 

Children in rural and remote areas will have better access to life-saving medical equipment under new funding provided by the Morrison Joyce Government.

The Government is providing $100,000 to the Humpty Dumpty Foundation in 2021-22 to support its work to improve the care of children in rural and remote Australia by providing medical equipment to hospitals and health services.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the funding will help save and improve children’s lives.

“The health and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for the Government,” Minister Hunt said.

“This funding will positively impact the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous children in rural and remote areas of Australia by increasing their access to fit-for-purpose paediatric medical equipment.”

“This investment will help meet community need, including screening for iron deficiency in children by Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services, echo devices to screen for rheumatic heart disease, or specialist neonatal, paediatric, and adolescent education in health services and hospitals, in partnership with state and territory governments.”

Minister for Regional Health, Dr David Gillespie, said the Coalition was committed to addressing the rising burden of chronic disease and to improving public health, no matter where people live or their circumstances.

“The Humpty Dumpty Foundation is a children’s charity celebrating more than 30 years of helping to save and improve the lives of sick and injured children in hospital,” Dr Gillespie said.

“Its mission is to raise funds to provide essential and often life-saving medical equipment for hospitals in every corner of Australia, and I’m proud to be part of a government supporting them in this endeavour.”

To date, Humpty Dumpty has provided medical equipment to paediatric wards, neonatal units, maternity and emergency departments at more than 440 hospitals and health services across Australia.

The Government recognises certain groups of children and young people are especially prone to health inequity as a result of social, geographical and other determinants of health.

To address this, the Government has launched the first National Action Plan for the Health of Children and Young People: 2020–2030, to provide a roadmap to improve the health and wellbeing of all young Australians.

The vision is to ensure that Australian children and young people, from all backgrounds and all walks of life, have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, and are healthy, safe and thriving.

The Morrison Government will direct $14.8 million to key aged care groups advocating for senior Australians.

This funding will be provided over three years to ensure the organisations can continue supporting and advocating for older people during a period of significant change and reform of the aged care system.

Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said the funding would ensure the voices of senior Australians across a number of diverse communities.

“We are undertaking once in a generation reform of the aged care sector,” Minister Colbeck said.

“As we work towards a high quality and safe aged care system, we must have a deep understanding of the views, the wishes and the concerns of our diverse communities.

“It is vital that people with dementia, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTQI+ individuals and communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, gerontologists and associated health professionals continue to be well represented.

“The Government is pleased to provide this funding to ensure peak bodies can continue to represent their constituents and support the highest quality of policy and program design.”

The aged care consumer peak bodies being funded from 1 July 2022 are:

• The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA)
• Dementia Australia (DA)
• National Seniors Australia (NSA)
• LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA)
• The Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG)
• COTA Australia
• The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), acting on behalf of the National Advisory Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care (NAGATSIAC).

Funding will also support the establishment of a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing and Aged Care Council (NATSIACC) to formalise representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in aged care.

An Albanese Labor Government will protect Australia’s precious water resources with a five-point plan for the Murray Darling Basin that strikes the right balance between the needs of local communities, farmers and the environment.
 
The Murray Darling is Australia’s biggest and most important river system and its future is critical for the livelihoods and welfare of millions of Australians and for our environment and natural resources.
 
The future of the Murray Darling is too important to risk three more years of Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce.
 
The Morrison-Joyce Government will never act because the Nationals won’t let them. The environment is hurting and Murray Darling Basin communities are paying the price.
 
Australians have noticed the efforts of members of the Morrison-Joyce Government to shred the Plan altogether. And South Australians haven’t forgotten that Barnaby Joyce told them to “move to where the water is” during the millennium drought.
 
Labor will deliver on the final 450 gigalitres (GL) of water for the environment that Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce have failed to deliver.
 
Our policy will uphold the Murray Darling Plan and lay the groundwork for the Plan’s future by restoring integrity, boosting compliance and driving reforms.
 
Labor will commit $26 million to establish a National Water Commission to drive ongoing water reform, and future-proof Australia’s water resources, bringing national leadership and fairness into water policy.

Labor will broaden the National Water Grid Fund investment policy, to allow funding for a broader range of projects, including for essential town water supplies in regional and remote communities.  
 
Our five-point plan for the Murray Darling Basin comprises: 

1. Working with Basin governments and stakeholders to deliver on water commitments, including the 450 GL of water for the environment.
2. Increasing compliance across the Basin and, to support that compliance work, committing an additional $35 million for improved metering and monitoring.
3. Restoring integrity and confidence by working with stakeholders to implement relevant ACCC recommendations, and by making the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s modelling and data publicly available where possible.
4. Increasing First Nations ownership of water entitlements and participation in decision making.
5. Future-proofing the Basin Plan by updating the science, committing $8.5 million for the CSIRO Sustainable Yield study to inform the forthcoming review, committing $3.5 million for an independent study on climate change’s effect on Ramsar wetlands in the Basin and, if justified, considering whether to bring forward the commencement of the 2026 review.

 
Over nearly a decade in office, the Morrison-Joyce Government has refused to implement the Murray Darling Basin Plan, and it is Basin communities that are paying the price.
 
The Government’s refusal to act means they’ve failed to deliver the final 450 GL and resulted in delays and failures on the environmental outcomes equivalent to 605 GL of water following adjustments to the recovery amounts.

They have also failed to deliver the $40 million promised for First Nations water entitlements back in 2018.
 
Unlike the Morrison-Joyce Government, Labor will uphold the letter and spirit of the Murray Darling Basin to keep faith with its participants and with all Australians.
 
For water infrastructure, we will take up the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to broaden the remit of the National Water Grid Fund. As the Productivity Commission said, the fund’s investment policy should neither prioritise a particular sector or class of water user, nor be limited to providing water for primary industry.

When it comes to water reform, Labor will end the drift and recognise the importance of water policy. Our National Water Commission will drive the renewal of the National Water Initiative and will better prepare Australia for future threats to water security, including climate change.
 
Only an Albanese Labor Government will provide the leadership needed to drive water reform, deliver water security, and uphold the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

An Albanese Labor Government will join forces with leading Australian cook Maggie Beer to ensure aged care residents get the healthy and high-quality meals they need and deserve.

Labor will work with the aged care sector and other stakeholders to develop and implement standards for aged care homes to ensure every resident receives sufficient, tasty, nutritious and safe food which respects cultural, religious and dietary requirements.

These standards will be supported by workable guidelines, education programs and easy compliance which will not burden aged care providers with time consuming administrative functions.

An Albanese Labor government will work with the Maggie Beer Foundation, its Alliance partners and other stakeholders – all of whom have already done great work promoting the importance of good food in aged care. This will include funding the development of training and education for key staff to ensure every aged care resident gets the nutritious and flavoursome food they need and deserve.

Labor will also implement mandatory reporting rules to make sure the Basic Daily Fee paid to providers is used for care and nutrition. Public reporting of expenditure on care, nutrition, food and kitchen staff will be required.

Labor will invest $5 million – through the Maggie Beer Foundation – to enable a proper focus on food in aged care, including the development of new standards, supporting guidelines to facilitate their implementation and new education and training programs to support the sector to keep raising the bar on aged care food for each and every resident.

The Australian Government will provide further support to the Government of Ukraine by gifting 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, including two ambulance variants, to aid the Government of Ukraine’s response to Russia’s unrelenting and illegal aggression. Australia’s response follows a direct request from President Zelenskyy during his address to the Australian Parliament on 31 March 2022.

The Bushmaster was built in Australia to provide protected mobility transport, safely moving soldiers to a battle area prior to dismounting for close combat. The Bushmaster is well suited to provide protection to the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and Ukrainian civilians against mines and improvised explosive devices, shrapnel from artillery and small arms fire.

The 20 vehicles are painted olive green to suit the operating environment. Additionally, a Ukrainian flag is painted on either side with the words “United with Ukraine” stencilled in English and Ukrainian to acknowledge our commitment and support to the Government and people of Ukraine. The ambulances will have the traditional Red Cross emblem.

The Bushmaster will be fitted with radios, a global positioning system and additional bolt-on armour increasing their protection. Defence will continue to work with the Government of Ukraine to develop a suitable logistics support package, while training will be conducted through Army video training with Ukrainian subtitles.

To date, Australia has committed a total of around $116 million of Defensive Military Assistance to Ukraine, the addition of these vehicles takes our commitment to around $165 million. In addition, Australia is delivering 70,000 tonnes of coal to power Ukraine’s resistance, on top of $65 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine, with a focus on protecting women, children and the elderly, including for food, shelter and emergency medical supplies.

The Government will not disclose further specific details of delivery arrangements at the direct request of Ukrainian officials and our other partners.

The Australian Government will continue to identify opportunities for further Defensive Military Assistance where it is able to provide a required capability to the Ukraine Armed Forces expeditiously.

Australia stands with the Government and people of Ukraine, and calls on Russia to cease its unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Australian Government will continue to take steps, together with our partners, to ensure Russia pays the highest possible price for its actions.