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The Greens say the Morrison Government has bungled its last chance to show it takes women’s safety and economic security seriously with an underwhelming budget of half-measures and spin.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“With an election looming it’s little wonder that the Morrison Government is desperately trying to improve its standing with Australian women, who have been abandoning the Liberals in droves.

“But this ain’t it. While some announcements are a step in the right direction, and we particularly welcome the $25 million allocated to the Illawarra Trauma Recovery Centre that the Greens have championed, the budget is largely a grab bag of bare-minimum measures that fall well short of what we know is needed to make women safe and ensure their economic security.

“The funding to address gendered violence is well short of what women’s organisations say is needed.

“The Greens have committed to the sector’s call for $1 billion per annum for frontline services to meet existing demand, because it is unconscionable to underfund services which stop women being killed in this epidemic of domestic violence.

“Whilst awareness raising and training is crucial, it should be additional to rather than instead of the frontline and specialist services that the sector says are needed to meet the critical shortfall in support for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence.

“The government’s so-called ‘enhanced’ paid parental leave plan doesn’t increase PPL payments, doesn’t add superannuation contributions, and does nothing to actually incentivize shared care. In fact it may have the perverse effect of leading mothers to take all 20 weeks of parenting leave with fathers taking none. Under the Greens’ 26-week PPL plan payments would match salaries up to $100k, super would be added, and ‘use it or lose it’ incentives built in to encourage shared parenting.

“The $100 million promised for crisis, transition and affordable housing is pitifully small compared to the $7.6 billion investment the sector says is needed to provide emergency and permanent housing for women, particularly older women at risk of homelessness. The much-trumpeted expansion of the Family Home Guarantee is no help because it will simply increase house prices and encourage people to get into debts that they cannot service.

“The government has also shown a stunning lack of commitment to addressing violence against First Nations women. Instead of a dedicated, standalone National Plan to End Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women, they’re saying there will be a First Nations ‘action plan’ sitting under the overarching National Plan. That is clearly not what First Nations groups have called for.

“They’ve also baked in real cuts to community controlled First Nations family violence services over the forward estimates, and delivered no funding at all for the sector’s peak body.

“This Budget will not close the gender pay gap. Childcare is still not free, care work is still undervalued, and the minimum wage and income support payments, which more women than men receive, are still too low. This Budget will not deliver economic security for women.

“We welcome the additional funds for the Human Rights Commission to monitor Respect at Work recommendations, but this is undermined by broader cuts to the Commission’s budget and the fact that there is still no commitment to the key recommendation: a positive duty on all employers to make workplaces safe.

“Australian women have spent nearly a decade trying to convince this government that their safety and economic security are issues that must be taken seriously. But in place of decisive and material action they’ve been served up talkfests, Cabinet reshuffles, flowery speeches and shiny baubles by a toxic and arrogant government that treats women as a PR problem to be managed.

“This was the PM’s last opportunity to stand up for Australian women. Once again he failed because he is a sexist dinosaur – it’s long past time to give him and his boys’ club the boot.”

The Australian Greens have slammed the government’s final budget for making housing more expensive, locking in tax cuts for the wealthy and funding more coal and gas projects rather than acting on the climate crisis.

The Liberals’ final budget contains more than $37.6 bn for coal, oil and gas, gives $13bn of public money to property investors, and has no new money to build affordable housing.

The Greens want government invest to build a million affordable homes.

Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:

“Scott Morrison’s Budget makes housing more expensive, locks in tax cuts for the wealthy and funds more coal and gas projects, all with Labor’s support. 

“This Budget of election bribes will not keep you safe from the climate crisis and it won’t put a secure roof over your head. It doesn’t have a cent of new money for building new affordable housing, but it gives hundreds of millions to new oil and gas projects.

“Even as floods again threaten the Northern Rivers for the second time in a month, Scott Morrison plans to give more than $38bn in handouts to coal, oil and gas corporations to fuel the climate crisis and Labor backs him in. 

“There is $1.6 billion for renewables, $2 billion for disaster recovery, and more than $38 billion in subsidies to coal, oil and gas. It’s an insult to every flood victim that the Prime Minister is spending more than 10 times more on coal, oil and gas as he is on protecting us from climate floods. 

“Scott Morrison’s Budget spends $13 billion on unfair tax breaks that will push up the cost of housing and lock people out of the housing market, handouts that Labor will wave through. 

“A temporary cut to fuel excise may not even make its way to people’s pockets. There’s every chance that world oil prices or profiteering from oil corporations will wipe out any gains to motorists overnight, at very substantial cost to the budget. 

“We need to permanently boost the pension by almost $250 a fortnight, not $250 an election.”

“To tackle cost of living pressures, the Budget should wipe student debt, get dental into Medicare and build 1 million affordable homes that people can rent for 25% of their income or buy for $300,000. That would be much fairer, better and cheaper than proceeding with Stage 3 tax cuts and temporarily cutting fuel excise.

“This Budget shows we need to kick the Liberals out and get the Greens in balance of power to push the next Government to tackle cost of living pressures by taxing the billionaires, getting dental into Medicare, wiping student debt and building affordable housing.” 

Australian Greens Treasury Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said:

“Yet again, this is a budget for the billionaires and big corporations – not people who are struggling,” Senator McKim said.

“Under this budget, cost of living will increase and wages won’t  catch up, and the structural holes in our economy will keep on widening the gap between rich and poor. A $420 payment won’t go far for a family that’s stuck spending half their income on housing and the $250 payment would lift a pensioner out of poverty for one pay-packet and then send them back the next.

“We need a budget that ensures the billionaires and the big corporations pay their fair share so we can invest in getting dental and mental health into Medicare, ensuring everyone has a liveable income; abolishing student debt, and starting to build a million homes.

“The Liberals will never deliver the budget the Australian people deserve, and without pressure, Labor’s not going to support the structural changes needed by everyone who’s struggling. With the Greens in balance of power, we’ll tax the billionaires and big corporations, so the 2023 Labor/Greens budget will be one that builds a more equal Australia.”

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that education has been smashed by a budget hostile to public schools, universities, TAFE, and early childhood education and care.

Senator Faruqi said:

“This is a government hostile to public education and its final budget proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“We are witnessing the shameful impacts of the government’s university fee hikes and funding cuts they pushed through parliament 18 months ago. The higher education funding decline continues with a 5 per cent cut over the next year alone. This government is an enemy of our public universities.

“TAFE has been sidelined yet again, when it must be put front and centre of any fresh investment in vocational education. TAFE must be fully-funded and made fee-free for all.

“Funding for public schools has been reduced by $559 million over the next three years while private schools are seeing an increase of more than $2 billion. This is just obscene.

“We have to fully-fund our public schools and invest in urgent capital works but this budget simply provides a pre-election gift for overfunded private schools.

“Early childhood education and care has been completely neglected in this budget with nothing to help parents with expensive fees and barely anything to support the sector.

“The Liberals have a shameless privatisation and cost-cutting agenda when it comes to public education, and the sooner we boot them out, the better. Bring on the election.”

The Morrison Government has selected six organisations to drive its plan to grow the nation’s home care workforce by 13,000 over the next two years, and support more senior Australians to access Home Care Packages and remain independent at home.

More than $91 million under the Home Care Workforce Support Program has been allocated to organisations in each state and territory, and to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, said all home care providers can work with these organisations to grow and upskill their workforce.

“The Home Care Workforce Support Program will help senior Australians to remain at home by growing the personal care workforce. This will allow people to access home care services where and when they need them,” Minister Hunt said.

“Senior Australians need a skilled, diverse, compassionate and valued workforce who will provide safe and high-quality care – and this program will increase the number and skills of people providing aged care in the home.”

The program will raise awareness of career opportunities in the sector; skill and screen new workers; and better equip providers to attract, train and retain workers including through supporting access to JobTrainer aged care training places.

A key focus will be to address the greater challenges of recruiting workers in remote communities with specific funding and performance targets for these areas. This will be supported by greater flexibility for grant recipients to work with residential aged care and other care providers in these areas to promote access to home care services and develop a local care and support workforce. The Government recognises the increased costs and complexity involved, compared to urban Australia.

The funded organisations will be expected to help home care providers recruit personal care workers in line with the Government’s target of 3.43 per cent of the care workforce identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by 2031.

The Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said the program was part of the Government’s $18.8 billion, five-year response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

“More and more senior Australians are choosing to live independently in their homes for longer,” Minister Colbeck said.

“Our goal is for all Australians to feel confident about accessing high quality and safe aged care where and when they need it. Helping the aged care sector to grow its workforce, in both residential and in-home care, is a crucial part of this.”

The Home Care Workforce Support Program will complement activities undertaken by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment; for example, including Jobactive, Australian Apprenticeships, Job Trainer, Youth Jobs PaTH, and Launch into Work, to connect and guide workers through training and into employment.

Funding has been granted to:

• Settlement Services International in NSW and ACT
• Aged and Community Services, together with Mediashpere Holdings (Powerhouse Hub), Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO), and MEGT in Victoria and Tasmania
• Council on the Ageing Queensland, together with Skills Hub Ltd, Partners4Health and Skills Generation, in Queensland
• Recruitment Solutions Group Australia in South Australia and Northern Territory
• North Metropolitan TAFE, together with South Metropolitan TAFE, Amana Living and Programmed Skilled Workforce in Western Australia

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in rural and remote communities.

The Government’s plan for a stronger future is working.

The Australian economy has outperformed all major advanced economies, experiencing a stronger recovery in output and employment compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Economic growth forecasts have been revised upwards, driven by stronger-than-expected momentum in the labour market and consumer spending.

Real GDP is expected to grow by 4¼ per cent in 2021‑22, 3½ per cent in 2022-23 and 2½ per cent in 2023-24.

The unemployment rate is at 4 per cent and this Budget will see it go even lower delivering more jobs and higher wages.

The unemployment rate is forecast to reach 3¾ per cent in late 2022, nearly 3 percentage points below the Budget forecast from 2 years ago and the lowest rate in close to 50 years.

The strong labour market is expected to see wages growth accelerate to its fastest pace in almost a decade with wage growth forecast to increase from 2¾ per cent in 2021‑22 to 3¼ per cent in 2022-23.

The Budget demonstrates the fiscal dividend of a strong economy, with more Australians in work and fewer Australians on welfare, flowing through to a significantly improved fiscal outlook without increasing taxes.

Since MYEFO, the underlying cash balance has improved by a substantial $103.6 billion over the 5 years to 2025‑26.

The Budget shows the deficit more than halving to 1.6 per cent of GDP by 2025-26 before falling to 0.7 per cent of GDP by the end of the medium term.

This sees the fastest and largest improvement in the budget bottom line in more than 70 years.

Consistent with the Fiscal Strategy, the stronger economy and smaller deficits are expected to see gross debt as a share of the economy peak at 44.9 per cent of GDP at 30 June 2025, 5.4 percentage points lower and 4 years earlier than at MYEFO.

Gross debt is then projected to fall to 40.3 per cent of GDP by the end of the medium term, 9.6 percentage points or $236 billion lower than at the end of the medium term in the 2021-22 MYEFO.

This demonstrates the dividend of a clear Economic and Fiscal Strategy that has guided us through the pandemic and delivered a stronger economy and full employment.

It is also an important step in the longer-term task of steadily reducing debt and rebuilding fiscal buffers, which will ensure Australia remains well placed to respond to future shocks.

Despite having faced the largest economic shock since the Great Depression, our debt to GDP levels, even when they peak, are still low by international standards, below all major advanced economies and less than half that in the United States and Japan.

The Government’s economic plan is working with Australia one of only 9 countries to maintain a AAA credit rating from major ratings agencies.

The 2022‑23 Budget sets out the next stage of our plan for a stronger future.

The Royal Australian Air Force dedicated a new memorial at Point Cook today that will forever honour the 350,000 Australians who have served in Air Force in its first century, including 11,191 Australians who died serving their nation.

Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld AO DSC said the Memorial was a special place to pause and reflect on what Air Force personnel had contributed to Australia since 1921, in times of conflict and in peace.

“This memorial stands at the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force, as a tribute to the generations of Australians who have proudly worn the Air Force uniform.

“For more than 100 years, Air Force people have displayed courage, resilience, strength and humanity and given so much to protect the freedom we cherish today,” Air Marshal Hupfeld said.

“The sandstone memorial has been designed to be inclusive so every Air Force member, our veterans and their families, can connect with it. The memorial includes officer and enlisted rank insignia, and is representative of all employment groups within Air Force throughout the ages.

“Air Force is proud to have a diverse workforce representative of the Australian community and this memorial symbolises every one of them” Air Marshal Hupfeld said.

On special occasions, a spotlight will point upwards from the memorial, looking forever skyward, honouring the 3,143 Air Force members who have no known grave.

The dedication of the new memorial marked the formal conclusion of the Air Force Centenary program. The Centenary theme, ‘Then. Now. Always.’ is immortalised for future generations of aviators on the centrepiece of the memorial.

To view the memorial dedication ceremony, visit the Air Force official YouTube channel from Thursday 31 March 2022.

For more information on the Centenary of Air Force, visit: Air Force 100

Today I announce the first set of Australian Magnitsky-style listings under the Morrison Government’s thematic sanctions framework, targeting Russian individuals responsible for the corruption that Sergei Magnitsky uncovered and those complicit in his subsequent mistreatment and death.

Mr Magnitsky, a Ukrainian-born Russian lawyer and tax advisor, uncovered widespread corruption by Russian tax and law enforcement officials. He was imprisoned and mistreated, and died in custody in November 2009, after being refused medical treatment.

In this first tranche, the Government will honour Mr Magnitsky and all who defend the rule of law, with targeted sanctions and travel bans against 14 Russian individuals responsible for the serious corruption that he exposed and a further 25 Russian perpetrators and accomplices of his abuse and death.

These individuals will be subject to targeted financial sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans. This will ensure that Australia does not become a safe haven for those already locked out of like-minded countries and their financial systems.

Mr Magnitsky’s case inspired an international movement of sanctions laws to hold those responsible for his death to account, and to enable sanctions to be applied to other perpetrators of serious human rights violations and abuses, wherever they occur in the world.

This is the first of what will be ongoing sanctions using the Magnitsky-style reforms we passed in December.

For further information on the new thematic sanctions frameworks, and details on the individuals newly listed, please visit: Australia and sanctions | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (dfat.gov.au)

As part of the plan for a stronger future, the Morrison Government’s 2022-23 Budget will help build a more prosperous, stable and resilient region, shape our strategic environment and advance Australia’s national interests in the face of increasing global uncertainty.

Australia is a strong and reliable partner and will continue to support our Indo-Pacific neighbours as they recover from the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, humanitarian crises and natural disasters. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne said the 2022-23 Budget underscored Australia’s commitment to the rules-based global order and to providing vital humanitarian assistance. 

“We are working with others to respond to global humanitarian crises including in Afghanistan and Myanmar or to natural disasters in the Pacific. To assist civilians affected by the conflict in Ukraine, this includes the $65 million support announced by the Government in 2021-22,” Minister Payne said. 

“The Morrison Government stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condemns Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion, which is having a catastrophic humanitarian impact.” 

As part of the 2022-23 Budget, the Government has resumed indexation for Australia’s ongoing baseline level of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Baseline ODA will increase to $4.089 billion, up from $4.0 billion in 2021-22. 

Recognising the complex and overlapping challenges we face in our strategic environment, the Government will provide an additional $460 million in ODA in 2022-23 for temporary and targeted measures.

Under our Pacific Step-Up, the Government will provide a further $324.4 million to partner with our Pacific family on the regional response to COVID-19. Of this $314 million will be a temporary and targeted ODA measure. 

Minister Payne said the new funding would build on extensive COVID-19 response efforts over the past two years, to address the economic and social costs of COVID-19 in the Pacific and bolster Partnerships for Recovery by providing continued fiscal crisis support. 

“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia will support the reopening of international borders to allow for the resumption of tourism,” she said. 

“This is a very important and crucial step towards our shared recovery across the region. Australia will work in partnership with our Pacific family by facilitating enhanced vaccination certification and testing capacity as well as providing further support to the aviation sector.”

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja said the Government was delivering a record $1.85 billion in ODA to the Pacific this year. 

“Australia is the Pacific’s largest development partner, security partner of choice, and most importantly, we are family,” Minister Seselja said. 

“Australia has bolstered our support to the Pacific in light of the ongoing challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to support the sovereignty and resilience of our region, and provide assistance that is locally led, and delivers tangible outcomes and benefits for the region.” 

The Government has doubled the lending “headroom” for the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific from $1.5 billion to $3 billion to respond to demand from the region and to demonstrate the strength of our partnerships. Together with our partners in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, we continue to prioritise quality, climate-resilient infrastructure that does not add to unsustainable debt burdens. 

Underlining the continued importance of our Pacific Step-Up, the Government will also commit $65.2 million to construct and maintain a new High Commission chancery in Honiara in Solomon Islands. 

These budget initiatives in support of our Pacific family will help realise our vision for an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific. 

The Morrison Government is committed to promoting regional and global prosperity, including by enhancing Australia’s economic and strategic ties with India. We will provide $245.5 million over five years from 2021-22 to invest in public sector linkages, community engagement, education, resources, connectivity, low emissions technology, business literacy, science, and technology cooperation with India.

We are also growing our strategic, trade and investment ties in the Northeast Indian Ocean; particularly with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Australia will continue to be a strong and reliable partner across our region, including through our investments in cooperation with our Southeast Asian neighbours and with ASEAN, as we chart a course out of the pandemic. 

Together, we will advance our shared vision for an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo‑Pacific, and a more secure neighbourhood for all.