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The Greens have said that the federal government must urgently support early learning and immediately provide relief for early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Victoria.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Education spokesperson, said:
“The current situation is untenable. The federal government should immediately extend JobKeeper for all early learning workers and provide free childcare with a guaranteed relief payment for services.
“JobKeeper was taken away from ECEC workers before anyone else, and now the future of hundreds of centres hangs in the balance. We risk a situation in which thousands of early learning workers are stood down without an income.
“Scrapping JobKeeper for these workers, who are mainly women, and reverting to the expensive fee-paying model was a big mistake.
“We need urgent clarity from the Victorian government on who is eligible to continue to access childcare. Families and children in vulnerable situations should not be turned away.
“We must support families and children during these turbulent and uncertain times,” she said.
Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens, said:
“Childcare support was a vital part of the initial Covid response. But now, as things are more restrictive than they’ve ever been for millions of Australians, the government has selectively pulled support for both families and childcare workers.
“Ripping out support for a sector as crucial as childcare will have a ripple-effect that will increase risk and unnecessary hardship.
“Parents shouldn’t be forced to pay fees if their children can’t attend, and centres and staff need to know they’ll be financially supported.
“We have to learn our lessons on the fly with this epidemic. Pulling JobKeeper and free childcare is a mistake that needs to be acknowledged and reversed immediately,” Bandt said.

In testimony today at the Senate Inquiry into the Administration of Sports Grants, affected sports clubs and local governments have called on the Morrison government to fund their deserving projects that missed out because of the Coalition’s pork-barrelling.
Greens Senator Janet Rice has called on the Senate to pass the Greens’ Level Playing Field Bill, empowering Sport Australia to fund the clubs whose applications were recommended under the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program, but were not funded under the Coalitions’ rorts.
Senator Janet Rice, Greens Sports spokesperson said:
“All the affected clubs and local governments told the committee today that the Prime Minister needs to put this right and fund the deserving sports clubs that were robbed because of the government’s pork-barrelling.
“When asked what Federal funding would mean to their club, Mr Nick Cater noted that the North Shore Country Club and Residents Association’s project was “shovel-ready”, and would provide “local jobs for local trades” with work that could “start immediately.” He added that funding “would be transformational” to the community.
“This is exactly what my Level Playing Field Bill calls on the Morrison government to do.
“During the COVID-19 crisis, sports clubs are now in more need of support. Most of the projects are shovel-ready, would use local labour, and have already been assessed as meritorious by Sport Australia. This Bill will benefit these community sports groups by providing much-needed and immediate investment stimulus in the face of the pandemic.
“Many of the clubs put in hundreds of hours of volunteer time to submit applications to a process that was systemically unfair and without integrity. Local governments are expected by their ratepayers to have transparent and fully accountable grants processes, and testimony we heard today showed the disappointment that the federal government does not hold itself to the same standards.
Mr Andrew Campbell of the Shire of Manjimup said that the government’s bias towards marginal electorates “did not pass the pub test. There was something just not right about it.”
“If Morrison is serious about boosting local economies in this fraught time, funding these sports projects would help to do just that. It would also go some of the way towards making up for the hundreds of wasted hours and the emotional whammy experienced by club members and local governments who were left in the lurch.”

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to the announcement that greyhound and horse racing will continue under Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria.
Senator Faruqi said:
“It beggars belief that greyhound and horse racing are continuing during Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria. This is totally absurd and galling.
“The powerful influence of the gambling-fuelled greyhound and horse racing industries has been laid bare. These industries are fundamentally incompatible with animal welfare.
“It’s still cruelty if no one’s watching.”

The Australian Government will provide 10 additional Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions for people subjected to further restrictions in areas impacted by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mental health and suicide prevention remains one of our Government’s highest priorities, and this Government recognises the mental health impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on individuals and communities, particularly those in areas such as Victoria, where regrettable but necessary measures are needed to stop the spread of the virus.
The additional Medicare subsidised sessions will allow people in eligible areas who have used their 10 sessions to continue to receive mental health care from their psychologist, psychiatrist, GP or other eligible allied health worker.
The new items will apply to people subject to public health orders restricting their movement within the state or territory issued at any time from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021, and to people who are required to isolate or quarantine under public health orders.
Patients will be required to have a Mental Health Treatment Plan and a review with their GP to access the additional sessions. This measure will commence on Friday 7 August and be available until 31 March 2021.
Our Government has responded early and rapidly to address the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures needed to contain it, announcing more than $500 million additional funding for mental health and suicide prevention since January, including Medicare subsidies for telehealth consultations.
The $7.3 million in additional support recognises that many people in areas impacted by the second wave of the pandemic will be facing increased emotional and mental stress.
This will ensure that Australians can continue to access essential mental health treatment and support at this difficult time.
The Australian Government continues to demonstrate its firm commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, with estimated expenditure for mental health services and suicide prevention to be more than $5.2 billion in 2019-20.

Young people in Northam and surrounding communities will now have greater access to mental health support, with the opening of a new headspace satellite service this week.
The Government committed to establish a new headspace service in Northam in the electorate of Pearce, as part of a $111.3 million plan to establish 30 new headspace services announced in the 2019-20 Budget.
The opening of the new site delivers on that commitment and will provide vital mental health support to young people in the region.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, said the new centre will provide a significant increase in support for young people living in the local area.
“There are more pressures on young people today than ever before and the establishment of this headspace is so important in providing needed services in Pearce,” Minister Hunt said.
“I am committed to ensuring young Australians can get information, advice, counselling or treatment, when and where they need it.”
Member for Pearce, Christian Porter, welcomed the announcement by Greg Hunt.
“I want our young people in Pearce to know they are not alone on their journey,” Mr Porter said.
“headspace is here to deliver quality frontline support and ensure the best possible care for people who are at risk.
“We know intervention at the earliest possible stage is important to reduce the duration and impact of mental illness, so I encourage young people in our community to reach out for the help they need.”
The headspace program aims to improve access for young people aged 12 to 25 years who have, or are at risk of, mental illness.
One in four people aged 16 to 24 experiences some form of mental illness every year, and three-quarters of all mental illness manifests in people under the age of 25.
headspace offers early intervention services across four key areas – mental health, related physical health, social and vocational support, and alcohol and other drug use. The services are co-designed with young people to ensure they are relevant, accessible and highly effective.
headspace works closely with young people at a crucial time in their lives to help get them back on track, and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future.
The new headspace, located at 98 Fitzgerald St E, Northam, has been commissioned by the Country Western Australia Primary Health Network to meet the needs of young people in the Pearce electorate.
This service will ensure young Australians can get information, advice, counselling and treatment, when and where they need it.
The Morrison Government continues to demonstrate its firm commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, providing a record investment in mental health services and support of an estimated $5.2 billion this year alone.
Recognising the unprecedented challenge posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government has provided $8 billion for the COVID-19 National Health Plan, including an additional $500 million for preventative mental health services, suicide prevention and mental health care via telehealth.

This week is Homelessness Week in Australia.
It is an important reminder that more Australians are homeless than ever before and this economic crisis could make even more Australians homeless.
According to the last Census, more than 116,000 people are estimated to be homeless in Australia. This includes people sleeping rough, couch surfing, living in a car or other vehicle, or in a single dwelling of extreme overcrowding.
The coronavirus pandemic has made it clear just how important safe and affordable housing is.We have all been told to stay home to keep safe.  You can’t stay home though, if you don’t have one.
Over the last few months more than 7,000 people who sleep rough in our streets and parks with temporary accommodation in empty hotel and motel rooms.
State governments have done some important work here, but we also need national leadership.
The National Cabinet needs to make sure that the homeless Australians we have helped during this pandemic are not thrown back on the street in the next few months.
Labor has also been calling on the Morrison Government for months to fund the construction of more social housing.
This would be a win-win.  It would provide work for thousands of tradies and put a roof over the head of Australians who desperately need it.
In times of economic crisis, housing construction has often played a key role in economic recovery.
During the GFC the former Labor Governmentinvested $5.6 billion in the construction of nearly 20,000 new social housing dwellings and the renovation of a further 80,000 existing properties.
Labor is not the only one calling on the Morrison Government to fund the construction of more social housing to protect jobs and provide homes for Australians who desperately need it. Others include:

• Master Builders Association
• Equity Economics
• OECD Economic Outlook
• Grattan Institute
• CSR
• Cbus
• PowerHousing Australia
• Community Housing Industry of Australia (CHIA)
• National Shelter
• Homelessness Australia
• Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS)