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The Australian Greens are deeply concerned at the Hong Kong Government’s proposed new extradition agreement with China.  The proposal will undermine Hong Kong’s independent legal system, and it will expose people to China’s unjust system, Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale said.
“We all know that China’s judicial system is deeply politicised.  The right to a fair trial is chronically denied and defendants often face ill-treatment and torture – despite policies prohibiting such treatment. People unjustly mired in China’s judicial system have little to no hope of redress.
“The Chinese Government still hasn’t aligned its key criminal laws and policies with international human rights standards.  It does not always allow criminal suspects access to lawyers.  It fails to investigate allegations of police torture and to hold police to account.  It imprisons human rights lawyers, artists and academics.
The Greens urge the Australian Government to speak out strongly against this new proposal in the hope that it doesn’t become law.”

Equinor’s claims they can drill safely in the Great Australian Bight have gone to water after their ship crashed into their oil rig in Norwegian waters, the Greens say.
“A collision like this in the Great Australian Bight could spell disaster. The waters are rough and remote. The risk is too great, we don’t want an accident like this happening in the Bight,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“This collision comes after oil was found on the sea surface at the same rig last month. If they can’t drill safely in the calm, shallow waters in the North Sea, they cannot be trusted to risk the Bight.
“No amount of corporate spin will make drilling in the Bight safer. There is no amount of planning Equinor can do to avoid critical accidents or disasters.
“No company should be given the green light to drill in the Bight’s rough waters. The Greens, with the South Australian community, will continue to fight plans to turn the Bight into an oilfield, to keep our tourism and fishing industries strong, our beaches clean and avoid disaster.”

Instead of locking in a spiral of economic inequality by green-lighting Scott Morrison’s flat tax system, the Labor Party should work with the Greens on a long-term plan to drive productivity and create sustainable jobs through investment in renewables and increasing Newstart, Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale said.
“By supporting these tax cuts the Labor Party are going to make inequality worse and do nothing to set the country up for the future,” Di Natale said.
“Now is not the time for more tax cuts. Now is the time for a massive investment in public services and infrastructure that will work for the wellbeing of everyone in the community, not just the wealthy few. Now is the time to raise Newstart, so that people can live with dignity, as well as giving a boost to our local economy.
“The Government’s tax cut program that Labor is thinking about bringing forward will turbocharge inequality and hamstring future governments from delivering public services down the track.
“The Reserve Bank has been begging the Government to invest in productive infrastructure for the country, but instead, the Liberal and Labor parties have got themselves into a bidding war over who can hand out the biggest tax cuts.
“Instead of getting stuck in a race to see who can give away the money we need to pay for our schools, roads and hospitals the quickest, Labor should join the Greens in pledging to increase Newstart and putting in place a managed transition away from dirty, polluting fossil fuels like coal and gas and towards a clean, green, jobs-rich renewable economy.”

The Greens are calling on new Environment Minister Sussan Ley to formally respond to the UN’s report on the global extinction crisis by using World Environment day to announce the Morrison Government will adequately fund threatened species recovery.
“Australia has one of the worst extinction rates in the world, yet the Government still has not responded to the UN’s harrowing report on the global biodiversity crisis. New Environment Minister, Sussan Ley has the opportunity to act on World Environment Day. She must put in place a properly funded recovery plan, of $200 million a year, to save our threatened species from death row,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Climate breakdown, land clearing, and invasive species are wreaking havoc on our natural environment. Australia has a major part to play in curbing the extinction crisis, by properly funding threatened species recovery. The new Environment Minister must listen to the science, and the experts, in dealing with this crisis.
“If we don’t act now, species like the plains wanderer, the Fleurieu Peninsula southern emu-wren and the Kangaroo Island dunnart will be lost forever. Koalas could be extinct in NSW in the next 30 years. We must commit to a way off the threatened species list that doesn’t end in extinction.
“The Greens took a comprehensive plan to save our threatened species to the election. We know, with political will, we can get out of this mess. That’s why we will continue to fight for our threatened species. New Environment Minister Sussan Ley can take strides toward a better future by responding to this report, and committing $200 million a year to threatened species recovery.
“Our birds, mammals, marsupials, marine and plant life are synonymous with life in Australia. We love our native wildlife and our natural world. We must restore and protect what we have left before it is too late.”

The Australian Greens share the serious concerns held by ABC chair Ita Buttrose regarding ongoing attacks on press freedoms and the Government’s flippant response. The AFP raids on a News Corp journalist’s home and the ABC Sydney headquarters must be investigated.
“This is a very troubling start to this Government. The timing is all very suss, and the heavy-handed, intimidating operations are chilling. ABC Chair Ita Buttrose is right when she says a free media is important to our democracy. Journalists reporting in the public interest should not be treated like criminals,” Greens media spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“This is an attack on our democracy and an attack on those who tell the truth – the journalists and whistleblowers we rely on to keep our governments accountable.
“The Prime Minister says he’s not troubled – well he should be, the rest of us are.
“The Prime Minister needs to come clean with the Australian people. Who ordered these raids, who referred the journalists and who signed off the referrals? What was Peter Dutton’s role in all of this?
“Over the past 6 years there has been slide toward criminalising journalism. The Liberal and Labor Parties have together passed laws that attack the freedom of the press and whistleblowers, and this is where it has ended up.
“An inquiry can help us understand the chilling decline in freedom of the press, what protections are necessary for those that speak truth to power, and what we can do to restore this pillar of our democracy.
“This is why we need an urgent inquiry into the attack on press freedom and democracy in Australia. Australians have a right to know what their government is up to. They should have faith that the journalists working at our public broadcaster, reporting in the public interest, are not going to be treated like criminals.
“A Government that shows contempt for press freedom and whistleblowers is a dangerous government.”