Category: Australian News

Labor has sided with big business, voting down a Greens Bill that would have made price gouging illegal, showing they’re more interested in protecting corporate profits than looking after everyday Australians.

“Labor had the chance to stand up for Australians struggling with skyrocketing costs, but instead they chose to protect their corporate donors,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“They talk about fairness and tackling the cost-of-living crisis, but when it comes to taking real action against the supermarket giants, Labor is nowhere to be found.”

“Major corporations like Coles and Woolworths will keep raking in massive profits, while shoppers are forced to pay more for their groceries, electricity, and other essentials.”

The Greens’ bill would have made it illegal for corporations with substantial market power to engage in price gouging, with penalties of up to $50 million for those found guilty.

“Labor failed Australians today. This was a golden opportunity to hold the worst corporate offenders accountable for profiteering, but they chose to protect the billion-dollar profits of their mates in big business instead.”

“Labor tried every procedural trick in the book to stop the Bill going to a vote. They are embarrassed of their own position.”

“This Bill had the numbers to pass the Senate with Labor’s support.”

“If we’re serious about fixing the cost-of-living crisis, we need to rein in corporate power.”

“But Labor is either too compromised or too weak to take on the big end of town. Australians deserve better.”

The Greens will keep fighting for meaningful reform to crack down on price gouging and protect people from corporate greed.

The Greens will scrutinise the Albanese Government’s NBN Bill to ensure reliable internet is affordable and accessible for all Australians. In addition to seeking a Senate Inquiry, the Greens will consider moving amendments to cap executive bonuses after NBN executives received multi-million dollar packages last year.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens spokesperson for Communications:

“The Greens will consider the NBN Bill introduced by the Government this morning and we will seek a Senate Inquiry so it can be examined in detail.

“Last time there was a minority government it was the Greens who protected the NBN from being sold off by securing amendments that have kept the NBN in public hands.

“The NBN is a critical piece of infrastructure that should be affordable and accessible for everyone and it’s why the Greens have long fought to protect the NBN from privatisation.

“The Parliament has an opportunity through this bill to examine accessibility of the NBN, the quality of the service and affordability. We need to ensure the digital divide is not growing and everyone can participate in our digital economy.

“The Greens also want to see the exorbitant bonuses paid to NBN executives reigned in. It’s outrageous that in a cost of living crisis the NBN CEO was paid more than $3m in executive bonuses last year while the households the organisation services can’t afford to pay the rent let alone pay for high speed broadband.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Greens Leader and spokesperson for Higher Education, has condemned the Labor Government’s decision to charge ahead with its disastrous student caps, following the release of the Senate Inquiry report into the Education Services for Overseas Students (Quality and Integrity) Amendment Bill 2024.

In a dissenting report, Senator Faruqi calls on the Government to withdraw this Bill, go back to the drawing board.

 Senator Faruqi’s dissenting report can be found here. 

Senator Mehreen Faruqi:

“Despite overwhelming opposition, Labor is charging ahead with their politically-motivated international student caps that will devastate the tertiary education sector.

“The government is crushing higher education in a bid to look tough on migration before a federal election. International education, international students and universities will become collateral damage as a result of their mess of a policy.

“We know these caps will lead to job losses, we know these caps will trash Australia’s international education reputation, we know these caps will lead to dire consequences, and yet Labor is still persisting with this wrecking-ball of a policy.

“Labor needs to stop demonising international students for their own housing policy failures. They’ve been long used as cash cows to make up for funding cuts to universities, and now they are disgracefully being scapegoated too.

“The decline in university rankings is another dire warning in the long list of warnings of the terrible consequences of these caps. If Labor has any sense they would heed these warnings and scrap the caps.

“The international student caps just show that Labor is willing to strangle an entire sector and throw international students under the bus to win a racist dog-whistling competition with Peter Dutton. That’s how low the standard of governance is in this country.”

Labor’s proposed merger law reform is a missed opportunity to take on the market dominance of supermarket and airline corporations, and far from enough to address the real issue of corporate power in Australia, the Greens say.

“Labor has missed the chance to take the bold action needed: create the power to break up duopolies and oligopolies through forced divestiture,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“Big corporations already hold too much power, and simply trying to prevent them from getting bigger won’t fix the problem.

“What we need is to create competition by breaking up corporations when they misuse their market power.”

“We need to give the courts and regulators the power to force the divestiture of corporations that have monopolised industries, including supermarkets, airlines and energy companies.”

“Without these powers, we’ll continue to see price gouging, rising costs of living, and Australians paying the price for unchecked corporate greed.”

“We’ll work our way through the detail of the proposed reforms, but we’re going to keep fighting to make sure Labor does more than just fiddle at the margins.

The Prime Minister should be condemned for his comments today in Question Time, as he mocked Tourette’s Syndrome for his own political point scoring.

Mocking a disability is no laughing matter.

For the Prime Minister to do so is not only reprehensible, but it sends a concerning message to the entire disability community.

The Australian Government should stand as a pillar of support for those who need it most, including Australians living with serious conditions like Tourette’s Syndrome.

Australians living with Tourette’s deserve the Prime Minister’s respect, not his ridicule.

The Prime Minister must immediately apologies to all Australians living with Tourette’s Syndrome and the entire disability community for his insensitive and insulting comments.

Today, the Coalition has secured the support of the Senate to stand with Israel and affirm its inherent right to defend itself and protect its citizens.

In a remarkable 24 hours, the Albanese Labor Government has once again changed its position, reinforcing its internal confusion and division over Labor’s position on Israel.

In accepting significant Coalition amendments to the motion forced through the House of Representatives yesterday, the Albanese Government has only added to the confusion, inconsistencies and weakness in its positions.

The Coalition’s successful amendments included Israel’s right to defend itself as well as the condemnation of those committed to the destruction of Israel, and the actions of those seeking to celebrate and promote the actions of terrorists.

However, Labor’s decision to reject other Coalition amendments which confirmed Australia’s long-standing support for a negotiated two-state solution continues its record of trashing decades of bipartisanship on the issue.

Without a negotiated two-state solution, which addresses critical issues of security guarantees, agreed borders and rights of return, Labor is instead doubling down on Minister Wong’s ill-conceived arbitrary timeline for a recognition that resolves none of the issues of dispute.

Foreign Minister Wong’s further remarks about international consensus were a significant misrepresentation of the US position in a stunt that was either naïve or deliberately misleading.

Labor’s inability to sustain a firm position on Israel continues to put Australia at odds with our major ally and security partner in the United States.

The ceasefires we should all be supporting are where all hostages are released, while both Hamas and Hezbollah surrender their terrorist infrastructure, capability and leadership. That would give Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese people the best chance of peace.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics building activity data has confirmed there is no end in sight to Labor’s housing crisis.

2023-24 saw the lowest home building commencements in over a decade, dropping 8.8 per cent to just 158,690 new starts.

Australians know Labor’s promise to build 1.2 million homes over five years has ground to a halt, with industry leaders confirming the Coalition’s predictions of a shortfall by more than 400,000 homes.

This is far less than what was built under the former Coalition government, where the number of dwellings commenced during the last full five calendar years from 2017 to 2021 was 1,028,703.

Additionally, trade apprenticeship numbers have also declined, with completions down 8.6 per cent and commencements down 11.8 per cent, further impacting the construction sector.

To put Labor’s housing crisis into more perspective:

• The number of loans provided for the purchase or construction of new homes is at a 15-year low.
• Net permanent and long-term arrivals in the 12 months to July 2024 was 463,150, almost 60 per cent greater than the 293,860 net arrivals in the equivalent year before the pandemic.
• Since the election, national median rents have increased by 23 per cent to $632 per week from $512 in May 2022.
• The National Housing Accord envisages 240,000 new homes each year, however, the past 12 months have seen only 166,200 new home building approvals across Australia.
• One new home needs to be built every 2.2 minutes to keep up with Labor’s promise to build 1.2 million homes.
• The twelve-interest rate rises since the election has added at least an extra $20,000 per year to a family with a $750,000 mortgage.

Under Labor, housing will never be a priority, maintaining mortgage and rental repayments has never been more difficult, and home ownership has never been further out of reach.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will travel to Vientiane, Laos from 9-11 October for the 4th Annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and 19th East Asia Summit.

This visit is vital to advocating for Australia’s interests for a more prosperous and stable region, and will build on the success of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit held in Melbourne in March, where leaders reaffirmed their commitment to securing peace and a sustainable future for the region.

Deepening engagement with Southeast Asia is a priority of the Australian Government. Stability in the region is crucial for Australia’s future.

ASEAN is Australia’s second largest two-way trading partner. Trade supports one in four Australian jobs, with half a million jobs in Australia already linked to trade with Southeast Asia. More than one million Australians have Southeast Asian heritage, reflecting our personal ties in the region.

In Vientiane, Prime Minister Albanese will meet with leaders and business representatives to discuss work underway to boost two-way trade and investment through Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Strategy to 2040.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“I look forward to building on the success of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit earlier this year and thank Prime Minister Sonexay for hosting these vital meetings.

“We are committed to working with our partners to pursue a peaceful, stable and prosperous region with ASEAN at the centre.

“We are also acting to grasp economic opportunities in a region of incredible vitality and promise. Trade creates jobs for our nation and helps build our Future Made in Australia agenda.

“My Government will continue to work closely with our partners to maximise opportunities for Australian businesses and workers within the region.”

The Albanese Government is introducing legislation today to keep the National Broadband Network (NBN) owned by the Australian people – ensuring fast, reliable and affordable internet now and into the future for all Australians.

Our Government committed at the election to deliver accessible internet for all, and today we continue to take that forward.

High speed broadband is essential to modern life – it allows Australians to work remotely, run their businesses more productively, video-conference with clients and colleagues, supply and receive telehealth services – while enjoying leisure with their families through streaming.

The Coalition rushed to declare the NBN ‘complete’ so they could put it on the block for sale – selling out Australian consumers and regional communities.

The Albanese Government won’t let that happen. This legislation will ensure the NBN is owned by who it belongs to – the Australian people.

This is in addition to what we have already done:

1. Invested $2.4 billion to expand full fibre NBN access to an additional 1.5 million premises – including 660,000 rural and regional communities;
2. From September next year, boosting download speeds by up to 5 times current speeds – at no extra wholesale cost.  A household or small business with a 100 Mbps plan in 2024 will benefit from 500 Mbps connectivity in 2025;
3. Rolling out more fibre in the fixed line network, upgrading the fixed-wireless network and planning for future needs.

These upgrades are already making a real difference in the lives of Australians through faster more reliable internet access.

Keeping the NBN in public hands will lock in affordable and accessible high speed internet for all Australians for generations to come.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“All Australians deserve high quality and affordable services no matter their postcode. That includes access to the NBN.

“Keeping the NBN in public hands means high speed broadband remains affordable for Australian families and businesses around the country.

“Upgrades to the NBN are also a key part of our plan for a Future Made in Australia, but achieving this vision won’t happen without a reliable, high-speed National Broadband Network.

“The Coalition made a mess of the NBN – my Government is getting on with the job of fixing it and making sure it stays in public hands, where it belongs.”

Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher

“The NBN is critical national infrastructure, and we know that having a faster, higher quality NBN network has a huge impact on Australia’s economy – delivering a $400 billion uplift in GDP by 2030.

“Economic analysis commissioned by NBN Co shows that for every one megabit per second increase in average broadband speed, Australia’s productivity-driven GDP increased on average by 0.04 per cent.

“The Albanese Government is delivering a better NBN for Australians, investing $2.4 billion in the October 2022-23 Budget to expand fibre access to 1.5 million premises by 2025.”

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland

“It is only a Labor Government that will ensure the NBN remains in public hands.

“Communities across Australia have told us that the job of upgrading the NBN is not complete, which is why we’re investing in more fibre and fixed wireless upgrades.

“Australians don’t trust the Coalition not to flog off the NBN just like they did with Telstra, resulting in higher prices and poorer services, especially in the regions.

“This Bill will ensure the NBN continues to deliver for all Australians – improving digital inclusion and price certainty for industry and consumers.

“The Government is delivering on our election commitments to provide fast, reliable and affordable broadband to all Australians, and only by keeping the NBN in the ownership of the Australian people will that vision continue to be delivered.”

The ACT Greens will support volunteer trail builders and deliver new trails at Stromlo Forest Park, to maintain Canberra’s appeal as a mountain biking destination for locals and tourists.

“Mountain biking is one of Canberra’s fastest growing sports, and more trails means more fun,” said Laura Nuttall MLA, Greens spokesperson on sport and recreation, recontesting her Tuggeranong seat of Brindabella.

“Mountain biking has already brought $30 million a year in domestic tourism to the ACT, and an international event happening on the South Coast next year is a huge opportunity for Canberra – if we can maintain our status as a mountain biking destination for tourists.

“We need to get on and deliver the Master Plan for Stromlo Forest Park and keep Canberra’s other trail networks in great shape.

“That’s why the ACT Greens will invest $1.2 million in our trails and the people who look after them,” Miss Nuttall said.

The ACT Greens will:

• Invest $800,000 in new trails at Stromlo Forest Park, as a start to delivering the Master Plan
• Provide $400,000 to community groups building and maintaining trails across the ACT
• Make the most of the opportunity offered by Sea Otter 2025 coming to Mogo Trails next October.

“Mountain biking is good for our health, it’s great fun, and it’s a wonderful way to appreciate Canberra’s environment,” said Jo Clay MLA, recontesting Greens Member for Ginninderra.

“We have excellent trails across the city for locals and visitors. But our volunteers need support to keep them that way.

“The Greens plan will build on the improved maintenance we’ve secured at Stromlo, to support local groups to maintain trail networks across the ACT, from Majura Pines and Cotter Pines to Bruce Ridge, Kowen Forest and more.

“This investment will get the gears moving again on making Canberra Australia’s mountain biking capital – where locals, tourists and competitive riders can shred the day away.”

More detail about the Greens’ plans for mountain biking and community sport is on the ACT Greens website.