Category: Australian News

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is sitting on his hands while the RBA is causing massive pain to young people and mortgage holders and deliberately risking a recession, the Greens say.

“Jim Chalmers and Wayne Swan are making noise about high interest rates, but Labor is giving the RBA free rein to crash the economy and punish Australians,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“If Labor really cared about people being smashed by rising rates, they’d stop siding with the RBA and use the power they have to bring down interest rates.”

“By not only refusing to do anything to change course, and actively trying to water down his own power to intervene, Jim Chalmers is showing he is happy to let the RBA send Australians to the wall.”

“Labor could introduce a super-profits tax to take the pressure off inflation, but they’re too busy protecting their corporate mates.”

“Labor is more interested in letting the big corporations make out like bandits than in using its power to stop this looming recession. It’s reckless and morally indefensible.”

Today’s National Cabinet announcement brings total funding for the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children to $3.7 billion over 5 years, plus additional money for legal services.

Any funding increase for the frontline responders to the national crisis of violence against women is welcome, but today’s announcement still leaves frontline services underfunded, with one in four women who seek help at risk of being turned away.

Australian Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women, Senator Larissa Waters

“Today’s funding shortfall still leaves one in four women at risk of being turned away from a frontline family, domestic and sexual violence service.

“While today’s announcement offers a modest improvement ($351 federal money, matched by states) on funding for frontline services, with a new total of $3.7 billion federal funding under the National Plan over 5 years, it’s still only 75% of the $1 billion each year that the women’s safety sector needs.

“Money on paper is no guarantee that services will actually receive the money – previous federal funding under the Plan has disappeared into state government administration with no transparency on where it ends up – and services say they aren’t getting it.

“Likewise the promised 500 federally funded frontline workers have still not materialised.

“It’s disappointing that National Cabinet kicked the can down the road on alcohol sales, and that there is still prevarication from the federal government on regulating gambling advertising.

“We welcome funding to establish national standards for men’s behaviour change, something the Greens have asked for for several years.

“On the legal services funding of $3.9 billion over five years, we will examine the detail once it becomes available, but it was concerning to hear the PM note that only $500 million will go towards additional workers for the legal sector. We know that 1,000 women are turned away from women’s legal services each week, and we fear $500 million will not fix that. 

“This is about priorities. If Labor funded just one less nuclear submarine they would have more than the amount required to fully fund frontline family, domestic and sexual violence services.

“They could scrap the $11 billion annually they are currently handing to the fossil fuel industry. Or the $15.9 billion annually to property investors. 

“Women are missing out when submarines, gas companies and property barons are showered with public money.”

The Australian Greens are deeply concerned about the situation in Tigray and the findings of human rights abuses that are detailed in the New Lines Institute report Genocide in Tigray: Serious breaches of international law in the Tigray conflict, Ethiopia, and paths to accountability. 

This report found that since the beginning of the Ethiopian-Tigrayan conflict in 2020, around 700,000 Tigrayans have been killed, with civilians making up the majority of the death poll. The report also found that over 2.5 million people have been internally displaced, 10,000 women and girls have been subject to gender based violence, and only 3% of health facilities have been left functioning. This has resulted in up to 5 million people needing emergency food assistance and over 40,000 people facing famine-like conditions. We have heard accounts of inequitable and ineffective aid distribution, which has resulted in essential humanitarian aid not being delivered to people who need it. 

There have been credible claims that the actions taken by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces against Tigrayans amount to genocide. There is also credible evidence that members of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front have committed war crimes. This is highly disturbing, and accountability for perpetrators must be delivered. 

The Australian Greens believe that the Australian Government must always act to prevent and oppose violations of human rights law, ensure individuals, entities or states that violate human rights law are held accountable and that urgency and transparency are crucial when delivering emergency aid and humanitarian relief. 

The Australian Greens recognise that the Australian-Tigrayan community are frustrated by the lack of coverage given to this crisis by the Australian media and the insufficient action taken by the Australian government, especially in comparison to other international conflicts. 

We are calling on the Australian Government to use its role in international forums to actively support efforts to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Tigray. We are also calling on the Australian Government to review the distribution of Australian aid in Tigray. 

The Australian Greens are in solidarity with the Tigray community, and will continue to oppose violence, human rights abuses, and war crimes in Tigray and wherever they occur.

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) will convene in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Australia Greens do not support the decision of the United Nations to host this event in Azerbaijan.  

The Azerbaijan government has a long history of human rights abuses against its own citizens and provocations and violations on the world stage. This includes the violent crackdown on environmental protests and the illegal annexation of the Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. 

Azerbaijan’s economy is highly dependent on the export of oil and gas. Not only are these exports contributing to the climate crisis, they are also empowering and enriching the corrupt regime of President Aliyev. 

It is concerning that so far the organisers have refused to release details of the Host Country Agreement, this means it is unclear what steps, if any, Azerbaijan is taking to protect human rights during the conference. 

The Australian Greens believe the United Nation’s organisers should have selected a different host country for COP29 – it’s unacceptable that this conference is happening in a country that commits human rights abuses, and profits off the climate crisis. The UN must publicly release the details of the Host Country Agreement. 

After the third hearing on the ESOS bill Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Greens Leader and spokesperson for Higher Education, has said that the more that is revealed about this bill, the bigger a train wreck it is.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi:

“It’s crystal clear the opposition to this chaotic and reckless bill is pretty universal. 

“The government is hell bent on strangling the higher education sector in their bullish attempt to achieve a migration outcome which has absolutely nothing to do with international education.

“The higher education sector will be collateral damage in this race to the bottom on migration between Labor and the Liberals.

“Gaping holes in the caps, perverse outcomes, uncertainties, unknown inconsistencies and a lack of consultation are just some of the flaws that make this bill and the whole policy process a complete mess.

“The government must scrap the caps, immediately get rid of Ministerial Direction 107 and go back to the drawing board.” 

The Australian Government will provide more than $1.8 million for humanitarian relief and emergency supplies in response to the recent flooding in Bangladesh.

Almost 6 million people have been affected by the flooding, and livelihoods have been devastated as agricultural fields and fishponds are submerged by flood waters.

Essential services including communication and transport networks are disrupted, providing a further challenge to response efforts.

More than half a million people have been displaced and are sheltering in flood evacuation centres, where overcrowding and temporary structures have heightened protection concerns, especially for women and girls.

Australian assistance will be directed through Oxfam and BRAC, a Bangladeshi NGO and one of the world’s largest non-government organisations. Our contribution will ensure the most vulnerable, including women, children and people with disabilities can access lifesaving assistance.

In addition to today’s announcement, Australia welcomes the release of USD17.7 million (approximately AUD26.4 million) from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to respond to crises in Bangladesh in 2024. Australia is a top 10 donor to the CERF.

Today National Cabinet signed a Heads of Agreement for a new National Access to Justice Partnership that will provide a critical increase of nearly $800 million in funding over five years from 2025-26 to the legal assistance sector, with a focus on uplifting legal services responding to gender-based violence.

The Commonwealth Government will invest a total of $3.9 billion in support for frontline legal assistance services to be delivered through a new partnership agreement with the states and territories.

The former Coalition Government did not provide ongoing funding for this agreement, leaving a funding cliff from 30 June 2025. The Albanese Government will provide ongoing funding for the agreement, alongside other major agreements in skills, schools and health – this will provide funding certainty for the sector

This is the largest injection of funding to the legal assistance sector in 20 years, and provides much needed funding certainty for hundreds of services nationwide, including many who provide holistic support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.

The funding was announced today at National Cabinet as part of a $4.7 billion package to respond to the national crisis of family, domestic and sexual violence and support legal assistance.

The National Access to Justice Partnership will commence on expiry of the current National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) on 30 June 2025. The Government’s commitment of funding for the Partnership, well before the expiry of the NLAP, will give the sector the certainty it needs to continue vital services

Today’s commitment will deliver vital support to all parts of the legal assistance sector, including Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres, Women’s Legal Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services. It will also allow for salaries in community sector legal assistance providers to better align with the rest of the sector, ensuring these services can recruit and retain staff.

The full National Access to Justice Partnership will be agreed through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Gender-based violence is a national crisis – and we cannot solve it overnight.

“We recognise that the legal assistance sector plays a vital role in that response. Legal assistance helps victims safely leave and recover from violent relationships, through access to finances, secure housing and safe arrangements for children.

“Today’s announcement builds on our Government’s efforts to provide better access to services for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus

“I have spent decades fighting for a better deal for the legal assistance sector. Legal assistance is essential to ensuring access to justice and equality before the law for all Australians, and safety for victims and survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence.

“I thank the many workers on the frontline who have been tireless advocates for the sector and for the rights of the thousands of Australians who rely on them every year.

“This funding is critical – it will mean that essential frontline services can continue to operate and help the most vulnerable in our community.”

The AFP is warning parents and guardians over a concerning online trend emerging in Australia involving young victims who are being coerced into producing extreme sexual and violent content over the internet.

Sadistic sextortion is a rising online crime type that involves extreme online groups targeting children as young as twelve years old on social media and messaging platforms to coerce them to self-produce explicit material to gain acceptance into extreme online communities.

These online communities use different names and monikers to operate on social media or messaging platforms, and consist of members from all around the world. To gain access to a majority of these groups, prospective members are coerced by group members to produce or live-stream explicit content online.

In some cases, the offenders are the same age as the victims being targeted.

AFP intelligence has identified that sadistic sextortion offenders will initiate an online relationship with a victim on social media or messaging platform before encouraging them to produce an image or video performing an explicit sexual or violent act.

The offender will then share the content with other members in the online group, who will attempt to extort the victim by threatening to share the material with their family or friends, unless the victim produces more videos and extreme content.

The offender will relentlessly demand more content from victims that often continues to escalate in its seriousness including specific live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self-harm, and live online suicide.

The Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) commenced an investigation into reports of an alleged serious sadistic sextortion offender in WA, 14, accused of targeting victims around the world in 2022.

Police seized the offender’s phone and later identified child abuse material (CAM) and videos of animal cruelty.

The offender was charged and received a juvenile caution in relation to the matter.

AFP Commander of Human Exploitation and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Helen Schneider said intelligence received by the ACCCE suggested most offenders in extreme online groups were not motivated by money, but were instead focused on obtaining status or notoriety within the group.

“Unlike sextortion, these offenders are not motivated by financial gain. Instead, they are driven by exploiting vulnerable victims into producing abhorrent content for their deranged amusement,” Commander Schneider said.

“Unfortunately, some victims in these groups, do not see themselves as victims. They do not believe they are being coerced into performing these extremely horrific acts and therefore are unlikely to report it to the authorities.

“Without information or assistance from victims and members of the public, it can be extremely difficult for police to identify offenders and shutdown these dangerous groups.”

Commander Schneider said the AFP urged parents and guardians to be aware of the warning signs of young people being groomed by coercive groups online.

‘If parents believe their child is engaging in harmful activity online, it’s important to have a conversation with them to understand the situation and provide appropriate support,” Commander Schneider said.

“Warning signs children may be engaging in harmful activity online may include increased screen-time on computers or phones, isolating themselves from friends and family or being secretive about who they are interacting with online.

“Whether a child is or has been a victim of sextortion online, please reassure them it’s not their fault and report it to the ACCCE.”

If you think you are a victim or know of someone who is a victim of sadistic sextortion
DO stop the chat
DO take screen shots of the text and profile
DO block the account and report it to the platform
DO get support from a trusted friend or family member, or professional support services and seek mental health support if required. Kids Helpline offers free and confidential sessions with counsellors.
DO report the crime to the ACCCE
DON’T send more images or pay as this will lead to more demands
DON’T respond to demands
DON’T enter into further communication
DON’T think you are alone
If you’re concerned about your or someone else’s safety, dial Triple Zero (000) or contact your local police station.

The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.

The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.

If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.

Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found on the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit the ACCCE website.

The NSW Attorney General has been blasted by crossbench and opposition MPs in Budget Estimates this morning in a fiery exchange that exposed the impotence of the Minns Labor Government’s “tough-on-crime” posturing. 

Under questioning, it was revealed the Attorney General could not identify any evidence or consultation that suggested more severe penalties for knife offences or expanded police knife-wanding powers have reduced crime or would ever reduce knife crime.

The Hon. Susan Carter presented BOCSAR stats showing that certain violent knife offences have actually increased since the introduction of harsher penalties for knife offences last year

Ms Sue Higginson presented evidence from the The 2023 Griffith University Review of Queensland wanding powers which found no evidence that police wanding powers had reduced the rate of knife possession or violent knife offences and had been disproportionately used to target First Nations children and young people.

No prior consultation was undertaken on youth bail reforms with legal experts or community groups

88% of children refused bail under Labor’s youth bail reforms were First Nations children

The new Moree youth remand facility announced in March this year will not be operational before the expiration of NSW Labor’s youth bail reforms next year

The LECC will have no role overseeing the implementation of knife wanding powers, in spite of their offer to do so

The Attorney General repeatedly stated he would not apologise for legislation introduced without community and legal expert consultation and admitted that the legislation will result in the further over-incarceration of First Nations people, particularly children and young people.

Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson said “This morning was a dreadful display of the realities of a tough on crime, law and order agenda. It is not based on evidence, will not reduce crime but means this government has functionally abandoned its commitment to Closing the Gap targets,”

“More First Nations young people and children are in prison than ever before in NSW because of the headline-chasing, tough-on-crime posturing of the Premier and Attorney General in the last 12 months,”

“It is an unconscionable political failure that the drivers of crime are so widely, well and long understood and that more has not been done to date to reform our approach in NSW,”

“Being tough on crime may be responsive to radio shock jocks and be cathartic for bully-boy lawmakers but it has not, has never, and will never make our communities safer,”

“Crime prevention requires community empowerment and resourcing, therapeutic responses, extraordinary compassion and understanding and the leadership to drive it and it is the leadership that is absent,” Ms Higginson said.

The NSW government will fail to deliver meaningful change in response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into community and outpatient mental health care without significant additional funding.

The inquiry was initiated by the Greens in July 2023 to hear from people with lived experience and people on the front lines of providing mental health care. The committee is chaired by Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens spokesperson for Health including Mental Health and former GP.

Out of the 39 recommendations in the final report, the government has supported 24, supported 8 in principle, and noted 7.

Key takeaways

Funding for the mental health system	The NSW government has failed to support recommendations to increase and maintain funding across the mental health system, or to explore innovative revenue streams to fund mental health services.
Mental health crisis and emergency responses	The government has supported several recommendations towards a health-led response to mental health emergencies, with police only activated as a secondary response to those emergencies (supported in principle).  The government has not supported a recommendation to improve mandatory comprehensive mental health training for police officers. The government has not supported a recommendation to expand the Safe Haven program to be a 24/7 program where feasible.
Mental health workforce	The NSW government has failed to support recommendations to increase pay for public mental health clinicians in line with other states, or to increase resourcing for formal clinical supervision. Recommendations to integrate peer workers into the broader mental health workforce and into emergency departments were supported. The government has supported recommendations to advocate to the federal government to address funding and workforce gaps in primary care and mental health services and to provide HELP fee relief for mental health priority courses.
Other recommendations	The government has agreed to look to initiatives that provide mental health care outside of traditional clinical settings, explore opportunities for embedding mental health clinicians in general practice, improve service directories and system navigation, and implement best practice for data collection on gender and sexuality. The government has stated it is considering introducing 5-year funding agreements for NSW Mental Health Community Living Programs to improve consistency of care for consumers and growth and stability of the workforce, but that the availability of funding is a consideration.

The inquiry comes after data released recently by the federal government shows that across 2022-23, 205,830 people aged 12-64 in NSW required psychosocial support but 166,040 were not receiving it. That’s over 80% of those people needing but not receiving psychosocial support services. That percentage is second only to the NT at 82.3%. 

Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens NSW spokesperson for Health including Mental Health, and former GP:

“There are some important steps forward to take out of the government’s response. Commitments to bolster the role of peer workers, better integrate mental health care and primary care and streamline system navigation are important and welcome.

“After a long-fought campaign by the Greens, the government has supported moving to health-led responses to mental health emergencies. The fight continues now to ensure this is implemented in full so that people in crisis receive the care they need and do not come to harm at the hands of police.

“It’s a slap in the face to hard working, skilled, and increasingly burnt out mental health clinicians that the government has not supported increasing their pay in line with other states. Services will continue to be understaffed and unable to deliver the care that people deserve while our health workforce moves interstate.

“These recommendations don’t get pulled out of thin air within the walls of Parliament. They were informed by the testimonies of hundreds of people, many who relived painful memories and trauma to advocate for change. 

“Without new funding for community mental health services, people across NSW will continue not to be able to access the care that they need, and the mental health system will continue to be reactive and crisis-driven,” said Dr Cohn.