Category: Australian News

The Greens are calling on the South Australian Government to guarantee the state won’t lose a single gigalitre of water allocated to it under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan after a feasibility study into SA’s desalination plant showed the Liberal Party was gearing up to cut SA’s allocation.
Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The feasibility study – released more than a year after it was conducted – shows the Liberals have been gearing up to cut SA’s River Murray allocation permanently.
“Cutting SA’s water would be devastating for our river system, environment and our community’s water supply. The South Australian Government must rule out any moves in this direction, immediately.
“A reduction in water flowing over the border risks the health of the entire river system. Cuts to South Australia’s allocation is bad news for the environmental health of the Murray-Darling from top to bottom.
“Has Minister Speirs forgotten he is the representative for South Australia’s water and environment, not big upstream irrigators?
“The study shows the desal plant is not effective, not good for South Australia, not good for taxpayers and not good for the environment.
“Not only will it never be a substitute for water flowing down the river, it is outrageously expensive to run. The desal plant will cost taxpayers in the vicinity of 40 times the market value of water.
“This would make Adelaide’s water the most expensive in the country, and we’d still have a dead river.
“The Federal Water Minister finally released the review in the Water for Fodder program today too and together with the feasibility study it’s clear a second round of this program should be ruled out.
“The Greens will move to disallow the Water for Fodder Program in the Senate when the Parliament sits later this month. SA’s water supply needs to be protected, and we cannot afford to lose 60GL more, so upstream farmers can get some water. It puts the whole river system in jeopardy and will cost taxpayers an absolute fortune.”

The Australian Government is providing an additional $12 million to ensure people in Victoria can access 24/7 mental health support through digital and telephone counselling services during this difficult time.
Our Government recognises the mental health impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on individuals and communities, particularly those in Victoria, where regrettable but necessary measures are needed to stop the spread of the virus.
The loss of freedom gained after the first lockdown, the challenges of isolation, fear for loved ones, and concerns about employment can all take a significant mental health toll.
The Government is making this additional investment to ensure that existing helplines can meet increased demand, and can connect clients to ongoing and more intensive support when needed.
This funding includes:

• $5 million for headspace to increase outreach services to young people in the community who are in severe distress.
• This will particularly focus on Year 11 and 12 students, young people who have lost their jobs, and tertiary students.
• This funding will be also used to recruit and train outreach workers who will connect with young people in the community under supervision of headspace staff.
• $2.5 million for Beyond Blue to expand capacity, extend counsellor webchat hours to operate 24/7, and boost the ability to refer people with severe and complex needs for five additional sessions.
• $2.5 million for Lifeline to deal with increased call volumes from Victoria.
• $2 million for Kids Helpline to increase its call answer rate and service responsiveness, deal with additional demand for services, and link to further support.

The latest boost for mental health services is addition to the 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, announced on Sunday 2^nd August.
The additional Medicare support 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.
Our Government continues to work closely with the Victorian Government to ensure Victorians have access to mental health supports in these difficult times.
We have asked the Chief Executive Officer of the National Mental Health Commission, Christine Morgan, and Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Mental Health), Dr Ruth Vine, to work closely with our Victorian counterparts on any additional measures needed to support people living in Victoria.
This builds on our Government’s earlier commitments, totalling more than $500 million, to support the mental health and wellbeing of Australians through the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes:

• $74 million to boost preventative mental health services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of a broader $1.1 billion package that included increased domestic violence support, telehealth services and emergency food relief;
• $48.1 million to support the implementation of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan;
• $20 million from the MRFF for research to improve mental health care and reduce suicide rates in Australia; and
• $7.3 million providing an additional ten Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions for people who are affected by the further restrictions or who are in quarantine or required to self-isolate, and have used their existing 10 sessions. This applies across the whole of Victoria.

With expenditure for mental health services and suicide prevention estimated to be in excess of $5.2 billion in 2019-20, the Government continues to demonstrate its firm commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians.
The Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service is available to all Australians needing support through the COVID-19 pandemic and can be accessed via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available  at 1300 659 467 or on their website.

Scott Morrison must use tomorrow’s national cabinet meeting to extend pandemic leave payments to all other states and territories, ensuring all Australian workers can stay home if they’re sick.
Australia needs a universal paid pandemic leave scheme to protect workers, public health and the national economy.
Labor and the unions have been calling for paid pandemic leave since the start of this pandemic five months ago.
After nearly half a year of dithering Scott Morrison finally conceded this week that paid pandemic leave is necessary, when he announced funding for Victoria.
What he did not seem to understand is paid pandemic leave is meant to prevent outbreaks. We need a national scheme now to prevent a repeat of the Victorian outbreak in other states.
A national scheme also needs to ensure that workers do not face financial barriers to getting tested – something the Victorian scheme fails to do, because it only kicks in after someone has been told to self-isolate or quarantine.
Mr Morrison should have acted on this months ago. But it is surely clear by now that any further delay could be deadly.
A Victorian disaster payment will not stop a worker in New South Wales or Queensland turning up to work sick and potentially infecting their colleagues, customers or patients.
With 80 per cent of new coronavirus infections in Victoria linked to workplaces it is obvious we need financial incentives to keep people at home when they’re sick or have been exposed to the virus.
Workers cannot be forced to choose between paying their bills and protecting their colleagues, customers and patients. Whenever we force that choice on people the community is put at risk.
Unless we get a universal scheme we will have more community transmission, leading to more outbreaks and economy-smashing lockdowns.
We cannot afford not to do this.

Keeping Australians secure online is key to protecting our economy, national security and sovereignty.
The Morrison Government’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy outlines how we will keep Australian families and businesses secure online, protect and strengthen the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure and ensure law enforcement agencies have the powers and technical capabilities to detect, target, investigate and disrupt cybercrime, including on the dark web.
The 2020 Cyber Security Strategy is the largest ever Australian Government financial commitment to cyber security and builds on the strong foundations established by its predecessor.
The Strategy invests $1.67 billion to build new cybersecurity and law enforcement capabilities, protect the essential services upon which we all depend, assist businesses to protect themselves and raise the community’s understanding of how to be secure online.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the role of the Australian Government is to keep Australian’s safe, and it is important now, more than ever to protect Australians online from those who seek to do us harm.
“The 2020 Strategy means that cyber security is a fundamental part of everyday life, so Australians can reap the benefits of the internet and the digital economy safely, and with confidence,” the Prime Minister said.
“The digital economy is the future of Australia’s economy. This has been demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic. We are seeing how much Australian’s are interacting online – for work, healthcare, education, entertainment and shopping.
“We want to enlist all Australians in the fight to create a more cyber safe Australia – you are our secret weapon in our cyber security strategy. And we want to give you the tools to protect your family and your business.
“We will protect our vital infrastructure and services from cyber attacks. We will support businesses to protect themselves so they can succeed in the digital economy.
We will track criminals in the darkest corners of the internet to protect our families and children.”
The Government is determined to disrupt the serious criminal activity saturating the dark web.
The Government will introduce legislation to bolster the powers of the Australian Federal Police and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to identify individuals and their networks engaging in serious criminal activity on the dark web.
Powers that allow offensive disruption capabilities will allow law enforcement to take the fight to the digital frontdoor of those using anonymising technology for evil purposes.
The Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said the protection of children and the Australian community from reprehensible criminal activity remains the Government’s highest priority.
“Pedophiles are targeting kids on line in chat groups. Cyber criminals are scamming money off our elderly by stealing their internet banking details and businesses are being locked out of their systems by ransomware attacks,” Mr Dutton said.
“Families and businesses are all spending more time working and studying online and we need to make it safer. They are stealing the identities and data from unsuspecting Australians.
“We will continue to ensure agencies have the powers and capabilities they need to identify and disrupt threats to the safety of Australians – particularly children, the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Not all cyber security risks can be addressed by government. The strategy outlines steps businesses of all sizes can take to protect themselves and their customers.
To support improved cyber security in the community, the Government will:

• Expand our efforts to raise awareness of cyber security threats and drive uptake of safe and secure online behaviours across the community;
• Expand our 24/7 cyber security advice hotline for families and older Australians;
• Increase funding for victim support; and
• Introduce a voluntary Internet of Things Code of Practice to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

Improving the security and resilience of critical infrastructure entities is crucial to protecting our economy, security, and sovereignty.
We are introducing a security framework to bolster the nation’s resilience and ensure we can act quickly in an emergency. The framework includes security obligations for critical infrastructure providers and Government assistance to industry in response to immediate and serious cyber attacks on Australia’s most critical systems.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said reforms to strengthen the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure would significantly boost Australia’s ability to deter, prevent and respond to the most significant cyber attacks.
“The Government will work with owners and operators of critical infrastructure to update legislation to ensure that critical infrastructure sectors deliver their essential services with security front of mind,” Mr Dutton said.
“Agencies will be equipped to help address sophisticated threats, particularly to the essential services all Australian’s rely on – everything from electricity and water, to healthcare and groceries.
The Strategy has been informed by extensive community consultation and expert advice from Government’s Industry Advisory Panel, chaired by Telstra CEO Andy Penn.
Australia’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy is available at www.homeaffairs.gov.au/cybersecurity.

The Greens have responded to the government’s package for childcare in Victoria, saying that it is unnecessarily complicated and austere. The government should guarantee free childcare permanently and extend JobKeeper for all early learning workers.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens Education spokesperson, said:
“This package doesn’t work for families, who may still have to pay gap fees. It doesn’t work for educators, who don’t have a wage guarantee. And it doesn’t work for centres, who won’t get the funding they need.
“The time is up for impromptu band-aids and ad-hoc fixes. We need to extend the wider JobKeeper scheme to all early learning workers and guarantee proper relief payments for centres.
“The government must recognise that our early learning system is completely broken. It needs an overhaul and childcare needs to be made free permanently.
“We would not be in this situation if early childhood education were properly funded and fee-free to begin with.
“This saga of stop-gap payments and packages through Covid-19 can be resolved through investing in early education, making it fee-free for families, and considering it an essential service with a properly compensated workforce. This is good for families, good for women, good for children and for our society and economy.
“I want to particularly acknowledge ECEC workers. They have been on the frontline and they should be commended for what they continue to do,” she said.

The Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020 is irredeemable and must be rejected by the Senate, the Greens say in their Dissenting Report to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry.
”The amendments proposed by this Bill are punitive, disproportionate and contrary to Australia’s international human rights commitments,” Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.
“This Bill would give detention centre staff greater powers with less oversight than police have when they deal with the general public.”
“The Liberals have shown for years that they are prepared to deliberately harm innocent people in immigration detention, and this Bill gives them yet more power to ramp up their human rights abuses.”
“This Bill is a deliberate attempt to silence legitimate dissent and political expression.”
“It is unconscionable to deny people in immigration detention proper contact with their legal advisors and support networks in the community.”
“This is especially true in the midst of a pandemic.”
“The Bill is irredeemable and cannot be fixed by amendment.”
“The Senate must reject this legislation.”
The Greens’ dissenting report on the Bill can be found here.

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.”