Category: Australian News

Power reliability will get a $1 billion boost as part of the Liberal National Government’s plan to ensure Australian households, businesses and industries get a fair deal on energy.
The Liberal National Government will establish a $1 billion Grid Reliability Fund to support Government investment in new energy generation, storage and transmission infrastructure, including eligible projects shortlisted under the Underwriting New Generation Investments (UNGI) program.
The new $1 billion fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), drawing on the energy and financial markets expertise that has seen the CEFC invest more than $7 billion in clean energy since its establishment in 2012. The Fund represents the first new capital provided to the CEFC since it began.
The Prime Minister said the Fund would also help unlock private sector investment for projects that would secure the grid and put downward pressure on prices.
“This is a yet another initiative by our Government taking more action to bring power prices down and keep the lights on,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’re delivering immediate relief through our new price safety net and banning sneaky late payment fees but we’ve also got our eye to the future with the projects this new Fund will back.
“Our work to date and this new initiative will help deliver an energy system that isn’t a roadblock to businesses growing and employing more people and that isn’t stinging family hip-pockets.”
Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the fund would ensure sufficient reliable generation capacity is available to meet periods of high demand.
“The Grid Reliability Fund builds on our strong action to stabilise the grid and get the energy generation balance right, to deliver affordable, 24/7 reliable power,” said Minister Taylor.
“It is no secret that the National Electricity Market is under pressure – this fund is designed to tackle that and is part of a suite of initiatives that the Government is delivering to ensure when people flick the switch, the lights come on and stay on.”
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the Government would update the CEFC enabling legislation to ensure the Grid Reliability Fund could support suitable projects.
“The Grid Reliability Fund will provide the Clean Energy Finance Corporation with additional capacity to support affordability, reliability and security of supply, which ultimately puts downward pressure on energy prices,” Minister Cormann said.
The Fund will prioritise investments in jurisdictions where state and territory governments are working with the Commonwealth towards an agreed reliability goal and to ensure sufficient reliable generation capacity is available to meet periods of high demand.
Eligible investments will include:

• Energy storage projects including pumped hydro and batteries,
• Transmission and distribution infrastructure, and
• Grid stabilising technologies.

Further announcements on individual projects, including shortlisted UNGI projects, will be made as the Commonwealth reaches agreements with individual project proponents.
The Government will only refer UNGI projects that reflect the CEFC’s legislative mandate for consideration under the Fund.
The Grid Reliability Fund is an important initiative in the Government’s A Fair Deal on Energy policy and will contribute to meeting our $70 per MWh price target and maintaining and increasing supply of reliable electricity.
View the energy policy blueprint here: https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-policy-blueprint-fair-deal-energy.

Australia has been given its first look at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport with today’s release of the first design images.
The design is the next step in Western Sydney International taking shape, with major earthworks set to commence next year that will lead to the construction of runways, roads, rail and the terminal.
The innovative design of the country’s biggest aviation project in decades follows the appointment of the architects who will design the terminal precinct.
Successful architectural team Zaha Hadid Architects, and Australian architects, Cox Architecture won the honour to design the terminal precinct following a competitive process which generated more than 40 design entrants.
The winning design focuses on the customer journey while paying tribute to the Western Sydney region and natural landscape. It passed a range of value-for-money and technical reviews.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the designs showed the once-in-a-generation infrastructure project coming to life.
“This is set to be the largest gateway to Australia and these designs are another step to making it a reality,” the Prime Minister said.
“Designed alongside locals and built by local workers the airport will deliver massive economic benefits to the region.”
The appointment of the architectural design team and the first look at the terminal design is a major milestone in the delivery of the federally funded, $5.3 billion Western Sydney International.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said designing and constructing a terminal capable of catering for 10 million passengers annually was a significant challenge.
“To meet the challenge the terminal will be designed for modular expansion, to accommodate the long term capacity of up to 80 million passengers anticipated every year by the early 2060s,” Minister Cormann said.
To be considered for the design project, interested firms were required to have experience designing an airport of similar size and complexity to Western Sydney International in the past five years. The final decision on the winning design was made by a panel of some of Australia’s most renowned architects.
Liberal Senator for Western Sydney Marise Payne said the competitive process undertaken for the terminal precinct design led to the very best outcome for Western Sydney.
“The iconic final design ensures that air travel will be accessible for locals, as well as locking in new opportunities for people who want to work, shop and meet at the terminal precinct,” Senator Payne said.
The airport has committed to delivering 30 per cent of direct job opportunities to Western Sydney residents and is currently exceeding that target.
Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said Western Sydney would be the big winner as the airport continues to take shape.
“The construction phase alone will support 11,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Western Sydney region,” Minister Tudge said.
“Within the first five years of the airport opening it is expected to support 28,000 full time jobs for the people of Western Sydney.”
The design process encouraged the demonstration on how local university students would be included on the design team.
Member for Lindsay Melissa McIntosh said designing an airport and working through concepts with local students is important.
“I am pleased to see that Zaha Hadid Architects and Australian architects Cox Architecture will work with Western Sydney University students, local Aboriginal groups and other stakeholders to further refine and enhance the concepts to arrive at the final design,” Ms McIntosh said.
“This is the first step in preparing our local kids for the jobs of the future by playing such an integral role through the design of the Airport. We know that post construction over 28,000 jobs will be created and we want our kids to take those opportunities.”

The Australian Government has rejected key recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into the governance and operation of the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) aimed at improving transparency and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Greens Co-deputy leader and Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters said the Morrison Government had rejected the evidence in favour of continuing with a politically motived waste of taxpayers’ money designed to funnel community resources into projects like Adani.
“The report out today shows Northern Australians have yet again been sold out by the Australian Government that is more interested in propping up the struggling Nationals than being transparent about investment in the north,” she said.
“The Senate Inquiry report found the NAIF’s assessment criteria are not transparent, assessment processes are inconsistent, and the CEO has too much power. Yet, the Government has rejected key recommendations for improving NAIF’s accountability.
“You can’t hand out billions in taxpayer dollars without the appropriate checks and balances, including reporting on any conflicts of interest for board members and making public suitable detail on successful projects and proponents.
“The Greens recommended acknowledging the climate crisis and Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement by prohibiting NAIF investment in infrastructure supporting the transport or burning of thermal coal or gas.
“The reality of the climate crisis has been rejected by the Government which receives substantial donations from the fossil fuel industry and then expects taxpayers to prop up their climate-wrecking projects, despite global warming and declining global coal outlooks.
“The Government’s support for handing over community funds will continue even when coal companies like Adani are exposed as poor corporate citizens and would fail a “suitable person test” for receiving investment.
“NAIF is operating in a secretive and underhanded way, it should be made more accountable and used to fund community infrastructure that supports regions and improves our environmental health,” Senator Waters said.

The Environment Minister is in denial about the extinction crisis and plans to use the review of Australia’s environment laws to water them down in favour of big miners and developers, the Greens say.
“The current laws are not working to protect our animals or the environment. This Review should be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix them,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“However the signals from the Minister thus far indicate the government is more interested in making life easier for miners, developers and big business than saving our environment.
“It’s extremely concerning the Environment Minister doesn’t seem to understand the purpose of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation (EPBC) Act, or indeed her job.
“Like her predecessors, the Environment Minister has again failed to recognise her role is to protect our environment, not clear the path for coal, oil and gas.
“We’re in the middle of a climate and extinction crisis, the focus of this review should be on fixing the significant failures in our environment laws that are causing and exacerbating these crisis. The Terms of Reference don’t even mention climate despite the urgent need for our environment laws to look at the climate impacts of a project.”
Senator Hanson-Young said the inclusion of Dr Erica Smyth AC on the panel was deeply concerning given her ties to the oil and gas industry and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANTSO).
“We know the Minerals Council wants the ban on nuclear energy removed as a result of this review so it’s hard to be anything but cynical about the government’s appointment of an ANSTO executive,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“Minister Ley has been at pains today to send a signal to the Minerals Council that she has their back. She’s denied there’s even an extinction crisis and talked up making life easier for industry by streamlining approvals. Her denial is going to cost all of us dearly.
“The Greens will keep fighting for stronger environment laws and will keep pushing for a ‘climate trigger’ and for the maintenance of the ban on nuclear energy.
“A review of the EPBC Act won’t come around again for another decade after this; we simply do not have that much time to act to protect species and our special places, it’s now or never.”

Greens MP Michael Berkman and Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters have welcomed Queensland Labor’s announcement today that they will cap political donations and expenditure and increase public funding, but called on them to ban all corporate donations and cash-for-access meetings.
Greens MP Michael Berkman said:
“It’s great to see Labor adopting part of the Greens’ plan to get big money out of politics in Queensland, but I’m also calling on them to support my Bill to ban all corporate donations.
“Corporate donations make life harder for everyday Queenslanders because it lets banks, lobbyists and mining companies set the agenda.
“There are still big questions for Labor to answer, including whether they are leaving union affiliation fees unrestricted as in Victoria, and whether they are cracking down on ‘dark money’ donations from associated entities like Labor Holdings and LNP Nominees.
“Big money in politics was the first issue I raised in Parliament, starting with banning corporate donations. Just a month ago, I wrote to the Premier about my plan to introduce a Bill to cap donations and expenditure.
“Last week in Question Time I asked the Premier to scrap cash-for-access meetings, so I call on Labor to urgently confirm that they will be banned.”
Greens Co-deputy leader and Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters said:
“Political donation data has consistently shown the major parties are owned by the mining, gambling, alcohol, property and banking industries. The caps brought in today will help reign in corporate interest and is a step towards restoring community confidence in democracy.
“However, Queensland must go further in removing the influence of big money and start restoring integrity into our parliament.
“The Greens call on premier Palaszczuk to go further and adopt Greens policy to stop all MPs from accepting lobbying jobs for five years after they retire and a ban on all corporate political donations including from mining, property development and gambling industries,” she said.

Australians suffering from melanoma and multiple sclerosis will soon have new treatment options, with new and amended PBS listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) coming into effect on 1 November.
The Morrison Government will expand the current PBS listings of Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) and Mekinist® (trametinib) to include subsidy for post-surgery treatment for patients who have Stages IIIB, IIIC and IIID melanoma.
Over 260 patients per year are expected to benefit from this listing each year. Without the PBS subsidy, patients might otherwise pay more than $128,900 for each course of treatment for these medicines.
Stage III melanoma means that cancer cells have spread into skin, lymph vessels or lymph glands close to the melanoma but they haven’t spread to other parts of the body.
Australia has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world – 11 times higher than the worldwide average; more than twice the rate than the UK or USA.
It is estimated 15,229 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2019, and approximately 400 will have Stage III resected BRAF mutation positive melanoma.
Additionally, paediatric patients being treated for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis will benefit from the extension of two medicines listings.
The current PBS listing of Gilenya® (fingolimod) will be amended to include a new strength of this medicine for treatment of patients weighing 40kg or less, including paediatric patients.
Up to 17 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis are expected to benefit from this listing each year. Without the PBS subsidy, patients might otherwise pay more than $28,800 for a course of treatment.
The PBS listing of Tysabri® (natalizumab) will be extended to remove the age restrictions for this medicine, to subsidise use in paediatric patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.
Without the PBS subsidy, patients might otherwise pay more than $17,500 each year and it is expected that an additional 10 patients per year will have access to this medicine.
These PBS listings were recommended by the independent expert Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
Through the PBS patients will pay a maximum of $40.30 per script, with concessional people paying just $6.50 per script for these medicines.
Since 2013, the Morrison Government has made more than 2,200 new or amended medicines listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings per month – or one each day – at an overall cost of around $10.6 billion.
Unlike Labor, we are listing all medicines recommended by the medical experts on the PBAC. In 2011, Labor stopped listing medicines on the PBS because they could not manage the economy.
Our commitment to ensuring that Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.
We are able to provide unprecedented levels of support to health and medical research because of our strong economic management.
About Tafinlar® and Mekinist®

• Tafinlar® and Mekinist® is the first treatment targeting the BRAF gene mutation to be reimbursed for patients with Stage IIIB-D melanoma following surgery.
• Whilst survival rates for those with early stage disease are very high, without treatment nearly one in two people with Stage IIIB-D melanoma at diagnosis will experience a recurrence within one year of surgery.
• Tafinlar® and Mekinist®, known as targeted therapies, work on different proteins involved in tumour cell growth that are active in patients with a melanoma carrying the BRAF gene mutation.
• By targeting and blocking growth signals from these proteins, Tafinlar® and Mekinist® can slow down or stop cancer growth.

Australia is at a crucial intersection.
From a weakening economy and growing job insecurity, to the challenge of climate change and an ageing population – Australia needs a plan.
But Australia has a government that has no agenda, let alone a plan for the future.
It’s a government that is characterised by being scared of the present and terrified of the future.
So Labor is turning its focus forward – to what the Australian people need so they can build a safe, prosperous and secure future.
And we’ll be guided every step of the way by our values: Labor values.
That’s why today, I began laying down the framework that will guide the policies that Labor will take to the election.
This one focused on the very heart of Labor’s mission: jobs and the future of work.
And I wanted you to hear directly from me about how Labor can lead Australia confidently into the future.
In my speech today, I outlined the ways that Australia can prepare for the future of work, including:
Embracing a new manufacturing boom — and all the jobs that will come with it — by becoming a green energy superpower
Exporting the minerals that will fuel the clean energy economies of the future – minerals like lithium, which is used in electric cars and batteries
Beginning a new national project to repair our TAFE and training system by establishing Jobs and Skills Australia – a real, genuine partnership between unions, business, government and TAFE to make sure workers are getting the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow
Changing the culture of workplaces so unequal pay, segregation, sexual harassment and discrimination are things of the past – and that women can be seen on construction or mining sites as equally as men are seen in our places of care
Supporting Australia’s creative industries – hamstrung by cuts, lack of investment and outdated policy settings – because imagination and creativity are two of Australia’s other great renewable resources
Making sure workers in the gig economy are protected just as much as workers in more traditional industries
We know Australia can’t assume economic success is inevitable.
We can watch the tidal wave of change coming and be swept away by it – or we can protect our citizens by giving them a fair shot at a prosperous future.
But Labor doesn’t believe that Government should simply get out of the way and leave it to the market alone. We know that trickle-down economics only rains down misery on working people.
Australians can build a safe, prosperous and secure future if we establish the conditions in which their own efforts are rewarded.
In the coming decades, we need to create the conditions to prosper in our changing and dynamic world.
There is absolutely no sign that the Morrison Government even understands this challenge, let alone possesses the will to tackle it. They are complacent and have no plan.
Labor is prepared to take it on.
We know we can do this as long as we work together and present a vision for the future.
Because whatever the economic challenges we face, a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay is still a concept worth aspiring to

The Australian Greens support the Kashmiri community on 27 October as they commemorate Black Day.  Kashmir is a disputed territory and it is now almost three months since the Indian Government decided to revoke its special status and further erode Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
The Indian Government must restore basic human rights in Kashmir, including freedom of speech and communication.  The Indian Government must also lift curfews and restrictions placed on political leaders, end arbitrary detentions and disappearances, allow humanitarian organisations to resume their work, and reverse the decision to drastically reduce the autonomy of Kashmir.
Once again, the Greens urge the Australian Government to speak out and call on the Indian Government to respect the human rights of the people in Kashmir and their right to self-determination. The people of Kashmir have been waiting long enough for a free and fair plebiscite to determine their future.

Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to Racing Victoria’s announcement of a $25m “equine welfare” plan.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The racing industry is attempting to head off a meaningful scrutiny with nice-sounding words and the bare minimum in funding.
“Any move to improve animal welfare for horses is a step forward but the plan from Racing Victoria is not good enough. They’ve moved barely an inch after being exposed as an industry whose business model relies on the industrial scale slaughter of horses.
“The public has seen the horrific abuse and slaughter of racehorses and are rightfully demanding that the industry show responsibility, accountability and transparency.
“The racing industry must safeguard the wellbeing of the horses they breed for the whole of their natural lives.
“Racing Victoria’s plan to subsidise ‘on farm euthanasia’ shows the industry isn’t prepared to tackle their over-breeding.We must introduce breeding caps and give all racehorses a dignified retirement funded by the industry that breeds them.
“The Federal government must urgently establish a Royal Commission to lift the lid on the dirty secrets of this billion-dollar racing and gambling industry. A piecemeal approach by the states is not going to get to the bottom of what the industry knew and when,” she concluded.