Category: Australian News

I will travel to Christchurch with my wife Jenny to attend New Zealand’s National Remembrance Service for the victims of the 15 March terrorist attack.
The Christchurch attack was the most shocking and horrific of events.
The National Remembrance Service is an opportunity for Australia to stand in unity and solidarity with New Zealand as the global community comes together to honour the victims and their loved ones.
The Governor-General and the Leader of the Opposition will also attend the National Remembrance Service.
On behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian community, our delegation will represent Australia in offering every support we can provide our New Zealand brothers and sisters, and the Muslim community around the world.
Scott Morrison
 

Motorists across Sydney and the Central Coast will be spending less time in traffic and more time doing what’s important to them after a $253.5 million congestion-busting funding boost.
The package includes upgrading King Georges Road and Blaxland Road at Balaclava Road in Eastwood, the Princes Highway at Waratah Street in Kirrawee, The Horsley Drive and Homebush Bay Drive in Sydney Olympic Park, while also investing $50 million into commuter car parking.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the investment would mean Sydney-siders and people on the Central Coast would be getting home sooner and safer.
“Our investment means people can spend more time with friends and family and tradies can be earning more on site rather than being stuck in traffic,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is a significant investment in tackling the congestion hotspots that are costing people precious time and losing businesses money.”
“People living in Sydney know better than anyone the very real impacts road congestion has on people’s lives and we are doing something about the pinch points and bottlenecks that lie at the heart of the problem.”
Funded through the Government’s $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund, projects include:

• $95 million to upgrade The Horsley Drive in the city’s south-west;
• $50 million toward widening King Georges Road in the city’s south;
• $50 million to upgrade Homebush Bay Drive, including investigating options to improve traffic flow at the intersection of Australia Avenue and Underwood Road;
• $4.5 million to upgrade Blaxland Road at the Balaclava Road intersection in Eastwood;
• $4 million to upgrade the Princes Highway at Waratah Street in Kirrawee;
• $7.5 million for commuter car park upgrades at Panania;
• $7.5 million for commuter car park upgrades at Hurstville; and
• $35 million for commuter car parking at Gosford Station and Woy Woy Station on the Central Coast.

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the Urban Congestion Fund was designed to eliminate congestion issues where they are hurting the most.
“This is not only the major freeways but the local pinch points which cause daily headaches to commuters,” Minister Tudge said.
“This package shows we are not slowing down in NSW, and builds on the $26 billion we already have invested in game-changing infrastructure in Sydney and across the State since coming into power.”
The Morrison Government’s existing investment across urban New South Wales includes WestConnex, NorthConnex, the M1 Productivity Package, the Northern Road Upgrade and the transformational Western Sydney International (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport, which will support tens of thousands of jobs and connect western Sydney to the world.

Greens Senator for Tasmania Nick McKim says words of condemnation for Pauline Hanson’s repugnant comments about Port Arthur are not enough.
“One Nation is a threat to community harmony, and Australia’s safe and tolerant society,” Senator McKim said.
“Ms Hanson’s comments about the Port Arthur massacre represent a new low.”
“They are an affront to every Tasmanian, particularly those of us who remember the horrors and trauma of that incident.”
“But words of condemnation are not enough – they must be backed up by actions.”
“The best way to reject One nation’s hateful agenda is for all other political parties to join with the Greens in preferencing One Nation last in the Senate in Tasmania at the forthcoming election.”

The Australian Greens have released their climate and energy plan for the upcoming federal election. Releasing the policy Renew Australia 2030: Powering past coal for a future for all of us, Greens Leader Richard Di Natale joined climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP at a building powered by renewables, the 60L Green Building, in the heart of his Melbourne electorate.

The climate and energy plan includes:

• 100% renewables by 2030 including support for households and business solar and batteries and the establishment of renewable energy zones

• A new public energy retailer Power Australia and re-regulation of electricity prices

• Phasing out the burning and export of thermal coal supported by a $1 billion transition plan for workers

• The building of a solar export industry based on hydrogen and direct exports to Asia

• Doubling energy productivity and a reduction in pollution across the economy driven by industry programs, a energy efficiency target and a carbon price

• A shift to electric cars with the phase out of petrol car sales

• Support for farmers to drawdown carbon in the land

The plan will create 170,000 new jobs and drive Australia towards zero-net emissions by 2040.

Dr Richard Di Natale, Australian Greens Leader:

“Coal is the world’s biggest cause of climate change – and Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal. Unless we phase out coal, we can’t deal with climate change,” said Dr Di Natale.

“Unlike the major parties, the Greens have a plan to phase out coal exports and create a jobs boom in the renewable energy export industry. Our Renew Australia 2030 action plan will lower energy costs for households and businesses and drive fossil fuels out of the economy.”

“Australia can become a renewable energy super power, replacing coal with clean energy and exporting that clean energy to a global market that’s ready to consume it.

Adam Bandt MP, Greens climate change and energy spokesperson:

“This is a plan to take on coal. If you don’t have a plan for coal, you’re not serious about climate change.

“We need to turf out the Coalition coal-huggers, but Labor has no plan for coal either. The Paris Agreement requires us to keep coal in the ground, but Labor and Liberal take millions of dollars from coal corporations and keep exporting this toxic substance.

“Coal mining companies will have to compete for export permits as we phase out thermal coal mining and we have set out a plan to retire coal-fired power stations by 2030. We’ll make sure that no-one will be left behind, as coal workers will be supported with a $1 billion just transition fund.”

Click here to read the full plan to Renew Australia.

The Australian Greens welcome the acknowledgement from the federal agriculture minister and the Victorian environment minister that native forest logging is unsustainable and contributes to climate change.
“It’s clear that native forest logging in Victoria and across the country must end immediately and that the destructive logging laws, the Regional Forest Agreements, must be scrapped,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens forests spokesperson.
“The Greens plan would end native forest logging immediately, transition the industry to 100% plantations from the current 88%, and include a carbon pollution trigger in national environment laws.”
“Victoria’s native forests store more carbon than any other forest in the world, yet they’re currently being logged mainly for woodchips.”
“As well as being massive carbon stores, Victoria’s native forests provide homes for threatened animals and provide most of Melbourne’s drinking water.”
“There is a clear pathway to end destructive native forest logging. Given that Coalition and Labor seem to have now finally realised that logging is unsustainable, I urge them to work with the Greens to ensure we protect these forests for a safe climate, for water security, for threatened animals, for the agriculture industry, and for future generations.”
Victorian Greens environment spokesperson Ellen Sandell said: “Native logging in Victoria is so destructive, economically and environmentally, that even the Federal Liberal Government is calling for it to be stopped. The Victorian Labor Government cannot continue this environmental destruction any longer: they must end native forest logging in Victoria now.”

The Morrison government delaying the electric vehicles strategy to mid-2020 leaves Australia stalled on the sidelines of the electric vehicle revolution, say the Australian Greens.
“The Morrison government’s delay to the electric vehicle strategy means Australia isn’t even in the slow lane when it comes to electric vehicles, we’re stalled on the sidelines,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens transport and infrastructure spokesperson.
“The Labor party isn’t much better, watering down the recommendations in the Senate inquiry report.”
“The major parties have no plan, no policies and no incentives to drive electric vehicle uptake.”
“The Greens are the only party with a real plan to get Australia in the fast lane so that we can reap the rewards that will come from electric vehicles.”
The Greens plan includes: setting a target of 100% of new passenger vehicles being electric by 2030, strong vehicle emissions standards; removing import tariffs and other taxes such as GST, stamp duty and registration, and rolling out fast charging infrastructure.

The Morrison Government is investing almost half a billion dollars to deliver world-leading cancer treatment for Australian patients, extra hospital infrastructure, more mental health services and new medical research projects.
The $496 million investment backs Victoria’s position as a global leader in health and medical research and provides new support for patients while creating Australian jobs.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said $80 million would help create a new national cancer treatment centre at Peter Mac, providing access to treatments previously only offered overseas.
“This investment will be life-changing for so many of our sickest Australians, including many children battling cancer,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our strong economic management means we can provide world-leading treatment options for patients in Melbourne, who have previously needed to travel to the United States to get support.
“Today’s Health and Medical Research Plan cements Melbourne’s place as a global leader in health and medical research, creating jobs while importantly providing support for Australian patients.”
Peter Mac will also be investing $25 million to create the Centre of Excellence in Cellular Immunotherapy.
This new national centre will provide CAR T-cell therapy, helping the body’s own immune system to fight cancer and has the potential to cure certain types of cancer.
CAR T-cell therapy involves removing a patient’s T-cells (a type of immune system cell), re-engineering them in a lab and reinserting them back into the body to attack and kill the cancer cells.
Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the Victorian Health and Medical Research Plan would support our doctors, nurses and brightest researchers to treat patients and help find new breakthrough cures for cancer through CAR T-cell therapy.
“The Victorian package puts Melbourne at the global forefront of cancer research and gives our patients the best chance of treating and beating cancer.
“This plan builds on the more than 55 per cent increase in Commonwealth funding to Victorian hospitals, record bulk billing and more than 2,000 new medicines subsided under the PBS,” Minister Hunt said.
$30 million will be invested in St Vincent Hospital’s Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery – Australia’s first hospital-based biomedical engineering research and training hub.
This will create a new research facility, which will support more research projects, which are already improving and saving lives.
$16 million will be invested to support the mental health of young people by developing eight new headspace services in Victoria, in addition to the previously announced Wangaratta service.
Australians with cancer and rare diseases will have access to clinical trials no matter where they live, including regional and remote Victoria, with a $25 million investment in the Australian Clinical Trials Network’s TrialHub.
Hospitals in Rosebud, Casey and Bendigo in Victoria will be the first hospitals to partner with the TrialHub.
$25 million will help establish a new national Drug Discovery Centre that aims to turn scientific discoveries into new medicines faster.
The Centre, at Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, will help bring lifesaving medicines to patients with the help of advanced robotic gear.
$40 million will fund new paediatric emergency departments inside the existing emergency departments of Geelong, Maroondah, Frankston and Casey hospitals.
This project will develop emergency department facilities that are appropriate for families and children, leading to better clinical outcomes.
$32 million will be invested in a new medical Health Futures to be lead by Peninsula Health and Monash University. The Frankston-based Hub will focus on community health issues including aged care, addiction and mental health.
This will mean that the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston communities will see the direct benefit from research that is undertaken in their community.
Ten new MRI licences will be available across Victoria, which will allow patients to receive life-saving Medicare subsidised scans.
MRI machines with Medicare eligibility will be available at sites including Epping, Heidelberg, Lilydale, Keilor East, Parkville, Moorabbin, Berwick, Olympic Park, Geelong and Brighton.
An MRI is a commonly used medical scan used by doctors to diagnose and monitor a number of different medical conditions including cancer and trauma or sporting injuries.
The investment in the Peter Mac Centre of Excellence in Cellular Immunotherapy will see:

• Establishment of capacity and capability to provide more than 200 patients accessing lifesaving treatments for leukaemia and lymphoma cancers or accessing life-changing clinical trials using CAR T-cell therapy and other immunotherapies.
• Over 140 new manufacturing jobs created.
• 15 new clinical and pre-clinical research jobs will be immediately created.
• 1,700 square meters of space will be fitted out with Good Manufacturing Grade clean rooms for cellular immunotherapy manufacturing.
• 900 square meters of space will be fitted out to create a 14 bed/chair clinical unit.

Labor is clearly a medi-fraud with their latest claims today.
Labor started the freeze and we ended it. Labor stopped listing medicines whereas we have guaranteed the listing of medicines.
Embarrassingly for Mr Shorten we ended the Medicare freeze which Labor introduced. Labor introduced the Medicare indexation freeze in 2013; the Liberal National Government ended it in the 2017 Budget.
This indexation of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, which the Government reintroduced in the 2017-18 Budget, is delivering an additional $1.7 billion (including 90% of diagnostic imaging items) for Medicare services through to 2021-22.
Labor entirely refused to index a single diagnostic imaging item. By contrast we are the first Government to have indexed imaging including x-rays ultrasounds, CT Scans and mammography among other items.
Medicare funding is up from $19 billion per year under Labor to $25 billion in 18-19, $26 billion in 19-20, $27 billion in 2020-21 and $29 billion in 2021-22 under the Coalition Government.
Our stronger economy has enabled the Coalition Government to deliver record federal funding for public hospital services, increasing from $13.3 billion in 2012-13 when Labor left office to a record $21.1 billion this year (a 54 percent increase).
Under a new national hospitals agreement, the Government has committed an extra $30 billion in public hospital funding from 2020-21 to 2024-25, taking overall funding during this period to $130 billion.
Bulk billing is up nearly 4% from 82.2% under Labor to a record 86.1% under the Coalition Government. This means more patients are visiting their local GP without having to pay an out of pocket cost.
The simple fact is Labor and Shorten cannot be trusted. They can’t manage the economy and they can’t manage health.
Three questions for Mr Shorten:

• Why did Mr Shorten stop listing medicines in his 2011 Budget as Assistant Treasurer and will he now apologise?
• Why did he not index one single X-ray, ultrasound or diagnostic imaging item in Labor’s six years in Government?
• Why is he ripping the Private Health Insurance Rebate away from 65,000 mostly regional and older Australians?

These questions must be answered.

Greens Defence spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, commented on the release of the Auditor-General’s report into Defence’s Management of its Projects of Concern.
“The Auditor-General’s finding that Defence no longer has an appropriate framework to manage projects of concern comes as no surprise.
“Defence is basically given a blank cheque.
“For example, the White Paper lists the cost of 12 new submarines at simply “>$50bn”.
“With this sort of indifference to cost it is no surprise that Defence is not properly managing projects of concern.
“Both the major parties are responsible with their joint support for the arbitrary target of Defence spending equalling 2% of GDP, absent of any escalation in the overall threat to the nation.
“This is pouring public money into the pockets of weapon manufacturers and entering us into a regional arms race.
“Neither of these things are making us safer.”

Greens Co-Deputy Leader and industrial relations spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, today welcomed Labor’s move towards the Greens’ position on the minimum wage, but said his party would amend Labor’s laws in the Senate to ensure a ‘hard floor’ under the minimum wage of 60% of the adult median wage.
“It’s good that Labor is moving towards the Greens’ position on the minimum wage, but there are some problems with the ALP’s approach,” said Mr Bandt.
“If we can turf the conservatives out we’ll work with Labor to lift the minimum wage, but we’ll amend the law in the Senate to ensure a ‘hard floor’ of 60% of the adult median wage, a recognised poverty level.
“When 1 in 4 people in poverty is working full-time, our labour laws are broken.
“The penalty rates decision from the Fair Work Commission shows that guidelines aren’t enough. Without a ‘hard floor’ in legislation, wages can still go backwards.
“The Liberals have threatened the Fair Work Commission’s independence by stacking it with their mates, which is all the more reason for a hard minimum wage floor in the new industrial relations laws.”