Month: June 2019

I have today appointed a Labor frontbench with the talent and experience to hold the Morrison Government to account and develop a policy platform worthy of the support of Australians at the next election.
My team includes a blend of experienced former Government Ministers, as well as talented newcomers whose enthusiasm and fresh ideas will reinvigorate Labor over the next three years.
My Shadow Ministry includes members from all parts of the nation. It reflects society, with half men and half women including the Shadow Cabinet Secretary.
As I made clear in the days after the May 18 election, I made no deals with colleagues to secure the unanimous support of the Labor Party to become Leader.
I am confident my team will be more than a match for the Morrison Government’s frontbench.
The Shadow Ministry will meet for the first time on Tuesday in Brisbane.
In the days and weeks that follow that meeting, Shadow Ministers will disperse into communities across the nation to listen to Australians about why only one in three voters gave Labor their first preference at the election on May 18.
Labor’s May 18 election result was a wake-up call. The first step to success next time is honest discussion with the Australian people.
 
Shadow Cabinet

 
Outer Shadow Ministry
 

 
Assistant Ministers
 

The decision by Queensland’s Labor Government to grant approval for the Adani Carmichael coal mine’s groundwater management plan is deeply disappointing to anyone who understands the danger posed by climate change, but the fight to stop this mine being built is far from over, the Australian Greens said.
“This fight is far from over. The Adani mine cannot go ahead if we are going to have any chance of slowing rising global greenhouse gas emissions and preventing the worst impacts of dangerous climate change,” said Leader of the Australian greens Dr Richard Di Natale.
“The Greens stand with communities right across the country against this reckless decision by the Queensland Labor Government, which will contribute to the destruction of thousands more jobs in Queensland and across the country than it will ever create for the people of Central Queensland.”
“It’s time for politicians like Annastacia Palaszczuk to come clean with coal communities, admit that there are no long term jobs in digging up and burning coal and work with the Greens on a plan to support these communities transition away from coal and towards sustainable, long-term jobs in the renewable energy sector,” he said.
Senator for Queensland and Greens spokesperson for mining and resources, Larissa Waters, who looks to have been re-elected to represent Queensland with more than 3% swing, said “Adani still doesn’t have all its legal licences, and it’s never had a social licence.”
“Queenslanders want a safe climate, cheap clean power and real, lasting jobs for coal communities as we transition to a clean economy. People will rally in force to stop Adani – and the Greens will be right there with them,” Senator Waters said.
“The big parties might have caved in to their coal donors, but the Greens stand with the people, demanding a safe future and a clean jobs plan for central Queensland communities.
“Community campaigns have won against big polluters and big corporate interests before, and we will again.
“The Greens will use every lever we have available in our parliament, our courts and on the streets. Our movement for a safe climate and jobs justice for workers will triumph.”
Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said: “From fudging jobs figures and rushing final approvals, and ignoring scientific advice from the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, this mega coal mine has been given every liberty by Adani’s mates in the Parliament”.
“The Adani cheer squad are trying to revive a dying industry, risking thousands of jobs and our environment in the process by politicising the debate,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“If we had stronger environmental laws that required climate change to be considered, projects like Adani would never get off the ground. That’s why the Greens will continue to push in parliament for a climate trigger in our environmental laws. We have no more time to lose to arrest climate change.”

The competition presents an opportunity for online narrative creators to apply for the chance to pitch their project live on stage to a panel of industry experts at VidCon Australia (19-22 September 2019). The team with the best pitch will be awarded $30,000 in funding for script development and to make a proof of concept.
Applications open today and up to five teams will be selected to pitch their project at VidCon Australia. Teams will need to be able to present an engaging pitch that gets the panel excited about their narrative concept, summarises who the project is for, how an audience will access it, and why that audience will want to watch it.
Successful finalists will participate in a closed workshop on 19 September in Melbourne to help them prepare for the live pitch the next day. Each finalist team will also receive two complimentary Creator Track passes to VidCon Australia.
Online Investment Manager at Screen Australia, Lee Naimo said: “We know that Australia has a huge amount of talent making really engaging and exciting content for online audiences. Pitcher Perfect is an incredible opportunity for those emerging creatives with strong ideas to build their pitching skills, and access funding to start a career in the industry. For the winning team $30,000 is a significant amount of money to develop a proof of concept in the form of a trailer, pilot or episode to bring their idea to life, and I can’t wait to see the range of teams that apply.”
VidCon’s General Manager, Jim Louderback said: “Australia is seeing one of the fastest growth spurts in online video on a global scale – it is one of the many reasons we brought VidCon to Melbourne, and this year’s event is set to become our best yet. It’s crucial we support the incredibly talented emerging creators from Australia, who will undoubtedly play a key role in shaping the future of the market as it continues to grow. We’re really excited to see what the entrants have to offer!”
Applicant teams need to have a minimum of two people covering the roles of producer, writer and director. Larger teams can apply, but only two people from each team will take part in the live pitch at VidCon Australia.
To apply, teams need to submit a video pitch up to three minutes in length. Finalists who are not based in Melbourne will receive flights and accommodation for two team members. For more information on eligibility and application guidelines click here 
Applications close Friday 19 July.