Month: October 2019

The Greens are proud to support the more than 60 young women who have taken over parliament today, acting as Senators for the day.
Greens Co-Deputy Leader and spokesperson for Women, Senator Larissa Waters, will bring on a matter of public importance for debate in the Senate today, where MPs from across the political spectrum will read speeches prepared by participants on the issues of concern to young women in Australia, including climate action, domestic violence and body image and autonomy.
Senator Waters said, “Our democracy needs all young women’s voices in parliament and we may well have the next Prime Minister of Australia among the girls who have taken over parliament today.
“We’ve only got 37 per cent women in Federal Parliament overall, with the House of Representatives lagging behind the Senate which only just reached gender parity this year after almost 120 years.
“We’ve got a long way to go in making sure that our parliaments look more like our community and encouraging more women into political leadership roles.
“Sadly, the statistics show only one percent of girls aged 15-19 want politics as a career and once they’re aged 21-25, none of them want to become politicians.
“You can’t be what you can’t see. We need to get more young women into parliament, particularly young women of colour, and make sure our decision-makers start listening to and representing all the community, not just the big end of town like we see now.
“I hope today’s takeover of parliament will inspire women to become future leaders and help shift the blokey culture in the corridors of power.”
Greens Senator for NSW Mehreen Faruqi said, “Girls Take Over Parliament is a fantastic initiative which provides young women from a wide range of backgrounds access to the parliamentary process which is so limited to the privileged few.
“I am particularly excited to see so many women of diverse backgrounds taking over Parliament. Federal Parliament doesn’t represent the rich diversity of Australia so we must do more to break down the barriers to political representation and participation.”
As part of the Girls Takeover Parliament event, the young women will present a 10 point charter – Young Women’s Charter for Australian Democracy to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Greens Senator for NSW and Education Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called for universities in Australia to undertake a human rights review of all their research partnerships following allegations Australian universities are contributing to the surveillance state in China.
Senator Faruqi said:
“It is completely unacceptable for Australian universities to be involved in projects that could impede the human rights of ethnic minorities and political dissidents.
“The Greens are calling on all universities to review their partnerships and research projects to ensure that their work is not contributing to oppression and abuses of human rights in China or anywhere else in the world.
“Let’s not pretend foreign influence is restricted to the Chinese Government. University partnerships with the likes of Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other companies who profit from war and support the US military-industrial complex have gone without scrutiny for far too long.
“Universities accepting funding from any organisation or Government to develop weapons of mass surveillance technology likely to result in oppression are ethically compromised.
“The Greens want to see all universities have a proper review of all their research and assess whether or not it is compatible with human rights and global peace,” she concluded.

First home buyers will be able to enter the property market sooner after the Coalition Government passed new laws through the Parliament today to implement the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (the Scheme), and the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s (NHFIC) new research function.
The Scheme is designed to facilitate earlier access to home ownership for first home buyers, by providing a guarantee that will allow eligible first home buyers on low and middle incomes to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent. The Scheme will support 10,000 first home buyers each financial year.
The Government recognises that saving a deposit has become a more significant barrier to entering the housing market. It can take ten years for the average first home buyer to save a 20 per cent deposit.
Applicants will be subject to eligibility criteria, including having taxable incomes up to $125,000 per annum for singles and up to $200,000 per annum for couples. The Scheme will apply to owner-occupied loans on a principal and interest basis, and will be subject to regional price caps.
The legislation also establishes a new housing research function that will allow NHFIC to examine housing demand, supply and affordability in Australia, complementing existing housing-related research.
The Scheme complements other Government initiatives to reduce pressure on housing affordability in Australia and support local communities. This includes:

• The First Home Super Saver Scheme which helps Australians build a deposit for a first home inside their superannuation fund by making voluntary contributions.
• Investing $1 billion in local infrastructure to unlock new housing supply, in partnership with local councils through the National Housing Infrastructure Facility.
• Releasing suitable Commonwealth land, including defence land, for housing development.

These incentives have helped thousands of first home buyers enter the market. In the past year, more than 110,000 Australians bought their first home – the highest level since 2009.
The Morrison Government’s plan to build a stronger economy will continue to help first home buyers own their first home sooner.

The Government’s “native fish plan” is akin to shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic, the Greens say.
Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said: “Our nation’s biggest river system is in environmental collapse and farming communities are suffering because the Government has mismanaged the Basin and let greedy corporate irrigators to take too much water.
“The Water Minister’s claim the Government is “doing all (they) can until it rains” is simply false.
“Praying for rain is not a drought policy or a plan to save the River.
“While splashing around money to breed native fish, the Coalition’s cuts to environmental flows means there is no water for the fish to survive. Just like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, this Government has no plan to save the Murray-Darling Basin.
“There will be more mass fish kills this summer because the Morrison Government has allowed big corporate irrigators to take more and more water so there’s nothing left to keep the River alive”.
“The Minister has tried to claim the Government is investing in science to deal with the fish deaths.
“Newsflash Minister, the science says you must act on the climate crisis. The science says you need to end over extraction by big corporate irrigators. The science says dams are not the answer to a lack of water. The science says floodwater harvesting by big corporates stops water running in the Rivers when it does eventually rain.
“If the Water and Drought Minister was doing his job properly he would act on the science and push his Government to get a climate policy because you do not have a drought policy if you do not have a plan to tackle the climate emergency.”