Month: October 2020

Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Jordon Steele-John has called for Defence to make both the Crompvoets report, and the Department’s response, public amid disturbing and shameful allegations of murder and torture were reported today in the nine newspapers.
“These are war crimes and there must be full disclosure by the Department of Defence about the veracity of these incredibly disturbing allegations,” Steele-John said.
“It does not matter whether Defence thinks the full story should be kept a secret or not – Australians deserve to know what our defence forces are doing in foreign conflict zones in our name.
“As evidenced by the rolling allegations that have leaked from this inquiry into Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan, this abhorrent behaviour does not happen in isolation.
“What is becoming increasingly clear is that Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment has very serious structural and cultural problems that run much deeper than just a handful of individual commandos, or a rogue unit.
“These shameful allegations are in the public interest and must be uncovered so that Australians can once again trust that our defence force personnel are acting respectfully and lawfully in our name.”

The Greens have announced they’ll move for a moratorium on koala habitat clearing to save the national treasure from extinction.
The legislative move would block decisions by Environment Minister Ley like the approval yesterday of a quarry at Pt Stephens which will destroy 52ha of critical habitat for the endangered species.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“Koalas are a national treasure and yet we have an Environment Minister not just failing to save them but signing their death warrant.
“Unless habitat clearing is stopped, koalas will soon be extinct.
“The Greens will move in the Parliament for a moratorium on habitat clearing to save the koala from extinction.
“Off the back of the worst bushfires in history which killed a third of NSW’s koala population and destroyed millions of hectares of habitat across the country, no approvals for developments on koala land should be given.
“The Environment Minister has one job and killing koalas isn’t it. If she won’t protect them then the Parliament must, because right now our environment laws are failing.
“Australia is a world leader in extinction and without urgent action we’ll have killed off the koala too and that will be an international shame.
“Australians don’t want the only koalas we have left to be in zoos.”

Following the recent release of the national digital health skills and training plan, Australia’s largest healthcare workforce of more than 400,000 nurses and midwives can now assess their digital health knowledge and skills against a new professional development framework.
Developed by nurses and midwives, the National Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Capability Framework outlines the core digital health skills and knowledge required for professional practice in the digital era covering patient care, leadership, advocacy, education and research.
As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses and midwives are playing a leading role in Australia’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every Australian has benefited from the commitment and leadership of nurses and midwives.
Nurses and midwives have long been using technology to care for their patients. The first of its kind in Australia, the framework highlights the specific skills and capabilities necessary to deliver contemporary care.
In 2020, International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the focus is on empowering nurses and midwives to lead the digital transformation of the health system, and it is expected the framework will be used as a resource to guide individuals, employers and educators in their workforce and professional development planning.
The framework focuses on digital professionalism; leadership and advocacy; data and information quality; information-enabled care; and technology.
The framework was a collaboration by the Australian Digital Health Agency and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, in association with:

• The Australian College of Nursing.
• Australian College of Midwives.
• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.
• Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association.
• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council.
• Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
• Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives.
• Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre.
• The Queensland Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.
• Consumer and international representatives.

This announcement follows my announcement in September of the National Digital Health Workforce and Education Roadmap to help the Australian health workforce use technology and further drive the digital transformation of health services to meet community demand.
To access the National Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Capability Framework please visit: https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/about-the-agency/workforce-and-education

The Australian Government, through Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport, has locked in an investment aimed at keeping our leading sports men and women on track.
Athletes will benefit from a $115 million commitment for the 2021-22 financial year aimed at reinforcing individual Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games campaigns.
As part of the investment, direct funding for Paralympic sports will increase by more than $3 million, with the majority of current funding levels for able-bodied sports also extended to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Minister for Youth and Sport, Richard Colbeck, said the nation’s elite athletes continue to inspire Australians in what has been a challenging time for sport at every level.
“The Australian Government’s record core funding levels to support athletes builds on the recent investments to support wellbeing and pathways for young aspiring Olympians and Paralympians,” he said.
The boost for Paralympic competitors, across 13 sporting programs, marks a 40 per cent increase in funding via the Australian Sports Commission since 2012.
Paralympics Australia president Jack O’Callaghan said the funding marked a significant moment in the evolution of Paralympic sport in Australia.
“We are so proud and thankful the Federal Government recognises the value and impact of growing investment into Paralympic sport and has entrusted us with greater responsibility to lead and grow our movement even further,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
“Paralympics Australia applauds the Federal Government, Sport Australia, particularly its Chair John Wylie, and the AIS for sharing our vision for more equitable funding for Australia’s Paralympians and for acknowledging the unique and irreplaceable contribution that Paralympic sport provides the broader community.”
Minister Colbeck said the Government has been a strong supporter of Paralympics Australia and its athletes with recent investments of $8 million toward preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics and $4 million to support the construction of a Community, Education and Events Centre at Paralympic Australia’s base in Victoria.
He said given the challenging fiscal environment associated with the impact of COVID-19, Sport Australia and the AIS had also worked closely with national sporting organisations to provide greater flexibility with use of existing Commonwealth grant funding.
High performance funding allocations to national sporting organisations are determined by the AIS.  Sport Australia determine participation funding.
In March 2020, Sport Australia introduced guidelines offering flexibility within existing funding agreements to give sporting bodies the ability to redirect funding into areas of need within each organisation.
“Sport Australia will continue to provide flexibility in the release of this funding,” Minister Colbeck said.
The expenditure guidelines initially developed for the period 1 March to 31 December 2020, will be extended until 30 June 2021.
“The funding decisions of the Australian Sports Commission strike a balance in providing certainty and flexibility as athletes look ahead to the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Minister Colbeck said.
“It also underpins the Sport 2030 objective of backing our best athletes, coaches and sporting bodies to develop a high-performance culture and help ensure Australians can reach their potential on the world stage.”

The Commonwealth Government welcomes the announcement by the Victorian Premier to ease restrictions from 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Victorians have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this point. We thank them for their patience and perseverance.
Today’s announcement is a reflection of the dedication and effort of Victorians – taking the next step to reopen Victorian society and the state’s economy.
After a long winter, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Victorians.
As we said yesterday – Victorians have made great progress in reducing the rate of COVID-19 infections from the second wave outbreak in Victoria.
The new National Framework to reopen by Christmas is a clear and transparent, three step national plan which provides the Australian community and businesses with a way forward where Australians can live and work in a COVID Normal Australia, ensuring that we maintain strong health protections and minimise job losses and mental health impacts.
Under the new ‘National Framework’ released last week, Victoria is now moving towards Step 1 – an important step on the pathway to COVID Normal.
Australia has been a world leader in fighting the virus to save lives and to save livelihoods and with today’s announcement, we look forward to Victoria continuing to make progress on the path to reopening and joining the rest of the country at Steps 2 and 3 in the national plan.
It will be important for the Victorian Government to provide even more clarity to Victorians in the coming days and where restrictions do not have a health basis that they are removed quickly.
We congratulate Victorians – this was the announcement that they were expecting and one they have worked hard to achieve.
It is important for Victoria to safely open and stay safely open.
The Prime Minister and Premiers Berejiklian, Marshall and Andrews will continue to take advice regarding hard border restrictions.
The Commonwealth Government will continue to support Victoria through this crisis.

Young Australians who live in 10 selected regions experiencing high youth unemployment can now apply for a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications scholarship.
Round 3 of the Commonwealth Scholarships Program for Young Australians is open in select regions, offering up to $5,000 a year to undertake an approved course of study.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said the scholarships offered a life-changing opportunity to study a VET qualification and complete an internship.
“We know that our youth have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” Minister Cash said.
“The Morrison Government is committed to ensuring young Australians can upskill and reskill to secure a job.”
Assistant Minister for Vocational Education, Training and Apprenticeships, the Hon Steve Irons MP, said these scholarships are about improving skills to connect young people in areas of high youth unemployment to training pathways and real jobs.
“We want to support young Australians to enter the vocational education and training sector which will help to create strong pathways to jobs in areas of skills needs and real outcomes,” Assistant Minister Irons said.
“Scholarship winners will receive industry-based workplace learning and gain qualifications in growth industries.”
The Commonwealth Scholarships Program for Young Australians is part of the Australian Government’s $585 million Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow package.
It will award around 400 young Australians from 10 regional locations with high youth unemployment up to $5,000 a year to study a qualification and an additional $3,000 to complete an internship.
Applications are sought from people who are not in full-time work, who are aged 15 to 24 years or people who have left the Australian Defence Force in the past two years.
Scholarships will target occupations identified in projected growth industries and occupations identified as in-demand in 10 regional locations:

For more information and eligibility requirements please visit: https://www.employment.gov.au/commonwealth-scholarships-program-young-australians