Month: December 2020

Australia has been confirmed as a climate pariah as the UN’s Climate Ambition Summit speaking list released today confirms the Prime Minister has been barred from speaking at the key international meeting.
The list also confirms the Prime Minister misled Parliament when he claimed he would be attending in the Summit.
The government this morning is also defying a Senate Order to release the rejection letter from the Summit organisers which would show the reasons why Australia has been barred.
Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said:
“Australia is now a climate pariah with the rest of the world turning their backs on us,” Mr Bandt said.
“The world is sending Scott Morrison a clear message that his weak 2030 targets are not enough to tackle the climate crisis.
“With Donald Trump on his way out, there is now nowhere left for Scott Morrison to hide.
“Australia now sits with Russia and Saudia Arabia in the club of climate deniers.
“World leaders recognize we are on track for climate catastrophe unless everyone lifts their ambition, but Scott Morrison refuses to do what’s needed to protect Australia and its people.
“The Prime Minister is now scrambling to create a fig leaf for his humiliation by using a Pacific Islands climate roundtable tonight to announce Australia would no longer cheat on its climate targets with so-called Kyoto credits.
“If he bullies the Pacific Island leaders like he did at the last Pacific Islands Forum, Scott Morrison risks further damaging our relationship with our neighbours.
“Committing to science-based 2030 targets and a green recovery would also help with our big problems with China.
“It is not too late for Australia. The Prime Minister should change course and join with President-elect Biden and Europe and lead the world in confronting the climate emergency.”
LIST OF CONFIRMED SPEAKERS ON 10 DECEMBER, 17:00
Afghanistan, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Iceland, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Luxembourg, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Nations, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe
https://climateambitionsummit2020.org/

Last night’s global Climate Ambition Summit confirmed Australia’s status as the world’s climate reject. While Scott Morrison was barred from the Summit, world leaders lined up to announce ambitious new 2030 targets and action.
The Europe Union upped their 2030 target to 55% and the UK to 68%. Japan announced they would raise their targets next year and Canada released modelling showing they would beat their 2030 target.
The Summit opened with the UN Secretary General calling on all countries to declare a climate emergency, which was followed by a long list of leaders promising more strong action, from famous cricketer turned PM Imran Khan saying Pakistan would ban coal plants to Finland’s PM announcing carbon neutrality by 2035.
Lame duck President Donald Trump wasn’t there, but President-elect Joe Biden announced just beforehand that he would lead a further summit of the world’s major economies before April next year, which will further boost 2030 ambition ahead of the Glasgow climate talks in November next year.
Lines from Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:
“Scott Morrison’s Australia is now the world’s climate reject,” Mr Bandt said.
“Scott Morrison’s weak 2030 target doesn’t just put lives at risk, it isolates Australia.
“The PM has isolated Australia, but he won’t be able to hide when Joe Biden calls together the key world economies by April next year.
“The Liberals now have no choice but to increase Australia’s 2030 climate targets in the next few months.
“The acid is also now on Labor, who continue to let Scott Morrison of the hook by failing to put forward their own 2030 targets.
“Both Liberal and Labor are failing the climate test. I call on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese to join with the Australian Greens next year in declaring a climate emergency and a science-based target of 75% cut to pollution by 2030.”

New purpose-built teaching facilities that will train the next generation of rural GPs in Dubbo following the Morrison McCormack Government’s investment of more than $9 million to start construction.
Federal Regional Health Minister and Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton said the new facility will boost local training opportunities and in turn, improve the future distribution of Australia’s rural medical workforce.
“A strong rural health workforce is central to improving the health of people living in rural, regional and remote Australia,” Minister Coulton said.
“We also know that when students train in rural settings, they are more likely to live and work in the regions at the end of their studies.
“Improving access to health services and creating more training opportunities in rural communities is a priority for the Federal Nationals in Government.”
Minister Coulton said the Liberal and Nationals Government investment of $9.27 million to establish the new school included more than $7 million for the construction of the new facility at the University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health in Dubbo.
“The facilities at the new medical school will include a state of the art anatomy space including 2D and 3D visual technologies, virtual and augmented reality and 3D printing, learning studios, simulation space, service rooms, and amenities,” Minister Coulton said.
“The investment in the School of Rural Health is expected to directly benefit rural communities as well as boost local jobs in construction and strengthen the region’s future health workforce.”
The program will see GPs training at locations including Broken Hill, Balranald, Bourke, Brewarrina, Dareton, Lightning Ridge, Menindee, Walgett, Wentworth, Wilcannia, Gilgandra, Forbes and Wellington.
Sydney University has a vigorous selection process that targets applicants from rural origin and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status as well as those from the western, north western and far western NSW.  The new school is expecting its first cohort of medical students in January 2022.
The campus will be part of the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network which enables medical students to stay in their communities while they study and train to become a doctor, increasing their likelihood of staying and working in rural areas. The school will provide an end-to-end approach to rural training.
Planning for the new medical school is well underway. Patterson Building Group will carry out the redevelopment, with completion scheduled for October next year.

Almost nine out of ten visits to the GP across Australia over the year to September were provided at no cost to the patient.
For GP services, the bulk-billing rate for the 12 months to September 2020 was 88.7 per cent. This was 2.6 percentage points higher than over the previous year.
In total, Medicare services increased to 433.3 million with total benefits reaching $25.3 billion.
Today’s figures show the Morrison Government’s rapid response to the pandemic allowed Australians to access the health care they needed, despite the challenges of COVID-19.
Temporary changes to Medicare introduced in response to the pandemic contributed to high bulk billing, while also reducing the risk of spreading the disease in the community.
The Government mandated GP telehealth services be bulk billed for vulnerable patients. The Government also temporarily doubled its bulk billing incentive payments to GPs, and expanded the types of services eligible for the incentive payments.
By the end of September, Medicare had paid benefits for 2.5 million COVID-19 video consultations and 30.4 million COVID-19 phone consultations provided by GPs, specialists and allied health professionals.
The temporary telehealth items represented 16.7 per cent of GP consultations and 7.6 per cent of all Medicare services over the year to September. In total, 26.6 million GP consultations were provided via phone and 814,068 via video over the year.
The temporary telehealth items played a critical role in the Government’s response to COVID-19. They allowed patients to access essential health care while minimising the risk of community transmission of the virus.
The Morrison Government has a rock solid commitment to Medicare as the foundation of our world-class health system. I intend for telehealth to be a positive legacy of this crisis and continue to work on a long-term plan, in consultation with the medical community.