Month: February 2021

Greens bill aimed at strengthening the privacy protections of witnesses who give evidence to the Disability Royal Commission has passed the Senate with the support of Labor and the entirety of the cross-bench including One Nation.
The Government opposed the passage of the bill.
Senator Jordon Steele-John, who introduced the bill, said it was a huge win for the community and sent a clear signal to the Attorney General that these changes are urgently needed.
“Disabled people want to know that they are safe to tell their stories to the Disability Royal Commission, and that the evidence they give will not be used against them after the Royal Commission ends,” Steele-John said.
“With the government today losing this historic vote in the Senate, the community now know that the majority of their representatives in the Australian Senate support their desire for change.
“For the last 18 months the Attorney General has known this issue is having a chilling effect on the work of the Royal Commission, as many people in the community are worried about coming forward to tell their stories. We’re still yet to see any detail on how the government plans to fix this critical issue.
“With the Disability Royal Commission recommencing hearings for 2021 in Brisbane on the experiences of people with cognitive impairment in the criminal justice system Tomorrow,  it’s more important than ever that our Royal Commission can hear evidence from as many people as possible.
“With my bill today passing the Senate, we are already halfway there. It’s time this government acted to give people the peace of mind that telling their stories won’t cause them more harm.”

The Greens condemn Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton for using his ministerial powers to slash millions in grant funding for community projects recommended by his department, in favour of his own handpicked list in electorally beneficial locations.
Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for democracy, Senator Larissa Waters, said:
“Another day, another pork barrelling scandal.
“Ministers picking their own pet projects against departmental recommendations to secure electoral outcomes has become commonplace under the Morrison Government.
“The rorts will keep coming because Morrison and his mates treat public money as their own kitty for keeping themselves in power.
“After Sports Rorts, the Greens moved to establish a broader Senate Inquiry into Government rorts, only for it to be blocked by the Government and One Nation.
“Minister Dutton may be in breach of Ministerial Standards but as if the Prime Minister would choose now to start enforcing them.
“This pork barrelling will only stop when we have a federal corruption watchdog that applies to all MPs.
“The Government has proposed a sham integrity commission that would shield their mates from proper scrutiny – and it’s clear why.
“My bill for a federal corruption watchdog passed the Senate a year-and-a-half ago, but Morrison – surprise, surprise – still refuses to bring it on for debate in the House.
“Enough is enough. This Government is running away from integrity and transparency as fast as new corruption scandals emerge. It’s time for Morrison to clean up his sideshow of scandals.”

The Australian Government is ensuring the COVID-19 Vaccination Program meets the needs of everyone in Australia, including those from culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
To be successful, high uptake of COVID-19 vaccination will be required in Australia. Therefore it is critical that the vaccine program is designed and delivered in a manner which is accessible, inclusive and culturally safe.
This includes ensuring that communications are developed and targeted for CALD communities and that information and services are delivered in appropriate languages and formats and within appropriate facilities and locations.
The Government recognises that people from multicultural communities are a significant part of the health, aged care, childcare and disability workforce and will be among the first people in Australia to receive vaccinations.
A comprehensive vaccine implementation plan (the Plan) has been developed in partnership with multicultural specialist agencies – and with advice from the national CALD Communities COVID-19 Health Advisory Group – to reach people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The Plan also ensures that the medical workforce administering vaccinations will be trained to work with people from culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse communities to ensure that services are delivered in a culturally appropriate and safe way, with the assistance of interpreters where needed.
The Plan is supported by the $31 million COVID-19 vaccination public information campaign which is now rolling out across the country, which included an additional $1.3 million to reach culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities through their peak multicultural organisations.
This Plan is available on the Department of Health website.
Vaccinations will be accessible on a rolling basis, depending on vaccine delivery schedules and prioritisation of groups for most urgent vaccination.

The Australian Government’s roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccines across the country is moving closer, with the plans for the complex distribution process and safe and secure storage of the vaccines well in hand.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack and Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communities and Local Government Mark Coulton on Sunday inspected DHL Supply Chain’s large scale ultra-cold storage infrastructure.
DHL’s ultra-cold and secure storage facility will keep safe the supply of Australia’s Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which needs to be stored at between minus 60 and 80 degrees. Australia will receive 20 million Pfizer-BioNTech doses in 2021.
Mr McCormack said DHL is one of two world-class logistics and distribution companies contracted to ensure the COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone in Australia, no matter where they live.
“I have been determined to ensure that regional and rural Australia gets the same access to the vaccine that our cities will and that’s what we are doing,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Australians have done the right thing throughout this pandemic and now the Australian Government is making sure everyone who wants to be vaccinated is, and is for free.
“We now have access to more than 150 million vaccine doses across the Pfizer-BioNTech, OxfordAstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines, ensuring we remain a world leader in the fight against the virus.
“It is important that these vaccines, which are in high-demand worldwide, are kept safe and secure which is what the Australian Government and our logistics partners are doing.
“This afternoon we were shown how the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccines across Australia is moving closer, with the plans for the complex process and safe and secure distribution.
“DHL is capable of handling close to three million Pfizer vaccine doses, as part of the initial deliveries to Australia.”
Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communities and Local Government Mark Coulton said the Australian Government is partnering with world-leading logistics provider, DHL, to ensure vaccines will be available to all Australians, including those in rural and remote Australia.
“We all understand how vast Australia is and the challenges we face delivering these vaccines to everyone, with more than a third of our population living outside capital cities,” Minister Coulton said.
“The Government is committed to ensuring every Australian receives safe, effective vaccines, wherever they live.
“That’s why we are partnering with highly-experienced logistics professionals to ensure we have the capacity to deliver on our national vaccination plan.
“Every person living in regional, rural, and remote Australia can rest assured they will have access to safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines at the same time as their city cousins.
“Australians will soon begin to receive their two-shot vaccine regime, with priority populations starting at the end of February.”
DHL will also distribute the Astra Zeneca and Novavax vaccines – when approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – to Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and external territories, such as Norfolk Island.
DHL will also support the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine in aged care residential facilities and disability residences across Australia.
Vaccination of Australians against COVID 19 will commence in late February to ensure an orderly roll out to priority groups which is safe, effective and explained properly to Australians.

More women will reach their leadership potential with the Australian Government investing an additional $3.4 million over four years for the highly regarded Women Leaders in Sport (WLIS) program.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said more than 25,000 women across the country had benefited from the initiative since it started in 2002.
“WLIS is helping improve outcomes for Australian women in areas including job creation, workforce participation and leadership,” Minister Payne said.
“We are focused on ensuring women already working in our sport sector, and those interested in employment opportunities, have the professional development and dedicated support needed to reach their full leadership potential.”
“Our increased commitment to this important program will help support the success of women aspiring to leadership positions in Australian sport”.
The WLIS program is managed by Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), under a partnership with the Office for Women.
In February, Sport Australia opened grant applications for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops, which will provide:

• Individuals with a grant up to the value of $10,000 to support their professional development,
• Organisations with a grant up to the value of $20,000 to provide professional development courses to employees, and
• Opportunities for individuals to undertake online WLIS Leadership Workshops.

Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, said the WLIS grants will provide women in Australian sport with opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge and qualifications to progress their leadership journey.
“One of our key objectives with WLIS is to support as many women in sport as we can, from the start of their careers, right through to the boardroom,” Minister Colbeck said.
“This program is playing a key role in developing our next female leaders across the industry and ultimately what we want to see is a more balanced workforce that is more representative of our diverse sporting community”.
Eligibility criteria and information on how to apply for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops can be found here. Applications close March 17.
The Program is funded under the Government’s Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP).