Month: February 2021

The Prime Minister has asked his former chief of staff, now head of his own department, to investigate what Prime Minister’s office knew about an alleged rape of a government staffer, which The Greens say is just perpetuating the cover up.
“Every day, more damning information comes out about the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office.  We need to get to the bottom of it.” said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.
“Announcing yet another internal review is delaying tactic by a Prime Minister more interested in protecting himself and his office than telling the truth and ensuring that all women who work in politics are safe.
“The last time Mr Gaetjens reviewed conduct in the PMO, his findings were kept secret by dubious cabinet-in-confidence claims. The PM has given no assurance that this review will be any different.
“We need a comprehensive, independent review with public findings and recommendations that all side of politics and the public can have trust in.
“On Monday I’ll move a motion to establish an independent inquiry to find out who knew what, when, and what they did about it.  We owe it to survivors to make sure no one has to go through Brittany Higgins’ experience again.”

The Morrison Government is providing $9.7 million in additional funding to Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) as it continues to protect beachgoers and improve volunteer lifesaving skills.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the additional funding would help save lives and builds on a further $21 million over the next three years for the Water and Snow Safety Program.
“Our surf lifesavers play such a vital role at our beaches saving lives and dealing with emergencies in the water and on the beach day in, day out,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
“This additional funding will ensure our local clubs will have the ability to purchase vital equipment and medical supplies that they need to keep Australians safe on our beaches.”
From July 2019 to the end of June 2020, there were 248 drownings in Australia with more than half of the fatalities occurring in coastal areas.
The Morrison Government will invest $3.1 million through the Water and Snow Safety Program, to support SLSA’s Beach Safety Equipment Fund aimed at preventing fatal and non-fatal drownings.
It means surf lifesaving clubs will now be able to access up to $10,000 per annum over the next two years to purchase new or replacement patrol equipment such as rescue boards, life jackets, rescue manikins, inflatable rescue boats, all-terrain vehicles, defibrillators, and first aid and medical supplies.
The new funding also includes $6.6 million over two years to continue providing vocational education and training (VET) to volunteers and build on SLSA’s capability.
SLSA is the largest volunteer movement in Australia with more than 173,000 members and 314 affiliated surf clubs across the length and breadth of the nation.
Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck said the training offered by Surf Life Saving to club volunteers and members provided them with transferrable skills beyond lifesaving.
“As well as being able to use new skills learnt during VET training for the purpose of life-saving, around 25 per cent of SLS members believe these new skills helped them gain employment,” he said.
“This funding will also help upgrade SLSA’s technology to enhance the training it offers, cut red tape and expand its recruitment and recognition of supervisors, trainers and assessors at clubs.”
Member for Mackellar, Jason Falinski, said the funding would be vital for Surf Life Saving clubs like Collaroy where volunteers, who have already performed 5000 patrol hours this season, rely on the best skills and equipment to keep beachgoers safe.
“The efforts of our Surf Life Savers should not be underestimated,” Mr Falinski said. “Every day during the summer season, thousands of dedicated volunteers are keeping swimmers safe.
“With this significant support, the Morrison Government is ensuring clubs and their members across the country can continue to do what they do best – saving lives.”
The additional funding for SLSA’s Beach Safety Equipment Fund brings the Government’s investment for this initiative to $9.1 million from 2018–19 to 2021–22.
The Morrison Government’s additional investment in VET training for SLSA brings its total commitment to this program to $16.6 million between 2016–17 and 2021–22.

Today the House echoed the Senate to call on the government to take action on coercive control, supporting a cross-party motion coordinated by the co-Chairs of Parliamentarians for Action to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children.
“Tomorrow, Friday 19 February marks 1 year since Hannah Clarke’s murder. Her ex-husband had never laid a hand on her until he killed her and her three children, but for years had been abusing her with coercive control,” said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.
“We need a national approach to understanding and criminalising coercive control, so that Australian women can receive the same level of protection under the law no matter what state they live in.  The community needs to recognise the serious risks of conduct like Hannah Clarke and her children were subjected to before their murder a year ago, and police need additional tools to be able to act to prevent more women being killed.
“The best way to commemorate Hannah Clarke’s life and those of her three children, and the 52 women who have been killed since then, is working together to end violence against women.
“We need all parliamentarians to contribute to the cultural change that will eliminate violence against women, stand up to violent behaviour, and act to address the gender inequality which drives gendered violence.
“Today’s successful vote in the House, and yesterday’s vote in the Senate is an important show of agreement from all sides of politics that we need to act to prevent more women like Hannah Clarke dying at the hands of a current or former partner.  I look forward to the government now heeding this call from both houses of parliament and coordinating a national discussion on criminalising coercive control.
“The evidence shows that coercive control is the biggest indicator of future homicide. Governments rightly took action decades ago to criminalise physical abuse by a domestic partner, and the federal government must now listen to the evidence and encourage states to harmonise their approach to criminalise coercive control to protect women and end the on average woman a week being murdered.
“Criminalisation is not a complete response, and cannot happen without wide consultation with experts, victim-survivors, frontline services, police, courts, and families. Any change must be accompanied by system reforms, guidelines for police, prosecutors and judicial officers, and resources to help people to understand coercive control – how to identify the signs and what to do.
Taking a national approach to education and awareness, funding support services, and harmonising the legal response will keep more women and children safe,” concluded Senator Waters.
Motion moved by Senators Larissa Waters, Mehreen Faruqi, Andrew Bragg (Liberal), Jenny McAlister (Labor) in the Senate on Wednesday 17/02/2021, passed by consensus.  Sent to the House of Representatives on Thursday 18/02/2021 for concurrence, passed by consensus:

1. That the Senate—
   1. notes that:
      1. 19 February 2021 marks one year since the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children,
      2. since that date a further 52 women have been killed by violence in Australia, and
      3. coercive control and persistent emotional or psychological abuse is abuse in its own right, and a strong indicator of future physical violence;
   2. further notes that:
      1. Tasmania has had laws criminalising emotional and financial abuse and coercive control since 2004,
      2. Western Australia recently introduced a new offence of persistent family violence, recognising patterns of emotional and psychological abuse,
      3. New South Wales is currently consulting on draft laws to criminalise coercive control, and
      4. Queensland and the Northern Territory have announced plans to criminalise coercive control; and
   3. calls on the Government to
      1. recognise the harm caused by persistent controlling behaviour, and
      2. coordinate a national discussion regarding criminalising coercive control and related implementation support.
2. That this resolution be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence.

The Prime Minister has asked his former chief of staff, now head of his own department, to investigate what Prime Minister’s office knew about an alleged rape of a government staffer, which The Greens say is just perpetuating the cover up.
“Every day, more damning information comes out about the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office.  We need to get to the bottom of it.” said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.
“Announcing yet another internal review is delaying tactic by a Prime Minister more interested in protecting himself and his office than telling the truth and ensuring that all women who work in politics are safe.
“The last time Mr Gaetjens reviewed conduct in the PMO, his findings were kept secret by dubious cabinet-in-confidence claims. The PM has given no assurance that this review will be any different.
“We need a comprehensive, independent review with public findings and recommendations that all side of politics and the public can have trust in.
“On Monday I’ll move a motion to establish an independent inquiry to find out who knew what, when, and what they did about it.  We owe it to survivors to make sure no one has to go through Brittany Higgins’ experience again.”

Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said the Australian Government is committed to providing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines free to everyone in Australia – no matter where they live.
“We are ready to roll out COVID-19 vaccines with hundreds of distribution points nationwide,” Minister Coulton said.
“Further sites will be finalised in the coming weeks and will include rural, regional and remote based GP-led Respiratory Clinics, GPs, community pharmacies, state and territory vaccination clinics and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Health Organisation clinics.
“The Government’s call out to GPs and community pharmacies will strengthen the rollout and will allow people living in regional, rural and remote communities to access COVID-19 vaccinations side by side with the rest of the nation.”
Minister Coulton said thousands of aged care residents, including many in regional Australia, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week.
Residents and staff in 134 regional and rural aged care facilities – almost 44 per cent of the initial vaccination locations – will be among those who get their first COVID-19 vaccine next week.
“Protecting the most vulnerable citizens in our regions is an absolute priority.
“We are fortunate to have in AstraZeneca a vaccine that is well suited to be deployed right across the vast expanses of the country.
“We have also been working hard to ensure the unique storage requirements of the Pfizer vaccine are not a barrier for our regional areas.”
Both vaccines demonstrate they will stop people becoming very sick – keeping them off ventilators and out of hospital.
“Surge workforce announced last week will partner with peak organisations and other providers to assist in administering the vaccine for harder-to-reach populations, such as rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
“The Federal Government will continue to work closely with state and territory governments and key stakeholders to ensure communities in regional, rural and remote Australia are informed about the rollout.”
These stakeholders will be particularly important as the Commonwealth, together with the States and Territories, establish the Remote Vaccine Working Group to support the newly established Vaccine Program Principal Committee.
Find out more about the rollout and priority groups at: aus.gov.au.

Labour force figures released today by the ABS show that the Australian labour market continued to recover in January 2021, with employment increasing by 29,100 over the month. The unemployment rate also decreased in January, by 0.2 percentage points, to 6.4 per cent.
The increase in employment over the month was due, entirely, to a rise in full-time jobs, which surged by 59,000 in January. Full-time employment has now risen for four consecutive months to stand at 8,820,400 in January 2021.
While aggregate hours worked fell by 86.0 million hours (or 4.9 per cent) in January, the ABS has advised that this reflects more Australians than usual taking leave in the first two weeks of January. The fall in hours worked also reflects some of the ongoing effects of the recent lockdown in the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
Importantly, while employment fell by 872,100 between March and May (the trough in the labour market) it has since increased by 813,600 over the last eight months, recovering more than 93 per cent of the jobs lost so far during the pandemic.
The participation rate fell marginally, by 0.1 percentage points over the month, to 66.1 per cent in January 2021, although it remains above the 65.9 per cent recorded in March 2020.
Significantly, the underemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points over the month, to 8.1 per cent in January 2021, and is below its pre-COVID rate, of 8.8 per cent in March 2020. There are now 81,400 (or 6.7 per cent) fewer underemployed people than there were in March 2020.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said the Government remains acutely aware that the economic and labour market fallout from COVID-19 will continue for some time to come.
“That is why the Morrison Government has committed an unprecedented economic support, to help rebuild the economy and put Australia back on the road to recovery,” Minister Cash said.
“This includes $251 billion in direct economic support including more than $101 billion in JobKeeper payments to help cushion the impact of COVID-19 which has led to the most severe global economic crisis since the Great Depression.
“This is the single largest economic support measure that any Australian Government has introduced, which will help mitigate the difficulties that businesses and employees are encountering as a result of COVID-19.”

Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program will commence from next week. People in priority groups who are most at risk and who need protection the most – will receive a vaccine first.
The rollout will begin with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and following the approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Tuesday, will include the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from early March.
The initial priority groups include aged care and disability care residents and workers, frontline healthcare workers, and quarantine and border workers.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt reaffirmed that Australia’s vaccine strategy is strong and on schedule.
“Australia will begin rolling out the COVID-19 Vaccination program from next week,” Minister Hunt said.
“This week the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has arrived in the country and the TGA has approved the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. These are two outstanding vaccines that will be available to people in Australia free of charge.”
Frontline healthcare workers and quarantine and border workers will receive the vaccine through Pfizer hubs run by states and territories. In addition, a Commonwealth led in-reach vaccination workforce will ensure residential aged care and disability care residents and staff receive their vaccines.
Minister Hunt said the staged approach to the rollout would ensure those who need the most protection get it first.
“Our frontline border and quarantine workers, and people living and working in residential aged and disability care facilities will be the first to receive their vaccines,” Minister Hunt said.
“The vaccination program will save and protect lives. Both of our vaccines will prevent serious illness. That is our primary goal.”
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has identified the following people as being eligible for vaccination under phase 1a of the rollout:

• Aged care and group disability care workers and residents, including:
  • residents of aged care and people with disability living in disability residential accommodation
• Quarantine and border workers, including:
  • staff at entry points to the country (such as sea ports and land borders)
  • staff working in quarantine facilities, including those employed under Commonwealth, state or private agreements, and
  • Commonwealth employees (including Defence personnel) who are identified as having the potential to encounter returning travellers as part of their work.
• Frontline health workers (including clinical, medical students and administrative staff) most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 including;
  • frontline staff in facilities or services such as hospital emergency departments,COVID-19 and respiratory wards, Intensive Care Units and High-dependency Units
  • laboratory staff handling potentially infectious material
  • ambulance and paramedics service
  • GP respiratory clinics, and
  • COVID-19 testing facilities.
  • Other health workers will follow in Phase 1B

Thousands of aged care residents in Australia, at more than 240 facilities, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week. The facilities are located across Australia in over 190 towns and suburbs in rural and urban areas in every state and territory:

States and territories will initially have 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs operational across Australia. These first hubs will be at:

• Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW)
• Westmead Hospital (NSW)
• Liverpool Hospital (NSW)
• Monash Medical Centre Clayton (VIC)
• Sunshine Hospital (VIC)
• Austin Health (VIC)
• University Hospital Geelong (VIC)
• Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD)
• Cairns Hospital (QLD)
• Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)
• Royal Adelaide Hospital (SA)
• Flinders Medical Centre (SA)
• Perth Children’s Hospital (WA)
• Royal Hobart Hospital (TAS)
• The Canberra Hospital (ACT)
• Royal Darwin Hospital (NT)

The remaining phases will be rolled out as the number of vaccines grows.
Vaccines will be available across additional settings including GP clinic and community pharmacy. The staged rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is guided by Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccine National Rollout Strategy.
The aim of the vaccination program is to save and protect lives. To keep people out of intensive care and off ventilators. Both vaccines approved for use in Australia do that very well.
Protecting people from serious illness is, and must, be the first priority
Find out more about the rollout and priority groups at: aus.gov.au

The Morrison Government has today introduced legislation into parliament to ensure the superannuation system works harder for all Australians.
These measures will reduce waste in the system and save Australian workers $17.9 billion over 10 years by holding underperforming funds to account and strengthening protections around the retirement savings of millions of Australians.
Australians currently pay $30 billion per year in superannuation fees, while three million accounts sit in underperforming funds worth over $100 billion in retirement savings.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) Bill 2021 also addresses key recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s (PC) comprehensive assessment of the system, Superannuation: Assessing Efficiency and Competitiveness.
The Your Future, Your Super package is scheduled to commence on 1 July 2021. Under the package, the superannuation system will be significantly enhanced by:

• Having your superannuation follow you: preventing the creation of unintended multiple superannuation accounts when employees change jobs.
• Making it easier to choose a better fund: members will have access to a new interactive online YourSuper comparison tool which will encourage funds to compete harder for members’ savings.
• Holding funds to account for underperformance: to protect members from poor outcomes and encourage funds to lower costs the Government will require superannuation products to meet an annual objective performance test. Those that fail will be required to inform members. Persistently underperforming products will be prevented from taking on new members.
• Increasing transparency and accountability: the Government will increase trustee accountability by strengthening their obligations to ensure trustees only act in the best financial interests of members. The Government will also require superannuation funds to provide better information regarding how they manage and spend members’ money in advance of Annual Members’ Meetings and disclose all of their portfolio holdings to members.

This package builds on the Government’s superannuation reforms which include consolidating $2.9 billion held in unintended multiple accounts on behalf of 1.4 million Australians, capping fees on low balance accounts, banning exit fees and ensuring younger Australians do not pay unnecessary insurance premiums.
Under the Your Future, Your Super package, the Morrison Government is taking the next step in modernising and improving the superannuation system to ensure it is working harder for you.