Month: March 2021

The Greens today welcomed the announcement of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Victoria – a historical opportunity for First Nations people to tell the truth of the history of violent dispossession from their land.

It comes as Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe, then Greens MP for Northcote, called in 2018 for “funding (to) be provided for a process of truth telling about the true history of Victoria”, as truth-telling needs to be a central part of any Treaty process.
Truth and Justice Commissions have been held across the world in the aftermath of grave and often racially motivated injustices being carried out by governments.
The Greens believe the forthcoming Elders Council is well-placed to provide cultural governance and oversight over this important process, as First Nations people must be given complete agency over how the Commission is run. The Commission must also be representative of all 38 nations in this state.
If successful, a Truth Commission of this kind could also set an important precedent for similar Commissions in other jurisdictions, and at the national level.
“We can’t  move forward as a country until we reckon with the truth about our history,” Senator Thorpe said today.
“When the colonisers invaded, there was a war on these lands – a war that hasn’t ended. But we won’t achieve peace without truth. The announcement of a Truth Commission today is a historic opportunity to bring people together to open up the possibility of a genuine Treaty process, not just in Victoria, but across this country.”
Senator Thorpe also reaffirmed the Greens’ earlier calls for a moratorium on all sales of Crown land until a genuine Treaty has been signed.
“Victoria’s treaty process has been a pretty token gesture so far. If Labor is serious about justice for our first peoples, they will also agree to a moratorium on logging while the Commission does its work. You can’t be serious about telling the truth about our ongoing connection to these lands and waters, as you keep destroying it,” Senator Thorpe added.
“For too long the history of this Country has been white-washed, and the voices of First Nations people have been relegated to the margins,” Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam MLC said today.
“Hopefully this Commission is the first of many steps towards changing that. This is a direct result of years of community campaigning for truth-telling and First Nations justice,” Ms Ratnam added.

The Greens say that halted shipments of Astra Zeneca vaccines from Europe show the risks of relying on international supply chains to inoculate Australians, extending their call for the government to establish a publicly-owned vaccine production centre.
News of a quarter of a million doses due for Australia being blocked has exposed the risks caused by the privatisation and winding down of Australia’s domestic vaccine production capabilities over decades.
“Australia can’t be reliant on imports from big drug companies, hoping that the supply chain isn’t disrupted in a global pandemic,” Bandt said
“We need to make sure that people here are rapidly vaccinated, and that we’re able to play our role in supplying vaccines to the Pacific.
“We need a publicly-owned mRNA vaccine manufacturer in Australia.
“Scientists and health experts have backed the Greens call for Australia to build its own domestic mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity.
We are calling on the Government and Labor party to accept this needs to be done now. “In addition to suring up supply of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, Australia needs to develop domestic mRNA technology which is easier to adapt to new strains of Covid-19. “With publicly-owned domestic manufacturing capacity, we won’t just be able to make sure that everyone here is inoculated against new pandemics as they come, but we’ll be a vaccine production hub for the region.”
Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said:
“This difficulty with international supply chains is a clear example of why the Government should have already started building a more diverse vaccine portfolio.
We don’t want to go down the ugly and dangerous road of vaccine nationalism.
If Europe continues with the approach of banning exports of vaccines they risk extending the pandemic because no one is safe until everyone is safe.
Australia should commit to increasing its funding to the COVAX AMC to at least the level of Canada (an additional $135.2m USD).
This could also include calling on big pharma to temporarily waive intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines to facilitate universal access.”

In response to the NSW Government’s new koala state environmental planning policy, Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“Letting the National Party dictate koala protection policy is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
“The Berejiklian Government’s capitulation to the Nationals will drive koalas closer to extinction. Koalas are already on track to be extinct in NSW by 2050.
“Land clearing, degradation and fragmentation is the greatest threat to koalas. It must be stopped.
“Instead the NSW Government is planning to make it easier to bulldoze and log trees on forestry and agricultural land where most habitat destruction occurs. It’s completely nonsensical.
“The Australian Greens Save the Koala Bill would stop land clearing of critical habitat and help save our national treasure.
“The new laws were debated in the Senate last month and referred to a Senate Inquiry.
“If passed, these laws would prevent the Federal Environment Minister from approving new mines or developments in koala habitat.
“Right now, the Liberal and National Parties are failing to protect our precious wildlife. Off the back of the worst bushfires in history, no approvals for developments or logging on koala land should be given – not by NSW or the Morrison Government.”

The Australian Government is ensuring the COVID-19 Vaccination Program meets the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) acknowledged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have an increased risk of acquiring and developing serious outcomes from communicable diseases due to multiple factors.
It is critical that the vaccine program is designed and delivered in a manner which is accessible, inclusive and culturally safe. This includes ensuring communications are developed and targeted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and that information and services are delivered in appropriate languages and formats and within appropriate facilities and locations.
A comprehensive vaccine implementation plan (the Plan) has been developed in consultation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group on COVID-19, and with state and territory governments.
This Plan has been built on principles aligned with the Management Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations, including shared decision-making between Governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; community control and cultural safety across the whole-of-population system.
The Australian Government will work closely together with each state and territory government and with the ACCHS to support vaccination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in each jurisdiction; and across metropolitan, regional, rural, remote and very remote settings.
The Plan is supported by the $31 million COVID-19 vaccination public information campaign which includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and mainstream media channels. Over $500,000 has been provided to support communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including the translation of audio content into 15 languages.
In addition, a further $14.8 million will be provided to support the sector be vaccine ready. Funding will be flexible to allow for national consistency and to address local needs. This also includes funding to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) to support coordination of the COVID-19 vaccine program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country.
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.

Construction of the University of Sydney medical program’s new teaching facilities in Dubbo has begun, with work expected to be completed in October.
The first cohort of 24 Year 1 Sydney Medical students (Dubbo Stream) are expected to commence in early February next year. These students will be able to complete all of their four-year Doctor of Medicine degree in the brand new, world-class facility.
Minister for Regional Health Mark Coulton this week visited the site and congratulated the university on the start of construction, after plans were approved last December.
The university will receive $9.27 million from the Australian Government for the medical school, including $7.65 million in capital funding to redevelop the existing School of Rural Health and build an extension. Patterson Building Group is managing the project.
It will include a state-of-the-art anatomy space including two- and three- dimensional visual technologies, virtual and augmented reality and 3D printing, learning studios, simulation space, service rooms and amenities.
“The new medical program in Dubbo will be part of the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, increasing the capacity for medical students to undertake and complete their studies in regional centres instead of Sydney or Melbourne,” Minister Coulton said.
“More students from rural areas will be able to do medicine and all students will develop rural ties which will encourage them to stay in the country, after graduating.
“Together with the other elements of the Government’s comprehensive plan for stronger rural health, this will improve access to doctors and health outcomes for rural people.”
“The Dubbo program builds on our long-standing history in the region which has seen more than 800 students complete one-year extended placements in Dubbo, Orange and Broken Hill,” said Professor Cheryl Jones, Head of School and Dean of the University of Sydney Medical School.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming the first students to complete their entire degree in Dubbo.”

Forbes, Parkes and the surrounding communities will benefit from new primary health care models to improve access to local health care and provide better continuity of care for rural patients.
Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack said the trial announced today was one of five new primary care models being tested in western and southern New South Wales.
“The Nationals in Government are working hard to address regional workforce shortages through a range of initiatives and programs, and this new model announced today is part of the solution,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“An ageing GP workforce had been identified as a challenge in the region, and this model is testing a potential new solution to ensure people in this region continue to have access to health care.”
Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said regional experts – the NSW Rural Doctors Network, the Western NSW Local Health District and the Western NSW Primary Health Network – are working closely with local councils, community and health professionals to design an innovative solution for the area.
“With each new model, the aim is to demonstrate how new and flexible approaches can address workforce shortages in the bush, and find sustainable ways of delivering services across a number of smaller, connected rural communities,” Minister Coulton said.
“The challenge of delivering health services in small communities is well known, and it is clear the existing one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working for every rural community.
These models differ to traditional health workforce solutions that focus on individual towns. Instead the focus is on sub-regions to address healthcare access issues.
“By servicing multiple towns, there is an opportunity to achieve economies of scale, create sustainable practices and provide better access to primary health services for rural and remote Australians,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“The Nationals in Government are breaking new ground by investing in sub-regional models of primary care to provide local solutions and to test how these new approaches can address perennial rural health challenges across the nation.”
The Lachlan region joins the Canola Fields, 4T’s (Tullamore, Trangie, Tottenham and Trundle), Snowy Valley and Wentworth sites, where innovative solutions to local healthcare problems are being developed under the program. The Australian Government has invested $3.3 million to test these new models.

Australia’s 58,000 registered charities hold a special place in our community because of the vital work they do and in turn receive special status.
The Morrison Government is strengthening laws to ensure activist organisations, masquerading as charities, that promote and engage in unlawful behaviour will no longer be tolerated.
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the promotion and condoning of illegal activity diminishes Australians’ trust in the charities sector and puts workers jobs at risk.
“The Morrison Government strongly supports the right to peacefully protest and engage in political discourse as key pillars of our democracy,” Minister Sukkar said.
“However, political activists and organisations condoning and participating in criminal activities, while masquerading as charities, undermine Australians’ trust in the sector overall and do not deserve this privilege.”
“There is nothing charitable about assault, late night break ins, threatening behaviour and illegal blockades.”
“Australians subsidise charities through tax concessions, with the expectation that donated money goes to charitable works, not the promotion of and participation in criminal activities.”
Member for Braddon Gavin Pearce said too many North West Tasmanian workers have been affected by illegal activities that threaten their jobs.
“The North West has a proud tradition of many local charities performing outstanding acts of kindness when our community needs it most,” Mr Pearce said.
“However, all too often local workers are impacted by the illegal and threatening behaviour of the minority who seek to hide behind the legitimacy of a charity to push their agenda.”
“Workers in the North West should be allowed to go about their lawful work, free from harassment and acts that threaten their jobs,” Mr Pearce said.
At present the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commissioner has enforcement powers to revoke an organisation’s charity status. Under current rules, charities are prohibited from engaging in conduct that may be dealt with either as an indictable offence under Australian law.
The reforms ensure charities are prohibited from engaging in or promoting theft, vandalism, trespass or assault and threatening behaviour.