Month: August 2021

“Traditional Owners of the Gundanji and Garawa nation do not consent to fracking in the Beetaloo basin, but the government has put $50 million towards doing it anyway,” said DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe, the Greens Senator for Victoria.
“These are communities that don’t even have access to proper health and housing infrastructure. As a government, it’s our job to provide this and instead of doing that we’re paying private companies to poison their waters and destroy their lands.
“This violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the Australian government has signed up to. This Declaration guarantees First Nations people the right to approve or deny projects happening on their country before the project begins.
“We need First Nations justice to achieve climate justice. I’m disappointed in Labor’s support to disrespect the wishes of all those Traditional Owners they say they support. Shame.”
The Greens spokesperson for Mining & Resources, Senator Larissa Waters said, “The Greens-initiated Senate inquiry into the $50 million fracking slush fund heard from Traditional Owners across the Northern Territory, deeply concerned about gas extraction in the Beetaloo Basin.
“They told us that they had not been consulted in any meaningful way by this government, or by the companies so eager to pillage Country. They told us they were worried for their water, for their kids and for their access to cultural practices. But their valid concerns were ignored when both big parties voted to support public money going to new fossil fuels in a climate crisis, without First Nations consent.
“The Greens have had a bill since 2012 to ban fracking and to give First Nations, farmers and other landholders the right to say no to gas fracking.
“Yesterday, Labor had the opportunity to be on the right side of history and vote with the Greens against this dodgy program. But they sadly sided with the Liberals.
“We’ll give Labor one more opportunity to do the right thing by First Nations people, water and the climate when we bring a second and final disallowance motion to a vote in the Senate in October.”

The Morrison Government has welcomed the release of the National Policy Roadmap to Being Equally Well, which aims to improve the physical health care provided to Australians living with serious mental illness.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap is aimed at reducing the life expectancy gap for people living with a mental illness, and shows that physical health and wellbeing must be a priority for health care providers when working with a person living with a mental illness.
People with a serious mental illness are more likely to die between 14–23 years earlier than the average and their deaths make up around one third of all avoidable deaths in Australia.
They are six times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease and four times more likely to die of respiratory disease. We need to ensure that these rates are turned around.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the current COVID-19 pandemic was taking a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, especially those living with a mental illness.
“Our Government is committed to addressing the critical issue of mental health and suicide prevention, and in 2021–22 an estimated $6.5 billion will be spent on mental health in Australia, including Medicare rebates for mental health care,” Minister Hunt said.
“Through our historic $2.3 billion National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan we have also committed to providing additional funding for the Equally Well Program to support improvements to the physical health of those living with a mental illness.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap is the work of the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC), Equally Well Australia, health professionals and multi-disciplinary academic experts.
Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, Professor Rosemary Calder AM, said better physical health and longer lives for people living with mental illness needs the combined skills and expertise of both mental health and primary health services.
“Both mental and physical health care need to be connected and to have capacity to support the complex needs of individuals over their lifetimes. Primary health care is central to better physical health care and this report shows how the role of primary care can be strengthened and supported,” Professor Calder said.
“This report is the result of the collaboration of chronic disease and population health practitioners, mental health practitioners and consumers and carers who have worked together to identify how best to do so.”
The AHPC is led by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, linking leading health organisations and chronic disease experts to inform better policy through the findings of rigorous health research.
Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, Adam Shoemaker, said equity of access to opportunity lies at the heart of what drives Victoria University and it was that commitment which led to the establishment of the Mitchell Institute.
“This project represents those deep aspirations. We are confident that it will assist with providing greater access towards equity of health and health outcomes for people living with mental illness. For that reason we are particularly grateful for the support of the Department of Health,” Mr Shoemaker said.
The Morrison Government has provided $600,000 over three years to the AHPC, and from 2021–22 will contribute a further $600,000 over the coming three years to 2023–24.
The Being Equally Well Roadmap will encourage clinicians and policy-makers to give a greater focus to physical health in the treatment of mental ill health, and help to close the life expectancy gap for people with mental illness.

If Scott Morrison was any kind of leader, purpose-built quarantine facilities would be up and running by now.
Instead, it again falls to a state Premier to fill the leadership vacuum, with Annastacia Palaszczuk committing to fast-tracking the purpose-built quarantine facility proposed at Wellcamp, near Toowoomba.
It’s been more than 18 months since the first COVID case in Australia.
Premier Palaszczuk proposed Wellcamp as a fit for purpose facility in January.
This project could be safely quarantining people right now.
Scott Morrison had two jobs this year – rolling out the vaccine and fixing quarantine. 
He has fundamentally failed at both.
Quarantine is a Federal responsibility. With this Prime Minister, all responsibilities are always shipped to someone else.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – there would have been fewer than the 27 disastrous outbreaks from hotel quarantine.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – there wouldn’t be 38,000 stranded Australians left overseas desperate to get home.
If Scott Morrison had done his job – the extended, devastating lockdowns on the east coast wouldn’t be happening.
From the Prime Minister known for his “I don’t hold a hose” and “it’s not a race” style of accountability, today’s press conference was another shining example of his lack of leadership.
Now one can add “She has been at liberty to do that for months” and “Good for them, I wish them every success” to the litany of examples of this Prime Minister’s absence of leadership, revulsion at responsibility, and his reflexive avoidance of simply ever just doing his job.

The Greens and the disability community have achieved another huge win!
After years of raising the alarm that the confidentiality provisions in the Disability Royal Commission are insufficient, the disability community, alongside Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, have locked in amendments that will allow those with confidential information to come forward to the Disability Royal Commission with trust.
The Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of disabled people was established in 2019. The changes that passed the Senate today, will ensure that information provided to the Commission in confidence, will remain confidential after the Royal Commission ends, and there are stronger protections for those who expose the failings of organisations such as a government department, corporations, or institutions.
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, Disability Rights & Services Spokesperson said: 
“Together, The Greens and the Disability Community have again demonstrated our power, and have succeeded in getting outcomes that will improve the lives of disabled people.
“The changes that passed the Senate, will give disabled people security that the information they give to the Disability Royal Commission will remain confidential over time. These changes also enact stronger protections for folks who bravely come forward to blow the whistle, exposing the failings of organisations such as government departments, corporations, or institutions.
“The Greens are encouraging everyone to share their experience of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation with the Commission. They need to hear from all of us to get a total picture of violence, abuse and neglect that is occurring in all settings all across the country.
“At the next election, with a small change in the vote, The Greens can be in balance of power. The Greens, alongside the community, have already achieved so much for the disability community, and in the balance of power we will prioritise ensuring all disabled people are able to access the NDIS quickly, where ever they are across the country, and we will be in a position to ensure the recommendations that will be made by the Royal Commission are implemented thoroughly and quickly.”

The Australian Greens have savaged Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals today in the Senate to spend public money opening up massive gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin, saying the move raised questions as to whether Labor still believes the climate crisis is real.
If Labor had voted with the Greens and crossbench, the fund would have been abolished, given the numbers in the Senate. Labor is responsible for the continued existence of the $50 million Beetaloo Co-operative Drilling Program to open up new gas projects.
The Greens have vowed to revisit the issue when Parliament meets again in October, and off the back of the Labor party writing to the Auditor-General to investigate the fund they support, the Australian Greens have also written to the ANAO asking for this work to be completed before the next and final vote.
The fund is being used to funnel money to a donor to Liberal and Labor. Major grant beneficiary Empire Energy’s majority shareholder is billionaire Dale Elphinstone, a regular donor to the Liberal Party and a Liberal Party Life Member. Empire Energy also donated $25,000 to both the Northern Territory Labor Party and Country Liberal Party during the 2020 territory election.
There is almost 70 years’ worth of Australia’s emissions in the NT gas basins and fracking the NT will lift our own annual emissions by up to 6%.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:
“In the middle of a climate crisis, Labor is backing the Liberals using public money to open up new gas fields.
“Gas is as dirty as coal. Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals to open up new gas fields makes you wonder if they accept the science of climate change.
“Scientists are screaming at us to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, but Labor and Liberal have just used public money to open up massive gas reserves, lighting the fuse on a giant climate bomb.
“This is a climate crime. Public money should go to schools and hospitals, not Liberal and Labor corporate gas donors who are cooking our future.
“It is clear the Liberals have to be kicked out, but Labor can’t be trusted to act on the climate crisis, so we need to put the Greens in balance of power in both houses of Parliament.
“If Labor had voted with the Greens instead of the Liberals, we would have won. We had the numbers.
“It is Labor who has allowed this climate crime to happen.
“It’s not too late for Labor to change their mind and defuse this climate bomb, with a final disallowance vote set for 19 October.”
Australian Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Labor talks a big game on climate, but their track record falls well short of their rhetoric. Time after time, presented with the opportunity to stand up to this dodgy government and fight for climate action, they turn tail and run.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t expect much more from a party that can’t even commit to a 2030 ermissions reduction target, and a party that pockets millions in donations from gas and coal companies.
“Senator Watt said that if people want to know where Labor stands they should look to their policy platform. Well, I think people are going to be looking at Labor’s voting record, and I think they’ll see quite clearly that when Labor had the chance to stop public money going to a climate-wrecking project they didn’t take it.
“By siding with the Libs to give money to a major donor to frack the Northern Territory, against the explicit wishes of Traditional Owners, Labor is giving First Nations people and all Australians a clear and unambiguous message: ‘We don’t care about you.’”
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Senate should have put an end to this rort today.
“It’s disappointing the Labor Party can identify all the ways in which this program is dodgy yet has allowed it to continue.
“Millions of dollars of taxpayer money is destined for a bunch of gas cowboys to create a climate bomb and due to Labor’s capitulation, now even more money will be handed out under this dodgy program.
“The evidence uncovered by the Senate Inquiry into this program showed there was no proper due-diligence, a $21m cheque was handed over on a ‘first in, first served’ basis and the recipient is a donor to the Liberal Party.
“The Greens will keep fighting to put a stop to this program because not only is the taxpayer being rorted, our climate is being ripped off too.”