Month: August 2021

The Morrison Government is providing additional support to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) who continue to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis by expanding eligibility for the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
In recognition of the continued economic impacts of COVID-19, the Government will remove requirements for SMEs to have received JobKeeper during the March quarter of 2021 or to have been a flood affected business in order to be eligible under the SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
As with the existing scheme, SMEs who are dealing with the economic impacts of the coronavirus with a turnover of less than $250 million will be able to access loans of up to $5 million over a term of up to 10 years. Other key features of the SME Recovery Loan Scheme include:

• The Government guarantee will be 80 per cent of the loan amount.
• Lenders are allowed to offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24 months.
• Loans can be used for a broad range of business purposes, including to support investment.
• Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible borrower, including those from the SME Guarantee Scheme.
• Loans can be either unsecured or secured (excluding residential property).

The expanded Scheme will enable lenders to continue supporting Australian small businesses when they need it most.
The SME Recovery Loan Scheme builds on earlier loan schemes introduced during COVID-19, under which around 74,000 loans totalling around $6.2 billion were written.
The loans will be available through participating lenders until 31 December 2021. The expansion complements other financial support the Commonwealth is offering to businesses impacted by the current COVID-19 health restrictions.
The Morrison Government will continue to support small businesses as they seek to rebuild, adapt and create jobs on the other side of this crisis.
Further information can be found on the Treasury website.

The Greens say Labor’s decision today to wave through changes to the Electoral Act that will increase membership minimums and give existing parties veto power over new rivals’ names, limits democratic participation and entrenches the two-party system.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
“The Libs and Labor are running scared. They know they’re on the nose with the electorate and they know their share of the primary vote is collapsing. This is a blatant and utterly shameless attempt to shore up their power.
“Today, the old parties have told all Australians that they are willing to use their combined numbers in parliament to entrench their duopoly and shut out diverse voices.
“With an election looming dozens of minor parties are now at risk of being deregistered. It’s an attack on our democracy at a time when neither the Libs nor Labor can be trusted to act in the interests of anyone else other than their corporate donors.
“The Bill refers to ‘Party Registration Integrity’. Lack of integrity in the major parties is exactly why the crossbench is the largest in history. But rather than change their behaviour, the big parties just want to close the doors to new players.
“A healthy representative democracy should welcome wide and diverse political engagement. What does it say about our own democracy that both the government and opposition are in lockstep on such undemocratic reforms?
“Thankfully, Labor has backed the Greens in opposing changes that would saddle civil society organisations with significant financial and disclosure burdens and make it harder for them to engage in public debate. I urge the crossbench to join us in opposing those changes and protecting public interest advocacy.”

“First Nations people have been a priority group for the COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020, yet our vaccination rates in Western NSW are among the lowest in the country,” said DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe, the Greens Senator for Victoria.
“When COVID-19 hit, governments around the country sent our communities body bags, not the PPE we asked for. I’m hearing reports of healthy people being forced to stay in overcrowded homes with people who have COVID-19. They need to stop blocking us from being healthy.
“People have been turned away from supermarkets and food has been withheld from families while staff underwent training. How much training to you need to deliver a box?
“Walgett only has a four–bed hospital, the next nearest hospital is three hours away. Smaller towns are entitled to the same quality of healthcare and access to essentials as major cities. These communities have been neglected for decades and because of this First Nations people are getting sicker and dying earlier. It’s not good enough.
“First Nations people know what’s best for our communities. Elders in western NSW are demanding more vaccines, nurses to support Aboriginal Medical Services and suitable accommodation so people can quarantine effectively and safely.
“Aboriginal children between the ages of 10 to 19 make up 40% of cases of COVID-19 in western NSW. We don’t know what impact COVID-19 has on growing bodies, but we shouldn’t be putting kids at risk. Children and teenagers must be included in vaccine targets now.” said Thorpe.
Greens Senator for NSW Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Communities across New South Wales and the country have been massively let down by a botched-up vaccine rollout. This has had disproportionate and harmful impacts on First Nations and multicultural communities across our state.
“Systemic racism has clearly played a role in the government’s failure to keep communities safe and an obsession with policing over public health measures that actually work.
“Communities must be supported, not vilified and blamed as part of a strategy to distract from the government’s own failures.”
The Greens are calling for all eligible 12+ year olds to immediately be included in vaccination targets and rollout, adequate resourcing in terms of medical supplies and personnel, full access to health services and more intensive care units to meet higher demand.

The Australian Greens have slammed Labor for joining the Liberals in allowing $21 million of public money to be handed to a company deeply connected to Minister Taylor and the Liberals, using public money to fund new gas projects in a time of climate crisis.
At today’s Labor Caucus meeting, the party confirmed it intends to vote with the government on a Greens disallowance motion that would have blocked $50m from being gifted to gas companies headquartered in tax havens that want to kick start a 6% rise in Australia’s pollution.
The Senate Environment Committee has uncovered compelling evidence of the scheme being rorted to suit Liberal Party donors and billionaire ‘Liberal Life Members’. Previous moves to challenge the gas-fired recovery have succeeded in the Senate with Labor’s support, but Labor’s vote with the government would ensure it is blocked.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP said:
“Yet again, Labor is siding with the Liberals to support gas and coal, forking over public money to corporate gas donors to fast-track climate collapse” Mr Bandt said.
“There’s 68 years’ worth of Australia’s pollution in the NT gas basins, and the gas needs to stay in the ground. In the middle of a climate crisis, public money should not go to new gas projects. Every time Labor votes with the Liberals, it pushes us closer to the existential brink.
“After Sports Rorts and Car Park grants, it’s shocking that Labor is backing another Liberal party slush fund. Everything about this grant scheme stinks.”
Australian Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Let’s be very clear what’s happened here: in the middle of a climate crisis the Morrison government has gifted $21 million in public money to a major donor’s company to frack the Northern Territory. And Labor today has said, ‘Yes, we think that’s fine.’
“Unlike Sportsrorts and Pork and Ride, the Senate could stop this rort from the start. The disallowance would have terminated a $50 million slush fund for Liberal party mates to cook the planet, put groundwater at risk, and ignore the wishes of First Nations communities. $50 million that could go to health, education, public housing. Labor had the chance to do things differently, and they folded. Again.
“We’re disappointed, but we shouldn’t be surprised. We know that Labor and the Libs dance to the tune of their massive corporate donors. Today is proof that both parties will sell out the environment, the climate and First Nations people to keep their campaign coffers full.”
Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Beetaloo grants program has given millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a bunch of gas cowboys.
“The Department confirmed under evidence there was no proper due-diligence before granting millions of dollars of public money to the Liberal-linked Empire Energy. The $21m cheque was handed over on a ‘first in, first served’ basis.
“This is another rort with favours for mates, Liberal Party donors, and an alleged insider trader. The only criteria that seems to be applied to approving these grants is being mates with the Liberal Party.
“The evidence uncovered by the Senate Inquiry shows this fund has already been poorly administered and not only is the taxpayer being rorted, our climate is being ripped off too.
“The Parliament should not ignore this evidence and should vote to terminate this fund.”

The Greens have reiterated their calls for at least 80% of the whole population, including kids, to be vaccinated before we can start lifting restrictions, writing to Scott Morrison urging National Cabinet this Friday to agree to include children in vaccination targets.
Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said:
“Scott Morrison’s plan will have kids leaving the cave and going straight to the ICU,” Mr Bandt said.
“Yesterday I wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to stop excluding under 16s from the vaccination targets and to at least to seek further expert advice about the impact of Delta on children and teenagers.
“Morrison’s targets are a political solution to an epidemiological problem. Having lower targets might make them easier to meet but won’t make us safer.
“The Prime Minister is desperately trying to use vaccination targets as a club to bash the premiers, chief health officers, and public, but Delta infections and transmissions amongst children are rising and kids and teenagers need to be included in vaccination targets.
“Terrifying new modelling from ANU today highlights the risk of dropping restrictions before people have been able to get vaccinated. Grattan Institute modelling is clear that we need at least 80% of the entire population, including kids, vaccinated before we can open up safely.”
Greens spokesperson Health Senator Rachel Siewert said:
“The Government hasn’t settled on a vaccination target for Phase D yet. But when Morrison does finally release a plan for Phase D, it’s critical that the target rate includes children and teenagers and that the rate ensures we don’t end up with thousands of deaths and our ICUs overwhelmed.
“The ANU report today found that if we drop all public health measures and manage COVID like the flu, our health systems will be overrun with hospitalisations and we will see tens of thousands of deaths. There are now various models released and the Government needs to consider these and not just rely on the Doherty modelling as input.
“We can’t afford to have half-baked vaccination targets of 80% of the adult population, which actually equates to 65% of the entire population.
“This modelling gives a dangerous glimpse into what would happen if we reopen at 65% vaccination rates”