Month: August 2022

The Australian Government is deeply disappointed that the tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) did not reach a consensus outcome, despite the urgency of the international security environment.

After four weeks of negotiations in New York, all State Parties except Russia were ready to agree to a meaningful and balanced outcome across the treaty’s three pillars: disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Russia has deliberately obstructed progress. Its actions directly challenge core tenets of the NPT.

We condemn Russia’s ongoing unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression and call on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.

At the heart of the NPT is the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, a goal to which Australia remains deeply committed.

Australia is steadfast in our support of the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Irrespective of this outcome, the treaty continues to deliver tangible security benefits to us all.

We must redouble our efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. Australia will continue to make constructive contributions and work with others to strengthen the NPT.

I thank Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres for leading Australia’s delegation to the Conference earlier this month and delivering our National Statement.

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and International Aid spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that Australia must immediately provide aid funding and assistance to Pakistan as the country deals with unprecedented and disastrous flooding.

Senator Faruqi said:

“What’s unfolding in Pakistan right now is nothing short of disastrous and horrific. We are seeing people who did little to contribute to the climate emergency facing its worst consequences.

“Australia should deliver aid funding and assistance to support relief and reconstruction efforts, as well as the planning of climate-resilient infrastructure which can better withstand floods and extreme weather.

“Australia has a clear role to play here: not only as a wealthy country in our region, but also as a big contributor to the climate crisis which is driving more disasters.

“Australia needs to view the climate crisis with the urgency it demands, and commit to no new coal and gas as well as net zero emissions by 2035. That’s the action needed to tackle the systemic causes of the tragedies we see unfolding today.”

PointsBet Australian brand ambassador Shaquille O’Neal has met with Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss their proposal for a Voice to Parliament.

This comes as Minister Burney met with the Joint Council on Closing Gap last week. The latest data from the Productivity Commission indicates that that the rates of suicide, incarceration and children in out-of-home care have risen for First Nations people.

“Why is Labor talking to American celebrities about advisory bodies, when we’ve got First Nations people dying in custody?” Said Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson for First Nations and DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson for First Nations said:

“We have the solutions. We’ve had the solutions for decades and Labor is ignoring them. Want to prevent First Nations people from going to jail in the first place? Implement the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

“Approximately 40% of the Commission’s recommendations are about social factors: education, health, employment, housing and land rights. Implementing these recommendations will save peoples lives, before any referendum.

“You don’t need a Voice to Parliament to tell us that the recommendations from a 31 year old Royal Commission needs to be urgently implemented, to reduce the incarceration of our people. 

“Labor needs to stop tinkering around the edges with new so-called solutions. I’m seeing a lot of time and energy being put towards laying out a pathway to the Voice, while neglecting work that is decades overdue. 

“This is not the first time Labor has been in Government and ignored the self-determined solutions our old people gave them, in favour of photo ops. Is this a Government that takes Blak Lives Matter seriously? Will they implement the remaining recommendations? Clock’s ticking, Labor.”

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of fee-free tertiary degrees for nursing and midwifery students, and called for universal free higher education.

Senator Faruqi said:

“It’s great that thousands of nursing students won’t go into enormous debt in order to get an education. That opportunity should be extended to everyone.

“Free higher education has the potential to transform our society, giving students a world-class education while ensuring no one is saddled with a debt sentence as they start a new phase of their lives.

“Student debt is skyrocketing, with almost three million students owing a record $69 billion as of last year. It is out of control and we should be wiping it, not adding to it.

“The Greens want free education for everyone, whether you are leaving school, changing careers, retraining later in life or looking to gain new skills and knowledge. Education is a right, not a privilege reserved for just those who can afford to pay for it.”

The Greens Industry, Transition and Regional Development spokesperson and Gladstone local, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, will give notice of a Bill to establish a National Energy Transition Authority in the next sitting of Parliament.

The announcement comes after climate bill negotiations between the Greens and government, during which the government undertook to consider the Greens’ proposal for a statutory transition authority to support coal and gas communities and give them control over their futures as Australia tackles the climate crisis. 

The Greens were the only party to campaign at the election on a fully costed platform for statutory transition authorities to be established in coal and gas regions, managed by locals, unions and businesses, and funded to grow new industries and secure jobs.

The Bill will: 

• Establish an independent statutory National Energy Transition Authority tasked with planning and coordinating to facilitate new economic opportunities for workers and communities who are currently involved in fossil fuel production and associated industries.
• The National Energy Transition Authority will provide policy coordination and planning nationwide to enable regulatory conditions conducive to stable investment by both governments and business in clean energy and supporting infrastructure.
• The Authority will draw on a Diversifying Coal Communities Fund of $2.8 billion over ten years, which will approve and fund local plans across the nation, developed by regionally based transition bodies in partnership with the National Energy Transition Authority.

Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“Everyone knows the phase out of coal is underway so we have to put in place plans and institutions to support the communities that will be affected. This must be on the table at the Jobs and Skills Summit.

“There is so much opportunity for new jobs and industries in the coal regions, we just need to get on with it. Where I live, in Central Queensland, coal and gas workers tell me they know their jobs are on the way out and they’re sick of governments pretending that it isn’t happening. They want some honesty, and they want a plan.

“As we have seen with the Latrobe Valley Authority, a locally led transition with national support can start to get results for coal workers, their families and their communities.

“During negotiations on the climate change legislation the government agreed to consider the Greens’ plans for a transition authority. If the Government and Greens make serious progress on this issue over the next three years, Coalition climate scare campaigns will fall on deaf ears because coal and gas communities will know their future is being planned for and that their children will have a secure future.

“The experience in Europe shows that if you plan the transition, workers can move into new well-paid jobs, be redeployed through industry-wide polling or benefit from early retirement, but it needs leadership from government.”

The Greens’ election policy, Powering Past Coal and Gas, outlined a plan for the transition authority, as well as a ‘Job for Job Guarantee’ wage support plan for coal workers. The ACTU has called for the establishment of a transition authority and although Labor did not propose any policies before the election, it is consistent with the policy platform set by its members, suggesting the Greens’ bill could pass Parliament. 

Reserve Bank modelling of the climate commitments of Australia’s major trading partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, could see our coal exports fall by up to 80%.

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed today’s announced review of the Australian Research Council but urged action on a number of fronts.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Senate inquiry I initiated earlier this year did recommend an independent review, and I’m glad Minister Clare has taken this up. It’s beyond time for a good hard look at the ARC.

“A couple of things are crystal clear: the ministerial veto power and the national interest test have to go. Scrapping the veto power is overwhelmingly backed by universities and researchers.

“The national interest test is completely unnecessary and onerous, and has attracted significant criticism. It has to be ditched, not tweaked.

“The minister can make these changes without delay.

“Let’s go back to first principles: the people who know best about what research to fund are those in the research community. Rigorous peer review is fundamental, but it’s been undermined by politics for far too long.

“The review should not narrow itself to governance and operations. We need to ask the basic question of why we can apparently only afford to fund as few as one in five projects under many schemes, despite vastly more projects being of high quality. A lack of proper funding is really harming Australian research.”