September 2022 – Page 7

Passing of Neita Scott

On behalf of NSW Labor we extend our condolences and thoughts to the family and friends on the passing of prominent Wiradjuri woman, Aunt Neita Scott.

Aunt Neita was committed to improving the lives of her people through her long commitment to Land Rights, her extensive work in Aboriginal housing and in her home community of Narromine.

Neita Scott became the NSWALC Councillor for the Central Region in 1988 to 1995 and served as Secretary of the Council from 1989 to 1995. Aunt Neita was Treasurer of the Narromine Local Aboriginal Land Council for more than two decades and Chairperson of Narromine LALC for many years. Neita advocated for Land Rights on the world stage, representing NSWALC at the United Nations in Geneva on several occasions and was awarded NSWALC’s inaugural “40 Years Strong” Chairperson’s Award in 2017.

She was a Board Member at the Aboriginal Housing Office, a member of the Aboriginal Housing Development Committee, as well as a Member of the Premier’s Council for Women, the Rural Women’s Advisory Council and Narromine Health Council.

Aunt Neita was a giant of the Lands Rights Movement and we acknowledge her huge contribution.

NSW to introduce ‘no body no parole’ laws

Offenders who refuse to provide information or assistance to locate their victim’s remains cannot be granted parole, under new “no body no parole” laws.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the government’s proposed Bill would mean offenders must co-operate with investigators and disclose the location of remains for any chance of release on parole.

“We will make it impossible for offenders who willfully and deliberately refuse to disclose information about their victim’s remains, to be granted parole,” Mr Perrottet said.

“Being unable to locate a loved one’s body is extremely distressing and traumatic for the families and friends of victims and it denies a victim the dignity of being laid to rest appropriately.

“These laws are to stop inmates convicted of murder or homicide offences from getting parole unless they co-operate with police to end the torment of families and return to them the remains of their loved ones.”

The proposed reform will mean the State Parole Authority (SPA) must not grant parole unless it concludes the offender has cooperated satisfactorily in identifying the victim’s location.

Under the reforms, the SPA must rely on written advice from the Commissioner of NSW Police Force and other relevant information to determine whether the offender has co-operated satisfactorily to identify a victim’s location.

Corrections Minister Geoff Lee said the reforms are modelled on laws in other jurisdictions and would apply to all current and future inmates in NSW to capture convicted offenders who have not yet been considered for parole.

“Any offender in prison coming up for parole should really think hard about maintaining their refusal to cooperate with police if they want to retain their prospects of getting parole,” Dr Lee said.

Landmark childcare legislation to be introduced to parliament

Parents across NSW will soon have more accessible and affordable quality childcare with legislation for the up to $5 billion Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund to be introduced to Parliament this week.

The Fund brings the NSW Government a step closer to delivering on its $15.9 billion commitment announced in the 2022-23 NSW Budget to transform the lives of families across the State.

Legislating the Fund guarantees NSW families can enjoy the benefits of this important initiative for decades to come, and gives long-term certainty to the childcare sector.

Treasurer Matt Kean said the NSW Government’s early childhood education reforms are estimated to boost affordable childcare supply by up to 47,000 places when combined with changes to the Commonwealth Childcare Subsidy.

“This landmark investment will give our children the best start in life, support the parents who need it most and help women return to paid work when they want,” Mr Kean said.

“The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Bill 2022 will help give more people in our State the opportunity to choose both a career and a family by easing cost of living pressures.
“These nation-leading reforms are also estimated to close the gender workforce participation gap by up to 14 per cent and increase household incomes by up to $4,400 on average within a decade.”

Mr Kean said the Fund, delivered alongside the Commonwealth’s childcare reforms, is expected to allow up to 95,000 women to enter the workforce or take on more hours.

Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said the Fund adds to other measures announced in the Budget to improve women’s economic opportunity, boost their workplace participation and tackle the gender pay gap.

“This Fund will help break the childcare drought by targeting areas with limited access and trialling new service models to meet the needs of modern families,” Mrs Taylor said.

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the Fund will provide opportunities for the early childhood sector to grow, be innovative to the needs of families and support children with the highest quality education and care.

“Enshrining this in law will guarantee investment in the sector and improve quality in both infrastructure and the workforce. We’ll continue to work with providers on the Fund’s rollout to best support the formative years of children’s lives,” Ms Mitchell said.

Over the next decade the NSW Government is spending $15.9 billion on childcare and early education, including:

Up to $5 billion over 10 years to establish the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund.
$5.8 billion over 10 years to introduce a high-quality universal pre-Kindergarten year for all children in NSW in the year before school by 2030.
$1.4 billion over four years to provide affordable preschool.
$64.1 million to increase participation of 3 year olds in preschool in long day care settings.
$281.6 million over four years to increase the number, quality and retention of early childhood educators and teachers – the package includes early childhood teacher higher education scholarships of up to $25,000, Vocational Education and Training scholarships of up to $2,000 and employer supplements for staff retention.
$111.2 million over four years for developmental checks in preschools in both metro and rural areas as part of the Brighter Beginnings initiative.
$24.7 million over four years to build system stewardship capability and offer more tailored support and guidance to early childhood education and care service providers.
$37.9 million over three years to improve access to before and after-school care services.

NSW Government to partner with local councils to host major cultural festivals

People wanting to experience the world will now be able to enjoy everything other cultures have to offer at home, thanks to the NSW Government offering million-dollar investments into major council-run cultural festivals and events.

Grant funding of up to $500,000 a year for two years is now available for local councils across the state’s Six Cities to host major cultural events in partnership with the NSW Government.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said this partnership will benefit the state’s Six Cities Regions, including celebrating our rich diversity, driving tourism and boosting local economies.

“We are talking about working with councils to host events that will attract tens of thousands of people from far and wide that want to experience our state’s diverse cultures,” Mr Perrottet said.

“By partnering with councils, we will be able to support them cater for bigger crowds, which will benefit their local economies and especially small businesses.”

This funding has been made available thanks to the NSW’s 2022-23 Budget, which saw a record $28 million invested into the state’s multicultural future.

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said cultural events help celebrate NSW’s greatest asset—its people.

“Councils in our major cities all have a major event that is synonymous with their local community, whether it be Lunar New Year, the Mid Autumn Festival, Ramadan, Diwali or even Christmas,” Mr Coure said.

“Every year, people wait in anticipation for those events to enjoy the vibrancy, the colour and the culture they are known for. That is the beauty of our multiculturalism—you don’t need to travel overseas to experience other cultures. You can do it right here in NSW.”

All councils across the state’s Six Cities are eligible to apply to support existing major cultural events or to establish a new one.

Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman said councils understand local needs, and were best placed to drive social and cultural events.

“Local Councils are the level of government closest to the community, so the NSW Government working directly with councils in our six cities will ensure these celebrations benefit their communities directly,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“By partnering with councils, we are boosting local cultural celebrations led by local leaders, helping to cater for bigger crowds so tourists can experience everything their city has to offer.”

The Six Cities Regions comprise of the Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle City, Central Coast City, Illawarra-Shoalhaven City, Western Parkland City, Central River City and Eastern Harbour City.

Successful councils can use the funding for festivals held in 2023 and 2024. Successful councils must partner with the NSW Government and co-fund to host events. Applications are now open and close on Friday, 7 October. For more information, visit www.multicultural.nsw.gov.au

Government urged to stop the Hunter’s $140 million super rip off

Industry Super Australia (ISA) analysis of 2018/19 tax file data shows 73,950 workers in the federal electorates of Hunter, Newcastle, Shortland and Paterson were short-changed on their super, those impacted lost on average $1,879 in a year.

This year the $450 threshold was removed – which means workers who earn less than that amount a month are now paid super – and the super rate increased from 10% to 10.5% of wages.

But 29% of the region’s workers won’t get the full benefit of these changes because they are being ripped off on their entitlements. Missing out on super contributions can cost a worker up to $60,000 at retirement.

To end the Hunter’s unpaid super scourge the government should change the law to require all employers pay super with wages.

While most employers do the right thing, some are exploiting an outdated rule that allows them to pay super quarterly, often despite what is written on the payslip. Without alignment of super and wages, workers lose track of payments and only discover they’ve been underpaid when it is too late.

Because super can be paid quarterly some small business owners also succumb to the temptation of using their employees’ super contributions for cashflow, which also leads to underpayments.

Paying super with wages would level the playing field for all employers, stopping the unfair commercial advantage exploitative bosses get by not paying their workers’ full entitlements.

The Australian Tax Office’s patchy enforcement action has only recovered a dismal 15% of unpaid super. With limited enforcement a growing chorus of organisations have backed paying super with wages to fix the problem, including industry super funds, Super Consumers Australia, employer representatives, unions, think-tanks, accounting bodies, law firms and two senate inquiries.

The Labor government’s commitment to creating enforcement targets and including super in the National Employment Standards are welcome but will not stop underpayments occurring, the only way to address the problem at its source is to mandate super is paid with wages.

Super should also be added to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, the government fund that pays unpaid wages after a company’s liquidation. Many businesses go bust owing substantial amounts of super to workers.

Industry Super Australia Chief Executive Bernie Dean said:

“With super going up, and thousands of lower-paid workers finally eligible to receive it, it’s even more important for the government to make sure workers get what they are owed.”

“There’s a growing number of organisations calling on the government to change the law to make all employers pay super to their employees when they pay wages.”

“By not mandating employers pay super with wages, politicians are effectively standing in the way of millions of workers getting money they’ve earned and undermining their future economic security.”

Table 1: Unpaid super by NSW federal electorate in the Newcastle and Hunter regions in 2018-19

Electorate	Persons	Percentage of electorate	Average underpaid	Total ($m)
Newcastle	18,650	28%	$1,995	$37.2
Shortland	18,150	31%	$2,017	$36.6
Paterson	18,800	29%	$1,871	$35.2
Hunter	18,350	29%	$1,633	$30.0
Regional total	73,950	29%	$1,879	$139.0

NTEU members to strike for 24 hours at University of Newcastle to progress crucial claims in Enterprise Bargaining

National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at all University of Newcastle (UON) campuses will strike for 24 hours on Wednesday 21 September, following exhaustive efforts in Enterprise Bargaining to progress claims centred on job security, safe working conditions and fair pay.

Two weeks ago, NTEU members at the Callaghan, City, and Central Coast campuses voted overwhelmingly to escalate industrial action.

“Negotiations with UON management for have dragged on for more than a year,” said NTEU Newcastle Branch Vice-President, Associate Professor Terry Summers.

“Our members are disappointed by a lack of movement on key issues such as safe workloads, a fair pay offer and job security. Staff are now taking action to defend the excellent higher education that we are committed to provide.”

“Last year, despite the University making a record surplus of $185 million, hundreds of colleagues were impacted by job cuts. Most staff at UON are employed casually or on short-term contracts. Job insecurity makes it harder for staff to provide the quality of education our students and our community deserve. We need protections against job cuts and improved pathways to more secure jobs.

“Because of these cuts, we have fewer staff being asked to do more with less. These staff are already overworked. This impacts quality of education and research. We need improved leave rights and enforceable protections against overwork and unreasonable working hours to improve work-life balance.

“We also need fair pay to recognise UON’s strong financial position, productivity gains and the escalating cost of living pressures. Staff must be paid for all hours worked and have protections to stop rampant wage theft.

“Today’s action is a further expression of the NTEU’s desire to deliver fair enterprise agreements for all staff,” added Associate Professor Summers. “Members want management to work with us to deliver new Enterprise Agreements for all staff that acknowledge our excellent work with fair working conditions.”

Visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly High Level Week

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will lead Australia’s delegation to the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York from 19 to 24 September.

Australia helped create the United Nations and ensuring its strength and effectiveness remains in our interests today.

The United Nations Charter has been the foundation of our peace and prosperity for almost 80 years, but it is under threat.

Minister Wong will deliver Australia’s national statement outlining our commitment to strengthening the global rules based order, and demonstrating that Australia is a ready and able partner for all countries that seek a world that is peaceful, prosperous and where sovereignty is respected.

The Foreign Minister will engage with a broad range of partners to promote the priorities of Australia and our region on peace and security, human rights, development and action on climate change.

Senator Dodson will join the Foreign Minister in New York to explain and advance the Government’s commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

He and the Foreign Minister will hold discussions to listen and learn from the experiences of other countries and Indigenous representatives, as Australia moves to deliver a First Nations foreign policy.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“It’s in Australia’s national interest to ensure a world where countries operate by agreed rules and norms, and where outcomes aren’t decided by power and size alone.

“That means we need to work with others to solve shared problems and advance our interests.”

QSenator Patrick Dodson said:

“In Australia we are currently having a conversation about how we bring First Nations perspectives to the forefront of all that we do, and this includes foreign and trade policy.

“First Nations experiences and practices can enrich our diplomacy and strengthen our relationships with other countries, including in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Australian Greens to introduce Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill

The Greens will introduce the Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill to deliver 26 weeks of paid leave paid at replacement wage capped, with super paid on leave, and ‘use it or lose it’ incentives for partners to encourage shared parenting.

Greens leader in the senate and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“Fairer paid parental leave is a no-brainer that benefits everyone – parents, children and the economy. And if we scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts, we can easily afford it.

“The Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill will reduce the amount of time women are missing a pay cheque and provide families with more incentives, and more support, to share caring responsibilities more fairly.

“Australia has one of the weakest parental leave schemes in the developed world, especially for fathers. There was unanimous support from the Jobs and Skills Summit participants for that to change.

“If the government is serious about increasing women’s workforce participation, it needs to do more than to nod sagely while a panel of expert women says these things. Labor needs to actually act.

“The current parental leave scheme tends to lock mums into the role of primary carer and the loss of work opportunities that comes with it. We need to do much more to encourage both parents to share the parenting load, and to normalise working arrangements that help families juggle work and caring responsibilities.

“We know from the experience in other countries that more equitable parental leave, coupled with free childcare, has a significant impact on women’s workforce participation. It also helps to shape long term sharing of childcare and unpaid household tasks.

“Use it or lose it” provisions in Scandinavian countries saw a huge jump in the number of dads taking leave and that fairer sharing of care has been sustained for more than a decade.

Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens spokesperson on Employment said:

“I heard unanimous support for fairer paid parental leave at the Jobs and Skills Summit.The Greens are turning talk into action, giving notice of the Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill to increase Paid Parental leave by six weeks, to 26 weeks, with salaries matched up to $100k p.a., superannuation and incentives for parents to share care.

“As Chair of the Parliament’s first Senate Select Committee on Work and Care I know that the evidence on paid parental leave is overwhelming: we need it, and we need more of it. As an economist I know that without kids – and the care put into raising them – there is no economy. It is that simple.

“Having children is hard labour and it should be recognised with decent recovery time and paid leave. It has been known for more than a century that economies benefiting from women’s work should ensure recovery and bonding time when they have a baby.’

“Australia came late to paid parental leave in 2011. And, with no significant improvements since, we have fallen behind the international standard again now. The world has moved on: It is time to play catch up and make sure new parents get the support they need.

“It’s time we recognised women’s role in our economy. Talking about women and equality is not enough, we must act.

“It helps both women and the economy because paid leave gives women a greater connection to the workplace. That’s what we need in this time of skill shortages.

“Decent paid parental leave is a cornerstone of a good work and care system. At the moment we are lagging: it’s time to catch up.

Origin bailing out of Beetaloo only the beginning: Greens

Origin Energy’s decision to step back from fracking the Beetaloo Basin is welcome, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said today, but warned that the fight to stop the project is still ongoing.

Despite this announcement, Origin have promised to remain a customer of the project.

With growing backlash to opening up the Beetaloo Basin to fracking, which would unleash 34 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, Adam Bandt said that the government should provide certainty by blocking new coal and gas.

Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens said:
“This is a win for the First Nations peoples and climate activists who have been fighting to stop this terrible project for years,” Mr Bandt said.

“However, the fight is not over. Origin has clearly decided that they don’t want their name attached to this dirty project in partnership with a Russian Oligarch on US, UK and Australian sanctions lists.

“The Beetaloo Basin is a climate bomb no matter whose name is on the fracking wells. Whether Origin Energy is involved or not, cracking open the Basin would increase Australia’s total carbon emissions by up to 11%.

“Tamboran have already demonstrated that they have zero interest in meaningfully engaging with the problems caused by the project from First Nations opposition to entering a commercial relationship with a blacklisted Russian billionaire. They have refused to show up to a Senate Inquiry into the project – potentially leaving them in contempt of Parliament, and facing fines or even jail time.

“First Nations people and climate defenders shouldn’t be forced to engage in a years-long game of whack a mole with the Beetaloo Basin. Anthony Albanese should come out and commit to stopping the project, so that the whole country can focus on investing in clean energy.”

Greens spokesperson for Resources, Yamatji-Noongar Woman Senator Dorinda Cox said:
“Origin are either in or they’re out – everything else is greenwashing. You can’t remain a customer while trying to distance yourself from this dirty climate bomb,” Senator Cox said.

“The Beetaloo project relies on manufactured consent and the destruction of First Nations land and Sea Country. Tamboran must consult and engage with all Traditional Owners and obtain free, informed, prior consent before proceeding with this project.

“Traditional Owners and climate defenders will continue to petition to stop this project. It’s past time for governments to listen to Traditional Owners and the science.

“Traditional Owners and grassroots organisations are the last line of defence for protection of our Land and Sea Country. We need investment in cleaner, greener renewable energy projects that preserve cultural heritage and First Nations’ way of life.”

Safety Improvements at Highfields and Adamstown Heights

Motorists in Highfields and Adamstown Heights are now experiencing safer and quicker journeys on City Road following the early completion of two intersection upgrades.

Minister for Metropolitan Roads Natalie Ward said these projects have significantly eased congestion and increased safety across the intersections at Kahibah Road Highfields and Northcott Drive Adamstown Heights across City Road.

“We are busting congestion so you spend less time in traffic and have more time to do the things that are important to you,” Mrs Ward said.

“The completion of these major intersection upgrades has increased the traffic flow capacity and improved safety.

“The Northcott Drive intersection includes new safety barriers, improved drainage, repaired existing walls, upgraded electrical components and relocated services.”

Minister for Regional Roads Sam Farraway said the intersection upgrades, funded through $13.5 million from the Hunter Pinch Points Program, involved extending right turn lanes, building new left turn lanes on City Road, adding an extra right turn lane out of Kahibah Road and widening sections of the road to improve traffic flows.

“The upgraded intersections are now open to traffic, and we can now complete work on a new crossing connecting to a new ramp and existing footpath across Northcott Drive, and complete improvements to the existing City Road pedestrian crossing,” Mr Farraway said.

“City Road is a vital transport, tourist and freight route which is used by about 6,000 vehicles per hour at this location, including 150 heavy vehicles.

“This work has improved safety at this location, and supported 75 jobs during the
construction period, providing a welcome boost to the local economy.

“We thank residents, business and road users for their patience and support during this work.”