Month: May 2023

A State Memorial service to celebrate the life of acclaimed artist Dr John Olsen AO OBE will be held at the Art Gallery of NSW on Monday 29 May.

The Australian and NSW Governments will jointly deliver the service in honour of the late legendary landscape painter who passed away on 11 April 2023, aged 95.

With a career spanning nearly seven decades, Dr Olsen had long been considered one of Australia’s most eminent and celebrated living artists.

In 1977 Dr Olsen was appointed an OBE for his services to the arts, and in 2001 was appointed an AO and awarded the Centenary Medal. He was awarded the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985, the Sir John Sulman Prize in 1989 and the Archibald Prize in 2005, amongst many other significant awards throughout his distinguished career.

Dr Olsen’s work is represented in all Australian state gallery collections, the National Gallery of Australia and regional galleries nationwide, as well as institutional, corporate and private collections internationally.

He has also received an honorary doctorate of letters from both the University of NSW in 2003, and the University of Newcastle in 2011.

A tribute to Dr Olsen’s extraordinary career will be beamed onto the Sydney Opera House sails during this year’s Vivid Sydney, which runs from Friday May 26 to Saturday June 17.

For the most up to date information on the State Memorial and to sign the online condolence book, visit nsw.gov.au/stateservices

The State Memorial will start at 10.30am and will be live streamed.

Prime Minister Albanese said:

“John Olsen had an incredible ability to interpret the beautiful, raw and vivid Australian landscape in a way few others have.

“A man of talent, charisma, generosity and humility, he was a poet of the brush, a truly great explorer and interpreter of the Australian landscape.

“The State Memorial is our chance to pay tribute to John’s unique talent, his unyielding passion for the arts, and the great legacy he leaves us.”

Premier Minns said:

“John Olsen’s contribution to arts and culture in New South Wales has been immeasurable.”

“The way in which he captured the beauty of our state and country on canvas brought joy to millions.”

“The Art Gallery of New South Wales is where many of John Olsen’s paintings have been showcased over the years and it serves as the perfect venue to celebrate the life and legacy of this great Australian artist.”

Responding to the Federal budget, Greens spokesperson for Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“No matter how they try and spin it, the numbers are clear – protecting nature is just not a priority for this government.

“This budget shows that the Greens are the only party in this Parliament who are truly willing to fight for our environment.

“It was very disappointing that the Treasurer’s budget night speech didn’t include the environment at all.

“We are in an extinction crisis. Our native species need funding now. Yet, there was no new funding allocated to species protection and recovery in the budget, and what was promised last October barely makes a dent in what scientists say is required to address the extinction crisis we face.

“There has been no attempt from the Government to address the root causes of biodiversity loss and ban native forest logging.

“If there was any hope left that the Minister was serious about the commitments to protect 30 per cent of land and seas and achieve zero extinction by 2030, this budget has dashed it.

“Putting the creation of a nature market before establishing an Environment Protection Agency, legislating environmental standards and fixing our broken environmental laws is the nail in the coffin.

“Australia’s environment needs protection, not a ‘Green Wall Street’ propped up by bogus offsets. The Albanese Government has well and truly put the cart before the horse and the environment will suffer as a result.

“It is a lie to say that the Government cannot afford greater environmental protection. Last night’s budget was one of carefully considered priorities, and the environment was left off that list.”

Today I announce that the 2023 recipients of the Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award are Sarah Dingle of Australia and Yunita Tandililing of Indonesia.

Ms Dingle is a Senior Reporter of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National Breakfast program and a dual Walkley Award winner. Ms Tandililing is a Lead Producer at Kompas TV with over 15 years’ experience in broadcast media.

The award will support Ms Dingle and Ms Tandililing to spend two weeks in Indonesia and Australia respectively. Both journalists will engage in specialised programs to deepen their understanding of contemporary issues in each country.

The Elizabeth O’Neill Award is an initiative of the Australia-Indonesia Institute, which fosters links between Australia and Indonesia by increasing cultural awareness, cooperation and mutual understanding.

The Award commemorates the distinguished career of Elizabeth O’Neill OAM, who died in the service of her country in Indonesia on 7 March 2007. It continues the legacy of Ms O’Neill, who worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and was passionate about fostering mutual understanding of Australia and Indonesia through informed media coverage.

The Award is open to high-achieving journalists from print, radio, television and online media organisations across Australia and Indonesia.

Australia’s recently announced 2023 federal budget has raised serious concerns about its impact on the average Australian household. One of the most pressing issues is the mounting government debt, which directly affects the country’s inflation and interest rates. As government debt rises, Australians are starting to feel the pinch. The removal of the middle and low-income tax offset means hard-working individuals will face a significant tax increase at a time when they are already struggling (1).

The surging government debt has ballooned from 4.7% of GDP in 2008 to a staggering 42.5% of GDP in 2021 (2). This alarming increase in debt has a direct impact on mortgage rates, burdening Australian citizens further. While some argue that immigration can help bolster the budget, One Nation opposes using this strategy as it leads to higher rents and mortgage repayments for Australians  (3). Instead, the party advocates for expanding the mining sector to generate revenue for vital services such as schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

The budget surplus projected by the Labor Party is partly based on increased revenue from various sources, including high commodity prices, employment rates, immigration, corporate taxes, higher wages, and inflation. (4). However, the rising popularity of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) poses concerns. Advocates of MMT claim that government debt is not an issue since the government can print its own money. Historical evidence, however, shows that printing money to finance government expenses leads to hyperinflation and a decrease in the value of citizens’ savings and assets (5). One Nation’s economic plan aims to halt the practice of printing money to support the Australian economy.

In addition to debt and monetary policy concerns, the budget includes wasteful spending on unnecessary projects. Economists have labelled the budget as a “stimulus” budget, which will pressure interest rates (1). One significant expenditure is the Voice referendum, which has been criticized for its high cost and unnecessary divisiveness. Taxpayers will have to bear the burden of over 400 million dollars for a referendum that could have been allocated to more pressing needs (2).

Furthermore, the budget’s lack of funding for vital infrastructure projects is disappointing. Instead, the Treasurer has announced a 3-month review into infrastructure spending, raising concerns that essential projects may be scrapped. This uncertainty risks Queenslanders missing out on crucial infrastructure development. (3).

During parliamentary sessions, Senator Pauline Hanson brought attention to a notable discrepancy in the budget. While there is an allocation of 326.7 million dollars for women’s safety, there is no corresponding support or funding for male victims of domestic and family violence. This omission raises questions about the government’s commitment to addressing domestic violence comprehensively. (4)

Successive governments have been reckless with taxpayers’ hard-earned income. Australia must carefully consider the ramifications of mounting debt, inadequate infrastructure spending, and inflation on everyday Australians. Responsible management of these economic challenges is crucial for the nation’s long-term prosperity.

Sources:

7News, 10/05/2023

Institute of Public Affairs

ABC News, 03/04/2023

Financial Review, 09/05/2023

Forbes Advisor, 18/03/2023

Labor’s second Budget is a betrayal of the people promised that no one would be left behind. It makes bad choices that put a surplus ahead of supporting people in poverty, while the wealthy and big corporations continue to win big.

During a worsening cost of living crisis, the government is continuing with $254 billion in unfair Stage 3 Tax Cuts over ten years. Over the forward estimates, they’re giving $16.7b in handouts for wealthy property moguls, and $41 billion in fossil fuel subsidies. These tower over Labor’s $14.6 billion spend for people doing it tough.

Cost of living measures in the budget don’t address the scale of the rental, housing and poverty crises the country is facing. Jobseekers will see only $2.85 more a day, and the increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance is as little as $1.12 a day. Capital city rent increases last year were ten times the increase in rent assistance. There is no new money directly invested in building new social and affordable housing.

Although the Treasurer’s speech didn’t mention climate change, pressure from Greens in the balance of power means there is more funding for climate, but Labor will spend more on fossil fuel subsidies than they’re spending on climate change. Meanwhile, the budget cuts $74.3 billion from the NDIS across the next ten years.

While Labor has described their budget as the result of ‘hard choices’, they’re just pushing the hard choices onto people doing it tough.

These bad choices have been made in the context of a $4.2bn surplus, which shows the government has more to spend, but has decided instead to withhold support, such as for single parents with 14 or 15-year-old children, buying a surplus off the back of everyone they have chosen to leave in poverty.

The Greens welcome more than $1.6bn on household and business electrification. It was secured as part of the Party’s negotiations on December’s energy price legislation last year.

Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens said:

“Labor’s Budget leaves millions behind, leaving people in poverty while billionaires get tax cuts,” Mr Bandt said.

“With a quarter of a trillion dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, Labor’s Budget is a betrayal of renters, young people, and jobseekers. 

“Food bank queues are growing and renters are skipping meals, but Labor’s giving $3.97 a day to a jobseeker getting rent assistance while giving a $9,000 a year tax cut to politicians and billionaires.

“Rent assistance is going up by just as little as $1.12 a day while rents in capital cities go up ten times faster, and 5.5 million renters get nothing at all. There’s no new money directly invested in building public or affordable housing.

“Under Labor, the Budget’s in surplus but people are living in cars and tents. Every dollar of surplus is a dollar not spent lifting people out of poverty. 

“This year, Labor’s making more from rising student debt than they are from changes to their gas tax. Millions of people have been left in poverty while big corporations making record profits win big. 

“Labor hasn’t made tough choices, they’ve made bad choices, spending $254 billion on tax cuts for politicians and billionaires while 1 in 6 children live in poverty. 

“When Budget legislation hits the Parliament, the Greens will push to make the big corporations pay more tax to fund a freeze on rent increases and lift people out of poverty. 

“The Greens have secured changes that make up more than a third of new climate spending, with a $2b package to help households, businesses and public housing get off gas. However, Labor’s still spending $41.4 billion on fossil fuel subsidies, more than the $29.5b climate spend.

“Voters elected this parliament to act on climate and the cost of living. If Labor worked together with the Greens we could immediately stop all new coal and gas, lift people out of poverty, freeze rent increases and wipe student debt.”

Senator Nick McKim, Greens Treasury Spokesperson said:

“This is a budget that delivers for property moguls and the already super wealthy. Under Labor the problems we are facing will get worse. It’s more than disappointing. It’s a betrayal.

“A surplus shows that the government is underinvesting at a time when people desperately need cost of living support. It’s nothing to be proud of – every cent of surplus is unspent money that should be going into the pockets of people who need it.

“There’s a few extra hundreds and thousands on top, but this is the same cake we’ve been told to eat for the last decade. Time and time again they’re making the wrong calls.

“Labor is giving $16.7 billion to wealthy property investors over the next 4 years, while telling renters to suck it up on as little as $1.12 a day.

“Across the next four years, Anthony Albanese is giving four times more tax cuts to the country’s richest people than he’s giving in support to people doing it tough.

“They’re spending almost 500 times more on fossil fuel subsidies than they are on the National Transition Authority.

“All of these decisions are framed by a surplus that shows the government could spend more, but has chosen not to. 

“Jim Chalmers may be able to take the ‘Back In Black’ mug off the Liberals, but to do that, he’s chosen to leave JobSeekers in poverty, forcing them to make impossible choices to survive. A surplus doesn’t mean shit for someone living on $52 a day.”

Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens Finance Spokesperson said:

“This is yet another budget that locks in decades of bad spending, while giving measly one-off concessions to the people who were counting on Labor for help. 

“We saw reports over the weekend that Labor has been scrambling to spend $20 billion so the surplus didn’t look ludicrously large. What does that say to people living below the poverty line, and to everyone stuck on a waiting list for housing, that the government decided that their survival wasn’t important enough?

“The greatest act of kindness in the budget, Labor’s change to single parenting payments, doesn’t even completely reverse Gillard’s act of cruelty by forcing so many single mums onto JobSeeker. Around 15,000 single parents with 14 and 15 year old kids will be left behind.

“Labor may have given up on ‘no one left behind’, but we haven’t. We will fight to make sure this budget does what every government should: give people what they need to live with dignity.”

Labor’s second budget lacks humanity and compassion for migrants and abjectly fails to respond to the urgent challenges in Australia’s immigration system, the Greens say.

“This budget locks into place many of the Coalition’s policies and fails to deliver Labor’s election promises to migrant communities,” Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“It locks in billions of dollars for offshore detention, does not raise the humanitarian intake and does not acknowledge the dire humanitarian crisis Australia helped to create in Afghanistan.”

“The budget doesn’t even mention Australia’s utterly broken family reunion visa system which keeps people apart from their partners, young children and elderly parents for years on end, and in many cases with no end in sight.”

“It fails to deliver Labor’s commitments to restore migrant settlement services that were slashed, it does not raise the community sponsored refugee program and it does not create the Independent Refugee Tribunal.”

“And after years of backlogs and closed borders, jacking up visa fees is a kick in the teeth for people who have chosen to live, work and study in Australia.”

“Many of the immigration policies in Labor’s budget may as well have been handed down by Peter Dutton.”

With every budget the government ignores the women’s safety sector’s sustained calls for $1 billion in funding, leaving frontline family and domestic violence services with no choice but to turn away victim-survivors.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters said:

“In a cost-of-living crisis women needed bold action from Labor, instead we get more of the same half-measures and spin we saw in the October budget.

“The government continues to ignore frontline domestic violence services, who have repeatedly called for a $1B per year to ensure they can help everyone who needs it.

“The funding shortfall will see one in three women unable to get the help they need to escape violence. 

“While the Labor Government continues to underfund support services, victim-survivors are turned away from crisis accommodation and one woman is murdered every 10 days in this country.

“The government has spoken often about difficult choices in the lead up to the budget, but many women now face an impossible choice: stay in an unsafe home, or leave and put themselves and their kids at risk of homelessness.

“As usual, Albanese is singing from Morrison’s playbook by choosing to put the tax cuts for our highest income earners above women’s safety.”
 

The Albanese Government is delivering a transformational package of support to the Pacific to respond to Pacific priorities and ensure our shared interests in a peaceful, prosperous and resilient region.

Building on our longstanding contributions to regional stability, we are deepening connections between our people and enhancing cooperation across labour mobility, maritime security, policing, responding to and preparing for humanitarian disasters, media and sport.

In our first 12 months, Albanese Government Ministers have visited every Pacific Islands Forum member to renew our Pacific partnerships, listen to Pacific priorities and deliver for our collective interests. This Budget will enhance our capacity to respond by funding additional diplomatic staff across the Pacific, further demonstrating our commitment to the region as a whole.

We will further expand and improve the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme to maximise its economic contributions to Pacific economies and to workforce shortages in Australia. Our new investments will deliver more skills development and community liaison officers for Pacific workers and strengthened worker protections and compliance operations in Australia.

We are supporting the key regional body, the Pacific Islands Forum, to ensure it is equipped to respond collectively to shared challenges and opportunities for our region and deliver the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

We are boosting our contribution to Pacific security priorities with $1.4 billion over four years to support the Pacific family first approach agreed by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, and the peace and security commitments under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

This includes:

• Supporting delivery of infrastructure, maritime security capability and sustainment, including under the Pacific Maritime Security Program.
• One of the most significant increases to the AFP’s partnership with the Pacific family, to support Pacific law enforcement efforts and criminal justice initiatives.
• Additional support for cyber resilience and other Pacific security priorities.

As climate change continues to threaten Pacific communities, Australia will take a regional approach to humanitarian relief and strengthen support for disaster preparedness, working closely with the Pacific family to support their responses to crises.

We will leverage Australia’s strengths, including through media and sport. We will expand the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, boosting media connections and enabling more Pacific Islands Forum members to access Australian content. We will continue to expand our Pacific sports diplomacy, bringing people closer together through our shared love of sport.

The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific continues to deliver critical infrastructure for the Pacific and Timor-Leste. The Australian Government has now agreed to a total of $1.25 billion in financing for 14 projects in nine countries.