Month: August 2023

In the heart of Brisbane’s bustling CBD, a gathering of minds was set to take place that would echo the heroic journeys of the past. The Ithaca Room in the historic Brisbane City Hall stood as a symbolic backdrop, harkening back to the epic tales of Homer’s Odyssey, where the fabled hero Odysseus set sail on a tumultuous journey, facing challenges and trials to return to his cherished homeland of Ithaca.

Just as Odysseus navigated through treacherous waters and faced mythical creatures to reach his homeland, concerned citizens, activists, and experts prepared to embark on their journey – a journey to uphold the cherished value of freedom of speech in Australia. The Freedom of Speech Conference, aptly hosted by One Nation’s Senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, was a beacon of enlightenment and defiance, echoing the determination and resilience of Odysseus himself.

As if guided by the wisdom of the ancient oracle, the conference would see the gathering of influential voices. Australian Jewish Association President Dr David Adler, standing in the footsteps of the philosopher kings, will bring his insights on the crucial role freedom of speech played in shaping a diverse and inclusive society. Kiescha Jamieson, a prominent Indigenous Australian campaigner, would lend her unique perspective, reminding attendees of the historical struggles and the ongoing fight to have all voices heard.

Alan Jones, a modern-day sage and acclaimed radio personality, would stand as a beacon of inspiration, much like the attributes awarded to the goddess Athena in Odysseus’ tale. With the gravitas of his words, Jones rallied voices for a cause that was as crucial as any battle in Homer’s epics. As if channelled from the Muse herself, he would invigorate the attendees with a renewed sense of purpose, much like Odysseus’ crew on their journey home.

The Ithaca Room, steeped in history, would become a modern-day forum for intellectual exploration and debate. The Hon. Tania Mihailuk MLC from New South Wales and Mrs Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell MLC from Victoria, present as speakers and advocates, would lend their voices and convictions to the cause, adding to the chorus of those who stood united against the erosion of freedom of speech. This ensemble of figures, like the assembly of heroes in the halls of Mount Olympus, was destined to shape the course of history.

Professor David Flint, a scholarly guide through the labyrinth of legal intricacies, was poised to lead attendees in navigating the complexities of the Communications Legislation Amendment Bill. Like the wise seers of ancient times, Flint’s insights were invaluable in understanding the potential impact and implications of the bill on democracy and civil discourse.

The parallels were uncanny. Odysseus’ journey was fraught with challenges that tested his strength and resolve. Similarly, the conference’s attendees would dive into the depths of the bill, unravelling its complexities and discussing its potential impact on the very essence of democracy. Like the mythical sirens that tried to lure Odysseus astray, the ambiguous definition of “misinformation” within the bill threatened to distort the voices of reason and dissent.

The conference was not just an academic endeavour; it was a call to arms, a call to gather and strategise against forces that sought to limit the exchange of ideas. In the spirit of Odysseus’ strategic prowess, panels led by experts like David Flint and Dr David Adler were designed to empower attendees with the tools and knowledge to mobilise opposition, engage in grassroots activism, and raise public awareness about safeguarding freedom of speech.

As the conference date neared, the excitement was palpable. Like Odysseus’ crew, attendees from all walks of life were drawn to the Ithaca Room, united by a shared belief in the power of dialogue, discourse, and dissent. The echoes of Homer’s epic resonated in every discussion, as the attendees recognised that, just as Odysseus’ return to Ithaca was a triumph over adversity, their united front would stand as a testament to the enduring spirit of free expression.

The ‘Fight Labor’s War on Freedom of Speech’ conference is not just an event but a defining moment in Australia’s contemporary narrative. With their eyes fixed on the horizon, attendees were prepared to navigate the modern challenges threatening their democratic foundations. Just as Odysseus fought valiantly to reach his Ithaca, these current champions of free speech were relentless in their determination to achieve a future where the voices of all Australians would continue to ring out, unencumbered and unrestricted.

The Albanese Government is partnering with the National Rugby League to establish the new Pacific Rugby League Championships.

The inaugural Pacific Championships will feature women’s and men’s teams from Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga.

The Government is committing $7 million over the next two years so that seven Pacific countries are included in the Championships and for games to be played in Papua New Guinea and Fiji as well as Australia and New Zealand.

The Pacific shares a passion for rugby league. These Championships recognise a desire from Pacific rugby league communities for increased elite-level competition, played in the Pacific, for Pacific audiences.

The competition builds on Australia’s long-standing support for developing sporting excellence in our region, particularly in rugby league, strengthening the Pacific family.
It will deliver high-performance pathways for Pacific athletes, coaches, referees and administrators, and continue to build the viability of sport in the region.

Games will be played in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this year, with the 2023 tournament scheduled to take place from Saturday 14 October 2023 to Sunday5 November 2023.

Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia will co-host the tournament this year and Fiji will co-host the competition with Australia in 2024.

More information on the tournament, including the full match schedule, is available at National Rugby League.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP said:

“The Pacific Championships mark the beginning of an exciting new phase of international rugby league competition in the Pacific for both women and men.

“Geography makes us neighbours, but through sport we build strong and lasting ties across the Pacific family.”

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy MP said:

“Given around half the players in the NRL are of Pasifika heritage, and our shared love of sport, this Competition will bring people from across the Pacific even closer together.

“The Championships will provide a new opportunity for athletes in the Pacific to play and develop professionally, and will inspire a generation of girls and boys across our region.”

ARLC Commissioner Kate Jones said:

“The Commission’s focus on growing the international game will combine with an equally strong desire to grow rugby league in the Pacific.

“Importantly, the international matches will be highlighted by both men’s and women’s matches.”

National Cabinet met in Brisbane today to deliver on a range of priorities for Australians, with a focus on more secure and affordable housing.

Delivering more housing supply is a vital part of National Cabinet’s plan to ensure communities thrive as they grow. All governments recognise the best way to ensure more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home is to boost housing supply.

That’s why National Cabinet has agreed to an ambitious new national target to build 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years, from 1 July 2024. This is an additional 200,000 new homes above the National Housing Accord target agreed by states and territories last year.

The Commonwealth has committed to $3 billion for performance-based funding, the New Home Bonus, for states and territories that achieve more than their share of the one million well-located home target under the National Housing Accord. This will incentivise states and territories to undertake the reforms necessary to boost housing supply and increase housing affordability, making a positive and practical difference for Australians planning to buy a home.

This ambitious target will be supported by the Housing Support Program, a $500 million competitive funding program for local and state governments to kick-start housing supply in well-located areas through targeted activation payments for things like connecting essential services, amenities to support new housing development, or building planning capability.

The updated target will help align supply with expected demand over the next five years, and when linked with Commonwealth infrastructure funding, will produce more neighbourhoods and communities that have the services they need.

National Cabinet also agreed to a National Planning Reform Blueprint (attachment 1) with planning, zoning, land release and other measures to improve housing supply and affordability.

The Blueprint includes: updating state, regional, and local strategic plans to reflect housing supply targets; promoting medium and high-density housing in well-located areas close to existing public transport connections, amenities and employment; and streamlining approval pathways.

First Ministers also agreed on further significant measures to boost housing supply and better coordinate Australia’s migration settings including:

• Endorsing initial state and territory implementation plans under the Social Housing Accelerator. 
• Developing a principles-based, multi-year planning model for migration, to improve collaboration with states and territories on migration settings.

National Cabinet has agreed to A Better Deal for Renters (attachment 2) to harmonise and strengthen renters’ rights across Australia. This includes:

• Developing a nationally consistent policy to implement a requirement for genuine reasonable grounds for eviction.
• Moving towards limiting rent increases to once a year.
• Phasing in minimum rental standards.

These changes will make a tangible impact for the almost one-third of Australian households who rent.

Health reform

First Ministers discussed health reform, which remains a top priority for National Cabinet in 2023. They are committed to addressing the pressures facing the health system to deliver a patient-centred and sustainable Australian healthcare system that provides the best outcomes for our community. A dedicated health meeting will be held later in the year.

This media statement has been agreed by First Ministers and serves as a record of meeting outcomes.

Attachment 1:

The National Planning Reform Blueprint includes:

• Updating state, regional and local strategic plans to reflect their share of housing supply targets.
• Undertaking planning, zoning, land release and other reforms, such as increasing density, to meet their share of housing supply targets.
• Streamlining approval pathways, including strengthened ‘call in powers’, and prioritising planning amendments to support diverse housing across a range of areas e.g. by addressing barriers to subdivision for appropriate medium density housing.
• Promoting medium and high-density housing in well located areas close to existing public transport connections, amenities and employment.
• Reforms to support the rapid delivery of social and affordable housing.
• Reforms to address barriers to the timely issuing of development approvals.
• Consideration of the phased introduction of inclusionary zoning and planning to support permanent affordable, social and specialist housing in ways that do not add to construction costs.
• Rectifying gaps in housing design guidance and building certification to ensure the quality of new builds, particularly apartments.
• Improving community consultation processes.
• Adequately resourcing built environmental professionals, including planners, in local government.

Attachment 2:

A Better Deal for Renters

1. Develop a nationally consistent policy to implement a requirement for genuine reasonable grounds for eviction, having consideration to the current actions of some jurisdiction
2. Ensure provisions to allow appeals against retaliatory eviction notices are fit for purpose (e.g. evictions motivated by tenants taking reasonable action to secure or enforce legal rights, complain or disclose information about their tenancy).
3. Move towards a national standard of no more than one rent increase per year for a tenant in the same property across fixed and ongoing agreements.
4. Implement a ban on soliciting rent bidding.
5. Allow tenants experiencing domestic or family violence to:
   1. End agreements without penalty and with a streamlined process and evidence e.g. a declaration by a prescribed professional such as a doctor or support service worker;
   2. Change the locks and make security improvements without the landlord’s permission;
   3. Have their name removed from databases due to property damage caused by family or domestic violence; and
   4. With jurisdictions to consider further action to protect tenants who are victim survivors of domestic or family violence e.g. the ability to apply to have the perpetrator removed from the tenancy.
6. Limit break lease fees for fixed term agreements to a maximum prescribed amount which declines according to how much of the lease has expired (e.g. a maximum of four weeks’ rent if less than 25 per cent of the fixed term has expired).
7. Make rental applications easier and protect renters’ personal information:
   1. Prescribe a rental application form in each jurisdiction, with required documents limited to two in each of the following categories: identity, financial ability to pay rent, suitability;
   2. Require the destruction of renters’ personal information three years after a tenancy ends and three months after tenancy begins for an unsuccessful applicant;
   3. Require tenants’ personal information to be provided and corrected within 30 days of a request by a tenant or prospective tenant; and
   4. Specify information not allowed to be collected from a tenant or more generally (e.g. disputes with landlords).
8. Consider options for better regulation of short-stay residential accommodation.
9. Phase in minimum quality standards for rental properties (e.g. stovetop in good working order, hot and cold running water).

Brace yourself for a discussion on dental care access!

The Senate Select Committee Inquiry into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia is set to commence its inaugural public hearing today.

This significant event marks a pivotal step in the pursuit of equitable dental care access for all people in Australia. 

Held in Boorloo/Perth on Monday 14th August, the hearing will bring together people with firsthand experience of barriers to dental care alongside organisations including the Australian Dental Association WA, Derbal Yerrigan Health Service, the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services and the University of WA Dentistry School.

It is expected that the Dental inquiry, initiated and chaired by Australian Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, will make community-led recommendations to chart a pathway to Universal Access to Dental Care in Australia. 

The committee ran a survey to hear from the community. It became the largest committee survey in the parliament’s history, with 98% of the 17,000 respondents agreeing that more dental care should be free in Australia.

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Chair of the Committee and Australian Greens Spokesperson for Health said:

“We’re hearing directly from the community that escalating cost of living is forcing people to postpone vital dental visits. There is a deep urgency for the government to transform access to oral health care in this country. 

“No one should have to choose between paying their rent, paying for food, and accessing oral health care. 

“Chronic dental pain should not be a reality for anyone, let alone children, who are experiencing tooth extractions because our healthcare system fails to provide them with timely, affordable preventative dental care. 

“The lack of dental care coverage within Medicare has far-reaching implications, with preventable dental conditions leading to an astounding 83,000 hospitalisations annually. Additionally, a staggering 750,000 General Practitioner appointments are attributed to dental-related concerns each year. The inclusion of dental care within Medicare has the potential to reduce hospitalisations and make more GP appointments available.

“Governments can’t let the gap in dental care access widen. By bringing this committee to WA, I aspire to chart solutions that’ll improve access. Today’s hearing will allow us to deep dive into how the State and Federal Governments could improve access to dental care in regional WA, for First Nations People, and for those in WA prisons.”

Australia and Japan are strengthening our defence ties with the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) coming into effect.

This military agreement provides the legal framework for greater defence cooperation between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF).

It is the first visiting forces agreement Japan has struck with any country outside the United States.

When it comes to practical outcomes, this agreement will see more training and exercises between the two countries, including;

• Japanese F-35s will deploy to Australia, to RAAF Base Tindal for the first time at the end of August
• Exercise Bushido Guardian, where Australian F-35s will be deployed to Japan for the first time in early September
• Australia will participate in Exercise Yama Sakura as a full participant for the first time with more than 150 personnel travelling to Japan in December.

The RAA will streamline more effective force cooperation, and enable each country to increase the sophistication and regularity of training, exercises and other cooperative activities.

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“The Reciprocal Access Agreement will deepen the relationship between our respective defence forces, supporting closer cooperation and strengthening the capabilities of both the ADF and the JSDF.

“Both Australia and Japan recognise the increasing complexity of our security environment and the need to grow our partnership to support a stable and prosperous region.”

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

“Australia and Japan share an aspiration for a stable, peaceful and prosperous region, and this bilateral Reciprocal Access Agreement will help us deepen our defence cooperation.

“The security and defence relationship between Australia and Japan is critical to both nations, and is underpinned by our Special Strategic Partnership.”

The NSW Government is starting work on a new temporary park at Bank Street in Pyrmont for locals and visitors to play, exercise and relax. 

For years, the public land of the future Bank Street Park has been inaccessible to the community. This temporary activation marks a significant milestone and the first part of the broader Blackwattle Bay precinct to be delivered to the public.  

Located near the southern pylon of the Anzac Bridge, Sydneysiders will soon have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities at the new pop-up park, including a basketball half court, fitness equipment, hopscotch and handball courts, at an amazing harbourside location. 

Benefitting from the shade and weather protection of the Anzac Bridge, the space will also include seating next to native vegetation and plantings.

Construction on the pop-up park at Bank Street will begin next week and is expected to be completed by mid-spring.

Visit Blackwattle Baylaunch to learn more about Bank Street Park.

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said:

“We are delighted to provide the local community with early access to these fantastic public amenities. The Bank Street Pop-up Park is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to invite everyone to explore and enjoy this new space.

“The government is focused to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for the people of Sydney and the opening of this park is a significant step towards providing new recreational activities that are free to visit, and new open space in the heart of our city. 

“This initiative is part of the ongoing revitalisation of the Blackwattle Bay Precinct. Once completed, the precinct will offer a range of world-class facilities, recreational spaces and improved access to Sydney Harbour.”

Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich said:

“For over a century, this piece of land has been inaccessible to the community. This pop-up park marks the first part of public open space accessible to the public as part of the Blackwattle Bay Precinct.

“The Bank Street Pop-up Park is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to invite everyone to explore and enjoy this new space.

“It’s also great to know that the basketball half court and fitness equipment will be maintained for the final Bank Street Park.”