Category Archives: Australian Greens

News live: government pushing through ‘hopeless’ visa backlog, PM says; Reserve bank warns Australia must confront climate risks

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Anthony Albanese said visa delays were due to previous gutting of the public service, but said the government has reallocated staff from other areas into visa processing. Follow the day’s news live

Snow in the Blue Mountains

Residents in NSW are seeing snow as an icy blast sweeps through the south-east of the country.

We are genuinely overwhelmed by the incredible wave of support, love and messages we have received from so many people around Australia. This means so much to us as a family. Thank you to everyone for this. John will be blown away.

John will remain in hospital for a period of time for recovery and post operative treatment.

John has been through an eleven-and-a-half hour surgery in Melbourne yesterday and is now in a stable condition in ICU. The cancerous tumour was located in his mouth and it has been successfully removed. There is still a long road of recovery and healing ahead of us, but we know John is up for that task.

We are in awe of the incredible teams of healthcare professionals who have guided us through this very challenging time with such compassion. All of you undertook this big job and have given us a magnificent outcome. To all the surgeons, doctors, nurses and consultants – thank you one and all so very much.

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Anti-aircraft noise campaigners to target shareholders in bid for Brisbane airport curfew

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Independent review recommends moving flight paths to alleviate noise concerns but disgruntled residents want solutions sooner

Anti-aircraft noise campaigners say they will target investors in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) as they threaten to ramp up efforts to force a curfew and cap on flights over the city.

Aircraft noise was the defining local issue at the federal election for many who live under flight paths that emerged when the Brisbane airport opened its second runway in mid-2020, playing a role in the election of Greens MPs in three inner-city seats.

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Dutton says he was not aware of Morrison’s secret ministries – as it happened

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Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’

Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.

These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.

I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.

He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.

If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.

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OK boomer: the generational change that could shake up Victorian politics

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Analysis: with Millennials and Gen Z outnumbering baby boomers, attention turns to the ‘youth vote’

Much has been made about voters shifting away from the major parties and towards independents and Greens candidates.

But a lot of the analysis from this year’s federal election didn’t consider one important aspect: it was the first in which baby boomers were outnumbered by Millennial and Gen Z voters.

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Selling Covid antivirals over the counter a ‘recipe for disaster’ – as it happened

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The Pharmacy Guild has pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages. This blog is now closed

Peter Dutton pressed on voice to parliament

Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host Sarah Ferguson about whether he will commit his party to supporting the voice to parliament.

SARAH FERGUSON: Let me move back into the domestic realm. At the start of parliament, you participated in the smoking ceremony, you allowed your face to be painted and then in your speech you quoted Noel Pearson and seemed to endorse Pearson’s call for constitutional recognition. What would prevent you now from taking the next step and backing the referendum on the voice?

PETER DUTTON: Well, I quoted Noel Pearson for whom I have a great deal of respect, and you can go back and look at the quote and there are many elements to that because there were several paragraphs that I quoted him on.

If we could get that to 60 per cent, then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers.

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Greens urge Labor to reject international carbon offsets as ‘accounting tricks’

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Adam Bandt says allowing global offsets to be traded along with Australian ones would just delay action to cut emissions

The Greens have called on the Albanese government to reject advice that Australia should allow greater use of international carbon offsets, arguing it would delay cuts in greenhouse gas emissions locally.

A review of international offsets by the Climate Change Authority, a policy advisory body, urged the government to develop a carbon market strategy as a step towards allowing international carbon offsets to be traded along with Australian carbon credits.

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Australia news live: GPs warn against over-the-counter Covid treatment as nation records 133 deaths from virus

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New South Wales recorded 11,356 new Covid cases in the last reporting period and 30 deaths. There were 2,212 people in hospital and 55 in intensive care.

Bulk-billing statistics dishonest, minister says

The former government was not honest with Australians about the true state of bulk billing in Australia by selectively quoting only this [88%] figure

Primary care is in its worst shape since Medicare began. Across the country we hear stories of Australians not being able to get in to see a bulk-billing doctor, or GPs changing from bulk billing to mixed billing.

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David Pocock to use Senate balance of power to push for waiving of ACT’s public housing debt

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Independent calls for $100m debt to be wiped as part of negotiations over Labor’s $10bn housing policy, which also faces Greens resistance

The new independent senator David Pocock will use his balance of power position in the Senate to push for the ACT government’s $100m public housing debt to be waived as part of negotiations over Labor’s new housing policy.

Legislation for the government’s new $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund also faces resistance from the Greens, with the party’s housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather saying the proposal is not “good enough” to secure support in the Senate.

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SES and Resilience NSW ‘failed’ to lead flood response, inquiry finds – as it happened

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New threatened species listings include south-eastern glossy black-cockatoo

Two Australian species that were badly affected by the 2019-20 black summer bushfires have been officially listed as threatened.

The damage caused by the black summer bushfires is still being felt today and can be seen reflected in these listings today.

The fires had an immense impact on our environment, from a small reptile found in the mountains to a bird that is at home on the coast. There is still a lot of work to do.

It seems as though these positions are being offered around almost like lolly bags to senior members of the New South Wales government rather than what they’re intended to be, which is senior positions funded by the taxpayer. We shouldn’t operate like that in New South Wales. We’re slowly but surely finding out the contours of what is an absolute scandal.

There’s many questions to be asked. At the end of the day we’re expected to believe of the 8 million people who live in New South Wales, John Barilaro was independently chosen to represent our interests. I think that ... stretches credibility.

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Australia politics live: leaders trade question time barbs over climate and power prices; CMO ‘confident’ Covid wave has peaked as 85 deaths recorded

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The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.

It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.

The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.

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Labor’s climate bill set to pass with support from Greens and Bridget Archer

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Adam Bandt says Greens will back legislation but signals further fight on new fossil fuel projects, while the Liberal MP says she’ll cross the floor

The House of Representatives is moving towards passage of Labor’s bill enshrining emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 after the Greens signalled they would support the legislation and Liberal MP Bridget Archer confirmed she would cross the floor.

After weeks of negotiations, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, confirmed on Wednesday his party would back the Albanese government’s legislation in both chambers, and king-making Senate independent, David Pocock, confirmed his priority was “getting a target locked in and legislated”.

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Liberal MP Bridget Archer to cross the floor on climate bill – as it happened

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Defence review to be announced

The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?

It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.

And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.

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Politics live: ‘difficult day for Australians with a mortgage’, Chalmers says; east coast gas shortages in spotlight

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The resources minister, Madeleine King, has taken the first step in reining in the big three LNG exporters by ‘triggering the trigger’

Labor unlikely to extend the fuel excise cut

Asked about the fuel excise in that same interview, Jim Chalmers said:

I’ve been really upfront with people, Charles, for some time now – before the election, during the election and after the election – and pointed out that extending that would cost some billions of dollars and the budget can’t afford that. We’ve inherited a budget which is absolutely heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt. And when interest rates are rising, it actually costs more and more to service that debt.

The fastest-growing area of government spending in the budget is actually servicing the debt that we’ve inherited because, as interest rates rise, it becomes more expensive to pay that back. So every dollar borrowed, whether it’s by our predecessors or by the new government costs more to pay back and we need to be conscious about that. We need to be responsible about that and upfront about that. And that’s what we’re being.

This isn’t about any one individual. This is about a difficult day for Australians with a mortgage, another difficult day I think everybody is bracing for the interest rate rise that the governor and the Reserve Bank board has flagged.

These decisions are taken independently by the Reserve Bank, by its board and by its governor. People are expecting this outcome today. But it won’t make it any easier.

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Australia politics live: Monique Ryan tells Coalition ‘put your masks on’ in question time; Greens say RBA interest rate hikes won’t solve inflation

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The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.

Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.

Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.

According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”

We all need to be heading in the same direction.

We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.

What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.

In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.

This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.

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Indigenous voice campaigners say ample detail already available in wake of PM’s stirring speech

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Uluru Statement from the Heart advocates praise Anthony Albanese’s Garma festival speech but Coalition wants more details

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, acknowledged we have been here before as a nation: at a crossroads, about to decide a path that will affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people for generations to come.

But for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this time the stakes are so much higher, because the past is littered with the broken promises of politicians.

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Independents, diversity and climate: highlights of new MPs’ first speeches to Australian parliament

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As Australia’s most diverse federal parliament opened, new members introduced themselves and set out priorities

The 47th parliament is the most diverse ever, including a record number of women, 11 First Nations representatives and a lower house crossbench of 16 independent or minor party MPs.

But before any of the new MPs can speak on important bills or other parliamentary business, the first order of business is a speech to introduce yourself and set out priorities.

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Australia politics live: Pauline Hanson under fire for welcome to country walkout; Kylea Tink and Stephen Bates make first speeches to parliament

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AAP has a preview of today’s inflation figures, which are going to be horrible:

Australia could be about to record its worst inflation outcome in more than 31 years, paving the way for higher mortgage and lending rates.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the consumer price index data for the June quarter – when the price of a supermarket iceberg lettuce hit $10 – on Wednesday.

The financial market consensus is for a headline annual inflation rate of 6.2% – the highest since the December quarter of 1990.

That would be more than the 5.1% rate logged in the March quarter, which was the fastest pace of annual price growth in 21 years.

“Since then, inflation has likely broadened and deepened,” St George chief economist Besa Deda said.

The quarterly outcome is forecast at 1.8%, which would be slightly lower than the 2.1% recorded in the previous quarter.

But the range of economists’ forecasts for the quarterly number is wide – between 1.6% and 2.8% – signalling uncertainty about how deeply entrenched price pressures have become since March.

While the main drivers of inflation in the June quarter will again be fuel and food costs, housing and building costs are also likely to be strong – perhaps as high as 20% year-on-year, according to JP Morgan economists.

Other factors are adding to the pressure, particularly in the housing sector, where rents are rising and demand for new homes and related construction services and products remains strong.

It is the first question time today. In case you missed it, here is Murph’s analysis on the plan so far:

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Zoe Daniel and Sally Sitou call for climate action in first speeches to parliament – as it happened

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Cash: No way the Coalition will support a lower emissions target

The next interview on ABC radio RN is with the shadow employment minister, Michaelia Cash, who has a lot to say about the scrapping of the ABCC. Cash, you may remember, was one of its biggest supporters while in government.

The Coalition won more votes than the Australian Labor party.

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Government establishes new measures at airports to stop FMD; 63 Covid deaths – as it happened

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US ambassador arrives in Australia

The new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, has arrived this morning and told the media she feels “lucky … to serve here and to live here.”

There’s a big agenda and I can’t wait to get started. Personally this means a great deal to me. My my husband is here with me. We first came to Australia on our honeymoon 36 years ago, almost exactly, because three days ago was our anniversary. Then we are were fortunate to come back with our children when we were in Japan. So we met so many wonderful people and I can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to get a chance to serve here and to live here and get to know even more people.

The weather and staff shortages were all worse than expected.

We are doing the best we can – the show will go on rain, hail or shine.

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Australia news live updates: Greens aim to ‘improve and pass’ Labor climate bill; Andrews rules out mask mandates as nation records 90 Covid deaths;

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No change in Operation Sovereign Borders policy

Clare O’Neil is asked about the desperate situation in Sri Lanka, where many people are trying to find a way out.

Operation Sovereign Borders is Australian government policy.

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