TAYLOR'S 'OPEN MIND' ON NUCLEAR ENERGY IS FRIGHTENING: BANDT

Freedom of the press and whistle-blower protection will finally get the hearing they deserve as the Senate votes in favour of an inquiry to be chaired by Senator Hanson-Young.

I rise to speak to the National Rental Affordability Scheme Amendment Bill 2019 on behalf of the Greens. While the Greens will be supporting this bill, I want to make it very clear that this bill does not address the real issues of rental affordability and housing stress that the community is facing more and more every single day. We know that our housing system is completely broken. There are no ifs and buts about that whatsoever. For many years now we have gone from one news headline to another about the housing crisis, only to be met with lukewarm policy responses by this government.

Further police crackdown on journalists highlights importance of Senate inquiry into press freedom, Greens say.

The debate on establishing a Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling will begin today in the Senate, with a Greens Bill to establish a commission of inquiry.

The Greens Bill for a Commission of Inquiry into the Murray-Darling was debated this morning in the Senate.

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for Education, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said that new TAFE data released today shows the continued decline of TAFE and must be a wake up call to save TAFE.

A new report by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research has shown that for government funded vocational education: student numbers have dropped 1.9%, subject enrolments have dropped 5.7%, and training hours have dropped 6.4%.

Australian Greens Immigration Spokesperson Nick McKim has been ordered to leave Manus Island on the sixth anniversary of the commencement of indefinite offshore detention.

“The veil of secrecy continues to surround Australia’s detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru,” Senator McKim said.

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for International Development, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said that climate justice must be central to Australia’s development assistance program following reports that the Foreign Minister, Senator Marise Payne, received the climate change strategy six months ago but is yet to release it.

Senator Faruqi said:

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for Housing, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to today’s Australian Institute of Health and Research report which shows Australia has lost 20,000 public housing units in the last decade. She welcomed the increase in community housing, but said public housing must be a bigger part of the housing mix.

Senator Faruqi said:

“It is time for the Federal Government to step in and show leadership on the housing crisis. We know that social housing in general has not kept pace with demand.