The Greens have vowed to block Scott Morrison’s religious discrimination bill, saying it was a Trojan horse for hate that went well beyond a shield to protect people with religious beliefs, calling on Labor and Senators to join them in blocking it.

Lines from Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP:

“Scott Morrison’s bill means more discrimination, not less.

“Scott Morrison has a bill for more discrimination but no bill to stop corruption.

“The bill overrides State and Territory protections and makes bigoted hate speech legal.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to reports that RMIT will pay back up to $10 million to casual staff for work dating back to 2014.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Casual university staff are absolutely sick and tired of being underpaid, undervalued and taken for granted.

On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women the Greens have called for the Morrison Government to commit serious funding to frontline services, prevention programs, and short and long term housing so that women are not forced to choose between violence and homelessness.
 

The Greens say the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) must be given more powers to tackle gender inequality in the workplace, including the ability to require organisations to report on the number of sexual harassment incidents reported by employees and how they were handled.

What Senator Scarr did this morning was a textbook exercise in gaslighting and condescension. It should be condemned and Senator Scarr should be ashamed.

I am concerned about the recent attempts by the minister for education to incite a culture war over the draft national curriculum created by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, or ACARA, as they're known. I find his comments on the draft curriculum offensive, pathetic and ahistorical. They should be challenged by everyone who cares about the integrity of our education system.

The Greens say the government’s Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission is an inadequate response to the women’s safety crisis that is more about politics than it is about serious action to protect women.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:

Just yesterday I stood in this chamber in question time and asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether he or the Prime Minister would condemn far-Right extremism. What I got was the usual waffle, the usual sitting on the fence: 'Yes. Sure. We condemn all kinds of extremism.' That is absolute rubbish. That is bullshit. You are putting people's lives in danger. That's what you are doing. And do you know what? This is nothing new. On the weekend, we saw the far-Right extremists on the streets again. They have embedded themselves in antilockdown and antivaccination organising.

The Greens have today launched a plan to strengthen renters’ rights and fund tenancy advocacy services. Nearly a third of all Australian households rent their home. Yet government after government has ignored renters’ rights in favour of landlord profits.

November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. I wish we didn't need this day. I wish that there weren't any reasons for me to speak out about gendered violence in Australia and around the world. But it does serve as a reminder that we still need to take serious action if we are to have any hope of eliminating this violence. Violence against women continues to be at epidemic levels in this country. Every year, we continue to count the numbers, and every year they continue to be distressingly high.