The Federal Government must not ignore the pleas of the arts, entertainment and creative industry in its next coronavirus stimulus package and must fund a targeted package for the sector, the Greens say.

Australian Greens Senator and Animal Welfare spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called on the Government to commit to recognising veterinary and animal care, rescue and protection services as essential services during the COVID-19 public health crisis. With vets and animal welfare organisations in urgent need of clarity from the Government about their ability to operate under future restrictions and lockdowns, the Government now must declare these services essential.

Senator Faruqi said:

Australia should look to the UK’s 80% wage subsidy as a model for getting workers through the COVID-19 crisis, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt said today, warning that the Morrison Government’s current approach was failing and that Parliament may need to be recalled to fix it.

This call comes following Scott Morrison’s refusal to back the Greens push in Parliament on Monday for a jobs and wages guarantee, and puts the Australian Greens in unison with a growing number of business and workers groups, including the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The Australian Greens have joined calls for a full New Zealand-style mandatory stay at home lockdown to respond to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, backing health experts calling for a ‘go hard, go fast’ response to enforce social distancing.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and health spokesperson Dr Richard Di Natale have called on the Prime Minister and National Cabinet to adopt a lock down in line with New Zealand’s Stage 4 measures. This would require everyone, except those providing essential services, to stay home, and only make physical contact with those they live with.  

The Australian Greens condemn in the strongest terms the Chinese Government’s decision to formally indict Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun on espionage charges.

Leader of the Greens and foreign policy spokesperson Adam Bandt said the Australian Government had an important role to play in securing his freedom, and with charges now laid, the window of opportunity to get him free may be closing.

“The first duty of any government should be to keep its people safe, and while the government may be distracted, Dr Yang doesn’t have any time to spare,” Mr Bandt said.

Australian Greens Senator and Education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called on the federal government to protect the jobs of educators and child care workers. Child care is an essential public service and as enrolments fall and children are kept home, the government must intervene to ensure early learning and child care services survive COVID-19.

The government must:

Thursday 26th March, 2020

Australian Greens Disability spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has again called for urgent action to ensure disabled people have access to clear information and the appropriate supports to get through this crisis, after the disability Royal Commission today put out a statement of concern about the impact COVID-19 will have on the disability community.

The Federal Government must provide income support for temporary visa holders impacted by the coronavirus shutdown, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

"There are about 1.5 million people in Australia on temporary visas, and the Government has an urgent responsibility to provide income support for those who need it," Senator McKim said.

"Many of them have no income and no capacity to leave the country due to restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, and face losing their homes and jobs."

Tonight’s crisis National Cabinet meeting should be focused on housing relief to protect renters and tenants, the Australian Greens said today, with the Greens Leader and Housing Spokesperson today writing to heads of Governments to urge compassion through this crisis.

The letter comes following the unprecedented decision of NSW Parliament last night to pass a Greens amendment that enables the Government to ban rental evictions, empower tenants and limit the powers of landlords through the COVID-19 pandemic via regulation alone.