The Australian Greens have a plan to more than double the amount of social housing across Australia by building 500,000 new ecologically sustainable and fully accessible homes, with a net addition of 33,000 dwellings each year. The homes would be funded by scrapping negative gearing and capital gains tax exemptions, as well as redirecting part of the banking levy on major banks.

The first mammal to go extinct in the world from climate change, the Bramble Cay Melomys, is just the tip of the iceberg, say the Australian Greens.

“This is a national tragedy, but the extinction of the Bramble Cay Melomys is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Australian Greens Senator Janet Rice, Chair of the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s animal extinction crisis.

“Climate change is pushing other threatened animals to the brink of extinction, yet the Morrison government’s lack of action means nothing is being done to protect them.”

Greens call on Labor to back Marles over coal

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, responded today to the comments from Labor frontbencher, Richard Marles, that “The global market for thermal coal has collapsed, and wonderful – that’s a good thing – because what that implies is the world is acting in relation to climate change.”

Quotes attributable to Mr Bandt:

“He’s right. That’s why Richard and Labor should support my bill to phase out thermal coal.” 

“Just when you begin to hope that the Labor Party was starting to find a backbone on refugees, Bill Shorten has gone to water,” said Australian Greens Leader, Dr Richard Di Natale.  
 
“Despite his Deputy saying the Government’s policy to transfer sick patients to Christmas island for treatment was ‘difficult to understand’ and his Immigration spokesperson saying the reopening the centre was ‘silly’, Bill Shorten thinks it’s ‘fine’.
 

The Minister for Mining and Resources Matt Canavan has been exposed for lying about any oil from the Great Australian Bight staying in Australia.

Equinor is moving full steam ahead to drill in the Bight and The Greens are fighting to stop them.

Bandt introduces two bills to stop coal mining

Greens Co-Deputy Leader and climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today introduced two private member’s bills into the House of Representatives that lay down a challenge to the old parties on the mining and export of thermal coal. The first would prohibit the mining of thermal coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, effectively outlawing the Adani mine, and the second would phase out the export of thermal coal entirely by 2030.

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today that it was not enough for the government to allow a motion calling for an urgent Royal Commission into the violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of disabled to pass unopposed in the house of Representatives - they must vote in favour of it and take action.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has welcomed a ban on animal testing for cosmetics. A full ban is conditional on the Government enacting further measures outside Parliament, and Senator Faruqi has vowed to keep the pressure on the Government. The Greens have been at the forefront of pushing for a ban on cruel cosmetics for years, including introducing the first bill to ban animal tested cosmetics in 2014.

Senator Faruqi said: