The Coalition Government must abandon its plans to dump nuclear waste in South Australia, not extend their consultation process, the Greens say.

A well-funded, independent public broadcaster is essential for a healthy democracy, the Australian Greens say.

The Australian Senate has today called on the Federal Government to take a national approach to homelessness and to develop a National Homelessness Plan. Australian Greens Housing Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, moved the motion which was cosponsored by Labor and supported by the Centre Alliance, One Nation and Senators Hinch and Storer. The Liberals, Nationals and Katter's Australian Party voted against. The motion is copied below.

Dutton hanging by a thread: Bandt

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has slammed the Federal Government’s announcement today on Catholic and Independent school funding. The Government has announced an extra $4.6 billion for the Catholic and Independent school sectors which the Greens say is a special deal that is just "hush money" for them to stop campaigning against the Government.

Senator Faruqi said:

Rhinos are in crisis. There are just 67 Javan rhinos, less than 80 Sumatran rhinos and less than 6,000 black rhinos left. We humans have a lot to answer for. The Greens are proud of our role in combating the illegal ivory trade and of being a loud voice for animals across Australian parliaments. Seventy-seven per cent of Australians believe that trading elephant ivory and rhino horn is already illegal in Australia, so it is really disappointing that our laws lag behind community expectations. The ivory trade is not the only threat facing rhinoceros populations.

Wednesday, 19 September

An Australian Greens motion calling for the terms of reference of a proposed Royal Commission to be expanded to cover violence, abuse and neglect of older Australians and disabled people in institutional and residential settings has been blocked.

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John succeeded in securing the votes of the entire crossbench but the motion was ultimately voted down by the Labor and Liberal parties.

I've stood as an engineer and a sustainability academic at the front of lecture theatres more often than I've stood up to speak in parliaments. When you're teaching you spend an awful lot of time looking your students in the eye, as you might imagine. Now that I'm spending less time in the classroom and more time in parliament, I often wonder whether many members in this place wouldn't benefit from having to look some students in the eye every so often.

Today we have seen the release of mortality statistics from the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 Livestock mortalities during export by sea report for the period 1 January to 30 June 2018, and they make for grim reading. Thousands of sheep are dying as these live export ships ply the seas in their trade of misery. We are still in the northern summer period for the Middle East, where oppressive heat conditions mean temperatures are reaching above 40 degrees.

Big business is now running parliament and the Government is not even pretending to anymore, Greens Senator for Queensland and mining and resources spokesperson, Larissa Waters said.

“The Government has done another special deal for Adani in not making them comply with water laws,” she said.

“Adani has just gotten out of having to comply with water laws for a pipeline that will suck 12.5billion litres out of a river in a region that is crippled by drought.