The Australian Senate has narrowly voted down a Greens motion to disallow parts of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Amendment Rules (No. 2) 2020 that have the effect of excluding universities from accessing the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

The vote was defeated 30 votes to 31.

The Greens, Labor and Centre Alliance voted for the motion; the government, One Nation and Senator Lambie opposed it.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Universities are being smashed during this pandemic and the government has refused to throw them a lifeline.

Chair of the Senate Inquiry into Press Freedoms, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, has vowed to look at the treatment of the press covering the protests in America after a shocking attack by police in Washington DC on a 7 News Australia crew.

“Police and riot squads punching and assaulting journalists who are doing their jobs is simply unacceptable. We have seen footage not just of Australian press being treated this way but local media who have been arrested, shot with rubber bullets, tear gassed and bashed by police across America,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

The foreshadowing of a package for the arts and entertainment industry by the PM is welcome, but the devil will be in the detail, the Greens say.

Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the arts and entertainment industry has been pleading for Government intervention for months.

“The Prime Minister likes his sport, I hope today's reports are a sign he’s starting to recognise the arts and entertainment sector is important too. But the devil will be in the detail," Senator Hanson-Young said.

The Greens have said that the construction of public and community housing should drive construction stimulus, not ill-conceived and unnecessary new home and renovation grants.

Warning Scott Morrison against establishing a ‘Mansion Extension Fund’ in lieu of a public housing fund, the Greens say the proposal represents the height of hypocrisy for a government that criticised the construction of school halls as post-GFC stimulus.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said:

The Greens have criticised the Morrison Government's plans for a stacked inquiry into domestic and family violence, saying more funding is needed for frontline services, not another inquiry which is designed to endorse the government's inadequate response to the national crisis. 

Greens Senate Leader and Spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters, said: 

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government must not grant an exemption to allow a live export vessel to ship sheep to the Middle East during the northern summer.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Allowing this voyage to proceed will have deadly consequences for the sheep on board.

“We know sheep suffer immense heat stress in the northern summer conditions. We have seen this cruelty happen so many times before on these ships of misery and it has to stop.

Today's ABS Household data survey provides further confirmation that the impacts of COVID crisis are falling disproportionately to women. The Greens are calling on the National Cabinet to ensure that addressing these disparities is at the forefront of any recovery plans.

The ABS results reveal that women are almost three times as likely as men to have looked after their children full-time on their own during the crisis.

Australian Greens International Development spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has criticised the Government’s international aid cuts announced today.

Senator Faruqi has said the repurposing of Australia’s already shrinking aid budget is a signal the Coalition government is moving further away from the global community and retreating from its responsibilities. While Australian government spending on the COVID-19 response in the Pacific is very welcome, this should involve new funding, not a repurposing of the existing budget.

Senator Faruqi said:

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has called on the Education Minister to extend the current free childcare arrangements.

The Minister is expected to announce the future of free childcare in the coming days, with the program currently due to expire on 28 June.