Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says Labor at its national conference has joined the Liberals by backing gas and having no 2030 target, leaving voters who want action on climate change with only the Greens.

“Gas is as dirty as coal. If you back new gas fields, you’re not serious about stopping the climate crisis,” Bandt said.

The Australian Greens are calling for an urgent independent review into the serious and widespread problems with Australia’s vaccine rollout.

“The vaccine rollout for which both the Federal and State Governments have responsibility is having more than so called “teething problems” and these are having real-world consequences with the latest Covid-19 outbreaks spreading in Queensland and threatening in NSW,” Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said.

The Greens have laid the blame for Brisbane’s three-day COVID lockdown at the Morrison government’s door, saying its failure to ensure all frontline healthcare workers are vaccinated has triggered a necessary public health response that will damage already struggling businesses and force more workers into unemployment.

The more than 130,000 people currently receiving JobSeeker in Brisbane will have their safety net slashed to below the poverty line on Thursday after the Coalition and Labor refused to support the Greens’ proposal for an $80 a day payment.

The Greens say the Prime Minister’s reshuffle is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and won’t fix entrenched cultural and systemic issues in parliament or improve the lives of Australian women.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Larissa Waters said:

“A whole one additional woman in Cabinet will not change the rank and sexist culture in this government, the Liberal Party, or the parliament.

The Greens will today announce key election policies, including a ‘billionaires tax’ to help fund genuinely free public schools, dental into Medicare and a job for everyone who wants one. 

With the party considering an election in November of this year still a possibility and a minority parliament the most likely outcome, Mr Bandt will push for a tax on billionaires & corporate super profits as part of dealings with a future shared power government.

Under a Greens shared power parliament Australia will strive to generate 700% of existing electricity demand with renewables, Adam Bandt MP has declared, outlining a key electoral policy ahead of the launch of a new policy vision document this weekend.

Part of a pitch to voters in Queensland this weekend, this policy will be a key part of Greens election campaigning in the coming months ahead of the election.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that eviction moratoriums are ending today in NSW, and on Sunday in Victoria and WA, and that renters in numerous states are facing uncertainty, mounting debt and homelessness.

Senator Faruqi said:

“We must extend eviction bans until the government has a plan for rental debt relief. Without one, our government is condemning countless people to homelessness.

Australian Greens Anti-racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that numerous investigations published today by ABC, Nine and Guardian Australia on far-right and neo-Nazi organising have underscored the need for urgent action to tackle the violent far-right.

Senator Faruqi said:

“These investigations are disturbing but not surprising. We know that the far-right is organising in Australia, and has links to international extremist groups. But the government has its head in the sand.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, will introduce a Bill into the House of Representatives that would prevent the government using the Snowy Hydro group to build new gas-fired power stations. The Bill will be seconded by Independent MP, Zali Steggall.

Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor has given the NSW market until the end of April 2021 to make final investment decisions on 1000 MW of new dispatchable capacity to replace Liddell or he says he will direct Snowy Hydro to invest in a new gas-fired power station in the Hunter.

If the Resource Super Profits Tax had not been watered down and then repealed, it would have raised $34.6 billion dollars, enough to give free dental care to every Australian by including dental in Medicare. 
 
A new costing by the Parliamentary Budget Office, provided to the Greens, shows that the decision to give in to the big mining corporations and billionaires by axing the original “mining tax” has cost the Australian budget $34.6 billion, and bringing a super profits tax back would raise $12.7 billion in the first year.