Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the December quarter Consumer Price Index data released today by the ABS has revealed “out-of-pocket [childcare] expenses have now returned to pre-COVID levels in all capital cities.”

Senator Faruqi said:

“These latest numbers put us back to where we were before Covid-19 – with one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world.

The Greens call on the Queensland and federal governments to reject Arrow Energy’s massive expansion proposal to drill hundreds of new coal seam gas wells at Hopeland in the Western Downs Region and lay 440km of pipelines in fertile farm land.
 
Arrow Energy has applied to increase its number of coal seam gas wells at the Hopeland site from six to 286. The state government previously declared the area off-limits for future coal seam gas projects after land and groundwater was contaminated by the Linc Energy underground coal gasification disaster.
 

The overdue release of dozens of refugees from immigration detention is a very welcome glimmer of humanity in Australia’s refugee policy, Greens Immigration Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim says.

“These men have been through so much for so long, and for them now to be able to breathe free air is a wonderful step forward for them,” Senator McKim said. 

“There are still over 150 people who suffered through years of offshore detention detained in Australia. They should also be immediately released.”

The government’s delay or abandonment of most of the recommendations from the Banking Royal Commission is a commitment to the hands off approach that caused the problems in the first place, the Greens say.

“The Liberals had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this Royal Commission, and they have never accepted that there is serious criminality and bad behaviour within the sector,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

The Greens have asked the Auditor-General to investigate the approval of the Yeelirrie uranium mine in Western Australia by former federal environment minister Melissa Price, after a damning ABC report this week showed a deeply flawed approval process.

Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wrote to the Auditor-General Grant Hehir on Thursday and requested his office consider the matter (letter attached).

With the news overnight that Julian Assange has been denied bail, Greens Foreign Affairs spokesperson Senator Janet Rice has called on Prime Minister Morrison to act to ensure his wellbeing, and signalled that she will seek to involve the Australian Senate to act on his behalf.

Senator Rice said:

“I call on Mr Morrison to show some courage and pick up the phone to speak directly to both UK Prime Minister Boris Johnston to ensure Mr Assange’s wellbeing; and to US President-elect Joe Biden to drop the charges against him.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says there is no excuse for the Morrison government to do anything other than provide an Australian citizen safe passage home, with assurances that he can live and work here freely.

“It’s time for Scott Morrison to fight for an Australian citizen whose work exposing war crimes has subjected him to an extraordinary campaign of persecution from the United States,” Bandt said.

“Australia’s meek pandering to the Pentagon on the rights of one of our citizens reflects poorly on our sovereignty and diplomatic independence.

The release of a report planning for the end of coal by the right-leaning Blueprint Institute shows that all sides of politics were now calling for a managed transition out of coal, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said.

“The time of coal is over and the time for clean energy has begun,” Mr Bandt said. “When even conservative think tanks are putting forward proposals to leave coal, you can tell this transition is unstoppable.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP has today called on the government to defer the looming cuts to JobKeeper and JobSeeker in light of the growing COVID outbreak in NSW.

The Coronavirus Supplement is due to drop $200 a month in just 10 days, before being entirely cancelled come March 31.

“With lockdowns and travel bans throwing the country’s Christmas plans into chaos, Scott Morrison must immediately ditch the looming cuts to JobSeeker and JobKeeper,” Mr Bandt said.