In the lead up to World Suicide Prevention Day Australian Greens Mental Health spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert is calling on the Government to adopt a national suicide prevention target.

Following more revelations of mistreatment of young people and Amnesty’s report on Queensland detention Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has written to the Prime Minister about the Royal Commission into youth detention in Don Dale and the Northern Territory.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today called on federal Liberal and Labor to take a lesson from their state counterparts and commit to significant new investment in productivity enhancing infrastructure.

Greens Deputy Leader and Queensland Senator Larissa Waters today said the 1,172 Queensland jobs funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency via grants to large-scale solar projects show that Labor and LNP must abandon the planned $1 billion cut to the agency. 

"Today's funding announcement from ARENA shows that cutting clean energy grants would be irresponsible and stupid.

"This money will mean 1,172 direct jobs will be created in regional Queensland, many in areas affected by the decline of the coal and gas industry."  

Tony Abbott opposing the movement to achieve sovereignty and treaty with First Australians indicates he is out of touch when it comes to reconciliation, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

“Someone should remind the former Prime Minister that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are moving beyond the sole aim of Constitutional Recognition, there is now a much wider call to also achieve sovereignty and treaties.

Greens spokesperson for Treasury, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the release of ABS data showing that Australia has clocked up twenty-five years of GDP growth.

Greens Spokesperson for Treasury and Consumer Affairs, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the Commbank and Storm Financial revelations published today by Michael West.

Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said there is a moral obligation not to use the proposed investment approach to income support to push people off the Carers Allowance.

Wilson Security’s decision to withdraw from Australian offshore detention centres shows that the Government’s mandatory detention regime is becoming more untenable by the day, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

“Wilson’s decision to pull out of offshore detention is a belated but welcome response to a strong campaign against them,” Senator McKim said.

I think it is really important to understand what is going on here. What is going on here is that we have a piece of legislation that is going to result in a saving of $6 billion; it is an incredibly complex piece of legislation. For the benefit of the new senators, who have not even had the opportunity to look at this legislation in detail, the legislation involves the abolition of Medicare-funded dental care for young children—something that was negotiated as a result of the 2010 parliament.