The Australian Greens Party Room has agreed to strengthen rules for Senators and MPs, making explicit a ban on sexual relations between any Federal Greens MPs and any Federal Greens staff members.
 
The Australian Greens and the Party Room already had very strong and extensive policies on sexual harassment and bullying and this update further strengthens those rules. These rules conform to community expectations and what is in place in workplaces around the country.
 

Thursday 12 November 2020

Australian Greens Peace & Disarmament spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today that the scope of the Office of the Special Investigator's remit must be broad so that it can examine the conduct of all levels of command within the SAS and ADF, not just individuals mentioned in the Brereton Inquiry Report.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters moved to bring on her Parliamentary Standards Bill this morning to address Parliament's appalling ineffectual complaints process for staff suffering workplace bullying and harassment.
 
The move follows the Morrison Government’s refusal to even acknowledge there is a problem, following Monday’s Four Corners investigation into sexual harassment within the Liberal Party.
 
Senator Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and Spokesperson on Women, said:
 
"This is Parliament's Me Too moment.
 

Over the last few months I've been participating in the Senate inquiry into unlawful underpayment of employees' remuneration, otherwise known as wage theft. This inquiry is soon going to focus on wage theft in Australian universities. Following the series of investigative pieces published by the ABC's national education reporter, Conor Duffy, and in response to my own questions to the Fair Work Commission, I have referred 13 universities to make submissions and give evidence to the inquiry. Most of them have now made written submissions.

The Greens have successfully established an inquiry into media diversity with the support of the Senate today.

Greens Spokesperson for Media and Communications Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who is chair of the Environment and Communications References Committee which will conduct the inquiry said:

“The Senate has today agreed to the Greens motion to establish an inquiry into media diversity in this country.

The Greens support this motion and we express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Dede Fredy and Xiaojun Chen. They died at work in a gig economy, which overwhelmingly means insecure work, low pay and utterly diminished industrial rights for workers. Three-quarters of delivery riders earn below the minimum wage. Many gig economy workers are migrants and on temporary visas and are vulnerable to exploitation and wage theft. Our employment laws don't protect workers.

I rise to speak on an animal welfare matter that has captured the country's attention this fortnight. The 2020 Melbourne Cup claimed the life of Anthony Van Dyck, the latest victim of a race that supposedly stops the nation. This death was heart-wrenching, but sadly no surprise at all. This was not a freak accident or an unforeseeable outcome. This is just the brutal reality of horseracing. The cup has killed seven horses since 2013, including Verema, Admire Rakti, Araldo, Red Cadeaux, Regal Monarch and The Cliffsofmoher. These horses are just the tip of the iceberg.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed the Senate’s agreement to her motion acknowledging all Melbourne Cup horse deaths since 2013 and stating that no horse should die at a racetrack.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Senate has sent a blunt message to the racing industry today: you have failed to protect the animals under your care. Enough is enough.

“Horse racing is inherently dangerous for these animals. No horse is safe at an Australian racetrack.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) the racehorse Anthony Van Dyck died following injuries sustained in the 2020 Melbourne Cup,

   (ii) Anthony Van Dyck was the seventh racehorse to die as a result of the Cup since 2013, following Verema, Araldo, Admire Rakti, Red Cadeaux, Regal Monarch and Cliffsofmoher, and

   (iii) according to stewards' reports, between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020, 116 racehorses died at racetracks, as a result of catastrophic front limb injury, cardiac causes, serious bleeds, head trauma, and other injuries; and

Senator Patrick's amendments

As I said in my speech in the second reading debate, the Economic Recovery Package (JobMaker Hiring Credit) Amendment Bill 2020 grants very broad powers to the minister to basically hand out $4 billion of public money to businesses, and it doesn't do much else. This bill doesn't actually establish the JobMaker hiring credit scheme. It doesn't provide a single detail about the scheme. There's nothing about eligibility criteria or anything else for that matter.