“We need to protect all athletes from CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” said The Greens spokesperson for Sport, Senator Lidia Thorpe. CTE is a neurodegenerative condition linked to repeated head traumas including concussion.

This comes as a leading researcher into concussion in sport has claimed the AFL hindered a two-year-study into the long-term health impacts on its players. Senator Thorpe has joined Associate Prof Alan Pearce’s call for the AFL to be more transparent over its research. 

The Greens have slammed reports that one of Australia’s most high profile racists and bigots will receive an Australia Day honour, calling it a “slap in the face” to all the people harmed by her toxic advocacy.

Lines from Australian Greens acting leader Nick McKim:

“What a disgraceful insult to everyone Margaret Court has harmed by voicing support for apartheid and her decades-long campaign against LGBTIQ+ rights. If these reports are true, Scott Morrison is trying to lock in January 26 as a day of division not celebration.

I rise this morning to note this government's disturbing and frankly despicable attempts to avoid transparency and to shirk accountability. Trust amongst people in our democracy is at the lowest it has ever been. Democratic satisfaction has actually plummeted in the last decade from 86 per cent in 2007 to just 40 per cent in 2018. I can bet that if we asked the community right now how much they trust democracy in Australia, it would be in freefall thanks to this Liberal-National government.

The Greens have today written to the Auditor General asking for a full investigation of $150 million in sports funding channelled to Liberal-held marginal seats ahead of the election.

Greens Senator Leader Larissa Waters said, “This is yet another rorts scandal which has the Prime Minister’s fingerprints all over it.

“Memo to the Government - you can’t use public money to buy election outcomes! It’s called rorting and it’s a corruption of democracy.

The long-overdue resignation of the ministry by Bridget McKenzie leaves unanswered questions about the Sports Rorts scandal and does not address underlying integrity issues with the Morrison Government, according to the Greens.

Co-deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters and spokesperson on sport Senator Janet Rice said the Prime Minister will try and draw a line under this sports rorts scandal after Bridget McKenzie’s resignation but the announcement today does not stop the rot.

Quotes attributable to Senator Larissa Waters:

Greens Senator Janet Rice has slammed Bridget McKenzie’s handling of the sport program, giving $100 million in sport grants to favour Coalition target seats in last year’s federal election, rather than awarding grants based on merit.

Quotes attributable to Senator Janet Rice, Greens spokesperson for Sport

“This looks like a government rort designed to win elections.”

Wednesday, 6th February 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has welcomed Prime Minister Morrison's commitment to funding paralympic sport, but said that the funding was ever in question is just another example of government playing politics with disabled people.

"The Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) had to put in a submission - which was way back in October last year - requesting funding for the Tokyo 2020 campaign and the long-term sustainability of grassroots disabled sport in Australia," Steele-John said.