Greens Deputy Leader and finance spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has welcomed reports that the government is finally listening to the remittance industry and convening its agencies to address the looming threat to thousands’ of Australians ability to transfer money to families overseas.

Greens Deputy Leader and Workplace Relations Spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said the government’s new attempts to regulate workplace negotiations revealed them as freedom of choice hypocrites.

“On the one hand, the government says that they have no role in telling industry what to do and people should bargain as they see fit, while on the other, they want to dictate what’s said in every workplace negotiation,” said Mr Bandt.

“This is a clear attempt to stop people bargaining for fair wage rises when their employers make high profits.”

Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson on Research and Innovation Adam Bandt said today redirecting funding to ‘commercially viable’ research would threaten critical areas of research in Australia.

“The discussion paper the government has released today will send a shiver down the spine of anyone involved in curiosity-driven or public good research in Australia,” said Mr Bandt.

“Unless the government increases the size of the pie for research, they will take money away from areas that it does not identify as a priority and give it to others.”

Senator Christine Milne, leader of the Australian Greens, spoke this morning to ABC News Radio, responding to former ALP president Warren Mundine's call that the Greens had not done enough for Aboriginal people.

Some of the interview is transcribed below. Follow the link at the bottom for the full audio.