The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Scott Ryan) took the chair at 12:00, read prayers and made an acknowledgement of country.
That the provisions of paragraphs 5 to 8 of standing order 111 not apply to the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020, allowing it to be considered during this period of sittings.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2020 AUTUMN SITTINGS
SOCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (SIMPLIFIED INCOME REPORTING AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
The measure will reform the way 1.2 million income support recipients report their employment income to Services Australia. Instead of estimating the amount of income they have earned each fortnight, recipients will instead report the gross income they have actually been paid.
Reasons for Urgency
The bill provides the legislative basis for implementing a key measure in the 2019-20 Budget, Changing the Social Security Income Assessment Model. The measure will deliver savings of $2.1 billion over four years to 2022-23.
The bill will underpin the substantial implementation process associated with the measure commencing on 1 July 2020. Implementation of the measure will include significant ICT changes by Services Australia, working with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and a coordinated communication strategy to prepare income support recipients for changes in reporting requirements.
Agriculture Legislation Amendment (Streamlining Administration) Bill 2019
Computerised decision-making, as proposed by this bill, presents a number of benefits to stakeholders who engage with the importation of a large volume of various products. For example, it will allow more efficient clearance processes, and reduce the administrative burden on both importers and biosecurity officers.
… the automation of decision-making for a limited number of administrative actions may provide biosecurity and other authorised officers with more time and resources to spend on the ground, focusing on those areas where there are existing threats and emerging risks to Australia's biosecurity.
The progress in AI-informed decision making since the early 2000s could not have been contemplated by lawmakers at that time. The possibility of full automation of AI-informed decision making, for example, is now a realistic prospect. This means that older legislation dealing with this issue should be reviewed. Technological development necessitates a new approach to ensure AI-informed decision making is accountable.
… broad concern that existing funding and resourcing arrangements are inadequate and ad hoc and, if continued, they will not be able to support the national system into the future.
Funding for the national biosecurity system should be increased by:
• implementing a per-container levy on incoming shipping containers of $10 per twenty-foot equivalent unit and a levy of $5 on incoming air containers, effective from 1 July 2019 …
The levy would impose additional costs on the import of key inputs that are crucial to the ongoing success of the minerals industry, including fuel, chemicals, construction materials and mining equipment.
That this bill be now read a third time.
That intervening business be postponed until after consideration of the government business order of the day relating to the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020.
Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020
We're particularly concerned about the transition periods, where we understand that people will actually need to do some manual calculations to make sure that the period that the data relates to is correct. That particular period is, I think, going to be fraught, and there are going to need to be additional resources from Services Australia to support people through that period.
While we support the idea of making income support reporting simpler, the recent experience with robodebt offers salient warnings about the harms that arise when the algorithms that inform income imputations do not reflect the reality of variable income many underemployed workers experience. The robodebt experience shows how the design and digitisation initiatives too often occurs in a vacuum, with insufficient testing of the concepts on human subjects and with a disregard for the suffering that arises when these initiatives fail to work as intended.
We'd like to see the system tested on a large number of people in different circumstances and who live in different areas of Australia, with different access to online forms of communication, access to Services Australia et cetera … We need to see that comprehensive testing of the new scheme before it commences so that we can guard against any issues or problems that may exist in the scheme or that haven't been detected.
Importantly, we want to see testing with social security law experts and not just people who could be affected down the road. That's because they can often identify issues that people who would be using the scheme may not be aware of, simply because they have a decent understanding of social security law. If we compare it what happened with robodebt, there was no consultation there with experts at all.
There is a lot going on at Centrelink at the moment, and it would be really good to see demonstrated consolidation of the current lessons to assist in the future changes. These changes must be seen as an investment into a better system for Australians. They will not work for the people using Centrelink if they're viewed as a cost-cutting exercise. An investment outlook will involve careful design and testing, but it will, ultimately, deliver better outcomes for everyone.
it is not clear what is meant by the "particular period to which the employment income relates". It could be the pay cycle period … or the period during which the person worked.
but the Senate calls on the Government to:
(a) come clean on the robodebt disaster;
(b) provide all legal advice relating to the robodebt program to the Senate; and
(c) use the savings generated from this bill to compensate robodebt victims.
That the Senate take note of the statement.
That the Senate take note of answers given by the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, Drought, and Emergency Management (Senator Ruston) and the Minister for Defence (Senator Reynolds) to questions without notice asked today by Senator Ciccone and Senator Watt relating to climate change.
A net zero emissions future in Australia provides nothing but opportunities for our farmers. And, with 30 years to get there, they are ready, willing and able. It's also the right thing to do. Granted we need details, innovation, research and costings but, if we get it right, we can capitalise on the opportunities and leave behind those who are doing the scaremongering. The future awaits us and we shouldn't fear it.
The… panel discussion was one of the ways we're working to shift the narrative from red meat as a 'climate villain' to one where livestock producers are part of the solution and seen as climate heroes.
That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Senator Payne) to questions without notice asked today.
The case of Julian Assange is nothing else than a modern show trial featuring politically motivated prosecutors, denial of justice, manipulated evidence, biased judges, unlawful surveillance, denial of defence rights, and abusive prison conditions. What sounds like a textbook example of dictatorial arbitrariness is in fact an actual precedent happening in the middle of Europe, the birthplace of human rights.
That the provisions in paragraphs 5 to 8 of standing order 111 not apply to the Statute Update (Regulations References) Bill 2020 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reuniting More Superannuation) Bill 2020, as set out in the list circulated in the chamber, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2020 AUTUMN SITTINGS
STATUTE UPDATE (REGULATIONS REFERENCES) BILL 2020
Purpose of the Bill
The Bill removes references to specific Regulations in Acts, replacing them with references to the enabling powers for those Regulations. Passing the Bill will contribute to the ongoing maintenance and integrity of the Commonwealth statute book, and improve the quality and accuracy of Commonwealth legislation. This is important as it will promote consistency and useability of the Commonwealth statute book. The Bill contributes to the Government's regulatory reform agenda by improving the accuracy of Commonwealth legislation.
Reasons for Urgency
Statute Update Bills make minor, but important, technical amendments. The Bill is uncontroversial and will contribute to the ongoing maintenance of legislation to ensure its accuracy, usability and currency.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2020 AUTUMN SITTINGS
TREASURY LAWS AMENDMENT (REUNITING MORE SUPERANNUATION) BILL 2020
Purpose of the Bill
To enable eligible rollover funds to voluntarily transfer amounts to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) so that the Commissioner of Taxation can proactively reunify amounts to a person's active superannuation account. There will be a final deadline by which an eligible rollover fund must transfer amounts which it still holds to the ATO.
Reasons for Urgency
The first deadline by which an eligible rollover fund must transfer amounts to the ATO is 30 June 2020. Quick passage in the 2020 Autumn sittings will give industry certainty as to obligations and as much time as possible to implement the reforms.
That the Jervis Bay Territory Rural Fires Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2019, made under the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915 , be disallowed.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that the Leader of the Liberal National Party in the Queensland Parliament, Mrs Deb Frecklington, has promised to require government-owned energy companies to invest in renewable energy generation;
(b) supports increased investment in renewable power as the cheapest and cleanest means of supplying our future energy needs; and
(c) calls on the Federal Liberal National Party to support further investment in renewables.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) are teams of experienced, qualified and highly trained medical, clinical and allied health professionals who are responsible for assessing the level of government-funded care that ageing Australians should receive,
(ii) the Morrison Government sees ageing as a problem and the market as the solution,
(iii) the Morrison Government has announced that it intends to privatise ACAT from April 2021,
(iv) the New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Health and Medical Research, Mr Brad Hazzard, has been highly critical of the Morrison Government's decision to privatise ACAT,
(v) Minister Hazzard has said that "NSW has major concerns" about the Government's plan to privatise ACAT,
(vi) Minister Hazzard has said that "It would worry me if a private company had accountability that went beyond the pure interest of the elderly person",
(vii) Minister Hazzard has said that "It seems pre-emptive and unreasonable to be effectively privatising health aged-care services while the royal commission into aged care is still under way", and
(viii) Minister Hazzard concluded that the Government's decision to privatise ACAT demonstrated that there was "Not a lot of logic there"; and
(b) calls on the Morrison Government to:
(i) listen to the concerns of their colleague Minister Hazzard in the NSW State Government, and
(ii) stop the privatisation of ACAT services.
That the Senate acknowledges the important work of federal public servants, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) staff and Australian Defence Force personnel in the recent bushfire crisis, including:
(a) the work of scientists and other staff at the Bureau of Meteorology who helped to forecast extreme weather patterns and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, who took part in the scientific roundtable on the bushfires;
(b) the ABC's efforts to provide comprehensive coverage of the bushfires and accurate emergency information to people in bushfire affected areas;
(c) Australian Defence Force personnel, reservists and other staff involved in Operation Bushfire Assist;
(d) those involved in the response effort, from staff at Emergency Management Australia to those in the Department of the Environment in their efforts to support the protection of native wildlife;
(e) those involved in the recovery effort, from staff working to address the mental health impact of the bushfires to those at Services Australia helping to deliver emergency relief payments to people in need; and
(f) staff at the newly-created National Bushfire Recovery Agency.
That the Senate acknowledges the important work of federal public servants to address the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, including:
(a) consular staff and other public servants who have gone into high-risk areas like Wuhan to evacuate Australians;
(b) officials from agencies in Health and Home Affairs who have managed stringent quarantine procedures, including in the facilities on Christmas Island and near Darwin;
(c) the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, and the Department of Health, which have led the public health response to the outbreak; and
(d) scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, whose research is forming an integral part of the rapid global response to the outbreak.
That the Senate—
(a) notes:
(i) that 15 March 2020 will mark one year since the Christchurch massacre, when a racist, hate-filled and violent white supremacist man from Australia killed 51 Muslims during Friday prayers at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand,
(ii) that the anniversary of Christchurch is a painful reminder to Muslims in Australia, New Zealand and across the world that anti-Muslim racism and white supremacy has fatal consequences,
(iii) the recent concerns of ASIO Director-General, Mr Mike Burgess, regarding far-right extremism in Australia, that:
(A) the extreme right-wing threat is real and growing,
(B) Neo-Nazi groups regularly meet to salute Nazi flags, inspect weapons, train in combat and share their hateful ideology, and
(C) extremists are seeking to connect with like-minded individuals in other parts of the world; and
(b) expresses solidarity with the families, friends and communities of the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack at this difficult time;
(c) expresses a deep commitment to calling out and stamping out extreme right-wing ideologies, white supremacy and anti-Muslim racism; and
(d) urgently calls on the Federal Government to:
(i) dedicate adequate resources to targeting right-wing extremism, and
(ii) work to stop the spread of hate speech and far-right movements.
That—
(1) The Senate notes that:
(a) the Morrison Government has announced that it intends to privatise Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) from April 2021;
(b) the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians said claimed he is implementing a recommendation from the Tune Review;
(c) the Tune Review made no such recommendation;
(d) the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians also claimed he is implementing a recommendation from the Royal Commission into the Aged Care Quality and Safety; and
(e) the Royal Commission made no such recommendation.
(2) The Senate condemns the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians for failing to adequately explain his decision to privatise the ACAT, despite neither the Tune Review nor Royal Commission making any such recommendation.
(3) At 9:30 am on 27 February 2020, before government business is called on, the Senate requires the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians to:
(a) provide an explanation as to why the Morrison Government is continuing with its tender of ACAT services despite the fact the Royal Commission has stated that it has yet to make recommendations about which sector or mechanism should deliver ACAT-type services; and
(b) that a senator may, at the conclusion of the explanation, move without notice, that the Senate take note of the explanation.
That the Senate—
(a) condemns child exploitation material of any kind and through any medium;
(b) acknowledges that Japanese anime (animation) and manga (graphic novels) are visual mediums which share a unique style in which some media depict children in explicit sexual activities, poses and even being sexually abused;
(c) notes that:
(i) Japanese anime and manga depicting scenes and images of child abuse is readily available for sale at retail outlets, online and for consumption on streaming services in Australia,
(ii) certain anime containing child abuse material has received classification by the Classification Board, allowing it to be imported and sold in Australia, and
(iii) explicit manga is currently not vetted by the Classification Board;
(d) recognises that the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 prohibits the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material "that depicts a person or a representation of a person who is or appears to be under 18"; and
(e) calls on the Federal Government to:
(i) ensure the current Review of Australian Classification Regulation considers how the Classification Board deals with child abuse depictions in animation and considers extending its oversight to printed materials, and
(ii) facilitate the removal of all such child abuse material in animation and print, as a matter of urgency.
(1) That the Senate notes the inquiries relating to domestic violence in Australia undertaken by the Finance and Public Administration References Committee in 2014-2015 and 2015-2017, and the 2019 Auditor General's report on implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022 .
(2) That the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, informed by the reports named at (1), inquire into and report, by not later than 13 August 2020, on domestic violence with particular regard to violence against women and their children, including:
(a) the status of, and any barriers in implementing, the recommendations of the reports;
(b) the adequacy, effectiveness and resourcing of policies, programs, services and responses to domestic violence across the Australian Government, state and territory governments, local governments, nongovernment and community organisations, business and the media;
(c) immediate and long-term measures that need to be taken to prevent violence against women and their children;
(d) the effects of policy decisions regarding housing, legal services, and women's economic independence limiting the ability of women and children to escape domestic violence;
(e) how the Australian Government and state and territory governments can best support, contribute to and drive the social, cultural and behavioural shifts required to eliminate violence against women and their children; and
(f) any other related matters.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) First Nations children are over-represented in the youth justice system and the failure of state and territory governments to address the underlying causes of disadvantage is entrenching children in the criminal justice system,
(ii) the age of criminal responsibility is currently 10 years of age around Australia meaning children as young as 10 are being charged, brought before courts, sentenced and imprisoned, and
(iii) the United Nations has recommended that the age of criminal responsibility for all nations be increased to 14 and the minimum age at which a child could be placed in detention be raised to 16;
(b) welcomes Dujuan Hoosan and his family to Parliament House this week, who will be meeting with Parliamentarians and screening the documentary In m yBlood it Runs that features his struggles to integrate his Indigenous culture with the western education system and his experiences in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) with the justice system;
(c) acknowledges Dujuan's courage, leadership and advocacy on behalf of First Nations children and his community; and
(d) calls on the Federal Government to urgently address the underlying causes of youth incarceration including systemic racism, intergenerational trauma and poverty, and to work with state and territory governments to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, as a minimum.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) Norwegian oil company Equinor, has announced it is discontinuing its exploration drilling plans in the Great Australian Bight,
(ii) this is an opportunity to celebrate the pristine and precious Great Australian Bight and to protect it for future generations and the rest of the world to come and experience,
(iii) the Bight is ecologically and environmentally significant and home to some of the most unique wildlife in the world with 85% of marine life found in the Bight found nowhere else,
(iv) Australia Institute Research has shown that more than 4 in 5 South Australians (84%) and 7 in 10 Australians want to see the Bight given World Heritage protection, and
(v) in July 2018, the South Australian Parliament called on the state government to work with the federal government to seek listing under the World Heritage Convention of the waters, seabed and coastline of the Great Australian Bight as a matter of urgency; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to submit the Great Australian Bight for consideration as a World Heritage Site.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) in his statement to Parliament regarding the murders of Ms Hannah Clarke and her children on 24 February 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said "We must reflect on how and where the system failed Hannah and her children, as it has failed so many others. It's so frustrating. It's so devastating", and
(ii) women's services have consistently identified the need for more funding for the Family Court, prevention and early intervention programs, specialist legal and support services, crisis accommodation and housing support to improve the family law system; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to adequately fund domestic, family and sexual violence and crisis housing services to ensure that all women and children seeking safety can access these services when and where they need them.
That—
(1) The Senate notes that:
(a) since the last sitting of the Senate, two more women have been killed by violence in Australia taking the national toll since the start of 2020 to 9, as reported by Counting Dead Women Australia from Destroy The Joint;
(b) there is no national government reporting program to record the ongoing toll of women killed by violence in real time and ensure that these horrifying statistics receive ongoing public attention;
(c) on average, one woman is murdered every week by her current or former partner;
(d) according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey 2016:
(i) more than 370,000 Australian women are subjected to violence from men each year,
(ii) 1 in 3 Australian women has experienced physical violence,
(iii) 1 in 5 Australian women has experienced sexual violence,
(iv) 1 in 6 Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner,
(v) 1 in 4 Australian women has experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner,
(vi) Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner, and
(vii) Australian women are 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault injuries arising from family and domestic violence than men, with hospitalisation rates rising by 23% since 2014-2015;
(e) in 2017, young women aged 15-34 accounted for more than half of reported sexual assaults;
(f) there is growing evidence that women with disabilities are more likely to experience violence;
(g) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women report experiencing violence at 3.1 times the rate of non-Indigenous women;
(h) in 2016-2017, Indigenous women were 32 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family violence as non-Indigenous women;
(i) the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 states that the overall prevalence of violence against women will only start to decrease in the very long term as gender roles change; and
(j) the Fourth Action Plan recognises that demand for domestic and family violence services has increased, and will continue to increase.
(2) The Senate calls on the government to:
(a) recognise domestic violence against women as a national security crisis;
(b) adequately fund frontline domestic, family and sexual violence and crisis housing services to ensure that all women seeking safety can access these services when and where they need them;
(c) legislate for 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave so that women don't have to choose between paying the bills and seeking safety;
(d) ensure that all government funded counselling services for domestic and family violence are delivered by expert family violence service providers in accordance with the National Outcome Standards for Perpetrator Interventions;
(e) implement all 25 recommendations of the 2015 Senate inquiry into domestic violence in Australia; and
(f) maintain and publish an official real-time national toll of women killed by violence Australia.
(1) That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Finance, by no later than 2 pm on 23 March 2020, all reports and correspondence received by the Minister for Finance from other Ministers under paragraph 4.12 of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 or 4.13 of the previous Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines between 1 August 2016 and 31 April 2019.
(2) In the event the Minister fails to table the reports and correspondence, the Senate requires the Minister representing the Prime Minister to attend the Senate on 25 March 2020, by no later than 10:15 am, to provide an explanation, of no more than 10 minutes, of the Government's failure to table the documents.
(3) Any Senator may move to take note of the explanation required by paragraph (2).
(4) Any motion under paragraph (3) may be debated for no longer than 60 minutes, shall have precedence over all government business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 10 minutes each.
(1) That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Finance, by no later than 30 April of each calendar year:
(a) all reports and correspondence received by the Minister for Finance under paragraph 4 .12 of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 during the preceding calendar year; and
(b) a summary of the decisions reported under paragraph 4.12 of the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines 2017, including the the Central Budget Management System program title, sub-program, grant activity, grantee, total grant value, grant funding location, postcode, and a brief statement of reason for the decision.
(2) If the Senate is not sitting when the documents are ready for presentation, the documents are to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
(3) This order is of continuing effect.
That the Senate—
(a) requires that, at its examination of the 2019-20 additional estimates, on 4 March 2020, the Community Affairs Legislation Committee examine the Department of Health Outcome 3: Sport and Recreation, Program 3.1: Sport and Recreation, and Sport Australia, prior to commencing the examination of any other outcomes, programs, or portfolio agencies; and
(b) this requirement may be altered by unanimous agreement of members of the committee.
That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, the following proposed work be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for consideration and report as expeditiously as is possible:
RAAF Base Tindal
Question agreed to.
That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969 , the following proposed work be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for consideration and report as expeditiously as is possible:
National Education Centre for the Great Barrier Reef
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) 17 February 2020 was the sixth anniversary of Mr Reza Barati's death,
(ii) Mr Barati was murdered on 17 February 2014 while in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, Papua New Guinea,
(iii) Mr Barati's murder occurred during protests and rioting in the centre that also resulted in about 70 refugees being injured,
(iv) according to the Review into the events of 16 -18 February 2014 at the Manus Regional Processing Centre , initiated by the then Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection Mr Martin Bowles AO PSM and conducted by Mr Robert Cornall AO, Mr Barati, who was not involved in the unrest, "suffered a severe brain injury caused by a brutal beating by several assailants and died a few hours later",
(v) Mr Barati was an architecture student who fled Iran and sought asylum in Australia; due to his size and nature, he was known to friends as 'the gentle giant', and
(vi) since Mr Barati's death, there have been 12 more deaths in Australia's offshore processing system;
(b) expresses sincere condolences to Mr Barati's family and friends; and
(c) at the passing of this motion rises and spends a moment in silence to reflect on the deaths that have occurred in Australia's offshore processing system, including that of Mr Reza Barati.
That the Senate—
(a) notes the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's 2019 report, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia continuing the national story , which states that:
(i) family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health and welfare issue affecting people of all ages and from all backgrounds, but mainly women and children,
(ii) 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner since the age of 15, and
(iii) Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner;
(b) acknowledges the Federal Government's commitment of $340 million in the 2019-20 budget to support the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 ;
(c) further acknowledges the Minister for Social Services' recent announcement of only $2 million towards men's behaviour change programs which will involve group sessions, counselling and home visits, taking place only in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia and run only to June 2022;
(d) recognises that domestic violence is borderless, affecting every community in Australia; and
(e) calls on the Federal Government to:
(i) fund behaviour change programs in every state and territory,
(ii) fund behaviour change programs that are tailored to indigenous communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities as well as the broader Australian community, and
(iii) increase funding for behaviour change programs.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Morrison Government has announced it wants to privatise the Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) workforce from April 2021, when a tender will be put out for organisations to deliver this vital assessment,
(ii) ACAT teams are currently based in hospitals across the country and are responsible for assessing which older Australians should receive government-funded care,
(iii) the Morrison Government's plan could take away the jobs of over
1,000 qualified, experienced and highly-trained professionals across the country, and
(iv) the Morrison Government's plan to privatise ACAT services is not supported by highly regarded experts, the sector or the states;
(b) strongly opposes:
(i) the privatisation of the ACAT workforce, and
(ii) any changes to the current qualification arrangements of the ACAT workforce; and
(c) condemns the Morrison Government for its continued piecemeal approach to aged care policy.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Morrison Government sees ageing as a problem and the market as the solution,
(ii) the Morrison Government sees older Australians as a problem, with the Treasurer describing the ageing population as an "economic time bomb",
(iii) this Morrison Government thinks a market-led solution is the answer to every problem, including visa processing, Centrelink's Robodebt compliance and outsourced debt collection program, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and security vetting services in the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency, and
(iv) based on the track record above, the Morrison Government's market-led solutions result in additional costs to the taxpayer and poor outcomes for ordinary "quiet" Australians; and
(b) calls on the Morrison Government to stop the privatisation of ACAT services.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Morrison Government has announced that it intends to privatise Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT),
(ii) when asked about the privatisation of ACAT in Parliament, the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck, said he is "actually implementing a recommendation from the Tune Review", and
(iii) the Tune Review did not recommend the privatisation of ACAT services;
(b) condemns the Morrison Government for its current plans to privatise ACAT services; and
(c) calls on:
(i) the Minister to correct the record and clarify that the Tune Review did not recommend that ACAT services be put to tender, and
(ii) the Morrison Government to stop its plans to privatise ACAT services.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Morrison Government has announced that it intends to privatise Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) from April 2021,
(ii) when asked in Parliament about the ACAT tender, the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck, said he is "actually doing what the royal commission said in its interim report last year",
(iii) following reports that the Morrison Government would privatise ACAT, the Chair of the Royal Commission into the Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Honourable Gaetano Pagone QC, issued a statement to say that, "the Interim Report did not endorse the Government's stated position", and
(iv) the Chair of the Royal Commission also stated that, "we have not yet made recommendations about which sector or mechanism will best achieve an integration of Regional Assessment Services and the Aged Care Assessment Teams";
(b) condemns the Morrison Government for its current plans to privatise ACAT services; and
(c) calls on:
(i) the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians to correct the record and clarify that the Royal Commission did not recommend that ACAT services be put to tender, and
(ii) the Morrison Government to stop its plans to privatise ACAT services.
The Government has announced that it will implement this recommendation and will integrate the two assessment workforces from 2020. The Royal Commission considers that this integration needs to be progressed urgently.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) on 19 February 2020, a man murdered his ex-wife, Ms Hannah Clarke, and their three children by dousing their car with petrol and setting it alight,
(ii) Ms Clarke was the 8th woman to be killed by violence since the start of 2020,
(iii) many initial media reports of the crime sought to minimise her
ex-husband's role or to portray him as a "loving father pushed too far",
(iv) following a Four Corners report on 17 February 2020 regarding the conviction of an athletics coach at St Kevin's for grooming a student, prominent commentators also sought to minimise the offence and its consequences,
(v) inaccurate and biased reporting of violence against women and children allows a culture of violence and entitlement to perpetuate,
(vi) guidelines adopted by the Press Council, Commercial Radio Australia and FreeTV Australia for reporting of sexual, domestic and family violence make clear that reports should emphasise the role of the perpetrator and avoid any suggestion of culpability on the part of the victim or survivor – for example, the various guidelines state:
(A) "Words matter: Publications should be mindful of the language they use and try to avoid terms that tend to trivialise, demean or inadvertently excuse family violence",
(B) "Violence is never acceptable: The perpetrator is always solely responsible for a violent situation – Avoid using language or framing the story in a way that suggests the survivor of violence was in any way to blame for what happened to him or her", and
(C) "Domestic violence is sometimes reported with headlines like 'Woman assaulted', or with stories that focus only on what happened to the survivor – This can suggest that violence is something that 'just happens' to women – Emphasise that someone perpetrated this violence, and that it was a crime"; and
(vii) current guidelines are advisory only and are not part of the enforceable standards against which complaints can be assessed; and
(b) calls on all reporters, commentators and media outlets to comply with guidelines for reporting on sexual, domestic and family violence.
(1) That the Senate notes that:
(a) on 19 February, Mr Rowan Baxter murdered his wife
Ms Hannah Clarke, aged 31, and their children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3,
(b) Mr Baxter doused his family in petrol and burnt them alive in their car on a suburban Queensland street before taking his own life,
(c) according to Ms Clarke's family and friends, Hannah had experienced years of emotional, sexual and physical abuse in her marriage to Mr Baxter, had only recently been able to escape with her children, and had a domestic violence restraining order in place against Mr Baxter at the time he committed these murders,
(d) this horrific event has shocked Australia and the Senate joins in that shock, expresses its grief, deep sorrow and support for the family and friends of Hannah, Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey,
(e) violence against women is a national shame in Australia:
(i) according to the Australian Institute of Criminology, on average, one woman a week in Australia is murdered by her current or former partner,
(ii) according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics:
1. 1 in 4 women in Australia has experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15,
2. 1 in 5 women in Australia has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15,
3. almost 40% of women continued to experience violence from their partner while temporarily separated, and
4. 1 in 6 women has experienced stalking since the age of 15; and
(iii) according to studies commissioned by the Department of Social Services:
1. children of mothers experiencing domestic violence have higher rates of social and emotional problems than other children, and
2. violence against women is estimated to cost the Australian economy $22 billion a year;
(f) according to studies conducted by Our Watch, 1 in 3 young people don't think controlling someone is a form of violence, and
(g) according to a news report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian police deal with domestic violence every two minutes.
(2) That the Senate calls on the Commonwealth Government to:
(a) acknowledge that Australians demand more, and more effective, action to stop the violence,
(b) acknowledge that violence against women is an urgent matter of national importance, and
(c) convene a national summit as soon as possible with states, territories, service providers, experts and survivors to address this crisis.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) on the same day that Queensland Police Commissioner, Ms Katarina Carroll, said it was inappropriate to suggest the murder of a woman and her children by her husband could be an instance of a husband being driven too far, Ms Bettina Arndt, who received an Order of Australia honour in January, nonetheless said "keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been driven too far",
(ii) the statement of Ms Arndt has the potential to bring the Order of Australia, instituted by Her Majesty The Queen, into disrepute, and
(iii) Order of Australia awards are a privilege and an honour and come with responsibilities; and
(b) agrees that:
(i) Ms Arndt's comments are reckless and abhorrent, and
(ii) the values that underpin Ms Arndt's views on this horrific family violence incident are not consistent with her retaining her Order of Australia.
The Senate divided. [16:03]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes:
(i) that the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade tabled its report on the Inquiry into the management of PFAS contamination in and around Defence bases in November 2018, to which the government response is overdue by a year,
(ii) that in a resolution of 29 July 2019, the Senate called on the Government to provide a response to the aforementioned report,
(iii) that on 9 September 2019, the Senate ordered the production of the government response to the report, with which the Government failed to comply,
(iv) the statement made in the Senate by Senator Birmingham, representing the Minister for the Environment, on 13 November 2019, that a response to the report was to be finalised before the end of 2019, with no response to date,
(v) that communities are waiting anxiously on the Government's response to the key recommendations of the inquiry, such as:
1. the appointment of a Coordinator-General to coordinate the national response to PFAS contamination,
2. undertaking measures to improve participation in the voluntary blood testing program for PFAS, and
3. assisting property owners and businesses in affected areas for the demonstrated, quantifiable financial losses associated with PFAS contamination, including the possibility of buybacks,
(vi) the failure of the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, and the Minister for Defence to:
1. respond to recommendations by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's Inquiry into the management of PFAS contamination in and around Defence bases tabled in November 2018,
2. provide adequate compensation to affected communities, and
3. coordinate a whole-of-government response to the issues arising from PFAS contamination; and
(b) declares its lack of confidence in the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, and the Minister for Defence for their:
(i) handling of issues related to PFAS contamination,
(ii) failure to respond to the concerns and needs of affected communities, and
(iii) disregard of the Senate in failing to comply with multiple resolutions of the Senate to produce a response to the aforementioned inquiry.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the 2020 Poverty in Australia Overview released last week found that poverty rates have remained at much the same level for the past decade, despite economic growth,
(ii) the report found that more than 3 million people including 774,000 children under 15 are living below the poverty line and that more than 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 6 children live below the poverty line in Australia, and
(iii) the Government's continued failure to act has meant that those trying to survive on Newstart are falling even further behind, prompting the Australian Council of Social Services to call for an urgent $95 increase in Newstart; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to make it a priority to help address poverty in Australia by immediately raising Newstart and Youth Allowance and to implement a Government strategy to address poverty.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the New South Wales (NSW) Government has lifted its moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping,
(ii) water from recent rains has not yet made it down the river and there are still towns without drinking water, dry catchments and storages and fish species facing collapse,
(iii) the Murray-Darling Basin Authority says it is too early to say whether all storages will receive water, or if flows will be enough to connect the rivers,
(iv) the Queensland Government has also allowed floodplain harvesting which was criticised by the NSW Government,
(v) upstream Basin states making decisions that only benefit them puts the entire river system in jeopardy, and
(vi) the Murray-Darling Basin is on the verge of collapse, and family farms, river communities and the environment need national leadership; and
(b) calls on the NSW Government to reinstate the moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping.
The Senate divided. [16:15]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Tax Justice Network Financial Secrecy Index, released on 18 February 2020, assigns Australia a secrecy score of 50 out of 100, and
(ii) the Narrative Report on Australia states that Australia undoubtedly hosts significant quantities of illicit funds from outside the country, and identified that the following weaknesses in Australian law continue to enable illicit funds to find a safe haven in Australia:
(A) that real estate agents, accountants and lawyers are not subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations, and
(B) the absence of adequate transparency measures for the beneficial ownership of companies; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to introduce legislation that would:
(i) ensure that real estate agents, accountants and lawyers are subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations; and
(ii) establish a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership of companies.
The Senate divided. [16:21]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that the impacts of opening up the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory would increase Australia's emissions by a staggering 6.6% and destroy any chance of Australia helping to contain global warming below 1 degrees;
(b) acknowledges that the Liberal, National and Labor parties are supporting this destructive project because the proponents, Origin Energy and Santos have donated at least $1 million to both political parties, with at least $900,218 going to the Coalition and at least $810,353 to the Labor Party since 2012; and
(c) supports the farmers and traditional owners that do not want their water supplies threatened, their cultural heritage compromised, and the climate sacrificed if the 1,200 fracking wells planned for the Northern Territory proceed.
The Senate divided. [16:26]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) Australia's Collins class submarines provide vital capability for the Australian Defence Force,
(ii) in June 2011 the Navy could not put even one of our six Collins Class submarines to sea,
(iii) it took more than half a decade and a significant amount of taxpayer's money to rectify submarine sustainment and achieve world benchmarks,
(iv) the sustainment model now has short term maintenance activities in Western Australia and deep maintenance in South Australia, specifically through Collins Class Submarine Full Cycle Dockings,
(v) Australian Submarine Corporation in South Australia (SA) still sends experts to Western Australia (WA) when WA is unable to resolve complex maintenance issues, and
(vi) there is a proposal before Government to move Full Cycle Dockings from SA to WA which would result in:
(A) only a small percentage of the SA workforce relocating to WA, causing a huge loss of corporate knowledge from Australia's submarine sustainment organisation,
(B) significant challenges and risk being injected into the sustainment model,
(C) submarine availability suffering, thereby damaging national security,
(D) at best, only similar outcomes would be achieved, thus the cost of the move cannot represent value for money,
(E) a sustainment model inconsistent with Defence's longer term plans of having submarines based on the East and West coasts, and
(F) Defence being exposed to higher levels of risk by having all its Collins Class submarines maintenance capabilities in one location; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to:
(i) recognise the success of the current sustainment model, and
(ii) continue the current sustainment model, retaining all Collins Class Submarine Full Cycle Docking activities in SA.
The Senate divided. [16:33]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) pay and conditions in supply chains are often characterised by a race to the bottom in which companies at the top drive down rates through their economic power,
(ii) in the resource industry, mining companies such as BHP, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance and BHP Mitsui Coal through their tenders for auxiliary work are the ultimate employer in the sector influencing the setting of pay and conditions across the sector,
(iii) workers at Greyhound Resources have in, good faith, engaged in negotiations with their employers for a new enterprise agreement,
(iv) workers at Greyhound Resources exercised their democratic right to take protected industrial action as part of the bargaining process,
(v) Greyhound Resources responded threatening to lock out any and all workers who took part in a legal industrial action, and
(vi) Greyhound Resources carried out this threat and is currently locking out those workers who took part in protected industrial action;
(b) calls on Australian mining companies to recognise their role as the ultimate employer in the sector and their influence on the rates and conditions across their industry; and
(c) supports the workers of Greyhound Resources who are currently locked out by their employer and calls for the end to the lockout so that negotiations can continue in good faith.
The Senate divided. [16:43]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
(1) That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Prime Minister, by no later than 7:20 pm on 25 February 2020, the final report provided by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Mr Phillip Gaetjens, to the Prime Minister in relation to the application of the Statement of Ministerial Standards to the former Minister for Sport's award of funding under the Community Sport Infrastructure Program.
(2) In the event the Minister fails to table the report, the Senate requires the Minister representing the Prime Minister to attend the Senate on 26 February 2020, prior to government business being called on, to provide an explanation, of no more than 10 minutes, of the Government's failure to table the report.
(3) Any Senator may move to take note of the explanation required by paragraph (2).
(4) Any motion under paragraph (3) shall have precedence over all government business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 10 minutes each.
The Senate divided. [16:47]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, by not later than 9am on 27 February 2020,the following documents in relation to the Environment Restoration Fund, as announced in the 2019-20 Budget, and the Communities Environment Program, announced in March 2019 prior to the 2019-20 Budget:
(a) all communications between the Commonwealth policy entity responsible and the Minister for the Environment (the Minister) or the Minister's office in relation to the programs;
(b) all communications between the Minister and other parliamentarians in relation to the programs;
(c) all Ministerial briefs prepared for the Minister in relation to the programs;
(d) all administrative guidelines, including grant funding guidelines, in relation to the programs;
(e) any advice on the content of guidelines or program arrangements, or drafts of the same, prepared for the Minister in relation to the programs; and
(f) all documents prepared for the Minister relating to the eligibility and eligibility assessments for the programs.
The Senate divided. [16:51]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) all Australians deserve the best possible healthcare, especially older Australians,
(ii) our community is ageing, with population projections for Australia suggesting that there will be 4 million people aged between 65-84 years by 2022, with the over 65 and over 85 cohorts rapidly accelerating over the next decade,
(iii) a third of this cohort live outside of major cities in rural and regional Australia,
(iv) as our population ages, our community will increasingly rely on appropriate aged care services for good health, support and dignity,
(v) Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) are teams of experienced, qualified and highly trained medical, clinically and allied health professionals who are responsible for assessing the level of government-funded care that ageing Australians should receive,
(vi) in 2018-19, ACATs provided over 178,000 assessments,
(vii) ACAT teams are local, know their communities, have enormous expertise over 30 years, and their role is to independently assess what older Australians need and identify the best options,
(viii) ACAT teams are independent of private service providers and owe no allegiance or preference for any particular provider, and
(ix) the Morrison Government has announced it intends to privatise the ACAT workforce and put out a tender for these vital services;
(b) rejects the Morrison Government for its plans to privatise ACAT, which would threaten the quality and independence of services provided to ageing Australians, and jeopardise the jobs and independence of Australian healthcare professionals; and
(c) seeks concurrence for this motion in the House.
The Government has announced that it will implement this recommendation and will integrate the two assessment workforces from 2020. The Royal Commission considers that this integration needs to be progressed urgently.
The Senate divided. [16:56]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development no later than midday on 27 February 2020, the grant agreement between the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and South Coast Track Huts Walk Pty Ltd.
The Senate divided. [17:00]
(The President—Senator Ryan)
Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
'Withholding NDIS funds from the states is not an appropriate way to balance the budget'
I want to make sure that money doesn't sit in a bank account offsetting the Commonwealth's budget, which is what it's doing.
Participants are scared of reviews too. We've had participants who've gone for a new commode chair and all of a sudden their community access has been slashed by $20,000, completely unlinked. So you've got a group of participants who are terrified to go back, even though their plans don't meet their needs, because of the negative experiences they've had. Then they've had to go back for another review.
There are unacceptable delays in the planning process… the delays occur in scheduling both initial and review plan meetings, in having plans approved, in sourcing services for plan implementation and, most importantly, for securing urgent reviews. There are inadequately skilled and experienced planners. Some appear to us to have a very limited understanding of the support needs arising from a disability and/or a lack of understanding of cognitive impairments and the associated communication issues that will often accompany those kinds of impairments… The failure to provide for crisis services… is certainly a concern from our point of view and we consider that the NDIS really does need to provide contingency funding to be available for crises when they occur and for clear procedures and processes to access funding and services… provisions need to be established in response to crisis situations but also for market failure situations, particularly for participants who have exceptional needs and challenging needs…
Australian Government Response to the Recommendations of the Senate Education and Employment References Committee Report 'The People Behind 000: Mental Health of Our First Responders'
Introduction
On 27 March 2018, the Senate referred 'The role of Commonwealth, state and territory governments in addressing the high rates of mental health conditions experienced by first responders, emergency service workers and volunteers' (herein collectively referred to as 'first responders') to the Senate Education and Employment References Committee (the Committee) for inquiry.
On 14 February 2019, the Committee delivered its final report, 'The people behind 000: mental health of our first responders' (the Report). The Report made 14 recommendations that seek to address the high rates of mental health conditions experienced by first responders.
Achieving the best outcome for first responders (or anyone else) who suffers, or is at risk of suffering, a work-related mental health condition is a vital and complex issue. During the inquiry, concerns were raised about the demanding work first responders perform for our community and the consequent risk to their psychological health, which, in some cases, is contributed to by workplace culture. While complex in nature, the Australian Government is committed to seeing duty holders fulfil their obligations under work health and safety (WHS) laws to eliminate or minimise risks to psychological health in the workplace so far as is reasonably practicable.
Some stakeholders raised concerns about workers' compensation claims processes, including that they may discourage some first responders from seeking timely assistance. The inquiry was presented with evidence about the diverse range of activities and initiatives being implemented by jurisdictions in relation to early intervention, rehabilitation and the administration of workers' compensation claims.
The Government would like to thank all those who assisted with this inquiry and acknowledge the invaluable and unique role of first responders towards ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the Australian community. The Government is resolute in its commitment to ensuring that first responders are given the highest level of support and protection from harm.
Leadership in the emergency management sector
Australia's first responders and emergency services workers, including volunteers, are critical members of our community, many of whom risk their personal safety for the safety and security of our nation.
On 20 November 2019, the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, the Hon David Littleproud MP, secured the commitment of the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management to lead development of a national, collaborative approach to addressing mental illness and suicidality in Australia's first responders and emergency services workers, including volunteers and former/retired workers.
In response to the 2019-20 bushfires, the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, announced on 12 January 2020 that the Government would establish a National Bushfire Recovery Agency with an initial investment of $2 billion for a national bushfire recovery fund. The Government is also providing $76 million in funding for mental health support services for communities and emergency services workers affected by the 2019‑20 bushfires. This includes funding to deliver a national action plan aimed at reducing suicide and improving mental health outcomes over the long‑term.
The Government is working towards zero suicides and, in July 2019, appointed Ms Christine Morgan as the first National Suicide Prevention Adviser reporting directly to the Prime Minister. Ms Morgan is working with relevant Ministers to drive a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention.
Details of the extensive array of Government initiatives to address the high rates of mental health conditions experienced by first responders, emergency service workers and volunteers are provided in this response.
The national framework of WHS laws
On 1 January 2012, the model WHS laws were adopted in the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. The model laws were adopted in Tasmania and South Australia on 1 January 2013. Victoria and Western Australia are yet to implement the model WHS framework, however, in both those jurisdictions, WHS is governed by a system of laws, regulations and compliance broadly similar to the model laws. The Western Australian Government has however introduced into the Parliament legislation that mirrors the model WHS Act.
Under the harmonised approach to WHS regulation in Australia, states and territories have responsibility for enforcing compliance with work health and safety laws for the majority of Australian workers. The scope of the Australian Government's direct authority is primarily to Commonwealth workers and those working at Commonwealth workplaces.
The Government is committed to supporting the development of measures that will result in improved safety outcomes for all Australian workers and works proactively with state and territory governments to achieve this end.
Safe Work Australia (SWA)
SWA is the Australian Government statutory body established in 2008 to develop national policy relating to WHS and workers' compensation. The Safe Work Australia Act 2008 sets out the functions of the agency, which is jointly funded by the Commonwealth, states and territories in accordance with an Intergovernmental Agreement. It is a tripartite body and has Members representing each of the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and worker and employer representatives. As a national policy agency, SWA does not administer or regulate WHS or workers' compensation arrangements, which remain the responsibility of Commonwealth, state and territory governments.
Australian workers' compensation arrangements
Each state and territory has its own workers' compensation legislation and arrangements.
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 establishes the Commonwealth workers' compensation and rehabilitation scheme (the Comcare scheme), administered by Comcare, for employees of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth authorities and licensed corporations. Agencies with first responders under the Comcare scheme include the Australian Federal Police (AFP), ACT Emergency Services Agency and Airservices Australia.
Recommendation 1
The committee recommends that the government work with state and territory governments to collect comprehensive data on the occurrence of mental health injuries and suicide in first responders.
Recommendation 2
The committee recommends that the federal government work with state and territory governments to collect data on the cause of death for first responders who die while employed or die within 10 years of leaving their service.
Response: Support in principle
The Government values the importance of using data to inform and improve mental health services. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) provides statistical information that governments and the community can use to promote discussion and inform decisions on health, housing and community services. AIHW hold data on mental health, disease and injury. Mental health services in Australia (MHSA) provides a picture of the national response of the health and welfare services system to the mental health care needs of Australians. Data is updated progressively throughout the year as it becomes available.
The Government is commissioning a multi-year study of more than 60,000 Australians to provide the most complete picture of Australians physical and mental health to inform a Long Term National Health Plan. The Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study will cover mental health, general health, nutrition and physical activity and provide information to inform improvements in mental health.
SWA currently compiles, analyses and reports on a range of work health and safety (WHS) and workers' compensation data to describe national trends in work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities.
The Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities (TIF) data set includes all first responders fatally injured as a result of a work activity or travelling in the course of their work and the mechanism of incident (i.e. cause of death). This dataset does not include fatalities that result from self-inflicted injuries (for example, suicide) due to the difficulty in establishing a direct connection between these injuries and work. The Committee's recommendations on collecting data on suicide and the cause of death for first responders who die within 10 years of leaving their employment are outside of SWA's remit, as they extend beyond the workplace.
First responders are employed predominantly by state and territory governments. Therefore, state and territory data collections may be more suitable for collecting and reporting outcomes for first responders. Further consideration should be given to these recommendations in the context of a national action plan on first responder mental health, as discussed in the response to recommendation 4.
Recommendation 3
The committee recommends that federal, state and territory governments work together to increase oversight of privately owned first responder organisations.
Response: Noted
Privately owned first responder organisations operate in a limited number of states and territories. The Government notes all first responder organisations, privately owned or not, are subject to oversight by the WHS regulator in their jurisdiction. Any concerns about the way in which a workplace is handling health and safety issues should be raised with the relevant government, including the WHS regulator.
Recommendation 4
The committee recommends that a Commonwealth-led process involving federal, state and territory governments be initiated to design and implement a national action plan on first responder mental health.
Response: Support
The Government has committed to a national action plan on first responder mental health. The Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management will lead development of a national, collaborative approach to addressing mental illness and suicidality in Australia's first responders and emergency services workers, including volunteers and former/retired workers. The Government has allocated $4.5 million for a national action plan, which will be delivered by the Department of Home Affairs and is aimed at reducing the rates of suicide and mental illness among emergency services workers. This work will be developed in consultation with stakeholders from across all levels of government, the non‑profit sector and current and former emergency workers and their families. It will be undertaken concurrently with other initiatives to better understand and improve mental health outcomes for first responders and emergency services workers.
Following the 2019-20 bushfires, the Government announced that the Commonwealth would play a larger role in responding to emergencies such as fires, floods and cyclones. As part of this, the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, and the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, announced a commitment of $500,000 towards the development of a cross‑jurisdictional mental health framework with state and territory governments for responding to natural disasters.
It is noted that mental health conditions are also a national priority of SWA's Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 (the Strategy). A mid-term review of the Strategy, undertaken by SWA in 2017, found that more work is needed to drive improvements across priority disorders, including mental health conditions, in the next five years. SWA has undertaken work to address this finding through the development and issuance, in June 2018, of national guidance material for employers of their duties to manage work-related psychological health and safety.a1a This will improve the understanding of psychological hazards and risks in the workplace, and what can practically be done to manage them.
In 2016 the Government funded Beyond Blue to develop the Good Practice Framework for Mental Health and Wellbeing in First Responder Organisations. The Good Practice Framework provides information about the range of programs and practices required to effectively promote the mental health of first responders and reduce suicide risk. It is intended to be used as a practical guide by first responder agencies to develop or renew their workplace mental health strategy.
The AFP Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2018-2023 builds on the Good Practice Framework and was launched by the AFP in 2018 to prioritise employees' health and wellbeing and establish a prevention and education framework for the next five years.
Reducing stigma and discrimination
A key priority for the Government is to reduce the stigma around mental illness and the Government is working in collaboration with state and territory governments through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to achieve this. COAG has endorsed the development of the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan and its Implementation Plan (the Fifth Plan) to establish a national approach for collaborative government effort from 2017-22 across eight targeted priority areas. The Fifth Plan identifies the reduction of stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health issues as a priority. Under the Fifth Plan the Mental Health Principal Committee has established a working group—the Reducing Stigma and Discrimination Working Group—to address stigma and discrimination.
Implementation of the Fifth Plan has commenced with the Commonwealth funding the University of Melbourne to review the evidence relating to the reduction of stigma and discrimination towards people with severe mental illness. A consultant will undertake targeted consultations with consumers, carers, community groups and key organisations. Consultations will focus on options for a nationally coordinated approach to the reduction of stigma and discrimination, with particular attention paid to the experience of people with severe mental illness, which is poorly understood in the community. The consultations aim to identify solutions and not restate known problems.
Recommendation 5
The committee recommends that compulsory first responder mental health awareness training, including safety plans, be implemented in every first responder organisation across Australia.
Recommendation 6
The committee recommends that compulsory management training focusing on mental health, such as that developed by the Black Dog Institute, be introduced in every first responder organisation across Australia.
Recommendation 7
The committee recommends that mental health support services be extended to all first responder volunteers.
Response: Support in principle
The Government recognises that risks to psychological health for first responders includes exposure to traumatic incidents, and in some cases, poor workplace practices and culture. Under WHS laws in Australia, employers have a legal responsibility to provide a physically and mentally healthy workplace as far as is reasonably practicable, and individual regulators are responsible for ensuring compliance with these duties and obligations. Model WHS laws are applied nationally and, given that volunteers are 'workers', organisations have a duty of care to put in place appropriate measures to ensure volunteers are given the same level of protection from harm as all other workers. A number of state and territory governments also have provisions in their workers' compensation laws covering volunteers engaged in specified duties such as ambulance services, firefighting, police operations and emergency services.
The Government acknowledges that volunteers may be vulnerable to other factors influencing poor mental health, including geographic isolation. Many volunteers work and live in rural and regional communities where there may be fewer trained volunteers to respond to events spread across a wide geographic area. Therefore, they may be called upon at times when they are 'resting' from their ordinary jobs. Regional volunteers are also likely to have a closer personal connection to their communities—they could be responding to an event involving people they know and be personally impacted.
First responder organisations are familiar with the high-risk nature of first responder work and must consider and implement strategies to minimise risks to psychological health, including building a positive workplace culture and providing appropriate mental health training to staff and managers. Additional approaches in this area could be considered as part of the national action plan to be led by the Department of Home Affairs.
The Government has committed to the following positive initiatives relevant to these recommendations.
$10 million for provision of trauma care services including for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental illness by specialist organisations to emergency services workers who responded to the 2019-20 bushfires, and their immediate families.
$1.5 million for the establishment of a pilot program to provide a support and mental health literacy network for emergency services workers and their families/kinship groups. This network will also connect those in need of clinical services in relation to PTSD and other mental health issues, including suicidality.
$29.6 million will be allocated for Medicare rebates for up to 10 psychological therapy sessions (including telehealth sessions) for bushfire affected individuals and families, and emergency response personnel. These 10 sessions will be in addition to the 10 psychological therapy sessions currently available under Medicare.
$10.5 million is available for immediate access to up to 10 free counselling sessions. The sessions will be available at recovery centres, Service Australia centres, and existing local mental health centres in fire affected regions.
$4.2 million for Primary Health Networks in fire affected communities to deliver 'surge capacity' mental health services to impacted individuals and families.
$3.2 million to help deploy bushfire mental health response co-ordinators to fire affected areas.
$2.7 million to deliver community connectedness and recovery grants of up to $10,000, to fund grass-roots level activities to help mental health and healing activities after the bushfires. These activities will promote peer support, with local residents helping each other and reaching out to others to identify those who are suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression, and prevent suicides.
$2 million for training in trauma informed care and psychological first aid to be provided to frontline emergency staff, including doctors, pharmacists and health professionals, as well as organisations managing the frontline emergency staff to identify personnel at risk.
$500,000 towards the development of a cross jurisdictional mental health framework with state and territory governments for responding to natural disasters
A $2.5 million grant to the Police Federation of Australia to develop 'Blue Hub', a national framework for ongoing mental health care of policy and defence employees. A Blue Hub pilot will take place in Victoria to develop and implement a clinical assessment framework and resource for mental health practitioners to ensure appropriate specialist mental health support for police officers.
$750,000 over 12 months from 2019 for development of the National Police Memorial Co portal, which will educate and build resilience in police officers in the area of social, emotional and psychological health.
Around $650,000 over two years for the AFP to develop and implement a health training framework for all AFP employees. This will include Road to Mental Readiness (M2MR) training, an evidence-based program designed by the Canadian Mental Health Commission aimed at improving individual and organisational resilience and reducing stigma associated with mental health. The funding will also support the design and implementation of evidence-based best practice health standards and governance in addition to an evaluation framework, which supports the physical, organisational, social and psychological health of AFP members.
$1.88 million over two years to Fortem Australia to improve health and wellbeing of emergency service workers and meet the needs of individuals and families from early intervention to crisis support. Fortem Australia, a specialised, community-based organisation focused on the health and wellbeing of frontline workers who deal with confronting situations in their daily work-life. It will initially support the national security and law enforcement communities of Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney as part of a two-year pilot program. Services will be rolled out to Australia's emergency service and first responder communities as funding permits.
Recommendation 8
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government establish a national stakeholder working group, reporting to the COAG Council of Attorneys-General, to assess the benefits of a coordinated, national approach to presumptive legislation covering PTSD and other psychological injuries in first responder and emergency services agencies. This initiative must take into consideration and work alongside legislation already introduced or being developed in state jurisdictions, thereby harmonising the relevant compensation laws across all Australian jurisdictions.
Response: Support in principle
The Government supports a nationally consistent approach to workers' compensation arrangements and the opportunity to convene a working group, reporting to an appropriate ministerial forum, to consider the benefits of a coordinated national approach to presumptive legislation covering PTSD and other psychological injuries in first responder and emergency services agencies.
However, as workers' compensation is primarily a state and territory responsibility, any such working group would depend on the cooperation of the states and territories. Any legislative changes to address first responder mental health will also need to take into account the different characteristics and circumstances of the various schemes.
The Government is aware of state and territory government initiatives relevant to this recommendation. For example, in 2019 the Tasmanian Government introduced presumptive liability for government employees with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the Victorian Government commenced a pilot that allows eligible emergency workers to access payments for medical treatment and services while their compensation claim is being determined.
The Government is already considering how presumptive provisions could better support first responders with a psychological injury under the Comcare scheme.
As noted in the Committee's report, Comcare and the AFP have introduced a 'fast track' approach for PTSD claims to support early intervention and timely access to treatment. Under this process, PTSD claims for operational AFP officers are accepted without an independent medical examination where the diagnosis is supported by a treating psychiatrist and the AFP supports claim liability. Preliminary findings suggest that the fast-track process has improved average claim determination timeframes and the AFP and Comcare continue to develop these arrangements. The AFP is also reviewing and supporting its rehabilitation case management services to decrease the time between the submission and approval of claims and ensure early access to treatment.
Recommendation 9
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government, in collaboration with the states and territories, initiate a review into the use of independent medical examiners (IME) in workers' compensation.
Recommendation 10
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government establish a national register of health professionals who specialise in first responder mental health.
Response: Noted
Broadly, in the workers' compensation context, IMEs are legally qualified medical practitioners who provide impartial medical opinion to an insurer or claims manager. IMEs do not have a therapeutic relationship with the worker—that is, IMEs do not treat, or advocate on behalf of, the worker.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) regulates Australia's health practitioners in partnership with the 15 National Boards. AHPRA regulates 16 health professions, including in areas of psychology and nursing, who are required to meet the standards and policies set by the National Boards. Individual complaints or concerns about registered practitioners can be raised directly with this agency.
The Government notes the Committee's recommendation to establish a national register of health professionals who specialise in first responder mental health. Given the localisation of many practitioners, a national register may be of limited utility, however could be considered further as part of the National Action Plan being developed by the Department of Home Affairs. Additionally, the Australian Psychological Society has the Disaster Response Network, a national network of psychologists who have a special interest and self‑nominated expertise in working with individuals and communities affected by disasters and emergencies, as well as those working to assist them.
The Government is co-funding, and participated in the development of, Monash University's GP Mental Health Guideline, a national clinical guideline to help general practitioners improve the diagnosis and management of patients with work-related mental health conditions. The guideline was launched in March 2019 and will be trialled over the next three years. It is anticipated the guideline will play a significant role in advancing the delivery of evidenced-based care for workers with work-related mental health conditions, including first responders. Phoenix Australian has also developed guidelines for thediagnosis and treatment ofPTSD inemergency service workers, which complement the Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and are approved by theNational Health and Medical Research Council.a2a
Recommendation 11
The committee recommends that a consistent approach to referrals to rehabilitation counsellors be developed across states and territories, requiring referrals to be made by general practitioners not associated with employers or insurers.
Response: Noted
A Nationally Consistent Approval Framework (NCAF) for workplace rehabilitation providers has been in place since 2010. The Commonwealth, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia have all adopted the NCAF. The objective of the NCAF is to provide a robust approval system across participating workers' compensation jurisdictions to enable objective measurement of provider performance and establish standards designed to deliver high quality workplace rehabilitation services to injured workers, employers and insurers.
In October and December 2018, the Heads of Workers' Compensation Authorities (HWCA) reviewed the NCAF and agreed to replace it with a principles based framework for the delivery of workplace rehabilitation services. A working group of representatives from each jurisdiction was established to progress the principles based framework.
In 2019, Principles of Practice for Workplace Rehabilitation Providers was developed to better support workplace rehabilitation providers in the delivery of services to injured workers. The principles recognise that competent and qualified professionals in eight professions, including rehabilitation counsellors, are suitably qualified to deliver workplace rehabilitation services.a3a Workplace rehabilitation providers are engaged for their professional expertise and their role is to support the injured worker and the employer through the rehabilitation and return to work process. The principles acknowledge the importance of obtaining competent and impartial workplace rehabilitation providers, recommending robust systems and processes be in place to ensure all conflict of interest issues are considered, mitigated and notified to the workers' compensation authority.
The current NCAF remains in place pending the finalisation of this work and for relevant jurisdictions the current three-year approval of workplace rehabilitation providers has been extended for a further 12 months through to June 2020.
Recommendation 12
The committee recommends that early intervention mental health support services be made available to all employees of first responder organisations with the aim of preventing, or reducing the severity of mental health conditions.
Recommendation 14
The committee recommends that ongoing and adequate mental health support services be extended to all first responders who are no longer employees of first responder organisations around the country.
Response: Support in principle
The Government supports the principle of early intervention and making available ongoing and adequate mental health support services to all first responders, including volunteers and former employees.
The Government is taking a leadership role in helping to manage psychological health in first responder organisations. In addition to mental health initiatives discussed in the response to recommendations 5–7, the Government has also provided the AFP $1.5 million to scope a police health model, which will explore the cost benefit analysis of a health service delivery model. The scoping exercise will focus on prevention of injury and illness, provide early intervention treatment and rehabilitation for front-line officer physical and psychological injury. Notable, the model will be scalable across all policing jurisdictions and front-line organisations.
The Government also notes the initiatives being implemented by the AFP in relation to early intervention. This includes the Early Access Program, introduced as part of a broader strategy to improve organisational health, wellbeing management, employee health and return to work outcomes. The program provides employees, including former employees and volunteers, with access to early intervention treatment for physical and psychological work related injuries, including pre-claim medical treatment such as psychological counselling. In addition, the Welfare Officer Network can provide welfare support to employees, including former employees and volunteers, if contacted.
The Government funds a range of mental health supports and services that are available to all Australians including first responders. These include:
As noted above, the Government has also provided $2.8 billion over six years from 2016‑17 to 2021-22 for Primary Health Networks to lead mental health and suicide prevention service commissioning at a regional level. Through flexible primary mental health care funding arrangements, Primary Health Networks commission services within a person-centred stepped care approach that aim to improve outcomes for those with or at risk of mental illness and/or suicide, in partnership with local providers. Each Primary Health Network commissions services across six priority areas:
State and territory governments have the primary role in employing first responders and implementing recommendations 12 and 14 will involve working with state and territory governments to facilitate early intervention and mental health support services through first responder organisations. Further initiatives in response to these recommendations could be considered in the context of the national action plan, proposed at recommendation 4, which the Government has agreed to implement.
Recommendation 13
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth government make funding available for research in the prevalence of mental health conditions in retired first responders.
Response: Noted
The Government acknowledges the importance of research in relation to mental health and is funding the following initiatives:
That the Senate take note of the document.
… ambulance officers are inherently exposed to traumatic and often dangerous incidents on a daily basis, throughout their entire careers. Such incidents may include witnessing the result of violent crimes such as sexual and other assaults, victims of road trauma, suicides and horrific accidents.
Official Development Assistance Multilateral Replenishment Obligations (Special Appropriation) Bill 2019
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
Today I am pleased to introduce theOfficial Development Assistance Multilateral Replenishment Obligations (Special Appropriation) Bill 2019.
The purpose of this Bill is to appropriate money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to meet Australia's existing and future obligations to:
the World Bank's International Development Association;
the World Bank's debt relief schemes including the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative;
the Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Fund;
the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund; and
the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
This Bill will provide a standing appropriation to meet Australia's international development commitments. Consistent with our membership arrangements of these organisations, Australia pledges to replenish our financial contribution every three to four years with payments being made over a three to ten year period.
This Special Appropriations Bill will allow the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to meet our ongoing financial obligations to the six specified Funds without the need for annual appropriations to be made. This reflects a change to the appropriation arrangements instituted in 2014-15.
Funds to meet the commitments authorised by this Bill will come from within the agreed Official Development Assistance budget.
Our contributions to these organisations constitute an important component of Australia's support for the promotion, protection and improvement of the international rules-based order.
These organisations complement Australia's efforts at the country and regional-level to promote the prosperity and security of the Indo-Pacific region.
The commitments outlined in this Bill will contribute to and be made in our national interest.
There are six Funds to be supported through the passage of this Bill.
The World Bank's International Development Association operates the largest pool of concessional finance in the world.
It provides grants, technical expertise and concessional loans to promote growth and reduce poverty in the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries.
Australia's contribution has supported 1.5 million new labour market programs across the world, including 3,500 young people to complete job-ready training and enter the workforce.
The World Bank-managed debt relief schemes, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, provide debt relief to eligible poor countries. In 2005, the Howard government made a 40-year commitment to support this fund; between 2001 and 2015, the average decline in crippling debt in eligible countries has fallen by 1.5 per cent of GDP, freeing up local government spending on health and education and reducing reliance on foreign aid.
Australia's contributions to the Asian Development Fund, managed by the Asian Development Bank, provides grants to developing countries at moderate to high risk of debt distress, to promote poverty reduction and accelerate development in the poorer countries of the Asia and Pacific region.
Our contributions have assisted to lift 16 million people out of poverty and improved economic growth in recipient nations.
Australia has been providing support to the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund since its inception.
Our contributions have assisted the protection of over
350 million hectares of seascapes and ocean life, supported the phase-out of over 29,000 tonnes of ozone depleting pollutants and the safe disposal of 200,000 tonnes of chemicals, including in the Pacific. The Fund's work has supported a 60 per cent increase in tuna stocks in the Pacific.
Australia's contributions to the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol assists developing countries to phase out ozone depleting substances. Collective action through this Fund has seen over 215,461 tonnes of ozone depleting substances eliminated since 1991.
Conclusion
Australia's engagement with these global bodies and our participation in international institutions must and will be done in our national interests.
Australia leverages the financial resources, expertise, influence and geographic reach of these organisations to achieve greater development outcomes.
These organisations bring financial resources, policy influence and convening power that complement and enhance Australia's bilateral programs.
Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020 (the Bill) introduces changes to the Paid Parental Leave scheme aimed at better supporting working mothers and families to access their payment more flexibly.
There are around 300,000 births in Australia each year, with nearly half of all new mothers accessing Paid Parental Leave. The scheme provides eligible working parents with 18 weeks of payment at a rate based on the national minimum wage, currently $740.60 per week - a total of $13,330.80 over 18 weeks.
The Australian Government understands the important role of Paid Parental Leave in supporting the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies and in encouraging workforce participation. To this end, the measure in the Bill introduces greater flexibility to support working women, including self-employed women and small business owners, who cannot afford to leave their businesses for 18 consecutive weeks.
The measure will help thousands of new parents who currently return to work before they have used all of their Parental Leave Pay and lose valuable time with their young children.
Currently, Parental Leave Pay can only be taken as a continuous 18-week block, within the first 12 months after the birth or adoption of the child. From 1 July 2020, families will be able to split their Parental Leave Pay into blocks over a two-year period, with periods of work in between.
Parents will be able to use an initial 12-week block of their entitlement any time within the first 12 months after the birth or adoption of their child, without returning to work during this initial block. This gives parents a period of recuperation and bonding in the months immediately following the birth or adoption.
Parents will be able to take their remaining entitlement of up to six weeks any time before their child turns two years old and can return to work any time during this period. This totals the 18 weeks currently allowed, but with greater flexibility.
Pending passage of the changes to the Paid Parental Leave scheme, the Government also intends to make complementary amendments to increase the flexibility of the existing unpaid parental leave entitlement in the
Fair Work Act 2009. This will help ensure that parents who wish to access their Parental Leave Pay flexibly, will have access to a corresponding flexible unpaid parental leave entitlement.
For many small business owners and self-employed women, 18 weeks is a significant amount of time to be away from their work. Under these changes, mothers will be able to take an initial period of 12 weeks Parental Leave Pay before returning to run their business. They will then be able to choose when to take the remaining six weeks of their entitlement, at a time that suits their personal and business needs, for example over the Christmas and New Year period if their business is quiet at that time.
Some mothers may choose to use their Parental Leave Pay to support a part-time return to work. For example, after returning to work following an initial period of parental leave, parents could negotiate with their employer to work a four-day week and receive a day of Parental Leave Pay for the fifth day they are not working, for up to 30 weeks.
The increased flexibility will also make it easier for mothers who are eligible for Paid Parental Leave to transfer entitlement to eligible partners who take on the role of primary carer, where it suits the family's circumstances.
For example, a mother may choose to take 17 weeks of her Parental Leave Pay entitlement to recuperate after the birth of her child, and transfer the remaining week to her partner, who may choose to take a week off work when the child is transitioning into childcare at 18 months old.
The changes to Paid Parental Leave will give parents more choice and allow them to tailor their payments to their family's needs and situation. Increasing the flexibility of Paid Parental Leave may encourage greater uptake of Parental Leave Pay by secondary carers, contributing to changing social norms around sharing care and encouraging men to take parental leave.
The Bill helps to expand on the important safety net for working families who do not have access to an employer scheme, or who only have access to a few weeks of funded leave. It also ensures mothers, particularly self-employed and small business owners are better able to facilitate choice and flexibility when balancing work and family.
It is expected around 4,000 parents will choose to take their Parental Leave Pay flexibly each year.
I commend the Bill to the House.
Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020
While we support the idea of making income support reporting simpler, the recent experience with robodebt offers salient warnings about the harms that arise when the algorithms that inform income imputations do not reflect the reality of variable income many underemployed workers experience. The robodebt experience shows how the design and digitisation initiatives too often occurs in a vacuum, with insufficient testing of the concepts on human subjects and with a disregard for the suffering that arises when these initiatives fail to work as intended.
We're particularly concerned about the transition periods, where we understand that people will actually need to do some manual calculations to make sure that the period that the data relates to is correct. That particular period is, I think, going to be fraught, and there are going to need to be additional resources from Services Australia to support people through that period.
Centrelink has not demonstrated its organisational ability to enact automated systems. There is a lot going on at Centrelink at the moment, and it would be really good to see demonstrated consolidation of the current lessons to assist in the future changes. These changes must be seen as an investment into a better system for Australians. They will not work for the people using Centrelink if they're viewed as a cost-cutting exercise. An investment outlook will involve careful design and testing, but it will, ultimately, deliver better outcomes for everyone.
You only need to look at the mobilisation of Team Rubicon Australia to assist in the recent response to the bushfires to know the results will be promising.
The bushfire left him feeling alone and longing for the friendship and support he had in the military.
Then Team Rubicon came to his rescue.
The Trust will be established with a ten year life and be required to manage the properties in accordance with the Howard government's goals of maximising public access to the sites, cleaning up contamination, rehabilitating bushland and preserving heritage buildings and features at the sites.
I look forward to working with the interim Trust to ensure that these wonderful sites on Sydney Harbour are appropriately protected and returned to the people of Sydney.
The idea of linking open space on the Sydney Harbour foreshores with the Centenary of Federation, it does catch my imagination, it catches the imagination of many Australians living, not only in and around Sydney, but all around the country.
Since the act came into effect, the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust has gained significant experience in transforming and managing seven important historic sites. The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust has also received strong public support for its role.
The Morrison Government has launched a landmark review to give Australian their say on the best ways to maximise public access to Sydney Harbour’s historic landmarks.
This stadium is being delivered on time thanks to the local tradies and apprentices who have been working hard since 2017 to make it happen.
Throughout the material the female characters are frequently depicted in sequences that feature panning visuals of or close focus on their crotches, breasts, legs and/or buttocks.
My name is Dujuan. I am 13 years old and I am from Arrernte and Garrwa Country. I grew up at Sandy Bore outstation and at Hidden Valley Town Camp in Alice Springs.
Last year I spoke to world leaders at the United Nations and showed them my film In My Blood It Runs. Now I'm showing you so you can understand what it is like for kids like me, and then maybe you can find a way to make things more better.
In My Blood It Runs tells the story of me when I was 10 years old. It shows what it's like to be an Aboriginal kid and how we are treated everyday in Australia.
The film shows me getting in trouble with school. They were going to take me away with welfare. I was getting in trouble with the police and I nearly got sent to jail.
But I was lucky because of my family. They are strong. My family love me. They were worried for me. They found a way to keep me safe. I am alright now, but lots of kids aren't so lucky.
There's lots of things I say in this film. Lots of things I think about and I am worried about. I am going to read some of these things now.
I ask… "Why do only rich people have good houses and not us?"
In the film, I wished I was living on that side of the hill in Alice Springs where the houses are nice. Why are those houses so different to ours?
I say… "The history in school is for white people. But the history that I'm told at home is in language and is for Aboriginals."
In the film, we were taught that Captain Cook was a hero and discovered Australia. That's not true. Before there were cars, buildings and houses there were just Aboriginal people. The first people who had the magic were the first people on the land. Aboriginal people had the land.
It made me confused and then not want to listen at school.
In the film, my school report cards said that I was a failure. Every mark was in the worst box. 'E' 'E' 'E'. When I saw that I thought, " i s there something wrong with me?" I felt like a problem.
The film shows me working hard as an Ngangkere. That means a traditional healer. Many people don't see my strength, my culture and me learning from my Elders and my land. This is who I am, and they don't see this at school.
I think that if you want kids to go to schools and learn, then schools should be run by Aboriginal people. Let our families choose what is best for us. Let us speak our languages in school and learn about what makes us strong. I think this would have helped me from getting in trouble, and getting locked up or taken away by welfare.
In the film, I watched the kids on TV being tortured in juvie and it scared me. I say… "I know lots of kids that have been locked up in Dondale. The coppers tortured Dylan Voller. They treat him like they treat their enemies."
I don't why those guards didn't get locked up for treating kids like that.
I want you to stop cruelling 10-year-old kids in jail. I know I was really cheeky, but no kid should be in jail. I learnt that Australia is one of the only countries in the world that locks 10-year-olds up. I needed help, why would you do that?
In the film I say, "This story is about me and what I think is stop taking Aboriginal kids away from their parents - that's wrong."
I also think welfare needs to be changed. My great grandmother was taken in the stolen generation. My other great grandmother was hidden away from government. That story runs through my blood pipes all the way up to my brain and it's still going. I was worried they were going to take me too.
My film is for all Aboriginal kids. It is about our dreams, our hopes and our rights. Aboriginal kids are smart. I hope you think of me when you are making big laws about us.
Because of what happened to me, when I grow up I want to fight for rights for black people.
What I want is a normal life of just being me. I want to be allowed to be an Aboriginal person, living on my land with my family and having a good life.
I hope you can listen to my families who have come from all around Australia to sit with you in Parliament today.
They are clever. They have answers and they are asking you to let us run our own schools, Aboriginal schools. They are teaching our little kids already. They are trying to change education and they need more support to do this properly.
I hope you—
will watch my film and listen.
Baddiwa - that's goodbye in my other language, Garrwa—
ACIL Allen Consulting has relied upon the information provided by the addressee—
and has not sought to verify the accuracy of the information supplied.
Unions do a good job in uncovering underpayment …
The unions are a fundamental part of the architecture of the Australian industrial relations scheme, and in many instances they do fantastic work.