With the Liberals needing Senate support for their plans to slash JobKeeper payments to low-income earners, the Australian Greens have described Labor’s approach to JobKeeper cuts as two-faced, urging Labor to stop playing double games and instead fully abandon the opposition's plans to support the Liberals' cuts.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said the federal government’s move to punish students who struggle to find their feet at university is all about saving money, and nothing to do with ‘putting students’ interests first’.

Senator Faruqi said:

“There’s no doubt some students struggle at university, but choosing to punish rather than support them makes no sense.

Despite the conduct of politicians having declined year on year and public confidence in democracy bottoming out, both major parties have rejected the need for binding, independently enforced parliamentary standards proposed by the Greens.
 
Responding to today’s bipartisan recommendation of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee to oppose the Greens Parliamentary Standards Bill introduced in October 2019, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on democracy, Senator Larissa Waters said:
 

Wednesday 12 August 2020

Australian Greens Youth spokesperson, and Australia's youngest Senator, Jordon Steele-John has called for greater engagement with young people to help shape our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today is International Youth Day and the theme for 2020 is Youth Engagement for Global Action, which seeks to highlight the need for greater engagement with young people to enhance formal institutional politics and process at the local, national and global level.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government is hopelessly divided on the Job-ready Graduates Package, with the Minister for Regional Education today publishing a statement referring to a “glaring and potentially detrimental design flaw” of the package. Senator Faruqi has also criticised the six day time period allowed for public consultation.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Andrew Gee is right. These enormous fee hikes will harm regional students and don’t serve the interests of regional communities.

The Secretary to the Prime Minister has today told the Senate’s Covid Committee that money previously promised to help the arts & entertainment industry won’t flow until after restrictions are lifted.
Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young pressed the Secretary on when money will actually flow to the arts and entertainment industry given $250m in funding was announced almost seven weeks ago, after a three month wait for an industry-specific package.

The Greens have welcomed a new report from the Grattan Institute today, Cheaper childcare: A practical plan to boost female workforce participation, which illustrates that government investment to lower the cost of early learning will improve gender equity and opportunities for women’s financial independence.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson on Education, said:

The Greens have written to  the Prime Minister requesting that he urgently update the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to examine the impact of profit-making corporations on the provision and quality of aged care services.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt says today's announcement that the government will expand JobKeeper suggests lessons have not been learned from the first round of JobKeeper, meaning millions in need will continue to miss out.

“The Government has shown today how easy it is to expand eligibility,” Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, said today.

“While we welcome an expansion, this was surely an opportunity to fill the gaps that see millions of workers unfairly missing out on JobKeeper.