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Senator Rachel Siewert
Senate supports Greens call for new OHS laws to set high standards
The Senate has backed an Australian Greens motion calling on the Government to ensure there is no reduction in occupational health and safety standards anywhere in the nation in implementing their new laws.
"Workers, unions and the community are concerned that the Government's OHS harmonisation agenda will mean lower safety standards rather than the highest possible we should be pursuing", said Senator Siewert.
"The Government must guarantee no reduction in standards in any workplace. With over 150 work-related fatalities last year, an increase of around 14%, this is no time to lower the bar."
Government's knuckles rapped over NT intervention by UN rapporteur
The Australian Greens today welcomed the release of observations by the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples on the Northern Territory emergency response (NTER), noting that the Rudd Government is failing to comply with its calls to fully and unconditionally reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA).
"Professor Anaya's analysis of the way in which the NT intervention tramples the rights of Indigenous Australians, discriminates unfairly against them and fails to comply with Australia's international human rights commitments is both compelling and comprehensive," said Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal issues Senator Rachel Siewert today.
"The Special Rapporteur's report also clearly sets out what the Minister needs to do to properly reform the intervention so that it protects human rights and engages Aboriginal communities in developing effective community-based solutions."
Confirmed: Indonesian fish stocks contaminated by Montara oil
Concerns repeatedly raised by the Australian Greens that Indonesian fishing grounds were contaminated by oil from last year’s Montara oil spill have been confirmed, following testing of an oil sample submitted to the Montara oil spill inquiry by Australian Greens Senator for WA Rachel Siewert.
“We first raised concerns in October that communities in Indonesia who rely on fish for food were being affected by this oil spill,” Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“The response by the Rudd Government at the time was to play the reports down.
Greens private health insurance proposal to break deadlock, deliver $145m for mental health
The Greens will propose a compromise on private health insurance today that offers a way to break the senate deadlock and deliver over a billion dollars to public hospitals and $145 million for specific mental health funding.
The compromise proposal would:
- Support the passage of the bill which means-tests private health insurance rebate to deliver an estimated $1.8 billion to public hospitals over four years
- Support the passage of the Medicare Levy Surcharge with an amendment to direct all revenue raised through the increased surcharge (approximately $145 million over four years) into early intervention mental health services.
Senate Inquiry into RDA in NT
A Senate Inquiry into extending welfare-quarantining across the whole of the Northern Territory and the nation, and reinstating the Racial Discrimination Act in the NT will conduct hearings beginning in Darwin today.
It comes as a result of Australian Greens referring the legislation to a committee inquiry to ensure proper scrutiny of radical Commonwealth government plans to effectively roll-out unproven social policy nationwide.
"I find it incredible that this government would push one of the biggest social reforms ever made in this country with no proper evidence that it actually works," said Greens community services spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert.
Greens call for end to Aussie spy planes aiding Japanese whaling
The Australian Greens today introduced a private Senators Bill to ban any form of Australian assistance to Japanese whaling, such as the use of spy planes.
"My Bill creates a new offence making it unlawful to provide services, support or resources to an organisation engaged in whaling so the Australian government and local companies can no longer assist Japan's brutal whaling regime," said Australian Greens whaling spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert.
"Many Australians were appalled when it was revealed that Australian air services were used by a company with connections to the whalers to assist in this summer's slaughter.
Government must fix environment funding program: Greens
The Australian Greens have called on the Federal Government to urgently reform its Caring for Our Country program because it is having a negative impact on the community's ability to carry out land repair activities.
Senator Rachel Siewert speaking on the tabling of a report of committee inquiry into Natural Resource Management programs, initiated by the Greens, said the inquiry showed that the Government's program needs changing urgently.
The committee inquiry highlighted many problems with Caring for Our Country which need to be fixed if we're to maintain and improve the level of activity and energy in the community for landcare and land management," Senator Siewert said.
PM backs down on Close the Gap promise: Greens
The Australian Greens question the Rudd Government's ability to Close the Gap in Aboriginal life expectancy and health disadvantage, if the PM can't even keep his commitment to report to Parliament on the first day of sitting.
"The Greens are concerned it appears Mr Rudd won't be reporting on progress in closing the gap on the first day of Parliament," said Senator Rachel Siewert.
"Two years after making the commitment that while-ever he was Prime Minister, the first sitting day of parliament every year would be marked by a report on the government's progress in "closing the gap" between black and white Australians - it looks like Mr Rudd will have a 100% failure rate, having never managed to keep this commitment."
Biodiversity management must be given higher priority: Greens
The Australian Greens today put their support behind an environmental declaration on biodiversity management in Australia, calling for immediate Government action.
"As the Boobook Declaration outlines, we need a significant increase in research capacity to enable our best scientific minds to tackle the significantly high level of ongoing biodiversity loss together with the serious threats posed to biodiversity by climate change, weeds and feral animals in a fragmented landscape,” said Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.
The Boobook Declaration was released today as a joint statement from forty environment groups across Australia.
- The Boobook Declaration can be found at www.boobook.org.au
Greens call for cap on working hours
The Australian Greens remain deeply concerned about the long and often unpaid hours worked by many Australians, highlighted in a report from the Australia Institute released today.
"The Something for Nothing report confirms that Australians work some of the longest hours in the Western world, with full time employees working an average 70 minutes unpaid overtime a day. Such hours have serious consequences for workers and their families," said Greens Workplace Relations Spokesperson, Senator Rachel Siewert.
"Longer hours at work mean less time with family, friends and community. We know that extended working hours for parents can have an adverse impact on children. There are also serious occupational health and safety risks with extended working hours.
"It is time Australia had an open and genuine debate about changing our culture of long hours, including consideration of a mandatory limit on working hours and strengthening the right to refuse unpaid overtime.
