2018-05-01
Senator Rachel Siewert
Autumn is upon us and weve spent another two months on issues close to our hearts ranging from protecting civil society to advocating for healing and truth telling for our First People.
Charities and Not-for-profits from a wide range of sectors held a sausage sizzle at Parliament House to highlight the importance of protecting our democracy. They are deeply concerned about the chilling effect the Governments electoral reform bill will have on civil society. It was great to receive an open letter at this event from sector leaders calling on the Government to dump this legislation that would silence charities and not-for-profits.
The Governments Bill is supposedly about addressing foreign donations but they have measures in the Bill that tie charities and not-for-profits up in administration, prevent them speaking out on some issues and effectively silence them. This is clearly part of the Governments on-going campaign against advocacy. To be clear the Greens oppose foreign donations to political parties and have in fact lead this debate on donations reforms but we cant support legislation that has such dire consequences.
Civil society is a key part of a strong and healthy democracy and advocacy is an essential part of the role of civil society, it needs to be nurtured and supported, not silenced. We will continue to urge the Labor party join the Greens in opposing the legislation; the Government needs to go back to the drawing board.
It was also fantastic to host the Tangentyere Womens Family Safety Group who were in Canberra to advocate for closing the gap on family violence. These women are doing incredible work advocating for the best solutions on how to reduce family violence in communities and it was great to have the opportunity to speak with them about their work. If we are going to truly close the gap we must listen to and work with Aboriginal women with lived experience.
Back in WA it was great to host an event that explored truth telling on January 26 and changing the date of Australia Day. During our discussions with the community about changing the date it became clear there was a genuine interest in learning more about why our First Peoples find the day so hurtful, which is what the event explored. The panel discussion with prominent members of the Aboriginal community in Perth (Uncle Ben Taylor, Jim Morrison, Dorinda Cox and Shaun Nannup), gave the opportunity for attendees to understand more fully why we need to change the date of Australia Day once and for all.
In March, the Senate Community Affairs References committee tabled its report on the risks and impacts of transvaginal mesh implants, which have been carried out since the late 1990s to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women. Many women who have had transvaginal mesh implants have had devastating complications resulting in ongoing emotional trauma, embarrassment, shame, depression, debilitating pain, recurring infection and a poor quality of life. The inquiry, which I chaired, heard from many women who are living with the consequences of having had these implants. The committee made 13 recommendations that aim to address the needs of women living with mesh related complications, and also to improve the regulation process so that this sort of failure of the system doesnt occur again. I urge the Government to take up these recommendations as a matter of urgency; women have suffered for too long.
Unfortunately, the cashless welfare card has started to roll out in the Goldfields. I found it pretty outrageous that the local MP Rick Wilson signed up to the card to try and prove it wasnt an inhibiting measure; it is meaningless as Robin Chapple pointed out. Mr Wilson can rely on a big salary to fall back on, but a single mother or a struggling family being forced onto the cashless welfare card will be severely limited in what kind of goods and services they can access.
The Parliament has established another joint committee to look at issues around constitution recognition including 'the Voice. Im a member of that Committee and Im hoping that it will bring more focus on the Uluru Statement and lead to action.
Header photo: Jordon and Rachel with the panellists from the Truth-Telling event. Georgia Blackburn
Text photo: Standing with civil society at a democracy sausage sizzle to oppose proposals by Government that seek to silence civil society. Nadine Walker