Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has described the Morrison Government’s ideological determination to cut taxes for high income earners as ill-timed and irresponsible, and criticised Labor for backing the move.

The tax cuts would increase inequality in Australia:

As Melbourne goes back into stage 3 lockdowns, the Federal government is pulling the major childcare supports which played a positive role in the initial outbreak response. 

Dan Tehan’s announcement of a new semi-subsidy will risk the viability of many centres who will neither be able to return to normal operations, nor collect full income if parents keep their kids at home.

“The Government is tying itself up in knots. It would be far simpler and fairer to extend free childcare after 12 July,” Greens Leader, Adam Bandt said.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt has released new analysis showing that because pollution has increased so much since the Liberals repealed the carbon price, Australia’s emissions reduction targets would now need to be at least a 48% cut on 2005 levels by 2030 to be consistent with the Paris Agreement aim of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees. So much of the carbon budget has been spent that future governments will need to tighten their carbon belts even further, not relax targets as has been mooted.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt has today said the government's commitment to spend over $270 billion on defence would not make Australia safer and was a reprehensible use of public money while people are still living in tents in Eden-Monaro and suffering poverty in Australia.

“Spending billions more on weapons won’t make Australia safer and may in fact increase tensions in the region. This move will just add to increasing militarisation in our neighbourhood,” said Mr Bandt.

The Australian Greens condemn in the strongest possible terms the Chinese Government’s decision to override Hong Kong’s legislature and pass draconian national security laws aimed at repressing the people of Hong Kong.

The Greens also called on the Morrison Government to, at an absolute minimum and as a first step, grant permanent protection for all Hong Kongers who currently reside in Australia.

The Greens have welcomed the last minute extension to the free-to-air broadcast licences for Community TV stations Channel 44 in Adelaide and Channel 31 in Melbourne.

Greens Spokesperson for Communications Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“Waiting until the night before Community TV switches off forever to grant an extension to their broadcast licences was a cruel move by the Morrison Government, however this last minute reprieve is welcome.

The Greens call on the Australian Government to add its voice to global calls and forcefully speak out against the Israeli Government’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank in clear violation of international law.

Leader of the Greens Adam Bandt said: “There has been an increasing and overwhelming chorus of global voices condemning the Israeli Government’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank as soon as 1 July.  

It is time to talk about bringing Qantas International into public ownership as part of any further assistance package, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said today, urging the government to step in. Mr Bandt said the Greens supported calls for the extension of JobKeeper, but that government needed to do more.

"With one in five workers now gone at Qantas, tens of thousands of workers are now at risk of unemployment unless the government steps in to help," Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said today.

The Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has said Labor’s latest offer to embrace carbon capture and storage won’t help tackle the climate emergency, saying you don’t end the climate wars by surrendering.

“You don’t end the climate wars by surrendering,” Greens Leader Adam Bandt said.

“We need a plan to get coal out of the system, not to lock it in.
“The Liberals don’t care about climate change, so holding out for bipartisanship is just a recipe for inaction.”

As new infections increase again with many happening at workplaces, the Greens say there is new urgency to give every worker 14 days COVID sick leave, especially for the millions of Australians without any sick leave at all.

The ACTU has backed national sick leave, the Greens have a bill before parliament for 14 days’ COVID sick leave and the Greens will raise the issue at the COVID Senate committee hearings tomorrow.