Australia politics live: Labor and Greens strike deal to pass housing bill; Annastacia Paluszczuk says ‘medical episode’ put her in hospital | Australian politics

The Greens are claiming a partial victory – there has been no agreement from the government on renters’ rights (as in rent caps and rent freezes) but there is an additional $1bn, on top of the already announced $2bn, on public and community housing.

Adam Bandt:

Labor’s [plan] won’t fix the housing crisis but $3 billion going out the door this year that is not dependent on a gamble in the stock market will make a difference and having secured that to support the legislation.

The Greens were not able to get the government to shift on rent caps or rent freezes.

So one thing is very clear now, or two things are clear, pressure works.

$3 billion being spent this year that was never on the table before is something that has been secured.

People standing up and saying the housing crisis is serious and we need money spent on it.

The second thing is clear, there is a party in Parliament for renters in that party is the Greens.

Our focus will now shift to securing rent caps and a rent freeze.

There is legislation still to come during the course of this Parliament the Greens are the balance of power and of course as we’ve just learnt from the course of this year, a strong community campaign where rent just renters find their voice gets results.

$3 billion… is now going out the door thanks to the Greens. And now we will use that same pressure and that same power to push for a rent freeze and rent caps.

Labor and Greens strike deal to pass housing bill

That statement continued here:

We will work constructively with all parties to map the way forward and those conversations will start this week.

We support the current investigations started under the previous Government and will continue to work within the appropriate cultural protocols while we further investigate and work towards a resolution.

I have sought advice from the Attorney General due to the legal complexity in relation to the report findings and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

Importantly, we acknowledge the ongoing trauma caused by historic government policies and assimilation practices of removing Aboriginal children from their families, communities and culture.

The current report was undertaken in consultation with affected Survivor Organisations and a part of the process of negotiated transfer of land to Stolen Generations organisations to develop a Keeping Place. Funding has been provided, and is available, through the Keeping Places Project. Further detailed investigations at the site will need to be trauma-informed and require expert advice.

NSW Aboriginal affairs and treaty minister David Harris has responded to Sarah Collard and Lorena Allam’s reporting in their series ‘Buried Lives’.

You can find the whole series so far, here. To catch up on what Harris is responding to, you can head here:

I am saddened to learn the survey may have located possible burial sites at Kinchela Boys’ Home, located on land owned by the Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council.

I have requested an urgent meeting with both Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation and the Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council to discuss the next steps.

These are very complex and sensitive issues and I know distressing for all involved.

We ask the media and everyone to be sensitive to Sorry Business and truth telling, which can raise serious mental health and trauma issues for Survivors, their families and their communities.

We are committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal communities and Stolen Generation Survivor Organisations.

Annastacia Paluszczuk spent time in hospital in June after ‘medical episode’

Andrew Messenger

Kylea Tink has continued the independent’s push to have the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, use his discretionary executive power to stop the prosecution of the whistleblowers Richard Boyle and David McBride in the federation chamber (the spillover chamber for the House of Representatives).

Dreyfus has been very careful with his words in addressing this, as the cases are before the courts. But he has said he is looking at a range of things, including a review of whistleblower protections.

Great Barrier Reef in ‘fight of its life’: Marine Conservation Society

This week, the World Heritage Committee will consider the recommendation from Unesco (United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation) to give Australia more time to show progress on its attempts to save the Great Barrier Reef.

Unesco effectively put Australia on notice over the reef, but held off on recommending it be listed as “in danger”.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Cherry Muddle said the reef was in “the fight of its life”:

A fight that is set to get harder with climate change and a predicted El Niño increasing the likelihood of marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.

… Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Reef. Both the Australian and Queensland governments must urgently cut fossil fuel emissions to protect the Reef to limit warming to 1.5OC – a critical threshold for coral reefs.

The governments also need to address tree clearing, which is still a massive problem for the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Clearing increases sediment runoff into reef waters, smothering the coral and the seagrasses that marine life such as dugongs depend upon.

The Greens have called a press conference for just ahead of question time to talk housing.

Sky News is reporting the party has struck a deal with the government – we will have the details for you very soon.

There is now less than an hour until question time.

Aren’t we all lucky?

More from Greens on Chilean coup motion

Further to Dan’s reporting on the Greens motion on the Chilean coup in the House, the Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has had a few things to say:

The Chilean-Australian community have been campaigning for years to have the Australian government acknowledge its role in installing a military dictator in Chile 50 years ago today.

Today is a dark day for the Chilean community. Under the Pinochet regime, thousands died, tens of thousands were tortured and hundreds of thousands were exiled.

Fifty years on we know Australia was involved, as it worked to support the US national interest. To this day, Australia’s secretive and unaccountable national security apparatus has blocked the release of information and has denied closure for thousands of Chilean-Australians.

The Greens are calling on the Australian government to apologise to the Chilean people, declassify any documents relating to Asis and Asio support for the Pinochet regime, and implement oversight and reform to our intelligence agencies to ensure this can never happen again.

If you haven’t read it, Paul Daley wrote about this in 2021:

Parliament House giftshop to reopen

The parliament house giftshop will be officially reopened on Wednesday, with presiding officers Sue Lines (senate president) and Milton Dick (house speaker) doing the honours.

It’s the first revamp the store has had in 27 years apparently.

That would be 1996. August 1996 was when the “Cavalcade to Canberra” riot occurred – that started out as a union protest against the Howard government’s IR laws and budget, which moved from peaceful to a riot when a new group of protesters arrived (the ACTU had led the original protest).

That second group breached the police lines and made it into some public areas of Parliament House, including the gift shop, where the Wikipedia page tells me (based on the hansard) that “the shop was ransacked by demonstrators and major damage was caused by persons who subsequently occupied the area. After some two hours, the demonstrators were finally repelled from Parliament House and driven back onto the forecourt area and, shortly afterwards, they dispersed”.

In 1992, the doors which are near the giftshop were breached when Clifton Courtney Moss drove his Pajero through them (that led to a prompt security review which was the start of the security you see around Parliament House now, including the bollards to stop other vehicles from driving into the Great Hall).

Greens MPs attend lecture counterprotest outside Parliament House

Greens MPs Stephen Bates and Janet Rice were among the Greens who attended the counterprotest.

Bates said it was necessary for allies to stand up in support of the trans community, particularly trans kids:

Allies need to show up and stand with our community after these disgraceful attacks on trans kids in our Parliament and in our media.

Trans people, especially trans youth, are some of the most brave and resilient in our community, but they shouldn’t have to be. Now more than ever, they need our support.

Live pictures from Parliament House lecture and protest

Mike Bowers went along to the lecture Why can’t women talk about sex? featuring Katherine Deves and other anti-trans rights activists being hosted in parliament house by the Liberal senator Alex Antic, and the counterprotest outside.

Here’s what the room looked like – and here is what outside on the lawns looked like: