Responding to comments by Anthony Albanese today around abortion, Greens spokesperson on Women Senator Larissa Waters said:
 
“I urge the Prime Minister to rethink his hasty dismissal of Labor’s 2019 position of requiring public hospitals to provide abortion services as a prequisute for Commonwealth funding.

“Abortions should be available through the public health system, and Albanese has the power to deliver that through using the federal funding lever. He shouldn’t avoid responsibility for it as he sought to do today.

With the Grattan Institute today revealing that at least one in five government board appointments are being gifted to political mates, the Greens say it’s time to talk about how political appointments are undermining democracy. 

Lines attributable to Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Democracy:

“People are fed up with the jobs-for-the-boys mentality that so typified the Morrison Government - and they want better from the Albanese Government.

The Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has announced the party’s updated portfolio allocation for the upcoming 47th Parliament, ahead of the first sittings in July.

Presented to yesterday evening’s Party Room, the new allocation gives newly elected MPs and Senators the power to progress the issues they were elected to advance, while recognising the years of experience behind the Greens existing portfolio holders.

The Greens say confirmation in the Reef Snapshot:  Summer 2021-22 of the sixth mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef lays bare the Morrison Government’s near-decade of failure on climate action.  

The Snapshot confirms the Reef has suffered the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016, and the first in La Nina conditions, with 91% of surveyed areas showing signs of bleaching.

Lines attributable to Greens deputy leader and Queensland Senator Larissa Waters:

The Greens will today announce an investment in culturally appropriate healthcare for First Nations parents and babies, from pregnancy to early childhood, with a $144 million plan to fund five dedicated Birthing on Country/Birthing in our Community (BiOC) hubs across Australia.  

BiOC models integrate midwifery services and cultural knowledge, allowing First Nations women to give birth on Country, acknowledge connection to Country, and access healthcare that meets their social, emotional, cultural and health needs.

The Greens welcome the comprehensive In One Generation report from the National Women’s Safety Alliance today, and are proud to support its 20 priority actions. The Greens are calling on all other parties to match their commitment to fully fund frontline services, eliminate violence against women and deliver economic security.

The Greens say the Aspen Medical scandal confirms the Morrison Government as the dodgiest and most irresponsible in Australian history.

Lines attributable to Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters:

“At a time when the cost of living and rents are soaring, when many Australians are having to choose between buying school books for their kids or putting food on the table, we learn of yet another Morrison Government favour for its corporate mates.