On Equal Pay Day the Greens have called on the PM to act immediately to close the gender pay gap, with the gulf between men’s and women’s earnings increasing during the pandemic.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:
 
“Today is Equal Pay Day, representing the 61 extra days that women have to work to earn the same average income as men in the last financial year.

The Australian Greens have savaged Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals today in the Senate to spend public money opening up massive gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin, saying the move raised questions as to whether Labor still believes the climate crisis is real.

If Labor had voted with the Greens and crossbench, the fund would have been abolished, given the numbers in the Senate. Labor is responsible for the continued existence of the $50 million Beetaloo Co-operative Drilling Program to open up new gas projects.

The Australian Greens have slammed Labor for joining the Liberals in allowing $21 million of public money to be handed to a company deeply connected to Minister Taylor and the Liberals, using public money to fund new gas projects in a time of climate crisis.

At today’s Labor Caucus meeting, the party confirmed it intends to vote with the government on a Greens disallowance motion that would have blocked $50m from being gifted to gas companies headquartered in tax havens that want to kick start a 6% rise in Australia’s pollution.  

The Greens say Labor’s decision today to wave through changes to the Electoral Act that will increase membership minimums and give existing parties veto power over new rivals’ names, limits democratic participation and entrenches the two-party system.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:
 
“The Libs and Labor are running scared. They know they’re on the nose with the electorate and they know their share of the primary vote is collapsing. This is a blatant and utterly shameless attempt to shore up their power.

The Greens have renewed their calls for action on closing the gender pay gap after the Workplace Gender Equality Agency today revealed that the earnings gulf between men and women had widened over the last six months from 13.4% to 14.2%.

This means Equal Pay Day will this year fall on 31 August, marking the 61 extra days from the end of the financial year that women must work to earn the same annual pay as men.

Greens senators Larissa Waters, Mehreen Faruqi and Janet Rice have written to the Minister for Women and Foreign Affairs Marise Payne to urge the Government to provide immediate and increased aid to help women and girls now subject to Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

To ensure that aid is targeted to those most in need the aid should be delivered through partnerships with civil society and aid organisations working on the ground.

The Greens are calling on Labor and the crossbench to oppose government amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act that would limit democratic participation, stifle dissent and entrench a two-party system.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters said:

“The Greens have long fought back against conservative government attempts to lock out smaller entrants to the political system, attempts which seek to entrench a two-party system and stymie a diversity of voices.

Another whale is separated from its pod and suffering after being entangled in a deadly shark net which it was forced to drag for kilometres before tiring from exhaustion near Snapper Rocks in Queensland. 

The government must release documents relating to the awarding of a $21 million grant to Liberal Party-aligned fracking company Empire Energy, after the Senate this afternoon supported a Greens’ motion.

The order compels the government to produce by 9.30 am on Thursday, 12 August, all correspondence, lists of applicants and grant guidelines related to its Beetaloo Basin grant scheme, in addition to details of any meetings between Ministers Angus Taylor or Keith Pitt and Empire Energy.

The Greens today will move for an independent inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness to be a Minister after the PM this week promoted the former Attorney-General to Leader of the House, despite the unresolved allegations of sexual assault against him.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“For two months now I have been fighting to progress my bill that would set up an independent inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness to be a Minister and uphold the parliamentary standards that the PM is meant to apply.