âWe will respond when we know moreâ: Barbs traded over environment reforms
Weâre sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
Save
Normal text size
Advertisement
A wide divide remains between the Commonwealth and several key states over the Morrison governmentâs signature environmental reforms with officials trading barbs over whether the proposed standards have even been distributed for deliberation.
As The Age and the
Herald reported on Thursday, federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has developed interim National Environmental Standards that conservation groups say fall far short of the recommendations of Professor Graeme Samuelâs review of wildlife protection laws.
The motion passed on Thursday, but only after references to Kelly and Christensen were removed, and condemnation of far-left extremism, communism, anarchism and violence generally were added.
Commenting on the Scanlon report, which found rising complaints of racism, particularly among Chinese-Australians, Hawke said “the government rejects [shadow home affairs minister Kristina] Keneally’s thesis, that there is rising extremism in Australia”.
“It is extreme elements, fringe elements, in Australia that need tackling, they are being tackled,” he told Sky News. “What we have here is increased social cohesion, not increasing extremism.”
The comments echo home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s attempts in February 2020 to blunt warnings about far-right extremism by warning of “leftwing terrorism”, which he falsely claimed included Islamist groups.
Labor has accused the government of seeking to “downplay and dismiss” the threat of rightwing extremism in contradiction of national security advice, after the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, denied extremism is on the rise in Australia. Hawke made the comments on Sky News on Thursday morning, and was backed by his Senate colleagues who rewrote a motion deleting references to a “significant increase in far-right extremism” in Australia. Labor.
Advertisement
A tough test of the Morrison governmentâs environment credentials looms after a major report on national conservation laws called for urgent reforms to prevent further extinction of Australiaâs wildlife.
Former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel handed down his final report from his review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act on Thursday afternoon and highlighted the situation facing the government.
âTo shy away from the fundamental reforms recommended by this review is to accept the continued decline of our iconic places and the extinction of our most threatened plants, animals and ecosystems,â he said in the reportâs introduction.
You are here
Home » News & events » All stories » Who s really behaving badly? Confronting Australia’s cashless welfare card
Who s really behaving badly? Confronting Australia’s cashless welfare card 11 December 2020
The government’s Cashless Debit Card almost fell apart on Wednesday night.
Senator Rex Patrick’s refusal to support the government’s plans to make the scheme permanent gave some hope that this expensive, ideological and cruel policy would end.
Yet in the final Senate vote, it was revealed that Centre Alliance had reached an understanding with the government.
The trail at four sites outside the Northern Territory would be extended by another two years and people in the Territory would be given the option of moving from the green BasicsCard to the silver Cashless Debit Card (known searingly in East Kimberley as the “white” card).