A brief background on the Morrison Coalition Government's response to its own inquiry into the establishment of a nuclear power industry in Australia

"Australia currently has a moratorium in place that prohibits it from the ‘construction or operation’ of a number of nuclear installations, including nuclear power plants. This moratorium was introduced by Parliament in 1998 during consideration of the legislation to create ARPANSA, and at a time of strong anti-nuclear sentiment in Australia, particularly following French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific and the ‘Rainbow Warrior’ incident." [Australian Parliament, HoR Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy, December 2019, Not without your approval: a way forward for nuclear technology in Australia, p.4]

During the term of the 46th Australian Parliament with then Prime Minister Scott Morrison leading the federal government, following a referral from the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor MP, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy resolved on 6 August 2019 to conduct an inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia.

The Committee conducting the Inquiry comprised:

Ted O'Brien Liberal MP for Fairfax - Chair

Josh Wilson Labor MP for Freemantle - Deputy Chair

Members:

Bridget Archer Liberal MP for Bass

Zali Steggall Independent MP

Josh Burns Labor MP for Macnamara

Rick Wilson Liberal MP for O'Connor

David Gillespie Nationals MP for Lyne

Trent Zimmerman Liberal MP for North Sydney

Supplementary Members:

Keith Pitt Nationals MP for Hinkler

(from 20 August 2019)

Fiona Phillips Labor MP for Gilmore

(from 17 September 2019)

In October 2019 the Committee held three consecutive hearings days in Canberra and accepted 309 submissions.

On Friday, 13 December 2019, the Committee presented its report on the Inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia titled "Not without your approval: a way forward for nuclear technology in Australia" .

There were two dissenting reports included with the Committees final report - one from Labor and one Independent report.

It is interesting to note that although the final report mentioned difficulties caused in the creation of a nuclear power generation industry in Australia where none existed - including the time required to establish the prerequisite legal framework, the acquiring & training of a nuclear power workforce, the numbers of years between planning, construction & a power station coming on line and the expense of nuclear power supply at 2018 & 2019 prices - overall it was as a government initiative in favour of the establishment of a nuclear power industry.

However, the Morrison Government wrote no response to the report and markedly failed one of the most preliminary steps recommended:

1.145 The Australian Government should commission a readiness assessment.

This requires an expert body such as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) to identify the major requirements that would need to be in place before Australia was ready to adopt nuclear energy.

For the next two years and one hundred & sixty days the Morrison Government sat on its hands.

Now four years and around 49 days after the report was left to moulder, in Opposition the rump of that government has decided it will make establishing a nuclear power industry one of its high profile policies.

Rather strangely, these days Opposition MPs rarely mention their own 230 page report as they make the new case for nuclear power.

Tweet of the Week

 

713 Robodebt mentions in parliament, a Centrelink whistleblower in 2016, protests directly to the Member for Aston’s office and tens of thousands of news pieces. But between the 4 Liberals on the Robodebt Royal Commission they’ve said they ‘don’t recall’ anything 140 times. How? pic.twitter.com/UQ78MYQa3P

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) February 8, 2023

 

Australian Federal Election May 2022: there is no new version of the Liberal MP for Cook Scott John Morrison, he has signalled an intention to put a blow torch to the bellies of the poor and vulnerable if the Coalition retains government

Four days out from the 21 May 2022 federal general election Liberal MP for Kooyong & Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced that after the election a Morrison Government would continue applying the knife to funding of federal government services to the tune of $3.3 billion. 

A total of $2.7 billion will be returning to the Treasury coffers by way of across the board annual savings it expects from increasing the current 1.5 per cent efficiency savings requirement to 2 per cent over the next three years.

The Guardian quoted Prime Minister Morrison on 17 May 2022: “That is something that I think is entirely sensible and, frankly, taxpayers would be demanding, that these types of sensible efficiencies are achieved and that is part of the process of managing a good budget,” the prime minister said while campaigning in Darwin on Tuesday. “It doesn’t impact on programs or services at all. It never has.”

According to Prime Minister Morrison and the Treasurer this increased cost cutting by way of efficiency dividends does not apply to the National Disability Insurance Agency, Safe Work Australia, Emergency Management Australia, the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, the ABC, the SBS, or small entities with fewer than 200 staff.

However it does appears to include in Morrison's own words "management of staffing arrangements" over the next three years.

On 17 May ABC News reported that: Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked what agencies would be forced to tighten their belts and whether, given his praise for the public service over the way it helped Australians during the pandemic, it was a "mean spirited" way of rewarding people for their hard work.

"This is responsible budgetary management. We've made commitments in this election and we ensure that we pay for them," he said.

"That's how you manage your budget, you live within your means."

So where will this $3.3 billion be coming from? Especially the est. $600 million in savings which appears to stand outside three years of efficiency dividend savings.

It isn't hard to imagine that Scott Morrison, with another three years in front of him before having to face the national electorate again will return to his perennial favourites - further reducing the actual number of staff or hours worked in government departments and agencies by starving them of real funding increases, as well as further restricting eligibility for social service/welfare programs and removing more treatment items from Medicare rebates/bulkbilling & from the universal free public hospital system.

Individuals and families are already impacted by changes to eligibility and/or rebates for an estimated 188 cardiac surgery, 150 general surgery, 594 orthopaedic items, including hip, shoulder, hand & cardiac surgeries and a number of diagnostic imaging procedures. 

According to National Seniors Australia by 1 June 2021; Nine procedures have been deleted from the MBS entirely, and other changes may include tweaking the definitions of certain services.

Then there is the possibility of sudden removal of bulkbilling or enhanced bulking billing for certain specialist consultations, 

such as the one playing out right now in a mental health program which inordinately impacts on regional and remote Australia.

ABC News, 16 May 2022:

…..Psychiatrists say the Medicare cut has forced hundreds of patients to cancel or scale back their appointments, leading to the worst outcomes for patients some say they have ever seen.

Ms Pomeroy from Mackay had seen her psychiatrist on an almost monthly basis for the last three years for chronic anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

But like other patients across rural and regional Australia, she said she was sprung with the news she would no longer have access to bulk-billed psychiatry appointments over telehealth.

"I went into shock," she said.

"It put me in a tailspin where I thought, 'What am I going to do now?'"

'It's almost like Noah's ark'

In January, a 50 per cent loading — known as item 288 — for psychiatrist video consultations for rural and regional patients was cut from the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS).

The ABC understands about 45,000 patients claimed the item across 2020-21.

Brisbane-based psychiatrist Dr Bawani Marsden said the last five months had been devastating for patients as psychiatrists were left to choose who, if anyone, they could bulk-bill without the extra loading.

"It's almost like Noah's ark where you're deciding who you want to take with you and who you don't mind sinking and drowning," he said.

The option to bulk-bill patients remains. But without the extra loading, practices say it is unviable to provide to everyone.

A rebate for patients was still available, but Dr Marsden said about half of her rural and regional patients had cancelled because they now could not afford care.

"Almost a decade we've had that support and within a couple of weeks there was an announcement that it's going to be removed," she said.

"We're talking about a peak time here, we're coming out of COVID … and they've taken away a lifeline."…..

Credentialed mental health nurse Michelle Eastwell shakes her head.

"For our patients, it's gone from this seamless, private, de-stigmatised way of accessing mental health services to now … 'what's available?'" she said……

the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has campaigned against the move and said the taskforce recommended finding an alternative solution which had not been done.

"We have put forward a number of solutions including a bulk-billing incentive … for people with affordability issues," said RANZCP's president Associate Professor Vinay Makra.

"Some of our patients are the most vulnerable in society and the government must look at that vulnerability factor."

"If they do not receive that support from a psychiatrist … some will become unwell, and needing admissions to hospital [would] put additional impost on health and hospital systems that are already stressed."

Labor has pledged to reintroduce Item 288 if it gets elected on 21 May 2022.

In March 2022 it was reported that the Morrison Government is considering removing nursing home residents' access to professionally trained allied health services as a way of reducing Medicare costs.

In a media release on 17 May 2022 the ACTU estimated that the announced cost cutting would result in the loss of 5,500 public service jobs.

Scott Morrison's personal war on the poor and vulnerable continues unabated, using all available tools including attacks on the status of charities

 

The Coalition Government’s war on charities began in 2017 when Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison was Treasurer and hiding behind his Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar began to introduce certain amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and regulations.

This war continued under Scott Morrison as Australian Prime Minister, with the passing of Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021 which appears intended to apply a 'chilling effect' on advocacy by registered charities as "significant third parties" and is incorporated in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 where advocacy by charities apparently falls under provisions 4AA  Meaning of electoral matter.

Also in 2021, again through Michael Sukkar, Morrison introduced the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission Amendment (2021 Measures No. 3) Regulations 2021 in order to alter certain governance standards relating to charities' engagement in or promotion of what Morrison & Co characterised as "unlawful activities". This move was unsuccessful when the Senate baulked.

However, it appears that Morrison found a 'workaround'. He uses the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission as his arm's length bully boy.

The Saturday Paper, 14 May 2022:

On March 11 [2022], an email landed in the inbox of Carolyn Frohmader, the longstanding chief executive of Women with Disabilities Australia. The email was from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). It indicated the commission was conducting a “review” of charities that were registered to receive tax-deductible donations.

The commission demanded extensive information from the charity to determine whether it “meets the requirements” to be listed as a public benevolent institution, a particular subtype of charity whose main purpose is to relieve poverty, sickness, suffering or disability. The commission warned that “an organisation that provides awareness raising, research and advocacy services to the whole or part of the community may not meet the requirements for a PBI as these types of activities may not be considered to be the provision of relief”.

The email contained an interesting take on the law that applies to a public benevolent institution’s ability to conduct advocacy, recently clarified in a ruling by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The statement from the regulator was at best misleading and at worst wrong.

More worryingly, the email gave the charity 14 days to meet the commission’s demands, stating that failing to do so “may have consequences for your charity’s registration and its eligibility for tax concessions” and “we can also issue penalties for failing to comply with obligations”.

Frohmader didn’t know it at the time but her organisation had been caught up in the Morrison government’s war on charities – a war designed to intimidate them into silence by prosecuting the incorrect claim that certain charities in receipt of tax-deductible donations cannot engage in “advocacy”.

“ Advocacy is the heartbeat of change for the better in our world. The idea that we would silence voices because they are connected to a charity is incredibly destructive, not only for our democracy, but for the country.”

The latest front in this war has been a series of reviews carried out into the operation of individual charities, requesting large amounts of compliance material with extremely short time frames for response. These reviews are arbitrary and are not based on any suspicion of a violation. Some argue their purpose is to discourage charities from even considering advocacy, for fear of being tied up in an audit…..

Most recently, in 2021, the Morrison government introduced new regulations that would have given the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission sweeping powers to deregister charities for speaking out on behalf of the communities they serve. This was despite unanimous opposition from the charity sector and a confirmation from the charities commissioner himself, Dr Johns, that the laws addressed an issue that did not exist. A report in Pro Bono Australia noted that, “amid the Morrison government’s push to crackdown on the issue of ‘activist’ charities, the charities commissioner says current data does not suggest this is a problem”.

“It was an attack on civil society, free speech and our democracy. And charities fought back,” says Ray Yoshida, co-ordinator of the Hands Off Our Charities alliance. “The alliance co-ordinated a multifaceted response that put a spotlight on the issue in the media and galvanised charities and their supporters to call on federal politicians on all sides to oppose the regulations.”

On November 25 the senate voted 24-19 in favour of independent Senator Rex Patrick’s disallowance motion, meaning that the regulations would never come into effect. But that hasn’t stopped the commission from pursuing the same objectives through more surreptitious means.

Speaking on background because they are not authorised to discuss individual cases, charity lawyers tell The Saturday Paper that Women with Disabilities Australia is not alone. They are assisting numerous organisations that have received similar “belligerent” and “over-reaching” letters.

They argue the regulator is not acting according to its own principles and is not following a hierarchy of enforcement actions. It is possible the commission is running against the principles of the 2013 Charities Act, which calls for “regulatory necessity”, “reflecting risk” and “proportionate regulation”.

Lawyers in the sector have told The Saturday Paper that many charities have simply complied with the letters, fearing repercussions from the regulator if they speak out or rock the boat. This week, however, Women with Disabilities Australia filed a formal complaint with the commission about its treatment.

One eminent charity law expert told The Saturday Paper the fact that the commission accepted $1 million a year from the Morrison government to undertake these reviews as part of the government’s “reform” program could be seen to put the regulator’s independence at risk as it suggests the government is “directing” its activities.

Krystian Seibert, one of the architects of the commission’s regulatory framework and a charities regulation expert at Swinburne University, says the correspondence he’s seen makes him “very concerned” about what the commission is doing. “It’s inconsistent with the intent of the ACNC legislation and the objects of the ACNC Act.”

Seibert says the commission was never intended to be an “overbearing regulator” and the objects in the act were specifically drafted to make this clear. In these cases, that appears not to have been followed. “There are no allegations of misconduct, however the charity is having demands put to it to provide very detailed breakdowns of spending on its activities in very short time frames, the bare minimum amount of time required under legislation.”

“I can certainly understand how this would be intimidating,” Seibert adds. “There’s real potential for such a compliance approach to have a ‘chilling effect’ on advocacy, with charities being less willing to undertake legitimate advocacy activities for fear of being reviewed in such a manner.”…..

Read the full article at: https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/05/14/new-front-coalition-war-charities/

Coverage of 2022-23 Federal Budget Night commences at 7.30pm tonight Tuesday, 29 March 2022 . Following of this a cash splash announcement....

David Rowe, 28 March 2022

The Australian Treasurer & Liberal MP for the Kooyong electorate in Victoria Josh Frydenberg will deliver the 2022-23 Federal Budget at approximately 7.30 pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 29 March 2022. 

Budget Papers will be posted on https://budget.gov.au/ on the night. 

The Treasurer's Speech will be shown on ABC TV Live at 7.30pm and a Budget Night 2022 News Special, Analysis & Reaction will be aired from 8 to 10pm.

Budget Night lockup of select journalists will begin at 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon. Access to embargoed Budget Papers will be further restricted again this year using the pandemic as an excuse. This in turn will limit the degree to which initial analysis of this election year national budget can escape the ideological control of the Murdoch-Costello-Stokes media triumvirate. 

To ensure that most journalists would use Morrison Government budget talking points over the next news cycle rather than in-depth analysis, the following promises contained in tonight's budget papers were released yesterday in a joint media release (with suitable quotes) by the Treasurer, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts:

Infrastructure promises made in that media release with no timeframe context

• $3.1 billion in new commitments to deliver the $3.6 billion Melbourne Intermodal Terminal Package (VIC), including:
• $1.2 billion for the Beveridge Interstate Freight Terminal in Beveridge, taking the total investment to $1.62 billion;
• $280 million for Road Connections, including Camerons Lane Interchange, to the Beveridge Interstate Freight Terminal;
• $740 million for the Western Interstate Freight Terminal in Truganina;
• $920 million for the Outer Metropolitan Ring - South Rail connection to the Western Interstate Freight Terminal.
• $1.6 billion for the Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast (Beerwah-Maroochydore) rail extension (QLD)
• $1.121 billion for the Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Kuraby – Beenleigh) faster rail upgrade (QLD)
• $1 billion for the Sydney to Newcastle – (Tuggerah to Wyong) faster rail upgrade (NSW)
• $678 million for Outback Way (NT, WA, QLD)
• $336 million for the Pacific Highway - Wyong Town Centre (NSW)
• $336 million for the Tasmanian Roads Package – Northern Roads Package – Stage 2 (TAS)
• $200 million for the Marion Road – Anzac Highway to Cross Road (SA)
• $145 million for the Thomas Road – Dual Carriageway – South Western Highway to Tonkin Highway and interchange at Tonkin Highway (WA)
• $140 million for Regional Road Safety upgrades (WA)
• $132 million for Central Australian Tourism Roads (NT)
• $120 million for the Adelaide Hills Productivity and Road Safety Package (SA)
• $46.7 million towards the Athllon Drive Duplication (ACT)

Additional promises for existing projects

• $2.264 billion for the North South Corridor - Torrens to Darlington (SA)
• $352 million for the Milton Ulladulla Bypass (NSW)
• $320 million for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road (Stages 2 and 3) (WA)
• $200 million for the Tonkin Highway Stage 3 Extension (WA)
• $45 million for the Ballarat to Ouyen – Future Priorities (VIC)
• $68.5 million for the Cooktown to Weipa Corridor Upgrade

  

Less than 50 days out from a federal general election Roy Morgan Research reveals that by March 2022 "government leaders dominate the Net Distrust Score rankings: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is the most distrusted politician in Australia, with Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce the second and third most distrusted sitting politicians across the country"

Roy Morgan Research, 22 March 2022:

Since March 2019 government trust & distrust have fluctuated but 2021 ended with soaring levels of distrust

March 22 2022 Finding No. 8933 Topic: Press Release Country: Australia

Roy Morgan surveys on ‘Trust’ and ‘Distrust’ of government and government services show distrust levels soared in the second half of 2021 while trust in government fell after sexual assault allegations in Parliament house emerged in early 2021 and were followed by further allegations against Government MPs Christian Porter, Alan Tudge and Andrew Laming.

A look at trust and distrust during the term of the current government shows distrust in government and Government services has consistently far exceeded the level of trust leading to a consistently negative ‘Net Trust Score’ since early 2019.

During the early stages of the pandemic there was a clear increase in trust in Government and government services, however this higher than usual level of trust peaked at the end of 2020 and early in 2021 before the sexual assault allegations from Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins emerged.

The sexual assault allegations surrounding the Morrison Government have lingered over the past year and from June 2021 the emergence of the ‘Delta variant’ laid bare the Government’s lack of preparedness for another outbreak of COVID-19.

The extended lockdowns in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in the second half of 2021 along with the failure to procure enough vaccines and ‘Rapid Antigen Tests’ later in the year when the ‘Omicron variant’ emerged have seen distrust levels in government increase to record levels.

Government & Government services: Trust, Distrust and Net Trust (March 2019 – Dec. 2021)

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). Risk Monitor. Base: Australians 14+, Latest 12 months average n=21,314; Latest 12 months average for industry n=700. Includes ABS, ACCC, AEC, ASIC, ATO, Centrelink, Comcare, CSIRO, Defence Force, Education Department, Federal Government, Government (unspecified), Local Government, Medicare, My Health Record, NDIS, Queensland Health, State Government, VicHealth.

According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine: “If we take a much longer view and go back to 2007, we see that during the Labor disunity of the Rudd / Gillard years distrust in the Australian government was very high while simultaneously any belief that the government was doing a good job was really low.

“That pattern remained pretty constant through the Abbott, Turnbull and early Morrison governments.

“Then in 2019 when Scott Morrison won the ‘unwinnable’ election things changed - more people believed the government was doing a good job and fewer people distrusted the government.

“But by June 2021 it all went into reverse - Black Summer bushfires, the end of JobKeeper, parliamentary sex scandals, COVID vaccination delays – all sent trust plummeting and distrust climbing.”

Government distrust (red) vs. Government doing a good job running the country (green)

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). Base: Australians 14+; quarterly average.

“By March 2022 this pattern was being mirrored in the trust and distrust of our political leaders.”

From a snap SMS survey conducted in early March, Roy Morgan can reveal that government leaders dominate the Net Distrust Score rankings: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is the most distrusted politician in Australia, with Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce the second and third most distrusted sitting politicians across the country.

Source: Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey conducted on February 28 – March 1, 2022. Base: Australians aged 14+. n=1,409.

Clive Palmer (not in parliament and therefore not in the rankings) has the highest Net Distrust Score (net scores are calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores). Taking distrust on its own however Scott Morrison is more distrusted than Clive Palmer.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has improved his Net Distrust Score ranking to be in 9th position (from 4th place in March 2020).

“With Peter Dutton the second most distrusted politician in Australia and Josh Frydenberg almost out of the top ten, this may well become crucial if the Coalition loses the May election and there’s a leadership battle between Frydenberg & Dutton,” said Ms. Levine.

“Australian political contests are no longer purely won on trust, they are lost on distrust.”

The March survey reveals the political reverse when it comes to the most trusted political leaders in the country. The ALP dominates the Net Trust Score rankings with Penny Wong in the #1 position.

Source: Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey conducted on February 28 – March 1, 2022. Base: Australians aged 14+. n=1,409.

Anthony Albanese has improved his Net Trust Score ranking to move from 8th position in March 2020 to 2nd place by March 2022. Looking solely at trust, the Opposition Leader is the most trusted politician in Australia.

According to Michele Levine, “The Labor Party is the big winner in this survey with Anthony Albanese the most trusted sitting politician, followed by Penny Wong, Tanya Plibersek and WA Premier Mark McGowan.

“My take-out from the significant win for Mark McGowan in last year’s WA election and the big swing away from the increasingly distrusted Coalition in Saturday’s South Australian election is that the upcoming federal election will be won or lost on how distrusted a party’s leaders are.

“And a final word on the SA election, my view is not so much that the various polls got it right but that respondents to the pre-election polls did on election day what they said they were going to do.” 

CLIMATE COUNCIL: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison must acknowledge climate change in 2022 flood disaster

CLIMATE COUNCIL STATEMENT ON THE FLOODS

07.03.22

BY CLIMATE COUNCIL

This is climate change. Now is the time for leadership.

The scale and speed of the flooding disaster still unfolding across Queensland and New South Wales is breathtaking. Some communities remain cut off and in dire need of fresh water and food, emergency housing, telecommunications, and power.

The emergency response is still underway, but we already know of widespread devastation with lives lost, livelihoods swept away and entire towns destroyed.

As extraordinary flooding and extreme rainfall were sweeping the east coast, hundreds of the world’s most eminent scientists were providing information painfully relevant to what Australians are experiencing.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes it crystal clear that climate change is intensifying extreme weather events including rainfall events like this one.

The report warns that our ability to cope with these events as well as escalating heatwaves, bushfires, and other extremes is rapidly diminishing. It spells out how the decisions of governments this decade will determine how much worse things get.

In short: unless we rapidly and drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions this decade, extreme weather will get much, much worse.

Climate change isn’t a footnote to the story of these floods. It is the story.

Some politicians claim this flooding disaster was something no one could have predicted. The implication is that the heartbreak and loss being experienced by so many Australians right now is unavoidable.

The truth is, scientists have been warning us for decades that climate change will worsen all extreme weather in Australia. Deadlier heatwaves. Devastating droughts. Megafires like Black Summer. Rainbombs such as this.

Many of these flood-affected communities have experienced multiple “unprecedented” disasters in the past 10 years. If we don’t start talking about why this is happening then we won’t be able to respond appropriately to this disaster over the coming months and years. Nor can we adequately prepare for those on the way.

Worsening disaster after disaster – with fewer reprieves between are our reality, because the Earth’s atmosphere is warmer, wetter, and more energetic. This is climate change.

Unprecedented is no reason to be unprepared.

We’ve had decades to respond to expert advice and help communities prepare for a massive escalation in extreme weather.

It’s been almost 500 days since the Royal Commission into Natural National Disaster Arrangements handed its report to the Morrison Government. The Commission acknowledged the role that climate change is playing in worsening disasters such as the Black Summer bushfires: “Natural disasters have changed, and it has become clear to us that the nation’s disaster management arrangements must also change.”

Our frontline responders are being stretched past their absolute limits. Battered communities are struggling to cope, often experiencing multiple record-breaking disasters within a few years. In some parts of Australia people can no longer afford insurance and many will be left with little after these waters recede.

Major investment and careful planning are required to prepare communities and first responders.

Where are our leaders?

Too many leaders are silent or absent. Some are wilfully misleading the public about what little has been done to address the climate challenge. Time and again expert advice is offered but ignored.

Now is the time to talk about the Morrison Government’s inadequate response to climate change, because burning coal, oil, and gas is supercharging extreme weather. 

Those who argue otherwise want debate gagged because they are failing to step up on this issue.

Australians are paying a high price for the lack of meaningful national action to tackle climate change and prepare communities for worsening extreme weather.

Elected leaders must be held accountable.

The media has a critical role to play in explaining why extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Today, it is remiss to report on any extreme weather event without providing information on how climate change worsens these events, and what should be done in response.

Australians want and deserve better than this.

We call on all federal political parties and candidates to:

1. Tell Australians what concrete steps you will take to prepare and equip emergency services and communities for inevitable climate-fuelled disasters.

2. Actively acknowledge the destructive role that climate change is playing in driving worsening disasters including these megafloods.

3. Explain to the public how in the next term of Federal Parliament you plan to get national emissions plummeting by rapidly scaling up readily available renewable energy and building an economy that is free from fossil fuels.

4. Ensure that towns, cities and communities are rebuilt in a way that takes into account the inevitable future changes in climate and makes them more resilient.

5. It’s time to show leadership and step up to the most critical issue not just of our time, but all time. We have everything to lose, the time for action is now.

DOWNLOAD PDF HERE

The Climate Council brings together Australia’s preeminent experts of climate science, impacts and solutions. We provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community. Our full team of experts can be found here

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: facebook.com/climatecouncil and twitter.com/climatecouncil

By Climate Council / 07 March 2022

Australian Society 2022: Are Australia's frail aged ever going to receive the care, dignity and respect that is their right?

A dinner of chicken nuggets and chips at an aged care home
IMAGE: The Age, 1 March 2022] 

The federal government does not know how much of almost half-a-billion dollars it paid aged care providers to improve nutrition was spent on meals, as families report residents are still being served “disgusting” food. The $10 basic daily supplement was a key part of the government’s response to the Aged Care Royal Commission final report a year ago. It has so far handed over more than $460 million to about 2700 homes, without an effective system to ensure it is spent on food....The royal commission heard evidence that two-thirds of aged care residents were malnourished and recommended funding earmarked for food be lifted by $10 a day for each resident. [The Age, 1 March 2022]

Even though residential aged care has been increasing privatised for the last twenty-five years - until commercial delivery of residential aged care dominates what is now an industry - the Australian Government remains the primary funder and regulator of the aged care system. Thus it has many avenues to influence the quality of aged care.

The aged care sector has a troubled history and many older people fear being admitted to nursing homes once they become frail or chronically ill. There have been 18 inquiries and reviews of aged care in Australia since 1997.

The most recent investigation, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established on 8 October 2018 and The Honourable Tony Pagone QC and Ms Lynelle Briggs AO were appointed Royal Commissioners.

The Commissioners' eight volume Final Report titled “Care, Dignity and Respect” was handed down on 26 February 2021 and made 148 detailed recommendations.

In May 2021 the Morrison Government on paper accepted roughly half the recommendations and, rejected outright or offered up a workaround of the other half.

Thus far it appears that only 16 aspects of those 148 Royal Commission recommendations have been acted upon by federal government and, at least one in a way which might not have been expected by the Commissioners.

One of the recommendations which was not readily agreed to and is yet to be acted on is:

Recommendation 87: Employment status and related labour standards as enforceable standards.

1. By 1 January 2022, the Australian Government should require as an ongoing condition of holding an approval to provide aged care services that

a. approved providers: have policies and procedures that preference the direct employment of workers engaged to provide personal care and nursing services on their behalf

b. where personal care or nursing work is contracted to another entity, that entity has policies and procedures that preference direct employment of workers for work performed under that contract.

2. From 1 January 2022, quality reviews conducted by the Quality Regulator must include assessing compliance with those policies and procedures and record the extent of use of independent contractors.

Almost two months past the Royal Commission deadline to demonstrate an increase in direct employment of those providing personal care and nursing care to aged care facility residents, the Australian Treasurer & Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg announces that Productivity Commission would undertake a study of employment models in aged care, and the effects that policies and procedures to preference the direct employment of aged care workers would have on the sector.

Thus kicking ensuring provision of adequate personal and nursing care for aged care residents, further down the road and past the May 2022 federal general election.

One might suspect from the wording of the directive to the Productivity Commission, that Mr. Frydenberg is less concerned about how nursing home staff are employed and more concerned that corporate owners of nursing homes retain their ability to pay low wages to much of their workforce.

Australian Productivity Commission, retrieved 1 March 2022:

Aged Care Employment

Terms of reference

I, the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Treasurer, pursuant to Parts 2 and 4 of the Productivity Commission Act 1998, hereby request that the Productivity Commission (the Commission) undertake a Study to examine:

• employment models in aged care, and the effects that policies and procedures to preference the direct employment of aged care workers would have on the sector.

Background

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (the Royal Commission) was established on 8 October 2018 and the Final Report: Care, Dignity and Respect was released on 1 March 2021.

The Australian aged care system provides subsidised care and support to older people. It is a large and complex system that includes a range of programs and policies. In response to the Royal Commission there will be significant reform to the aged care system. These reforms will be underpinned by a new Aged Care Act, which is intended to commence from 1 July 2023, subject to parliamentary processes.

The Royal Commission noted a trend in recent years has been the increased use of ‘independent contractors’ in aged care.

The Royal Commission’s Final Report noted numerous submissions over the course of the Royal Commission inquiry had made the claim that quality care was more likely to be delivered by direct employees than by contractors. However, some stakeholders consider these subcontracting models deliver better consumer choice and flexibility, which is also desired by the sector.

Scope of the study

The Commission will undertake a study to examine employment models in aged care, and the effects that policies and procedures to preference the direct employment of aged care workers would have on the sector.

When examining these issues, the Commission should also consider recommendation 87, as well as submissions and evidence provided to, the Royal Commission.

In undertaking this Study, the Commission should:

• examine the extent of the aged care personal care and nursing workforce who are not directly employed by aged care providers

• taking into account the wide scope of duties within the aged care sector, ranging from low level care such as grocery shopping and gardening through to high level personal and medical care, examine how different employment arrangements might impact on:

• quality of care

• consumer choice

• job creation and availability of workforce

• employment conditions for the workforce

• worker preferences

• flexible and innovative models of care

• accountability of aged care providers for care delivered on their behalf

• costs of providing care

• viability of aged care providers

• explore any preconditions in personal care and nursing workforce supply that would be required prior to any potential policies and procedures to preference direct employment

• consider whether new policies and procedures would impact other care sectors, such as disability and childcare.

The Commission should support analysis with modelling using quantitative and qualitative data.

Process

The Commission should undertake broad consultation with consumers, the aged care workforce, unions and aged care providers.

The Commission could release a draft report in June 2022, and provide a final report to the Australian Government in September 2022.

The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP

Treasurer

[Received 23 February 2022]