Latest news with #Greens
Sky News AU
24 minutes ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Ditch 'band aid' solutions for 'laser-like focus', independent economist Chris Richardson pleas to Albanese government
The Albanese government needs to ditch 'band aid' solutions for a 'laser like focus' on boosting Australia's economy, a leading economist has declared as Labor ventures on its second term agenda with a massive majority in Parliament. MPs and Senators returned to Canberra on Tuesday for the first day of Parliament under the second Albanese government where Labor holds 94 seats in the lower house. The government only needs the approval of the Greens to pass legislation through the Senate, meaning Labor has fewer blockades preventing its agenda becoming law and can allow it to introduce substantive economic reform. Leading economist Chris Richardson said Labor now has the opportunity - as post-pandemic inflation has settled and the RBA has begun delivering rate cuts - to offer substantive policy that will tackle Australia's stalling productivity. The Albanese government returned to parliament on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman 'Our living standards are starting to grow again and we've got to go from band aid to laser-like focus on making Australians more productive,' Mr Richardson said on Business Now. 'If we want to be more prosperous - and we should, we've been spinning our wheels for a decade - then the government has to have a focus on seeing Australia (as) more efficient.' Australia's productivity will be the subject of a roundtable led by Treasurer Jim Chalmers next month where leaders across business, politics and unions will discuss the nation's ailing growth. Mr Richardson said he would 'love to see the government being ambitious' to boost productivity during its second term. 'Neither side of politics took anything terribly ambitious to the election for Australians, despite the fact that our living standards are essentially the same today as they were a decade ago (and) despite the facts that the challenges continue to grow around the world,' he said. 'I'd love to see ambition. The government, to its credit, has that summit coming in a month. 'But make or break will be just how hard it pushes. (It's a) second term government (with a) huge majority. If Australia can't get stuff done under current circumstances, what can we do?' Labor was plagued by sky high post-pandemic inflation during its first term - which ate into household budgets. Inflation rose more than 17 per cent over about three and a half years while wages fell behind, prompting Labor to introduce an array of cost of living assistance measures such as energy bill relief. A series of interest rate hikes through 2022 and 2023 added pressure to millions of Aussies doing it tough, however, the central bank has begun cutting rates in 2025. Labor will look towards fostering long term economic prosperity at the productivity roundtable from August 19 to 21. Here, the government said it will strive to "enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability".
Sky News AU
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Greens founder Drew Hutton lashes party's transformation into 'cult', says he was 'punished ruthlessly' for expressing different views
Greens co-founder Drew Hutton has claimed the party is now "the definition of a cult" after he was expelled for refusing to delete a social media post criticising the expulsion of a Victorian Greens member who had expressed dissenting views on trans rights. Mr Hutton was expelled from the party he co-founded last month, despite eventually agreeing to delete the post and comments from others on the issue. The former Greens member has noted the party committee which oversaw his expulsion at no point accused him of transphobia and he was instead effectively punished for refusing to censure comments made by others. Mr Hutton was expelled from the party he co-founded last month, despite eventually agreeing to delete the post and comments from others on the issue. Photo: Claudia Baxter Speaking to Sky News host Chris Kenny on Tuesday, Mr Hutton said fairness and diversity of opinion was non-existent in his former party – which he claimed had lost sight of its original mission of environmental protection. 'I said: 'Well, I'm not here to censor other people's views'." 'I put a couple of posts up and a large number of people responded to it and some of them were arguing that there is such a thing as biological sex… those comments were from people who weren't even members of the Greens for the most part, were regarded as transphobic and they said that I was responsible for that. 'All I did was have a couple of posts which basically agreed with the Greens' policy on gender. I don't agree with it now, but I did at that stage because I was happily in retirement. I was a burned out old Greenie who was retired and didn't know any of all this that was going on,' he said. Mr Hutton said dissent was 'simply not tolerated' in the Greens after he was booted from the party. "This is part of the definition of a cult," he said. "A cult has a closed section of ideas that it understands but nobody else does. They've got some language that they understand, but nobody else does and anybody within their ranks who deviates from the standard set of beliefs that they have is punished ruthlessly. "Any dissent is just simply not tolerated and that's what's happened here." 'Not on this issue anyway,' he said. Asked if the he had been treated fairly and whether there was any democracy within the Greens party, Mr Hutton said: 'No.' 'Right around Australia, trans activists and zealots, extremists, have taken over the key committees in the Greens, including and most importantly in the disciplinary committees, so that anybody who says something they disagree with, immediately a complaint goes in. 'The committees themselves are controlled by these trans-activists. As was the case with me, all five members of that committee were activists. They were part of a Facebook site which was called Turf TERFS from the Greens."
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Political leaders return to parliamentary battlefield
Pomp and ceremony out of the way, federal politicians will get back to work as parliamentary business resumes. The 48th parliament officially opened with a day of pageantry, which included a traditional church service and smoking ceremony before politicians were sworn in. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will square off in parliament as rival party leaders for the first time on Wednesday. Education Minister Jason Clare will deliver on Labor's election promise by introducing legislation to the lower house to slash university debt for three million Australians by 20 per cent. The coalition is expected to support the move which will wipe $16 billion off student debt but is waiting to see the fine print. People with an average HELP debt of $27,600 will have $5520 wiped from their loans. The government has also said it will this week introduce childcare reform aimed at improving safety measures. Labor returns to parliament with a lion's share of 94 seats, to the coalition's 43 in the lower house. Melbourne MP Sarah Witty, who defeated former Greens leader Adam Bandt at the election, gave a heartfelt first speech to parliament on Tuesday evening. She tearfully spoke of enduring "heartache after heartache" for more than a decade after experiencing pregnancy loss. "We grieve deeply," she said. "I opened myself to a new path. I stepped into the world of foster care, not out of ease, but out of a deep need to turn my pain into something positive." Ms Witty said her experience taking care of children in need would shape her approach as an elected parliamentarian. Griffith MP Renee Coffey, who wrested back Kevin Rudd's old seat for Labor from the Greens, spoke of the kindness former rival Max Chandler-Mather had shown her following a confronting interaction with a voter. "On election day, I was stunned when a voter told me he couldn't possibly vote for me because I have MS and he couldn't be represented in parliament by someone who could be in a wheelchair," she said. "It knocked the wind out of me. In a strange turn of fate, it was the then-member for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, who saw me step away from that interaction. "And the kind words of support he offered me, I will never forget."
The National
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Inside the Scottish Greens as key member quits in candidate row
The party shared their full list of candidates on Monday, which saw Maggie Chapman removed from the top spot of the North East list, meaning she is unlikely to win a seat in next year's election. She was replaced as the lead candidate by activist Guy Ingerson, who previously lodged a bullying complaint against Chapman. Maggie Chapman (Image: Christian Gamauf) Meanwhile, party co-leader Patrick Harvie saw off a challenge from a "radical" group of members to replace him as the lead candidate for Glasgow. Internal messages seen by The National show members raising concerns about the selection process for both lists, with some members demanding a recount. READ MORE: SNP minister calls on UK counterpart to retract 'misleading' Scottish water comments Speaking about the North East list, Shetland councillor Alex Armitage said: "Our integrity as a party is a hugely important aspect of our values and our identity as Greens. It is so important that we can trust and have confidence in our selection procedures. "I rarely speak out on internal issues but this just doesn't sit right with me at all. I'd like to move forward but before doing so I believe this should be properly scrutinised." The National understands concerns were also raised around the selection contest between Harvie and Ellie Gomersall – who placed second on the Glasgow list – particularly around the transferring of votes to Gomersall from candidates who were knocked out in previous voting rounds. Patrick Harvie The party had sought to reassure members on Monday evening, as a spokesperson was quoted saying in the media that the party's internal elections officer (IEO) "has confirmed that the process and the methodology used are compliant with our selections procedure, and the lists published are correct". However, shortly after that statement was published, the party's IEO, Kate Joester, announced she had quit the role and said she had no part in the statement. "To clarify regarding the statement in the press on members' concerns about counting irregularities; this did not come from me as Internal Elections Officer, and I am no longer in that post as of this evening", she told members. A Scottish Greens spokesperson went on to say that there had been a "misunderstanding about the sign-off that [the statement] received which we apologise for", but that the rest of the statement's content remained accurate. READ MORE: Police operation for Donald Trump visit will be 'biggest since Queen's death' And on Tuesday, Joester shared with members that she resigned from the role because "I hadn't done a good enough job", although clarifying that she did "not know whether or not there is a problem with the results". The party has since confirmed a review into the process is underway with the company which supplied the service, and that members will be updated in due course. Concerns have continued to be raised into Tuesday, although it is understood members are awaiting more detailed feedback from the party before taking further action, such as potentially tabling an emergency motion calling for the vote to be thrown out and re-run. Speaking to The National, one member put it simply: "It's all a bit of a clusterfuck." They added: "It's just spiralling more and more, and the party seem to want to try and ignore it, hoping it will blow over, but it won't." Another member said: 'This is an absolute mess. If someone like Kate Joester is stepping down, there must be something seriously wrong. "This isn't a factional issue, this is about basic fairness and democracy which is clearly not being applied. "The results could easily be very different, and the longer questions aren't answered, the more this looks like a cover-up to protect a chosen few." A Scottish Greens spokesperson said: 'As said to members last night, we are speaking to the provider to get more details about the approach used. These details will be shared with members in due course.'
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Parliament opening marred by ‘infantile' Faruqi demonstration
Liberal Senator Dave Sharma discusses Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi's 'infantile' stunt performed during the governor general's opening address. 'I thought it was infantile, it was a stunt … maybe even high schooler in nature,' Mr Sharma told Sky News host Steve Price. 'For her, to try and upstage an important occasion in Australia's democratic system, the opening address by the governor general. 'It shows a great disrespect for Australian institutions and Australian democratic norms.'
