Latest news with #MehreenFaruqi
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Witch hunt': two students expelled from University of Melbourne after pro-Palestine protest in academic's office
The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, has accused the University of Melbourne of a 'witch hunt' after the first formal expulsion of pro-Palestine student activists since waves of campus demonstrations began in 2023. On Monday, letters were sent from the university's vice-chancellor, Emma Johnston, to four students, informing two that they had been terminated and two that they were suspended until March next year after taking part in a pro-Palestine demonstration at an academic's office last October. The students were given 20 business days to lodge an appeal, however Johnston's decision, which upheld recommendations made by the university's student discipline committee, will remain in place until the process is completed. 'In the interest of maintaining good order and discipline, I direct you to only attend campus for the purpose of study or assessment … until your expulsion takes effect,' Johnston wrote in a letter seen by Guardian Australia. 'You were found to have engaged in improper conduct and in doing so breached sections of the vice-chancellor regulation, and the student conduct policy.' The students were referred to the disciplinary committee after reports they were part of a group of about 20 who, on 9 October 2024, occupied the office of an academic who oversees the university's joint PhD program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The protesters were calling on the university to disband its joint programs with Israeli universities, which have been a target of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement since 2004. Faruqi, who is also the Greens' higher education spokesperson, said the university was on the 'wrong side of history'. 'Universities like the University of Melbourne should cease the disciplinary witch hunts on brave student activists and issue a public apology for the McCarthyist crackdown on staff and students speaking out for a free Palestine,' she said. 'From draconian anti-protest policies and police interventions to surveillance, suspensions and disciplinary actions, university management have used every trick in the book to stifle activism. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Students and staff at universities have led the way in rallying against Israel's atrocities, and they continue to pay the price.' Johnston told Guardian Australia the university respected the rights of individuals to protest, reiterating 'this has not changed'. 'Universities are places where free and open debate must take place, but the safety of our students and staff must also be protected as this is integral to enabling free and open debate,' she said. 'It's our responsibility to respond to any actions that may intimidate or threaten the safety of students and staff on our campuses. These matters are taken seriously and addressed under the appropriate policy which may include disciplinary procedures.' Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said there was a right to protest, but there was no right to target individuals and make them 'fearful for their safety'. 'The targeting … was dangerous and completely unacceptable and such behaviour has no place anywhere, let alone at a centre of education and the professor's workplace,' he said. 'The university was right to take decisive action.' Ryvchin said universities had allowed 'extreme elements' of the anti-Israel movement to develop on campuses in the past academic year which had subordinated the freedoms of the 'vast majority' of students and staff. 'It appears that most universities are determined not to allow this to happen again but the proof will be in their handling of incidents like this,' he said. Dr Elizabeth Strakosch, a member of the University of Melbourne's National Tertiary Education Union branch and a political science lecturer, said the union was 'deeply concerned' about the implication of the disciplinary proceedings on the wider community given widespread protest crackdowns across institutions. The University of Sydney's vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, on Monday confirmed staff and students would be banned from holding banners on campus without prior permission and staff would be unable to send political emails unless prior interest has been expressed, as part of five revised policies adopted by the institution. It followed a suite of rules against protests implemented at the University of Melbourne in March, including that they may not be held indoors and must not obstruct entries or exits of university buildings. 'We're definitely seeing an intensification of surveillance, a crackdown on dissent, and there's a widespread feeling amongst our membership that academic freedom is on the line,' Strakosch said. 'Sit-ins and protests are often disruptive. That's the way that they function. They're one of the most important tools that students and staff have for getting concerns that are not being registered on to the agenda. 'It's pretty clear that there is a change in atmosphere and temperature on campuses for both staff and students. If upheld, this will be the first [Australian] university to expel students over protests around Gaza, and that sets a really dangerous precedent for other universities.' Dr Jordana Silverstein, a cultural historian at the University of Melbourne, said it was 'frustrating' to see the university and vice-chancellor 'so severely discipline' the students for their actions. 'This is not about the occupation of an office,' she said. 'This is about what kind of university we want to study and work at and society we want to live in. These students are calling for the university to divest of its financial and political ties with genocide, an eminently reasonable request.' Prof Joo-Cheong Tham, a researcher at the University of Melbourne's law school and an assistant secretary at the National Tertiary Education Union, said disciplinary proceedings should only be taken in 'the gravest of situations' given the 'profound consequences it has on the student's life and career'. He said proportionate regulation of protests was justified, but workplace, health and safety laws already showed how to 'strike a good balance' between freedom to protest and campus safety, adding that protest had been an established tradition at Australian universities since the 1960s. 'Most of the protest restrictions introduced at the University of Melbourne are an overreach because they fail to distinguish between peaceful protests and those that pose a real threat to safety,' he said. 'The ham-fisted approach of the recent protest restrictions reflect a loss of faith in the University of Melbourne as an institution of dialogue, debate and disagreement.' Last year an Australian National University student who was expelled and a Deakin University student who was suspended for Palestine-related activism had those decisions overturned on appeal.
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Government records show emergency killings of thousands of livestock after transport to Australian export abattoirs
Thousands of sheep, pigs and cattle are being subjected to emergency killings after transport to Australian export abattoirs, an analysis of internal government records shows. Curtin University researchers have also found it is taking almost 11 hours, on average, to inspect animals for injury and sickness after they arrive at abattoir facilities – delays that 'significantly increase the likelihood of animals requiring emergency euthanasia'. Last month, Guardian Australia revealed shocking instances of animal cruelty associated with the nation's export abattoirs, including the mass hypothermia death of 103 sheep during truck transport, which went unpunished by the state regulator. The Guardian also revealed veterinarian whistleblowers had repeatedly warned of 'profound' problems with the federal government's oversight of the sector, with one complaint alleging the flawed system risked jeopardising Australia's relationship with major trading partners. Curtin University researchers have also been probing animal welfare issues associated with the nation's export abattoirs, analysing 631 welfare incident reports compiled by government veterinarians in 2020 and 2021. Those reports were released publicly in 2022 after the Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi led a push requiring them to be tabled in parliament. In a paper last week, Curtin University researchers said their detailed analysis of the documents revealed 'significant welfare problems with farmed animals arriving at meat export slaughterhouses, especially in pigs'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The paper found emergency killing was the most common response to welfare incidents, used in about 60% of cases, or on 2,476 animals. Another 140 animals were found dead on arrival at abattoirs. The researchers also found significant delays in inspecting animals after they arrived at abattoirs. The time between delivery and detection took 10.8 hours on average, most likely because of late deliveries of animals. 'That's obviously a long time for any animal to be in a state of severe welfare disadvantage,' Prof Clive Phillips, one of the paper's authors, said. Phillips said the 631 welfare reports suggested a significant number of animals were experiencing serious welfare issues during transport. 'Overall, about 4% of animals that are transported were affected by one of these incident reports and most of the welfare problems are quite serious,' he said. 'One of the biggest ones, handling problems, [is] due to problems with the driver or dogs, [as well as] calving and pregnancies during transportation; lameness was a big problem, skin injuries … Pretty well all of them will have a significant effect on the animals that are affected, but also on the animals that are crammed in with them.' The paper suggested a range of reforms, including stronger farm inspections to determine which animals were fit for transport, and the removal of financial incentives to transport unfit animals. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion A spokesperson for the federal agriculture department said the regulation of livestock transport is a matter for state governments. The spokesperson also said export abattoirs must have procedures in place to assess livestock on arrival. 'If livestock is not suitable for slaughter appropriate action must be taken,' the spokesperson said. The Guardian's investigation last month revealed whistleblowers had submitted a series of complaints in recent years about the state of the agriculture department's on-plant veterinarian system, used to monitor animal welfare at export abattoirs. The whistleblowers complained that disturbing animal welfare incidents were going unreported to state regulators and that the system was chronically understaffed, leaving some facilities unmonitored. Another veterinarian whistleblower resigned in disgust over changes restricting the ability of vets to enter pens to inspect animals, something he said rendered him unable to safeguard animal welfare. The department rejected those allegations. A spokesperson said at the time that it had a 'robust regulatory framework and takes regulatory action, where appropriate, for breaches of animal welfare requirements'. The Australian Meat Industry Council, an industry peak body, has previously said the number of welfare incident reports tabled in parliament show the success of the oversight system and said it equated to about '0.0058 per cent of the total number of animals processed through export abattoirs during that time'.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Greens leader Larissa Waters wants a new term of parliament with 'heart'
Larissa Waters never imagined she would end up the leader of her party when she became the first Queenslander to win for the Greens in 2010. Senator Waters was chosen unanimously by her party yesterday to be its fifth federal leader, after days of zealous internal conversations on whether she, Mehreen Faruqi or Sarah Hanson-Young would succeed as leader after the unexpected defeat of Adam Bandt. In one of her first interviews as leader, Senator Waters emphasised to the ABC her desire for the next parliament to be more constructive, and have "heart", but said she would not shy away from the tough stance the Greens took on issues like housing in the past term. "I want to see a progressive parliament, and I want to see politics with heart again. I think people are fed up with the shoutiness, they're fed up with politicians talking about themselves all the time," Senator Waters said. First-term Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather rocketed to prominence over the past term with his uncompromising stance on the government's signature housing commitment to establish a $10 billion fund to enable thousands more social housing properties. But Labor campaigned heavily on the idea that the Greens had obstructed housing progress in the party's three Queensland seats in the months leading up to the federal election. Mr Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates both lost their seats at that election, with the former Greens housing spokesperson also suffering a swing against him. Senator Waters, who has emphasised she will take a "firm but constructive" approach to this term, said the Greens took the right approach with housing. "There are people now who are going to have somewhere to live because of those tough negotiations. I'm proud of that," Senator Waters said. "No one can argue with $3.5 billion extra dollars for social housing." On one of the most heated political issues of last term, the conflict in Gaza, Senator Waters held fast to the Greens' stance. "Anyone watching what's happening in Gaza, their hearts break. And our government at the moment is still in a two-way arms trade with that regime. We need peace, we need a ceasefire, of course we need those hostages released, but we need to make sure that Australia and every other country is increasing the pressure to make sure the genocide which is unfolding before us can stop," she said. "We're not doing this because we think it's good for votes. We're doing this because we think it's the right thing to do." A United Nations report earlier this year accused Israel of "genocidal acts", which was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as false, biased and antisemitic. But while the Greens have a broad policy platform, Senator Waters signalled her focus this term would be on the "daily needs" of people and the environmental and climate concerns at the heart of the party. Senator Waters is considered within the Greens as one of its strongest policy heads, informed by a legal mind developed as an environmental lawyer. While colleagues say she is able to be tough, she is less combative than others within the party, and she is seen as a unifying choice after the Greens lost its leader. Senator Waters said that choice was still sinking in, but it was one that "thrilled" and "humbled" her. In her press conference yesterday, the senator attached two labels to herself, 'environmental lawyer' and 'feminist', that have guided much of her parliamentary career. And over her tenure she has held the environment and women's portfolios for the Greens. The Greens leader said she looked forward to "getting stuff done" in a new term of parliament. "Our emphasis will continue to be making sure people's daily needs are met, and making sure the planet is looked after," the senator said. Senator Waters made headlines globally in 2016 when she became the first woman to breastfeed in parliament. She was a fierce campaigner to end the "tampon tax" — the GST applied to menstrual products that was ultimately lifted in 2019 — and has also pushed for more access to reproductive healthcare and menopause treatments for women. The senator said she would continue to fight on women's inequality as Greens leader. "We've got more than one woman still being killed every week by a partner or a former partner, and those rates are not coming down," she said. "And we still have women's refuges who are having to turn people away because they don't have enough funding to provide a bed for everyone who needs one. "In a wealthy country like ours, that is appalling and it needs to be fixed. I look forward to having some constructive discussions."
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Larissa Waters vows politics with ‘heart' – but don't expect compromise on core Greens principles
Larissa Waters is known to wear her views on her ears. From the 'Stop Adani' coalmine campaign to the ongoing fight for reproductive rights, the Queensland senator has often used themed earrings to make a point. In a party known for raucous protest, for shouting, even brandishing a fish on the floor of parliament, Waters' subtle-yet-pointed displays of defiance offer a window into the style of politician the Greens have chosen as their new leader. The 48-year-old is the fifth person to lead the party after Bob Brown, Christine Milne, Richard Di Natale and Adam Bandt – whose shock defeat in his own seat at the 3 May election brought on an unexpected leadership ballot. The social activist Mehreen Faruqi and the deal-making environmentalist Sarah Hanson-Young were spoken of as contenders ahead of Thursday's party room vote in Melbourne. In the end, the far lower-profile but far less polarising Waters was elected unopposed and unanimously by the Greens' 12 federal parliamentarians. Waters has been in parliament for 15 years and held the positions of co-deputy leader and leader in the upper house. But party insiders say the single mother-of-two has never pursued power and only reluctantly agreed to run for the leadership at the urging of others. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email She is smart, warm and friendly, colleagues say, the type of politician who can bring people together. Her Labor counterparts describe her as pragmatic. As the Greens rebuild from a federal election result few saw coming, some of those qualities will be needed – and tested – more than ever. So where will Waters take the Greens? The first signs of a new approach were written in bold in a party-issued press release announcing the new leader. 'Progressive Parliament with politics of heart – incoming Greens leader Larissa Waters outlines 'firm but constructive' approach for her leadership,' the statement led off. The reference to 'constructive' will be interpreted as signalling a softening in the hardline tactics that Bandt – and fellow vanquished Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather – adopted in negotiations with Labor, in particular on housing. Waters was an environmental lawyer before entering politics and has more recently been the Greens' chief advocate for women, meaning both areas may naturally be elevated under her leadership. But to expect Waters' Greens to radically depart from Bandt's Greens would be to misunderstand how the party views the election result. The public postmortem into the party's campaign has been conducted largely by its critics – including Labor and rightwing lobby group Advance – which have cast the Greens' loss of three lower seats as a rejection of their 'extreme' positions, particularly on Gaza. The Greens, in public and private, simply do not accept this narrative. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Insiders point to the party's national vote – which, at 12.01%, is down less than 0.2% – as proof its support is holding up. The loss of two seats in Brisbane was not down to Chandler-Mather or his ill-advised attendance at a CFMEU rally, they say, but rather a sudden and severe collapse in the Liberal vote. In Bandt's case, the former leader was the victim of an unkind redrawing of the boundaries of his seat of Melbourne. There is some truth to these assessments. There might also be some delusion. In any case, what lessons the Greens took – or didn't take – from the campaign will inform how they approach the next term. The Albanese government's thumping election win will embolden it to demand the Greens wave through its agenda or again be painted as 'blockers'. How Waters and the Greens manage the now clear expectation of progressive voters who want Labor to be pushed – but not obstructed – will define the early stages of her leadership. The Greens are in arguably a more powerful position in parliament now that it holds the sole balance of power in the upper house when Labor wants to bypass the Coalition. The first test will be on the environment. Labor is eager to resurrect – albeit in a new form – plans for a federal environment protection agency, which stalled in the previous term after Anthony Albanese scuttled a near-deal with the Greens. The Greens will be urged to accept whatever model Labor puts forward, however weak. There will be similar pressure when Labor ultimately lands on a 2035 emissions reduction target. Waters might have vowed to do politics with a 'heart' but don't expect to her to compromise on core principles. Dan Jervis-Bardy is a political reporter for Guardian Australia based in Canberra
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Larissa Waters urges Labor to be bold while Liberals in ‘electoral wilderness' and says Greens hurt by ‘Trump effect'
Larissa Waters has urged Labor to be bold on environmental protections, saying the Liberal party being left in 'electoral wilderness' means now is the time for the Albanese government to go against its 'timidity'. The new federal Greens leader – who was elected unopposed on Thursday – has also acknowledged her party was a casualty of the Trump effect, sending voters 'into the arms of Labor'. The Queensland senator emerged from Melbourne's commonwealth parliamentary office on Thursday afternoon, hugging the Greens' new leadership team after a 1.5-hour meeting to decide its new captain. Grinning in front of reporters as she addressed them for the first time as leader, Waters said the minor party wanted to see 'politics with heart'. 'Sorry, I'm a grinner,' Waters told Guardian Australia, shortly after the news became public. The Greens' fifth leader was elected after the shock loss of former leader, Adam Bandt, in the Greens' stronghold of Melbourne. With NSW senator, Mehreen Faruqi, as her deputy, the all-women leadership team will alone wield the balance of power in the Senate. Waters said she hoped Labor would use its momentous win in the May election to reject the 'timidity' Australians saw during its first term. 'It's pretty clear that the Liberal Party is now essentially in the electoral wilderness,' she said. 'This is an opportunity now for [Labor] to actually do what's necessary, and to be a bit brave and a bit bold. It looks like the Liberals aren't going to come back into government anytime soon, and I'm perfectly fine with that, but like, people don't want that sort of timidity, and they don't want the just, 'Oh, here's the tiniest shred of help'. They actually need some real reform.' One of the areas Waters is keen to push Labor on will be environmental protection reforms. As a lawyer for almost a decade in Queensland's environmental defenders office, Waters said the laws were only working for developers, miners and native forest loggers – not the environment. A proposed environmental protection agency under the Albanese government was dumped before the federal election amid a major backlash from Western Australia. The proposed body would have been able to make approval and regulatory decisions and impose beefed-up penalties while another body, Environment Information Australia, would have provided data, information and analysis. Albanese has promised to deliver a different model in his second term as prime minister but the details on how it will work have not yet been released. Waters said the Greens still want to see native forest logging ban and a commitment to not open any new coal mines or gas fields. 'We're urging the government to be bold and to do what needs to be done, because the biosphere sustains us all. You can't negotiate with nature,' she said. 'I think if you have an Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, it is not too much to ask that it protects the environment and the biodiversity. 'I am afraid that the political machinations between premiers and the prime minister and the influence of the big miners and the logging industry have held sway for far too long, and we would like to see nature actually protected.' Waters said she would fight to push the government to fully fund frontline and legal services for women and children fleeing violence. 'There is no excuse for underfunded women's refuges or for underfunded legal services when the government is wasting billions of dollars on nuclear friggin' submarines,' she said. With the progressive minor party holding key votes to pass laws in the Senate, Waters said the party would remain 'firm but constructive' with Labor to get outcomes. Reflecting on the party's own losses, which saw two lower house MPs lose their seats in Brisbane as well as Bandt losing his Melbourne seat, Waters said the Greens would 'keep our ears and our hearts open to what the review tells us' once the election port-mortem is delivered. 'It's just very clear to us that the Trump effect really sent people into the arms of Labor. And we were the casualties of that,' she said. 'When the tide is is heading that way, even a stronger swimmer can't resist it. So, look, we really mourn the loss of Adam and Max and Stephen from our party room,' she said, referring to former MPs Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates. In a press conference earlier on Thursday, Waters said she intended to encourage Bandt back into parliament. But for now, she said her goal was to fix the problems people – and the planet – are facing. 'It's not about me or one individual or anyone party. I think we're here to serve and I invite us all to do our best in that regard.'
