Greens spokesperson for Health and public health specialist Dr Richard Di Natale will quiz senior government officials on the Australian and international response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) response at Senate estimates this morning.



Dr Di Natale, who is a GP and Public Health specialist, has worked in infectious disease control and outbreak investigations.

Senators Di Natale and Faruqi: To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in India on 10 December 2019, which legalised the granting of Indian citizenship based on religion but specifically excluded muslims;

(b) expresses deep concern that the Indian Government has created the legal grounds to strip millions of muslims of the fundamental right of equal access to citizenship;

Greens Leader Adam Bandt will join former Greens Leader Richard Di Natale in wearing a West Papuan lapel flag during the address of Indonesian President Widodo to the Australian Parliament on Monday. West Papuan human rights advocate Ronny Kareni will also be a guest of Senator Di Natale at the address. Mr Kareni is a member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua and is a longstanding campaigner for West Papuan human rights.

The Australian Greens today condemned US President Donald Trump’s blatantly unfair “peace” proposal for Israel and Palestine, which would instead further entrench injustice and conflict in the Middle East.
 

The bushfires devastating communities across regional New South Wales and Victoria require an emergency response from the Government that not only addresses the fires currently burning but also tackles the root cause of those fires and the fires yet to come - the climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels like coal - said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.

Australia is in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave and bushfire emergency, but the Prime Minister has been missing in action. Scott Morrison must show some leadership and immediately convene emergency meetings with fire chiefs, peak medical bodies and cross-party political leadership to craft a response to this crisis, said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.

”The country is in crisis and the Australian people are crying out for leadership, but Scott Morrison has been missing in action," said Di Natale.

It’s time that the fossil fuel companies whose products are responsible for the climate crisis start footing some of the bill for cleaning it up. A $1 levy per tonne of carbon pollution from the country’s biggest polluters, proposed today by the Australia Institute, is the very least that these companies can do, said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.

The Australian Greens have responded to Scott Morrison’s appalling decision to allow Minister Angus Taylor to continue serving in his role while under active police investigation, saying that it shows the Prime Minister is deep in denial.

Quote attributable to Greens spokesperson for the climate crisis and energy, Adam Bandt MP:

“Scott Morrison is deep in denial.

“The PM has thrown integrity overboard to hang on to a 1 seat majority on the floor of Parliament.

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale has once again called upon the Australian Government to intervene to ensure that Julian Assange is not extradited to the United States, following comments from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that Assange is showing acute signs of exposure to psychological torture.

“We have all seen the serious deterioration in Julian Assange’s health at his recent court appearances, and now the UN Special Rapporteur has warned that his life is at risk. This situation cannot be allowed to continue," Di Natale said.