As Parliament returns for the first sitting fortnight of the year, the Australian Greens have lodged a motion to stop the Government’s proposed restrictions medicinal cannabis

Dr Richard Di Natale, Greens Leader and Health Spokesperson, said today, “With this latest round of regulations, the Government has tried to add unnecessary time, stress, and difficulty for terminally ill patients to access medicinal cannabis. This is something the Australian Greens will not accept.

“Today I am moving to disallow the government’s harsh cuts to Medicare funded child dental care," Senator Richard Di Natale said today.

“Late last year the government took the axe to child dental – ripping $300 per child and dramatically reducing children's’ access to dental care.

“The Child Dental Benefits Schedule was a key win of the Green’s power sharing arrangement with the former Gillard Government.

“We will fight to protect it, and are calling on the Senate to support our disallowance. 

As an individual and a proud Australian Greens member, I am deeply committed to the principle of non-violence. It is a founding and core pillar of our party, one that every Greens member pledges to uphold. I do not support burning the Australian flag and condemn the use of violence to achieve any means; it’s in the DNA of our party and it always will be.

Left Renewal is a tiny splinter group and as stated by our co-conveners do not speak on behalf of the Australian Greens. 

Rewarding Greg Hunt with the health portfolio after his disastrous turn as Environment Minister shows just how out of touch Malcolm Turnbull is, leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale said.

“Greg Hunt nearly killed the Great Barrier Reef, imagine what he’s going to do to our health,”

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook released today highlights the Turnbull Government’s dead-end plan to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable Australians, Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale said.

​“There is one message in this MYEFO for everyday Australians: unless you’re a big corporation or Liberal Party donor, you don’t matter.”

“Malcolm Turnbull’s plan to hand out tax cuts to the wealthiest Australians while wage growth remains stagnant is a slap in the face to ordinary Australians doing it tough.” 

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale condemned the Turnbull government's huge cuts to dental services funding announced today by Health Minister Susan Ley.
 
“The is another attempt by this Government to balance the budget off the back of health care for the most vulnerable people in our society. Cutting the value of the Child Dental Benefits Schedule by $300 per child will significantly reduce the amount of dental care that Aussie kids can access.”
 

Senator Di Natale, Australian Greens Leader said today, “This is a victory for farmers who have been watching their fruit wither and die on the vine. Farmers have already lost tens of thousands of dollars waiting for politicians in Canberra to agree on an outcome. With this agreement, they will wait no longer.

“Rural communities have been desperate for someone to clean up this mess with a sensible solution and the Greens have heard them.”

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale has announced that the party has reached consensus on a major reform to its drugs policy at its national conference in Perth.

“For more than half a century we’ve been pursuing a series of failed policies that criminalise a health problem and have only succeeded in making it worse.”

“Working as a drug and alcohol doctor I've seen our punitive approach embolden criminals, tear families apart and destroy the lives of thousands of ordinary people who have used drugs.”