Australian Greens Leader Senator Di Natale, Spokesperson for Community Services Senator Siewert and Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change Adam Bandt have spoken about the Omnibus bill outcome.

“Looks like the stitch up has well and truly been done, the dirty deal between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party to slash renewable energy funding and continue the attack on some of the most vulnerable people in the community,” Senator Di Natale said.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Di Natale and Spokesperson for Community Services Senator Siewert have spoken out against the cruel cuts issued by the Turnbull Government as part of the Omnibus Bill.

I think it is really important to understand what is going on here. What is going on here is that we have a piece of legislation that is going to result in a saving of $6 billion; it is an incredibly complex piece of legislation. For the benefit of the new senators, who have not even had the opportunity to look at this legislation in detail, the legislation involves the abolition of Medicare-funded dental care for young children—something that was negotiated as a result of the 2010 parliament.

The Senate is calling on the Turnbull Government to implement pill testing, more supervised injecting rooms and cease the use of sniffer dogs at festivals.

On International Overdose Awareness Day, which commemorates all those who have died or been seriously injured due to drug overdose, a Greens motion has passed the Senate without objection from Labor or Liberal Senators.

I move: That the Senate— (a) notes that:

(i)   today is the 15th annual International Overdose Awareness Day, commemorating all those who have died or been seriously injured due to drug overdose, and

(ii)   six people lose their lives to preventable overdose in Australia each day; and

(b) calls on the Government to address the rising rates of harm associated with drug use by implementing and appropriately resourcing evidence-based harm reduction policies, including:

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land that we are meeting on, the Ngunawal people, and I want to pay my respects to their elders past and present. I want to acknowledge that their land was stolen and never ceded, and I look forward to a respectful dialogue in the 45th Parliament to achieve a just settlement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in this country.

Our Constitution says:

… the Senate shall have equal power with the House of Representatives in respect of all proposed laws.