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.”

Leader of the Australian Greens Party Dr Richard Di Natale has called on the government to put the interests of farmers ahead of their wealthy mates and support the Greens’ compromise plan on the backpacker tax.

“If this was a tax cut for Gina Rinehart, the National Party would be supporting it.”

“The simple solution here is to tax backpackers like Australian residents so that they are eligible for the tax-free threshold and then pay tax on money they earn after that.”

Australian Greens Leader Richard Di Natale has urged the crossbench to put working mums first in their negotiations with the Government on paid parental leave.

“Let’s be clear. Delaying the start date to save women who are currently pregnant does not make up for the fact that these changes, whenever passed, will hurt parents.

“Delaying the effect of the Bill by a year isn’t the same as standing up for women’s rights in the workplace and members of the crossbench cannot walk both sides of this issue.

Australian Greens Leader Richard Di Natale today praised the work of the inaugural CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Oliver Yates and wished him well in his next endeavours.

“Oliver has shown a passion for delivering Australia’s new clean economy, has made a return for taxpayers through the CEFC’s co-investments and has steered the organisation through three tumultuous years of the Abbott and Turnbull government’s attempts to destroy and undermine the remarkable work of this important public institution.”