The Human Rights Watch Fading Away  - How Aged Care Facilities in Australia Chemically Restrain Older People with Dementia report has called on the Government to end the use of chemical restraints as a means of controlling the behaviour of older people in aged care.
 
The Australian Greens have moved to disallow the Quality of Care Amendment (Minimising the Use of Restraints) Principles 2019 which is the legislative instrument regulating the use of chemical restraints in aged care facilities. The report reinforces the need to rethink the approach in the new regulation.

The Senate has today passed another motion in anti-poverty week calling on the Government to raise the rate of Newstart and Youth Allowance urgently.
 
"The calls to increase Newstart are absolutely overwhelming, today we have the “Newstart Nannas” who have come all the way to Canberra because they know how important an increase of Newstart is to our community.
 
"Over 50 percent of people on Newstart are over the age of 45, if we don’t increase Newstart, we are looking at an epidemic of older Australians retiring into poverty.
 

On the first sitting day of anti-poverty week the Senate has passed another motion calling for the Government to immediately raise the rate of Newstart.
 
“The high rates of poverty in this country are shameful and Australians care about what poverty does to our families and communities.
 
“Last week at the Senate inquiry hearing into Newstart we heard some devastating accounts from those living on Newstart in a constant state of fear and anxiety with the daily worry of whether than can eat or afford their medication and rent for that week.
 

At the beginning of anti-poverty week Foodbank Australia has released their Hunger Report which has found that one in five Australians went hungry in the last twelve months with women being more likely to experience food insecurity.

"It's heartbreaking that in a country as wealthy as Australia that people in our community are going without food. This should not be happening in 2019," Australian Greens spokesperson on Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

The Government’s proposal to drug test income support recipients in trial areas has been thoroughly rejected by medical experts for the third time today.
 
“There was a clear sense of frustration at the Senate inquiry hearing today from the medical professionals who are not being listened to and a number of references to the fact that the Government continues to doggedly pursue this policy despite strong evidence that it will not work, Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services said today.
 

The Greens have questioned why the Government has only released partial compliance data on the Jobactive Targeted Compliance Framework saying that it indicates that they have something to hide.
 
“The Minister has released an abysmal report on Jobactive that means it’s basically impossible to figure out what is going on with the Jobactive program and the demerit point system of the Targeted Compliance Framework", said Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson on Family and Community services. 
 

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee have heard of a stunning lack of consultation with key stakeholders in the NT on the expansion of the Cashless Debit Card in the Northern Territory.

“The issues that the Government is trying to address through compulsory income management were meant to have been “fixed”  through the controversial Intervention over a decade ago”, Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson on First Nations issues said.

The Greens have condemned the Government and Senator Hanson’s attempts to stitch up an inquiry into the Family Law system saying they have multiple concerns about the inquiry.
 
“There is no doubt that the family law system has serious problems which need addressing, however this committee is not fit for the task” said Senator Mckim, Australian Greens spokesperson on Attorney General
 
“This is clearly a political stitch up between the Government and One Nation and the Greens have no confidence in the committee as currently constituted to do the job.
 

The senate has supported a Greens motion calling for the Government to provide data on jobactive compliance to the senate by tomorrow.
 
“Last Friday the Government provided piecemeal jobactive compliance data to selected media outlets, in their continuing campaign to demonise people on income support, however this data was not made publicly available via the Department’s website or on request” said Senator Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services.

The Greens have today called for the Government to stop demonising income support recipients to detract from the overwhelming community support for an increase to Newstart
 
“The senate inquiry into Jobactive found that the program is not fit for purpose, yet this Government is using data from the flawed Targeted Compliance Framework from that system to support their ideological narrative”, Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said.