I’m disappointed that the Senate has voted down my motion calling on the Government to consult with First Nations communities to change the day we celebrate Australia.

“We have seen some exciting developments this year with more local councils and community leaders working for justice in their communities.

“It’s disappointing that after the strong community support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the tabling of the report on Constitutional Recognition just last week that the major parties won’t even commit to this small step.

The senate has today tabled the Community Affairs References committee report into the Accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and remote Australia.

“Myself and Senator O’Neill referred this issue to inquiry after the Royal Flying Doctor Service released a major report sparking a national conversation around the state of mental health and services in rural and remote regions, Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on mental health said.

The Australian Greens have tabled a minority report to the final report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

"We have sought through the years of discussion on constitutional recognition to get multiparty support for constitutional recognition in a form that is supported by First Nations Peoples and capable of being supported by an overwhelming majority of Australians.

The Australian Greens are extremely disappointed by reports that the Government has done a deal with ALP that will mean newly arrived migrants will have to wait four years before they can access working aged payments like Newstart.

"The ALP have condemned newly arrived migrants who can’t find work to poverty, Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

“This is an outrageous attack on our multicultural community and I’m frankly surprised that members of the Labor party thinks it’s okay for people to come to our country and basically receive no support when they need it.

The senate has today supported a Greens motion to abandon the CDP Bill that is currently before the senate.

“The Government should not be pushing ahead with this Bill – they haven’t consulted on these changes and there are better options available which are proposed by First Nations peoples, but once again this Government have ignored First Nations peoples, Senator Rachel Siewert said.

“Minister Scullion failed to release the final evaluation of the CDP and says that they are still “consulting” with communities before releasing it.

The Australian Greens urge councils across Australia to resist the intimidation and bullying coming from Canberra on when they can hold their citizenship ceremonies.

“We strongly support local council pursing social justice in their communities and actually listening to what First Nations peoples want, Australian Greens spokesperson on First Nations issues Senator Rachel Siewert said.

“We really need to get back to the heart of the issue. This is a painful day for First Nations peoples and they do not want to celebrate it.

The Australian Greens commend the Byron Bay Council for wanting to move their citizenship ceremony so as to avoid a day that causes hurt to members of their community and are very disappointed by the thuggish approach coming from Canberra to those Councils seeking to make this change.

“We urge Councils around Australia not to be put off by the bullying coming from Canberra, Australian Greens spokesperson on First Nations issues Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

The Australian Greens have deep concerns about the outsourcing of call centre workers in Brisbane, basically privatising Centrelink. The jobs that have been cut from the Department of Human Services by successive Governments should be reinstated including the 1200 jobs cut in the 2017-18 Budget. 

“Centrelink missed nearly 48 million calls last year and employing Serco is not an answer to their woes, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

The Government has tabled their audit of the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, complying with an order for the production of documents from the Australian Greens passed by the Senate.

“Successive Governments have had almost thirty years to get this right, but we now see that incarceration rates have in fact doubled since the completion of the Royal Commission, Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on First Nations issues said today.

Almost 6000 people are “missing” from or are no longer in the Community Development Program (CDP) the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the