Speak Out

Speak Out is your space to have your voice heard. Write a letter to the editor, or the Minister responsible for an area. Click here for listings of Talkback Radio Stations in your area.

Tell your Government to support positive changes to Youth Allowance

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This week the Senate has debated the Government’s package of Youth Allowance legislation, a package that did very little to help young people, particularly those in rural and regional areas.

Despite the concerns of young people and their parents, the Government still refused to include even one extra dollar for student income support or to provide an alternative for the students of the future who need help to access tertiary education.

The Greens believe students should not be left carrying the can for the Government’s Budget savings.
It was left to the Greens and other groups in the Senate to do something to save a poorly drafted piece of legislation. The amendments passed provide a much better outcome for students.  

The work isn’t over, however. We need people to send a clear message to the Government that it has to do better.

Here’s where you come in.

Didn't we vote the Howard Government out? Remind Rudd and Turnbull why.

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With Kevin Rudd talking tough about the desperate people he calls "illegal immigrants", I've had to remind myself several times recently that Australia voted out the Howard Government.

We still have an excision zone, we still have mandatory detention, and now we even have a Prime Minister trying to convince our neighbours in Indonesia to take the 'problem' off his hands. All the while, Malcolm Turnbull and his colleagues are baying for even harsher treatment.

When people flee persecution, they deserve to be treated fairly and have their human rights upheld. The Greens will always stand up for human rights, and we will continue to fight for these people to be brought to mainland Australia so their applications for asylum can be processed quickly and fairly.

You can email Mr Rudd and Mr Turnbull and remind them that Australia rejected the politics of fear and hate.

Make your voice heard on Youth Allowance

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In June of this year, the Rudd Government broke faith with tens of thousands of aspiring university students by making unfair changes to Youth Allowance in the May Budget. Now, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that her Government is backing down on its start date for this change to Youth Allowance eligibility, to accommodate current gap year students. This backdown is your win.

You can have your say on what should happen next.

What do Australian women want?

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Q: what do Australian women want?
A: a government funded paid parental leave scheme.

Australia and the United States are the only two OECD countries without government-funded paid parental leave. However, about half of American mothers have access to leave through state-based schemes. Other countries have very generous parental leave schemes, including Canada (28 weeks), Greece (34 weeks), the United Kingdom (39 weeks) and Sweden (47 weeks).

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is introducing a Bill to the Senate for a 26-week government-funded paid parental leave scheme in May.
The Greens’ proposed paid parental leave scheme features:

  • Twenty-six weeks’ paid leave at the birth or adoption of a child.
  • Six weeks quarantined for the mother, with the remaining 20 weeks split between the two parents at their discretion.
  • Offered to full-time, part-time and casual employees who have worked for a minimum of 12 months with the employer, and the self-employed.
  • Paid at the Federal Minimum Wage ($543.38 per week) at a cost of $952 million a year.
  • Payment to be made by the Commonwealth to the employer, and then from the employer to the eligible employee.
  • Payment to be treated as a wage and salary income for the purposes of taxation, superannuation and other laws and agreements.