South Australians will lose $554 million in funding for essential services after Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance voted with the Government and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Australians, including politicians and millionaires.

“Centre Alliance has sold out South Australia and enabled the Government to dismantle our country’s progressive taxation system, making the rich richer, the poor poorer and inequality worse.

The Centre Alliance party has let down South Australians by voting with the Turnbull Government to force unfair tax cuts for high income earners including politicians and millionaires through the Senate tonight.

The Greens won’t support any Uni SA/University of Adelaide merger if it means cutting courses, cutting jobs, closing campuses or compromising on student outcomes, Greens higher education spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“Universities are constantly being expected to do more with less by this Liberal Government. Cuts to funding, freezing student places, and making it harder for students to afford to study are key factors pressuring universities to undertake these talks,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens will move an amendment to the Water Amendment Bill 2018, listed on the Senate schedule for today, to include the delivery of the 450GL promised to South Australia. 

South Australia is set to lose $554 million in funding for essential services if the Turnbull Government’s income tax cuts pass the Senate this week.

Greens’ analysis of Government and Productivity Commission figures show South Australians and Tasmanians will be the biggest losers to essential services funding under income tax cuts.

The Liberal Party Council has exposed Malcolm Turnbull’s secret plan to sell off the ABC, the Australian Greens say.

“Malcolm Turnbull’s secret plan to privatise the ABC has been revealed. First it was doing a secret deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to ‘whack off’ money from the ABC’s budget, now this,” Greens media spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“Selling off the ABC is electorally toxic. The Liberal Party has shown today it is completely out-of-touch with the Australian people.

The ABC’s FOI reported today shows South Australia’s universities are facing more than $250m in Turnbull’s cuts.

The Australian Greens have slammed the Liberal Government and Murray Darling Basin Authority for attempting to corrupt the South Australian Royal Commission by trying to stop officials from giving evidence, and hiding from the people of Mayo during an intense by-election campaign.

Georgina Downer has responded to polling that shows 73.9 per cent of Mayo wants World Heritage protection for the Great Australian Bight by showing she has no understanding of the risks associated with oil and gas drilling in this pristine marine environment.

The Australian Greens have welcomed the release of polling that shows 73.9 per cent of the people of Mayo support the Greens’ push for World Heritage protection for the Great Australian Bight. 

“The vast majority of South Australians, like the people of Mayo, want World Heritage Protection for the Bight. The Premier and Prime Minister should start preparing the nomination process,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.