Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed news that Mark Vaile will not be made Chancellor of the University of Newcastle.

Senator Faruqi said:

“This is a huge win for the university staff and students who fought this terrible appointment, and for the Hunter community.

“Coal bosses have no place in university leadership. The university community spoke out, organised, and knocked this appointment on its head.

Australian Greens Anti-Racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the Liberals and Nationals have yet again supported and passed a hateful One Nation Senate stunt, joining the far-right party in agreeing that critical race theory should be ‘rejected’ in the national curriculum.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The government has a damning track record of indulging far-right politics and One Nation stunt motions in the Senate.

It looks like Senator Hanson has been watching a little bit too much of Fox News and Sky News lately. It's hard to imagine she knows much about critical race theory. But know this: we will not stop fighting against systemic racism. We will not stop fighting for people who are marginalised and discriminated against every single day. No matter how much Murdoch media rubbish you regurgitate here and how much you bring in your petty attacks, you will not stop us.

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (15:38): I move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, by no later than 7.20 pm on Tuesday, 22 June 2021, the latest version of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry produced by the Independent Poultry Welfare Panel and/or the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

I rise to briefly speak on the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Amendment Bill 2021. The bill will implement various recommendations of the review of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust conducted in 2019. The central finding of the review was that the trust should become an ongoing entity, retaining responsibility for the sites. This bill does give effect to this.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the national housing crisis can no longer be ignored, as new data reveals that residential property prices rose 5.4 per cent in the March quarter alone.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Australia is facing nothing less than a full-blown housing crisis.

“People just want a place to live and call home. That’s it. But for more and more people, this is like something of a fantasy.

I'm not going to mince my words here tonight. The treatment of Priya, Nades, Tharnicaa and Kopika has been nothing short of depraved A three-year-old child—who just turned four, actually, on the weekend—is in hospital because of a life-threatening blood infection. It should never have come to this. Her parents repeatedly asked for her to be taken to the hospital, to be told 'no', 'no', 'no'—over and over.

I rise to speak on the matter of urgency. The contrast is becoming so clear. As the world moves away from digging up fossil fuels, it is Australia's absolute shame that the Liberals are propping up oil and gas by funnelling endless taxpayer dollars to this dying industry. No amount of actual science or the climate disasters that we have been witnessing in our own back yard—the fires, the floods and the heatwaves—seems to convince this government that digging up fossil fuels is dangerous in the extreme. It is killing us. It is destroying our livelihoods, our communities and our planet.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that Labor’s plan doesn’t go nearly far enough to tackle the housing crisis, slash waiting lists and provide universal housing.

Senator Faruqi said:

“The scale of the housing crisis requires serious ambition and unprecedented funding. Labor has missed the mark on that front.