Australian Greens International Aid & Development spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to reports that the Australian Government will support the waiver of intellectual property provisions on Covid-19 vaccines. The next meeting of the WTO TRIPS Council is on September 14.

Senator Faruqi said:

In another episode of 'We will do anything but tackle climate change', a bunch of Liberal and National MPs are jumping up and down and wanting more school chaplains so they can knock the very real fear of looming climate catastrophe out of the minds of young people. The problem isn't the kids' activism and recognition of climate emergencies. It is your inaction on the climate crisis that is the real problem. Schoolkids don't need religious chaplains. They need a government that embraces science and takes responsibility to protect their future.

I couldn't agree more that this is a matter of extreme urgency. It calls on the Morrison-Joyce government to take responsibility for the dangerous situation in western New South Wales. Why was this government sitting on its hands and sitting on data that clearly showed vaccination rates in First Nations communities in western New South Wales were desperately low? Why did you not do something sooner? Because you just don't care.

The Greens have introduced a bill to parliament that would ban the export of greyhounds from Australia for commercial purposes including breeding and racing.

The Customs Legislation Amendment (Commercial Greyhound Export and Import Prohibition) Bill 2021 comes following years of reports of horrific treatment of Australian dogs in greyhound racing across the world. The trade goes on: between 2016 and 2021, 1,313 dogs were exported from Australia.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Animal Welfare, said:

Like many Australians, I watched the Four Corners series 'Fox and the big lie' over the last two Mondays. While it wasn't surprising viewing for those of us who closely monitor far-Right media and politics, it certainly was highly disturbing. There is no doubt that the Murdoch media played a key role in growing and consolidating public support for Donald Trump and his far-Right administration.

Today, I want to talk about something we rarely hear about in this place: animals and their wellbeing. Australians love animals, yet so many of our animal welfare laws lag behind those of other similar nations. So many people have related to me stories of how their companion animals have been their saviours during the isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns. My ex-racing rescue greyhound, Cosmo, has been a loving companion to me and my husband during the pandemic as we have been separated from our children.

I rise to speak on the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021—a bill this government has had to be dragged to finally bring to the table, though it still leaves much to be desired. Today we are marking Equal Pay Day and shamefully, staring at a gender pay gap of 14.2 per cent.

I for one, Senator Hughes, love New South Wales and Sydney—the harbour and everything else that comes with it—and, I must say, I am a little bit offended by your very weird comments on curry.

Having served in the New South Wales parliament for five years, I can tell you that I have had my fair share of disagreements with Premier Gladys Berejiklian and the New South Wales Liberals, but I have to say on this very rare occasion I do agree with them wholeheartedly: Scott Morrison is a Prime Minister for himself and no-one else.

Over the last two weeks we have seen alarming revelations in the media about the extent and character of far-right organising in this country. The 'Nazis Next Door' investigation conducted by the Nine papers and 60 Minutes in collaboration with antifascist researchers has revealed some dark truths about the growing threat of white supremacy and far-right extremism. The investigation was shocking but not entirely surprising for those of us who have followed the rise of the far-right closely and are impacted by racism and its deadly consequences.

Rach, before I joined this Greens dream team in the Senate, I had heard about a Senator Siewert from others who had met her. I had heard about her fierce advocacy for marginalised people, the environment and oceans. The forced adoptions inquiry is one in particular that so many people and so many women I met were so thankful to you for.