Australian Greens Spokesperson for Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said that the Ruddock Review into Religious Freedom’s recommendation to expand and entrench the right to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students and teachers is absolutely outrageous.

Senator Faruqi said: “Schools that discriminate against LGBTIQ+students and teachers don’t deserve a cent of public money.

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale and Education Spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi have today doubled down on their defence of public schools, declaring they "will not be silenced" by a well-funded Private Schools lobby group.

"The Morrison Government has sold Australian students down the river to silence a powerful lobby group ahead of the Wentworth byelection, but the Greens will always put kids in public education front and centre," Dr Di Natale said.

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said that the new Education Minister, Dan Tehan, is not up to the job following his threats to withhold education funding to the States if they don’t accept the $4.6 billion ‘special deal’ with the Catholic and Independent sector. The Greens have consistently said that these billions must be diverted to the needy public school sector.

Senator Faruqi said:

Australian Greens Senator for NSW, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has offered to officiate citizenship ceremonies for NSW councils that have been stripped of their power for moving the date of their citizenship ceremonies from January 26.  All Australian Federal MPs have the power to conduct citizenship ceremonies within their own electorate. Byron Bay Council has announced that they will move their citizenship ceremony to 25th of January.

Senator Faruqi said:

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has called on Labor to join the Greens in working to ensure that the $4.6 billion special deal with the Catholic and Independent schools is redirected to public school funds.

The Australian Senate has today called on the Federal Government to take a national approach to homelessness and to develop a National Homelessness Plan. Australian Greens Housing Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, moved the motion which was cosponsored by Labor and supported by the Centre Alliance, One Nation and Senators Hinch and Storer. The Liberals, Nationals and Katter's Australian Party voted against. The motion is copied below.

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has slammed the Federal Government’s announcement today on Catholic and Independent school funding. The Government has announced an extra $4.6 billion for the Catholic and Independent school sectors which the Greens say is a special deal that is just "hush money" for them to stop campaigning against the Government.

Senator Faruqi said:

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (12:38): I seek leave to make a short statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Rhinos are in crisis. There are just 67 Javan rhinos, less than 80 Sumatran rhinos and less than 6,000 black rhinos left. We humans have a lot to answer for. The Greens are proud of our role in combating the illegal ivory trade and of being a loud voice for animals across Australian parliaments. Seventy-seven per cent of Australians believe that trading elephant ivory and rhino horn is already illegal in Australia, so it is really disappointing that our laws lag behind community expectations. The ivory trade is not the only threat facing rhinoceros populations.

I've stood as an engineer and a sustainability academic at the front of lecture theatres more often than I've stood up to speak in parliaments. When you're teaching you spend an awful lot of time looking your students in the eye, as you might imagine. Now that I'm spending less time in the classroom and more time in parliament, I often wonder whether many members in this place wouldn't benefit from having to look some students in the eye every so often.