Tonight’s crisis National Cabinet meeting should be focused on housing relief to protect renters and tenants, the Australian Greens said today, with the Greens Leader and Housing Spokesperson today writing to heads of Governments to urge compassion through this crisis.

The letter comes following the unprecedented decision of NSW Parliament last night to pass a Greens amendment that enables the Government to ban rental evictions, empower tenants and limit the powers of landlords through the COVID-19 pandemic via regulation alone.

More than 250,000 Australians will have an extra $550 a fortnight to get through the Coronavirus crisis, after the Greens pushed the government to extend a crucial supplementary payment that had omitted Australia’s students.

Following questioning from Senator Rachel Siewert and Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Matthias Cormann said the government would now immediately regulate to make Abstudy, Austudy, and Youth Allowance (Student) eligible for the Coronavirus Supplement.

Lines from Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens:

This morning’s decision by the big four banks to do nothing for homeowners risks putting families out on the streets, Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP, and Housing spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, said today, calling for the government to get big banks to give vulnerable homeowners a residential ‘mortgage holiday’ to make sure families don’t lose their homes.

Australian Greens Senator and Education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called on the federal government to scrap the Activity Test for the Child Care Subsidy immediately. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, it is critical that families continue to receive subsidised child care.

Senator Faruqi said:

“As workplaces suspend operations and cut shifts, families become unable to meet the Activity Test and may lose access to subsidised child care. We must not let this happen.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens spokesperson for Housing is demanding emergency measures to support people to keep a roof over their heads during the COVID-19 pandemic. At this difficult time when there are even more workers in precarious work and others needing to take time off we must guarantee there will be no evictions and enough resources for crisis housing.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW Dr Mehreen Faruqi has welcomed today’s news that class action participants have reached a settlement of $212.5 million with the government over PFAS contamination, though has labelled the recent government response to the federal PFAS inquiry as extremely disappointing.

Senator Faruqi said:

 Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP and Housing Spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi have today launched a bold plan to build 500,000 new homes, create 40,000 new jobs and 4,000 new apprenticeships, and push back the risk of recession nationally.

With construction having fallen 7.4% over the year, and with nearly one in three young people struggling to find work, this project will inject crucially needed stimulus into the economy while putting homes into reach for young families.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi has said that a new analysis of planned NSW private school building projects exposes even further the exorbitance of $4.6 billion in public funding of private schools.

Senator Faruqi said:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) Prime Minister Scott Morrison has signed off on a $2 billion deal with the New South Wales Government that would fast track the Narrabri Gas Project (NGP), which will extract gas from coal seams lying deep beneath the mighty Pilliga Forest,

   (ii) the NGP is fiercely opposed by local communities, farmers, and ecologists because it threatens the Pilliga Forest, the Great Artesian Basin, farmers' livelihoods, and food and water security, and

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Education spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said that private schools will be able to spend the $1.2 billion ‘Choice and Affordability’ slush fund with enormous discretion. Flexible guidelines for the fund have been released as parliament debates handing out a further $3.4 billion for private schools.

Senator Faruqi said: