Parliament

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (14:22): My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for Education in the Senate. Minister, free child care has hugely benefited thousands of Australian families. While the package rolled out certainly had its faults and needed to be fixed, it was a signal that the government might start to recognise child care as an essential service which should be free and available to all and not just for those who can afford it.

I rise to speak to the Official Development Assistance Multilateral Replenishment Obligations (Special Appropriation) Bill 2019. The bill provides funds to existing and future official development assistance multilateral replenishment obligations. The Greens support this bill, but the government needs to do much more. We are living through a global pandemic with the entire world impacted. We are set to face, as a global community, social and economic consequences at a massive scale which will be felt ever more deeply in the global south.

I, and also on behalf of Senators McKim, Siewert, Whish-Wilson, Waters, Hanson-Young, Steele-John, Lines, Urquhart, Wong, Keneally, Pratt, Brown, McAllister, Ayres, Bilyk, Walsh, Sheldon, Carr, Watt and Polley move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) notes the passing of trailblazing unionist and environmental activist, Jack Mundey AO;

(b) extends its sincere and heartfelt condolences to Jack Mundey's family, friends and comrades; and

(c) acknowledges and pays tribute to Jack Mundey's extraordinary legacies, including:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) over 550,000 international students currently study in Australia, contributing immensely to our community and economy,

   (ii) many of these students are suffering enormous financial hardship at the moment due to unemployment, wage losses and instability during COVID-19,

   (iii) students have been forced to queue at food banks, live in cramped accommodation, and rely on the charity of others in order to eat and make ends meet,

The Greens support this motion. We have been strongly pushing for a massive investment from the federal government to build 500,000 public and community homes to provide much-needed roofs over people's heads. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed even more how broken our housing system is. It's time for the federal government to lead from the front with a multibillion-dollar investment to construct high-quality, climate-conscious public and community housing as part of the economic stimulus. This will also create tens of thousands of thousands of jobs and thousands of apprenticeships.

In the last few weeks, there have been disturbing videos shared on social media channels showing queues of international students lining the streets of Sydney. These students are not lining up to wait for transport or go shopping. These students have been queuing to be given free food from restaurants and charities because they have no other way of eating. These are students who we welcomed into our country, many of whom are now facing nothing less than poverty, starvation and homelessness.

I did ponder a bit whether speaking on this matter of public importance was worth it, because it clearly seeks to divide us. But, to be honest, I have had it up to here with One Nation, so I will have my say. This MPI is just another way for them to define who should be in Australia, who is deemed as 'one of us' and who is deemed as the 'other' because of what they look like or where they come from. Let me make one thing crystal clear: when One Nation talk about changing the composition of our migration program, we know what you mean.

I rise to support the call to retain the rate of the jobseeker and youth allowance payments. A return to the old rate of the jobseeker and youth allowance payments, below the poverty line, would be a colossal moral failing. The Liberals must be forced to confront the fact that they are considering thrusting hundreds of thousands of Australians back below the poverty line in the middle of a crisis. This must not be allowed to happen. We must retain the rate.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) housing is a human right and everyone deserves a home,

   (ii) the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated how broken our housing system is, with decades of marketisation leading to extraordinarily unfair and inhumane housing outcomes for the community, and

   (iii) we must ensure a home for all during and after this crisis;

(b) calls on the National Cabinet to take leadership and put in place:

I rise to speak on the pandemic, its impact and our future. The coronavirus pandemic is having some of its greatest impacts on people on low incomes, temporary migrants and women. It has exposed the vast gap between the wealthiest in our society and people barely making ends meet. It has exposed the crushing weight of inequality that many in our community bear.