Parliament

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (16:22): I seek leave to make a short statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (12:14): Minister, what is being done to address the concerns of electricians that this bill will undermine the work health and safety of electrical workers?

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (11:39): I rise to speak on the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 on behalf of the Greens. From the outset I'd like to indicate that the Greens will support the referral to the inquiry so that the extensive issues with the legislation can be given due consideration, as Senator McAllister just told us in very clear terms.

Last week I travelled to Gamilaraay land to hear from community members in Coonabarabran and Gunnedah living on the front line of coal seam gas expansion in the central west of New South Wales. These communities have been fighting against dirty coal seam gas drilling for years now. It was a privilege to reconnect with locals and activists who have had their lives upturned by coal seam gas.

My heart goes out to the people of India, who are basically experiencing immeasurable suffering at this moment. We are thinking of you. We are trying to do everything we can to support you and are pushing the Australian government to meet its moral obligations. The government's disregard for the lives and the health of people overseas has become striking over the past couple of weeks. The Morrison government's threat of jail time for stranded Australians trying to return home from India is absolutely horrific, it's discriminatory and it is racist.

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (14:19): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Cash. Globally, thousands are dying from COVID-19 each day because they don't have treatment or vaccines. At the same time, majority-white Western countries like ours are hoarding vaccines and ordering more than they will ever need.

COVID-19 has exposed many structural inequities in Australia and internationally, from economic insecurity to wildly unequal access to health services. In 2021, the global vaccine rollout has come sharply into focus. Australia has the means to acquire and distribute a life-saving vaccine amongst our population. Make no mistake: this is a privilege. But what we are seeing on an international level is rich nations making strides towards full immunity while poorer nations are left behind. Australia is complicit in this.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on 15 March 2019 an Australian man walked into two mosques in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, and killed 51 innocent Muslims,

(ii) the New Zealand Royal Commission inquiry into the attacks confirmed that the massacre was driven by an 'extreme right-wing Islamophobic ideology',

(iii) two years on, Australia has grappled neither with being the country that raised the Christchurch killer, nor with the resurgent threat of far- right extremism and neo-fascism,

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (14:16): My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Birmingham. Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the far-right terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, when an Australian man killed 51 innocent Muslims. On 9 December 2020, following the publication of the New Zealand royal commission report, I asked you, Minister, whether the Prime Minister had read the report and how the government intended to respond to it.

I rise on behalf of the Greens to speak to the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020. I can tell you that, unlike the title of it, there is absolutely nothing fair about this bill. This bill seeks to suppress wages and erode working conditions for all workers, especially those who are the lowest paid, through a suite of measures designed to further shift the balance of power from workers to business.