Latest news with #Plibersek
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Murray Watt thinks he will succeed where Tanya Plibersek failed
New Environment Minister Murray Watt has raised expectations that warring conservation and mining groups will back the Albanese government's promise to reform nature protection laws, but is staring down demands for a climate trigger to control new fossil fuel projects. The Albanese government pledged in the 2022 election to strengthen environment laws, but reforms pursued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek collapsed when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to torpedo negotiations with the Greens after pushback from Western Australian miners. After his first roundtable meeting with industry groups on Thursday, Watt said there was 'broad agreement' from parties including miners, farmers, renewable energy developers, conservation groups and First Nations communities. 'Our current environmental laws aren't working and desperately need reform. Everyone accepted that this is an urgent task for the country and the parliament,' Watt said. Loading The 2020 Samuel review of Australia's environment laws found they were broken. Since colonisation, about 100 of Australia's unique flora and fauna species have been wiped out. The rate of loss, which is as bad as anywhere else on Earth, shows no sign of slowing, with ongoing habitat degradation and more than 2000 species currently listed as threatened with extinction. Before he can land reforms, Watt must bridge a divide between the mining industry and conservation lobby or face the spectre of a political campaign from whichever side is disappointed. Just as Albanese was scuttling Plibersek's reform push, the mining lobby warned Plibersek's reforms were 'bad for WA, bad for industry'. After Albanese's intervention, the Australian Conservation Foundation said the government had ' left nature in limbo after surrendering to the demands of mining and big business'. However, in a sign of his confidence, Watt said he could bring a reform bill to parliament within 18 months.
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Murray Watt thinks he will succeed where Tanya Plibersek failed
New Environment Minister Murray Watt has raised expectations that warring conservation and mining groups will back the Albanese government's promise to reform nature protection laws, but is staring down demands for a climate trigger to control new fossil fuel projects. The Albanese government pledged in the 2022 election to strengthen environment laws, but reforms pursued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek collapsed when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to torpedo negotiations with the Greens after pushback from Western Australian miners. After his first roundtable meeting with industry groups on Thursday, Watt said there was 'broad agreement' from parties including miners, farmers, renewable energy developers, conservation groups and First Nations communities. 'Our current environmental laws aren't working and desperately need reform. Everyone accepted that this is an urgent task for the country and the parliament,' Watt said. Loading The 2020 Samuel review of Australia's environment laws found they were broken. Since colonisation, about 100 of Australia's unique flora and fauna species have been wiped out. The rate of loss, which is as bad as anywhere else on Earth, shows no sign of slowing, with ongoing habitat degradation and more than 2000 species currently listed as threatened with extinction. Before he can land reforms, Watt must bridge a divide between the mining industry and conservation lobby or face the spectre of a political campaign from whichever side is disappointed. Just as Albanese was scuttling Plibersek's reform push, the mining lobby warned Plibersek's reforms were 'bad for WA, bad for industry'. After Albanese's intervention, the Australian Conservation Foundation said the government had ' left nature in limbo after surrendering to the demands of mining and big business'. However, in a sign of his confidence, Watt said he could bring a reform bill to parliament within 18 months.
Sky News AU
11-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek says millions of Australians to benefit from welfare payment changes as new measures announced
Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek has revealed sweeping measures in a bid to ease cost of living pressures, with millions of Australians soon set to receive a boost in welfare payments. A number of rates, limits and thresholds will see a 2.4 per cent increase to 'ensure they keep pace' with cost of living, the minister has announced. Households collecting Family Tax Benefit Part and Part B payments will be among those covered, with rates to increase to up to $295.82 every fortnight. More Australians will also be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL), with income limit adjustments among the new measures coming into effect next month. Ms Plibersek has claimed over 2.4 million people who receive welfare payments will be aided by the changes. 'Indexation keeps payment rates and thresholds in line with the wider economy and makes sure our social security system remains a safety net that Australians can rely on,' a statement from the minister's office said. . More Australians will also be eligible for Paid Parental Leave (PPL) with income limits among the new measures. People earning up to $180,007 annually can receive PPL under the new measures, as well as families with a taxable income of up to $373,094 per year. Ms Plibersek has insisted that tackling cost of living pressures is a top priority for the Albanese government. 'From 1 July, millions of recipients of social security payments will see more money in their bank accounts,' the Social Services Minister said in the announcement. 'Payments like the Family Tax Benefit help cover the costs of raising children for many Australian families, and indexation is a crucial way to help families when cost of living rises. 'Combined with Labor's tax cuts, increased wages, cheaper medicines, cuts to student debt, and energy bill relief, Labor is making a real difference to help ease the cost of living.' Some of the other changes coming into effect on July 1 include increases to asset limits for JobSeeker Payment, Austudy, and Youth Allowance recipients. The Albanese government came under heavy criticism over its efforts to mitigate of cost of living pressures in the lead-up to this year's federal election, and Institute of Public Affairs' Colleen Harkin on Tuesday blasted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his 'negligence' in addressing the issue when he spoke at the National Press Club earlier that day. 'There was a lot of lofty motherhood statements. It was like reading a Hallmark gift card, really,' Ms Harkin told Sky News Host Rita Panahi regarding the speech. '...But the problem with this is it's not ambition, it's actually negligence, because the real difference that he can make in people's lives is the coast of living and their energy bills.'
7NEWS
04-06-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
One in three Australian men report using emotional or physical violence
More than one in three Australian men admit to having used emotional or physical violence against their partners, according to a world-first study. The alarming results are an increase from one in four men 10 years ago, with federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek calling it a 'trend ... going in the wrong direction'. 'That equates to about 120,000 extra men every year in Australia using violence for the first time in intimate relationships,' she said. The Australian Institute of Family Studies' Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health — the largest study of its kind in the world — surveyed about 16,000 men aged 18 to 65 in 2013-2014 and again in 2023-2024, with a further 10,000 individuals added to the database in the second survey. It asked questions including whether participants had ever behaved in a manner that had made a partner feel frightened or anxious, or had ever hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt a partner when angry. By the second study, 35 per cent of participants answered yes to one or both of those questions compared with 24 per cent in the first survey. About 9 per cent of those involved in the second survey admitted to physically abusing their partner. Plibersek said the study results were concerning. 'It looks at a large cohort of men over a long period of time and, what the research shows is that over about a decade, between the first report and the second report, the number of men who have ever used violence has increased from one in four to one in three,' Plibersek told the ABC. 'Obviously, that's a trend that's going in the wrong direction.' But she said the research did offer 'good insights', revealing men who had an affectionate father figure as a child were 48 per cent less likely to have committed intimate partner violence. And men with high levels of social support 'all the time' were 26 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence. 'It shows that men who have good mental health, who have good social connections and social supports, and who have a good relationship with a father or father figure when they're young, are all less likely to use violence in their relationships,' Plibersek told the ABC. Conversely, mental health issues such as depression can increase the incidence of violence. Men who reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms in 2013-2014 were 62 per cent more likely to report committing violence by the second survey, while those with mild depressive symptoms were 32 per cent more likely. Those who had experienced suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts were 47 per cent more likely to have committed some form of violence against a partner. 'Extent of the problem' Australian Institute of Family Studies director Liz Neville said : 'This unique data set, following men over a 10-year period, confirms the extent of the problem. 'With an estimated 120,000 men starting to use intimate partner violence each year across Australia, we can see more clearly how delays in effective interventions can have devastating consequences. 'Each act of violence harms individuals, families, and communities. We hope these disturbing numbers provide the impetus for further action by governments at all levels, underpinned by evidence.' However the research indicates programs which support men to develop good quality relationships, social connections and to seek support could contribute to a reduction in partner violence.
West Australian
02-06-2025
- Health
- West Australian
‘Very concerning': One in three Australian men admit to intimate partner violence, horror study finds
A major new study revealing intimate partner violence is on the rise despite efforts to counter it is 'very concerning', Tanya Plibersek has said. One in three men have admitted to abusing an intimate partner either emotionally or physically, according to the latest Australian Institute of Family Studies findings. It marks an increase from one in four about a decade ago. Reacting to the AIFS report on Tuesday, the Social Services Minister said it was clear the trend was headed in the 'wrong direction'. 'It looks at a large cohort of men over a long period of time, and what the research shows is that over about a decade, between the first report and the second report, the number of men who have ever used violence has increased from one in four to one in three,' Ms Plibersek told the ABC. 'That equates to about 120,000 extra men every year in Australia using violence for the first time in intimate relationships. 'Obviously that's a trend that's going in the wrong direction. The study found emotional abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence. Thirty-two per cent of men in 2022 reported that they had made an intimate partner feel 'frightened or anxious'. Meanwhile, 9 per cent admitted to 'hitting, slapping, kicking or otherwise physically hurting' their partner when angry. But Ms Plibersek stressed the report offered 'some really good insights into what makes it more or less likely that men will ever use violence in an intimate relationship'. 'It shows that men who have good mental health, who have good social connections and social supports, and who have a good relationship with a father or father figure when they're young, are all less likely to use violence in their relationships,' she said. According to the report, men with high levels of social support 'all of the time' were 26 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence. It also said men with strong relationships, with an affectionate father figure as a child, were 48 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence. In contrast, men with depressive symptoms were 62 per cent more likely to abuse a partner when compared to others without these symptoms. 'I think a lot of people in recent years have reported social isolation and loneliness as bigger features in their lives,' Ms Plibersek said. 'It shows why it's important that we invest in mental health supports and we're doing that as a government — an extra billion dollars with Medicare walk-in mental health clinics, expanding the number of Headspace clinics, reinstating telehealth psychiatry, telehealth consultations. 'All of those supports make a difference. It shows why it's important that we are investing to help women as they leave violence with the billion dollars extra for the Leaving Violence (Program), the extra housing and extra billion dollars for that.' The government-funded study has tracked more than 16,000 boys and men since 2013 and added an additional 10,000 men in 2024-25. It is the first of its kind in Australia.
