3 years ago
COVID-19 restrictions easing
CHRIS BOWEN MP
CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thanks for coming, everyone I have a few issues to do with before taking questions.
Firstly, of course the Minister of Health this morning announced some funding for Indigenous health research. This is welcome. I note that the funding is from an existing allocation, the Medical Research Future Fund, it's not new budget money. Nevertheless, every dollar that's spent on Indigenous health is a welcomed dollar. And I welcome the commitment today. Just as the Labor Party consistently called for Indigenous justice targets to be added to Closing the Gap agenda, we welcome the fact that there are moves to do that. We will welcome this funding this morning.
The second matter I want to do with this important matter of elder abuse. Tomorrow is World Elder Abuse Recognition day. This is a reminder to all of us that some of our most vulnerable are our elderly, those who have contributed so much to the community. Today, over the last 24 hours, we've seen the Government upload a report they received last November, outlining that there are 50,000 cases of unreported elder abuse throughout the aged care residential care system every year. It's not good enough to sit on a report like that for months and not have a proper response.
Three years ago, the Australian Law Reform Commission recommended a National Incidence Response Scheme, Serious Incidence Response scheme for elder abuse. The Morison Government's done absolutely nothing about it that. They should take World Elder Abuse Day tomorrow as an opportunity to tackle this issue and do something very serious.
The final issue I want to deal with is the matter of China. We've seen reports of the death sentence for an Australian citizen Karm Gilespie. Of course, these are deeply concerning reports. Both sides of politics are opposed to the death penalty. Often, quiet diplomacy is the best way of making these approaches. And the Government will have our full support, if that's what they are undertaking, representing on behalf of an Australian citizen. There's a serious crime, but the death penalty is never the right answer. And all governments of all persuasions would make representations for an Australian citizen who's been sentenced to death. And this Government will have our full support as they do so and we trust and expect that they are making the appropriate representations quietly behind the scenes.
Just on the matter of China and the last matter I want to do with are reports that Dr. Sharma has called for Australia to welcome the return of Russia to the G7. Now this is just wrong. Mr. Sharma yesterday called for this with no reference at all to MH-17. Cosying up to an autocrat like Vladimir Putin is not the answer to dealing with the geopolitical challenges facing the world today. Russia has never accepted responsibility for MH-17 in which 38 Australians died. So Mr. Sharma needs to take a good, long, hard look at his call. There's a genuine question about rebalancing around the world. But you don't deal with authoritarian regimes elsewhere by cosying up to an authoritarian regime in Russia. And if Mr. Morrison goes to the G7, as we said would be appropriate for him to do. He needs to make clear, that he makes clear to Vladimir Putin that Australia has not forgotten MH-17 and we expect Russia to deal with it. We expect Russia to acknowledge MH-17, and we expect justice for the families of those Australians who have lost their lives. And I would have thought Mr. Sharma should reflect on his irresponsible calls. Happy to take any questions
JOURNALIST: Could I ask firstly for a response to the report that the Government is looking at shorter quarantine times for students and business travellers?
BOWEN: The most important thing, Paul is public health. And there's a legitimate discussion to be had with universities and schools about how to handle the return of international students. But I don't think Australians would accept a separate set of rules for business people, a separate set of rules for some others. The international border closure is an important part of our Coronavirus response. We've given bipartisan support to the Government at every step of the way. Any move away from that must be based on medical advice, and I think Australians will be understandably reluctant to see separate sets of rules for some who might be coming here for business, as opposed to other purposes into Australia.
JOURNALIST: Do you think that the Australian Government should have done more representation for the man sentenced to death in China?
BOWEN: KarmGilespie, as I said, often these things are best done and it is in Mr. Gilespie’s best interest for this to be done, not in public, but directly to the Chinese administration. And if that's what's happening, we would support that. Now it's up to the Government to outline what representations they're making, but we wouldn't call for them to necessarily engage in megaphone diplomacy. Of course, we're all opposed to the death penalty. And if we need to make that clear publicly, as a parliament, as a party, as a public, we will. But the Government has our support as they make those representations. We assume they make those representations to the relevant authorities as they would, should do for any Australian convicted and sentenced to the death penalty anywhere in the world.
JOURNALIST: On reports today regarding Government funding, being cut off to China Matters, do you welcome that news. You participated in one of those study trips, do you have any concerns about the conduct of the think tank?
BOWEN: China Matters is a very well respected institution. It's been highly respected on all sides of politics. And in the most senior levels, I'm aware of the most senior levels of the bureaucracy, including the most senior levels of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as bringing a balanced and careful approach to an important bilateral relationship. That's certainly been my experience. I read that report, that the report indicated that they had retained gift recipient status. So it's up to the Government to explain if they've changed their view, but under this Government China Matters has received support as a sensible contributor. And if they've changed their mind about that they need to outline why.
JOURNALIST: Do you think there needs to be a shift on Closing the Gap targets or the strategy as a whole to try and bring parity especially on some of these health and other goals?
BOWEN: Yes, we've, we've said, for example, that there should be an Indigenous justice goal. But most importantly, Closing the Gap can't be something the Parliament focuses on one day a year. It has to be something the Parliament focuses on every day of the year and has to be something we focused on Budget day. And the budget cuts under this Government to Indigenous funding had been most regrettable, and most importantly going forward to enable the Parliament to focus on Closing the Gap every day. We need a voice to Parliament for Australia’s First Nations And that voice should be constitutionally enshrined. And I've been bitterly disappointed, even in recent days to see the backsliding away from that commitment. Every so often we get, you know, two minutes of hope that maybe the Government could bring about constitutional recognition. They've always got a reason not to. Scott Morrison says it needs a consensus. Sure it needs a consensus, the Labor Party's happen to provide that. He has to provide the leadership and only the Prime Minister of the day can provide that and bring this about and make it a reality. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a touching, thoughtful, well considered document, which has been dismissed now by successive Liberal prime ministers. It was perhaps the most disappointing part of Malcolm Turnbull’s Prime Ministership, that he just dismissed it out of hand and said it will be a third Chamber of Parliament which just wasn't true. Australians can come together we've shown we can come together to do a big and important things. A big and important thing to do in Australia is that enshrinement of a voice to Parliament in our Constitution. Surely we can do this and surely, more than 50 years on from the 1967 referendum, we can come together as a parliament make this referendum happen, provide a bipartisan recommendation to the Australian people and make it a reality.
JOURNALIST: Just wondering when you make the actions overnight with the two statues were vandalised in Sydney one of Captain Cook and one of Governor Macquarie.
BOWEN: Look, there's no place for vandalising statues like that. There's a legitimate debate about how we recognise our history and how we celebrate the good and the bad in history. There's a legitimate discussion about that, there's a legitimate discussion about recognising more of Indigenous Australia in our commemoration of our history, but we also have to recognise that people like Captain Cook and Governor Lachlan Macquarie. were an important part of the nation we've become, and that needs to be recognised in our history as well. And there's no place - I condemn the defacing of statues I condemned the defacing of the statues of John Howard and Tony Abbott in Bendigo. I condemn that wholeheartedly. I don't agree with much of what John Howard and Tony Abbott did as prime ministers, but they deserve to be honoured and recognised in our history as well. And there's no place for the defacing of statues like this. We have to recognise the good and the bad of our history. We are not a nation which needs to go down, go around tearing down statues by and large, we're a nation that needs to build up a tolerant, respectful Australia, with our indigenous history an important part of who we are and who we hope to be.
JOURNALIST: Tony Abbott has claimed there is no evidence the justice system discriminates against Indigenous Australians and he’s (inaudible).
BOWEN: I think Mr. Abbott’s got this one wrong. The fact of the matter is that a young indigenous man in Australia is more likely to go to gaol than to university. And if we think that that's okay, and we think that's just all about individual behaviour, we're making a terrible, terrible error. You know, if one student fails, you might say it's the fault of the student, but if the entire class fails, you might say, the school and the teacher need to have a look at themselves, we need to have a look at ourselves as a society, about Indigenous health outcomes, Indigenous justice outcomes. And say what more can we and should we do? I think Tony Abbott is wrong about that and utterly wrong.
Okay, I think we're all in all done. All right. Good on you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
ENDS
Firstly, of course the Minister of Health this morning announced some funding for Indigenous health research. This is welcome. I note that the funding is from an existing allocation, the Medical Research Future Fund, it's not new budget money. Nevertheless, every dollar that's spent on Indigenous health is a welcomed dollar. And I welcome the commitment today. Just as the Labor Party consistently called for Indigenous justice targets to be added to Closing the Gap agenda, we welcome the fact that there are moves to do that. We will welcome this funding this morning.
The second matter I want to do with this important matter of elder abuse. Tomorrow is World Elder Abuse Recognition day. This is a reminder to all of us that some of our most vulnerable are our elderly, those who have contributed so much to the community. Today, over the last 24 hours, we've seen the Government upload a report they received last November, outlining that there are 50,000 cases of unreported elder abuse throughout the aged care residential care system every year. It's not good enough to sit on a report like that for months and not have a proper response.
Three years ago, the Australian Law Reform Commission recommended a National Incidence Response Scheme, Serious Incidence Response scheme for elder abuse. The Morison Government's done absolutely nothing about it that. They should take World Elder Abuse Day tomorrow as an opportunity to tackle this issue and do something very serious.
The final issue I want to deal with is the matter of China. We've seen reports of the death sentence for an Australian citizen Karm Gilespie. Of course, these are deeply concerning reports. Both sides of politics are opposed to the death penalty. Often, quiet diplomacy is the best way of making these approaches. And the Government will have our full support, if that's what they are undertaking, representing on behalf of an Australian citizen. There's a serious crime, but the death penalty is never the right answer. And all governments of all persuasions would make representations for an Australian citizen who's been sentenced to death. And this Government will have our full support as they do so and we trust and expect that they are making the appropriate representations quietly behind the scenes.
Just on the matter of China and the last matter I want to do with are reports that Dr. Sharma has called for Australia to welcome the return of Russia to the G7. Now this is just wrong. Mr. Sharma yesterday called for this with no reference at all to MH-17. Cosying up to an autocrat like Vladimir Putin is not the answer to dealing with the geopolitical challenges facing the world today. Russia has never accepted responsibility for MH-17 in which 38 Australians died. So Mr. Sharma needs to take a good, long, hard look at his call. There's a genuine question about rebalancing around the world. But you don't deal with authoritarian regimes elsewhere by cosying up to an authoritarian regime in Russia. And if Mr. Morrison goes to the G7, as we said would be appropriate for him to do. He needs to make clear, that he makes clear to Vladimir Putin that Australia has not forgotten MH-17 and we expect Russia to deal with it. We expect Russia to acknowledge MH-17, and we expect justice for the families of those Australians who have lost their lives. And I would have thought Mr. Sharma should reflect on his irresponsible calls. Happy to take any questions
JOURNALIST: Could I ask firstly for a response to the report that the Government is looking at shorter quarantine times for students and business travellers?
BOWEN: The most important thing, Paul is public health. And there's a legitimate discussion to be had with universities and schools about how to handle the return of international students. But I don't think Australians would accept a separate set of rules for business people, a separate set of rules for some others. The international border closure is an important part of our Coronavirus response. We've given bipartisan support to the Government at every step of the way. Any move away from that must be based on medical advice, and I think Australians will be understandably reluctant to see separate sets of rules for some who might be coming here for business, as opposed to other purposes into Australia.
JOURNALIST: Do you think that the Australian Government should have done more representation for the man sentenced to death in China?
BOWEN: KarmGilespie, as I said, often these things are best done and it is in Mr. Gilespie’s best interest for this to be done, not in public, but directly to the Chinese administration. And if that's what's happening, we would support that. Now it's up to the Government to outline what representations they're making, but we wouldn't call for them to necessarily engage in megaphone diplomacy. Of course, we're all opposed to the death penalty. And if we need to make that clear publicly, as a parliament, as a party, as a public, we will. But the Government has our support as they make those representations. We assume they make those representations to the relevant authorities as they would, should do for any Australian convicted and sentenced to the death penalty anywhere in the world.
JOURNALIST: On reports today regarding Government funding, being cut off to China Matters, do you welcome that news. You participated in one of those study trips, do you have any concerns about the conduct of the think tank?
BOWEN: China Matters is a very well respected institution. It's been highly respected on all sides of politics. And in the most senior levels, I'm aware of the most senior levels of the bureaucracy, including the most senior levels of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as bringing a balanced and careful approach to an important bilateral relationship. That's certainly been my experience. I read that report, that the report indicated that they had retained gift recipient status. So it's up to the Government to explain if they've changed their view, but under this Government China Matters has received support as a sensible contributor. And if they've changed their mind about that they need to outline why.
JOURNALIST: Do you think there needs to be a shift on Closing the Gap targets or the strategy as a whole to try and bring parity especially on some of these health and other goals?
BOWEN: Yes, we've, we've said, for example, that there should be an Indigenous justice goal. But most importantly, Closing the Gap can't be something the Parliament focuses on one day a year. It has to be something the Parliament focuses on every day of the year and has to be something we focused on Budget day. And the budget cuts under this Government to Indigenous funding had been most regrettable, and most importantly going forward to enable the Parliament to focus on Closing the Gap every day. We need a voice to Parliament for Australia’s First Nations And that voice should be constitutionally enshrined. And I've been bitterly disappointed, even in recent days to see the backsliding away from that commitment. Every so often we get, you know, two minutes of hope that maybe the Government could bring about constitutional recognition. They've always got a reason not to. Scott Morrison says it needs a consensus. Sure it needs a consensus, the Labor Party's happen to provide that. He has to provide the leadership and only the Prime Minister of the day can provide that and bring this about and make it a reality. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a touching, thoughtful, well considered document, which has been dismissed now by successive Liberal prime ministers. It was perhaps the most disappointing part of Malcolm Turnbull’s Prime Ministership, that he just dismissed it out of hand and said it will be a third Chamber of Parliament which just wasn't true. Australians can come together we've shown we can come together to do a big and important things. A big and important thing to do in Australia is that enshrinement of a voice to Parliament in our Constitution. Surely we can do this and surely, more than 50 years on from the 1967 referendum, we can come together as a parliament make this referendum happen, provide a bipartisan recommendation to the Australian people and make it a reality.
JOURNALIST: Just wondering when you make the actions overnight with the two statues were vandalised in Sydney one of Captain Cook and one of Governor Macquarie.
BOWEN: Look, there's no place for vandalising statues like that. There's a legitimate debate about how we recognise our history and how we celebrate the good and the bad in history. There's a legitimate discussion about that, there's a legitimate discussion about recognising more of Indigenous Australia in our commemoration of our history, but we also have to recognise that people like Captain Cook and Governor Lachlan Macquarie. were an important part of the nation we've become, and that needs to be recognised in our history as well. And there's no place - I condemn the defacing of statues I condemned the defacing of the statues of John Howard and Tony Abbott in Bendigo. I condemn that wholeheartedly. I don't agree with much of what John Howard and Tony Abbott did as prime ministers, but they deserve to be honoured and recognised in our history as well. And there's no place for the defacing of statues like this. We have to recognise the good and the bad of our history. We are not a nation which needs to go down, go around tearing down statues by and large, we're a nation that needs to build up a tolerant, respectful Australia, with our indigenous history an important part of who we are and who we hope to be.
JOURNALIST: Tony Abbott has claimed there is no evidence the justice system discriminates against Indigenous Australians and he’s (inaudible).
BOWEN: I think Mr. Abbott’s got this one wrong. The fact of the matter is that a young indigenous man in Australia is more likely to go to gaol than to university. And if we think that that's okay, and we think that's just all about individual behaviour, we're making a terrible, terrible error. You know, if one student fails, you might say it's the fault of the student, but if the entire class fails, you might say, the school and the teacher need to have a look at themselves, we need to have a look at ourselves as a society, about Indigenous health outcomes, Indigenous justice outcomes. And say what more can we and should we do? I think Tony Abbott is wrong about that and utterly wrong.
Okay, I think we're all in all done. All right. Good on you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
ENDS