ACT Greens Podcast

ACT Greens Podcast

By ACT GreensNewsGovernment
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ACT Greens Podcast episodes

  • Looking back on 2022, and forward to 2023! ft. Jo Clay MLA

    2022 has been a big year in the Clay office and I wanted to catch you all up one what we've been doing:

    – We've succeeded in getting the right to a healthy environment into the ACT Human Rights Act.

    – We released an active travel discussion paper to kick off a conversation about what we can do to encourage Canberrans to leave their cars behind.

    – We changed the law to increase the penalties for drivers who harm vulnerable road users.

    – We've put the heat onto the horse racing industry over the millions they receive in ACT taxpayer subsidies.

    – There's now a plan in place to change fruit netting to a standard that doesn't harm flying foxes.

    – I released a discussion paper on the circular economy to help us reduce waste and environmental impacts.

    – We've lodged an opposition to the proposed Tarago industrial waste incinerator and supported the community campaign against that facility.

    – The needs of the mountain biking community are back on the agenda thanks to our advocacy.

    Heading into 2023 I hope you have a really restful break with your friends and family and enjoy a happy Christmas!

    8 min
  • Speech to the 2022 ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards. Ft. Emma Davidson MLA
    Speech given 7 December 2022: Dhawura nguna dhawura Ngunnawal. This is Ngunnawal Country. Tonight we are gathering on Ngunnawal country. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land. Sovereignty was never ceded. I pay my respects to First Nations elders past and present and acknowledge them for their nurturing of future leaders, and I acknowledge any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today. I know many people and families have a connection to the ACT and Region. Canberra has always been a place where people come together to share knowledge and ideas. To become a truly reconciled nation, to be able to truly care for country and for each other, we must listen to, understand and support First Nations people. This is why truth, treaty and voice is so important, and it's why I will be supporting a referendum for an Indigenous voice to Parliament, as well as the work of truth-telling and treaties. VIPs • Mr Dylan Alcott AO, Current Australian of the Year • Aunty Violet Sheridan, Ngunnawal Elder • Members of the ACT Inclusion Council • 2022 Inclusion Awards judges • 2022 Sponsors • Members of the ACT Disability Reference Group MLA's • Mr Andrew Barr MLA, ACT Chief Minister • Ms Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, Minister for Health • All the finalists and their supporters present tonight. Good evening everyone. Can I just start by saying, you all look amazing tonight. This is the first time I've been to the Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards, and it's a pretty awesome night, isn't it? Tonight is an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of people with disability in our community, and to value allies of people with disability working to change the world for the better. And it's been a heck of a year, right? I want to take you back, just for a moment, to January 2022. I was supposed to have a week off work, my first proper break since I started this job in November 2020. But that week, Canberra was hit by the Omicron wave, and the supercell storm that took out power for hundreds of houses and caused massive damage and disruption. I think a lot of us, particularly people who have the least personal capacity to adapt to living in isolation without reliable electricity, were feeling pretty down. And then we had the Australian of the Year announcements. I remember sitting in my lounge room, watching Dylan Alcott's speech, and just cheering "yes!" Because Dylan was talking about everything that was already on my to do list: • Look after people, especially those most at risk, during COVID-19. • Make the NDIS work the way it should. • Get more people with disability into employment. • And for people with disability to have pride in themselves. And we're doing these things. On the day Dylan made that speech, the ACT Government made the decision to provide free Rapid Antigen Tests to every disability in home support worker, even though the Commonwealth wasn't willing to fund it at the time. No cost, no hassle, we just did it. Thank you, Chief Minister, for supporting that. Working with the current Commonwealth Minister and other State Ministers, and an NDIA Board with more representation from people with lived experience of disability than ever before, we are taking on the big task of the NDIS Review. And I am very happy that the terms of reference include things that I advocated strongly for, like assessing the value of the NDIS not just the financial costs. And that any future changes to the NDIS will be co-designed with people with disability, just as the original design of the NDIS was done with people with disability. And when I say co-design, I mean the real deal. This is what we've been doing in the ACT this year in developing our new ten-year Disability Strategy for the ACT, setting the agenda for how we continue our journey to being the most accessible, inclusive, welcoming city in Australia. As the Chief Minister mentioned earlier, the consultation for the ACT's Strategy was co-designed and led by the ACT Disability Reference Group. Every conversation was led by people with disability. And it was not just inclusive, it was intersectional. We had people with disability leading conversations about their experience and goals as people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as First Nations people, as members of the LGBTIQ+ community. I can't pop out to get milk in this city without someone literally stopping me in the street to tell me what a great experience they had participating in the ACT Disability Strategy. I thank the Disability Reference Group for co-designing the consultation and all the facilitators for the time and energy they invested in delivering such productive consultation events. And to every person who participated – thank you. You have given me the next decade of to do lists. And can I please get a cheer for the Chief Minister and Treasurer who I'm sure is looking forward to my requests to fund all the good things we're going to do Employment is one area that came through very clearly in the ACT Disability Strategy consultations, just as it did in Dylan's speech back in January. We are listening, and we are acting on it. This group of people in the room tonight are excellent champions for these changes and the right people to be allies and supporters of this work. It reinforces to me the importance of the last piece of work I did with Sue Salthouse, just a few years ago, trying to get better data on unemployment for women with disabilities in the ACT. Meaningful, interesting work with a true living wage should be accessible to everyone, and it makes such a difference to our lives. Cultural and systemic change is a challenging, long-term proposition that requires ongoing effort and commitment. Which brings me to the last thing on Dylan's to do list from last January: for people with disability to have pride in themselves. Disability pride is a growing chorus that I hear throughout the community. Seeing the diversity of the way our bodies and minds work as a strength, and taking pride in disability being part of identity, is challenging. It's not what we've all internalised over our lives about what disability means. But the truth is, our community is facing some big problems, and we need the voices of people with disability at every decision making table. We're facing the existential threats of living with COVID, climate change, the growing inequality crisis, a world in conflict. We need your creativity, your talents, your flexibility and adaptability, your ideas if we're going to solve this. We need all of you. If we're going to build a better world, we have to do things differently so we don't just build back more of the same. We need people who see things differently, have different life experiences, think differently. It's a different world, and we're going to make it a better one together. I encourage you to push me to shake things up. Thank you to all our finalists this evening who are putting these values into actions to ensure we all belong, participate and flourish, and that we all look out for each other. I wish all our finalists the very best of luck this evening, however I know you are all winners and I thank you for making my community a better place to be! Enjoy your evening everyone. ENDS.
    8 min
  • Looking back on 2022, and forward to 2023! Ft. Emma Davidson MLA

    As the Minister for a range of portfolios that fundamentally covers "People" 2022 has been a very busy year. Here are a few of the highlights:

    - We've made real progress towards the ACT's first residential eating disorders clinic in Coombs. It's going to be a beautiful place for people to get the help they need.

    - We made amendments to the Senior Practitioners Act to increase the safety of people in care, at risk of restrictive practices, to manage behaviour and keep everyone safe.

    - The Safe Haven in Belconnen has been in operation this year for people experiencing needing help with their mental health. The data is in, showing this facility has been a real help to Canberrans in need.

    - 2022 has also been a successful year for the Garran step-up/step-down service. We are expanding these services because the evidence shows they are working.

    - Another highlight of the last year was successfully advancing the idea that the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) should take note of the value of the scheme, and not just its costs. We were also able to argue that future changes need to be co-designed with people with a disability.

    - 2022 also saw the ACT's co-design process for our disability strategy. I want to thank the more than 1,000 people who were involved in the process.

    In 2023 we want to roll out more of the mental health services which we have shown can really help people.

    More safe havens, more step-up/step-down facilities, more services delivered in the community.

    We will also see an early intervention service for eating disorders commencing in the new year.

    Next year the work really starts with putting in place the supports for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, to help young people make better choices.

    I'm also looking forward to the work we are going to do on the social recovery from COVID, talking to NGOs and the community sector about making sure this process is community led and government supported.

    A big priority for next year is working on the community understanding of disability.

    I want to thank the community for all the advice and feedback they have given me throughout the last year and I look forward to that continuing in 2023.

    I hope you enjoy the summer period and I look forward to hearing from you next year!

    10 min
  • Looking back on 2022, and forward to 2023! Ft. Shane Rattenbury MLA

    As 2022 comes to a close, I think the Greens in Government can look back in pride at what we've accomplished this year.

    I'm particularly struck by the translation of ACT Greens policies and promises into real action in the ACT - a great testament to the Greens' efforts here in the ACT to work as Ministers in a power sharing Government. Just a couple of examples just from my own Ministerial portfolios, for example:

    - We're charging ahead on EVs. We have set targets for the end of internal combustion engines and generous incentives to promote their uptake. And it's working with EV sales really starting to take off here in recent months.

    - We've secured government agreement to end the use of fossil fuel gas in the ACT and to electrify the city. This nation leading work is crucial to reaching zero net emissions, tackling climate change and making the ACT an exemplar sustainable city.

    - We're leading more nation leading reforms to strengthen the protection of tenants in rental housing by putting an end to "no-cause evictions" and setting new minimum standards for energy efficiency in rental properties. Tenants will have better security, more comfortable and safe housing, as well as energy bill relief.

    As we look forward to 2023 we will be raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, and eventually 14 as we set about removing children from the criminal justice system.

    We also have a lot of exciting work to do delivering on our climate strategies.

    And there is so much more, both that we've achieved, and that we will achieve in coming years!

    Thank you to everyone who has supported us in the past year. I hope you all have a merry festive season and I look forward to working with you in the new year!

    3 min
  • Marking National Threatened Species Day. Featuring Rebecca Vassarotti MLA

    Today is National Threatened Species Day which has occurred annually for 86 years in commemoration of Australia's Tasmanian tiger, marked as extinct on 7 September 1936.

    I marked the day this morning at the Birdscaping landscape plantings on David St in O'Connor.

    The ACT Government continues to take urgent action to protect all threatened plant and animal species. We are fortunate to have so many unique species right in our backyard, and I call upon Canberrans to join the fight to protect our beloved but threatened native plants and animals.

    In the 2022-23 budget, the ACT Government invested $2.95 million over two years to study, expand and strengthen critical habitat zones across Canberra. These zones will provide vital connectivity between existing zones and help further protect threatened native animal and plant species from the effects of climate change and urbanisation.

    Other measures that Canberrans can take to protect threatened plant and animal species include planting bird attracting plants in your garden, joining a local volunteer group like the Canberra Ornithologists Group, and keeping your cats contained.

    Next month, I look forward to taking part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count and helping to monitor our flying friends. In the meantime, if you spot a rare bird or animal, you can enter your sightings online through Canberra Nature Map, iNaturalist or eBird. Every sighting can help inform important conservation decisions.

    Learn more about threatened species and communities on the ACT Environment website → https://www.environment.act.gov.au/

    4 min
  • The right to a healthy environment. Ft. Rebecca Vassarotti MLA and Jo Clay MLA

    The ACT Government is asking Canberrans to consider the introduction of a right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Act.

    A discussion paper has been released to inform consideration of this right. It poses questions for community feedback.

    You now have the opportunity to help shape the content and definition of this human right.

    Have your say → https://yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/right-healthy-environment

    4 min
  • Budget 22-23 Reply Speech. Ft. Shane Rattenbury MLA
    Tonight it was my privilege to deliver the ACT Greens reply to the ACT Budget 22-23. While this was not entirely a budget that a majority Greens government would have delivered there is a great deal we can be proud of. This Budget demonstrates the impact of having Greens in government and how a collaborative approach to politics can result in good outcomes for the community. Find out more → https://greens.org.au/act/news/budget-22-23-reply-speech-ft-shane-rattenbury
    23 min
  • World Bee Day. Ft. Rebecca Vassarotti MLA

    By building urban ecosystems, we will make Canberra a refuge for the plants, animals and ecological communities devastated by climate change, habitat loss, bushfires and urban sprawl.

    So on this World Bee Day let's remember our untiring insect friends who power the pollination of the plants we love and need.

    Bee populations are under threat. Destruction of their natural habitat, intensive farming practices, and pests and diseases are just some of the complex reasons driving a decline in both the number and diversity of bees.

    The ACT is also making concerted efforts to reduce the use of bee-harming chemicals, phase out neonicotinoids and reduce the use of glyphosate and other pesticides that can decimate our bee-loved insect populations.

    The ACT Government has adopted integrated weed management practices that reduces chemical use and incorporate other techniques such as flame weeding, biological controls and manual weed removal.

    For more about World Bee Day → https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/

    #WeNeedBees

    7 min
  • Green Talk 02 - Extending Voting Rights, It's their future. Ft. Rebecca Vassarotti MLA and Andrew Braddock MLA

    Extending voting rights to include 16 year olds is an issue the ACT Greens have been committed to for years.

    The evidence is clear that our young people are capable and responsible, and that they have a huge stake in the future that governments are creating today.

    Other countries have made this important reform and the doomsayers have already been proven wrong.

    In this conversation we discuss the issues surrounding this reform.

    For more information → https://greens.org.au/act/news/have-your-say-expanding-voting-rights-young-people-act

    17 min

About ACT Greens Podcast

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for the ACT Greens' elected representatives to talk about the big ideas they've been working on. Authorised by Shane Rattenbury MLA for the ACT Greens.