The Federal Government must provide income support for temporary visa holders impacted by the coronavirus shutdown, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

"There are about 1.5 million people in Australia on temporary visas, and the Government has an urgent responsibility to provide income support for those who need it," Senator McKim said.

"Many of them have no income and no capacity to leave the country due to restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, and face losing their homes and jobs."

The Greens welcome the High Court’s decision regarding the government’s ability to deport First Nations peoples.

“Trying to deport First Nations peoples whose country we stole is a fundamentally racist thing to do,” Greens Immigration and Citizenship spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“All First Nations peoples who are in Immigration detention should now be immediately released.”

“It is also time to rein in the authority of both the Immigration Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs so we don't see these kinds of gross abuses of power.”

The second exposure draft of the Liberals' Religious Discrimination legislation has made already bad legislation even worse.

"The Liberals have massively widened the scope of the legislation, which will increase the number of organisations that will be able to discriminate," Greens Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

"The legislation maintains its undermining of state-based protections against discrimination, including Tasmania's nation-leading laws."

It's really hard to escape the conclusion that climate politics in Australia is totally cooked.

You've got a government that is basically having its climate change policy set by climate deniers; that effectively doesn't have a climate policy; and that is using dodgy accounting tricks to meet its woefully inadequate targets.

The Greens urge the Government to use the parliamentary break to amend the serious problems in the proposed religious discrimination laws.

"This is a chance for the Prime Minister to fix the obvious flaws in the Bill which allow for harmful discrimination," Greens Justice spokesperson Nick McKim said.

"But it's no secret that some church groups want to be allowed to discriminate even more than they were already being offered."

Greens Senators Janet Rice and Nick McKim have condemned the treatment of two Saudi journalists by the Australian government.

Quotes attributable to Senator Janet Rice, Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson

“Since being gay is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, Sultan and Nassar* had no choice but to flee and seek asylum here.

“It’s unconscionable that Australia is treating them like criminals when the supposed ‘crime’ was loving each other. What values does our purportedly fair and diverse country stand for?

The Greens have today referred the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party to the AFP over signs used at Victorian polling places during the federal election in May this year.

"The Liberals have admitted in the Federal Court this week that their signs were intended to convey the impression that they were from the Australian Electoral Commission,”  Greens Justice spokesperson Nick McKim said.

Evidence heard during the medevac inquiry made an overwhelming case for keeping the legislation in place, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

“The evidence heard during this inquiry made it clear – medevac has saved lives,” Senator McKim said.

“The government’s refusal to transfer sick people from offshore detention to Australia under previous arrangements caused death, mental anguish and untold suffering among refugees and people seeking asylum.”

The Biloela family must be allowed to stay in Australia, Greens Immigration and Citizenship spokesperson Nick McKim says.

“Trying to deport a family, including Australian born children, in the dead of night is emblematic of this government’s heartlessness,” Senator McKim said.

“Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton and David Coleman must listen to the community and allow Priya, Nades and their children to stay in Australia.”

“With the stroke of a ministerial pen they could be released from detention and allowed to get on with their lives.”