Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Nick McKim, has responded to the release of today’s inflation figures.

“The government should introduce a corporate super profits tax to help ease cost of living pressures, including by fixing up the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).

“And they should use the additional revenue to provide cost of living support, such as by putting dental into Medicare and making childcare free.”

“COVID disruption and energy price hikes are driving inflation globally.

“But inflation is also being driven by corporate profiteering.

The Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has announced the party’s updated portfolio allocation for the upcoming 47th Parliament, ahead of the first sittings in July.

Presented to yesterday evening’s Party Room, the new allocation gives newly elected MPs and Senators the power to progress the issues they were elected to advance, while recognising the years of experience behind the Greens existing portfolio holders.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt announced today that the Greens would preference Labor ahead of the Liberals across the country. Greens Local and State branches finalised preference recommendations for how-to-vote cards this week ahead of early voting polling booths opening on May 9.

Greens how-to-vote cards, that recommend preferences, will recommend a preference for Labor above the Coalition and place other right wing parties last. The Greens will also recommend a preference for climate independents in key Liberal held seats.

The Australian Greens have slammed the government’s final budget for making housing more expensive, locking in tax cuts for the wealthy and funding more coal and gas projects rather than acting on the climate crisis.

The Liberals' final budget contains more than $37.6 bn for coal, oil and gas, gives $13bn of public money to property investors, and has no new money to build affordable housing.

The Greens want government invest to build a million affordable homes.

Quotes from Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP:

Greens acting Leader, Nick McKim says the confusion and mismanagement of the pandemic on a Federal level is symptomatic of a Government led by people who want government to do as little as possible.

The Morrison-Joyce ‘small government’ neoliberal ideology has contributed to failures on quarantine, vaccination rollout, aged care and massive pressure on state run health systems.

Resumption of travel for temporary visa holders is welcome news and a win for thousands of people whose lives have been disrupted for more than 20 months, the Greens say.

“While this announcement is long overdue, and nothing can erase the immense pain and trauma that the border closure has caused, this news will be celebrated by many thousands of people who hold visas for Australia,” Greens Immigration and Citizenship spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

Today Greens leader Adam Bandt will address the final Greens National Conference of the year announcing a major pillar of the Greens’ Tax the Billionaires election campaign: the plan to End Multinational Tax Avoidance by clamping down on tax exploits and improving the transparency of company and ATO reporting.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has indicated the policy would claw back around $4.5 billion for the public purse.

The Greens have today tabled legislation to extend and reinstate the temporary visas of people who were stranded overseas because of international border closures.

“Tens of thousands of temporary visa holders, including people with established homes, jobs and in some cases partners in Australia, were overseas when Australia’s international borders closed due to Covid-19,” Greens Immigration Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

The Covid outbreak at the Park Hotel detention facility was a preventable crisis that is a direct result of Government negligence, the Greens say.

“The Liberals were warned repeatedly that this would happen, but because of their cruel indifference they left people in cramped and unsafe conditions,” Greens Immigration Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“These are people who have been locked up for over eight years and were in Australia for medical treatment. It is a complete failure of duty of care at every possible level.”