This August, we join the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF) in acknowledging Rural Road Safety Month. Rural Road Safety Month is a national awareness campaign organised by the ARSF which targets regional and rural road safety. We know that rural road crashes account for more than 65% of the Australian road toll. The rate of

The Morrison Government is refusing any support to Australian airports grounded by the COVID-crisis. The Morrison Government repeatedly points to its support package for the aviation industry, but the truth is that airports have not received a cent of direct support. With Canberra Airport today announcing it will be closed entirely on Saturdays, and other

Labor is deeply concerned that the vessel MV Ben Rinnes which is currently in Corio Bay to discharge Soy Product is in contravention of international conventions, with a number of crew being forced to work in excess of 12 months. This comes just days after a similar incident in Newcastle. It is for these reasons

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCEMENT This is another sad day for Australian aviation, Australian workers and regional communities. Labor’s thoughts are with Virgin Australia’s 9,000 workers and their families on what will no doubt be another difficult day. When Scott Morrison took the decision to refuse support to Virgin Australia he left the future of the airline

The Deputy Prime Minister revealed yesterday that only 175 out of Australia’s 537 local councils have so far signed up to receive their share of funding through his government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. This means that less than one third of Australian councils are currently taking part in the program. This program was designed to fund job-creating,

With border closures ongoing, the Morrison Government must urgently work with the states to develop a consistent national protocol that enables trucks and freight to move around the country as easily as possible. Throughout this crisis, Australia has been as dependent on trucks as ever – but the transport workers keeping Australia moving have too

As the COVID-crisis continues to ravage the aviation sector, the Morrison Government must urgently guarantee that Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) capabilities and workers’ jobs are protected through this crisis and into the future. ARFFS is embedded within Air Services Australia, a government-owned corporation normally funded through fees and charges applied to airline services.

It is now obvious why the Morrison Government waited 43 days before announcing the 15 projects to be “fast-tracked” as part of a JobMaker scheme – it is nothing more than another dud announcement focused more on headlines than Australian workers. Despite lofty promises, this announcement will fail to deliver a single job-creating project north

Despite big promises, it is becoming increasingly clear that Scott Morrison’s latest infrastructure announcements are another case of this government overpromising and underdelivering. Today marks 40 days since Scott Morrison addressed CEDA’s State of the Nation Conference, telling Australians that “Today I announce a priority list of 15 major projects that are on the fast-track

Labor welcomes the recent release of the Recommendations of the Strategic Regional Growth Expert Panel for Investing in the Future of Regional Australia. Released in response to a Government-opposed Senate order, this report is the latest in a long line calling on the Government to take a consistent, sustainable and bottom-up approach to regional development.