Latest news with #AnneRuston
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Sussan Ley says she is an ‘absolute zealot' for more women in Liberal Party but has not committed to introducing quotas
Liberal leader Sussan Ley says she is an 'absolute zealot' for increasing female representation in the party but has refused to endorse gender quotas after two senior Liberal women hinted the party could reconsider the measure. Ms Ley was asked on Friday morning whether the party was facing extinction over internal party division on efforts to increase the number of women in the parliamentary party. 'It's a stark reality that when I walk into the parliament on the first day, I'll be sitting there as the leader opposite the Prime Minister, there will be five Liberal women sitting behind me, and that's a real call to action. So there's not division across our party,' Ms Ley said. 'We must get more women in our ranks, preselected in winnable seats in the lead-up to the next election.' Ms Ley said she was 'agnostic' about how the party got more women into its ranks but 'an absolute zealot that we make it happen'. It comes after South Australian senator Anne Ruston opened the door to using gender quotas, saying the party can 'no longer rule out the temporary use of quotas as an option'. Ms Ruston had previously rejected gender quotas in 2021 but said given that the party had not met its targets, other measures had to be considered. 'We must encourage more women to join the Liberal Party, and we must get Liberal women into the parliament,' Ms Ruston said. Coalition women spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh also hinted that the party should consider quotas. 'We shouldn't be closing the door to any possible work to be done within the party, whether they are quotas or targets … but the work should be done and then we can have an evidence-based position on whether we should be adopting quotas.' Ms Ley was grilled on Thursday morning about whether senior male figures in the party – including Tony Abbott and Angus Taylor – who were opposed to quotas were part of the problem. 'So some of our strongest advocates are the men in the party, and I know that we as a parliamentary team want to get this right, and I've seen some great approaches by the men in the party in mentoring women to come into our party,' Ms Ley said. Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor was asked on Friday morning for his position on quotas and gave a hard no. 'I have never been a supporter of quotas,' Mr Taylor said. 'Because I don't believe in subverting democratic processes. The Labor Party does, we traditionally haven't in the Liberal Party. I think there's better ways of achieving this. I have found that in my own professional career.'
News.com.au
26-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Senior Liberal women shift on gender quotas to boost gender representation
Two senior Liberal women have left the door open for the use of gender quotas to boost female representation, with South Australian senator Anne Ruston shifting her position, stating the party can 'no longer rule out the temporary use of quotas as an option'. The debate into a short-term gender quotas, pushed by NSW senator Maria Kovacic and former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, has been reheated after Sussan Ley ordered state divisions to increase the number of women preselected in winnable seats. Coalition health spokesperson Senator Ruston, who rejected gender-based quotas in 2021 and said 'decisions about preselections are for the grassroots members,' loosened her stance, and said the Liberals needed to increase the number of women in its party room. 'We can no longer rule out the temporary use of quotas as an option, given we have not met our targets to date by other means,' she told NewsWire. 'We must encourage more women to join the Liberal Party, and we must get Liberal women into the parliament.' The Coalition's spokesman for women, Melissa McIntosh said that while she was open to a gender-quotas, she wanted the topic to be 'thoroughly' canvassed in the election post-mortem. 'It's just not as simple as saying yes or no to quotas,' she said, urging the party to look at whether allocations would be implemented during preselection, or for safe or marginal seats. 'We shouldn't be closing the door to any possible work to be done within the party, whether they are quotas, or targets … but the work should be done and then we can have an evidence based position on whether we should be adopting quotas.' However she said a review into the party's culture and how it treats women needs to be the 'first and foremost' priority, adding that there was 'no question' that the Liberals need greater female representation. 'There has to be a lot of work on the culture of the Liberal Party and the way women are treated within the Liberal Party,' she said. 'It needs to be fixed. It doesn't really matter if we have quotas if the culture isn't conducive to the success of women (and doesn't allow them) to contribute to the party at all levels.' Ms McIntosh also said more support needed to be given to women 'once they get into parliamentary positions'. She referenced a local conference ahead of the 2022 election which had been 'quite aggressively taken out by blokes'. 'They challenged me for my seat, even though I'd won one election and increased the margin,' she said. 'That shouldn't be able to happen in a party and to a parliamentarian, and it particularly shouldn't be happening to our female MPs. We shouldn't be feeling that insecurity within our own party.' The tone shift comes after Coalition defence spokesman, and former Liberal leadership contender, Angus Taylor maintained that he has 'never been a supporter of quotas' to increase gender representation. 'I think there are better ways of doing that, and I've seen that in my own business career,' he said. While Ms Ley has said she is 'agnostic' on how state branches chose to increase gender representation ahead of the 2028 poll, the Liberal Leader said the party must 'recruit better,' 'retain better,' and 'support better'. Asked whether she would intervene on unruly state branches unwilling to head her call, she told reporters at National Press Club: 'I'm not prepared to accept that we won't'. Ms Ley also emphasised the broaden the Liberal Party's base as the Coalition rebuilds after they were 'smashed' on May 3. Speaking to the Coalition party room in Canberra on Thursday, Ms Ley told members: 'Our job is to present that alternative narrative for Australians so they look at us and know that we're a party that respects, reflects and will represent modern Australia, and we can restore their faith and trust in us'. Nationals Leader David Littleproud said the 'mob will turn' on Labor, issuing a call to arms for the party to 'come out swinging,' and focus on the cost-of-living crisis still affecting Aussies. 'The mob will turn as they turn in this election, they can turn again, and when they turn, they'll turn big time,' he said. 'So let's come out swinging. Let's hold this government to account, and let's show Australians that we are here for them and we have the solutions for them.'
7NEWS
18-06-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Australian kids with cancer forced overseas for treatment as proton therapy centre sits empty in Adelaide
It was meant to revolutionise cancer treatment for Australian children. Instead, Adelaide 's state-of-the-art Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy now sits pretty much empty, and is likely to remain so for many years to come. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Lack of cancer treatment forces Australian families to seek care abroad. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today It means hundreds of Australian families already navigating the hardest point in their lives after being told their kid has cancer will have to deal with endless paperwork for government grants or raise thousands of dollars themselves before packing up their lives and travelling to the United States for treatment. Opposition health spokesperson Anne Ruston declared it an 'absolute national shame and an abject failure'. She said many children and babies 'likely will die as a result of not being able to get access to the technology that was promised to them'. The project was promised eight years ago by the federal Liberal and state government. But last year the South Australian Labor government tore up the contract with the US company supplying the proton beam machine over funding issues. An auditor general report into the decision has since found significant 'gaps' in the way the state government managed the project. 'Including the need for... effective oversight, project management and risk management arrangements, reflecting a project that is high risk, has a significant cost and has national consequences,' the report said. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas told 7NEWS: 'We can't fix the errors of the past, we just have to focus on a way we can get through this rather complex policy challenge.' But with more than $100 million of public money already spent and no clear timeline for completion, the cost to taxpayers, and to Australian families, is mounting. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said 'we are trying to work out really how much of that money is going to be able to be recouped', if any. 'But it seems quite clear to me on the best advice I have from the department that there is going to be a significant taxpayer loss here,' he said. He warned that it could still be years before Australia has a functioning proton therapy unit, and pointed the finger at earlier decisions made under the former Marshall Liberal government in South Australia and the Turnbull Liberal government federally for choosing a controversial company unable to deliver the machine. Ruston rejected the attempt to shift blame, saying 'it is a sad indictment that you would have a health minister who is about to enter his second term who is still blaming previous governments for the failures that are occurring on his watch'. While politicians argue, and bureaucrats continue to release reports, almost 1000 Australian families are trying to raise enough money to receive lifesaving treatment in America. Five-year-old Lenna Housseini was recently knocked back by the federal government's Medical Overseas Treatment Program, which helps Australians with life-threatening medical conditions access treatment overseas when it is not available here. Her parents would need to raise $500,000 privately for her to go. Without the time to do so, she will undergo treatment for Malignant Rhabdoid Tumour in Australia. While the X-ray radiation here could save her life, there is only a 40 per cent chance she will survive and if she does pull through, she may struggle to speak. 'It's too late to complain, it's too late to do anything, it's too late to even have the regret, because we don't have time to have regret, we have to stay positive,' her father Amin Housseini said earlier this week.
The Advertiser
16-06-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Low pharmacy vaping uptake fuels black market fears
Fewer than 200 non-prescription vapes are being sold through pharmacists each day, fuelling speculation a massive black market continues to thrive. Landmark law changes that took effect in October meant the products can only legally be sold through pharmacies, with prison terms and huge fines for those caught illegally supplying or manufacturing vapes. But data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) found little more than 40,000 vapes were supplied via pharmacists without a prescription in the first seven months of the scheme. That compares with the more than nine million illegal vapes seized since January 2024, showing bulk demand for the product in Australia. The TGA does not know how many vapes were sold via prescriptions, though only about 3000 medical practitioners are approved to prescribe them nationwide. But Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the laws had been effective, because smoking prevalence data had Australia's rates at all-time lows across all age groups. "We're taking on big tobacco on the one hand and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," he said. "We know this is not going to be easy, but we're really pleased that our world leading (is) finally turning the corner on this public health scourge." But critics, including the federal opposition, said the data showed the government's approach was not working. "Instead of actually working to come up with a solution and have the enforcement that needed to go with it, (the government) doubled down on that policy and went to a completely unconsolidated policy that said you can only buy vapes by going to the pharmacy," opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston told Sky. "The pharmacies didn't want to do that and, lo and behold, 18 months later, quite clearly, it's not working. "The real tragedy of all this is the fact we have seen young Australians particularly forced into the hands of organised crime." NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane said the lack of buy-in from pharmacists was driving consumers to tobacconists selling vapes on the black market. "People are buying them illegally, and if not buying the vapes, they'll buy the illicit tobacco," she told 2GB. A TGA spokesman said the approach taken by the government was working because vaping use among young Australians was decreasing. "The government's world-leading reforms to vaping products were designed to make illicit vapes easier to detect and to reduce opportunities for unlawful trade in these products," he said. "Strengthening the regulation of all e-cigarettes, through enhanced border controls, banning all single-use vaping devices, ending the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, and heightening advertising restrictions on vapes has made it easier to identify and disrupt the illicit supply of vapes and take enforcement action." After the new federal laws came into force, NSW authorities seized more than 47,000 illegal vapes in the last three months of 2024. Australian Border Force and TGA officials themselves seized more than seven million vapes at borders across all of 2024. Fewer than 200 non-prescription vapes are being sold through pharmacists each day, fuelling speculation a massive black market continues to thrive. Landmark law changes that took effect in October meant the products can only legally be sold through pharmacies, with prison terms and huge fines for those caught illegally supplying or manufacturing vapes. But data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) found little more than 40,000 vapes were supplied via pharmacists without a prescription in the first seven months of the scheme. That compares with the more than nine million illegal vapes seized since January 2024, showing bulk demand for the product in Australia. The TGA does not know how many vapes were sold via prescriptions, though only about 3000 medical practitioners are approved to prescribe them nationwide. But Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the laws had been effective, because smoking prevalence data had Australia's rates at all-time lows across all age groups. "We're taking on big tobacco on the one hand and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," he said. "We know this is not going to be easy, but we're really pleased that our world leading (is) finally turning the corner on this public health scourge." But critics, including the federal opposition, said the data showed the government's approach was not working. "Instead of actually working to come up with a solution and have the enforcement that needed to go with it, (the government) doubled down on that policy and went to a completely unconsolidated policy that said you can only buy vapes by going to the pharmacy," opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston told Sky. "The pharmacies didn't want to do that and, lo and behold, 18 months later, quite clearly, it's not working. "The real tragedy of all this is the fact we have seen young Australians particularly forced into the hands of organised crime." NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane said the lack of buy-in from pharmacists was driving consumers to tobacconists selling vapes on the black market. "People are buying them illegally, and if not buying the vapes, they'll buy the illicit tobacco," she told 2GB. A TGA spokesman said the approach taken by the government was working because vaping use among young Australians was decreasing. "The government's world-leading reforms to vaping products were designed to make illicit vapes easier to detect and to reduce opportunities for unlawful trade in these products," he said. "Strengthening the regulation of all e-cigarettes, through enhanced border controls, banning all single-use vaping devices, ending the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, and heightening advertising restrictions on vapes has made it easier to identify and disrupt the illicit supply of vapes and take enforcement action." After the new federal laws came into force, NSW authorities seized more than 47,000 illegal vapes in the last three months of 2024. Australian Border Force and TGA officials themselves seized more than seven million vapes at borders across all of 2024. Fewer than 200 non-prescription vapes are being sold through pharmacists each day, fuelling speculation a massive black market continues to thrive. Landmark law changes that took effect in October meant the products can only legally be sold through pharmacies, with prison terms and huge fines for those caught illegally supplying or manufacturing vapes. But data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) found little more than 40,000 vapes were supplied via pharmacists without a prescription in the first seven months of the scheme. That compares with the more than nine million illegal vapes seized since January 2024, showing bulk demand for the product in Australia. The TGA does not know how many vapes were sold via prescriptions, though only about 3000 medical practitioners are approved to prescribe them nationwide. But Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the laws had been effective, because smoking prevalence data had Australia's rates at all-time lows across all age groups. "We're taking on big tobacco on the one hand and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," he said. "We know this is not going to be easy, but we're really pleased that our world leading (is) finally turning the corner on this public health scourge." But critics, including the federal opposition, said the data showed the government's approach was not working. "Instead of actually working to come up with a solution and have the enforcement that needed to go with it, (the government) doubled down on that policy and went to a completely unconsolidated policy that said you can only buy vapes by going to the pharmacy," opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston told Sky. "The pharmacies didn't want to do that and, lo and behold, 18 months later, quite clearly, it's not working. "The real tragedy of all this is the fact we have seen young Australians particularly forced into the hands of organised crime." NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane said the lack of buy-in from pharmacists was driving consumers to tobacconists selling vapes on the black market. "People are buying them illegally, and if not buying the vapes, they'll buy the illicit tobacco," she told 2GB. A TGA spokesman said the approach taken by the government was working because vaping use among young Australians was decreasing. "The government's world-leading reforms to vaping products were designed to make illicit vapes easier to detect and to reduce opportunities for unlawful trade in these products," he said. "Strengthening the regulation of all e-cigarettes, through enhanced border controls, banning all single-use vaping devices, ending the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, and heightening advertising restrictions on vapes has made it easier to identify and disrupt the illicit supply of vapes and take enforcement action." After the new federal laws came into force, NSW authorities seized more than 47,000 illegal vapes in the last three months of 2024. Australian Border Force and TGA officials themselves seized more than seven million vapes at borders across all of 2024. Fewer than 200 non-prescription vapes are being sold through pharmacists each day, fuelling speculation a massive black market continues to thrive. Landmark law changes that took effect in October meant the products can only legally be sold through pharmacies, with prison terms and huge fines for those caught illegally supplying or manufacturing vapes. But data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) found little more than 40,000 vapes were supplied via pharmacists without a prescription in the first seven months of the scheme. That compares with the more than nine million illegal vapes seized since January 2024, showing bulk demand for the product in Australia. The TGA does not know how many vapes were sold via prescriptions, though only about 3000 medical practitioners are approved to prescribe them nationwide. But Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the laws had been effective, because smoking prevalence data had Australia's rates at all-time lows across all age groups. "We're taking on big tobacco on the one hand and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," he said. "We know this is not going to be easy, but we're really pleased that our world leading (is) finally turning the corner on this public health scourge." But critics, including the federal opposition, said the data showed the government's approach was not working. "Instead of actually working to come up with a solution and have the enforcement that needed to go with it, (the government) doubled down on that policy and went to a completely unconsolidated policy that said you can only buy vapes by going to the pharmacy," opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston told Sky. "The pharmacies didn't want to do that and, lo and behold, 18 months later, quite clearly, it's not working. "The real tragedy of all this is the fact we have seen young Australians particularly forced into the hands of organised crime." NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane said the lack of buy-in from pharmacists was driving consumers to tobacconists selling vapes on the black market. "People are buying them illegally, and if not buying the vapes, they'll buy the illicit tobacco," she told 2GB. A TGA spokesman said the approach taken by the government was working because vaping use among young Australians was decreasing. "The government's world-leading reforms to vaping products were designed to make illicit vapes easier to detect and to reduce opportunities for unlawful trade in these products," he said. "Strengthening the regulation of all e-cigarettes, through enhanced border controls, banning all single-use vaping devices, ending the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, and heightening advertising restrictions on vapes has made it easier to identify and disrupt the illicit supply of vapes and take enforcement action." After the new federal laws came into force, NSW authorities seized more than 47,000 illegal vapes in the last three months of 2024. Australian Border Force and TGA officials themselves seized more than seven million vapes at borders across all of 2024.
Sky News AU
16-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Government's vape scheme pushes young Aussies to turn to black market sellers
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston has discussed the poor results of the Albanese government's vape scheme. It has been revealed that less than 0.1 per cent of vapes are being sold legally through pharmacies. 'Quite clearly, the policy the government's put in place is not working,' Mr Ruston told Sky News Australia.
