International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Sex work is work. Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion urgently calling on the NSW Government to protect the dignity, safety and equality of sex workers.

Abigail moved:

(1) That this House notes that:

Sunday 17 December 2023 was the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, which is held annually for sex workers and allies to honour victims of violence and discrimination, and to demand fierce action from all levels of society to protect the right of all sex workers to live and work in peace, safety and with dignity;
sex work is not inherently exploitative, but like any job under capitalism the working conditions and structures determine how exploitative it is;
sex workers face incredibly disproportionate rates of violence compared to other professions, which is perpetuated by criminalisation and discrimination, and sex workers who are people of colour, First Nations, LGBTQIA+, migrants or living with disability face amplified intersecting discrimination and violence; and
ending violence against sex workers cannot be achieved without fully decriminalising sex work and implementing robust anti-discrimination and anti-vilification protections.

(2) That this House affirms that sex work is work, and every person deserves to be safe, protected and free from discrimination at and outside of their place of work.

(3) That this House calls on the Government to commit to working to end violence against sex workers by taking urgent action to protect the dignity and safety of all people regardless of their profession.

Read the transcript in Hansard.

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

NSW is missing out on tens of billions of dollars. By introducing a progressive coal royalty structure similar to the one in Queensland, we would have raised an extra $20 billion last year.

The NSW Government owns and controls, on behalf of the people of this state, the rights to the minerals and materials that naturally occur in NSW land.

Huge fossil fuel companies are only able to extract and sell these commodities with the consent of the State. It’s time they paid a fair price for that privilege.

The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars out of their cosy relationship with governments. Granted permission to extract and sell coal, these large multinational fossil fuel corporations pay just over 7% in royalties back to the people of NSW – keeping the rest as mega-profits for themselves. These companies have a track record of taking more than their fair share and leaving communities suffering and stranded with poisoned groundwater, devastated landscapes and a stranded workforce when it suits their business models.

Globally, the hyper-inflation of fossil fuel prices driven by price-gouging opportunism and war profiteering from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has delivered record windfall profits to these already obscenely wealthy corporations. In the last year, NSW coal exports totaled over $70 billion dollars, but the people of NSW will only see about 7 cents in every dollar, or about $6 billion dollars of that amount.

Rather than going toward schools, hospitals and public infrastructure, billions of dollars went into the pockets of multinational mining corporations. The Greens believe there should be more money for schools and hospitals and less for mining billionaires.

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

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International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

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