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You forgot to mention also that Fraser started the appalling dismantling of our laws that protected Australian interests from foreign takeover and Australian housing from foreign purchase. I have never been impressed by Fraser's stance on refugees because of his lack of support for the citizens of his own country, (which appeared at the time as contempt) whose disempowerment he has helped to orchestrate - "Life wasn't meant to be easy." I do not think that Fraser would approve of the Syrian government's defense of public assets and public banking. In my opinion, Fraser's charity is an arms length job that leap-frogs over Australians. The pursuit of 'human rights' over civil rights defeats human rights and local empowerment. Australia is particularly poor in civil rights. In Fraser's pursuit of charity at arm's length he is like so many of our 'modern' politicians and his attitude aligns with the increasingly distant and authoritarian structure of government here. I am afraid that his rehabilitation in recent years by the Fairfax and Murdoch Press inspires me with suspicion that his 'brand' is useful for ongoing undemocratic processes.

My sources on this are to be found at The Growth Lobby and its Absence, pp 191-195, in the chapter entitled "Australia's return to a populationist development and housing policy under the Fraser Government." I cite it here without the endnotes, which you can find in the above linked pdf file. It is a testimony to the unraveling of Australian civil rights, self-government and ownership of assets in favour of a globalised market economy that disenfranchises us all. (By the way, the term 'populationist' comes from the French 'populationniste' and means a person who is for populating, i.e. growing population. The socialist alliance forces that promote high population growth in Australia continuously misuse the term to mean its opposite.)

"Australia's return to a populationist development and housing policy under the Fraser Government.

After the Whitlam government was sacked, and during high unemployment, the Fraser
Liberal/National Party government (November 1975- March 1983) reinstituted
economic policies that were dependent on rapid population growth - through high
immigration - and high energy consumption.

Whitlam's concept and attempts to create a system of feedback loops from population to
housing were dismantled or under-financed. Prime Minister Fraser abolished DURD
very early in his government, under which Federal funding for urban and regional
development declined by 86 per cent. 178 He also began to liberalise the foreign
investment rules, with the Foreign Takeovers Act (1975).

In Whitlam's time foreign investment had been less than 10%, but it increased steadily
after 1975. Between 1980 and 1981 there was the "highest capital inflow on record."
Much of this was for loans to State governments for infrastructure projects, but after
1980 more and more was borrowed by private firms with an ever greater part going to
property development. By 1985-86 services, tourism, real-estate and property
development were responsible for over fifty per cent of incoming capital and real-estate
was the biggest borrower.

The Australian housing industry continued speculative land development and reliance
on high immigration to feed population growth and thus demand, with little central
planning. As the economy was opened up to the ideology of free market forces,
speculation and housing price inflation increased. However, from 1974-1986 economic
recession affected the housing industry.

Government policies assisting home ownership were identified as an impediment to
economic growth by, among others, a group that included the Australian Treasury, 182
over which Federal Treasurer Philip Lynch had presided until 1977, when he was
sacked for involvement in Victorian land speculation scandals. Land scandals were not
confined to Victoria, however. An example of political corruption and land speculation,
with the demise of DURD and the Whitlam Government, occurred when the Liberal
West Australian Minister for Industrial Development, Sir Charles Court, bailed out
property developer, Alan Bond 183 by purchasing a property that Bond had been trying
for years to get rezoned but which had been destined, with the co-operation of the
previous WA Labor Government, under the Federal department, DURD, to remain a
green corridor. Instead of leaving Bond with his unrezoned rural property, Court used
DURD funds to purchase the property from Bond. Bond subsequently donated $20,000
to the Liberals' 1977 election campaign. Soon after Sir Charles Court raised $250,000
in a syndicate to finance Bond's America's Cup venture.

The ALP West Australian Government that followed on from the Liberal one was no
better. It formed a corrupt network with WA land speculators which was subsequently
to be known as "WA Inc." The Premier involved in this was Brian Burke and he was
later imprisoned for corruption.

The members of the Australian Treasury group wanted a reduction in all forms of
housing assistance. They also called for the freeing up of the housing market to market
forces, without interference from subsidies or regulated industry rates. They blamed
government regulation for keeping the cost of home ownership unrealistically low,
inflating ownership expectations and leading to people owning too many houses. 186
In response to lobbying, 187 immigration began to climb again from 1979 and remained
high until 1982.

As well as dismantling Whitlam's urban and rural development system, the Fraser
Government commenced the first of a long series of steps to dismantle the free tertiary
education system. It thereby reduced that avenue for Australia to increase its skilled
and tertiary educated workforce, leaving industry few options but to import new skilled
workers. The structure and finance of the industry meant that support for developing a
local system to provide skilled tradesmen remained weak and unorganised. Thus the
industry continued its strong reliance on imported skilled labour. As the economy was
opened up to the ideology of free market forces, speculation and housing price inflation
increased, with strong encouragement from the Australian Treasury.

This section on Australia's return to a populationist development and housing policy
under the Fraser government illustrates my argument that in countries where a highly
profitable property development and residential construction industry dominates,
individual firms may be more inclined than government assisted housing systems to
access international loans in order to finance continued expansion. Furthermore a
deregulated financial environment will assist the strategy of borrowing to finance
expansion.

This chapter has examined evidence for the hypothesis that Australia had followed a
cornucopian route and France a Malthusian one after the oil crash. My evidence
consisted largely of indicators of policy and practice related to per capita and industrial
energy consumption, principally in the building industry and the production of
dwellings. I situated these indicators within the context of the different land
development and housing systems in Australia and France and showed how the first
relied on immigration but the latter did not. I gave evidence that both countries had
temporarily reduced immigration at the time of the first oil shock for energy saving and
economic reasons, but that the fall of the Whitlam government had brought an end to
these politics in Australia and ushered in a high conventional energy using expansionist
period with fast population growth. I attributed this growthist course in Australia
largely to a populationist lobby in which property developers and residential
construction companies were important actors. I explained the ability of France to
consolidate its population and energy use to the absence of such a lobby.

There are, however, other possible explanations for the difference between immigration
policies in France and Australia that have resulted in a higher migration intake in
Australia. For example there is, arguably, a stronger ethnic lobby in Australia than in
France and this lobby is able to press for extended family reunion. Because Australia
has an active immigrant recruitment intake, it is difficult to justify a small humanitarian
intake. A multiculturalist approach to new settlers, rather than an integrationist approach
may favour the development of ethnic lobbies and the establishment of distinct
communities with a variety of motives for expansion. These explanations have not
been explored here but that is not to say that they and others I have not mentioned, have
no value. Nevertheless, the evidence pointing to a very important role for the property
development lobby in driving immigration is strong.

The next chapter looks at how the immigrationist policies I have described continued in
Australia and argues that the focused gains for the property development and housing
industries from high immigration may have been enhanced by increasing recourse to
foreign finance and globalisation of the property market. It then looks at the impacts on
housing prices and the increasing profits at stake in the growthist economy for property
developers and builders and compares these outcomes with those in France, in the
absence of an immmigration dependent property industry."

The Liberal government wants to make boycotts illegal — criminalising our ability to hold corporations to account when they jeopardise our health or our environment. It would make it illegal to call on another individual or company to boycott a product because it was unsafe or destroying the environment. Tobacco giant Philip Morris is suing the Australian government to overturn public health laws aimed at reducing teenage smoking. SumOfUs- Sign the Petition The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is the so-called “free trade” agreement currently under negotiation between the US, Australia and several other countries. Probably the most dangerous feature of the agreement as it now stands is the introduction of an Investor State Disputes Settlement (ISDS) system, in which foreign corporations are allowed to sue countries in order to protect the profitability of their investments. The TPP is another step in the direction of total market deregulation in the interests of international big business and is another threat to Australia’s national sovereignty. The fundamental assumption is that corporations can sue sovereign states, but sovereign states cannot sue corporations operating in their territory. For example, the TPP could be used to block the Australian government’s requirement that cigarette companies use plain packaging. If the policy was successfully challenged, Australia would either need to pay “compensation” to the relevant corporations and/or remove the rule altogether. Wikileaks Party: Why Australians should be worried about the TPP These threats are about corporations accumulating enormous economic and political powers, through agreements and "free" trade agreements. They are becoming more powerful and bigger than sovereignties and governments. It's a worrying development, of economic predation on the rights of normal people in democracies to determine what's good and not welcome for their own communities, to actively protect the environment and ensure best animal welfare outcomes in industries.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser has, in recent weeks, spoken up to defend Syria against the terrorist proxy war funded by the United States and its allies and plans for direct invasion. This is contrary to the propaganda fed to the public by the mainstream media and government leaders such as former Prime Miniter Kevin Ruddd, former Foreign Minister Bob Carr and the current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop. Examples include:

• In the Central Midlands and Coastal Advocate of 25 Sep 2013
• Malcolm Fraser: Syria attack 'illegal' of 25 Sep 2013 on the SBS
• An open letter on war to the new PM in the Sydney Morning Morning Herald of 14 Sep 2013. Letter was also signed by:
  • Paul Barratt AO, former secretary, Department of Defence
  • John Menadue AO, former secretary, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
  • Malcolm Fraser, former Liberal prime minister
  • Professor Ian Maddocks AM, Senior Australian of the Year
  • Professor Peter Baume AC, former federal Liberal minister
  • Garry Woodard, retired ambassador
  • Professor Ramesh Thakur, former UN assistant secretary-general
  • Elizabeth Evatt AC, former judge
  • Kellie Merritt, widow of Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, who was killed in Iraq

So, it seems my ridicule of Malcolm Fraser's "efforts to have himself depicted in the media as a 'bleeding heart' friend of refugees" was unfair. Other concerns about his political record still remain. These include his role in the 1975 CIA coup against the government of Gough Whitlam in 1975 and his Sections 45D and 45E of the Trade Practices Act which have criminalised "secondary boycotts" or industrial action by one group of workers in support of another group of workers.In spite of theses concerns, Malcolm Fraser has demonstrated, by his support of Syria that he is prepared to use his public profile to oppose war and defend humanitarian values.

"Conveniently, no single government agency was collecting data, some states hadn’t tried, others only collected death and injury statistics, or live sightings only, to be filed". This is the heart of the problem, that collecting data is left to individuals and not for profit wildlife groups, with little overall coordination. There are no funds given to wildlife carers, who are meant to use their own resources to care and rescue animals. Back in July this year, the Federal Government announced millions of dollars in cuts to the Biodiversity Fund and Carbon Farming Futures program, as Australia moved to a floating carbon price. A floated carbon price was supposed to cover the $213 million in unallocated money from the Biodiversity Fund, including Caring For Our Country among other environmental programs. What's needed is an integrated approach to biodiversity. It's goes beyond protecting farmland, but protecting the intrinsic value of native flora and fauna. Kevin Rudd cut millions from the Biodiversity Fund and Tony Abbott wants to hand national environment approvals over to the states, so that damaging developments, such as the rush of mining proposals threatening Tassie devil habitat in the Tarkine, don't have to face federal scrutiny. Nationally, not one threatened species has had its status upgraded. The Coalition in August released its “Green Army” policy – a 15,000-person strong environmental workforce that will “provide real and practical solutions to cleaning up riverbanks and creek beds, re-vegetating sand dunes, re-vegetating mangrove habitat, and a host of other environmental conservation projects”. They will scrap the rest of the Biodiversity fund. There's little importance given to our native animals, and remain incidentals. Land is considered primarily an economic resource rather than for its intrinsic value for biodiversity, and the diversity of iconic and keystone species - such as koalas.

In our society we now have more and more homeless. Those who do not own their own land and home are utterly dependent on waged employment and government pensions. With continuous importing of more human beings to benefit the housing speculation economy and other elite concerns, it is obvious that most Australians are living more and more precariously. If we did not buy and sell land, but only leased it - as the Maoris do in New Zealand - then every child and every adult would be secure. We would have more localised societies with preservation of families and clans. But that is exactly what growth economists want to disrupt because it would be far more difficult to push us around then.

The latest act of barbarism perpetrated upon the dingoes of Fraser Island was the deliberate ramming and maiming of a mother in pup by a tourist's orange Pajero 4WD. This must force a re-assessment of the role of tourism on the island. The Save Fraser Island Dingoes (SFID) group said the female dingo was hit by a vehicle about 8.30am between Eurong and Dilli Village, with witnesses claiming an orange Pajero changed direction before hitting it. The dingo was left in agony and had to be euthanised. "She appeared to be feeding. The fate of her pups is unknown," a spokeswoman said. Fraser Island Dingo deliberately maimed Some tourists are allowed to run wild. They are allowed to turn a magnificent beach into a drag strip, safe neither for wildlife or families with children. They turn beaches into drag strips, and threaten bushland and wildlife. Tourist vehicles must be contained and monitored, and stiff penalties must apply to miscreants, to ensure the survival of the very animals and habitat most people go to the Island to appreciate. The public should not have to sit by and watch those who break the rules ruin the tourist experience for everyone - visitors and local business operators alike. Eye witness report states that the dingo WAS deliberately hit, the vehicle drove away in an Orange/Red old model Pajero. The incident occurred early in the morning, Police and Rangers were called she lay in agony we were told possibly with a broken back, howling until she could be euthanised. SFID together with the Minister of Environment Andrew Powell will continue to work on a plan to establish a Care Centre for all injured animals on Fraser Island. Australian Independents leader Patricia Petersen called for immediate action to protect island dingoes and said it was time to ban people from the island, except in guided groups. “This is outrageous. No more talk fests. No more passing the buck. We need our dingoes protected and we need them protected right now,” she said. Dr Petersen said that she “fell in love” with dingoes when she recently toured the Fraser Coast region and visited Fraser Island. Australian Independents leader demands immediate protection of Fraser Island Dingoes This should be the "last straw". The Queensland government cannot continue to allow potential feral humans to kill, maim and threaten the last stronghold for pure native dingoes. Tourist dollars have for too long been the priority, not the native animals. This "incident" must turn the tide once and for all!

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bowman sadly died whilst battling cancer last month on 22 August as this obituary of 10 September 2013 on Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth notes.

Robert Bowman flew aerial combat missions in the Vietnam War. However, he worked in his latter years against the threat of war. This included his opposition the the "Star Wars" program which was launched in the years of President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).

Robert Bowman stopped "Star Wars"

He initially supported the "Star Wars" program, believing it merely a means to prevent a preemptive nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. However, after he realised that the goal of "Star Wars" was to enable the U.S. to launch a nuclear first-strike against the Soviet Union he became a staunch opponent.

He remorselessly campaigned against "Star Wars" and succeeded in forcing the United States Governnment to scrap the program.

Robert Bowman tried to reveal the fraud of 9/11

More recently Robert Bowman tried to show up the fraud of 9/11. On 11 September 2001 (9/11), Senior U.S government officials including Vice-President Dick Cheney, President George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld colluded with terrorists to destroy the World Trade Center Twin Towers of the as well as World Trade Center Tower 7 and blame Islamist extremists based in Afghanistan for the outrage. This was used as a pretext to invade Afghanistan in 2001. It was also used, as well as the fraudulent WMD claim, as an implicit pretext to invade Iraq in 2003, even though no U.S. official ever attempted to explicitly blame the Iraqi Government of President Saddam Hussein for 9/11.

The political climate created by 9/11 has also made it possible for the U.S to launch other wars, including the invasion of Libya in 2011 and the current proxy terrorist war against Syria.

He visited Australia in 2008 to address the national conference of the 9/11 Truth movement. Sadly I had not begun to question 9/11 and still supported the "War on Terror", so I missed an opportunity to see him.

However, in recent years, after I learned of Robert Bowman's story, I was able to 'phone him a number of times and speak to him directly.

For more information about the late Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bowman, please visit thepatriots.us .

Robert Bowman's death is sad loss to the global cause of peace and justice.

"Public consultation" is a farce, and objections are merely a front to give the community a false layer of democracy. VCAT, with the support of the Supreme court, is simply a scam, a "tribunal", to give ticks to property developers. It's dysfunctional and corrupt. The decision to give the green light for the McDonalds at Tecoma, contrary to the great majority of the community and the local council, is another case of VCAT riding rough-shod over so-called "democracy". While their planning permit allowed the construction of cafes and restaurants in their main street, this was interpreted to allow a multi-national, junk-food franchise McDonalds to be "legal". VCAT should be closed as a affront to the public, who assume they have some self-determination with regards to where they live. If numbers of objections is "irrelevant", so will votes for the government be at election time. The expansion of Melbourne's CBD into Armadale, a heritage suburb, will transform it into another generic high density area, and the costs of rates will increase, along with high population pressure on existing public transport, services and amenities. It's a lose-lose for Melbourne, the local community, and this Orrong group who've campaigned for four years - simply to be dismissed in 5 minutes!

Indonesian fishermen from places like Rote in West Timor travel to the reefs every winter to catch sharks, and their hunt has a dramatic effect on the population of reef sharks like the hammerhead and whaler. Evidence from scientists show that the decline in shark numbers is impacting on coral reefs. Dr Mark Meekan from the Australian Institute of Marine Science led a team of Canadian and local researchers in a study of coral reefs about 300 kilometres off the north-west Australian coast. Fishermen are using traditional dug out canoes, but with their long lines, they are quite successful of emptying oceans of sharks. They've basically wiped out the sharks that used to be there. Dr Meekan says smaller predatory fish - such as emperors and snappers - are more abundant on the reefs without sharks than those where no fishing takes place. The effects flow down the food chain, and it means ecosystems find it harder to recover the damages of cyclones if the food chain is disrupted. Algae grows on the reef as it dies, and there aren't enough aglae-eating herbivore fish. There needs to be more marine sanctuaries. Hong Kong’s government said Friday it would stop serving shark fin at official functions as “a good example,” following years of lobbying by conservation groups. More than 70 million sharks are killed every year, with Hong Kong importing about 10,000 tonnes annually for the past decade, according to environmental group WWF. Most of those fins are then exported to mainland China. Hopefully the tide against shark fin soup, and shark eating, is fast and high enough to allow their numbers to recover, and restore some balance in our ailing oceans.

I have just heard Jon Faine (presenter) on ABC radio speaking to Margot Carroll who has led this battle. Today the Supreme Court after a 5 minute hearing dismissed Stonnington Council's case against the proposed development. The distressing point that Margot made was that the court did not consider the number of objections to lend any weight to the case so that 10,000 objections was the same as 10. Interestingly on the same radio station the same presenter is discussing planning issues with a panel of "experts". The first question was about the ingredients of a livable city and the answer was "community involvement" in planning! I also heard one of the experts saying that growth was an "opportunity" (in livability I presume)! Someone also said that not all developers want to maximise profit at the expense of "design". (They must be the public benefactor developers.)

Yes, this is corruption and political disruption at a systemic level. Our political parties are really corporations with huge amounts of money invested in the institutions that finance projects like the East-West Link. They expect members of Parliament to make laws to ensure that those investment projects go ahead. This is fascism without the overt violence - yet. All the arguments about fixing an ailing economy etc are a facade, as far as I am concerned which people lose time and energy arguing with. The term 'liveability' is interesting - a kind of nonsense economics term to replace the original requirements of protecting the environment and ensuring a working democracy. I was glad that Williamson and Palmer, among others on Q & A last night (16/9/2013) drew attention to the lack of democracy in Australia pretty clearly for once on the ABC. I think that one of them suggested that we need to hear more about the minor parties so that we know who is there to vote for. I agree. The ABC should be spending its time publicising every new party, to give real democracy a chance and help the community get back some interest and involvement in self-government. Of course this runs totally counter to the interests of the ruling elite.

Australian puppy farmers making thousands selling puppies to squalid pet shops in Singapore Australian puppy farmers are making thousands of dollars selling dogs to pet shops in Singapore, where they are forced to live in squalor and confinement, a CLEO Magazine investigation has found. Animal welfare group Oscar's Law recently travelled to Singapore to witness the shocking treatment of Australian puppies, some of which are just eight weeks old. What a shameful disgrace to any Australian "animal welfare" standards that home-grown puppy farmers are making thousands of dollars selling dogs to pet shops in Singapore, where they are forced to live in squalor and confinement. Singapore’s free market policy means that there is no limit or cap on how many animals a commercial breeder can own and sell, and this trade will add to their own pet overpopulation problem. Puppies as young as eight weeks old are being exploited as commercial commodities, for pet shop profits. Heavily confined breeding animals in small, dirty and wired cages, producing litter after litter of puppies, are being denied social, environmental and emotional benefits. This is bad enough, but the young are being forced to endure being pet shop stock - with no guarantees of their well-being and survival. Already we have a dog and cat overpopulation in Australia, and the end result is the shame of "death row" to alleviate the pressure, and more and more puppies churned out to a saturated international market! It's Australia's newest live export scandal. Opening up the supply chain of live exports of livestock has exposed even wider the cruel overseas market for unconsciousable over breeding and confinement of companion animals in Australia. Australian puppy farmers making thousands selling puppies to squalid pet shops in Singapore

The conflict in Syria has caused the world's worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day in 2013, the UN says. UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said refugee numbers had not risen "at such a frightening rate" since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. He was speaking to the UN Security Council, which also heard that 5,000 people are being killed each month. UN aid chief Valerie Amos said at least 6.8 million Syrians needed urgent help. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are locked in a fierce battle with opposition fighters for control of the country. There has been deadlock at the UN Security Council over the crisis, with Russia and China refusing to back action against Mr Assad proposed by the other veto powers, the US, Britain and France. Mr Guterres said two-thirds of the nearly 1.8 million refugees registered with the UN had fled Syria since the beginning of the year. Mr Guterres said the impact of the refugee crisis on neighbouring countries was "crushing", but said the acceptance of Syrians by countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq was "saving hundreds of thousands of lives". And he said the "danger that the Syrian conflict could ignite the whole region" was "not an empty warning". Nearly 93,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011. The UN's assistant secretary general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, told the meeting that some 5,000 lives were being claimed each month. "In Syria today, serious human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity are the rule," he said. Ms Amos accused both sides in Syria of "systematically and in many cases deliberately" failing in their obligation to protect civilians. "We are not only watching the destruction of a country but also of its people," she said. Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, said his government was doing "everything possible... to meet the basic needs of its citizens". Syria crisis worst since Rwanda UN

I have just received this message from Protectors of Public Lands(Vic)
"Unfortunately the sub-contractors of the drilling contractors who work for Linking Melbourne Authority who work for the Government have again changed their plans and undertook drilling outside the Zoo yesterday Friday not next week as earlier advised. Hence we have cancelled the snap protest scheduled for Monday next. There is a red Men-at-Work sign left on the grassed area next to the plug where the drilling was carried out close to the roadway in Macarthur Road not far from the tramline at the exact south east corner of the Zoo. I took some photos as the drill rig was being packed up showing the proximity of the Elliott Avenue on/off ramps accessing and exiting from what will be a tunnel.or maybe an open cut-and-cover roadway under on or through the nearby grasslands in Royal Park."

The plans by serial liars Barack Obama and John Kerry to use fabricated claims of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Government as a pretext to start a war against Syria has been thwarted by international and domestic opposition and the skilful manoevres by Russian President Vlladimir Putin. Infowars presenter Alex Jones discusses this with Paul Craig Roberts.

In the last paragraph of this interesting article is a rather strange use of the word "incorrigible' I think the author may mean "reprehensible".

There are three sites which give Australia detailed election results for the election held yesterday on 7 September 2013.

They are:

1. The Australian Election Commission Virtual Tally Room, including results for the seat of Dunkley, however only the votes for the ALP, Liberal Party and Greens are shown; the votes for Roy Broff (352 votes or 0.52% ) and the other three candidates (which total 7,539 votes or 11.0%) are not shown separately;
2. Antony Green's Election Guide on the ABC; and
3. The Tally Room including, for example, the seat of Dunkley

the Tally Room is particularly comprehensive. However it does not yet have results for yesterday's election.

No Maccas in Tecoma. >

Last weekend the Tecoma community did a singing "flashmob" of a McDonald's store at food court in Melbourne. It was cheeky, entertaining and pretty fun -- but most importantly it shows McDonald's we are not going down without a fight. See also www.burgeroff.org .

This sleight of hand screamed out at me, too as I watched last night's Four Corners program. Is Fiona Scott happy to let people believe that such a tiny percentage of people coming from overseas to Australia are responsible for the symptoms of over-population undoubtedly suffered by the people of Sydney? Alternatively,is Fiona Scott herself unaware of the sources of Australia's very high population growth ? If she is going to talk about population issues she needs to be properly informed. The misconception which she has perpetuated appears very prevalent in our community from my own observations amongst friends and people I meet. Understanding the numbers is critical. Since refugees are such a small percentage of our immigration and an even smaller percentage of our over-all population growth, how can they be significantly responsible for Western Sydney's traffic congestion? They are not.

“You belong to a vanishing race,” Bob Katter told an astounded audience at the National Press Club last week. “When 20 people die in Australia, they will be replaced by 17 people.” He's ignorance of demographics is astounding, and this deliberate push towards population growth, using scare tactics that we might vanish otherwise, is obviously a transparent growth-ploy! It in turn cites figures from the 1964 Australian Year Book. They outline the population growth rate during the Great Depression. Although our natural birth rate is about 1.88 and below long term replacement levels, there are still more births than deaths. Monash University demographer Robert Birrell says births are outsripping deaths at the rate of 298,000 to 146,500. Matthew Deacon of the population profiling firm .id Consulting says even if migration ended today, it wouldn't be until 2044 before Australian deaths overtook Australian births. That's because on average the population is still young. If our population stabilized, naturally and organically, it would gently decline from mid century. This would alleviate some of the stresses our growing population is placing on dwindling supplies of natural resources such as energy, liquid fuels, soils, water, and the effects of climate change such as increasing numbers of pest species destroying crops. With increasing constraints on growth, it's madness to keep importing people. Bob Katter's bold population claim doesn't add up Bob Katter is a supporter of "big Australia".

Working as a Registered Migration Agent (RMA) can mean assisting clients in making one of the most important decisions of their lives: helping them migrate to Australia. Australia’s strong economy, world class higher education system, multicultural society and stable governance makes it a highly attractive destination for migrants, and in an increasingly interconnected world, demand for the services provided by RMAs has never been higher. The Migration Act 1958 and its associated Regulations govern Agents’ registration requirements and Code of Conduct, while the profession itself is regulated by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA). Opportunities Practicing as a Registered Migration Agent (RMA) is challenging and rewarding and suits detail oriented professionals with good people skills and the drive to develop and maintain requisite legal knowledge within an ever changing legislative and regulatory field. New agents can find employment with an existing organisation or strike out on their own as sole practitioners, and while there are large migration firms, most Agents work in a small business. RMA incomes vary widely, with the majority of practitioners reporting annual earnings between $50,000 and $80,000. Becoming an RMA Under the Migration Act 1958, anyone who uses, or purports to use, knowledge of, or experience in migration procedures to provide advice or assistance to a person wishing to obtain a visa needs to become registered as a migration agent. Registration is governed by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority, with requirements including: Being at least 18 years of age; Being of “good character”; Holding Australian citizenship or permanent residency, or New Zealand citizenship with a special category visa; and Holding a current Australian legal practicing certificate or a Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice. To find out more about about the process of becoming an agent, the requirements or the Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice, we recommend you visit the website of the MARA. Costs of becoming a RMA The fees commonly accrued when entering the migration advice profession include: Graduate Certificate course fees of $7500 - $9000 An initial registration fee of $1760 Building a professional library costs from $420 (not for profit) and from $730 (commercial agents) Professional Indemnity Insurance for a minimum cover of $250,000 which costs about $400, along with costs for CPD courses, as well as the normal costs associated with running a business. Agents should also be aware of the ongoing costs required to maintain their registration, which is required to be renewed annually with the MARA. The Practice Ready Program (PRP) The Practice Ready Program (PRP) is a practical course for agents in their first year of registration, designed to enhance the knowledge and professionalism of the migration advice profession. All applicants for initial registration with the Office of the MARA after 1 September 2011 ?will be required to complete this course prior to repeat registration, with exemptions available for agents holding valid Legal Practising Certificates (LPC) or membership with a recognised professional accounting body. In its initial offering, the PRP will be delivered by by the MIA and Fragomen Australia and will be worth eight CPD points and include agents' first year mandatory requirements. The MIA's PRP will cost $1995 and include membership. For more information on course delivery, cost, availability and assessment, please visit the MIA's dedicated PRP page as well as the PRP section on the MARA website, which also includes an information sheet and FAQs. The MIA The MIA is the peak body representing the migration advice profession representing over 2000 Members and supporting the profession through a broad range of services designed to assist Agents and promote the profession in general. The MIA provides assistance to those studying for the Graduate Certificate through an online Student Forum, the publication of a number of useful texts and subscriptions to a selection MIA services free of charge. Services and benefits are available to full Members include an active Member Forum, discounted CPD costs, regular information sessions and social functions, high level liaising with governmental and industry bodies, weekly news bulletins and legislative and regulatory changes alerts as they happen, a database of useful governmental and community contacts and much more. Click to join the MIA today. MIA website Immigration to Australia has become a career path, and is an attractive and lucrative industry - without democratic support!

It can be appropriate for opponents of war to publish the words of war criminals and liars. An example is Statement by John Kerry on Syria of 30 Aug 2013 on Voltaire Net.

However, I think if we do, we should make it clear that we disagree and why. If we don't, there is a risk that some site visitors may be convinced by this lying.

Almost every word uttered by Obama can be shown to be a lie for example, by artcles in Global Research, PressTV, Russia Today.

At least, Obama now is now obliged to convince U.S. Congress of his lies. The chances of convincing the U.S. Congress, given that only 11% of U.S. citizens support war, would have to be close to nil. I expect that having give this speech, he will try to change the subject and hope that some other dram will take Americns attentin way from this issue.

In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted.

Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets. This would not be an open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground. Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. But I'm confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out.

Our military has positioned assets in the region. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose. Moreover, the Chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now. And I'm prepared to give that order.

I'm confident in the case our government has made without waiting for U.N. inspectors. I'm comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable.

White House press release

Campaign Update 29/08/2013 We’re frustrated. The environment and threatened native species have barely rated a mention in this election. Help us get threatened species firmly on the agenda of the major parties. Some of the 20 birds listed as critically endangered are at extremely high risk of extinction on the next Australian Government’s watch. Until now, both major parties have completely ignored the issue. Last week , the Coalition announced that it would fund a Commissioner for Threatened Species if elected in September. Whilst this was a welcome addition to the national conversation, it’s an empty promise unless backed by a strong fiscal commitment to fund individual species recovery programs. The ALP too, have yet to commit to a fund dedicated to implementing recovery plans. The issue is finally getting some attention. Now we need your help to build on this momentum. Both of the major parties must step up and make a commitment to funding for threatened species recovery plans. We’re not asking for a big commitment. We estimate it would only cost an average of $380,000 for each of our most endangered bird species. And we know funded recovery plans work – they save birds. BirdLife Australia can only do this with your help. We need you to add your voice to our call. Save The Birds petition Please sign this petition, get involved and join our campaign to receive regular supporter updates. Please share this note as widely as you can with your friends, family and social media networks. Ask them to get on board and give threatened birds a voice. Yours sincerely, Paul Sullivan Chief Executive Officer

It is instructive to compare the two subsequent interviews of war propagandist, ABC North America Correspondent, Ben Knight. The first is dated 28 Aug 2013 as the UK, the US and France were preparing to bomb Syria under the cover of the contrived international moral outrage in response to the fabricated claims that the Syrian government had killed 1,300 of its own people in a chemical weapons attack. The second was after domestic and international opposition had forced France, the UK and the US to delay their attacks until after the UN weapons inspectors had finished their work.

It will be most interesting to see this serial liar, along with the other serial liars, Kevin Rudd, Bob Carr, Barack Obama, David Cameron and John Kerry, duck and weave in coming days as the truth clearing the Syrian government of complicity in the chemical weapons attacks inevitably emerges from the UN weapons inspectors.

Labor and the Coalition are focusing their policies to benefit corporate greed, and the public are being presented with cherry-picked issues and broad policies, devoid of details. The Coalition will hand up to $75,000 to workers on $150,000 a year in a gesture under the guise of encouraging couples to have babies and helping workplace participation. Neither party leader will touch the population debate for fear of touching on a sensitive topic of immigration, and population growth. They only campaign on "soft" and "safe" issues. Neither will talk about "big Australia" and how we will future-proof our nation from global human, climate change and environmental threats, or the challenges of the decline in basic natural resources such as food! Asylum seekers are being used as an "immigration" smokescreen, to filter out the low-skilled and the vulnerable, while other legal immigrants continue to arrive in their tens, or hundreds, of thousands at airports each year! Europe has the "lost generation" of youth unemployment, and nothing about adjusting our immigration intake according to the slowdown in jobs growth. New data from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations reveals more than 50,000 young people were unsuccessful in attempts to find work in May, up by 15,000 from a year earlier. Over the same 12-month period, the combined total of Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance recipients increased by 20 per cent, from 661,036 to 792,947, while the number of people unemployed for more than 12 months and looking for work increased by 27 per cent. The Australian: Youth jobs crisis as welfare payments blow out The issues close to the electorate are largely being ignored, and the focus of the government and opposition remains on "growth" rather than the inconveniences of increasing poverty, and austerity, being faced by the public today. The Coalition, representing business, wants strong population growth to bolster profits and the economy. It's about corporate greed, and profits, rather than social justice, and grass-roots democracy. The landscape of our existing human resources, and overall welfare, is ignored. Many economies in Europe are shrinking, and suffering from high youth unemployment. Government imposed austerity measure and cut-backs are causing protests and hardships. A new study by the Center for American Progress estimates that today's austerity measures are going to leave the U.S. economy with 2 million fewer jobs and $433 billion less in economic growth by 2019. There are limits to growth, and already Australia's economy has suffered a slump. Jobs growth in Australia is being outpaced by population growth. The reason for the record number of 54 political parties these federal elections is because the mainstream parties are not tapped into public concerns.

The Victorian Coalition government's opposition to democratic debate, and co-operative decision-making on planning issues, is breath-taking. The east west link assumes ongoing supplies of liquid fuel. Domestic and international oil supplies are becoming increasingly constrained. The Australian Workers Union (AWU) cautions that relying on Asian refineries for our supply chains is ‘highly questionable as these Asian refiners may be unsustainable..' At present Australia has been shielded by higher fuel prices by the high Australian dollar. In the event of a serious global crisis this convenient financial safety net may not be available. Our economy could come to a screeching halt! The public want reliable, sustainable and cheaper public transport and freight lines. Opposing the obvious takes a lot of audacity. This multi billion dollar scar over our city, that will destroy houses and heritage parklands, is politically self-destructive as along the way it consumes a lot of public confidence, a trashing of transparent and cooperative political decision-making, and credibility with the public. With high rise apartments planned for Footscray, without height limits, it's been hailed as a new "growth hub" for housing - and jobs (?) (Despite the appalling unemployment rate already there). Our city is being transformed and destroyed for the ideal of perpetual "growth" of population, so eventually 12 million people can have their (imported) goods and services transported across from the east and west and visa versa. According to the Australian Government: "Global production of liquid fuels is not expected to be resource constrained: there is sufficient conventional and alternative supply available to meet projected demand to at least 2035. While currently a small fraction of the market, alternative fuels will continue to be developed and will increasingly enter the market over the longer term. This will contribute to a more diverse market. While overall demand for fuels is expected to increase, environmental performance and fuel efficiency will improve as transport and engine technologies evolve". Energy Markets: liquid fuels CommSec economist Savanath Sebastian said in a recent note: "Higher crude prices and a substantially weaker Aussie dollar - pushing up the cost of imported fuel - are likely to see domestic pump prices rise even further in coming weeks. The higher cost of fuel will add to inflation but may also restrain consumer purchases." Retail sales figures released last week show households may already be facing a pinch and have cut back on purchases of electrical goods and eating out. Petrol prices tipped to soar as Australian dollar weakens There's a lot of hope in conventional fuels, until 2035, and expectation on the development of alternative energy! It's a government fantasy of endless natural resources, scientific advancement, and heavy investment in the assumption that economic growth can continue indefinitely.