Comments

nimby

Tue, 2013-08-13 08:56

The issue of the undemocratic and invasive building of McDonalds fast food outlet in Tecoma is a perfect example of VCAT's corrupt approvals, contrary to the interests of local communities. The people rejected and plans, along with their local MP and the Council. However, VCAT gave the green light, with no regard to the objections. What's the point of a democratic government when "planning" has become corrupt and streamlined? It's all about the power of big businesses and property developers over the common sense and values of local communities - such as the one in the Dandenong Ranges. Hundreds of locals met at the Burrinja Centre in nearby Upwey yesterday and pledged to continue to blockade the construction site and up their online campaign by appealing to Victorian politicians on Twitter. "The Premier needs to get involved. If he was he could negotiate with McDonald's and they could bow out of this gracefully," protest leader Mr Muratore said. However, the Premier is hiding behind his office, and VCAT. He's failing to provide any leadership and courage. McDonalds is using a non-union company to do the demolition, but they will use a union company for the construction. So, McDonalds is not built yet! http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/tecoma-mcdonald8217s-protester...

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-08-12 21:32

Australia First Party

PressRelease

John Carbonari For Deakin

Australia First Party has chosen John Carbonari as its candidate for the electorate of Deakin in the poll of 7th September. Mr Carbonari has been a small businessman, and is committed to the values of Australian Independence, Identity and Freedom, which underpin the standard of living, and quality of life for our People.

Mr. Carbonari said:

“In this campaign, our party places Australia and Australians first.

Australians are now experiencing the effects of the Globalisation Programme of Big Business, introduced over the last few decades by their servile Lab/Lib politicians. This programme of free trade agreements; financial deregulation; UN agenda’s: along with plague level immigration, multicultist disorder, and environmental ripoffs, has reduced Australia’s economy to a “trinket” sale type focussed on the flogging off of resources and use as a living space for other peoples; and to our decline from “Lucky Country” status.

Free trade scuttling of our manufactures under an avalanche of cheap imports, has caused unemployment despair not seen in decades. Some 800,000 Aussies are now on new start benefits. 25% plus of our youth are under/unemployed.

6,000 applicants for 350 jobs at a new retail business in Ringwood in June tells the truth of unemployment misery!

This is intolerable - what hope is there for a society that denies employment opportunity to any of its citizens? Australia First intends to utilise Aussie resourcefulness to eradicate this blight on our youth, and working people.

The brunt of the immigration disaster is now befalling Aussie families, and effecting our quality of life. Clogged infrastructure - roads, hospitals, schools, etc; bleeding off of welfare from OUR needy; skyrocketing house prices forcing many out of contention, or into mortgage slavery, stress, and homelessness.

I reject outright the Lab/Lib plans for population-led push to high rise and unwanted business hub development in the electorate, supporting local heritage and the preservation of sensible urban living. The intended Lib/Lab explosion of the population of Greater Melbourne to six millions, a single merged urban sprawl from Geelong to Packenham will degrade our lifestyle irrevocably.

Many Aussie families are further struggling to pay the sky rocketing bills of the now foreign owned utilities, sold off under the trade agreements opening all and every enterprise in Australia to multinational corporations.

Australia First supports ending the immigration programme - full stop - enough of population overload; and to lower bills, pledges to renationalise our utilities.

The Lib/Lab parties are lying brazenly on the issues of refugees, and sustainable population. They play act a tough game that they are going to stop the fake refugee swarms, but it is all a con - their stopping of boats will be by flying such unwanted into Australia by planes, - for this supports the Lab/Lib 50 million population plans. Australia First will withdraw our military from American foreign wars for forward deployment to protect Australian Sovereignty from this assault - no ifs or buts - Australia for Australians!

Australia First concepts of Strategic National Self-sufficiency and Steady State economic objectives are at the core of our guarantee as a Nation, and for rebuilding a vibrant productive economic system for full employment of well skilled/trained Australians, earning their independence, dignity, and quality of life. The politicians of Big Business who parrot for never ending exponential growth economics, are for a system that is now of the past, in the interests of the money changing class only, offering real Australians nothing but continuing decline to third world standards.

Against the political caste jargon for “The Asian Century”, Australia First unashamedly demands an Australian Century for our people - and return of the “Lucky Country”.

I stand to serve the constituents of Deakin, and for our Australian future”.
VOTING FOR OTHER THAN AUSTRALIA FIRST IS JUST A WASTE OF TIME
www.australiafirstparty.net [email protected] Tele: 0418 535516 P.O. Box 223, Croydon, 3136
Authorised by R Blythe Warbuton Hway Wesburn 3799. Editorial comment: Whilst we wish the Australia Firtst Party well

PostGrowthEra

Mon, 2013-08-12 16:04

According the Climate Spectator, the state is heading for a major energy crisis in the next three or four years, and that will severely affect its future living standards and economic growth. The problem for NSW is this low-cost gas supply is disappearing. The demand for gas in eastern Australia will triple in the next three years.

A diminished gas supply means prices for goods and services will go up too. Additional flow-on effects are company closures and job losses as some industries become incapable of absorbing the additional costs.

The NSW Government introduced legislation to restrict gas exploration. Exploration is now excluded over much of the Sydney Basin, the part of the state most likely to yield CSG. The government can minimise risks using the knowledge already at hand to regulate the industry, continue to monitor the process, and take a longer term approach to fully understand the environmental impacts though research funding.

It's an admission of accepting the worst case scenario of lack of energy, and spiraling population growth.

CSG and New South Wales' looming energy crisis at http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/8/12/energy-markets/csg-and-new-south-wales-looming-energy-crisis#ixzz2blCnGxsQ

Read more: at http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/8/12/energy-markets/csg-and-new-south-wales-looming-energy-crisis#ixzz2blCnGxsQ
at http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/8/12/energy-markets/csg-and-new-south-wales-looming-energy-crisis#ixzz2bjPldmcB

There is a contrary opinion that it's all a fabrication of the CSG industry.
“This is a scare campaign with no basis in fact, the public is being completely misled with a lot of postulating and huff and puff from the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, which is desperate to develop as much gas as it can and ship it out to Asia at high Asian prices,” said Matthew Wright Executive Director of energy security think-tank Zero Emissions Australia.

Matthew Wright of Beyond Zero Emissions, says “NSW never supplied its own gas, was never self-sufficient and therefore cannot run out. The supplies that are already connected and available to NSW consumers from Victoria and South Australia aren’t about to run out any time soon either. “The push for developing more gas fields is about exports, fossil gas exports at prices that are 300-500 per cent greater than historic domestic prices and with an open, unregulated market (as exists with petrol) the price will no longer be set here in Australia.” -

“The future is clean zero emissions renewable energy, that doesn’t cost the earth,” said Mr Wright.

NSW gas crisis a fabricated myth of the export CSG industry at http://ccag.org.au/csg/nsw-gas-crisis-a-fabricated-myth-of-the-export-csg-industry/#sthash.sZy84xjp.dpuf

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2013-08-12 13:11

Re: 'Sydney Morning Herald of 11 August 2013 : Parties offer no real hope for the many homeless'; I differ. The major parties offer the certainty of more and more homelessness and suffering. The Stable Population Party does offer hope to the homeless. But the SMH would not want to publicise that because it makes much of its money out of promoting housing inflation by encouraging population growth.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2013-08-12 13:08

Bandicoot, I think what you will find, with lab-grown meat, is that it will be used as an excuse to continue overgrowth of human populations and to eradicate most other large forms of life. It may free a proportion of ungulates from suffering, but it may also herald the rapid extinction of their species because they will be deemed of no further use to humanity, which could now be fed with a few cells grown over and over. Suburbs would overtake the ranges where cattle and other animals (including wild ones) currently live. It will also be used to make nearly all humans utterly dependent on corporate manufacture and distribution of food - all of which will be in processed form. The circle of our slavery will be complete. I personally would go for permaculture - mixed farms where humans adapted to their surroundings and localised all production and consumption and kept human populations small, in line with other animal and vegetable populations, as we once were. Sheila N

Bandicoot

Mon, 2013-08-12 10:08

Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands publicly unveiled his lab-grown burger at a high-profile London taste-testing event. Some people think that have to eat real meat, despite tasty soy and gluten convincing alternatives. Post made his by placing stem cells taken from cows into a culture dish and feeding the cells with fetal calf serum to make them grow. He says that one sample of muscle cells taken from a live cow during a biopsy could create up to 20,000 tons of cultured beef. It uses stem cell technology to produce up to 10 kilos of beef. No harm is done to the cows. PETA is offering $1 million for the production of in vitro chicken meat to the market. Animal rights group PETA supports this development. Besides eliminating the need to slaughter billions of animals every year, growing meat in a laboratory would end clear-cutting of forests for livestock production, conserve vast amounts of water and energy, and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions for meat production by 78 to 96 percent. For those who insist on eating animal flesh, this lab-produced meat is an ideal alternative, environmentally and for a more humane society.

Geoffrey Taylor

Mon, 2013-08-12 01:43

The standard of political discourse seems to have become so low that many politicians don't even feel the need to promise to do anything useful to win your vote

Kevin Rudd's promise to halve homelessness by 2020 also seems to be a promise to leave 50,000 of the 100,000 curently homeless Australians still homeless after 2020! In all probabilty Rudd will no longer be in politics to be held to account should he have failed to honour his first promise 7 years from now. How many of the other 'lucky' 50,000 will have to remain homeless until 2020 even if Rudd were to keep that promise?

The story, referred to by nimby is also in the Sydney Morning Herald of 11 August 2013 : Parties offer no real hope for the many homeless.

An older story is: Shame on us: Rudd pleads for homeless of 28 Jan 2010.

nimby

Sun, 2013-08-11 11:24

Last week Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said is could be quite acceptable to "humanely" kill sick dogs and puppies with a hammer! This is part of the proposed draft code for puppy factories, to avoid vet fees. The only "humane" way of euthanasia is provided by a vet.

Allowing the hammering of dogs will open all sorts of "humane" crimes against animals, including pets.

Dogs are not livestock and should not be under the control of the Minister of Agriculture, or the DEPI.

nimby

Sun, 2013-08-11 11:19

Thanks to "big Australia" and other misconceived mistakes on Rudd's behalf, before he could too much to honour his pledge, he was out of office! This happened not before he, ironically, increased immigration to over 300,000 per year in 2009 - exacerbating the homelessness problem! Homeless Persons Week, which ends on Sunday, has come and gone with neither Labor nor the federal Coaliton offering any new certainty or commitments on homelessness. Parties offer no real hope for the many homeless: The Age Labor is failing to meet even an interim deadline of a 7 per cent cut in homelessness by 2013, and even the Coalition have no solutions to a growing problem. The cost of housing is outstripping incomes, and "affordable housing" is a fading dream! In NSW, 40 homelessness services will possibly close due to funding threats. These services should be only for dire emergencies for the most vulnerable, not as a regular part of our society because of governments "growth" agendas. The Australian Council of Social Service says 100,000 Australians are homeless each night, and services are struggling. ACOSS called on both parties to commit to a new, four-year agreement as a matter of urgency. Of course, the "elephant in the room" is ignored, of unprecedented rampant population growth! Ponzi schemes always trap the unwary masses and discard them callously without care of their losses. Only the Stable Population Party addresses the root cause of our inability to provide affordable housing. Once our population stabilized, there will be enough existing houses for all!

Against Slavery (not verified)

Sun, 2013-08-11 10:47

Population Letters to the Editor (published in Canberra Times) Aug 10, 2013 The ACT government needs help with home stay - I need the government to stop its intergenerational theft. In 1991, a 500-square-metre new block in Conder cost one year's average wage. Now it cost 4½ years' average wage. That is the difference between paying off a home in 10-15 years, as opposed to an entire working life plus a kidney or two. The government is the only supplier in a market where it sets the price. Just release new blocks on the suburban fringe for about one year's average wage, and I'd be more than happy to build a new, bigger home (as would thousands of others). Then we'll gladly help out with home stay. If the government relies on hyper inflated housing prices, then I suggest it changes its business model. There is very little difference between slavery and unaffordable housing. Housing is a human right. Houses are for people, not the other way around. Advertisement My children will never afford to buy a home at this rate. As a home owner, I am more than prepared to see the value of my home decimated to correct this desperate situation. Anthony Peterson, Torrens

Catlin (not verified)

Sun, 2013-08-11 10:14

This is the first time I've seen this premise - immigration as Ponzi. The problem with - not just immigration debate, but all debate in this dumbed down democracy - is breaking through with clear concepts. If this is your concept you should develop it further on the micro-economics side. There's is clearly an argument that lining the pockets of property developers with rapid immigration growth does nothing for the structural efficiency of the economy at all. It simply delays facing the hard facts of de-industrialisation caused by China. While immigration surges, the broad conventional economic figures are shown to be satisfactory but what is underneath is a fake economy. It is indeed a ponzi scheme. One day all these 457 visa immigrants that now populate just about every franchise, cafe and service station will be kicked out of their jobs and the true unemployment figure will emerge. Slave class jobs (your passport is in the safe - 50% of your wage is going to the sponsor (crim) who brought you in are not proper jobs.

PostGrowthEra

Sat, 2013-08-10 10:36

MEDIA RELEASE:AiAUS BALLS ON THE LINE FOR PLANET EARTH For release: 10am Monday July 8, 2013, Adelaide, Australia Australia hosts the world?s-first vasectomy-athon asking men to take a very personal action to save the planet, protect their families and do right by themselves. On October 18, 2013 men all over the world, who are ready to exit the gene pool, will dedicate their vasectomy to Planet Earth. 1,000 men in 25 countries will take the ultimate snip to show they care about the growing strain that population is placing on the planet?s resources, their families and themselves. The world?s most prolific vasectomist, Dr Doug Stein will perform live vasectomies in front of an audience in Adelaide at the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) to launch the inaugural World Vasectomy Day event streamed live online. Renowned thinkers, academics and activists will surround the operating room as they debate the future of our planet. World Vasectomy Day (WVD) is the creation of Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Jonathan Stack, who while setting out to tell his own story about getting a vasectomy, met legendary Florida-based vasectomist Dr Doug Stein and together, ended up making a film about population on the planet – THE VASECTOMIST. But it didn?t stop there. The journey inspired them to create a movement to raise global awareness of: the dangers an ever-increasing population has on the planet?s finite resources; and vasectomy as a viable solution to prevent unintended pregnancies. “We?re asking men who do not want more children to shoulder the burden of family planning, to fight for their family, their community, their country and our planet,” says Stack. “To be like Frodo in ?The Lord of the Rings?! By throwing our fertility into the fire, we?re protecting our women, our families and future generations.” Australia has one of the highest uptake rates of vasectomy in the world and this trailblazing spirit led the producers to launch WVD in Australia to set the stage for the global conversation. Director of RiAus Paul Willis welcomed the partnership as a prime opportunity to host a world-class knowledge-sharing forum addressing critical science related issues within the context of a highly innovative and ambitious multiplatform public event: “This event will take vasectomy out of the medical suite and into the homes of people who may never have considered vasectomy. It will be an important way of encouraging people to think about how their ecological footprint leaves its mark on the planet,” says Willis. The live-streamed vasectomy-athon will feature Dr Stein performing vasectomies while fielding questions from both the live Adelaide audience and an international online audience. Simultaneously, a gathering of diverse thought leaders including population expert and author of The Population Bomb Professor Paul Ehrlich will weigh in on the social, political, cultural and ethical issues raised by the event and Dr Stein?s mission to save the planet, one vasectomy at a time... “Can vasectomies really make a difference? Mine made a big difference in my life, and to this day I consider it the single most important contribution I have personally made to the wellbeing of future generations, “ says Ehrlich. World Vasectomy Day is coproduced by Jonathan Stack?s New York-based Gabriel Films and Sydney-based Smith&Nasht – a media production company focused on social issue storytelling founded by Simon Nasht and Dick Smith. For all media enquiries and interviews contact Ruth Cross - Producer [email protected] +61 435 556 339 http://thevasectomist.net http://facebook.com/thevasectomist http://youtube.com/thevasectomist https://twitter.com/thevasectomist RiAUS - Bringing science to people and people to science

nimby

Fri, 2013-08-09 14:13

Masao Yoshida, the man in charge of Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in the wake of the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has died at 58 from oesophageal cancer. Yoshida was called a "hero" for his actions during the disaster that helped curtail the spread of nuclear fallout. Yoshida-one of the "Fukushima 50"- risked his life to do so, even disobeying orders by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), to stop pumping cooling seawater into the overheating reactors. The "Fukushima 50" were the 50 engineers and workers who stayed on at the plant, braving potentially lethal amounts of radiation, in an attempt to restore the damaged cooling system. At first reprimanded by the company for his disobedience, Yoshida's decision helped to lessen the damage of the meltdown, and later they praised Yoshida for his resolve. In fact, Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan tweeted about Yoshida saying, "I bow in respect for his leadership and decision making." Yoshida stayed at the disabled nuclear facility for nearly nine months, heading up the disaster response. In a December, 2011 statement after Yoshida stepped down from his post as plant head of Fukushima due to illness, Tepco President Naomi Hirose said, "We deeply appreciate his contribution and the way he handled the accident." http://news.msn.com/obits/hero-chief-of-stricken-japan-nuclear-plant-die...

Bandicoot

Thu, 2013-08-08 09:19

The political parties vying for votes are offering a selection of goodies for those who vote for them. However, there's is more at stake than ourselves, and our own concerns and the economy. National laws require the Australian Government to develop recovery plans for all 112 birds listed as threatened … but there is no dedicated fund to implement them. This is not a big commitment. Birdlife Australia estimate it would only cost an average of $380,000 for each species. And we know funded recovery plans work – they save birds. Save the Birds - Birdlife Australia They are urging both major parties to fund the implementation of national recovery plans for threatened birds. They need your help to ensure threatened birds have a voice in this election campaign.

Mary D (not verified)

Wed, 2013-08-07 20:35

NEVER STOPS DOES IT?. MY SINCERE APOLOGIES, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT. Submissions by early September to try to stop this overdevelopment of this wonderful old Racecourse. They want to turn it into an Activity Centre with apartment blocks and put all the horse things in the centre of the track, sounds very strange. No station in the area and to me the whole place has heritage significance. Open up the link and take a look and send off even a simple submission – the more pressure the better. Moonee Valley Racecourse Redevelopment Planning Minister Matthew Guy has appointed an Advisory Committee to review matters related to the proposed Moonee Valley Racecourse Master Plan, associated draft Planning Scheme Amendment documentation (including heritage controls proposed by Council), and submissions about these documents. For all details see http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/panelsandcommittees/current/moonee-valley-racecourse-redevelopment How to make a submission The Advisory Committee will consider all written submissions in relation to the draft Amendments. All submissions: must be made by 6 September 2013 must be accompanied by a completed Submission Coversheet (DOC - 204 KB) should include a completed Request to be Heard Form (DOC - 207 KB) if you also wish to present your submission to the Advisory Committee. Please send your submission with this coversheet to: The Chair Moonee Valley Racecourse Redevelopment Advisory Committee C/- Planning Panels Victoria Email (preferred): [email protected] Post: PO Box 500, EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002 Fax: (03) 9637 9700 The Committee encourages grouped or joint submissions at the Hearing where possible. Please note that all submissions received and all information provided in respect of the Advisory Committee at the Hearing will be treated as public documents. Please note the Privacy Collection Notice on page 2 of the Submission Coversheet.

nimby

Wed, 2013-08-07 09:23

The latest figures from Youth Sector Change Drivers Group Forum revealed 49.7% of Sunshine Coast youth aged 15-19 were unemployed. Thousands of school leavers will struggle to find jobs in the new year, with one of the nation's top youth bodies warning the numbers of unemployed teenagers are reaching alarming levels. 457 visa use is rapidly expanding, and the largest single occupation is ‘Project Administrator’ – a role the Union understands is one of most commonly rorted occupations. The CFMEU claim that the 457 visa system is being used as an excuse to use cheaper, more compliant workforce – and employers who defend its use based on skill shortages need to examine the local labour market first before choosing this option. A recent advertisement by RecruitWest called for 457 visa holders who are carpenters and plumbers to apply, in WA where youth unemployment is at 8.5 per cent. This, ironically, is happening under the "Labor" Federal government. Youth unemployment across the world has climbed to a new high and is likely to climb further this year, a United Nations agency has said. It warned of a ''lost generation'' as more young people give up the search for work. Why, then, is our "Labor" government persisting with skilled permanent, and uncapped temporary, migration? The deregulation of the jobs market is totally inconsistent and contradictory to any traditional Labor policies. Data released in July showed new applications for the Youth Allowance surged by 41 per cent from May 2012 to May 2013, and the number of Youth Allowance beneficiaries increased by 27 per cent in the same period. Why is our Labor government not being more realistic about skilled migration - considering our economic slowdown? Importing foreign-trained skilled job seekers should not be an alternative to investment in industry expansion, skills training or tertiary education. Almost 40 per cent of 457 "temporary" visa holders have gone on to become permanent residents. The permanent migration program is capped, but the temporary migration program is not. Our "Labor" Government has maintained a very liberal approach to the entry of migrants holding temporary visas, on top of high numbers of permanent immigration. Almost 40 per cent of 457 visa holders have gone on to become permanent residents. Youth unemployment is a growing problem but idea of boot camps won't guarantee there will be job vacancies to apply for. What's needed is some logical, realistic and common-sense policies to ensure that our own, domestic workforce is invested in first and foremost before more potential employees are imported off-shore.

Concerned resident (not verified)

Mon, 2013-08-05 22:44

There is an application to review a covenant. In the current undemocratic climate where development takes precedence over civil rights, what are the chances of the covenant's intention being honoured? Here is an example of why we need democratic representation on building permits at local government level. The resolution of the problem below is going to rely on a one-off interpretation of some old Norman English with respect to the mispelling of the old French for 'household' (messuage). Several blocks of houses have relied on the same covenant to preserve relatively low density living and green and open space. The potential overturning of a covenant or its reinterpretation into an opposite meaning is a serious problem: NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SEEK CLARIFICATION Re: Land at 2 FENTONCRESCENT, FRANKSTON SOUTH certificate of Title Vo.07575 Fol. 099 THIS NOTICE is given by order of the Supreme Court of Victoria TAKE NOTICE that Mr. Peter Stoops ("the Plaintiff") has applied to The Supreme Court of Victoria in proceeding No.S Cl 2013 2893 for a declaration as to the proper constrution of a restrictive covenant contained in Instrument of Transfer 1770776 ("restrictive covenant"), burdening part of the land. Two of the four constraints in the restrictive covenant allow the errection [sic] of 'one messuage' on the land, wihc can only be used for 'residential purposes only'. The Plaintiff interprets the words of the restrictive covenant to allow the erection of one building, with 'internal communication', containing one or more, self contained residential units. TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that any person who is entitled to the benefit of the covenant and who intends to oppose the Application should 1. Give written notice to the Plaintiff, Mr. Peter Stoops, 2 Fenton Crescent, Frankston Sout, Victoria 3199, by the 18th August 2013; and 2. Appear in Associate Judges' court No.2. Ground Floor, Supreme Court, 436 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne on 9 September 2013, at 10.30am. If no person appears the Associate Judge may make a declaration as to the proper construction of the "restrictive covenant" burdening "the land". Copies of all documents relating to this application are in the possession of the Plaintiff, who will, on request in writing, provide any further information sought. Only one set of costs may be allowed in respect of objectors to the Application.

Bandicoot

Mon, 2013-08-05 16:05

We will Decide We Will Decide will give individuals some control over development in the area in which they reside. Whether a residential area should house more or fewer people should be decided by those who presently live there. Secondly, it will establish a connection between the people’s preference for a higher or lower population in their area and the number of migrants brought into the country in Australia’s self-interest. Some people are allowed to enter the country in fulfilment of our international obligations; for example, refugees and those admitted for humanitarian reasons. These people form only a small proportion of our migrants. The majority of migrants are brought here because the Commonwealth Government considers it is in our national interest for them to be here. Instead of the Government deciding what is in our self-interest, We Will Decide allows the people to decide for themselves whether having more people in their area is actually in their interests. Decisions concerning our international obligations will continue to be made by the Commonwealth Government.

Bandicoot

Mon, 2013-08-05 12:45

National Dingo Media release. ***Finalists nominated in the Heritage Eureka Prize for Environmental Research.* Professor Chris Johnson, Dr Michael Letnic, Dr Euan Ritchie, Dr Arian Wallach, and Adam O'Neill have been nominated and are finalists in the '*NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Eureka Prize for Environmental Research'.* Professor Chris Johnson and his team's work has shown how the dingo helps sustain biodiversity in Australian ecosystems. It points the way to improved environmental management in which the dingo could be used to aid the recovery of degraded lands and therefore help protect threatened species. - Australian Museum: See more Presented annually by the Australian Museum, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes reward excellence in the fields of research & innovation, leadership & commercialisation, school science and science journalism & communication. Arian Wallach said: "Dingoes are currently persecuted across Australia, mostly with the use of 1080 poison, with catastrophic consequences for biodiversity and for the dingoes themselves. The selection of our team's work on the crucial ecological role of dingoes is hugely uplifting, and indicates a beginning of a shift in our relationship with big predators and wild nature." The NDPRP would like to congratulate Johnson's team on their work, and thank the Australian Museum and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage for their good judgement in recognising the quality of the research by the team and the importance of the issue. *For further information or a comment,* please contactDr.Arian Wallach, at *School of Marine & Tropical Biology**, **James Cook University* Phone: +61 8 86707991 Email: [email protected] Skype: wallach.arian1 Website:Website: James Cook University

Steven Earl Salmony (not verified)

Mon, 2013-08-05 04:23

The human predicament may well be one for which humankind collectively bears responsibility, but each one of us has to engage in an intellectually honest and morally courageous way in the global conversation offered here. The work at hand for "the collective" has got to be done by individuals speaking out, but also by people working within organizations and institutions so that instrumentalities of governance adopt sustainable practices. Because there is so much to be done, we have no time to waste. Ideas are good but actions are what matter now. We need action not only at the individual level, but also at the local, state, national and international level. This necessary work is impeded because many too many responsible people have chosen willful blindness and elective mutism regarding “the human predicament” confronting all of us rather than electing to speak out about what could somehow be true, according to the lights and scientific knowledge they possess. What is happening now here is not being sensibly acknowledged and reasonably addressed by virtually all organizations, including the predominant environmental organizations. The limits of the natural world and the necessity for human behavioral changes toward sustainable lifestyles and right-sized corporate enterprises are everywhere passively ignored and actively denied. Business-as-usual activities that are marked by seemingly endless economic and population growth…at all levels… are extolled as virtuous. Consequently, human institutions cannot be changed and the global challenges before "the collective" cannot be overcome. People in large numbers must begin to speak out regarding what they see. Most are not doing so. I have become scared of people who cannot see what is obvious as well as frightened of people who do see what is happening and yet consciously and deliberately refuse to speak out about what is occurring on our watch. Truly, this is the great tragedy of our time. ‘The brightest and best’, the silent ones and the vociferous deniers, the ones with unshared knowledge of the human-driven aspects of the global predicament looming ominously before us, are failing science, the children, humanity and all that exists.

PostGrowthEra

Sat, 2013-08-03 11:13

Environment Minister Mark Butler announced that he approved the mine in Tasmania's Tarkine, which was halted two weeks ago by a Federal Court decision that found his predecessor, Tony Burke, had failed to properly consider official departmental advice about its impact on the Tasmanian devil. The mine’s development was halted by a federal court ruling in May, which found the mine to be unlawful due to its potential impact on Tasmanian devils. "Environment" Minister Mark Butler is quite comfortable about going down in history as the "Minister for extinction" There are currently 58 exploration licences granted over the Tarkine. Exploration activities such as drilling, geophysical surveys and pit tests have a substantial impact on the Tarkine through clearing, roading and introduction of contaminants. The Tarkine is the last stronghold of disease-free Tasmanian Devils. Economic benefits are not to be thwarted by the small problem of protected and threatened Tasmanian Devils! They are disposable, natural assets! Australian Greens leader Senator Christine Milne said the future of the Tasmanian devil and the tourism potential of the Tarkine were being trashed by Labor for short-term political gain. Also trashed is any legal guarantees and policies that protect even threatened native species. The conditions of the new approval stipulate that Shree Minerals Limited make contributions to organisations that protect flora and fauna in the area, including a donation of $350,000 to maintain an insurance population of devils in response to the deadly facial tumour disease epidemic. This is pure and futile tokenism considering their mining trucks and heavy equipment will access the area and trample on any flora and fauna inhibiting their access.

Geoffrey Taylor

Fri, 2013-08-02 23:19

In the early years of the government of John Howard, who was elected to the office of Prime Minister in 1996, massive cutbacks were made to education and other government services in order to turn the previous Keating Labor goverment's deficit into Howard's much ballyhooed financial surplus.

In fact, these cutbacks created a massive deficit in the work skills of Australia's workforce. When employers discovered they didn't have sufficient numbers of workers with the required skills, Prime Minister Howard ramped up immmigration in order to fill this deficit.

Over the ensuing years, this has been extended to the more recent scam in which 'temporary' foreign visitors and workers with 457 visas are taking the jobs of even skilled native Australians.

The record budget deficit, which is filling Australia's news is almost certainly a result of record immigration into a country which has few vacancies in industries which produce export income earnings. Whilst our booming housing industry, for which many of the skilled migrants are brought in, cannot possibly produce export earnings, Federal, state and local governments all have to spend more to meet the needs of a growing population.

Should it be any surprise tha governments, which have also privatised many of their wealth producing assets in recent decades, now have huge deficits in their budgets?

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2013-08-02 14:50

The government will pour $1.1 billion into operating the Manus Island detention centre over four years, and direct another $420 million in foreign aid to PNG. The government will also slash its overall foreign aid budget by almost $1 billion over four years, so we can return to the allusive "surplus" by 2016. The government will reduce projected overseas aid spending by $966.2 million over four years. This comes with the announcement that the federal budget deficit has leapt from $18 billion forecast in the May budget to $30.1 billion in 2013-14. Unemployment is expected to climb, and our economy will soften. Getting our economy back onto the elusive "surplus" will mean cut-backs and austerity. It's hardly good news for the government with the Federal election on the horizon! Surely, our "economic growth" paradigm is wearing thin, and becoming unsustainable? Once the economy add more and more pain, and growth is forcing hardship and is getting overly costly to maintain, it's time to consider new options? Ponzi schemes always require more and more participants, to drain their incomes and savings away from their pockets, upwards to the pyramid's peak and into the hands of the pro-growth elite. The allure is always "prosperity", or "surplus" to share, but the schemes always collapse! PM Kevin Rudd would like the asylum seekers to disappear, so that the public are not overly focused on population growth, and immigration issues. The parallel issue of skilled migration and permanent immigration, of people who are invited here in their tens of thousands, will conveniently go away!

Vivienne Ortega

Fri, 2013-08-02 11:30

A new position of Independent Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports will be established to review and audit Australia’s live animal export trade processes and systems. There's nothing "independent' about this appointment. This Inspector-General of Animal Welfare will be supporting the live export trade and government interests. Ironically, this position was appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Joel Fitzgibbon. This person will report directly to the Minister. It sounds like "Yes Minister", and a comic collusion of interests, but not funny! “The Independent Inspector-General will audit and review the live animal export regulator across the supply chain, including our investigation and compliance procedures, adding an important layer of independence to the regulatory system to ensure it delivers animal welfare outcomes.” New watchdog for live animal exports It's to attempt to justify and defend the indefensible. It's assured that Independent Inspector-General would not create additional red-tape or regulatory burden for farmers or the broader industry. So, basically, nothing will really be done to ruffle any feathers in the industry! Our world-leading standards of animal welfare will not be unnecessarily burdened by any extra demands on graziers, or any extra regulations. It sounds like a paper-tiger, full of hypocrisy and without any powers to actually change anything. According to Animals Australia, this position is about ensuring live export remains sustainable and 'enjoys' the confidence of the community. Taxpayers are even funding workshops to help the live export industry improve their public image. The "new" animal welfare initiative for live export is the inversion cage. Animals will be trapped inside it, with their necks extended, so they can be killed while still conscious while having their throats slit. Without mandatory pre-stunning, and the crowded stench and suffering of death-ships, there is no "animal welfare" in the live export trade - an industry littered by mistakes, misery, horrific "incidents", secrecy and blood.

Bandicoot

Fri, 2013-08-02 09:14

Thousands of koalas have taken refuge in the vast timber plantations that have emerged across the region, which are increasingly maturing for harvest. In plantations that are used for wood pulp, hundreds of koalas are being killed and suffering from horrific injuries and left to slowly die. A plantation harvesting operation is so mechanised and cost-efficient, it has no time to look for and avoid koalas in trees. According to the Victorian government's Department of Environment and Primary Industries, "there are significant numbers of koalas across suitable habitat in the South west. The high population densities have resulted in many koalas moving into the blue gum plantations in the region. This is a significant issue for the timber plantation industry that they haven'??t had to address in such magnitude before". In other words, the koalas are being shredded in Blue Gum plantations because of their own population growth. It's their own fault for over-breeding! "DEPI is working with the Blue Gum Plantation industry in the south west to make sure it responds humanely and effectively to the influx of koalas onto its plantation estate". It's more like stress on their habitats, fragmentation and lack of it that they are going into the plantations, only to suffer callous carnage during logging. There are a lot of motherhood statements about caring, and guidelines, and policies for koala management. "DEPI, in partnership with Wildlife Carers, is developing a training program for operational forestry field staff focusing on koala awareness, signs of distress and handling techniques for those operating in koala environments. This new training will begin in August". The Victorian government should buy the plantations, at any costs, to save our wildlife. Why would foreign plantation owners care about koalas, any more than palm-oil plantation owners care about orangatans or other native animals.

nimby

Wed, 2013-07-31 18:48

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is proposing to reduce the corporate tax rate from 30% to 25%.

To make up for lost revenue, company tax revenue would be replaced by increasing and expanding the GST so all Australians would pay more for our basic essentials such as food, education and health care.

The Grattan Institute estimates this would add another $3000 a year to average household costs.

They're also proposing to slash penalty rates and reduce the minimum wage for workers, meaning you would have less money in your pocket to pay bills and feed your family. This is to create more "prosperity" for Australia, and create a future surplus.

They would increase immigration too.

It's pure Ponzi economics, a way of getting working Australians to participate in the scheme so that more of their hard-earned saving and wages drift into corporate hands - those at its peak!

Only dodgy and questionable organisations rely on population growth for their revenues. It's about accumulating consumers, as business resources, to boost business profits and opportunities. There's no guarantee of jobs for the migrants they would like to import.

And homebuyers would be invited to pay even more, by introducing a new land tax on home owner-occupiers.

Mitigating an ageing population by adding would mean a further ageing deficit for the next generation. It's Ponzi demographics and is intellectually dishonest.

Financial and corporations, and collectives such as this business "council", make demands and create reports that suit their vested interests.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2013-07-31 18:17

July 2013

RUSSIA'S DECISION TO FORBID KANGAROO PRODUCT IMPORTS
APPLAUDED BY THE ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT NOW FACES DISGRACE AFTER SUPPORTING AN INDUSTRY WHICH MOSCOW NOW UNCOVERS AS DECEPTIVE AND CORRUPT

It has been confirmed with the Animal Justice Party by Yury Aleshin, Chief of the Agriculture Ministry at the Russian Embassy, that Russia has again imposed a full ban on the importation of kangaroo meat from Australia on grounds of fraudulent and deceptive conduct.

Following an investigation and seizure of containers containing 1,860kg of meat it was discovered the meat was sourced from unapproved plants via unregistered companies owned by Macro meats. The decision follows two former bans in 2008 and 2009 after major contamination was detected.

This will help bring this grotesquely brutal, rogue industry to an end. A core goal of the Animal Justice Party for the current election campaign is now well on the way to being achieved.

Both Labor and the Coalition have provided significant financial and lobbying support for the kangaroo killing industry to access overseas markets in recent years. This was in return for votes in rural areas. Until now, Russia was the largest importer of kangaroo meat which was enough to keep this brutal, unregulated and heavily subsidised industry operational.

“The kangaroo killing industry is an international disgrace and has been the main contributor to Australia having the unenviable distinction of the highest rate of land-based wildlife slaughter on the planet”, said AJP President Professor Steve Garlick.

“The end of this industry is now in sight thanks to the Russian Government. But there is no thanks to Labor and the Coalition who actively propped up this industry, or to the Greens who have failed to oppose this brutal industry. The Greens have never supported Australia’s iconic fauna emblem.” said Professor Garlick.

Animal Justice Party members played a key role in providing evidence to Russian Government officials in order to help them in their decision to ban these imports from Australia.

A full list of AJP policies, including its policy on kangaroos and wallabies, and its manifesto can be found at: www.animaljusticeparty.org

For further information please email [email protected] or tweet us @justice4animals.

Media Enquiries: Professor Steve Garlick – AJP President – 0428 880 564
Mark Pearson - lead Senate candidate for NSW – 0417 252 107

PostGrowthEra

Tue, 2013-07-30 13:30

Orang-utans are reported in the American Journal of Primatology, has been observed in Borneo to be coming down from the trees to forage and travel. The amount of time the orang-utans were spending on the forest floor had never before been seen. Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/study-shows-orangutans-are-co... Borneo is a network of timber plantations, agroforestry areas and mines, with patches of natural forest. They are being deprived of their natural habitats due to human encroachments and violence. Being forced to change their behaviours and adapt to living on the land is an adaption being forced onto them, to survive. Their jaws may be getting larger to allow for the eating of bark, rather than fruit. Human oppression against orang-tans means their survival is under threat. It's said that these gentle animals are better evolved than humans, and on a higher ethical plane. Human egotism has put us on a pedestal, but we aren't necessarily superior in adaption ability, or socially. Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz. Originator of the orangutan theory of human origins(1984) proposed that humans are more closely related to orangutans than to chimpanzees - a model that contradicts the greater molecular similarity (often misrepresented as being the sole 'genetic' component of evolution) of base pair sequences in humans and chimpanzees.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2013-07-29 23:04

Community Forum:
The 2013 Federal Election and Public
Transport in Melbourne’s West
Thursday 8 th August 6.30pm doors open 6pm, food and drinks available from the bar
Newport Bowls Club, 4 Market St Newport

The Public Transport Users Association is hosting a community forum looking at public transport issues in Melbourne’s Western Suburbs. With a federal election imminent, residents are concerned about how transport policy will impact on access to jobs, education and services, as well as household transport stress.

This community forum is an opportunity to hear from transport planning experts alongside local Members of Parliament, Councillors and federal candidates. Come along and ask your questions and learn what they plan to
do to solve public transport in Melbourne.

Guest Speakers Include:
Dr Sophie Sturrup, University of Melbourne
Janet Rice, Greens Lead Senate Candidate
Tim Watts, ALP Candidate for Gellibrand
Lisel Thomas, Maribyrnong Truck Action Group

Any questions please contact
Cait Jones: 0412 549 589

nimby

Mon, 2013-07-29 08:30

McDonald's: abandon plans to build a massive 24/7 store opposite the kindergarten in Tecoma. McDonald's plans to build a huge 24/7 store and drive-through in our town on the Dandenong ranges -- demolishing local iconic buildings on the site and ensuring it goes directly opposite the kindergarten and school. For our kids, the nearby national park and our beautiful small-town culture, there could be nothing worse. Every day, kids as young as five years old would need to walk past a giant advertisement for junk food just to go to school. This is despite health experts warning of the damaging impact of junk food on young children -- and child obesity spiralling out of control. Perhaps even more worryingly, if it goes ahead here, it could set a dangerous precedent of junk food stores being built next to schools. Our community doesn't want that. The plan is opposed by 90% of residents. The application was rejected by council. But instead of respecting our wishes, McDonald's appealed the decision and are using their huge financial and legal power to bully their way into our town. They're now suing locals who are objecting to the building of the store in the Victorian Supreme Court -- and there are accounts of McDonald's private security on the proposed site threatening and intimidating locals who have peacefully protested against the plan. If McDonald's win this fight, it'll break our hearts. This town, our special part of the world that we think deserves protecting, would be irreversibly changed. That's why we need your help. The only way McDonald's will walk away now is if they see it becoming a huge brand risk for them -- that thousands of consumers will stand with us in opposing their plan. Please sign my petition and join our community standing up against McDonald's -- and help ensure they abandon plans to build the store opposite our primary school. It'd be devastating for our beautiful little town and national park. You can also leave a message for McDonald's on their Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsAU or tweet at them: https://twitter.com/McDonaldsAu Petition by Garry Muratore Belgrave, Australia SIGN PETITION

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-29 05:27

I can't see why the man couldn't keep it, as said it now no longer fears man. How heart breaking for them. Parks and wildlife are great at enforcing these laws, but wont help us wildlife carers stop 1080' non professional culling, and acts of horrific cruelty on our wildlife by MOPs. Aren't there more pressing issues in Hevey Bay than taking away a kangaroo that has been saved from death and now was being looked after with much love and right conditions, other wise it would of died of myopathy by now.

Sheila Newman

Sun, 2013-07-28 11:33

MOSCOW, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has completely forbidden imports of kangaroo meat from Australia after a shipment from an unpermitted supplier was uncovered in the far-eastern region of Primorye, Russia’s agricultural watchdog said Thursday. Citing multiple veterinary and sanitary violations, including high bacterial contamination, Russia banned Australian kangaroo meat imports in 2009, but last year it permitted imports from a sole Australian supplier, Macro Investments PTY Ltd. The recently seized 18.6-ton shipment came from Australian Meats PTY Ltd, said the agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor. “In this connection, Rosselkhoznadzor notified Australia’s veterinary service of the necessity to suspend certification of Macro Investments’ products for the market of the Customs Union states,” which comprise Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Russian watchdog said in a statement.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sat, 2013-07-27 16:30

The ABC has revealed that large numbers of immigrants from India have fraudulent visas. The internal audits show fraud rates approaching 50 per cent, and an Immigration Department struggling to properly identify people who are entering the country. The fraud rate has raised questions as to whether the Immigration Department's existing security and processing systems can handle the growing and complex issue of identity fraud. It's likely that not only identities are fraudulent, but the level of skills. DIAC has become another government industry, with proceeds from the high number or immigration/visa applicants. At present levels of mass intakes, there's no way to really assure the names of documents are genuine. http://www.rythmos1656.com.au/news/skilled-migration-documents-fraud

Sheila Cross (not verified)

Fri, 2013-07-26 09:41

To Ian Hunter and Peter Walsh via the Animals Australia website petition on Thursday, 26 July 2013. cc: The Age and The Adelaide Advertiser. I have recently become aware of the killing of koalas on timber plantations in South Australia and Victoria. This is as shameful as it is a betrayal of the Australian people's trust. I'm appalled that the welfare of native animals has been so grossly neglected by our elected representatives and of their lack of moral integrity. The companies involved are foreign owned, and government continues to sell out to clearly disproven neo-liberal views of free markets and wholesale profit grabs by those pretending to represent the people of South Australia, Victoria and thus Australia. Please don't plead the responsibility of a prior government or lack of resources. The contracting practices of all Australian governments are a sham - and you know this. Self-regulation is a joke - and you know this too - in the forest industry and equally amongst the elected representatives who hide behind a constitution that cannot be changed without their approval. Animal cruelty, animal suffering must not be tolerated and in this instance it is clearly preventable. Shame on you and your involvement as elected representative to allow this to continue. What are you going to do to meet your responsibilities as a human being and as one elected to represent more than profit margins and your own power base. Create a legacy of your time in office and step up to protect the natural environment, its fauna and flora for the well-being of the human family and yours. Sincerely, Sheila Cross

Outrider (not verified)

Thu, 2013-07-25 21:05

Melbourne is an ideal test for SPP to see if they can comvince the electors that increasing population creates the demand for the Eastern Tollway, which will create havoc for the locals. Another method of expressing your views is to write 'Reduce Immigration' on your ballot papers. Your vote will be valid provided you do not obscure the numbers. For firther information go to www.reduceimmigration.wordpress.com

Vivienne Ortega

Wed, 2013-07-24 17:18

The US and Japanese owned companies that run the plantations export this timber as woodchip for paper production in Japan and China. So rather than acknowledge the problem and try to address it, these companies have tried to avoid bad PR by denying any animals are being killed. Please sign the Animals Australia Petition to stop the koala slaughter. With dwindling natural habitats, some koalas have turned to Blue Gum plantations for refuge. But now, as these plantations are being cut down, an animal welfare disaster is unfolding. With no apparent plan to relocate the local inhabitants, and without any government monitoring, trees are simply being cut down with animals still in them. Volunteer wildlife carers are struggling to keep up with the number of casualties — koalas suffering from broken limbs and backs, severed arms and impact wounds. Many more don't even survive the fall. Witnesses have even described injured koalas still on the felled trees as they are pulled through the shredders. The Victorian Department for Environment & Primary Industries has admitted that they rely on timber companies to self-report wildlife issues. Yet the international companies that run the plantations continue to deny there's any problem. What's clear is that self-regulation is failing, and stronger protection for wildlife is needed. At a minimum, the detection, capture and relocation of koalas (and other at risk wildlife) needs to occur under government supervision before forest areas are logged. Koalas urgently need you to be their voice. Please call on the Ministers responsible in Victoria and South Australia to stop the tragic killing of koalas and introduce stronger protection for wildlife. Animals Australia: Koalas under threat The globalization of our land, our trees, our agricultural output will put our wildlife under international standards of "animal welfare" - something that can't be controlled overseas and to standards that in many countries don't exist. Species such and elephants and orangutans are simply killed as "agricultural pests" - and this is not what we want for our native, iconic, much-loved animals!

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2013-07-24 09:09

Australia used to be a penal colony too, so does that mean we should only settle convicts and criminals? It's just as logical as continuing mass immigration because we "all are all descendants of immigrants", and Australia is an "immigration Nation". What was beneficial in the past can become detrimental once it's past its use-by-date. It's a result of shallow, unintelligent, narrow thinking. Australia was once the custodial land of indigenous peoples. Maybe all our leaders should be aboriginal descent? Maybe our land would be better managed, and natural heritage would be better protected. The greed of our leaders now for growth at all costs will be paid for by future generations who will inherit an even larger ageing population - something that is the natural consequence of boosting our population from the baby boom and high rates of immigration.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2013-07-23 18:09

Over the next 30 to 40 years the current population of 250,000 is expected to double to 500,000. 80,000 jobs are to be created. The number of jobs, even if they are permanent jobs, won't keep abreast with population growth. Presuming almost half of the population will be adults, needing jobs, it will leave most people unemployed. Instead of this growth, there needs to be some innovative jobs creation for the existing population in the area, not have the number of jobs vacant diluted by more people! According to the City of Greater Geelong Key Economic Indicators bulletin, the average unemployment rate in the Barwon region was 6.0 per cent in the 12 months to May 2013. The Victorian rate was 5.4 per cent and the Australian average 5.5 per cent. Students are abandoning Geelong's Gordon TAFE in their thousands as the reality of the state government's brutal budget cuts begins to hit home. Apprentice and trainee numbers plummeted by 16 percent state wide in the first quarter of 2013 against the same period last year. It's ironical that we have our so-called "skills shortages" while the number of trainees and apprenticeships is being reduced by budget slashing!

Bandicoot

Tue, 2013-07-23 09:41

The attack on Australian working and living conditions doesn't stop there! Our environment is being cleared for logging. housing, industries and mining, and iconic koalas are facing a carnage! Thousands of koalas have taken refuge in the vast timber plantations that have emerged across the region of south east Australia, which are increasingly maturing for harvest. While human diaspora get a lot of media attention, there's little attention given to our wildlife. While humans are reproducing in record numbers, other native species, endemic to our land, are being cruelly eradicated. Koala experts and wildlife refuge staff say many koalas are being wiped out during the logging process. The ABC's 7.30 program has been provided with damning evidence of the carnage, the scale of which has previously been kept confidential. "What's happening in our country? We create a big brouhaha when we see it happening to cattle in a slaughterhouse in Indonesia or somewhere like that, but this is happening in our own backyard with a much bigger impact. "This is a national and international icon that we are treating with so much disrespect and disdain" says Dr Stephen Phillips, a member of the Federal Government's Koala Abundance Working Group. Australia is descending into hostile, third-world mayhem, and the integrity of our land, our jobs, our economy and environment is under attack for industry $$$$. Tracy Wilson, a wildlife rescue volunteer from Koroit in Victoria, says she deals with koalas with horrendous injuries. "Broken limbs, impact wounds, broken backs, severed arm, dead mothers with joeys still alive trying to survive," she said. Instead of asylum seekers, we should concentrate more on the victims in Australia - animals! Industries are supposed to "self-regulate" but that's like asking the fox to take care of the chicken coop! Koalas face carnage as loggers harvest timber plantations Mark Butler MP is our new Minister for the Environment. [email protected]

nimby

Tue, 2013-07-23 09:03

Bob Birrell described the heavy competition for jobs as the government putting a "blowtorch" to the economy. This global competition for jobs is to make our economy more internationally competitive. It means more fierce international competition for jobs, housing, tertiary education, land, and our manufacturing industries. Already livestock, through the live export trade, have been sacrificed to global "animal welfare" standards of atrocities. The 457 Visa scam is the tip of the iceberg! This, we can only assume, is the small introduction to "The Asian Century". We are to be transformed to a second or third world economy so that we can be more competitive, with lower wages, and lower standards of living and working on par with Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and China. This is for the benefit of mammoth and global corporations, to create a cheaper and more flexible workforce. It's shameful that a Labor party, with traditional values that endorses and supports labourers, unions and workers, should be betraying the voters, and guilty of un-doing "protectionism". Labor, under Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's liberalisation and deregulation of the jobs market, allowed unemployment to rise, adding pressure on residents - voters - the people who supposed to be represented by our elected government. Labor voters should feel betrayed!

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2013-07-22 22:11

On behalf of Geoff Brown:

I alert you to concerns about the NSW Governments plan to create the 10,800 hectare Broader Western Sydney Employment Area (BWSEA). The BWSEA straddles the LGA’s of Penrith, Blacktown and Fairfield. Of concern is that 16% of the BWSEA is endangered or critically endangered native vegetation. Ecological Australia have done a desktop study of the area and their <5 meg report can be found here http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/wsea

There are some big concerns here surrounding whether this core habitat is going to be cleared or protected. How is it going to be protected? Will there be an offset program similar to the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Program? (remember that the Biodiversity Certification of the Sydney Growth Centres, a total area of 27,000 hectares, meant about 2000 ha of core habitat could be developed – NSW committed to delivering a $530 million offset fund as a result – but to date very little offsetting has been provided). Ecological Australia flags Biodiversity Certification and Biobanking as a means to offset any clearing. Will Barry O’Farrell just put jobs first and legislate not to protect this areas environment? At one of his recent community cabinet meetings in Penrith he was challenged about his government failing to conserve Western Sydney Priority Conservation Lands and his response was that his number one priority was the creation of jobs so people could work closer to home. So its clear he doesn’t give two hoots about protecting Western Sydney’s environment.

In any case its likely that more of Sydney’s precious natural heritage will be destroyed in order to facilitate an income for developers and the NSW Govt. The driver of course is Australia’s record level of unsustainable population growth.

Comments can be made here http://planspolicies.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=6032

Geoff Brown
www.wsca.org.au

1.1 DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd (ELA) was engaged by (DoPI) to undertake a desktop biodiversity and riparian corridors assessment of approximately 10,800 ha that forms the Broader Western Sydney Employment Area (BWSEA). The aim of this assessment is to identify key ecological and riparian constraints to assist in the preparation of a Structure Plan for the area.

Conclusion

The BWSEA is a highly fragmented landscape that has been heavily impacted by past landuses. Based on a desktop assessment, 16% of the study area is native vegetation that is either endangered or critically endangered. Critically Endangered Ecological Communities typically pose a significant constraint to development, especially when listed under both State and Commonwealth legislation. However, given the fragmented nature of the patches of vegetation (many of which will have lower long term viability) there may be an opportunity to develop a positive conservation outcome that focuses on protection and management of riparian corridors and the larger patches of good condition vegetation. Such an outcome would not only deliver security to the EECs and CEECs hat have a higher management viability, but has the added benefits of protecting riparian habitats and ecological connectivity through the study area.

In terms of priorities for additional information on ecological values, this report recommends ground-truthing of vegetation communities to determine whether patches of Shale Hills Woodland, Shale Plains Woodland and Shale / Gravel Transition Forest meet the definition of Cumberland Plain Woodland / Shale Gravel Transition Forest as listed under the Commonwealth EPBC Act. A second priority is the collection of biometric vegetation data so that landuse planning can utilise the assessment methodologies (Biobanking or Biocertification) under the TSC Act to determine how development can occur whilst delivering a positive biodiversity outcome. Other data such as threatened fauna survey and top of bank mapping can be collected at later stages of planning to inform detailed design.
Following collection of this data it is recommended that the conservation significance assessment be re-run to identify vegetation and habitat of high, moderate and low conservation value as a key input to BWSEA or precinct level planning.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-22 13:03

"Intergeneration justice" is a good term used by these researchers. Developers levies are passed onto the new home buyers adding to housing unaffordability. What's not mentioned is that there needs to be a change in our government's constitution that there is more democratic input into these policies. Federal governments make the population rate increase decisions, but the debt to left for councils to deal with, and the residents. Each generation should not be burdened by the greed of the elite of this generation. Our population growth is not God-given, or a natural result of high fertility. Government policies are human constructs that can and sometimes must be changed according to their impacts and implications. We look forward to some more reports from CIS on population and democracy.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-22 10:19

Thousands of Indian students, skilled workers and 457 visa holders have been admitted to Australia on dodgy travel and work documents. Freedom of Information show out-of-control fraud of the visa system. The internal audits, from the 2008/09 financial year, show fraud rates approaching 50 per cent, and an Immigration Department struggling to properly identify people who are entering the country. An Immigration Department spokesman said that "Around the periods of 2008, 2009, 2010 the fraud levels were quite considerable, a matter of real concern to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship". It is reported that the Department is nearly powerless to stop identity fraud, because of the low level of technology in Indian passports. Documents outline one alarming case where a man breached Australia's borders by entering the country under a false identity. For a General Skilled Migration visa class, from 23,767 visa lodgements there was a 46.9 per cent fraud rate for 2008/2009. There does not appear to be much the Department can do, with one of the documents finding "opportunities to combat this type of fraud remain extremely difficult". "People cheat about all kinds of things, around fraudulent marriages and do scams of all sorts and really that's a challenge for the compliance officers of our country whether they be the police or be they be immigration officials." Maurene Horder from the Migration Institute of Australia, the peak body for migration agents, wants migration agents overseas to be forced to register with the Department of Immigration, so they can be banned if they cheat the system. "That was a porous, very bad system," she said. Our whole immigration system is a rort, due to enormous fees being collected by immigration agents, and our own Immigration Department. With our economy's slowdown and unemployment expected to rise, Australia is not short of labour! http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-07-22/immigration-de...

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 2013-07-21 13:12

Asylum seekers arriving by boat could top 50,000 a year, making a tough response to stem the rise unavoidable, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says. He had been attacked for describing recent arrivals as economic migrants many on the boats had actually confirmed they were not fleeing persecution. There are many countries with economies and lifestyles worse, or much worse, than any of the problems Australian are facing. He said on the basis that they are not fleeing persecution, they could not object to being resettled in PNG, a robust democracy with a free press and freedom of religion. "You have got 3000 people arriving a month. The annual rate is something like 40 to 50,000 a year if it continues at this level". However, the overwhelming number of legal, permanent and temporary migrants, is being ignored in the asylum seeker debate. In May 2012, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced a planned intake for the 2012–13 Migration Program of 190 000 permanent migrants with the majority of places allocated to skilled entrants (129 250 places in the skill stream, 60 185 places in the family stream and 565 special eligibility places for former residents). The temporary working visa holders is uncapped, and increasing each year. Papua New Guinea's last census in 2011 by the World Bank found that the country had just over 7 million people, and increase of 1.8 million from 2000. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has warned that Papua New Guinea’s high population growth rate presents the government a mammoth challenge in the delivery of its infrastructure development program. It offers little opportunity for earning cash and in places is stretched beyond its sustainable limits by population growth. The UNHCR noted that amid the high levels of crime and violence in PNG, “persons of concern, unlike most expatriates in PNG, cannot afford additional security. Non-Melanesian asylum seekers and refugees in PNG are particularly vulnerable to xenophobia and racism amongst the local population.” Successful refugees who settled here in the post war period, and even from Vietnam, does not set a precedent for today's displaced. The world has changed enormously and the challenges humanity faces are completely different. There are no new welcoming nations to enjoy opportunities that existed in the past. Never before in history has there been today's tidal wave of human migrations. Mass movements of people, hereafter referred to as “diaspora”, in large scale and higher frequency have clearly set a “global trend” that has marked the 21st Century. The inhabitants of planet Earth have been blessed with a vast supply of most basic materials. But we are placing increased pressure on those supplies, and in some cases we face, in our lifetimes, or those of our children, the prospect of severe resource depletion.” Just what this tsunami of disaster will look like may, as yet, be hard to discern, but experts warn of “water wars” over contested river systems, global food riots sparked by soaring prices for life’s basics, mass migrations of climate refugees (with resulting anti-migrant violence), and the breakdown of social order or the collapse of states. (Entering a Resource-Shock World, How Resource Scarcity and Climate Change Could Produce a Global Explosion By Michael T. Klare) Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/boat-arrivals-to-top-50000-carr-20130721-...

Tony B (not verified)

Sun, 2013-07-21 10:35

The Australian identity, culture and way of the life are being affected by continuous immigration. There's strength in unity, not diversity and differences! Australia is like an obese person assuming that he/she can become a prize-winning athlete! We are bulking up economic muscle purely through population growth, despite our below replacement levels of fertility. There are many challenges ahead, and too often "challenges" are simply throw-away issues such as climate change, liquid fuel depletion, the energy crisis, food security and economic shortfalls for infrastructure needed by our rapid growth. Population growth makes all the problems we have worse, and creates even greater "challenges". To run the race ahead, Australia should return to what PM Bob Hawke said, We should be a "clever country", and be slim and sleek and athletic so that we are ready for the intellectual and knowledge challenges ahead. Bulking up will make our burdens heavier. Our lifestyle and environment needs to be protected, as the basis for a good future for the present, and future, generations. At least there are political parties with population policies now, and they need our support. There are some good elements of globalization, but not the globalization of our resources, jobs, land, housing, and population.

admin

Fri, 2013-07-19 17:38

From the Global Post of 15 July 2013

A top trade official of Malaysia, playing host to the latest round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade accord, said that a basic agreement on the accord will not be reached in October as initially expected, citing many areas which have not been agreed on ...

...

The official also said, "The most important thing is that we will not compromise Malaysia's sovereignty and that we will stick to our policy," ...

Bandicoot

Thu, 2013-07-18 16:11

Shooting kangaroos in Canberra's Pinnacle Nature reserve, adjacent to Weetangera and Hawker, stopped temporarily about 8pm on Sunday after activists sounded air horns and charged across the reserve. The designated culling sites were due to be closed to the public at midday last Thursday to enable shooting to begin. The annual kangaroo "cull" had been given the green light after a decision handed down by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Wednesday, ruling that 1244 kangaroos could be shot by the end of July. The number was reduced to 740, excluding the dependent joeys! Hardly coincidental is the report in Canberra Times of a jump in kangaroo collisions in Canberra. There has been a spike in the number of car accidents involving kangaroos. Claims data from NRMA Insurance shows a 30 per cent increase in the number of kangaroo vehicle collisions in the ACT in the past year. The 30 per cent increase would be due to Canberra's human population growth too. Rather than overwhelming conservationism and excessive concern for endangered species being threatened by the number of overgrazing kangaroos, this is likely to be the real reason for the kangaroo reduction. Canberra- NRMA car accidents kangaroos Michael Linke from the RSPCA says the spike is not surprising as animals are facing increasing hazards on Canberra roads. "There's increased traffic on the road and more housing development, so it's something that's going to increase over time." He's unknowingly "hit the nail on the head"! There's usually a hidden monetary reason, a hip-pocket concern, for these "culls". Kangaroos are silent scapegoats for lack of wildlife corridors, over-passes, and urbanisation.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2013-07-17 13:46

In a landmark case, Australia has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice over its ‘scientific whaling’ program—one that kills hundreds of whales every year in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. Japan, Iceland and Norway all continue their whale hunts, despite the fact that these gentle ocean creatures already face increasing challenges posed by marine pollution, climate change, ship-strikes, bycatch, and more. Urge nations to make their waters whale-friendly. While the court’s decision on Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean is expected by the end of the year, there has never been a more opportune time to pressure whaling nations to stop the cruel practice of commercial whaling. Make your voice heard today. There is no excuse for continuing to allow this barbaric and outdated practice, especially as other threats to whales such as pollution and climate change increase. It is time to call on all nations to safeguard whales from this cruel and unnecessary threat to whales in their waters. Join us (Humane Society International) in calling on world leaders to make their waters whale-friendly by banning commercial hunting and the transit of whale products, thereby giving whales needed refuge everywhere they feed, breed and migrate. No exceptions. Killing animals subject to scientific research should be the last option, not mass killings and then trying to justify it in hindsight for the economic and cultural value of the "by-catch".

nimby

Wed, 2013-07-17 12:14

"In pre-election phases you won’t hear politicians talking freely about this issue. It can veer too fast and too easily into the anti-immigration lane." Immigration has become intertwined with racism, and political correctness that as a Western country, we must have open borders and "share" our wealth with foreign nations. However, the converse is not expected. Any nation that is "anti-immigration" is a pariah, demonized as being anti-global and selfish! Denmark is a largely homogenous country has reportedly offered immigrants cash incentives to leave if they cannot assimilate into Danish culture. The incentive was driven by the far-right Danish People's Party, which states on its website that "Denmark is not an immigrant-country and never has been". In a country where nationals favour a racially unique and homogenous society, the foreign population accounted for only 1.7 percent of the total population in 2010. Sweden has generously welcomed asylum seekers from the Middle East, but growing unemployment, which sits at 16 percent among foreign residents, and a recent string of violent riots have politicians and citizens questioning its open-door immigration policy. Migrationwatch UK, a body calling for immigration restrictions, says 36 per cent of housing demand is created by immigrants – 200 new homes a day over the next 25 years. It says the UK will have a population of 70?million by 2028 (it is now 61m), needing a new Birmingham-sized city every three years. Joseph Chamie: The world is seeing the greatest mobility of people in human history. Hundreds of millions are on the move – many without authorization – to wealthier and growing economies north and south. The consequences of these migration flows are challenging the capacities and finances of government authorities and intergovernmental organizations as well as public attitudes towards immigrants. This human tide is also shifting the political landscape throughout Europe, with mounting public support for anti-immigration legislation and parties of the extreme right. The Human Tide: Joseph Chamie While most of Australia's migrants now come from India and China, there's no reciprocal immigration agreements for Australians, if they wanted to, to immigrate there. They would need to at least have a national background, or be married to a national. California has some of the most varied wildlife habitat on earth, boasting more endemic species than any other state, but rapid population growth imperils this extraordinary biodiversity. Over one-fourth of California’s plants are extinct, rare, endangered, or threatened, and over 150 animals are listed as threatened or endangered.(SOURCE Californians for Population Stabilization) There a deeply embedded Cornucopia myth that assumes that the planet has a primary duty to prioritize human concerns and accommodate social/political trends above the environment and living ecosystems. The Cornucopia myth embodies the ideal that while other species are capable of overpopulation, and can become "plagues" and pests (even native species), when it comes to humanity, there are no limits to growth, and Nature's goodness and provision is infinite and never-ending! Overpopulation, and "anti-immigration" movements, therefore are misanthropic and "racist" sentiments, denying the immigrants the social justice due to them! Those condemning of "anti-immigration" movements are thinly disguised upholders of the Cornucopia myth - something that defies science, reality and the finite-ness of our planet Earth.

Bandicoot

Tue, 2013-07-16 09:23

Dr Patricia Petersen, Leader of the Australian Independents, said that her party was committed to fully funding a Fraser Island Care Facility for injured, orphaned and sick native animals on Fraser Island. Dr Petersen said that after visiting Fraser Island and consulting with the local Hervey Bay community, it was clear to her that that a Wildlife Care Centre on World Heritage listed Fraser Island was "a must". My Sunshine Coast - Australian Independents commit to protecting Fraser Island Dingoes The Australian Independents have policies to eradicate homelessness, increasing the minimal wage to address growing poverty, and have policies about families, housing affordability, child abuse, crime, health, education, the economy, disability, seniors, aged care, public transport, asylum seekers, reproductive rights, human rights, etc, but NO immigration/population policies. Makes you wonder how they can practically address these issues while our population keeps blowing out? They do have some good policies on animals, to ban "puppy farms", reducing noise for whales, the end of Japanese whaling, and the end of mass "culls" of kangaroos etc. Australian Independents - policies They're a newly formed party worthy of a vote!

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-15 17:24

Permit me an impertinent question (or three). Suppose a small group of extremely wealthy people sought to systematically destroy the U.S. government by (1) finding and bankrolling new candidates pledged to shrinking and dismembering it; (2) intimidating or bribing many current senators and representatives to block all proposed legislation, prevent the appointment of presidential nominees, eliminate funds to implement and enforce laws, and threaten to default on the nation's debt; (3) taking over state governments in order to redistrict, gerrymander, require voter IDs, purge voter rolls, and otherwise suppress the votes of the majority in federal elections; (4) running a vast PR campaign designed to convince the American public of certain big lies, such as climate change is a hoax, and (5) buying up the media so the public cannot know the truth. Would you call this treason? If not, what would you call it? And what would you do about it? ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His film, "Inequality for All," will be out in September. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.

Vivienne Ortega

Mon, 2013-07-15 08:49

The Interface Councils launched the “fund Melbourne fairly” campaign last month, calling for increased investment in the outer suburbs. They claim that Melbourne’s outer suburbs received $893 million less than needed “to address critical infrastructure requirements” in the latest state budget. A report 2011, Australia’s Angry Mayors:How Population Growth Frustrates Local Councils, (Adam Creighton and Oliver Marc Hartwich), says that the debate about population routinely dominates politics in Australia, including the (in)adequacy of Australia’s infrastructure and the potential impact on our environment. Much of the debate revolves around national statistics and aggregates. What will Australia’s population be in 2050? What will Australia’s ‘carbon footprint’ be in 2030? What is the appropriate annual level of immigration? Although important, these questions often obscure the impact of population growth on local communities, and the impediments and incentives they face in accommodating more people. Local councils are at the coalface of population growth. Local governments have been raising property rates to meet the costs of population growth. These rises are more likely in more populous and rapidly growing communities. •Almost one-third of respondents, particularly larger councils, said population growth was damaging their bottom line, and that they were concerned about upgrading infrastructure. •About 80% of respondents use developer levies to help pay for the costs of population growth. Levies are used more widely by larger councils, and particularly in NSW and Queensland. •Only a fraction of respondents thought their existing revenue mechanisms were wholly adequate. Indeed, more than half of the respondents in NSW and Queensland said the current setup was not satisfactory. Overwhelmingly, local councils think better access to ongoing revenue streams would alleviate some of the pressures of accommodating extra population. Larger councils were more likely to increase rates, while smaller councils were more reluctant. More than half the survey respondents believed that population growth had a positive net effect on their council’s bottom line, citing the long-term benefits of population growth over the significant short- to medium-term funding shortfalls. Smaller councils believed that the positive financial effect of population growth outweighed the costs of development. With bigger councils it was the reverse. Perhaps the infrastructure requirements for bigger councils are more expensive, or at least they are more aware of costs. Local governments typically raise most of their funds from rates. To keep services and amenities up to date with rapidly growing populations, rates must continually rise. Free Download

admin

Sat, 2013-07-13 13:02

Embedded below is an interview of Irish MP Clare Daly by Oksana Boyko, presenter of the bi-weekly Worlds Apart program on Russia Today. Clare Daly has used her profile as a member of the Irish Parliament to expose the criminal complicity of the Irish government with the United States in its supply of of weapons to the terrorist killers who have been fighting against the Syrian people and their government for the last two years. According to one estimate over 93,000 people have died as a result. As tragic as this loss is, it is only a small fraction of the death and destruction suffered by the people of neighbouring Iraq, who, according to one estimate, have suffered the loss of as many as 3.3 million lives as the result of illegal wars and sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990 as the result of fraudulent pretexts such as the "incubator babies" lie and the Iraqi WMDs fraud.

The bravery and skill of the soldiers of the Syrian Arab National Army as well as the outspokenness of Clare Daly and other international opponents of war crimes have so far prevented the tragedy of Syria from becoming much worse.

Australia also complicit in crimes against Syria, Libya, Iraq, ...

The current Prime Minister, who recently ousted Australia's first woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a coup orchestrated by the Fairfax newsmedia, played a sinister role in fanning the flames of war against Libya in early 2011. As Australian Foreign minister, he took the extraordinary step of publicly advocating the so-called "no-fly zone" which was used by the United States and its NATO allies as a pretext to deprive the Libyan government of an air force to defend itself and its people against terrorists, aerial bombardment and ground invasion.

nimby

Sat, 2013-07-13 12:17

There was never going to be justice or independent evaluation of the kangaroos' impacts on ecology coming from the court in Canberra. Their own government ecologist (D. Fletcher) was agreeing with the "cull", and supporting it - even using his own studies to support his arguments! By definition, a government-appointed ecologists have no independence or detachment. He's bound to his employer - the ACT government - and wouldn't have been employed in the first place unless his focus was anthropocentric and government-centric. These kangaroo courts are an example of how our native animals are meant to now justify their existence, and not for profit groups are left to their own funds and effort to defend these native animals, kangaroos, against unjustified accusations of being in overpopulated proportions, of being environmental threats, and overgrazing! Native animals shouldn't have to justify their existence! It's absurd, cruel and full of hidden agendas. It's easy now to cloud economic arguments in pseudo-science to distract the public and make things look orderly and logical when they aren't!

nimby

Sat, 2013-07-13 12:08

The Victorian Women's Trust may praise Julia Gillard's achievements, but she wasn't very fair or kind to the most vulnerable of women- single mothers! Gillard’s new policy forced around 100,000 single parents, 90 per cent of whom are women, onto Newstart unemployment payments when their youngest child turns eight. This will slash their weekly income by up to $223 a fortnight, or 12.8 per cent. More than 60,000 will shift to Newstart, with welfare groups estimating they will be between $60 to $100 a week worse off. There are unlikely to be jobs for these women, yet they will be forced to go through the humiliating processes imposed by Centrelink. It assumes that single mothers are all living their chosen lifestyles, when the contrary is most likely. Many women are abandoned, deserted, and victims of divorce. Recipients tend to live in areas where unemployment is high, like Sydney’s western suburbs where employment rates reach 10 per cent. The government claims the policy is an incentive to push single mothers into the workforce. Gillard has tried to defend the decision, arguing: “…it will be better for them [single parents] because they’ll have a job for the rest of their lives, and better for the child to have someone in the household modeling what it’s like to go to work every day.” Thanks to declining manufacturing industries, privatisation, and immigration overload, we are facing rising unemployment. Gillard is still living in another era, when jobs were in plenty, and not facing up the realities of these times. Politicians are increasingly out of touch with the issues facing the public, and are working on pre-formed ideas of another age.

Sheila Newman

Sat, 2013-07-13 11:34

Thank you for including the interviews I did with dear Pat O'Brien. He had finished up being thanked and rewarded and recognised by Steve Irwin for his brave and innovative work, which ran against and still bawks Queensland and Australian mainstream environmental lockstep. Steve Irwin was a great man who could find other great people. I remember the simple pleasant house that Steve Irwin had provided for Pat for life. There were trees all around and it wasn't far from the Australia Zoo, where Pat still went to work. Pat also wrote adventure books, mostly I think about environmentalists. They were e-books ahead of time. I bought one, but cannot now remember what name he wrote under. I checked under amazon.com and google, but cannot track them down. If anyone has links to them, let's add these. In the mean time I will try to track down my copy. Sheila Newman

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Fri, 2013-07-12 18:02

The Federal election campaign lacks substance, is full of vague policies, heavy reliance on personalities rather than programs, clashes with the Opposition, and vague praise for our great economy!

Kevin Rudd said in his Press Club speech that "Our population should continue to be supported by a strong migration policy designed to mitigate the effects of our ageing population..."

Read more: Kevin Rudd's Press Club speech: full transcript of 1 July 2013 in the Sydney Morning Herald at http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/kevin-rudds-press-club-speech-full-transcript-20130711-2prqg.html .

Thanks to a unique history, our economic growth and our nation's foundation was forged through immigration - as an immigration nation. It's naively assumed that what we gained from it can continue to be propagated at our present times, contrary to empirical evidence that we are far from benefiting from our ongoing population growth.

That someone presumably as educated, and intelligent, as Kevin Rudd can actually believe that ongoing immigration can dilute our ageing population shows lack of strategic thinking, the ability to adjust his thinking from the past, and naively project it into the future. It's pure Ponzi Demographic- and growth now will mean lower wages, higher unemployment, a further blowout of homelessness and housing costs, and further demands on natural resources which will mean loosening our environmental protection policies even further. Comment: To attribute Kevin Rudd's actions to naïveté is being too kind to him in my opinion. See also Julia Gillard's attempt to enable effective scrutiny of candidates threatened vested interests of 28 June,- Ed

Joseph Chamie, the former head of the United Nations population division, has been quoted as saying: "Like all Ponzi schemes, Ponzi demography is unsustainable. Among its primary tactics, it exploits the fear of population decline and ageing. Without a young and growing population we are warned of becoming a nation facing financial ruin and a loss of national power". The irrational fear of ageing is being exploited, and ignores the fact that it's not only baby-boomers who are ageing, but migrants too!

The next generation will have an even bigger ageing population, and if the same logic is applied, are they then also to have even a bigger immigration program to compensate for it? It's a dangerous, lethal the idiotic human pyramid - one that will collapse under the weight of our own biomass!

Anonymous (not verified)

Thu, 2013-07-11 15:33

We continually read the news about "shortages" of hospital beds, ambulances, housing, infrastructure, and congestion on our roads impeding productivity. When we read about "immigration", it's 99% about asylum seekers, but rarely is there any mention of the major source of our population growth - record numbers of permanent and temporary immigration. It stays behind the media, and the symptoms of overpopulation are mentioned but rarely the cause. The number of refugees is set to surge, but they remain a diversion, a scapegoat for our own politically-engineered population growth. There's no public housing available, no jobs for the unskilled, and charities are already unable to cope with demands for help. Unless there are jobs, natural resources and industries being initiated, ongoing population growth means that our common wealth is continually diluted to be shared with more people, adding to poverty and deprivation. "Economic growth" brings poverty one we end up in economic and environmental overshoot!

Vivienne Ortega

Thu, 2013-07-11 15:21

The government is hiding behind the language used for conservation, ie greenwashing, to support this "cull" of "overpopulated" kangaroos on nature reserves in Canberra. While Japan's whalers have been accused by Australia, in the International Court of Justice, of doing commercial whaling using the "lab coat of science", politicians in Canberra are doing similarly with kangaroos- of using junk science to justify the slaughter of wildlife. Whether there is one, or 4 or 5, kangaroos per hectare is splitting hairs and using questionable science to justify the killings. There's no empirical evidence that kangaroos are as environmentally destructive and threatening as vermin or feral pests. They are soft-footed native animals, evolved especially to be endemic to Australia. Ironically, it's World Population Day today, July 11th, and if there are any environmental threats to Australia, and ongoing damage being done to our natural heritage, then our own human overpopulation should be examined, not that of kangaroos! Threatening processes are caused by detrimental habitat loss and changes, overgrazing - mainly by heavy-footed livestock- and introduced species. There's no valid documented evidence of any threats to native flora and fauna from kangaroos. What's more likely is that this killing is to do with traffic accidents and insurance claims with regards to kangaroos on the road. It's a more mundane and monetary-based explanation for the killings, so the Canberra government should stop hiding behind junk science, and their vilification of kangaroos, in their support of the massacre.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-08 22:17

The dingo management strategy could be the work of Jim's Mowing or the local preschool management committee - who could probably do it better! Understanding dingoes should include their history in Australia as accompanying indigenous peoples, and their association with humans. Aborigine elders should have been consulted, and an understanding of the dingoes' previous reliance on fishermen on Fraser Island. They should have asked dingo experts with experience being side by side with them, like Jennifer Parkhurst, ecologists and dingo behaviour experts. The dingo management plan is more about keeping them away from tourists, their planned extinction, and their ultimate annihilation into museums as another species gone forever from Australia.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-08 10:48

A Sustainable Population Policy for Australia – Halt Third World Immigration

A Sustainable Population Policy for Australia – Halt Third World Immigration (Part 1)

Call for a population policy:

Members of government who should responsibly formulate population policy, need keep in mind that over half the continent is already grazed, where a hectare can feed from 3 to 12 head of cattle. However, this is optimistic. Even the best land would struggle to hold 12 head /hectare and the arid rangelands in WA would be lucky to have 1 head per 35 hectares.

In many areas, soils are rapidly degrading, suffering erosion, or becoming salty. While Australia may currently be a net exporter of food, it increasingly imports more types of food to accommodate a diverse immigrant population.

Through immigration, cities are expanding cities over the surrounding areas of fertile land that were once their food bowl, with property developers calling for the release of more land to take the pressure of housing.

A responsible population policy would not be subject to the specious manipulation of property developers who are far more interested in property sales than sustainable population.

It's time for other councils at the coal-face of having to deal with budgets and services also stood up to government and Opposition big immigration and big population growth for Australia. It's not just "third world" immigration, but population growth as a whole!

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Sat, 2013-07-06 15:30

JULIA Gillard will continue to run "a sizeable immigration program" as she steers the nation towards a population of more than 40 million by 2050. As reported in The Australian on 4th April, she did not anticipate a change in the overall rate of immigration and would not impose population targets, while defending her government's treatment of asylum-seekers.

She backed down on her "sustainable" Australia policy. She is a growth-ist.
"We will continue in the years to come in my view to be a nation that welcomes migrants and particularly welcomes skilled migrants.." There's no guarantee of jobs, affordable housing, a rein on costs of living etc. It's policy in a vacuum, without considering the overall impact and all the parameters or costs of growth. More people means more consumers, more tax payers, more customers for big businesses and more construction for developers and the housing industry.

She's in the pockets of the elite, of global, national and multinational corporations who all demand limitless growth.

It's all part of the "Asian Century" to share Asia's population and economy.

'Sizeable' immigration key to economic growth, says Gillard Ben Packham in The Australian of 4 April 2013.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Sat, 2013-07-06 10:30

The furore over Kevin Rudd's "big Australia" shock to the nation contributed to his downfall. To ease her transition into Prime Ministership, Julia Gillard reassured the public that she didn't approve of Australia "hurtling towards a 'big Australia'" and instead nominated Environment Minister Tony Burke as Minister of "sustainable" Population. However, nothing was ever done towards the target of a sustainable population. There were three consultative panels that discussed the issue, but Tony Burke's final conclusion had no relationship to the findings of the panel and he declared that population growth would continue. There has been no media releases, or anything, from this Department.

Julia Gillard cut immigration rates from K Rudd's over 300,000 per year, but then it has been creeping upwards. Her "sustainable" population policy is no different from Kevin Rudd's "big Australia". It's all spin, and we have an economy based on jobs, tax revenues, business opportunities for the elite, and the impossibility of perpetual economic growth at all costs. The least brain-draining way of increasing the size of the economy is population growth - and ignore the impacts on the environment, hip pockets, public welfare and long term implications.

While in the details Julia Gillard had some good ideas and enlightened presentation, she failed to have vision and humility for what was happening at grassroots levels.

Population growth now is stealing from future generations - our descendants. Gillard doesn't have children, but parents today must be concerned about Australia's eroding living conditions, a bleak jobless future, costs of living and decline of our cities.

Editorial comment: The shortcomings in Julia Gillard's policies may have, in part, been due to the fact that she would have felt constrained from doing all that she would have preferred to do in the difficult political circumstances she found herself in. If she had been allowed to remain as Prime Minister, I think it is far more likely that she would have acted soon to end population growth.

PostGrowthEra wrote, "The least brain-draining way of increasing the size of the economy is population growth." An illusion of 'growth' is created by the building of more houses, roads, government bureaucracy, retail infrastructure other infrastructure to meet the needs of the new immigrants, but as there aren't any industries which need more workers to produce either for domestic consumption or export, all of this must be paid for out of our existing national wealth. Population growth does not increase the size of the economy. It only increases the number of people amongst which finite resources must be shared.

Bob Whiteway (not verified)

Fri, 2013-07-05 15:38

I am sorry to see Julia Gillard discarded as Prime Minister. In time she will come to be appreciated as a great leader. As for now, Labor under Rudd might come close in the election. But I don't think Labor will come very close, losing - who knows? - Let's say 15 seats.

I am disappointed that so many people let Julia down in the popularity polls. And WHY did they? I don't know. She kept her cool, was tough and strong, cares about Climate Change, got the National Disability Insurance Scheme (now called 'Disability Care Australia') up and almost ready to go, ran a good economy (better than most), did a lot for education and health and much else such as the national roll-out of fibre optic cables, free home insulation, she negotiated a workable tax on mining profits, attended to foreign affairs competently and so on. And all this with a minority government. God, the woman's a star! Her true achievements should have been sheeted home by the media. I am puzzled that journalists didn't air all these things more and sing her praises instead of echoing Tony Abbott's negative comments - that he and the journalists repeated ad- nauseum.

It's as if the journalists are being told what to say, and maybe they are.

See also: Julia Gillard's attempt to enable effective scrutiny of candidates threatened vested interests of 28 June 2012. - Ed

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2013-07-05 13:45

Mr Rudd is meeting with the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta today, and the beef trade is expected to be high on the agenda.

Rudd talks beef with Indonesia of 5 July 2013 on ABC News

It's assumed that by securing supply chains from Australia, our beef can help "feed the world". There are rising protein levels required in Indonesia, and Kevin Rudd is believes the live export industry represent a "huge opportunity" for us, despite Indonesia recently considering being more self sufficient in food.

What's really chilling is that Rudd said that "I think the first thing he needs to say is apologise to the people to the government and to the Indonesians for what the Australian Government did when they stopped the trade without talking to them". Cattle were routinely smashing their heads on concrete plinths, having their eyes gouged, tails broken, and throats brutally hacked at in Indonesian abattoirs.

If we apologise for ending their stabbing, torture and atrocities to the animals we sent there is an insult to sanity and any humane standards of animal welfare. An ‘apology’ will also send a damaging message to importing countries that trade relations are more important than stopping animal abuse.

Australian Livestock Exporters' Council chief executive, Alison Penfold, says halting exports would be premature and damaging to Australia's relationship with Vietnam. There's not mention of the lack of transparency and mismanagement of the industry that allowed the shameful atrocities to being in the first place!
Australia can't provide "food security" for the world. Cattle are starving now because of drought, and we are they driest country with a rapidly rising population.

According to Animals Australia, live export represents just 0.3% of Australia's total exports. The chilled meat trade is worth nearly 6 times more to the economy. The vast majority of jobs currently supported by the live trade would still exist if livestock were being sent to local markets. Ending live export would in fact create jobs in Australia through increased domestic processing.

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2013-07-05 11:19

But Mr Guy labelled the plan “silly”, saying there were better ways to ease Wyndham’s population pressures. “No state government or local government can limit population growth as suggested. To suggest that any form of government could limit the number of children people can have is silly". Matthew Guy is in denial. He's trying to divert attention to the number of children we are having as the source of population growth when 60% is due to immigration - a political policy! While not all the residents are likely to be foreign-born, they are being displaced from our city's core by rampant growth and unaffordable housing. Once land is subdivided and plans approved for housing, home-seekers will cluster and be lured to the area. Even 3000 homes a year, it's still a pressure on roads, social services and infrastructure. Our governments have no intention of limiting population growth and are deliberately encouraging it. Good on the Wyndham Council for standing up to the developer-driven State government and Matthew Guy's growth-agenda. There needs to job growth projects, and education/training resources, not housing and population growth. Nothing can grow forever. Matthew Guy keeps talking about providing infrastructure, but it costs money and city building is expensive. Once immigration equals emigration, we can start to improve our city and enjoy it without people being deprived. What needs a "slam" is our growth-addicted State government, supported by Federal governments with strong agreement to continue our third-world rates of population growth!

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2013-07-05 10:26

1. Re On Line Survey by Linking Melbourne Authority on East West Link and Community Survey

Please consider completing the Linking Melbourne Authority Survey on the East West Link. It appears that there is opportunity to make critical comments on the East West Link. The online survey for East West Link can be accessed by visiting the site at http://yoursay.linkingmelbourne.vic.gov.au/eastwestlink.

You can also access the Community Survey from this site, or alternatively visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EWLCS1

There are two forum questions that Linking Melbourne Authority says "we are asking":

What is it about the East West Link indicative corridor that appeals to or concerns you?
How do you currently travel between Melbourne's eastern and western suburbs? Do you think the East West Link will make a difference to your commute?

These questions have been open for public comment for two weeks and will close on Friday 5 July (today) .

2. Comments or Submissions on the East West Link

This is of vital importance. Please try to make a submission - even a short comment. Linking Melbourne Authority says "Anyone that would like to make any other comments or suggestions (apart from on the Survey) are encouraged to email them through to [email protected]" Make sure you keep a copy. They have to be submitted today.

See Julianne Bell's paper below on "10 Reasons to Oppose the East West Link." You can select some or all of these and add any other reasons as you see fit. Suggest you cut and paste and send by email for speed.(It does not matter if many of the submissions are the same.) Remember that the Eddington Review of 2008 for construction of the East West Link was defeated by sending in submissions opposing this monster roadway. Over 2,500 submissions.were received. It was said to show "people power".

Please ensure that on your submission you put your name, address if possible, your email and mobile phone.

Keep on checking the Linking Melbourne Authority website.

Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. (PPL VIC)

10 REASONS TO SAY “NO” TO THE EAST WEST LINK TOLL ROAD

1. Public Transport Rail Projects The East West Link may cost $10 billion plus and so suck Treasury dry of funds for long-demanded rail projects, namely Doncaster, Tullamarine, Rowville and extension of the South Morang Rail line. Also Melbourne Metro Rail.

2. No Funds for Key

3. Blowout in Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increased Car Use Encouraged: The proposed project involves construction of 4 (maybe 6 lane) lane tollway concrete road tunnels and aerial roadways or cut-and cover-roadways for 18 km., which will blow out Victoria’s green house emissions. Provision of new roads will encourage increased vehicle usage, whereas in other States rail lines are being extended for commuters and for freight transport.

4. East West Link = Truck Not Commuter Route: The road tunnels are first and foremost a city by-pass for trucks and therefore do not serve commuters. The EW Link is reportedly going underground at Hoddle Street and, with one turnoff at Elliott Avenue to Flemington Road, emerges in Royal Park, travels through the Ross Straw Field and joins CityLink in or over the Royal Park wetlands. As most traffic off the Eastern Freeway is headed south or north - including for the city – not east-west, the road tunnels do not serve the majority of commuters off the Eastern Freeway.

5. Congestion Will Remain: The current congestion and gridlock experienced in parts of the city will worsen as city commuters avoid the road tollway and turn off at Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill, and filter through the inner city or continue on existing roads above ground.

6. Destruction of Melbourne’s Major Park - Royal Park: The EW Link will cut a swathe through Royal Park and in the process of tunnel or roadway construction over four to five years it will be transformed into giant quarry sites and its bushland (used for passive recreation), sports fields, community facilities, wetlands and water storage tanks ripped up by the EW Link construction.

7. Destruction of Wetlands and Water Storage Facilities: The Royal Park Wetlands which supplies water for Melbourne’s parks and street trees plus the Royal Park Golf course will be completely destroyed, including the vast water storage tanks under the Ross Straw field.

8. Loss of sports fields and club rooms: The sports fields in west and east Royal Park plus Princes Park which serve thousands of people - school children as well as adults – from across Melbourne will be requisitioned for construction for the tollway and probably never restored. This is at a time the population is growing rapidly and sports facilities are already in short supply. This will have a negative impact on people’s health.

9. Loss of the State Netball and Hockey Centre plus Urban Camp for Children: The 4 lane EW Link will come within metres of the SNHC and will wipe out the Urban Camp. As Brens Drive is in its pathway access will be closed off during construction which will take 4 to 5 years. It is doubtful if the SNHC can survive.

10. Compulsory Acquisition of Homes and Loss of Residential Amenity: Whole neighbourhoods will be severely affected by construction of road tunnels and elevated roadways along the route. We know that properties will be subject to compulsory acquisitions in Collingwood, Carlton and West Parkville. As we have no proper plans we do not know the extent of the threat to residential amenity of inner Melbourne.

11. Threat to the Melbourne Zoo and the Royal Children’s Hospital: These institutions are threatened not only during 4 to 5 years of construction with vibration and noise but from long term pollution from vent stacks. It is not known where they will be located and whether the EW Link will be open cut through Royal Park. The Elliott Avenue turn off/on is only a short distance from the RCH.

Contact: Julianne Bell Secretary PPL VIC .

Anonymous (not verified)

Thu, 2013-07-04 11:48

Iranians become the leading group of asylum seeker arrivals and the massive numbers of Sri Lankan seen last year shrink dramatically. Government records show 1079 Iranians have made the trip to Australia by boat in 2013, taking top place from Sri Lanka, from where 6428 people arrived in 2012.

Iranians gain relatively painless entry to Indonesia, with the Middle Eastern country on the list of those whose nationals are able to acquire a visa on arrival. That has meant that Iranians ultimately seeking to arrive in Australia by boat are able to conduct the stretch of the journey as far as Indonesia without legal difficulty.

Early indications are that many of the Iranians arrivals are middle-class residents of big cities such as Tehran who have been able to summon up the tens of thousands of dollars to pay a people smuggler for a chance at entry to Australia. As essentially economic refugees, they face little chance of their claim being accepted.

Iranian numbers swelling on asylum seeker list of 11 Jan 2012 on crikey,com.au

Senator Carr says there have "been some boats where 100 per cent of them have been people who are fleeing countries where... their motivation is altogether economic". According to the UNHCR, Iran currently recognises almost a million Afghan refugees. In 2008, Iran said it intended to expel 1.5 million Afghans it considered to be illegally in the country.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees regional head Richard Towle attacked Bob Carr's claims the majority of Iranian asylum-seekers were seeking improved economic circumstances. The problem is due to sheer numbers and costs, causing a need to refine what "asylum seekers" really are. Bob Carr is quite right that economics could play a part in the displacement of nationals from their homelands.

Human population numbers are set to continue to swell by 2 billion more by 2050, and as a result there will be conflicts over finite resources, causing wars and revolutions. Along with climate change and failing food supplies, migrations of entire nations will soon take place as people begin to flee their homelands to seek asylum elsewhere.

GREG BARNES from the Australian Lawyers Alliance says that one of the other things that Mr Carr seems to be confusing is the fact that economic oppression can amount to persecution. "Economic oppression" could include billions of potential refugees who are denied jobs

Asylum seeker lawyer says more compensation is inevitable for detainees! ... on ABC Radio National's The World Today of 2 July 2013.

The latest figures from the Immigration Department show that in the past year the Government has paid out almost a million dollars in compensation to detainees who allege they've been wrongfully held or injured in detention.

There is a deep concern in the community that Labor is allowing migration intake to run out of control. We now have over 200,00 new skilled and family-reunion migrants a year net, along with uncapped temporary migrants, in Australia.

There is a need to have an orderly refugee process, and we certainly have credentials as a compassionate nation. However, we have to protect our borders from unsustainable surging asylum seeker numbers at a time when our cities are already under considerable population pressure.

We need a tough, strong border protection policy, and a redefinition of who qualifies as needing asylum, but there needs to be some rational debate on priorities. Permanent economic migrants arriving at airports each day are shielded because a relatively small number of asylum seekers hijack the "immigration" debate.

Fairfax Media understands that Australia is speaking to Iran and the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, about how failed asylum-seekers can be returned to that country.

Read more: Rudd plan to return failed refugees to Iran in the Canberra Times of 2 July 2103.

Sharon Dyson (not verified)

Wed, 2013-07-03 20:34

It is scary for national security when we have to go begging for fuel in desperation. car servicing

Editorial comment: This comment includes a link to a commercial site. However, as this comment adds to the to the discussion and as the car servicing service in the UK, described in the page linked to, seems novel and useful, we decided not to remove this comment.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2013-07-02 23:31

Canberra's lead counsel has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Australia is totally opposed to any form of commercial whaling "whether it be carried out under the guise of science or not". It's junk science that could easily be refuted. Lawyers for Tokyo are expected to argue Tuesday that the International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute with Australia and New Zealand over the annual hunt and slaughter of hundreds of minke and fin whales in the Southern Ocean. It seems that Japan will argue that they can do what they want do, and whatever laws and policies they violate, that they are superior to and above them! The Antarctic Treaty, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Australia's EEZ in the Antarctic, and now even the Court of Justice have no jurisdiction over what they are allowed or not allowed to do. Lawyers for Australia told the court last week that the whaling is a commercial hunt dressed up as science and should be stopped. Japan has their own culture, and values. They don't feel they have obligations to the rest of the world's problems, values, or laws. $10 m donations from Australia, after their earthquake, was squandered on "security" for the whaling fleet and other irrelevant projects.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2013-07-02 12:33

Public housing at "crisis point", more Australians are homeless, many young migrants homeless:
Australia's frontline community services are unable to meet growing demand, and the homeless and mentally ill are hurting most, a new report has found.

Sixty-three per cent of legal services failed to meet demand, along with 52 per cent of youth services, 47 per cent of mental health services and 46 per cent of domestic violence and sexual assault services.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) chief executive Graham Wolfe said the report's findings didn't come as a surprise. "There has been a failure by successive governments at a state and federal level to address the fundamental constraints to housing delivery," he said.

Property developers are feigning horror and adding to the condemnation of governments for not providing support, but they are largely the cause, not the solution.

Nothing is said about record levels of immigration, largely now from third world countries!

This is the nation that a few years ago was the "Lucky Country". More impoverished and more desperate people will make our population more flexible, and more compliant as a resource to exploit for cheaper labour.
Community services can't meet demand

See also: Welfare groups 'can't meet demand', Australian Council of Social Services report says in the Herald Sun of 1 July 2013.

nimby

Tue, 2013-07-02 10:00

According to the Greens, the current level of population, population growth and the way we consume are outstripping environmental capacity. Australia must contribute to achieving a globally sustainable population and encourage and support other nations to do the same. Population| Greens 2013 Election It's a "complex policy issue"! While they admit that population growth is outstripping environmental capacity, they also consider many human-focused and scientifically irrelevant dimensions. They also believe that Australia's population should be determined by: * global and domestic social justice and equity, including women's rights; * intergenerational equity; * multiculturalism; * international human rights obligations; and * decent wages and conditions for all workers. Sadly, for a political party focusing on the environment, there is nothing here of any substance, or anything to address population growth that can be implemented. Population growth is an environmental issue, and as such, science is not concerned about social justice, women's rights, multiculturalism, intergenerational equality, workers wages, global justice, our well-being, human rights etc. The Greens are confusing the issue and giving the planet some anthropomorphic qualities so it has obligations to humanity? What will impact on our planet is the aggregate numbers of humans seeking resources, clearing land, producing greenhouse gas emissions, and economic growth that requires habitats to be cleared to produce food and other consumables - denying non-human species their rightful existence on our planet. The Stable Population Party makes sense - simple and straight-forward. We need to stablise our population, protect our lifestyles, and social justice issues can be sorted out subsequently. Australia can't fix the planet's overpopulation. We will fall in the abyss of overpopulation ourselves. Foreign aid is all we can offer, and some genuine asylum seekers can be accommodated but not while we "big Australia" for property developers and businesses. Ongoing population growth will cause displacement, disempowerment, poverty, strained human and natural resources, and increasing unemployment.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-07-01 10:00

AUSTRALIA FIRST PARTY PRESS RELEASE National Wattle Day 1st September 2013 Nominations for the Native Australian Award "THE ORDER OF THE WATTLE BLOSSOM" are invited from Australian Citizens GENERAL CRITERIA. Persons nominated should have displayed a commitment to Australia's cultural heritage, our national values, our native soil, or any other suitable aspect that has contributed to the advancement of our European derived civilisation. Nominations may be either Native Australians, members of the Australoid Race, or any assimilable immigrant who has particularly exhibited having taken up the Australian Spirit. Please forward particulars, including the following information to the address below before 25th August. Name and address of nomination; suggested award citation. Include your own name and address. In keeping with past tradition, up to five awards can be granted. AUSTRALIA FIRST PARTY www.australiafirst.net Email: ausfirst [AT] hotmail.com P.O. Box 223 Croydon 3136 National Contact Line 02 8587 0014 Voting for other than AUSTRALIA FIRST is just a waste of time

Geoffrey Taylor

Sun, 2013-06-30 23:32

At some time in our past history, when Australia had a sub-optimal population, adding to the numbers could have added to our wealth on average.

However there are no longer industries which require additional labour to produce additional goods, services or food for either domestic consumption or export. So, adding to Australia's population through immigration cannot rightly be labelled 'growth'. It can only possibly lead to our finite stock of natural resources, including arable land and living space, being divided amongst larger numbers of people. It can only make Australians on average poorer.

In addition, an ever greater proportion of our wealth has to be spent on roads, freeways, parking lots, public transport, power generation, government bureaucracy, etc. to keep our ever-expanding cities working.

It is time that our economy was properly investigated so that we can find out who gains from degrading our environment and making us poorer overall and how the economy can be fixed so that we can achieve full employment without the need to continually add to our population.

Bandicoot

Sun, 2013-06-30 13:38

It's not exactly related to the released chimps, and their first experience of natural surroundings and behaviours, but while some of these captured animals are now enjoying their new found freedoms, other are being trapped and killed. Many species of birds and animals migrate around the world, from whales to tiny birds. However, the world is getting a more dangerous place due to human activities and human hunger. Around the world, many of the most spectacular migrations have either disappeared due to human activities or are in steep decline. Birdwatchers in North America and Europe, for example, complain that fewer songbirds are returning each spring from their winter quarters in Latin America and Africa, respectively. Indeed, a recent continent-wide analysis of European breeding birds concluded that long-distance migrants (i.e., those species that breed in Europe but winter in sub-Saharan Africa) have suffered sustained and often severe population declines, more so than related nonmigratory species. Birdwatchers can still see all of the species of migratory songbirds they seek each spring; they simply have to work harder to do so. Going, Going, Gone: Is Animal Migration Disappearing The situation in the Mediterranean is appalling: Every year, from one end of it to the other, hundreds of millions of songbirds and larger migrants are killed for food, profit, sport, and general amusement. Italian hunters and poachers are the most notorious; for much of the year, the woods and wetlands of rural Italy crackle with gunfire and songbird traps. The food-loving French continue to eat ortolan buntings illegally, and France’s singularly long list of huntable birds includes many struggling species of shorebirds. Songbird trapping is still widespread in parts of Spain; Maltese hunters, frustrated by a lack of native quarry. It's considered a "sport" to find "free food". National Geographic - Last song for Migrating Birds With feet and wings stuck to “lime sticks,” the songbirds cannot escape. Poachers placed these decoy shrubs along a highway near the Mediterranean. It's the trapping, torture and killing of the innocents - the ultimate human domination of tiny and delicate singing birds that want only to sing, twitter, migrate and come back to breed. For centuries eating songbirds was a prized delicacy in Cyprus, but now economic crisis is luring many out-of-work Cypriots back into the centuries-old trade. They risk stiff fines and even jail time by supplying an underground market for the tiny songbirds illicitly served up in the country's tavernas - but they say it's their only way to make ends meet. Cyprus jobless turn to illegal songbird trapping It's an easy and free meal. Served whole either boiled or pickled, the fatty birds are such an ugly sight on a plate that outsiders find it hard to fathom how there could be any profit to be made from them. For many Cypriots, however, the tangy-sweet taste of the birds is pure bliss. It's the ultimate of human power, to capture, enslave, kill and consume the weak, the strong, the moving and all of the animal kingdom as much as possible. It's not a wild boar, an strong lion, a raging elephant or the usual trophy catch that hunters usually desire. Eating songbirds is about violating a taboo that we honour and protect the weak, pretty, innocent and musical. Some humans think by eating animal or bird body parts they can capture the elements that make them endearing, or the qualities that make them appreciated. That's why the Asian market in animal body parts is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine is so popular. It's not based on science, but of being able to capture the qualities that make up the once living creatures by consuming them!

admin

Sun, 2013-06-30 00:34

The privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank by the Hawke/Keating 'Labor' governments, which commenced in 1991 and was completed in 1996, was never put to voters during the elections of 1990 and 1993. Indeed, none of the many other government sell-offs of state banks, state government insurance offices and other wealth generating-assets and infrastructure and services which occurred in Australia since the 1980's was ever put to electors, except the one occasion.

New South Wales Voters repudiate privatisation in 2011 elections

That occurred at the New South Wales (NSW) state elections of 2011 after the successive state 'Labor' governments of Premiers Bob Carr, Morris Iemma, Nathan Rees and Kristina Keneally had attempted to flog off the state's electricity generators against fierce opposition from the NSW community, trade unions and rank-and-file Labor Party members and members of the NSW upper house of Parliament. At the 2011 the ruling Labor Party was trounced and Liberal Leader Barry O'Farrell, who had maintained a principled opposition to privatisation was elected a Premier.

Public banking would be offered to electors in a truly democratic election

Voters are entitled to be offered an opportunity to reverse the grave harm that was done to their interests in recent decades without their consent, partcularly bank privatisation. For the new Federal government to reverse bank privatisation, it would require far less effort and political fight than what it would take to reverse the other privatisations. As an alternative to nationalisation and re-nationalisation, private banks a government bank could be set up. This would immediately break the private banking monopoly. Thereafter open competition by open and accountable public accountable public banks, run by dedicated pubic servants would, at the very least, make it impossible for private banks to continue to impose crippling charges and impose high interest.

The public bank could also be given the right to print sufficient legal tender to enable the real wealth produced by the Australian economy to be circulated. This occurred in the American colonies in the 1770's in the days of Benjamin Franklin and those economies flourished as described in Ellen Brown's "The Web of Debt". However, after the victory of the American revolution, the private bankers were, paradoxically, able to, behind the backs of the American public, take away their right to print legal tender. Since then, a number of American Presidents including Lincoln and JFK have tried to reverse this and break the power of the private banks, with tragic consequences for those two at least.

It remains to be seen if any of the candidates contesting the forthcoming Australian Federal elections, whether standing for either of the major parties, the Greens, other minor parties or as independents, will offer that choice to voters. Where they do, we will certainly make it known to voters on the pages of candobetter.

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2013-06-28 23:36

There was an article in MX exposing that many young Australians were being forced to find jobs overseas. With all the "skills" we are lacking, we have an immigration overflow! Australians are being displaced from the job market in favour of foreigners. Who gains? Employers can get cheaper wagers and more compliant workers. If it was purely to get workers in remote areas of Australia where there might be genuine skills shortages, but then why are we getting them in urban areas? Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said? "But where you've got high unemployment - where for example in the case of Geelong where you've seen unemployment running higher than the total employment - sorry the average employment of this country. When you've got issues about Ford's closure, when you've got the Victorian Government talking about wanting a regional migration agreement to increase 457s. I think we have to stop and have a look and say is that what we want to do? Are we going to create an underclass of Australians because we don't provide them with opportunities for work, and we're not providing young people sufficient training to get those jobs? I think that's an obligation of the government to do that." The "underclass" of Australians is being created by our governments' caving into businesses and their demands for cheaper labour, from third world countries. It's is quicker and cheaper to get workers from overseas, and coming from third world countries, they will work twice as hard as well. After 12 months here they can go back home and build the house of their dreams with the money they made here. Meanwhile our own kids will work our whole life to pay a mortgage to have a roof over our heads. It is right for workers in Australia to feel betrayed by their fellow Australians and our government, they are being undermined from every direction by people who do not give a damn whether they survive our open borders.

nimby

Thu, 2013-06-27 13:52

Fires in South East Asia are polluting Singapore. They are set purposely to convert rainforest into land that can be used for agriculture and plantations, mostly for palm oil production. The fires in Indonesia have created Southeast Asia's worst smog crisis for years, pushing haze levels in the neighboring city-state of Singapore to record levels last week. The Singapore Tourist Board said it continues to welcome tourists but is keeping a close watch on the situation and advised tourists to limit outdoor activities at the weekend. WWF says that the burning of forests to clear land for oil palm plantations in Indonesia and, to some extent, Malaysia has been cited as the major cause of the air pollution that affected many areas of Southeast Asia in 1997 and 2002, including Singapore and other cities. Research shows that up to 25% of concessionaires, including local and foreign companies, ignore the rule restricting the planting of oil palm on peat more than three metres deep. All plantation lands and future plantations on peat are essentially illegal because they contravene national laws. But over 50% of new oil palm plantation areas are planned in peat-lands. (Greenpeace) Indonesia is preparing to tackle the fires - which happen nearly every year on Sumatra's palm oil plantations - by using planes and helicopters in a 'water-bombing' operation. Palm oil has become a scourge that humans have inflicted upon this planet. And its fallout is due as much to human overpopulation as it is to pure greed. Palm oil is a cooking oil. It’s also used in many processed foods. Palm oil comes from the fruit of a very specific palm tree. And it’s cheap. It is also high in saturated fat. So why is it spreading like a bad rumor? Let us repeat. It’s cheap, and people need income. (Rainforest Action Website: http://www.enoughof.us/tag/rainforest-action-network/) There are more people than ever on the earth. Most of them use edible oils. Palm oil is now the most widely used. Other popular oils include soybean and corn. They are much less unhealthful than palm oil. Brazil is well along in decimating its own rainforests, savanna and jungle habitats with farms of various types, often displacing its indigenous communities with both lawful and unlawful development. Orangutans are endangered due to habitat loss and capture for the illegal pet trade. Their rainforest homes are rapidly declining due to illegal logging, mining, farming, oil palm plantations, and human overpopulation. Orangutan populations have declined more than 50 percent in the last decade. Orangutans are considered to be pests by the palm oil industry. (The same way kangaroos are considered an ecological threat in Australia). In the deforestation process, orangutans are often run over by logging machinery, beaten to death, buried alive or set on fire. Orangutans that wander into palm oil plantations are considered to be agricultural pest, because they have the potential to damage oil palm crops. Palm oil produces immense amount of smoke pollution that is toxic to planet earth. This has been found to be the second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas in the world. Scientists warn that many of Indonesia's species could be extinct in the wild within 20 to 30 years. There are many "environmental" groups who still deny the threat and impacts of human overpopulation. With human numbers surging, the demand for economic growth means infiltrating forests and producing goods for commercial benefits - at what ever costs to the planet!

Sheila Newman

Thu, 2013-06-27 12:01

In case you didn't know. Launch at the Rising Sun Hotel, upstairs, at 2 Raglan St., Sth Melbourne on Date: Sunday 30 June, 12:30pm - 2:30pm Event: Social gathering with party president, officials and candidates (including Senate candidates Clifford Hayes and Jill Quirk). PAYG drinks and lunch available. Please RSVP: CLICK HERE

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Thu, 2013-06-27 10:05

What will the voting public gain from K Rudd's reappearance? He's already shown that he's a failure. He's full of grand gestures, but without substance. The real problem is that we lack leaders in Australia. We have rising costs of living, a corrupt and out of control immigration policies, housing is some of the most expensive in the world, and unemployment rising. The people of Australia want some real leadership, and while there is continual bickering and squabbling inside the Labor party, Australia will continue to be rudderless! This change in leadership is simply moving-the-deckchairs-on-the-Titanic! It makes little difference ultimately. Julia Gillard was doing an adequate job in the face of adversary, and now we have BigKev back again! Bringing forward the election will stifle democracy by limiting the time smaller parties have for their campaigns. There needs to a be dramatic and earth-moving change in Australia's political direction. We need a new Australian image, and a reawakening of patriotism. Foreign workers, foreign buyers of land and housing, foreign students, record immigration, and foreign imports are all about globalizing and making Australia a generic, international piece of land. The time of "White Australia" are looking attractive - we at least had the "Lucky Country", high living standards, wealth, and an identity!

Anonymous (not verified)

Thu, 2013-06-27 09:50

International students have turned our tertiary educational system into a huge export industry. If Australia really has chronic skills shortages, then why are we exporting our universities and TAFEs instead of skilling and educating our own population? International students should be supplementing their fees and making tertiary education more affordable, but funding keeps getting slashed and fees are rising. What the media are failing to report that the 457 visa program is part of Australia's free trade agreement. In return for trade, foreigners are allowed to have access to the jobs created by our economy. What other country would undermine their own workers, and allow them to be discriminated against by foreign imported labour? Local market testing would, no doubt, mean that these 457 visa holders would not get the jobs they have been promised.

quark

Thu, 2013-06-27 09:04

Does it not seem utterly reasonable that the government require employers to advertise positions locally before importing and installing employees on 457 visas? This to me shows basic (and in fact the minimum ) consideration for Australian workers. To me the stance is morally unassailable.

Paddy (not verified)

Thu, 2013-06-27 06:58

Aging is not a problem if people live active productive lives for the extended period of lifespan.
Since retirement age remains around 65 in the community paid employment reduces around this age but the volunteer services to the community have increased greatly over this period in both amount and the type of service provided. This week an elderly friend took on 8 hours of work transporting frail people around Perth's largest hospital complex; others work at collecting patients and delivering them to and from the medical centre thus reducing the need for ambulance transport for low care patients.

Across the community more and more support services are being provided by volunteers.
Work is being transferred from the paid to volunteer sector. Effectively the aging are contributing to the support needed for the average time, around 2 years, of infirmity at the end of life.

Editorial comment: If the economy was run properly, and not just to serve the interests of bankers, renters, land speculators, corporate elites and other trolls under the bridge, the Government would have no trouble finding money to pay for work that must now be performed by volunteers. Also, why couldn't there be graduated retirement? Why couldn't those over 65 be allowed to work part time should they have the need to?

quark

Thu, 2013-06-27 00:11

It seems to me that Julia Gillard has been punished for doing a good job as PM in a difficult situation. I don't know where the heads of her colleagues were tonight when they voted against her . I guess they'll wake up one day, probably fairly soon and realise what fools they are.

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2013-06-26 21:58

AUSTRALIA FIRST PARTY - Order of the Toad citation of 2012. Kevin Rudd. Displaying the qualities of a subservient peon by compromising the independence and integrity of the Australian People, in colluding to the demands of imperialist war mongers to establish American military bases on our Native Soil.

Sheila Newman

Wed, 2013-06-26 18:52

The Legislative Assembly Procedures Office of Parliament has advised that the Government Business Program for Thursday does NOT include this Bill. Hence you do not need to attend Parliament. As this - Thursday 27 June 2013 - is the last sitting day of Parliament before the winter recess, the Bill will not be introduced again until on or after 20 August 2013. (If there is any last minute change Protectors of Public Land will advise.)

Craig Lambie

Tue, 2013-06-25 13:55

Thanks Sheila. The idea is to get a picture of each candidate. In my research so far I have found several alternative sites, posted below, that could act as this type of public service. I wonder what your thoughts are on these sites in comparison to my idea, and if it is needed? http://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2013/votecompass/ * large media company (public ABC) behind http://www.mypolitician.com.au *most professional http://www.virginvoters.com.au/ *media company http://bothkindsofpolitics.org http://belowtheline.cc http://www.candidate.com.au/ http://votersummary.com The parties I have spoken to are all talking about the hardship that it will be to participate in the election at all due to the increased requirements for Signatures and Fees. A rung against the small independant voice it seems :(

Vivienne Ortega

Mon, 2013-06-24 10:45

This topic would be one ideal for programs like Q&A, and other talk-back shows and the media. We have been trained to be so politcally-correct to be mute when it comes to questioning immigration and population growth! The public are like obedient trained dogs, simply obeying the constraints on thought. Is it "western" or "white" guilt, that we have these "high" living standards, and "jobs", and we are meant to "share" then with the rest of the world? Or is the ideal and assumption of perpetual economic growth must be pursued at all costs, even at our detriment? Alternatively, are an "immigration nation" and nothing can change this and we are locked into immigration forever- despite logic and empirical evidence that it can't be maintained. Asylum seekers are debated, but their numbers pale into insignificance compared to our legal immigration rates, and swelling numbers of permanent and temporary migrants. It's treated as inevitable, as natural, rather than government policy. The media will scrutinize other government policies, but not NOM! Tony Abbot said: "The fact is, people from overseas have made a magnificent contribution to our country. And trying to stir people up against them is the last thing that the Prime Minister should be doing, particularly in western Sydney." (re 457 visa workers taking jobs from Australians) Gillard-Abbott trade blows in row over foreign workers Between May 2011 and May 2012. Western Sydney had an employment participation rate of 63.0%, which is lower than the participation rates for Sydney (66.0%) and for NSW (63.6%). In May 2012, almost 26% of employed persons in Western Sydney were working in part-time employment. This was lower than the NSW rate of just over 29%. The Fairfield-Liverpool labour force region had the highest unemployment rate of 9.2%, while the North Western Sydney labour force region had the lowest, at 4.2%. Western Sydney had a youth unemployment rate of 17.9%, slightly higher than the NSW rate of 15.3%. Western Sydney: An Economic Profile NSW government What about the "magnificent contribution" Australian born people are making, and trying to make, to our country? They are being overlooked. It's more like people are being amassed as economic units, as fillers for the housing and property industries and as an economic resources for businesses. People born overseas have taken almost three-quarters of the net growth in full-time jobs in Australia in the past two years, even though they make up just 31 per cent of the adult population Majority of new jobs go to migrants This has merely slipped past any media follow-up. The media should be invited to this event, and thanks to Dr Bob Birrell for taking on this topic.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2013-06-24 10:27

On Tuesday, the rabbit-sized eatern barred bandicoot's wild numbers get a boost with the release of 36 animals into a 280-hectare, fox-free site at Woodlands Historic Park in Greenvale. For these bandicoots to stay, keep foxes away Bridie Smith, The Age 24th June In the mid-1990s there were as many as 600 bandicoots at Woodlands. Within a decade, all had disappeared, largely because of foxes. Drought and rabbits also reduced food availability. Ongoing monitoring - including using closed circuit television - would ensure fox territory remained restricted. With fewer than 400 left in the wild, geneticists say they need at least 2500 to ensure the species' survival. Let's hope that these bandicoots can survive the many threats that already exist.

Doncaster Rail ... (not verified)

Mon, 2013-06-24 00:42

The Doncaster Railway is the alternative to the awful Bill being pushed through for more tollways. It is a popular, sensible alternative. You can show your support: A reminder there is only two weeks remaining to complete your feedback submission on the Phase One Draft Recommendations Report for the Doncaster Rail Study. The closing date to provide feedback is Friday 28 June 2013. The Draft Report was released on 14 March 2013 and can be viewed on our study website www.doncasterrailstudy.com Comments can be provided by completing the feedback form online by following this link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/doncasterrailstudy_feedbackform Alternatively, you can download a copy of the Feedback Form on our website www.doncasterrailstudy.com or send your feedback submission to us in an email to [email protected] All comments will be considered for incorporation into the Doncaster Rail Study Phase One Final Recommendations Report. Thank you to all those who participated in the Community Information Session and Online Facebook Forum we held last month to present our key findings on the Draft Recommendations Report. These sessions involved a constructive Q&A opportunity for the community to clarify queries on the recommendations. Even though the Online Forum is now closed for new questions, you can still read the questions and answers posted. Log into your Facebook account then click on this link to view: https://www.facebook.com/DoncasterRailStudy/app_202980683107053 We look forward to receiving your feedback.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 2013-06-23 15:58

This invitation to a "land of opportunities" may have been quite appropriate from the 1950s to 1980s, but certainly not now! It's an anachronism, or selling overseas of an image that's false and totally inaccurate.

With high and increasing rates of unemployment, and unaffordable housing, the opportunities don't exist any more. Trying to compensate for our "ageing population" through immigration is Ponzi Demographics, and will leave future generations with an even greater "ageing population". Future generations are being burdened with incredible heavy burdens by this generation of governments intent on maximizing greed and growth.

quark

Sun, 2013-06-23 08:54

They do not really have to lie To diminish and to crucify Denigration and "anti-dignification", Will bring down the leader of a nation. As a child at school is isolated When the top girl says her style’s outdated. Rumours and nasty minded talk All through our media do their work To break her inner team’s support And kill the leadership bravely fought. It’s enough to say “they do not like her”, No reason given; just to spite her? When something is so oft repeated Its mission is almost completed.

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