Federal governments of all persuasions have historically protected and funded Australia’s forest destruction.

Snowy River 2007- A handful of facts.

When the Snowy Hydro Scheme was completed in 1967, it captured 99% of the Snowy River headwaters.The Expert Panel Environmental Flow Assessment of the Snowy River Below Jindabyne 1996, recommended 28% annual natural flow as the minimum environmental flow required for the Snowy below Jindabyne Dam. Steve Bracks won government in Victoria in 1999 with …

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Tas forests, pulp mill: Another Rudd betrayal

Federal ALP leader Kevin Rudd took a further step to the right on July 23 when he announced full support for logging old-growth forests in Tasmania. Rudd also announced his support for Gunns Ltd’s $2 billion pulp mill project proposed for the Tamar Valley, north of Launceston, in the federal electorate of Bass. Responding to …

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Howard – cautious about putting out the planet’s fire

The Prime Minister’s stacked Emissions Trading Task Group is comprised of airline, coal, banking, aluminium and mining interests, as well as hand-picked bureaucrats. What’s missing is any objectivity – there was not a single scientist, enviro rep. or independent person. The terms of reference required the group to protect the coal and uranium industries at …

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Green Power or Green Wash?

Burning forests for power – back on agenda If Mr Bracks wants to increase drought and weather extremes in the state, he’s doing a great job, but they’ll need an army of spin doctors to sell this latest one to the public. The Bracks government is again planning to generate power by burning Victoria’s native …

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$200 million to countries that illegally log

Prime Minister Howard’s $200 million offer in March 2007 to slow logging in South East Asia was hypocrisy in neon lights. Certainly, forests are being destroyed in South East Asia, but whether you call forest logging legal or illegal, it has the same impact on carbon emissions. While John Howard handed out money, he should …

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Feds prefer to change the law

The Howard Government has conceded logging in Tasmania may be illegal, but is refusing to act against it. The federal Forestry Minister, Eric Abetz, initially poo-pood the claim that there were national implications from the Tasmanian Wielangta court case. Now he’s bemoaning the fact that the judgment could affect all sorts of land uses (and …

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Howard Government has conceded logging in Tasmania may be illegal, but is refusing to act against it.

The federal Forestry Minister, Eric Abetz, initially poo-poo-d the claim that there were national implications from the Tasmanian Wielangta court case. Now he’s bemoaning the fact that the judgment could affect all sorts of land uses (and abuses). So – he’ll work to change environmental laws to aid developers and exploiting industries. The decision found …

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Rudd and Gillard – not the tree hugging types

After Beazley bit the dust in 2006, the shiny new Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd travelled to Tasmania. He stated that Mark Latham’s rescue package for the forests back in 2004 was all wrong and Mark didn’t properly take on board the loggers wants. Rudd rewarded Peter Garrett for lying about Greens preferences by making …

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Offshore oil extraction drains aquifers – $5M to stall action

For years now, governments and water authorities have determined that offshore oil and gas operations are causing groundwater in Gippsland to drop. But nothing has been done to solve the problem. The all-powerful oil and gas industry is well known as a major string puller of governments of every colour. The Commonwealth Government pockets $1.6 …

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How do I silence thee – let me count the ways

The public relations elite are brainstorming ways to keep what they call the “crazy little old ladies” and “gays who do naughty things to whales” quiet. Industry and government representatives have paid $600 each to learn the tricks of the trade from Canadian PR consultant, Ross Irvine, the self-styled Svengali of anti-activist activism. Irvine graced …

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