Federal governments of all persuasions have historically protected and funded Australia’s forest destruction.
Federal governments of all persuasions have historically protected and funded Australia’s forest destruction.
The Federal Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act is a waste of money, according to researchers at the Australia Institute. The Act is designed to protect threatened species and world heritage areas that may not be covered by state environment laws. The Institute’s deputy director, Andrew Macintosh, says only four out of 1,900 developments have …
If you ever thought you can’t make a difference to an arrogant government, the halted sale of Snowy Hydro should make you think again. The Greens legal advice showing that the sale was illegal really upset the PM’s applecart. This was the main motivator that saw a turn-around, although the press gallery were not wanting …
So why does the government not go in all guns blazing on climate change like it did in Iraq for regime change? The evidence is clear on the dangers of climate change – unlike the hunch about mythical weapons of mass destruction. We don’t have to look very far to find the answers. It was …
The TV show, Australian Story, exposed popular ALP minister, Julia Gillard, as a staunch supporter of logging (6.3.06). She went in batting for Forestry Union boss and woodchip promoter, Michael O’Connor. She talked about how much the ALP’s forest policy for Tasmania lost Labor crucial votes at the last election. However internal analysis showed the …
]You probably remember the story of Stan Howard, the PM’s brother, and the company on which he was a board member when it went belly up, owing tens of millions of dollars to its workers. You probably recall how the PM himself bailed him out, whilst thousands of other workers at Ansett and other companies …
There could be even darker hidey-holes for political donations if John Howard’s gang gets its proposed electoral changes through. It will allow anonymous donations of up to $10,000. This means that each state, territory and federal branch of a political party could receive $10,000 each, totalling $90,000 all up – and all in total secrecy. …
It was a crazy plan to appease the cheap-lease farmers who have run their cattle over the Alpine National Park for over a century. Satellite-controlled electric shock collars were the only idea Federal Environment Senator Ian Campbell could offer to “protect the Alps” and keep the cattle’s owners happy. The three year, $15 million plan …
At 2003, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions had risen by 23.3% on 1990 levels. This is well above the eight per cent growth limit Australia negotiated as part of the Kyoto Protocol. This was revealed in a report, released by the United Nations ahead of the international climate conference in Montreal held in late November.
The forestry union’s National Assistant Secretary Michael O’Connor,(see article here) has been promoted to National Secretary. This happened in October 2005 just when the Industrial Relations laws started being thrashed out. Who’s Michael O’Connor? You might remember the loggers giving Howard a rousing applause down in Tasmania just days before the ’04 federal election. Well …
Howard secretly promised a $4 million gift to a forestry union group just three days before the last election. This explains why the loggers, with encouragement from the union, rejected an $800 million forest jobs package offered by Mark Latham, for the $70 million package offered by Howard. This and the jubilant response by loggers …
