LIBERAL Party leader Ted Baillieu has been linked to one of Victoria’s most damaging environmental debacles through his shareholding in a collapsed mining company. The company, Denehurst, went bust in 1998, leaving the state government with a $6.9million clean-up bill at the Benambra Mine, in Victoria’s far east. News of Mr Baillieu’s involvement in the …
The Exclusive Brethren’s manipulation of election campaigns has been a major influence in politics. Now it’s been revealed how companies infiltrate the political sphere to direct major decisions in their favour. Multinational packaging company Amcor who owned the PaperlinX woodchip and paper mill in the Latrobe Valley, were involved in corporate spying on green groups …
We have to wonder if we are in Indonesia or Australia sometimes. The latest incidents of government foresters approving illegal logging is in the Red Gum Forests at Barmah on the Murray River and in the Central Highlands. Thompson catchmentWorld Water Week began on 20th of August – the same day that conservationists from the …
It started off with cross cut saws and bullocks, then to chainsaws and bulldozers, now the future is in computerised harvesting machines in plantations. Three-way solution The logging union has recently been outraged about the need to import skilled workers to fill the new jobs in the plantation industry. They have also been outraged about …
Federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, has promised $3.2 million to help save the Orange-bellied Parrot. The endangered parrot gained attention when it was used as a tool to stop the controversial windfarm in Liberal member, Russell Broadbent’s seat.
Our Gippsland East Independent pollie, Craig Ingram, has the image of a champion for our rivers. You’d think this concern for the water would spill over to include our rivers’ catchments, but not so. His attitudes to logging forests were spelled out very clearly in the Herald Sun and on the ABC in early September.Here’s …
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 …
A giant underwater electrical umbilical chord now joins Tasmania and Victoria. As of late April, we can now buy Tasmania’s ‘clean Hydro power’, or if their wood fired electricity generators get going, power from their incinerated old growth forests. They can also buy our cheap, off-peak, dirty coal power and save their own to sell …
The Victorian Government plans to use gauge convertible concrete sleepers in the upgrade of the Mildura rail line. This was a solution green groups were putting to our government years ago to save thousands of old Red Gums from being cut down for replacement sleepers on railway lines. The East Gippsland upgrade used thousands upon …
Victoria has the worst land clearing record in the country. In 1869 we had 88% of the state covered in forests. In 1972 it had shrunk to just 36% of the state. That’s about 60% of the forest cover being wiped off the land in about 100 years. In the 34 years since 1972, more …
