Our economy is too dependent on energy sources that cause pollution. It’s damaging our health and it’s making climate change worse. We need to reduce pollution and make clean energy cheaper through large scale development of solar, wind and geothermal power.

The health of our vital life support systems - rivers, wetlands, forests and oceans - are already under severe stress and our special places like the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu are under threat. Protecting our environment means healthier air, cleaner water and a safer future for our children. To restore the health of our environment we need to transition to a cleaner economy.

Here’s what politicians should do:

1. Lead the transition from a pollution dependent economy to a cleaner economy. Ensure there is an incentive to transition to a cleaner economy, by rewarding big companies that cut pollution and charging those that don’t.

2. Make clean energy cheaper. Rapidly scale up clean energy like wind and solar power, making it cheaper, faster.

3. Invest in cleaner, more sustainable cities with better transport systems. Boost spending on public and active transport systems to provide affordable, cleaner transport choices.

4. Rescue our life support systems by protecting and restoring the health of our rivers, wetlands, forests and oceans. Protect our special places like the Murray-Darling, the Kimberley, Kakadu, our forests and create a network of large marine sanctuaries.

Read our 2010 National Agenda for a Sustainable Australia »

We are calling for fans of music the world over, who recognize that this is one of the most important struggles for civil and human rights of our generation, to stand with us and refuse to lend their economic support to the state of Arizona until this unjust law is revoked.

We can also put some much needed pressure upon the Obama Administration to use his executive branch authority to prevent the implementation of this unjust law:

Mr. President, please take action!

We are asking you to do everything within your power to protect civil rights in Arizona. Throughout our nation's history, there have been times when the federal government has had to take swift action to stop states from shredding bedrock Constitutional protections and to ensure the safety of targeted minorities.

Arizona's new law is an assault on the US Constitution and and an affront to the civil rights that were earned by generations who came before us. When states disregard the Constitution, when they sanction mistreatment of communities, it is the imperative of the Executive Branch to take the lead in defending the U.S. Constitution.

While we wait for Congress to act, we implore you take necessary and appropriate action to ensure that our brothers and sisters in Arizona do not continue to suffer.

It beggars belief that this is even legal in Australia. Aboriginal land in one of our most fragile ecosystems has just been earmarked for compulsory acquisition by the Western Australian Government. The reason? Energy giants including BP, Woodside, Chevron and Shell want to build a gas pipeline, and they don't want to wait for Indigenous consultation.

Some traditional owners are in favour of the pipeline, others disagree. But one thing is clear: compulsory acquisition means no genuine consultation, and far less compensation if the project goes ahead.

We need to respond quickly and make sure Premier Barnett's announcement is met with national outrage. Locals are delivering a petition to the Premier's office next week. Can you back them up by adding your name today, and asking your friends to do the same?

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/NoCompulsoryAcquisition

The nation is talking about hung parliament negotiations in the marble halls of Parliament House. But far away, in the red dirt of James Price Point, 400km from Broome on the Dampier Peninsula, there is another power struggle going on; pitting the profits of BP, Shell, Woodside and Chevron against the rights of Indigenous Australians. You can help shift the balance.

There are numerous registered Aboriginal heritage sites in the vicinity of James Price Point (Walmadan). Locals tell of Indigenous burial sites and ancient rock art; in some areas you can actually see the footprints of prehistoric birds, long extinct. But the Western Australian Premier wants to bypass Aboriginal elders in what's been called "colonialism all over again" by Wayne Bergmann, Kimberly Land Council CEO. And what's more, the project hasn't even received environmental approvals required by State or Federal law.

This is about more than one site, or one gas pipeline. Compulsory acquisition in WA would put the profits of multinationals above the rights of traditional owners -- and threatens decades of progress on land rights.

Can you stand with traditional owners behind a campaign to stop compulsory acquisition?

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/NoCompulsoryAcquisition

Colin Barnett's decision could set back the Indigenous Rights movement by 30 years or more. Together we have the opportunity to ensure this doesn't happen.

Thanks for standing up,
the GetUp team

... That ONA - and therefore the senior figures in the Australian government - understood clearly what was going on in Washington is evidenced by my recollection of an afternoon tea meeting in 2002 at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra. At this meeting the members of ONA's Strategic Analysis Branch, including myself, argued strongly with the disbelieving ASPI head Hugh White about the inevitability of the impending war. White was convinced that the US would not go to war with Iraq, and also made the assessment that Iraq had a substantial WMD capability. So much for Australia's top think-tank. ...

Based on a chapter in 'Ten Commitments, Steve Morton, David Lindenmayer, Stephen Dovers and Molly Harriss Olsen (eds), CSIRO Publishing, 2008

... The 2006 report Bright Future showed that we could still get 25 per cent of our power from a mix of renewables by 2020, despite 15 years of inaction since the 1992 report. This strategy would be better for employment and the economy generally than the present approach. The 2003 government report National Framework for Energy Efficiency estimated that domestic, industrial and commercial energy use could be cut 30 per cent using measures that would repay the initial investment in less than four years. That approach would create more than 10,000 jobs in activities such as retro-fitting buildings, installing solar hot water systems and replacing inefficient equipment, mostly in regional Australia. Efficiency measures and a real commitment to renewable energy would employ about as many people as the entire workforce of the coal industry. As this essay was being edited for this book, a new US study concluded that the entire world could be powered by renewables by 2030 at acceptable cost, using technology that exists and is proven cost-effective now.

In A Clean Energy Future for Australia, Hugh Saddler and his co-authors concluded that solar hot water and improved efficiency could be used to reduce electricity demand in 2040 to 14 per cent below the 2001 value, despite anticipated population growth. This is a crucial point. Studies that assume continuing growth in energy use often conclude that new renewable capacity cannot be built fast enough. Solar hot water is the most obvious cost-effective way of reducing electricity demand, since the time to recoup the capital cost almost anywhere in mainland Australia is less than the guarantee period for modern equipment. It makes sense to mandate solar hot water now for all of mainland Australia except those few sites where solar access is limited by other buildings.

There are always winners and losers from major policy changes, so we should develop transitional strategies to handle the structural consequences. Achieving change on the necessary scale requires price signals, appropriate regulation and a process of social learning involving the whole community. The obvious way to fund the transition is to phase out the huge current subsidies of fossil fuel supply and use. Various studies estimate the annual public subsidy of fossil fuel supply and use in Australia to be between 5 and 8 billion dollars, without allowing for the costs of climate change. We should systematically transfer these public funds to the expansion of renewable energy supply technologies and efficiency gains. A high priority should be the restoration of a fund to support research, development and demonstration projects in these fields.

We should also provide financial incentives to encourage low-carbon approaches to meet our material needs. There is still a robust debate about the relative merits of carbon taxes, with the revenues used to fund development of clean alternatives, or an emissions trading scheme. A well-designed cap-and-trade system would be a solid basis for limiting our future emissions, while a poorly designed scheme would simply allow profiteering by the worst polluters. While emissions trading has the potential to harness market forces to achieve savings in economcially optimal ways, design of the trading regime will be crucial.

We should begin planning immediately to reduce our transport fuel use, inflated by the long-standing subsidies of road freight, the encouragement of single-person car use for urban trips and vehicle efficiencies that are very poor by international standards. As well as moving to set serious standards for vehicle efficiency and phasing out the subsidy of road freight, we should begin to invest in world-class public transport systems for all major urban areas, rather than squandering huge sums on dinosaur road schemes. The twin forces of climate change and 'peak oil' both demand a move to improve dramatically the fuel-efficiency of urban transport. Future planning should also emphasise compact urban villages with everyday needs within walking or cycling distance to reduce the transport task. Such cities would provide a better social environment and improve community health by promoting physical activity in more natural surroundings, as well as meeting energy goals. ...

V: The truth is that there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? If you look about, you witness cruelty, injustice and despotism.

But what do you do about it? What can you do? You are but a single individual. How can you possible make any difference? Individuals have no power in this modern world.

That is what you've been taught because that is what they need you to believe. But it is not true. This is why they are afraid and the reason that I am here; to remind you that it is individuals who always hold the power. The real power. Individuals like me. And individuals like you.

... Last week the Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee met and presumably discussed koalas. Because the process is so secretive, we really don’t know this, but the former Government’s Minister Garrett has said that the decision will be made by September 30th. The incoming Government, irrespective of which side wins, should also meet that deadline. There are two options – “vulnerable” which is what the AKF wants, and “conservation dependant”, which appeared out of the blue in Government documents earlier this year. If the latter is chosen then nothing will change and koalas will continue to decline because of State Governments and their inability to protect the koala, which is well documented.

What is a ray of hope on the horizon is the fact that the Green party, which polled very well in the Senate, will have the balance of power in the Senate in mid 2011.

Senator Bob Brown, the leader of the Greens, said prior to the election that his party would call for a Senate Inquiry into why the koala is in so much trouble. I cannot wait. Over the coming months, AKF will have a person solely responsible for gathering and creating evidence for such an Inquiry. It will be a large file and a large job. Hopefully it will help to set the tone of the Inquiry so the truth can ultimately be heard.

The carnage we have all witnessed, particularly over the last ten years, was needless. Sustainable development is possible. I know it is but it hasn’t happened. We have just had relentless bulldozers working 24/7. What has happened is that there have been too many jobs for the boys, too many backyard deals and worse still, political spin, the likes of which has been unprecedented our in country. This is why the election result is as it is and, as always, our political leaders are now shocked by the outcome.

Hopefully whoever governs into the future will learn that you need to govern for the people and not for your own best interest. That of course includes the environment, and I am much encouraged by all this change. ...

BLIGH GOVT ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION OF DAISY HILL KOALA PARK

Successful applicants announced for koala disease research funding

... We would like to see the food industry take more urgent action to phase out food packaging materials that release toxic chemicals into food. This includes plasticisers such as phthalates, used in some food containers and PVC cling wrap, as well as BPA-based polycarbonate bottles and epoxyresins for lining cans.

While FSANZ [Food Standards Australia New Zealand] is currently surveying the BPA content of a range of Australian processed foods (and expects to report on the findings next month), we would also urge the regulator to be more proactive in protecting Australian consumers.

Safety laws recently put into place by the EU shift the burden of proof to industry, requiring manufacturers to prove their products don’t harm human health or the environment. We believe similar rules should also operate here. As a matter of urgency, CHOICE wants the government to phase out the use of BPA-containing packaging for all baby foods and foods designed for toddlers and young children. ...

Although the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement was driven primarily by political considerations, it has substantial economic provisions that will most certainly promote Australia's economic integration with the United States. Indeed this was the central objective of the agreement's proponents. As Alan Oxley put it: "If Australia seeks to maintain competitiveness in the global economy ... and to maintain a strong relationship with the United States, there is a strong case for negotitating a comprehensive economic integration agreement ... with the USA."

John Quiggin, one of Australia's leading economists, agrees with this claim that the deal is not about free trade but about economic integration with the United States. Economic integration usually refers to the adoption of common institutions, as in the case of the Australian federation or the European Union. But, as Quiggin notes, in this case it means Australia's adopting the institutions of the United States. This raises important questions. In general terms, are economic and social institutions in the United States better than Australian ones? Is it desirable to have our economic institutions determined by a government that is necessarily responsive to US interest groups, rather than Australia's social and economic welfare concerns? These questions are especially apt in light of the impact of the trade agreement on Australia's copyright regime and on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, or PBS. ...

What Poisons Are They Using?

Biosecurity Queensland will boost its locust control efforts across western Queensland in coming weeks following growing concerns about the potential impacts of large swarms.

Biosecurity Queensland officer Duncan Swan said that large swarms of spur-throated locusts are expected to start moving towards cropping areas in the coming months.

"Despite months of intense aerial and ground control work by Biosecurity Queensland officers, recent warm weather means the locusts may start to disperse earlier than expected," Mr Swan said.

"When the locusts start moving, they may head towards Queensland’s million-dollar central highlands cropping region and the Darling Downs. Our top priority is to protect these industries and businesses.

"Resources including staff, chemicals and equipment for spraying are currently being pulled together to form a taskforce to undertake an intensive two-week control program starting next week."

Control programs will take place around the Barcaldine, Blackall, Charleville and Cunnamulla areas.

"Working cooperatively with property owners in these areas is vital to the success of the control operation," Mr Swan said.

"Cattle in paddocks, lambing sheep and beehives can be affected by the spraying, and consent is necessary before any control can go ahead.

"Landholders in the targeted areas can contact Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 for further information about the control program."

Biosecurity Queensland officers have already treated 12,800 hectares of swarms over the past two months.

"These locusts are different to the Australian plague locusts currently affecting Australia’s southern areas," Mr Swan said.

"Spur-throated locusts disperse over a wide area during spring to lay their eggs, which means they do not form summer swarms like the other locust species.

"Therefore, it’s vital that current spur-throated locust swarms are targeted now."

For more information on locusts in Queensland or to report sightings, contact Biosecurity Queensland. Alternatively, contact your local government office.

Savetheregent.com's Brett Debritz was on the Jamie Dunn and Ian Calder show on Radio 4BC this morning [31/8/10] reacting to Sustainability Minister Kate Jones's dismissal of the 6000-plus-signature Save the Regent epetition. The audio is here. If you want to take a stand against the minister, email her and contact your local Member of Parliament, reminding them that you vote and you want to Save the Regent even if Kate Jones, Anna Bligh, Paul Lucas and Stirling Hinchliffe do not. There's a full list of contact details for Queensland MPs here.

Government Spins Wheels On Repco Rally Economics:

Greens Media Release [31/8/10]

NSW Greens MLC Ian Cohen has called on the Government to refer all economic data and analysis associated with the 2009 Repco Rally to the Auditor-General for independent review.

"The recent release of a report prepared for the Government by Integrated Marketing Communications Pty Ltd (IMC) displays a clear lack of objectivity, raising serious questions about its accuracy," said Mr Cohen.

"The report uses terminology that is inflammatory and inappropriate for an assessment of such an important matter.

"To repeatedly label local community opposition to the Repco Rally as "zealots" shows the contempt that the Government and IMC holds for the legitimate concerns of local residents and business owners.

"The conclusion that the economic benefits of the 2009 Repco Rally far outweighed the costs is based on submissions from Events NSW and Rally Australia, two organisations that have a vested interest in supporting the decision to go ahead with this event despite a divisive and inadequate planning process.

"All economic data and analysis related to the Repco Rally must be released so that a robust and independent assessment can be made into whether or not NSW really did get a good deal out of this event.

"We know from the Auditor-General's independent review of the V8 Supercars Races that we cannot rely on the Government, or its close associates, to accurately assess the economic benefits to NSW of these types of events.

"Given the V8 Races cost $10 million more and delivered 25% fewer benefits than planned, what assurance is there about the accuracy of the information in the IMC report?

"Until the Auditor-General is able to look at and report on all of the economic information from the 2009 Repco Rally, it is unacceptable that the Government would even consider holding this event in the future," said Mr Cohen.

Mr McLINDON: My question without notice is to the Premier. Will the Premier commit to hosting a bipartisan ideas forum and invite key union leaders, economists, experts and entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson in a genuine effort to prevent the sale of Queensland’s assets?

Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. When it comes to ideas forums, I am pleased to advise the member for Beaudesert that some time ago the Queensland government funded the Ideas Festival. It happens every two years. It is a very good program and I encourage him to look at it and to be a part of it.

In relation to asset sales, firstly, the last time I looked Richard Branson owned a private airline; he does not run a public airline. He also owns a private railway. In fact, he may be a good speaker to talk about private investment into transport as a very good way forward. If Richard Branson were here, I think he would say that one of the biggest impediments to his company doing well and employing more people is government owned airlines, which still operate in some parts of the world and which are unfair in the competitive market. Not for one minute do I worry about Richard Branson talking to us about these things.

What we hear from the member’s question and what we hear from those opposite is that in our budget deliberations we should engage in a process that would effectively remove our obligation to govern. Let us look at asset sales in recent history. When the Hawke and Keating federal Labor government decided to embark on a program of asset sales for assets such as Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank, they did not put it to a referendum; they governed. They did not take it to an election. They faced the financial circumstances they encountered and they governed. When Rob Borbidge and Joan Sheldon were elected, they did not take the privatisation of Suncorp Metway, the state bank of Queensland, to the election as an election commitment. They did not take it to a referendum. They dealt with the financial circumstances with which they were faced and they governed. Under John Howard the privatisation of Telstra was not the subject of a public summit or a referendum. He dealt with the circumstances he found himself in and he governed. He then went to the people and the people judged, as they did with Hawke and Keating, and as they did with Borbidge and Sheldon. When Peter Beattie privatised the TAB, he did not take it to an election and he did not put it to a referendum; he governed, because that is what he needed to do.

Our government faced the financial circumstances and did what every other government on all sides of politics has done. We made the decisions and we are governing. That was the mandate that we were given in March last year and that is what we have the strength to do. On this issue our record is identical to every other government faced with similar circumstances and our financial strategy, our budget, is not open to some sort of talkfest. That is not how you govern.

Fraser Island, Dingoes

Mr ELMES (Noosa--LNP) (12.13 pm): On 22 July, during DERM’s estimates deliberations, the acting minister tabled stage 1 of the Fraser Island Dingo Population Study. This is yet another attempt by this discredited department to sanitise and cover up its neglect. Fraser Island is loved by all those who have visited there, and even those who have not know and understand that it is a special place. It is relatively untouched by introduced species of plants or animals. It has high recreation values for walkers, four-wheel drive enthusiasts, fishermen, naturalists and conservationists. It is the home of about 100 locals yet it is visited by 380,000 tourists a year whose stay on the island is, on average, four nights. That is an enormous strain on a fragile ecosystem.

Earlier this year, with Ted Sorensen, the member for Hervey Bay, I released a discussion paper on Fraser Island so I could not just understand the difficulties facing the island but also start putting together solutions for its future. I have come to understand that this state department, the administrator of the island, is at best incompetent and at worst duplicitous in overseeing the systematic destruction of our native dog. Section 16(1) (a) of the Nature Conservation Act 1992 states--

(a) protect the area’s exceptional scientific values and, in particular--

(i) to ensure that the processes of nature continue unaffected in the area; and
(ii) to protect the area’s biological diversity to the greatest possible extent

The department at best rates a D minus when compared against what should be its bible, the Nature Conservation Act. We have finally seen the introduction of tag-along tours, yet this proposal was first put to government around 10 years ago. How many accidents and deaths could have been avoided? The island’s water quality continues to be degraded due to human activity. Both human waste and chemicals from suncreams affect some of the perched lakes, while human waste and rubbish left in the bush behind camping areas along the beach at Indian Head and elsewhere have become a pollution and health problem.

By far the greatest discussion point has been the fate of the dingo population. There are many representatives on my side of the parliament who come from rural areas and who have little love for the dingo. I understand their views. Overwhelmingly, mainland dingoes have interbred with domestic dogs so, with one possible exception, the only remaining pure strain of our native dog exists on Fraser Island. Instead of being concerned about their survival, we have a department engaged in the ruthless and cruel--some would say deliberate--destruction of the species.

The report released by the acting minister during estimates refers to 97 dingoes being removed from the database because of their known deaths--the report says from a variety of causes. I can inform the House, because I have read and seen nearly all of the autopsy reports, that the causes of death include lethal injection, shot, run over, poisoned, starvation and others. One autopsy lists under possible cause of death ‘rifle-itis’, while another states ‘half an ounce of hot lead’. Labor’s interim report shows happy snaps of a dingo family, dingoes on the beach, dingoes frolicking in the water, a dingo running up the beach with a fish in its mouth. On a normal day, those dingoes would be hazed by rangers--that is, shot with a clay pellet, moving them away from the beach and away from their main food source.

The battle for Fraser Island is now being fought in the media. We have a state government peddling information, which it still considers credible, that goes back to 1990. A couple of weeks ago we saw a stage-managed tour for journalists. The result? A sanitised, all-is-well-in-paradise image relayed to the general public. By contrast, we have a small but growing group--some islanders, some from the Save the Fraser Island Dingo organisation, Indigenous people and long-term visitors--all dedicated to the island who are systematically ignored, harassed and belittled. In one case there was a legalised home invasion, the circumstances around which, if it happened when we were in government, we would see protesters in the street. It is strange how silent those protectors of our democracy have become.

The Queensland government ignores its responsibilities. That is why I have taken steps to ensure that UNESCO, the organisation charged with overseeing World Heritage listed areas, has been advised of the island’s plight. It is now a matter of whatever it takes. Ted Sorensen and I, and those who want to save Fraser Island, will battle on until we change the government. I table the report.

Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Report: Fraser Island Discussion Paper, Glen Elmes MP, August 2010’.

Susan Hawthorne
armour

she dreams of making armour for the earth
a helmet to prevent the drillers from beginning
a breastplate so they cannot cut open her heart
greaves to stop the underground lines
breaking through to the watertable

it confounds her that anyone would want
to mine Liverpool Plains
to make the earth a corpse to strip
back the muscle layer by layer
to let light in under all that rich deep earth
to groom her for profit burn coal embers
in the asthmatic air the heat increasing
to burn away everything for the emptiness
of waterdrained lungdrained flatlands

let them eat coal not food.

"Are you a bikie trying to infiltrate the police so you can access highly sensitive police files?" YES/NO.

Can we do anything about this deal or must it play out before our eyes like some Greek tragedy (in the manner that Canada has been witnessing since its bilateral deal)? What options are available to a people abandoned by their government? What recourse does one have when our elected representatives start representing the interests of other countries? Do we, in the words of the Australian business leader [Oliver Yates] cited above, ‘need laws to prevent a government making agreements it knows are economically disadvantageous to Australians’?

The answer is yes. Of course we do. In fact, such a law already exists. The Crimes Act of 1941 explicitly outlaws treachery – the knowing betrayal of the interests of one’s country.

But there is a much simpler and less controversial weapon for dispensing with those who would trade our future so cheaply – the ballot box. The risk here, however, is that supporters of the government and the deal have a degree of breathing space before the impacts of the changes work their way through the system. By the time drug prices start going up, for example, the 2004 election will be long gone – and with it the possibility that the deal’s current supporters will see the light and make their protest heard.

Australians must therefore stay alert for the signs, and raise the alarm when they emerge, whether it is the rising tide of disease-prone produce from the United States (apples, pears, chicken, pork even Californian table grapes and cherries, fumigated with heavy doses of the toxic methyl bromide to reduce risk of exotic pests and diseases entering the country); or an incremental increase in prescription costs, or a spike in US mergers and acquisitions of Australian resources, farms, fisheries, finance houses and manufacturing firms, or the disappearance of high-tech Australian companies, the loss of jobs in ICT, or a post-FTA drop in Australian productivity, or any other of the many warning signs discussed in this book. When these things start to happen, do not let the government forget the reason why. Take the advice of one of the government officials we had the chance to speak with who was working on the deal. While he, like a number of his well-intentioned colleagues, felt too intimidated to speak out directly against the deal in a public forum, his advice to those gathered was clear and compelling: Get out on the street. Bombard your federal MPs with letters. Call your elected representatives to account. And, we would add: draw their attention to Article 23.4 of Chapter 23 (Final Provisions). Under this provision, either Party may terminate the Agreement by giving the other Party six months’ notice in writing.

As the number of recalled eggs jumped to 380 million this week, the Humane Society of the United States called on Iowa's egg industry to take steps to begin phasing out the use of battery cages in egg production. Iowa's egg industry that routinely crams laying hens into tiny confinement cages is not only inhumane but also threatens food safety, alleges the Humane Society. The call sounds as reports break today of a second Iowa farmer-issued recall of millions more eggs due to potential Salmonella contamination.

"It is the very system of cramming birds into cages - in warehouses on operations that may confine more than a million animals - that exacerbates the spread of infectious diseases like Salmonella. Confining more than 50 million hens in cages, as Iowa does, is a public health crisis in the making."

--Humane Society president Kevin Vinchattle & CEO Wayne Pacelle, in a letter to Iowa Egg Council executive director. ...

… People know, as Michael Leunig once said, that we are 'joined together by more than the weather'. Their conversations with each other are saturated with moral anxiety about a lost sense of responsibility and about duties, obligations, entitlements and rights. They have a pretty good understanding that 'putting the economy first' means throwing real standards into the furnace as fuel for an economy on steroids. A generation ago economic development still used to mean nation building. Now it means eating yourself, your culture and your social ties to intimates and strangers alike. Australians have always had a healthy regard for self-reliance but that does not mean that they are willing to redefine themselves as reducible input costs of production or as strategic actors who face each other only as competitors for scare resources-so that the big end of town can have from them always more!

Economic rationalism is a doctrine which says that 'economies markets and money offer the only reliable means of setting values on anything' and which sets out to destroy our public and social institutions to make it so. If you were to tell our middle Australians that economic reform has ushered them into a bright new world of 'choice and opportunity' they would laugh you out the door. They would do the same if you told them that economic reform was something that they had chosen. Most of them recognise that they were thrown into the Anglo-American libertarian economic path to please the big end of town. With Malcolm Fraser they now fear an all too foreseeable situation in which 'all the good assets in Australia are owned by ten foreign corporations'.

For middle Australia economic reform is going sour. It is as if we already knew what the evidence has been telling us for quite a while. Societies that seek to make the economy serve the people do better, even on conventional economic indicators, than those that try to make the people serve the economy. …

A Little Bit Of Regulation Would Be Disastrous?

An unapproved private market looking to expand its operations in the grounds of Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School will be the subject of discussion at Gold Coast City Council on Monday (30/8).

Members of Council’s City Planning Committee today (24/8) expressed concerns about inadequate car parking and extended hours of operation and have recommended the application be refused by the full Council on Monday. Committee Chair, Councillor Ted Shepherd, said the business was currently operating 6 am to 11 am every Saturday without planning approval.

“A show cause notice was issued in February 2009, prompting this application,” Cr Shepherd said.

“The applicants, ‘Your Local Market Pty Ltd’, are now seeking to expand in size and to open three days a week (Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday). Over summer, they propose starting as early as 4.30 am and running until 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.”

Cr Shepherd said there were already parking problems associated with the existing markets.

“Even the applicant’s own traffic consultants conducted a Saturday morning traffic survey and identified 61 illegally parked vehicles within a 200 metre radius of the markets.”

He said the operators had made no provision for on-site parking for market patrons.

“At Council’s urging, the applicants contact the school to see if they would provide parking within their grounds but the school rejected the request.

“This new application is likely to cause overflow parking into neighbouring streets and use up spaces required for patrons of the adjacent Palm Beach Aquatic Centre.

“The market would be starting very early and running right through into the evening, with cars likely to be parking in neighbouring streets, opening and closing doors, loading and unloading goods.”

He said Council supported community and farmers’ markets ‘in the right place at the right time’.

“In the end, this is a commercial business currently operation without approval. To allow it to continue to operate without approval would be to disadvantage other local businesses which have done the right thing. And to approve its expansion would significantly impact on local residents.”

If the committee’s recommendation is adopted on Monday, Council will take appropriate action to have the unapproved markets cease operation.

... ' ... The stuff I saw as a kid was what we called hardcore, but the idea in the text alongside was that it was based on mutual consent - mutual pleasure - but what I see now is more male domination.' [Jim - self confessed pornography addict]

Not only is the tone of pornography so often reliant on real or imaginary abuse of women, it is, as we have seen, consumed in increasing numbers by young people who have little real experience to set against it. Jim believes that very young men are beginning to see as normal images which would once have been seen as far beyond the pale. 'So many guys I know are into it. I play a lot of golf and one day I was there and there were these young guys, fifteen, sixteen, looking at video clips on their phones of a girl having sex with a horse, and one of them says, "she died a day later of internal injuries". I don't know if it's true or not, but that's the kind of stuff they want to look at. It's like a bravado, they want to look at worse and worse stuff. When I was a kid what you saw was limited by what you could physically buy on paper. Now it all flashes around so quickly and the taboos have just fallen.' Jim feels that even for young men who don't seek it out, the exposure to these images simply changes their attitudes to sex. 'I think that kind of violence associated with sex lodges in your mind and you never forget it, however much you want to. It's always there.'

Because the old feminist position against pornography has been so discredited, it often feels as though few people are ready to speak out against pornography. I picked up a real sense of hopelessness from those women who have experienced its negative effects in their intimate lives. Ali, Jim's ex-partner, has a young son. She worries that what happened with Jim could be repeated with her son. 'I was first aware that he was looking at pornography when he was fourteen. But how can boys not see it? Unless they make a concerted decision not to look at it, to delete it from their mobiles when it's sent to them, or from their emails. You'd be making a singular, probably a unique decision. Once someone like Jim was unusual, now every boy has seen all of that. I know what it does to young minds, and now it is more and more prevalent. God knows how we can begin to challenge this. Once upon a time kids could experiment, you know, privately, but now all the innocence is lost.'

The tide of pornogrpahy is so huge, and so easily accessible, that it often seems impossible to think about turning it back. Yet I don't think we have to slip into despair. There is this idea that 'innocence', once lost, is lost forever, that, as Jim put it, once pornography is viewed, 'You can never forget it, however much you want to.' It is true that we cannot turn back the clock and wipe pornography out of our individual experience or the memories of our society. Yet there are still ways to move forwards and to create places where the influence of prnography will be resisted. This will entail giving more support to people who are struggling with pornography's dehumanising effects on their own relationships. Both Ali and Lara feel that it would help them in their own, personal struggles if voices challenging pornography were heard more in the mainstream of the surrounding culture. Lara wrote to me: 'From some discussions I've had online I can see that many wives are struggling with their husband's porn use. If the mainstream media began talking about porn addiction in the same way as they talk freely about drug abuse, gambling or alcoholism, then maybe my husband would see that he's not the only man in the world who has this problem and would see that he should deal with it.' I also heard from teenagers that they wanted more chance to discuss seriously what they are seeing, since they seem to find that this world of pornography is absolutely open to them, and yet is rarely openly referred to.

And even if we cannot censor pornography and shut down the internet, perhaps we have to try again to make spaces that are free from pornography, both public and private. As even Anna Span said, 'It's as though by moving into pornography women have now given men the excuse to sexualise women in so many other contexts,' she says, 'in the glamour world, or using sexy women to sell all sorts of other things form mineral water to cameras. I really don't see that as an advance.' If we are ready to start to challenge the creeping pornification of our culture, this will range from preventing the sale of pornographic images at child height in newsagents to challenging those media outlets which rely on semi-pornographic images in other contexts. It will also mean believing that we can reclaim a view of sex that is about intimacy rather than exchange. Of course any number of people are creating this experience of sexuality in their private lives, and we can also draw inspiration from those writers and artists who are reimagining sexuality as emotional connection rather than performance, whose acts of imaginination can have surprising resonance even in this cynical world. ...

Mr McLINDON (Beaudesert--Ind) (11.50 am): I wish to make a brief contribution to the Geothermal Energy Bill 2010. I commend the government on the investment it is making in Queensland’s renewable energy sector. It is an innovative and visionary approach which ought to embraced on a greater scale in Queensland into the future. It will be able to provide a large portion of Queensland’s energy.

We all have a duty to be responsible stewards of the environment. The establishment of a geothermal industry in Queensland demonstrates that we are serious about implementing innovative reform in the energy sector. The biggest advantage, of course, is the fact that geothermal energy is largely carbon emission free and produces greater baseload energy than any other source of renewable energy. It is amusing that the climate change debate rages on. In this House there are probably 89 different positions on it. In 10 years time we will probably find out that every single one of us was wrong. I think it is important to realise, though, that we must always respect the environment so we can pass it on to future generations.

This will also undoubtedly provide jobs and jobs growth in rural and regional Queensland. This will be another welcome addition to these surrounding communities. I note also the $15 million allocation towards in a Queensland geothermal energy centre of excellence and a further $5 million towards the coastal geothermal energy initiative, which is to be used to identify the areas of high heat flow to existing electricity transmission lines along the Queensland coast.

The bill will also regulate large scale geothermal energy production and other activities with regard to geothermal energy production within the framework of existing legislation such as the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Of notable concern, however, is a statement made by the minister in his second reading speech. The minister stated--

The Bill also clarifies that coal seam gas (CSG) proponents may undertake agreed low impact surface activities, that do not invoke a resource right, in underground coal gasification (UCG) pilot areas. This will allow CSG production activities in surrounding areas to continue whilst allowing for the trial of UCG technology.

This is of particular concern given the brevity of the mention of the underground coal gasification pilot areas and the significant impacts the pilot areas have on the operation of our farming and agricultural sectors and the potentially damaging effects they have on our critical water supplies due to the explosions used to access the resources.

I attended the protest against underground coal gasification with many members of this parliament, particularly the members for Nanango and Nicklin. The member for Nicklin also spoke. At the coalface these people are hurting. I cannot in good conscience support the bill in its entirety today because I believe there are two very distinct issues that need to be highlighted and dissected separately to ensure that those who are impacted upon most have been given the airtime they justly deserve in terms of these very significant issues. Whilst I am a keen supporter of geothermal energy, the bill enshrines a far greater issue with respect to underground coal gasification, which I believe needs to be debated separately. ...

Ms NELSON-CARR (Mundingburra--ALP) (5.02 pm): I want to congratulate the year 7 class from Mundingburra State School whose teacher is Erick Blechen. This class won first place in the 2010 Panasonic Kid Witness News, KWN, global contest in Tokyo. The Minister for Education actually mentioned this achievement briefly in a ministerial statement, but I want to elaborate because Mundingburra State School is one of those great schools. My children went there and I have had a lot to do with it. Erick Blechen is very well known as a teacher of excellence at Mundingburra State School in that he is able to get the attention, enthusiasm and commitment from his students to prepare the most amazing things, and this is just one of them. It won the Creative Concept Award and the Grand Prix KWN global award, and the school also received a giant sized package from Panasonic.

I have had a look at the five-minute rap and movie by the students where they call for action on climate change. There were 630 other entrants that came from both private and public primary schools from 24 different countries, and this is the very first time that Australia has won this event. Mundingburra State School has been involved since 2004 under the very apt direction of Mr Blechen. Mundingburra successfully went through four major events for the prize. Firstly, it had the domestic judging--that is, selecting a national regional winner in each country region. It then went to the global preliminary judging--that is, selecting 12 semifinalists out of all of the national regional winners. It then went to the global final judging--that is, selecting six finalists and the Grand Prix winner. After that it was the awards ceremony, and they attended the ceremony with five other finalists in Tokyo, Japan. So young students from Mundingburra State School travelled to Sydney then Singapore and Japan to take part in the judging.

The Global Warming Rap is so impressive and the year 7 students did such a wonderful job in the production, research, writing, directing, costumes, animation, special effects and some very wonderful acting penguins. The short film will feature as part of the audiovisual resources DVD which will be accompanying Cengage Learning Australia’s literacy series for primary school students--it will be used to engage students to illustrate the different topics--30,000 of which will be printed for distribution across Australia. Panasonic should also be congratulated on this initiative. Mundingburra State School received $11,000 of equipment for the library and electronic whiteboard for the class. It is an outstanding achievement putting not only Mundingburra State School on the map but Education Queensland on the world map. Mundingburra State School has been there since 1884. It is a tremendous and a great state school. Congratulations, Mr Blechen!

Queensland Health Minister: If You Have Cancer It's Probably Your Own Fault

Mrs CUNNINGHAM: My question without notice is to the Minister for Health. The Queensland Cancer Council has just released data showing that for the 2003 to 2007 period Gladstone had a 10 per cent higher rate of cancers diagnosed compared to all of Queensland. The recent clean and healthy air study dealt with air quality. Will the minister ensure that the causes of this higher diagnosis rate are thoroughly investigated?

Mr LUCAS: I thank the honourable member for the question. I am a bit of a fan of Gladstone. I think it is a wonderful city. We take the health of people in Gladstone and people in our regional cities and indeed all of Queensland very seriously. Gladstone is very much an economic powerhouse. Its industry is its strength. There is no reason people of that city should have to worry that polluted air endangers their health. That is why we do the sort of testing we have done.

We initiated the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project aimed at better understanding Gladstone’s air quality and identifying potential risks to health. Members will recall that the study released relatively recently indicated that it would appear that there are no issues arising as result of that. Additionally, we reviewed data around asthma, miscarriages, total cancers and leukaemia in the Gladstone area in early 2007. The review showed Gladstone had broadly the same incidences of these diseases as the rest of Queensland, with the only exception being a higher rate of chronic lymphoid leukaemia, of CLL. The review did not identify environmental factors such as pollutants that would have contributed to or caused high rates of CLL. It found that air quality and environmental factors could not be blamed. That was independently reviewed by Professor Roder of the Cancer Council of South Australia.

In relation to the current matters raised by the honourable member, I am more than happy to seek advice from my department. But I do note the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2010 report, which I would behove members to read, stated--

The National Cancer Clearinghouse 2003 shows that in 2003-2005 the incidence of cancer decreased slightly with remoteness, with combined rates in Outer Regional, Remote and Very remote areas 7% lower than Major cities. Accordingly, the incidence of most types of cancer was lower outside Major cities , the exceptions being head and neck cancer (5% higher ...) melanoma (8% higher) and lip cancer (60% higher). The cancers showing higher incidence outside Major cities are generally preventable and occur either through smoking and alcohol consumption ... or sun exposure (melanoma).

I think we were talking about melanoma and lung cancer in relation to Gladstone. That may in part provide some information. I am more than happy to have that examined. ...

Examples of the perverse effect of dominant structures are legion: private transport is incentivized over public transport; motorists are prioritized over pedestrians; energy supply is subsidized and protected, while demand management is often chaotic and expensive; waste disposal is cheap, economically and behaviourally; recycling demands time and effort: 'bring centres' are few and far between and often overflowing with waste.

Equally important are the subtle but damaging signals sent by government, regulatory frameworks financial institutions, the media and our education systems: business salaries are higher than those in the public sector, particularly at the top; nurses and those in the caring professions are consistently less well paid; private investment is written down at high discount rates making long-term costs invisible; success is counted in terms of material status (salary, house size and so on); children are brought up as a 'shopping generation' - hooked on brand, celebrity and status.

Policy and media messages about the recession underline this point. Opening a huge new shopping centre at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008, Mayor of London Boris Johnson spoke of persuading people to come out and spend their money, despite the credit crunch. Londoners had made a 'prudent decision to give Thursday morning a miss and come shopping', he said of the huge crowds who attended the opening. George W. Bush's infamous call for people to 'go out shopping' in the wake of the 9/11 disaster is one of the most staggering examples of the same phenomenon.

Little wonder that people trying to live more sustainable find themselves in conflict with the social world around them. These kinds of asymmetry represent a culture of consumption that sends all the wrong signals, penalizing pro-environmental behaviour, and making it all but impossible even for highly motivated people to act sustainably without personal sacrifice.

It's important to take this evidence seriously. As laboratories for social change, intentional households and communities are vital in pointing to the possibilities for flourishing within ecological limits. But they are also critical in highlighting the limits of voluntarism.

Simplistic exhortations for people to resist consumerism are destined to failure. Particularly when the messages flowing from government are so painfully inconsistent. People readily indentify this inconsistency and perceive it as hypocrisy. Or something worse. Under current conditions, it's tantamount to asking people to give up key capabilities and freedoms as social beings. Far from being irrational to resist these demands, it would be irrational not to, in our society.

Several lessons flow from this. The first is the obvious need for government to get its message straight. Urging people to Act on CO2, to insulate their homes, turn down their thermostat, put on a jumper, drive a little less, walk a little more, holiday at home, buy locally produced goods (and so on) will either go unheard or be rejected as manipulation for as long as all the messages about high-street consumption point in the opposite direction.

Equally, it's clear that changing the social logic of consumption cannot simply be relegated to the realm of individual choice. In spite of a a growing desire for change, it's almost impossible for people to simply choose sustainable lifestyles, however much they'd like to. Even highly-motivated individuals experience conflict as they attempt to escape consumerism. And the chances of extending this behaviour across society are negligible without changes in the social structure.

Conversely, of course, social structures can and do shift people's values and behaviours. Structural changes of two kinds must lie at the heart of any strategy to address the social logic of consumerism. The first will be to dismantle or correct the perverse incentives for unsustainable (and unproductive) status competition. The second must be to establish new structures that provide capabilities for people to flourish, and particularly to participate fully in the life of society, in less materialistic ways. ...

hello it's me

ah, hello, what do you need?

well, remember last election when those pamphletts were distributed at the last minute throughout western sydney?

nope

you know. the ones that tried to say labor loves muslims.

ah yeah, that went well didn't it? so?

well, we need something to terrify western sydney into voting liberal, but it has to be credible this time.

yes?

just something with terrorism, police, raids, anything ... what can you do?

well, we've got these people from the middle east who might have sent some money back home ... ?

yeah alright. and this time make sure the raids happen before the australian reports them

yeah, very bloody funny. don't worry.

"I ... AM ... NOTHING ... MORE ... THAN ... A ... NEOLIBERAL ... PUPPET"

"MUST ... RESIST ... OVERWHELMING ... TEMPTATION ... TO ... SAY ... ANYTHING ... CRITICAL ... ABOUT ... MURDOCH ... MEDIA"

The Short Term Accommodation taskforce has today recommended that STA be banned in suburbs across the Gold Coast.

“This is one of the recommendations that have been determined by the taskforce and which will go to full Council on Monday week. I acknowledge this decision will not be popular with everyone but it is a sensible decision which allows STA (Short Term Accommodation) to continue as an industry, but only in designated tourism zones,’’ said Mayor Ron Clarke.

Short term accommodation in residential areas is defined as any stay less than 30 days.

The key decisions from the taskforce are: the creation of a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) to ensure no future STA can be established outside tourism zones; and that a more rigid definition of STA is established; and that the period for how long an STA can be let is reconsidered; self regulation – Gold Coast City Council to assist the industry to improve its self-regulation provisions; and consideration by Council (under Local Law No 16) to increase Council’s capacity to respond to consistent complaints from ‘party houses’.

“The taskforce accepts that the TLPI is only an interim measure until the introduction of the new Gold Coast Planning Scheme in 2012,’’ said Mayor Clarke.

“But these measures, as determined by the taskforce, are all positive steps to allow the STA industry to continue but equally, to better protect the amenity of our suburbs and the peace and quiet residents rightly expect when living in their areas.’’

The taskforce included Mayor Ron Clarke, other Councillors, State MPs Ray Stevens, Christine Smith and John Paul-Langbroek and representatives from Queensland Police Service, Department of Infrastructure and Planning, Tourism Gold Coast and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

... PETER LANDER: When you're shooting the infra-red beam comes out of here ok? And you aim with the red dot scope.

STEPHANIE SMAIL: Peter Landers runs Battlefield Sports Laser Skirmish in Brisbane. He makes the toy guns used in the game, and exports them to 36 countries. ...

PETER LANDER: The reality is that we service different markets, and as you are moving into an older age group, you know they are looking for something that's a bit more authentic, they really want to get into the feel, this is an entertainment experience, it's a little bit like saying, "well why don't they make the movies and all use pink guns in the movies?" ...

"Hey man! I am so taken aback - right? Like, I have had to have a cup of chamomile tea and an alfalfa and tofu sandwich you brutes!"

The crisis surrounding the entry of genetically engineered chicken feed into Australia is mounting.

Coles, Australia’s second largest retailer, has confirmed that it currently stocks chickens that have been fed GE soy. When Greenpeace tried to pressure Coles to fix the problem, the company originally reported that they would do nothing about it and would continue to sell GE chicken meat. That was before Coles heard from you, the True Food Network.

In response to complaints from the True Food Network, Coles has agreed to meet with its two biggest poultry suppliers to negotiate a move to non-GE poultry feed. This is therefore a crucial time for the True Food Network to contact Coles and tell them not to 'chicken-out' when it comes to offering customers non-GE chicken.

For a start, Coles needs to hear that the claims it made in its response to questions from the True Food Network are incorrect. In this reply, which True Food Network members received at the end of July, Coles states that its two biggest suppliers of chicken have assured them that their product is 'GE Free'. This is misleading, as Coles was aware at the time that their suppliers used GE-feed, and that following a landmark ACCC decision in 2004, it is illegal in Australia for chicken companies to label their chickens 'GE Free' if they have been fed GE feed. ...

Australia To Have World's Most Powerful, High-Speed Censorship

The AKF has now written to approximately 400 new candidates for the Federal election asking for their commitment to protect the koalas in their electorate should they win in two weeks time. We have received letters from both the Labor Party and the Coalition with their comments.

By and large it seems to me neither side are prepared to say "I will list the koala as vulnerable under the EPBC Act if my party is elected to govern Australia". Pretty much we have given both sides 2/5 for their responses.

The Shadow Minister Mr Greg Hunt has said the Coalition will review the listing process in six months if they are elected and, as we know, Minister Garrett has said he will make the decision by September 30th once his TSSC (Threatened Species Scientific Committee – which meets on 25th August) advises him of their opinion on the plight of the koala.

All Green candidates have said they support all five questions we asked them.

Senator Bob Brown has also said that should they gain the balance of power in the Senate, they will call for, and probably achieve, a Senate Inquiry into why the koala has not been protected. Honestly, this is the only thing I think will change things and I long for such an Inquiry. I am so tired of having to listen to endless stories of koala habitats that have been illegally or negligently knocked down by local and state governments. I hear this in every part of the country. You have been reading about this for years now and I believe it is time for you, the world public who love the koala, to really hear how bad things are in the developments around our country. ...

Upcoming Events As Mentioned In The Mount Coot-tha Branch Of The QLD Greens August Newsletter

Ryan Candidates Forum - ACF, QCC, WWF and Get Up!
Come and hear Sandra Bayley, Greens candidate for Ryan, presenting on policy issues nominated by the organisers at this public forum.
Date: Thursday, August 12
Location: Peter Doherty Theatre, Indooroopilly State High School, 107 Ward St., Indooroopilly
Time: 6:30 to 8:00pm

ECCQ Election Forum | The Australian Greens
Date: Thursday, August 12
Location: Colossus Hall, Jane Street in West End
Time: 6pm

The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, peak body for the multicultural sector in Queensland.

QUEER THE VOTE! LGBT Federal Election Forum
Date: Friday, August 13

Location: Sportsmans Hotel Spring Hill
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Candidate Forum Brisbane ACF, WWF, QCC
Come and hear Andrew Bartlett, Greens candidate for Brisbane, presenting on climate change, sustainability and the environment at this public forum
Date: Tuesday, August 17
Location: Bleeding Heart Gallery, 166 Ann St. Brisbane CBD.
Time: 5.30 to 6pm

... When it was over Arabanoo went away by himself. He was as much alone as he was ever allowed to be. The guard detailed to attend him stood at a little distance, conversing with another man, glancing only occasionally at his charge - a grotesque figure in his ill-fitting European clothes and his bare feet, wearing a fetter on his ankle, and sitting on a rock by the water's edge wrestling with an overwhelming sense of shame and despair.

These were two emotions so foreign to him, and so agonising, that he wondered if he would, perhaps, die of them. Such a feeling in one's breast must be almost a death. And yet his body lived and moved, his breath came smoothly, he could feel the damp sand cool beneath his feet. He had seen blood and pain. That was nothing - nothing at all. His own people in their rites of initiation suffered far greater physical pain, shed far more blood. It was part of the lot of mankind and womankind that such things should be endured stoically, the spirit dominating the quailing flesh.

He squatted on his rock, rubbing his hands backward and forward along the coarse cloth of his trousers, his dark eyes tixed and opaque with the intensity of his thoughts. He had seen pain and blood, but it was not that which had aroused his every nerve to an agony of horror. It was that a man should be helpless while he suffered - that he should be bound, gagged, held up to contempt, humiliated in the eyes of his whole tribe. It was not that pain should be inflicted on him, but that it should be inflicted on him against his will; it was that he should struggle, and beseech, and beg for mercy ...

Arabanoo lifted his head slowly and looked round at the cove and the settlement, now sinking into dusk. His eyes had a searching, puzzled look. His land had not seen such things before. In his closeness to it he seemed to feel its aloof untouchability, and he made, for the first time in his life, a conscious effort to join its spirit with is own, and share its inviolability.

This feeling of death within him. He had been shamed because he was a man and had seen another man suffering indignity. He had protested; he had cried out in horror. What did it matter what they had done? If they had attacked his tribe were not its menfolk warriors who could avenge themselves? Could not the Bereewolgal see that this was an evil magic which they were spinning about themselves? Could they not see that for one man to shame another destroys them both? Let them release these men - let his own people meet them in battle. ...

But it was no use. They had not seemed to understand. They had stood quite calmly, watching. Could it be that they were ...?

Arabanoo jerked his head round like an animal cornered. The whites of his eyes shone in the twilight. For he, who had witnessed this thing only once, had the feeling of death in his heart. Could it be that they, who had witnessed it so often, were indeed not dying, but already dead within? Were they evil spirits - mawn - inhuman beings wearing the guise of humanity? Did this not explain everything - their weapons which could slay without touching, their miraculous power over fire, the superhuman skill of their carrahdy, the strange wickedness which one could feel in them ...?

Ah, but it was not only wickedness. He sighed, tormented by the confusion of his thoughts; for he had felt goodness in them, too. Not only he, but his fellow-countrymen had felt the goodness in the Be-anga, the close firm bond of their common humanity. In many of the others he had felt it also - kindness, generosity, even sometimes the blessed spark of gaiety which was so precious to his people. And he had played with their children, fondled them, told them the tales which his own children loved to hear, joined in their games which his own children also played. ...

No, they were men; but men terribly beset by an evil magic of unhappiness. Men without peace, men without serenity. Men without a Law. Bereewolgal, indeed, Arabanoo thought sadly, drawing marks in the wet sand with his toe, men come from afar, through strange torments of the spirit from some very, very distant time when they had been light-hearted like his own people. Yapallun! Yapallun! Bereewolgal! Men come from afar! ...

... Needless to say, if you’re speculating on food commodities like wheat, whether it be through Commodity ETF's or elsewhere, and you fancy yourself to be a Capitalist of Chaos, what's not to like about failed crops and rising price uncertainties? You can corner markets, the way cocoa honcho Anthony Ward has, you can sell derivative instruments to pension- and market fund managers chasing yield without sufficient savvy, and at the end of the day, you can be filthy rich. Just don’t feel too bad about the hungry, starving and dying, or about those who see their pensions and other savings vanish. Hey, if you didn't do it, someone else would, right?

The biggest irony in all of it, of course, remains that the biggest players in these ultimate dog eat dog Darwinian capitalist schemes use US and EU taxpayer money to play the games. They wouldn't be here anymore, sitting at their crap tables, if you wouldn't have handed them the money to play their ultimate to-the-death fighting games with.

If nothing else, it seems to be a fitting end to yet another economic system doomed by a lack of morals.
...

Remember How Peter Beattie Sold Off Golden Casket?

“Queensland is like a beautiful girl with lots of money. But stupid. For some reason she just loves to open her purse and bare her big pink arse to the world and say 'Fuck me over, please' to all comers. And trust me, the fuckers come running.”

Andrew McGahan, 'Last Drinks' [2000]

Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the State Government welcomed Tabcorp’s proposal to look at investment options at its Queensland properties.

“This is a massive proposal – and one that obviously has many issues to consider,” said Mr Fraser.

“Obviously I welcome Tabcorp’s confidence in the Queensland economy and its future. This project has the potential to deliver jobs and a boost to our economy.

“The project has the exciting potential to provide a welcome boost to the tourism infrastructure on the Gold Coast and a new 5 star hotel in Brisbane’s CBD, as well as a refurbishment at the company’s Townsville property.”

Mr Fraser said Tabcorp advised the Government in the last month that it would be looking to provide a formal submission about investment plans at its Queensland properties.

“The government looks forward to receiving a detailed submission regarding Tabcorp’s investment proposals.

“We will be considering the proposal in the context of our strong policy commitments on gambling regulation and the recently released Productivity Commission report on gambling.”

Tourism Minister and Gold Coast MP Peter Lawlor said he welcomed the potential for the Gold Coast tourism industry to benefit.

“Clearly this project can deliver jobs and new tourism opportunities on the Gold Coast. It deserves our close attention – and we will give it,” said Mr Lawlor.

Mr Fraser said the government’s consideration of the proposal would be overseen by an independent probity auditor.

Sorting Out The Parties In The Federal Election

Federation has analysed the major political parties' education policies available to date for the August 21 Federal Election. Of course, more policies may be announced as the election campaign proceeds.

While Labor and the Coalition continue to converge at the market-based, choice and competition end of the education policy spectrum, the Greens again stand out for their advocacy for a well-funded public education system as the foundation of Australian society. ...

"Punish jaywalkers" ['Courier-Mail' editorial 12/9/08]

"Lord Mayor Campbell Newman reckons lowering the speed limit in the Brisbane central business district may be the key to lowering the toll of pedestrians hit by cars. It is an odd proposal, given he acknowledges the "overwhelming" number of accidents involve jaywalkers and pedestrians crossing against red signals. It is also debatable if cars in traffic-jammed Brisbane central can reach 40km/h. Surely the Lord Mayor would find a better solution by moving to penalise the jaywalkers--and by regulating crossing troublespots such as the one in front of the GPO, where people wander across like Brown's cows."

The Queensland Party embarks on first major policy platform.

Today, Leader of The Queensland Party, Aidan McLindon, will be posting a draft model of an Upper House to all 73 Queensland Mayors and the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) for consultation.

The draft model would consist of 45 Queensland Mayors who would establish an Upper House which was abolished in 1922 against the will of the Queensland people after a referendum overwhelmingly supported its crucial role in the Parliament.

“This is a unique model which would produce enormous savings whilst actually creating a real checkpoint of accountability into the Queensland Parliament. All this without the need for any extra politicians as well as giving a voice to the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples – everybody wins” Mr McLindon said.

36 of the largest local councils would be permanent members of the Upper House

36 of the smallest local councils would rotate 9 of the 45 Upper House seats annually.

The Lord Mayor of Brisbane would assume the role of Speaker of the House.

Only legislation that is divided on in the lower house would be referred to the Upper House for further debate which would ultimately trigger amendments should the bill fail to pass by a majority in the Upper House.

The Upper House would sit ten times per annum excluding December and January.

“This model would allow each of the 73 Mayors to participate in the functions of the Upper House at some stage in their four year term to ensure a less political, broader voice of Queensland has a seat at the table in George Street” Mr McLindon said.

“Mayors need a greater role in the public policy process and all Queensland communities need greater representation – this is the only way we are going to get Queensland back on track”.

“This will also open up genuine communication between the state government and all 73 local governments and put a halt to the buck passing and constant undermining of local councils”.

“I look forward to the input from the LGAQ and Queensland’s 73 Mayors so we can prepare a final model for public scrutiny before The Queensland Party can take it to the next State Election as a major policy platform”.

“We should not sit back and wait for the sale of more state assets, another Traveston Dam scenario or further pain inflicted on local jurisdictions – this model will prevent sloppy legislation making its way into the public arena and rectify a currently flawed parliamentary process”.

Mr CRANDON (Coomera--LNP) (12.30 pm): Regarding Estimates Committee D heard on 16 July chaired by the member for Brisbane Central I intend to make comment on a question asked by the member for Hinchinbrook of the Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs. Before I do I need to give a little bit of background. On 17 November last year I attended the AGM of the Ethnic Community Council of Queensland on behalf of the shadow minister, the member for Hinchinbrook. It was a dark and stormy night and the Premier was guest speaker. Eventually the opportunity came for questions. Towards the end of questions Stefan Armbuster, a journalist with News & Current Affairs SBS Australia, asked the Premier--and I paraphrase--‘Can the Premier explain why there were no multicultural awards this year?’

A little background is needed there, too. There have been multicultural awards every year since 1990. The Premier looked stunned and confused. Imagine what the dark and stormy night was conjuring up in the Premier’s mind. Imagine the scenario: there we are at the AGM of the Ethnic Community Council of Queensland; the Premier has been waxing lyrical for 20 minutes or so about how much the government cares for the broader membership of the ECCQ; there they all were, many of the people who represent the multicultural communities in this state, and they are looking up at the Premier standing on the podium and waiting for her answer to this very important question for the multicultural community. To say the Premier was stunned is an understatement. She looked to the member for Mount Ommaney, who we all know is the parliamentary secretary for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Ryan): Order! Member for Coomera, I have given you a little leeway. The question before the House is whether or not the Estimates Committee D report should be agreed to. I ask you to come back to the question before the House.

Mr CRANDON: Her response was words to the effect that it had already happened. However, what did we find occurred towards the end of proceedings?

Mrs Miller: Does it matter?

Mr CRANDON: Yes, it does, absolutely. If I could be given a little leeway, it does come back to the question.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Coomera, the chair has asked you to come back to the question before the House and I ask you to be relevant in accordance with the standing orders.

Mr CRANDON: Absolutely, thank you. A Mr Hogan was in the room. Mr Hogan is a representative of the minister, and he indicated that in fact there was going to be an announcement regarding the awards for 2009 very shortly. Now let us fast forward to Estimates Committee D. The member for Hinchinbrook as shadow minister put a question to the minister referring to page 322 of the SDS and said that one of the services is the undertaking of the Queensland Multicultural Awards on an annual basis. He noted that on that very day the minister announced that nominations were open for the 2010 multicultural awards for Queensland. Then the shadow minister asked the minister to advise the winners of the 2009 Queensland Multicultural Awards. In part, the minister said we did not actually have the awards last year. Surprise, surprise.

Last November we had a Premier completely gobsmacked by the question from a reporter, we had a parliamentary secretary who thought the awards had been held and we had a deputy director-general from Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs, Michael Hogan, who said--

Premier, there is something in the works and there will be an announcement made soon regarding the multicultural awards.

Ultimately there was no announcement. I would suggest that the deputy director-general knew there would not be. He was getting his bosses off the hook in what was a very sticky position.

Mr Dick: Gotcha! He has got us. Stop the pressure.

Mr CRANDON: That is the attitude of that side of the House. That sort of attitude of ‘gotcha’ is because for 18 years those awards had been given and without a word from the Premier, without a word from the minister, they were cancelled, they were scrubbed out. For 18 years in a row it was policy and 18 years down the track not one word. And what is the attitude of those opposite? Gotcha! Absolutely gotcha because at the end of the day they were not announced because they were never going to happen and those opposite were just sliding it through. But they were caught out yet again. It is quite typical of this organisation. He was getting his bosses off the hook, but do members know what? So what! That is what we have come to expect from this government each and every day.

... Isolating artists and intellectuals, or offering them a choice between frightening, often fatal isolation and fatally compromised incorporation, is an old and sinister theme of history with its nadir in the Soviet Union. Not that the language of management leads by even circuitous roads to the Gulag; but nor does it open the way to all the virtues of an open society. Similarly, dubbing everyone whose reading of history leads them to conclusions different from the preferred ones black-armband historians; channelling frustrations felt by the politically powerless to the politically correct; isolating chattering classes and elites from a pretended mainstream - all these and many terms of political abuse are common and inevitable in democracies - and all have parallels in tyrannies.

Australia is not proto-fascist (even if Norman Mailer insists that our major ally is), but its wise just the same to keep an eye on politicians for signs they are traducing not just opposing politicians, but constituents whose thinking doesn't suit. Watch how, in lieu of actual exile, they are labelled 'illegitimate'. When the words are suspicious, go after them insist they tell us what they mean. Go after the meaning of the words. And if the speakers say they are the kind who call things as they see them, that they don't mince words, and call a spade a spade if not a bloody shovel, go after them even harder. They're often the worst liars of the lot.

We citizens have intuition, natural scepticism and powers of analysis to go on, but we still rely on facts and in the end have to trust our leaders to tell us what is actually the case. Whether it's a lie, a half-truth, a weasel word, a banality, a buzz word or a cliché, if we are misled by it our rights are reduced in proportion. Words are bullets. They are also good for smothering, strangling and poisoning, and for hiding murderous intentions from your victims (and sometimes from yourself). ...

Hon. AP FRASER (Mount Coot-tha--ALP) (Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development) ... Today I can announce that we have attracted one of Canada’s largest listed companies, the resources and energy giant Talisman, to set up its regional headquarters here in Brisbane. The government, together with Brisbane Marketing and Austrade, has attracted this global firm to Queensland. That is three levels of government working together. It is currently recruiting and planning to employ more than 50 new staff by the end of this year.

Talisman operates large oil and gas fields in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, and Talisman will now base its Australasian headquarters at the AMP tower in Brisbane. Brisbane is the perfect location for Talisman to oversee its expanding portfolio that now includes gas fields in the western province of Papua New Guinea and other assets here in Australia. Talisman will provide a wide range of support services to the company’s PNG and Australian operations from its new Brisbane headquarters. This underscores our reputation as a hub for international operations looking to get a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region.

This coup did not happen through our actions alone. It occurred through a strong partnership with Brisbane Marketing. That is this government’s approach--the policies to attract investment, as our record shows, and a commitment to work with local governments that are willing to invest in their own economies. I welcome Talisman’s investment and its vote of confidence in the state and in our economy. I welcome its commitment to jobs, and perhaps some others should, too.

Mr McLindon, from 6,445 petitioners, requesting the House to amend the 1992 Heritage Act to return the power to the Minister to declare an ‘object’ a heritage place, and use that power to save the Regent Showcase Theatre. ...

Notices of Motion

Parliamentary Process

Mr McLINDON (Beaudesert--Ind) (10.30 am): I give notice that I shall move--

That this House:

Calls on the Premier to abolish the Estimates Committees due to the complete lack of genuine accountability in this expensive process and use the monies saved to fund a feasibility study to determine the best model of an Upper House to be reinstated back into Queensland’s empty red chamber which was dissolved against the wishes of Queenslanders in 1922 in order to bring this great State back into line with the rest of Australia and standard measures of accountability.

ILO Book Sheds Light On Working Conditions In The Remote Work Industry: Media Release [12/7/10]

GENEVA (ILO News) – A new book by the International Labour Organization (ILO) says that “remote work” – the offshoring and outsourcing of business services from developed to developing countries using information and communications technologies – is creating jobs that are of “reasonably good quality by local standards”, but that the industry has some way to go before achieving full decent work.

“Offshoring and Working Conditions in Remote Work” presents the first in-depth study of the workplace in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, which can broadly be divided into “voice” services, such as call/contact centres, and “back office” services, like finance and accounting, data processing and management, and human resource development. ...

Take the pledge.

Say NO to career politicians this election. We urge you to vote for an alternative or new party or an independent, and put the two parties of professional politicians last and second last (whatever order you prefer). We don't mind who you vote for, left or right, green or brown, male or female... Just make sure you place the two parties or career politicians last and second last.

So how do we change our politics?

Here are 7 reforms to tackle the key elements of the malaise in Australian public governance:

Establish the role of a member of parliament as one of service to the community, and not a career, by replacing the existing salary, pension, superannuation, allowances and retirement benefits with a simple Living Allowance of $75,000 per year, plus an Accommodation and Travel Allowance. The Living Allowance of $75,000 would be a fixed amount, without additional remuneration for leadership or ministerial roles.

The purpose of this Living Allowance is to discourage career politicians and encourage limited terms of service from citizens who want to contribute to civil society and the common good. Superannuation benefits would be set at the standard citizen rate (currently 9%) not the current special politician rate of 15%. Parliamentary pensions for life (at $120,000 per annum) for retiring members of parliament should be abolished, along with retirement benefits such as travel passes.

Prohibit a retiring minister of the crown from trading on public information by appointment to a company board or to an advisory or consulting role with governments for a period of 5 years after their retirement.

Prohibit donations from corporate entities to political parties. This would include companies, trade unions, and foundations. Only donations from individuals will be permitted.

Apply the jury system of citizen adjudication to a range of public decisions to ensure non-partisan non-party political decision-making including:

Approval of government advertising;
Scrutiny and right to veto political appointments to diplomatic posts;
Scrutiny and right to veto political appointments to public boards such as the ABC;
Approval of allowances to members of parliament. In these cases, the Australian Electoral Commission would select by lot a jury of 25 people from the Australian Electoral Roll, subject to the same qualifications as currently apply in the use of juries in the legal system.

Support the establishment of an Australian head of state appointed by a jury of 25 citizens selected by lot by the Australian Electoral Commission. The head of state would serve for a period of five years, and must be an Australian citizen. The Australian Electoral Commission would oversee a public nomination process, and present nominations to the citizens' jury.

Remove the fine levied by the Australian Electoral Commission on citizens who are not sufficiently inspired or motivated by candidates and parties for public office to attend a voting place in elections.

Prohibit a member of parliament from retiring in mid-term except for reasons of ill-health. Where a member of parliament retires in mid-term and forces a by-election, the costs of holding the by-election will be met by the retiring member.

These proposals are put forward by the newly formed Parents Families and Carers Party.

Sometimes I Ask Myself, What Makes The Building Sing?

Other times I ask myself: "What the fuck is that?"

Strange pagan structure in the sunset. The Spit [1/8/10]

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