The Real Spooky Stuff

Euan Mearns: But stock markets are booming again, several OECD economies are emerging from recession, unemployment has stabilized, there are green shoots everywhere. Surely the current QE [Quantitative Easing] strategy is working?

Stoneleigh: The green shoots are gangrenous. Some of the largest market rallies on record happened during the course of the Great Depression, as depressions are associated with very high volatility. Look for instance at the great sucker rally of 1930. There are always rallies of all different sizes in any bear market, just as there are pullbacks of all sizes in bull markets. No market ever moves in only one direction.

People tend to extrapolate recent trends forward, but this amounts to stepping on the gas while looking only in the rearview mirror. This is one reason why major trend changes are so rarely anticipated. Another is that the prevailing view of markets is fundamentally wrong. There is no perfect information, perfect competition, stabilizing negative feedback, rational utility maximization or efficient markets.

Markets are irrational, driven by swings of optimism and pessimism, or greed and fear, in an endless tug of war, and largely in an information vacuum. Investors chase momentum by jumping on passing bandwagons, hence demand for financial assets increases when prices are rising and falls when prices are falling, in classic positive feedback loops.

We have just lived through a period of several months when greed and complacency were in the ascendancy, but that trend is about to reverse in my opinion. Looking at markets as constructs of human herding behaviour allows them to be probabilistically predictable, permitting the forecasting of trend changes. For anyone who is interested in pursuing this idea further, I suggest looking into Bob Prechter’s socionomics - a fascinating subject which delves into the many effects of changes in collective mood.

For instance, as pessimism deepens, driving economic contraction, one would expect to see many manifestations of collective anger and mistrust. As this progresses it is likely to lead to xenophobia and a blame-game, with skillful manipulators (such as the fascist BNP leader Nick Griffin in the UK) poised to direct the anger of the herd towards their own chosen targets.

The potential for serious social fragmentation is very high when expectations have been dashed and there is not enough to go around. Having lived through a very long period of manic optimism and increasing inclusion, we in the developed world are not used to expressions of the dark side of human nature, except for entertainment purposes in popular television programmes. It will come as a considerable shock. ...

[With the recent release of his latest novel Primary Instinct, David Reiter sets his sights on Australia's education system and what is as opposed to what might be. This feature is reprinted from the newsletter of the Queensland Teachers' Union.]

Yet another international report shows Australia as a Banana Republic in its poor funding of our schools. The political parties in Queensland suddenly rediscover education as an issue (must be an election in the air). You’ve seen it all before. Reports gather dust on the shelves. Elections come and go and promises are forgotten. The education system continues to erode, with chronic under-funding, rats in the cupboards, asbestos in the sagging ceilings, the lack of specialist support for disadvantaged students, etc., etc.

How many of you have thought about writing an exposé that would change attitudes – or at least cast an angry spotlight on some of those problem areas crying out for reform? Well, someone’s beat you to it. The novel’s called Primary Instinct. It shows life in our schools without a political or PR spin. Set in a fictional school that many will find all too real in its depiction of teachers, students, parents and administrators in trying circumstances.

Author Dr David Reiter taught at universities in Canada and Australia, and was Publishing Manager for the BSSSS, before founding Brisbane publishing house IP. He’s openly critical of our education system. “Not much has changed since the ALP took office,” he says, “except perhaps the rhetoric. Teachers remain a professional underclass, and the work they do is often thankless because many people regard education as nothing more than a ticket to material wealth. Too much time is spent enforcing discipline, completing piles of paperwork in the name of ‘accountability’ and trying to keep up with the latest fads in methodology that are imposed from above.”

But Primary Instinct is not a whinge against the system. It entertains as well as it instructs. The blurb says of the main character Cherry: “You put in the hours, get the degree and hope your first job isn’t a five hour drive west of Blackbutt. Cherry knew it wouldn’t all be long summer breaks and the adoration of grateful parents. But nothing prepared her for the ‘challenges’ of teaching at Bayside State School, not to mention what her colleagues would get up to after school hours.”

The ABC has already expressed interest in a TV series in the mode of the recent BBC series Teachers, and Reiter is determined to write a sequel that would give the TV series as much staying power as Kath & Kim.

A coalition of groups including Greenpeace, the Food Intolerance Network and Friends of the Earth has welcomed the announcement of an independent review into food labelling. The review was announced at the Food Regulation Ministerial Council meeting in Brisbane last Friday. The groups say Australian food labelling is much weaker than in European countries and that consumers have a right to meaningful information about the foods they are eating.

Take Action: make a submission to the review

Alarmingly, the Government is only allowing four weeks for public submissions. If you want better food labelling, you can email a personal submission by November 20th 2009 to FoodLabellingReview@health.gov.au. The review will be chaired by former Federal Health Minister Neal Blewett and its terms of reference can be found here. Your submission does not have to be long – a few sentences will do. Here are some possible points you could include:

The Federal Government has still to implement the ALP policy supporting the comprehensive labelling of GE food.
The labelling of GE food in Australia is extremely limited and excludes some of the most basic and universally used ingredients. Under Australian labelling laws, only foods where GE proteins or DNA can be detected need to be labelled. Highly processed products, such GE canola oil and products from animals fed GE feed, escape labelling.
Independent polling last year shows that 90% of all Australians want all GE derived foods labelled and that the majority of consumers are less likely to buy food they know contains GE ingredients.
Consumers want GE foods labelled for a range of environmental, health and ethical reasons and should have the right to avoid GE food if they want to.
In Europe, all GE food and feed ingredients, including highly processed derivatives such as sugar, refined oil and starch must now be labelled. The European labelling regime resulted in only a negligible cost increase for industry and no additional costs for consumers. There is no reason why Australia can’t adopt the same standards.

For more information on the need for comprehensive GE labelling see our Eating in the Dark report.

It's time for better labelling

Consumers in Europe are provided with easy to understand front of pack nutritional labelling and are told whether their food contains additives or products derived from genetically engineered crops. The European Parliament has backed the mandatory labelling of all food derived from nanotechnology. Meanwhile Australian consumers are left effectively eating in the dark.

A Newspoll survey last year showed that 90 per cent of Australians want all ingredients derived from genetically engineered crops to be labelled. Yet the vast majority of GE ingredients are currently exempt from labelling. Consumers have a fundamental right to know what is in their food and how it is produced.

Georgia Miller from Friends of the Earth, who is campaigning for the comprehensive labelling of foods containing manufactured nanoparticles, says, "Our current labelling laws are inadequate and do not give consumers the information they need to make informed choices about the food they eat."

Dr Howard Dengate from the Food Intolerance Network says Australian consumers should enjoy the same protection as consumers in the European Union. "All food additives and active ingredients should be clearly labelled. Artificial food colourings that may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children should carry the same mandatory warnings as the EU."

Individuals and organizations have less than a month to send in their submissions to the review. Given the importance and complexities of the issues involved, the groups believe that the one month public submission period should be extended. Consumers have waited a long time for the opportunity to input into such a review, and one month doesn’t allow full community participation.

...There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example - where had they gone? Many people spoke of them, puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund; they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of oter bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.

On the farms the hens brooded, but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs - the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms, so there was no pollination and there would be no fruit.

The roadsides, once so attractive, were now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire. These, too, were silent, deserted by all living things. Even the streams were no lifeless. Anglers no longer visited them, for all the fish had died.

In the gutters under the eaves and between the shingles of the roofs, a whilte granular powder still showed a few patches; some weeks before it had fallen like snow upon the roofs and the lawns, the fields nd streams. No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves. ...

Dear friend,

Time is running out to pressure Australia's Environment Ministers to finally establish a national recycling scheme for drink bottles and containers.

We need your help to put the issue on the agenda of a crucial meeting of the state and federal environment ministers being held in Perth next week.

Send the environment ministers a message in a bottle about a national recycling scheme

As you know the Greens have long called for a 10 cent levy on all recyclable containers, and a recent poll showed 90% of Australians want this scheme. We've also got the backing of major industry players including Alcoa, Sita Environmental Solutions, Revive Recycling and Eco-Waste.

Please help us get this message through to the Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett and the Environment Minister in your state. We'll plac e your message in a recycled plastic bottle, and deliver them personally to the meeting at the Hyatt Hotel in Perth next week.

Make your voice heard on a national container deposit scheme

Australians use and throw away about 11 billion drink containers a year, so a national recycling scheme would significantly reduce waste.

A national scheme will also cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a million tonnes a year, save enough water to supply more than 30,000 Australian homes and create 1000 direct jobs in a sustainable industry.

Together we can make this difference - we just need to get the message to the ministers.

Thank you
Scott Ludlam
Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia

"... What have we done to the world?
Look what we've done.
What about all the peace,
That you pledge your only son?
What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice,
This crying Earth its weeping shores? ..."

'Earth Song', Michael Jackson [1995]

There has been a surprise change in Queensland's Budget position, with the 2008-09 year ending in surplus.

The State Government had been predicting that last financial year would end with a $574 million deficit.

But Treasurer Andrew Fraser has told Parliament the surplus is $35 million.

He says that is mainly because of some technical additions to the bottom line and has not been driven by a sudden turnaround in revenue. ...

Culture

Hear the word culture and reach for your gun.

GREG WINN (COO of Telstra): We're not running a democracy. We don't manage by consensus. We're criticised for it but the fact of the matter is we run an absolute dictatorship and that's what's going to drive this transformation and deliver results. It's a cultural issue. If you can't get the people to go there, and you try once and you try twice, which is sometimes hard for me but I do believe in a second chance, then you just shoot 'em and get them out of the way you know and put people in that you can teach the new business process to and drive on.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Poor adherence

DEBBIE NASH (former Telstra call centre consultant): Adherence is a schedule. You have to be on time, you have to go on breaks where they have set a break for you, and if you're on a phone call with a customer, that can affect your adherence adversely, and you can be, you know, penalised at the end of the month for that, for having poor adherence.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Help me understand - or will Boris break your legs?

JOHN ROLLAND (Telstra customer sales and service executive): What it was setting out to achieve was to let leaders understand the impact they have on others, particularly the people that are reporting to them; and how they needed to respond in their role as coaches and as leaders.

'JANELLE' (former Telstra call centre team leader): You would be very direct with them, like, 'Help me understand what you're going to do to meet your targets by the end of the month.'

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Is that a particular phrase?

JANELLE: 'Help me understand' was a very popular phrase, very popular.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Performance improvement path

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Tell me about the bottom line.

JANELLE: Well, the bottom line is this, Quentin: you either pass your scorecard or you or we go onto the performance improvement path - that's the bottom line.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: It's essentially a disciplinary process, isn't it?

JOHN ROLLAND: No, it's an improvement process to help them get the skills they need to achieve at their job.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Balanced scorecard

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: What happens if they don't achieve the targets?

JOHN ROLLAND: We continue to work with them.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: And what happens after that?

JOHN ROLLAND: If a person who joins us over time is not able to achieve the balanced scorecard that we've got - and it's not just about sales; it's about customer service and other issues - then we will have a discussion about them finding other opportunities outside Telstra.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Eliminate dragons

JOHN ROLLAND: Dragons, in particular, are the things that hold us back from achieving what we want to achieve as leaders.

JANELLE: If I was looking at putting someone onto a Performance Improvement Plan, the dragon for me would be the union delegate.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Ditto submarines

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Submarines, tell me about submarines.

JANELLE: Well, if you've got a group of twelve people in a team, you don't want anyone flying under the radar and not performing, you don't want those submarines.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

And all negative behaviour

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: There's another extraordinary term isn't there - savages?

JANELLE: Yeah ... You can have savages in your team, and they were actually referred to as people that have got negative, perceived to have negative behaviour that doesn't benefit the team, so they're a savage.

JOHN ROLLAND: The call centre business is not for everybody and we respect people's choices if they no longer find that work compelling, to make the choice to leave, and Sally made that choice.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Sally Sandic left Telstra at the end of December. Less than four weeks later, she committed suicide.

Four Corners, ABC TV, 18 June 2007

Mrs ELIZABETH GRACE (Lilley) (12.56 p.m.)-I am pleased to participate in this debate on these appropriation bills. Today I am not trying to save the whale, the rhino or the mahogany glider but trying to save a sediment dwelling organism in the world heritage area listed under the Ramsar Convention, and that is the Boondall Wetlands Reserve. Without these organisms, the Boondall Wetlands Reserve will cease to exist. This would be devastating because local residents have invested so much time, effort and money into saving the wetlands from developers in 1990 for it to be a heritage for our future. Measuring half a millimetre, these sediment dwelling organisms are fundamental in the marine food chain that supports life in the Boondall Wetlands.

The wetlands has an area of 1,245 hectares, and is a valuable resting and feeding site for migratory birds from as far away as Siberia, China, Japan, Mongolia and Alaska. The reserve has also been identified as an extremely important breeding ground for juvenile fish, crabs and prawns. The Boondall Wetlands was the focus of the 1996 Ramsar International Convention, and it has the potential to become a major regional centre for conservation, environmental education and outdoor family recreation. Scientists became concerned about the decimation of the sediment dwelling organisms in the Wetlands in 1995, when a large proportion of small animals living in the sediments disappeared. Those which have recolonised in the area have also disappeared before they have reached maturity.

In October 1995 a detailed environmental study of the Kedron Brook estuary, one of the four estuaries feeding into the Boondall Wetlands Reserve, found that there had been such a dramatic decline in numbers across almost the entire range of sediment dwelling organisms and that the estuary was in fact dead. Subsequent studies last year revealed that there had been a similar catastrophic decline among the organisms along the foreshores of the reserve. This decline repeated itself in the winter and spring of this year. If these sediment dwelling organisms are not revived, juvenile and adult fish will be deprived of major food sources, which will impact on the commercial and recreation fishing industry; the habitat of the mud crab, the sand crab and prawns will cease to exist, again affecting commercial fishing; and the food stocks for water birds will be reduced. Research of bird populations in the Boondall Wetlands Reserve has revealed a major decline in migratory birds feeding on the mudflats as a direct result of the dramatic decline in abundance of their food sources. The evidence suggests we may be dealing with more than a normal pollution problem, as typified by many Australian urban estuaries.

In other estuaries, a range of species recognised as pollution tolerant are normally present, some in large numbers. Ecologist Sue Quinnell recorded 50 species of larger, conspicuous invertebrates along the mudflats of the Boondall Wetlands late in 1994 and up to mid-1995. Today, at least 75 per cent of all these species have been lost and have not been replaced by other species. What is causing the disappearance of these sediment dwelling organisms? The Boondall Wetlands has for a long time been a hot spot for receipt of pollutants, but even in the 1970s when the area was polluted by raw sewage, research showed it to be a biologically rich estuarine area.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society suggests that the ecological problems at the Boondall Wetlands may be caused by a very toxic chemical contaminant in the sediments, possibly a pyrethroid. This has serious implications for the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem and will have a major effect on the internationally significant migratory bird population. In addition, many seafood species are dependent on the sediment dwelling invertebrates. Quite clearly, a broader concern about the implications of the marine food web in the whole of Moreton Bay is properly justified. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Senator Ian Macdonald, accompanied me on a tour of the Boondall Wetlands to listen to what the scientific community and local residents thought. We were able to give an undertaking to support the Australian Marine Conservation Society's proposal to investigate the collapse of the ecosystem. The study will be undertaken in partnership between the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Centre for Environmental Risk Management and Policy from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at Griffith University. The aim of the study will be to determine the cause or causes of the decline of sediment dwelling invertebrates at the Boondall Wetlands Reserve. Based on current evidence, the scientists will start with a hypothesis that the dramatic decline in sediment living organisms is due to the introduction of the use of a chemical, bifenthrin, in July 1995.

Bifenthrin can be purchased through any supermarket, hardware shop or plant nursery. It is mainly used for the treatment of termites. Most builders spray the ground with bifenthrin before they lay the concrete slab of a new home. If bifenthrin is the culprit, then the collapse of the ecosystem at the Boondall Wetlands may not be an isolated event. Rivers and estuaries in all parts of Australia might be affected. This is disturbing news. If this or a similar chemical compound is identified this will be of national and possibly international significance. If it is found to be a chemical compound, a review of Australia's hazardous chemicals management procedures will have to be considered both by industry and government. As one of the driest nations on earth, Australia relies heavily on the wise use of our waterways which in turn feed into our wetlands.

Our wetlands are tremendously important for both Australian culture and industry. A wetlands conservation plan sponsored by the Mountains to Mangroves Catchment Management Committee and Nudgee College will work towards the preservation of the land. Together they put a submission to the Brisbane City Council and now have a voluntary conservation agreement in place. The land under agreement is a further 27 hectares at Nudgee College that adjoins the Boondall Wetlands Reserve. It will not be developed and Nudgee College will develop an ecosystem on the school campus which will be used to educate its environmental science students. ..

More On Bifenthrin

...The code recommends advertisers, the media and fashion designers disclose digitally manipulated images and use models 16 years and older within a healthy weight range.

It also encourages the industry to use a more diverse range of body shapes, sizes and ethnicities. ...

The fumigant used in 1979 and until 2006 was Methyl Bromide. Now we use "Profume" sulfuryl fluoride.

Below is a list of 'public' buildings fumigated.

Rosalie The Lodge Fernberg Rd Jul-78
City Curators Cottage Botanic Gardens May-79
City Potting Shed Botanic Gardens May-79
City Mansions George St May-79
City Old Govt. House George St May-79
City Old Machinery Bldg George St, 60 May-79
City Parliament House George St Jun-79
City QIT Blocks G, H, J George St Jun-79
City QIT Blocks A, D, E, K, R, W George St Jul-79
City Enthetic Diseases Bldg William St Aug-79
City Govt. Chem. Lab. D.P.I. William St Aug-79
City QIT Blocks B, C, F George St Aug-79
City Korboots Bldg George St, 100 Sep-79

... In a human mortality study, a higher incidence of death from testicular cancer was identified in men occupationally exposed to methyl bromide. However, methyl bromide could not be established as the causative agent because the individuals in the study were exposed to a wide variety of brominated chemicals.
There was no evidence of carcinogenic activity in mice in a National Toxicology Program (NTP) chronic inhalation study.
EPA has classified methyl bromide as a Group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity, based on inadequate human and animal data. ...

University of California at Irvine researchers have discovered that sulfuryl fluoride, an insecticide widely used to fumigate termite-infested homes and buildings, stays in the atmosphere at least 30-40 years and perhaps as long as 100 years and is about 4,000 times more efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping heat, though much less of it exists in the atmosphere. This raises concerns as levels have nearly doubled in just the last six years. Prior studies estimated its atmospheric lifetime at as low as five years, grossly underestimating the global warming potential. ...

June 1940: the HMT Dunera leaves Liverpool docks crammed with over 2,500 German, Austrian and Italian internees, supposedly heading for Canada. Eight weeks later the steamship sails under Sydney Harbour Bridge. The official files about the voyage are sealed till 2040. Now, over sixty years later, the last survivors of the “Dunera Scandal” tell their story.

August 2001: Australian Special Forces board a Norwegian freighter to prevent it from landing on an island some 2000 kilometres north-west of Perth. The 438 mostly Afghan men, women and children rescued from a sinking ferry huddle on the deck of the MV Tampa and wait as the governments of Norway, Indonesia, Australia and the UN argue about who is to take them. Two weeks later the asylum-seekers are deposited on the even more remote island state of Nauru. It’s the start of Prime Minister John Howard’s so-called “Pacific solution”.

Friends, enemies, aliens - is it possible to be all three at once? Jewish refugees flee Hitler at the outbreak of the war and are given asylum in England, to be interned as suspected fifth columnists, shipped off to Australia to endure months behind barbed wire deep in the outback. To suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, as Hamlet said. The genre here is tragicomedy: our protagonists endure a series of cruel injustices but survive the humiliations and absurd mishaps to experience a kind of Happy End.

A strange quirk of history, a one-off? Maybe. The differences between a group of mostly well-educated Middle Europeans and a persecuted ethnic minority from Afghanistan are only too apparent; the Dunera story came to its conclusion long ago, whereas the Hazaras’ status is still in question. There are villains and good guys in Friendly Enemy Alien, but as the title suggests, it’s really a tale of shifting identities. The “fifth columnist” or the suspected terrorist: such labels have particular resonance in times of insecurity. The refugee, the unwanted outsider, presents a useful screen upon which to project all sorts of fears, some justified, others not. Anyone could have pretended to be a refugee in order to gain entry to Britain or Australia.

In “L'Empire des Lumières” Magritte imagined the simultaneous coexistence of day and night. Sadness and happiness co-exist in Friendly Enemy Alien, where the twin voyages are not only journeys through space, but travel through time, that is to say: in memory.

BEST DOCUMENTARY - NEW BERLIN FILM AWARD 2006

Labor Dishonours Socialist International Agreement :
News From The Free Australia Party

According to the ALP website, “The Australian Labor Party maintains formal links with fraternal parties overseas through ongoing membership of the Socialist International association.”

Why it continues to maintain full fee paying membership of the Socialist International association given its current agenda of dismantling democracy in order to implement draconian laws is a question begging an answer. One has to wonder if the Ethics Committee of this association is aware of the actions of one of their full member parties, and if they were, would they continue to support said membership; or would they propose sanctions to the leading organs of the Socialist International as is their mandate in such cases.

Under sections 5.1 – 3 of the Statutes of the Socialist International association a decision to expel a rogue party or organisation from membership can be taken by the Congress if a majority of two-thirds of member parties voted for that to occur. It appears that parties, countries, and associations, which do not agree to adhere to the clearly stated principles of the Socialist International association, would a) not be supported to become party members, or b) if they were members, an expulsion would be justified.

The Socialist International association appears to have an admirable set of principles they set forth as an agenda for their fee paying party members to follow. The below quotation, taken from their Ethical Charter, using principles “adopted at the XXII Congress of the Socialist International, São Paulo”, has a affirmation party members agree to uphold and promote for acceptance into the association of the Socialist International.

This affirmation states:

"We, member parties of the Socialist International, reaffirm our total commitment to the values of equality, freedom, justice, solidarity and peace which are the foundation of democratic socialism. We solemnly undertake to respect, defend and promote those values in the spirit of the fundamental declarations and campaigns of the Socialist International"

Their Ethical Charter points out that member parties will follow strictly certain principles to defend pluralistic democracy, of which, a respect of the rights of minorities and individuals; and an independent and impartial judicial system based on the law are identified as essential to the fulfilment of this charter. Seeing that the SA Labor Government, under Rann, and now Rudd, is busily implementing laws which seriously undermine the rights of individuals, and which call into question the ongoing existence of an independent and impartial judicial system, it is increasingly apparent that this government is only rendering lip service to the ideals of the Socialist International association.

The Ethical Charter of which the Labor Government is a fee paying full member goes on to state it is their responsibility to:

"Guarantee, under all circumstances, the respect of human dignity and to act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the other important conventions adopted by the United Nations and its institutions.

To respect and reinforce the fundamental human rights, be they individual rights (respect of private life, freedom of thought, belief, education, sexual orientation and right to equal treatment etc.), social rights (freedom of trade unions, right to strike, social protection etc.) or political rights (freedom of association, universal vote).

To fight against all ultra nationalist, fundamentalist, xenophobic and racist trends and to refrain from all forms of political alliance or co-operation, at any level, with any political party inciting or trying to inflame prejudices, ethnic or racial hatred.

To reject and resolutely oppose any drift to authoritarianism as well as any political system which allows or practises the violation of human rights to conquer or impose its power (political assassination, torture, arbitrary detention, press censorship, banning or repression of peaceful demonstrations, etc)."

By implementing the Serious Organised Crime Control Act (S.O.C.C.A) the Labor government is not acting “in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, they are not showing a “respect of private life”; and because of passing laws which state that the prosecution do not have to prove their case when attempting to sentence an individual to a long term jail sentence they are not providing a “right to equal treatment” before law.

By the Attorney General Michael Atkinson calling a small country newspaper and berating them for not writing an article in the way that he wanted it written, so that the F.R.E.E AUSTRALIA PARTY would be portrayed in a negative light, he was engaging in press censorship as he and others within the Labor party drift into an authoritarian model of governance.

The F.R.E.E AUSTRALIA PARTY stands opposed to authoritarian governance and calls for an Independent Commission Against Corruption (I.C.A.C) to be given the highest priority at this time. The F.R.E.E AUSTRALIA PARTY asks for the Ethics committee of the Socialist International association to examine the actions of one its party members and to act accordingly.

Written by Craig Hendry
Policy Coordinator - F.R.E.E AUSTRALIA PARTY

Federal and state subsidies for wealthy private schools are freeing up income from fees and donations to allow Sydney's affluent institutions to buy up land and expand into their neighbourhoods, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Commenting on the story in today's Sydney Morning Herald ('Elite schools splash out on property deals'), Dr Kaye said:

"This year the sixty one wealthiest schools in NSW will receive more than $193.4 million in federal and state 'recurrent assistance' grants.

"Schools like Shore in North Sydney, PLC in Croydon, Scots in Bellevue Hill and Newington College in Stanmore have exploited this massive financial boost to buy up land and expand into their host communities.

"Residential neighbourhoods are being destroyed by silver-spoon institutions cashed up with public money.

"The Rees and Rudd governments are funding an arms race between the wealthiest private schools.

"The competition to grab more land and build more facilities has become intense.

"Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard claims that this grant money is supposed to help pay for the on-going operations of the schools.

"This is nonsense. The Deputy Prime Minster and her state colleague Verity Firth know that state and federal funding frees up income from fees and donations to spend on new land acquisitions and building projects.

"Public funding of affluent private schools is destroying neighbourhoods and heritage.

"Taxpayers money is being used to create a more divided society," Dr Kaye said.

The SMH story is available at: http://tinyurl.com/smh091024

In light of growing concern about the conditions which asylum seekers wanting to come to Australia will face in Indonesian detention camps, the Prime Minister should seek assurances from Jakarta that clear humanitarian ground rules are established.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said:

"Besides our legal requirement to abide by international humanitarian laws, Australian Government policy towards asylum seekers should reflect our compassionate and 'fair-go' society. This nation has taken aboard many thousands of refugees in recent decades and these thousands have enriched our society in return."

Immigration spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson Young said:

"At the top of the Prime Minister's list should be for Indonesia to sign the UN Refugee Convention. We need to go beyond an agreement on where and how asylum seekers are detained."

"Kevin Rudd must seek assurances that children and families will not be imprisoned and that the refugee claims are processed in a fair and timely manner. The Prime Minister must also consider an increase in the humanitarian intake in order to help resettle these refugees," Senator Hanson-Young said.

New Water Business For Five SEQ Councils: Media Statement [23/10/09]

An agreement between five South East Queensland Mayors will change the face of water and wastewater service delivery for more than 1.3 million people when Queensland Urban Utilities opens for business.

The agreement means residents in the Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset local authority areas will all be served by a single, jointly owned water retail and distribution business from July next year.

Brisbane City Council's water distribution and retail business units will be the first to operate under the Queensland Urban Utilities name, from November 2009. Brisbane ratepayers will no longer pay for water and wastewater services as part of their Brisbane City Council rate notice. From January, customers will receive a separate water bill from Queensland Urban Utilities.

Residents of the Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset council areas can continue to contact their local council about water and wastewater services until July 2010.

At this date, Queensland Urban Utilities will become a statutory authority supplying residents in the five council areas with their water and wastewater services.

The new water business is being established in response to the State Government's restructure of the South East Queensland water industry.

Queensland Urban Utilities will:

o buy water from the State Government-owned SEQ Water Grid Manager and
deliver it to more than 1.3 million residents
o collect, treat and dispose of sewage
o manage and maintain $4.4 billion of infrastructure and assets, including water
supply mains and sewer networks
o operate water and sewage pumping stations
o provide a specialised recycled water service to a number of businesses
o manage and issue accounts for household and commercial water and
sewerage services and trade waste disposal.

Residents in each council area will receive information about the new water business and what it means for them.

A refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…"

Article 1, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

The most important parts of the refugee definition are:

Refugees have to be outside their country of origin;
The reason for their flight has to be a fear of persecution;
The fear of persecution has to be well-founded
The persecution has to result from one or more of the 5 grounds listed in the definition, that is race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion;
They have to be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country.

Where Is The Minister?

Minyon Falls is located within the traditional lands of the Widjabul clan of the Bundjalung Nation. Evidence from recorded sites suggests Aboriginal usage of the Nightcap Range for at least the past 4000 years. The area is of major significance to the local Aboriginal people and is respected for its rich tradition and value. Minyon Falls are part of a greater cultural landscape that includes other major landscapes, such as Mt Warning (Wollumbin) and The Pinnacle, which is in the Border Ranges.

Rous Water is undertaking work to upgrade the embankment of Rocky Creek Dam so that it meets current dam safety standards. The work is expected to take 6 months and must be undertaken during the drier months of the year to protect the dam from damage due to flooding. During the construction period the dam and park will be closed to the public, sorry for any inconvenience.

... Someone who appreciates Rocky Creek Dam in Northern NSW is Barbara Jenson, Community Development Officer at Rous Water.

Construction of the Rocky Creek Dam began in 1949, it contains 14,000 megalitres of water when it is full and the dam wall is 27 metres high.

"One feature at the dam is the Platypus walk Djanbung Gurahr. The platypus walk takes about 45 minutes and that goes across the dam wall, then you go over the spillway, through the rainforest and over the floating bridge, she says."

And the highlight for Barbara, "It's very special to stand on the bridge if you can stop wobbling it...if you're really quiet you may even see a platypus."

The Rocky Creek dam has multiple areas where you can spread out your rug, play cricket and cook a BBQ but then there's the small pockets of rainforest for a good poke around to get in touch with our environment. According to Barbara,

"The dam is very well maintained because of Ralph, who is the rainforest regenerator and has been working there for 25 years."

Ralph has plenty of work because Rocky Creek dam is very popular on the North Coast.

Barbara explains, "I can meet 60 kids there from a school, there's mountain bike riding, senior groups enjoy the picnic area and tour buses go through from Byron Bay." ...

... Most parking meters were manufactured in Sydney apart from the German-made Kienzle meter, trialled in the late 1970s and found to be unsuitable for Brisbane conditons. In the early years of parking regulation, meters cost as little as 5 cents for 30 minutes. Today electronic meters accept credit card payments, with charges up to $3.20 per hour for popular areas such as Southbank

In 1964, the State Government commissioned Canadian engineerng firm Wilbur Smith & Associates to analyse the existing and future travel needs of Brisbane. Their Brisbane Transportaton Study released in 1965 recommended 5 new bridges, 130 kms of freeways and 25 kms express ways. The report has had a profound effect on shaping the city, the most obvious being the construction of the Riverside Expressway in 1974.

North - East Anthem
Translated from Tamil by the author

[1]

No longer seen
Nowhere, no longer seen

[2]

The colours in my shirt; no longer seen
Poise in the brim of my lips; no longer seen
Knowledge in my step; no longer seen
Youth that grew along the streams; no longer seen
My wife held against my breast; no longer seen
Daughter who settled on my lap; no longer seen
Peace that lived in the breeze; no longer seen
Plaited palms that platted my home; no longer seen
Mischief of the grove monkeys; no longer seen
Verse to ease the thirst; no longer seen
Daylight that broke the night; no longer seen
Smiles that blossomed in the orchards; no longer seen
Toddlers' broken words, melody of maidens' anklets
December's rain; none - no longer seen
Passage of my path; no longer seen

[3]

Past four days,
Self that was I

No longer seen

DESH BALASUBRAMANIAM

In April/May, a seabird rescue group reported increased mortalities in pied cormorants (Phalacrocorax varius) from the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast. Exact numbers are unknown but there were approx. 20 found at Moreton Bay with further reports of more both to the north and south. Three birds (two juve-niles and one of unknown age) were necropsied and the only consistency was they were all very emaci-ated. Additional findings included heavy burdens of gastric nematodes (n=2); heavy ectoparasite (lice) burdens (n=1); mild haemoprotozoan infection (probably Plasmodium sp. (n=1)), aspergillosis (n=1) & ulcerative oesophagitis (n=1) -possibly acquired whilst in care. Queensland Health is currently looking at sam-ples to check if there is any link with the recent oil spill, however that may have been too long ago and a sea-sonal event is being suspected. "Cormorant May Syn-drome" has been described by wildlife carers as occur-ring at this time each year, affecting principally juvenile pied cormorants, which present with weakness and vague neurological signs. Avian influenza virus and Newcastle Disease virus were excluded ...

A number of bird poisonings have also occurred including three mortality events attributed to Fenthion, one involving rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus), and two events affecting mixed bird species. One case involved more than 50 birds of mixed species and Fenthion was found in high concentrations in a suspect bait material (bread). In addition, there was a poisoning case where bendiocarb, a carbamate pesticide, was identified in mortality of crested pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes).

Avian influenza virus was excluded in all these cases.

New South Wales Two more botulism events con-cerning ducks were reported of parrots, mostly nestlings. Further investigation re-quired but initial reports suggest a virus may be involved.

Western Australia WA reported organophosphate poi-soning (OP) as the cause of death in four bird large mortality events in the Perth metro area. Two events in April involved approximately 100 doves (Columbia livia) and the second effecting 5 Mag-pies (Gymnorhina tibicen). In May a large batch of wheat sold at several retail outlets was found to be contami-nated with dichlorvos when over 200 laughing turtledoves (Streptopelia senegalensis) and long beaked co-rellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) were found dead. Another mass bird mortality event occured in May at a metropoli-tan rubbish tip where fenthion poisoning affected silvergulls (Larus novaehollandiae), Ibis (Threskiornis sp.), pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) and a raven (Corvussp.) (n>165).

Dear friend,

The Safe Climate Bill has well and truly arrived!

The genuinely excited reception that you and so many others gave the Safe Climate Bill has made me feel optimistic for the first time in many months. Now the challenge for us all is to get the message out far and wide. *

Since we launched it on Monday, the Safe Climate Bill has already shifted the mainstream climate debate. More questions are being asked about whether the Rudd Government's so-called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will do anything to reduce emissions or transform the economy. The Safe Climate Bill points to how it can and should be done.

But it'll take a much bigger push to really drive the debate to where it needs to be.

That's where you come in.

With the Coalition deciding this weekend on the direction of their CPRS amendments and with the Rudd government reportedly getting ready to give even more billions to the big polluters, now is the perfect time for a flurry of letters to editors, calls to talkback radio and questions to programs like the ABC's Q&A from Australians demanding a safe climate.

There is clearly a hunger in the community for real climate solutions. The response to last week's email overwhelmed us. Demand for the phone briefing swamped our expectations, and we had to disappoint hundreds of people, for which I once again apologise.

Let's demonstrate that hunger by calling for the Safe Climate Bill to be made law and put Australia on track to be a carbon neutral powerhouse!

Click here to send your letters right now!

Yours with optimism!

Christine Milne

... At Kelly's signal we moved inside the Brisbane Tramways building. It had a lift, but we took the stairs to the third floor so that our solidarity wasn't broken up into little groups. As a creaky gentleman, I stayed behind to help Amelia of the typists and Secretarial Services Union.

Are you sure you don't want to take the lift? I asked her.

Not at all, said Amelia, with a tight smile. I am my association militant, and so I must take the stairs like the others!

On the third floor the leaders of our brethren found the main office door locked. It was a deliberate humiliation, to keep us there, the sweat from our stair-climbing going dry on us. Kelly knocked a number of times and called to whoever was inside that we had an appointment with Mr Bender.

That brought no response. We're not going away, Mr Bender, cried Kelly, and don't forget the gentlemen of the press are observing this.

Still nothing happened. Hope Mockridge in a brown jacket and a hat with flowers stepped up and began hammering on the door.

This is Hope, Freeman, you idiotic man! If you don't open this door at once, we'll begin singing and we won't go away and you'll look like a coward.

She listened for movement. Then she turned to the rest of us.

Very well, she said. Now, like a churchwoman leading a hymn, she began with 'Workers of the World, Awaken!' She sang in a fine contralto, joined more roughly by the rest of us. It was an International Workers of the World song, a song of the Wobblies. But I wasn't going to argue the difference between the sentiments of syndicalists like them and Marxists like me that afternoon.

Workers of the world, awaken!
Break your chains, demand your rights.
All the wealth you make is taken
By exploiting parasites.
Shall you kneel in deep submission
From your cradles to your graves?

We were really belting it out. Kelly the Irish tenor, O'Sullivan the baritone, Hope Mockridge the contralto, and many of the others tuck creakily between registers.

Is the height of your ambition
To be good and willing slaves?
Arise, ye prisoners of starvation!
Fight for your emancipation;
Arise, ye slaves of every nation.
In one union grand!
Our little ones for bread are crying …

And now the door opened. There was a woman of about thirty-five standing there, flushed in the face.

I'm sorry, miss, said Hope Mockridge. They always send the workers out against the workers.

The delegation on the stairs laughed.

The woman said, Could you all come into the waiting room please? Mr Bender will be with you in a second.

We crowded in, and the flushed woman returned to her seat behind a desk and buried her head in a journal. Beyond frosted glass beside her desk we could hear the chatter of typewriters. A door from the inner office opened and there, without intermediaries or lieutenants, was Mr Bender. He was a tall man, and he did not look happy. Immediately Hope Mockridge spoke to him.

What game are you up to, Freeman? This won't do you any good.

I wouldn't have expected to see you here Mrs Mockridge. With the rabble.

No one could laugh as quickly as Mrs Mockridge if she wanted to.

With the rabble? she asked. Oh, you were always a master of the language.

Why are you a traitor to your kind? asked Bender, angry and stupid enough to concentrate his chagrin on this one vocal woman.

What does your husband think of this?

I didn't ask him. But you're quite right - class traitor I am! But, Freeman, surely you are here to deal with our forty-three union representatives. Shall we leave my chastising to private moments?

And who should I speak to? asked Mr Bender.

Kelly said, I'm here. Charlie Kelly. The Trades and Labour Council.

Bender turned his gaze on Kelly as if he had not known of his existence until now. Clearly he saw Kelly not as the spokesman for the desires and aspirations of workers, but as some sort of accidental opportunist who had found himself a niche. Both readings were correct in a sense, but Bender faced nothing but defeat playing according to the second of these versions.

Kelly exhorted him to accept unionism and union representation within his depots and workshops. A unionised worker was a happier worker, he said. A happy worker was a productive worker. The entire unionised workforce of Queensland, said Kelly, wanted the tramway unionised as well and brought into the twentieth century, and the unions of Queensland would bring on a general strike if Mr Bender did not permit it. Mr Bender's own business associates would not be happy at such a prospect.

It was gratifying to me as a jumped-up peasant and railway worker to discover that management are as uniformly fooish as we would like to depict them - just as owned by their narrow interest as the poor are by their hunger.

Mr Bender said, I am on record as being opposed to unionism on principle. And on principle, I will not let it operate within my workshops and depots.

Without unionism, Kelly asked, how are you men to ask for better conditions?

Man to man, said Mr Bender. Face to face.

You mean slave to master, Mr Bender?

You paint the picture any way you like.

Some men groaned. Amelia Pethick had recovered her breath and found her voice. She called in a fluting manner, Your relationship to your workers is too unequal, Mr Bender. It's a machine against flesh.

You know that.

More slumming ladies, Mrs Pethick, said Bender.

It was a further mistake of his to attack an old favourite of the crowd's.

Shame, Freeman, shame! said the tigress Hope Mockridge.

Kelly remained sturdy amid all this. Despised by Bender but not taking a backward step.

So you are sure you want this, Mr Bender? he asked.

You will find, said Bender, that the premier of this splendid state is already swearing in special constables to deal with your scum. Do you know why I oppose unions? Do you really want to know? I'll tell you. Because they strangle new creation, that's why. I have in my employ an engineer who has devised a wonder of the age, a single-line train he calls a monorail. This is happening here, in Brisbane - yes, in dreamy old Brisbane. This tram or train or whatever you call it runs on a single rail!

I thought, That engineer is Rybukov.

How am I, asked Bender, full of just rage, to find the funds to build such a system, the first in the world, if I am to be bled white by unions? I won't find them, and world will be the poorer. You will be the poorer. I ask you to desist and back off and respect the spirit of invention.

You can have both, you bastard, one of our elegates called. Pull something out of your own bloody pocket to build your own fucking railway.

Please, leave my office, Bender cried out, or I shall call the police.

Then, said Kelly, it's on for young and old.

Let it be, said Bender.

We filed out agian, my role among the revolutionaries of Queensland being to help Mrs Pethick back down the steps. I felt I had known that strong old woman a long time. But forthright Mrs Mockridge seemed a more remote figure than that. ...

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about renovating will be on tap during the Renovation Expo at the Robina Community Centre this Saturday. ...

Bunnings will hold a series of “hands on” workshops every half hour from 10am (with the last starting at 2pm). They will cover carpet laying, floating floors, paint finishes, decking, and rendering.

Bunnings staff will also be available to take questions from visitors in between workshops.

Building Services Australia will present workshops at 10.30am and 1.00pm. These will cover issues such as choosing a contractor, financing a project, understanding the owner’s role during construction, getting a written contract, and maintaining work after completion.

Master Builders - Queensland's largest building industry membership organisation - will also be available on the day with information on a range of issues relating to renovating.

The Greens' Safe Climate Bill

The Greens' Safe Climate Bill is the first legislative attempt to transform Australia as swiftly as possible into a flourishing carbon neutral powerhouse.

You can read all the details our plan for a green future and download our briefing paper here.

Where the Rudd Government's CPRS - the Continue Polluting Regardless Scheme - locks in failure on the climate crisis by ignoring the science and sandbagging old polluters at the expense of the sunrise industries, the Greens' Safe Climate Bill gives us a real chance of success by aiming for the goal we know we need to achieve and then setting out how to get there.

The goal is not simply to reduce carbon pollution. It is to make sure we can pass on to our children and their children the safe climate that has nurtured us and made human civilisation possible.

For many, this might seem out of reach, but we humans are capable of amazing things when we set our minds to it. Setting a zero emissions safe climate target would inspire the community and unleash a wave of creativity, of innovative job creation that is right now champing at the bit, as well as improving our quality of life and reconnecting our communities.

The Safe Climate Bill is a collection of linked bills based around the five pillars of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transport, forest protection and green jobs, supported by a real carbon pricing scheme. Some of the Bills have already been introduced and others are intended as exposure drafts for public comment and debate.

Gold Coast Highway Upgrade

Roberts Street to Government Road. Total Cost $128 million.

Robert Street and Broad Street Stage Completion late 2009.

"By the way, if anyone here is in marketing or advertising...kill yourself. Thank you. Just planting seeds, planting seeds is all I'm doing. No joke here, really. Seriously, kill yourself, you have no rationalisation for what you do, you are Satan's little helpers. Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself now. Now, back to the show. Seriously, I know the marketing people: 'There's gonna be a joke comin' up.' There's no fuckin' joke. Suck a tail pipe, hang yourself...borrow a pistol from an NRA buddy, do something...rid the world of your evil fuckin' presence."

Bill Hicks

Marine authorities say they are not convinced scaring humpbacks with the sound of killer whales will keep them safe.

Four humpbacks have been caught in shark nets on the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland this year.

The latest was a juvenile humpback off Mermaid Beach yesterday.

Queensland shark control program spokesman Tony Ham says more information is required before sound devices are attached to shark nets.

"We'd certainly be happy to engage that type of research finding as long as there's no significant impact on other industries," he said.

"Obviously the whale watch industry is one of those, not to mention the tourism industry, and the last thing we would want to do is disturb their migration pattern too much."

The world’s oceans are in trouble. In the last 50 years, 90% of big ocean fish have disappeared due to overfishing.

Less than 1% of the Coral Sea within Australian waters is fully protected. Without a high level of protection, the beauty and biodiversity of the Coral Sea will diminish over time.

It’s important that we do something now.

In support of the World Day Against the Death Penalty

Australians Against Capital Punishment invite your participation

SUNDAY 5pm 11 October ‘09 at the Lizard Corner, (junction of Russell & Boundary Sts West End)
for

Speakers & Solidarity followed at 6pm by a shared Banquet at Huong’s restaurant nearby (upstairs 83a Vulture St West End www.huongs.com.au )
dinner cost $25

RSVP to 0423 709 445
or justine.hampson@gmail.com
by Thursday evening 8 October
please advise of special dietary needs

Justice Must Not Kill

Currumbin Wild Life Sanctuary Hospital

Mrs STUCKEY (Currumbin--LNP) (9.30 pm):

On Friday, 11 September the long-awaited and desperately needed state-of-the-art Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary hospital was officially opened much to the delight of animals and humans alike and to warm applause from a devoted local community. In the past 12 months the rackety old facility treated a record 4,500 injured wildlife and was literally falling apart at the seams. I know full well the struggles, the dedication and the considerable skills of staff and volunteers. I am also aware of the obstacles, especially financial ones, that had to be overcome.

This was a dream many years in the making. No-one carried the dream more uppermost in their mind than resident veterinary surgeon, Michael Pyne. To Michael’s credit and that of the entire Currumbin Sanctuary team, led by the sanctuary CEO and the President of the National Trust, their determination was absolute. The hospital was made possible by generous donors, but I am very angry to say that the state government has not contributed one single cent towards the running of our sanctuary nor to this important facility to treat ill and injured wildlife. Shamelessly, the Premier used our sanctuary for a publicity stunt two days before the last election. I shall remain steadfast in my quest to lobby for state government funding for our beloved sanctuary.

There is no doubt our koala population is under threat as a result of rapid urbanisation and development in South-East Queensland. I am keen to do what I can to raise awareness to protect this unique Australian marsupial. The recent opening of the much-needed wildlife hospital has placed the spotlight on the plight of our native animals and creatures who are subjected to increasing danger from human encroachment into their shrinking habitats. These vulnerable mammals are fighting to survive and I urge all honourable members to get behind the campaign by koala advocacy groups to make sure our councils and the state government take urgent steps to safeguard their habitats.

I have noticed a reduction in the number of koalas in my own acreage neighbourhood where it was once not uncommon to see them. Most nights I hear a lonely male koala grunting out his mating call to no avail. This is not surprising when figures reveal a 20-fold increase of wild koalas requiring medical attention in the past eight years.

On National Koala Day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on Friday, 25 September I had the exquisite pleasure of officially naming a female koala joey after placing a successful and high bid at a corporate fundraising event earlier in the year. I named her Yani-Colleen and she is a real cutie at eight and a half months of age. I chose Yani because it means peaceful and Colleen after my mother who passed away during my teens and means young female.

As honourable members have heard, it has been a busy time for Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The Queensland Heritage Council has entered it in the Queensland heritage register after a nomination from the National Trust of Queensland. I urge honourable members to come and visit us soon. Members can come and feed the lorikeets for free and show their support for our Green Guardian program.

Bashed Peace Activist Abandoned By The CMC

This is a photo of peace activist Jim Dowling the night he was arrested. He lives in ex-policeman Peter Dutton's Queensland electorate. A year and a half ago Jim Dowling was assaulted by police at a public meeting at Queensland University of Technology. This week he received a letter from the Queensland Police informing him that he was wrong in his assessment that the police had acted unlawfully. He says the Assistant Commissioner of Police informed him:

“These enquiries revealed that the allegations subject of your complaint could not be substantiated. Therefore I do not propose to take any further action and I now consider the matter to be finalized.”

Mr Dowling says that at no stage has he been interviewed or questioned about what happened by the police or anyone from the CMC (Crime and Misconduct Commission).

He says, "After a day or two of recovering from a small dose of self pity I dutifully filled out a CMC complaint form available online. There were only a few lines to explain my complaint so I attached the short article I had written about the event... I naively thought this was just the start of my complaint process rather than the only thing the CMC would ever want to hear from me."

The police told him they wouldn't investigate the matter until the charges against him were heard and determined. It was to be six months before this occurred and a further two months of deliberation before the Magistrate ruled that he had done nothing for which the police could detain him and the charges were dismissed.

"She said the evidence of all my witnesses (who included lawyers and former federal attorney general Michael Lavarch) was credible. She declined however to state the obvious: that the contradictory police and security guards' evidence was therefore not credible, and that they had therefore perjured themselves," said Mr Dowling.

He then informed the CMC in writing of the outcome of the trial and said that his complaint now also included the allegation that the police and security guards had perjured themselves in court.

"This was in June 2006, immediately after the Magistrate had ruled police acted illegally in arresting me. It was to be a further five months before a friendly “investigating” police officer contacted me. His name escapes me because, other than that few minutes of conversation, I never heard from him again....I asked him when he was going to interview me. He told me that would not be necessary, as he had enough information from my initial complaint and a transcript of the court case of charges against me...

"When I insisted he at least try to interview Peter Dutton’s assistant (she was present at my assault, but police had tellingly declined to produce her as a witness), he reluctantly took details...

"Not a few weeks, but four months later, the only “report” I have received is the abovementioned sentences from the assistant commissioner. It is interesting to note that the commissioner had still watered down my complaint to, 'Essentially you complained that police assaulted you and used excessive force during the course of your arrest and detention. Further that handcuffs were applied too tight and that police had accused you of stealing oxygen.' I had never complained that handcuffs were too tight, but rather that Constable Jennings had lifted me up by my handcuffs behind my back as he was dragging me. This had caused my wrist to bleed. I also was not complaining about feeling insulted by police accusing me of 'stealing oxygen' but was merely mentioning his smart-alec reply when I told him I could not breathe with his hand on my neck forcing my head between my legs.

"There is no mention of most of the assault, no mention of illegal arrest, perjury, police collusion in evidence etc. The 'investigating' police obviously think there is nothing wrong with police officers having word for word the same personal recollection of events in their sworn statements, including the same spelling mistakes.

"Oh well, maybe it was all a dream………Not sure if I want to wake up to the real world though…."

The mining and export of Australian uranium only digs us deeper into the unsolvable conundrum of nuclear waste – while also supporting the growth of nuclear weapons, the Australian Greens say.

Responding to comments this week by Australia’s Co-Chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Gareth Evans, the Greens’ Nuclear Spokesperson Scott Ludlam said that no one around the world had managed to solve the nuclear waste problem.

“Meanwhile, we have every reason to be concerned that Australian uranium is being used for nuclear weapons proliferation,” Senator Ludlam said.

“There are two options for our uranium exports: either they will end up in nuclear weapons or they will end up in a multinational toxic waste dump – which is why we should get out of this toxic and obsolete industry,” Senator Ludlam continued.

“The uranium mining industry will continue to do all it can to highjack debate about our looming energy crisis.

“While this is allowed to happen, arguments for clean renewable energies that are able to meet our base-load power needs far more efficiently and with vastly lower greenhouse gas emissions – while carrying none of the risks and waste problems of the nuclear cycle – will continue to struggle to be heard.”

International Living Wage Action Week Underway

Garment worker Joli Akhter and her family eating breakfast. Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 2009. Credit line: Taslima Akhter/Clean Clothes Campaign

'Clean Clothes Campaign' reports [1/10/09]:

A living wage is a human right, but for most workers in the garment industry this is a right denied. From October 5 – 11th CCCs across Europe and partners in other parts of the world are taking action to demand that retailers make a commitment to ensure workers are paid a living wage. ...

Wanted: Genuinely Edgy Art And Inspirational Leaders

Photographer Peter Panzoff poses what appears to be four underwear models (one of whom bears a remarkable resemblance to the PM) wearing fedora hats?

Brisbane journalists know how to conflate two non stories and come up with something that raises eyebrows - in a quizzical rather than an inquisitive fashion.

Although much excitement ensued on the very day local photographer Peter Panzoff launched his new exhibition - Panzoff's Panzen Down Panzen Off: Retail Catalogues, Politicians And Fedora Hats - it has been revealed the PM has no formidable opponents in the lead up to the next federal election.

Why the circumstances of this story have arisen is not clear, but evidently it has something to do with former Prime Minister John Howard, and over twenty years of monomedia.

Art critic Mandy Blanden, who is currently undertaking a PhD in extracting meaning from nothing says these days there is a distinct correlation between art, politics and public relations.

"I think Peter Panzoff's exhibition, which examines banality in a rudie nudie context is an imaginary event and will be held in the dark recesses of your mind," she said.

Dear Queensland Museum

In 1979, a major termite fumigation programme was undertaken throughout Brisbane.

We've asked the Queensland Museum where we can find out which public buildings were treated and what type of chemicals were used in this process, as Dr Brenton C. Peter's wrote about it in his article about the West Indian Drywood Termite in the 'Wildlife Of Greater Brisbane: A Queensland Museum Wild Guide':

The West Indian Drywood Termite (Cryptotermes brevis) is considered the world's most destructive drywood termite and has caused considerable economic damage wherever it has become established. The termite is one of four 'tramp' species in Queensland. Cryptotermes cynocephalus and Cryptotermes domesticus have been introduced from South-east Asia and the Pacific to areas around Cairns and further north, mainly through commerce. Similarly, Cryptotermes dudleyi has been introduced to Thursday Island and is established there.

The West Indian Drywood Termite was first found in Maryborough in 1966 and this discovery was followed by a survey and treatment campaign that was extended to Bundaberg in 1974. The termite was proclaimed a notifiable pest under the Diseases in Timber Act 1975. One year later, it was discovered in several multi-storey buildings in Brisbane and a major fumigation programme began in 1979. About 570 buildings, including suburban houses, and many items of furniture have been treated since then at a cost to the State of $10 million. The extensive infestations in Maryborough and central Brisbane are thought to have resulted from separate introductions of the pest in timber imported with war materials by the US Armed Services during World War II.

Damage is restricted to construction timber, furniture and, occasionally, paper products. There is no record of its occurrence in other situations. A colony of West Indian Drywood Termites can survive in susceptible timber the size of a matchbox for several years. It is most commonly found in pine, especially Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), and cabinet woods including maples (Flindersia spp.), Red Cedar (Toona australis) and Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).

West Indian Drywood Termites living in Hoop Pine typically produce reddish brown faecal pellets ('frass'). These gradually blacken with age and are usually different in size and shape from that of the Native Drywood Termite. Frass from the West Indian Termite is larger and more pointed. The head of the soldier is also more wrinkled than that of the native species.

The Greater Brisbane Region has a rich diversity of native termites, some of considerable economic importance. The exotic West Indian Drywood Termite is an unwanted addition. However, the major threat it posed in Queensland has been substantilly diminished as a result of the ongoing containment programme.

Queensland's Plastic Cup Job Loss Outrage

Queensland gets more and more sophisticated by the day!

Thousands of Queensland "glassies" are set to lose their job job jobs if the Government proceeds with it's ban on glasses in certain licensed premises throughout the state.

"It goes without saying," said Mr P. L. Street, President of the Everybody Loves To Hate Us (E.L.T.H.U.) Union.

"If you replace glasses with plastic cups, then there will be no glasses for hard working working families to collect and wash," he said.

But the Chief Blighty denied any hard working working families would lose their job job jobs with the implementation of the new policy.

"Plastic cups will stop people getting angry when they've had one too many," she said.

In conjunction with the glass ban in licensed premises, a parliamentary committee is considering swapping the glasses in licensed premises with the plastic cups in fast food establishments.

"This will be the environmentally friendly aspect of the policy," said the Chief Blighty.

"Given that fast food establishments are going upmarket lately, with the addition of culinary items - such as the McAnus Burger - on their menus, we thought they ought to be rewarded for the good they are delivering to the community," she said.

The Myth Of "Disaster" From Ageing Populations Is The Fallacy That Growth Must Be Unending

'Can Do Better' again [5/10/09]:

... Adding more people will never keep our population young. Adding more people to “replace” or “compensate” for our dangerous ageing population is surely a way to blow-out our numbers! ...

French Organise National Resistance To Privatisation Of Post Office

'Can Do Better' reports [5/10/09]:

... In the tiny village of Ambazac (Haute-Vienne) near Limoges, the 88 villagers voted 85 to 3 against privatisation of the Poste. The mayor delivered her own vote against privatisation publicly. She also said, "It would be unreasonable for a President of the Republic and a government to ignore the People's voice. In the rural region there are so many people who rely utterly on the public postal services."

The local postie took heart at the concerned and conscientious public reaction, which he could see taking place, since the ballot box was on the counter of the local post office.

All over France citizens voted in villages, towns and cities in this way. ...

SEQ Monomedia Celebrates International Tenants Day

By suggesting how outrageous it is that poor folks are able live in such prime real estate:

A Surfers Paradise site once destined for a $600 million development has instead become home to the low end of the rental market with people living at the beachfront site for a mere $350 a week.

The Pacific Beach project has been left hanging in the air with developer City Pacific going into liquidation.

Co-owner of the block, property industry figure Craig Perry, paid $100 million to amalgamate the site on the corner of Wharf Road and Old Burleigh Road.

Luxury apartments were planned before City Pacific ran into financial trouble, owing $100 million to banks.

The beach shacks and three storey walk-ups have remained, with immigrants and students living on the property for an average of $350 a week. ...

And spruiking a market that still has a very long way to fall:

According to the property clock, the best time to buy is at the bottom, 6 o'clock, just after the oversupply has hit and properties are at a discount to their underlying value.

And either side of 6 o’clock is generally considered bargain time. Of course, the opposite is true for sellers.

The top of the market, or 12 o’clock, is the best time to sell, when prices are at their peak. And either side of midnight is still okay.

So what’s the time in your market right now?

Queensland – 6 o’clock

Brisbane is trailing the property market recovery but as it shakes off its hangover there will definitely be growth, RP Data national research director Tim Lawless says.

"It is moving more from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. Adelaide and Brisbane are in similar positions because they both had quite similar growth phases in 2007, so the 2009 growth rates have not been very high," he says. ...

IUT statement for the International Tenants´ Day, October 5 2009 :

“Tackling the financial crises with new deal for affordable housing”

Housing and construction is one of the largest financial sectors - and a key instrument in tackling the present financial recession. Housing construction can boost regional and local markets and can set the financial wheels in motion.

Increased investment in affordable rental housing, where social and public housing play a major role, would be a major contribution in getting local economies back on track! Public investments must focus on areas that can provide the greatest social and economic benefits.

Government investments in energy efficiency renovation have several benefits; saving energy and money, and at the same time a reduction in CO2 emissions. The recession together with high energy costs has hit low income households the most and many have problems paying the housing costs.

The numbers of evictions are steadily rising. These households urgently need housing assistance. Social urban development is suitable instrument to attack inequality and fight social exclusion and segregation. Not-for-profit housing companies and public housing companies are major stakeholders in these processes. ...

*UPDATE* Interestingly these letters [dated 1/10/09] lobbed in the mailboxes of northern Gold Coast residents today:

Routine Assessment of Rental Accommodation

Officers from Gold Coast City Council are presently undertaking routine assessments of rental accommodation in the abovementioned suburb and this is your opportunity to request an internal assessment of the premises, should you wish.

Council's Local Law No. 16.1 (Rental Accommodation) requires that premises offered for rental accommodation meet certain minimum health, safety and amenity standards. This local law is administered by Council's Environmental Health Officers primarily through an assessment program or in response to a complaint.

Should you have any concerns or issues relevant to the above and wish to have your premises inspected at an appointed time please contact Council on (07) 5581 6220 the above number.

Defects found as a result of any assessment will be forwarded to the owner of the property who is then required to undertake the necessary works within a reasonable timeframe. Please do not hesitate to contact Environmental Health Compliance should any further information or assistance be required.

Yours faithfully ... Executive Coordinatory Environmental Health Compliance

Missing Plaque: Reuben Pelerman Reserve, Southport

A plaque commemorating the life of Gold Coast businessman and philanthropist Reuben Pelerman has vanished.

Mr Pelerman is well remembered for rescuing the Bears AFL club, in early 1990 after the collapse of owner Christopher Skase's Qintex Group.

Community Garden Planned For Musgrave Park

The 'Labrador Leader' reports [18/9/09] that the Howard Group (who developed Sphere) are constructing a Community Garden in Musgrave Park:

The garden will feature:

* 50 accessible raised garden beds 8m2 in area and 600mm in height, for growing vegetables and flowers
* a 1.8m high perimeter fence
* storage facilities for gardening tools and equipment
* space for future expansion of the garden over time

For further information phone 5581 6984

A Queensland Government "Community Renewal" sign - adjacent to the "Sphere" development, which states:
"Parkwood Rugby League Club Upgrade. A Queensland Government Community Renewal initiative, developed in partnership with the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and deliverd by Career Employment Australia."

The "Sphere" Development

Musgrave Park

Maned (Wood) Duck (Chenonetta jubata) family? Southport Sharks' training ground carpark - also adjacent to "Sphere" development [3/10/09]!

New Source Of Genetic Pollution Found

'Truefood Network' reports [1/10/09]:

This morning, Greenpeace set up a mobile Biohazard Research Centre at a GE canola field near Geelong, southern Victoria. What did we find? Commercial beehives contaminated with genetically engineered (GE) canola pollen.

Honey samples were collected from hives just metres away from a GE canola field and were found to contain Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola pollen. This means people buying honey from this hive will be eating GE food without knowing it, and before it's been properly assessed as safe to eat. The GE canola farmer is not obliged to inform his neighbours about what he is growing, so the beekeeper has been kept as much in the dark as everyone else.

This follows the recent discovery of GE canola growing along roadside verges near Berrigan, New South Wales and Horsham, Victoria. » Read more

South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia still have crop bans in place.

Why is Greenpeace doing this?

From the research centre, Greenpeace will monitor wind speed and pollen flow onsite to determine how far pollen from the GE canola crop is likely to spread.

Greenpeace is taking action to draw attention to GE canola being approcved for release in Australia under the Howard Government, without proper studies into the impacts on human health or the environment. Roundup Ready canola has been shown to have adverse effects on livers in Monsanto's own rat-feeding studies. It's also been banned in Europe.(1)

As federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon needs to step in and ensure independent proof that GE crops and foods are safe "beyond reasonable doubt". This is what the ALP promised at the 2007 federal election.

We also need biodiversity studies to examine the impact these new crops and farming techniques have on surrounding plants, insects and animals.

Farmers, chefs and community visit the centre

Local farmers and community members joined Greenpeace at the research station to protest the spread of GE canola. Organic farmer Evan hardy says, "I'm concerned that the introduction of GE crops will remove choice for all farmers. GE contamination will lead to the increasing domination of agriculture by large chemical companies and an increased reliance on toxic herbicides."

Melbourne restauranteur, Duré Dara, has come to the centre to express her concerns. "We need our governments to be more responsible and to think about genetically engineered food in a much more considered way. Food protection is an issue that affects tourism, our global image and the health of our citizens."

Ms Dara co-manages the Nudel Bar and Residential restaurants, and is one of close to 200 leading chefs and restauranteurs who have signed the GM-free Chefs' Charter.

Take action

Use this online form to ask Nicola Roxon to ensure that:

* GE crops are only approved if they are proven to be safe 'beyond reasonable doubt'; and
* All GE foods are clearly labelled.

Reference

(1) Eating in the Dark: How Australia’s food regulator is failing us on genetically engineered food, p 22.

Save Yungaba For The People!

An email from Yungaba Action Group to supporters [2/10/09]:

Dear Yungaba supporters and friends,

Please help us with our publicity drive for nominating Yungaba as the ideal site for the Indigenous and Immigration history museum.

Brisbane City Council has called for suggestions for an appropriate place to establish this museum. This begs the question, do the various levels of government communicate, and how can a building such as Yungaba be overlooked, ignored and worst, sold off without due regard to its incredible historical value to so many Queenslanders?

One must ask why, when there is $2,000,000 available at a federal govt. level via the Jobs Fund for heritage projects, the building is State Government owned and they could obtain a significant amount of $$ from Australand by selling the surrounding space, and with a contribution from Brisbane City Council, who have identified the need and no doubt allocated a budget for such a public space; is Yungaba being developed into 10 luxury private residences which the general public will be able to view from a distance 2 days a year in heritage week?

The point: Yungaba should be restored and made available to the general public of this city, both as a museum for immigration and indigenous history and a multicultural arts space, a vibrant and living heritage and celebration of our diversity as a city and state!

Please register your views:

The Lord Mayor has asked people to contact him on lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au with their suggestions for a venue for this museum.

Also contact our Premier Anna Bligh and ask her why???? premier@ministerial.qld.gov.au

We have set up a Yungaba Group on Facebook – spread the word by sending it to all your contacts and Facebook friends.

If we are just 6 degrees of separation from anyone on the planet, then we are just 6 clicks away from creating such a strong social network that selling Yungaba will no longer be an option for any poll-driven political party. It can be done!!

Delene Cuddihy

Yungaba Action Group

Ph: 040 259 729

PS. YAG members are invited to our Annual General Meeting at 4pm on

Saturday 10 October at 17 Drury St, West End.

Please RSVP to me by email.

Please note: if you are unable to attend you may give a written proxy to another member.

Students, Educators Protest IMF Meetings

'Hurriyet Daily News' reports [4/10/09]:

"Three people climbed a 15-meter-high pillar in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Sunday and hung a banner protesting the International Monetary Fund, news agencies reported.

The three were members of a leftist student group called the Student Collectives, and the banner read, “Get out IMF – Student Collectives.” The protest lasted an hour under heavy rain. The pillar holds police security cameras and municipality cameras used to watch traffic in the square. While the three people were hanging the banner, another three read the group’s press statement.

“The representatives of imperialism and colonialists are in our country for days,” read Eren Can. “They did not come to our country with good intentions. They plan how to exploit more, how to leave more hungry and poor.”

As two of the three people on top of the pillar came down, police took them into custody. Others warned the third climber that police were waiting for him. Hakan Demir, the third protester, waited atop the pillar for almost an hour in the rain and chanted slogans. A firefighter using a fire ladder reached the protester and attempted to cut down the banner. But Demir did not allow him to and took down the banner himself. Meanwhile, police also approached Demir on the ladder to convince him to end the protest. Demir refused but was eventually taken into custody after he finished his protest.

Protest with bare feet

In a protest Saturday, a group of members from education trade union Egitim-Sen walked barefooted down Istiklal Avenue in Taksim, protesting the IMF and World Bank. The group carried banners reading, “Transportation is a right and cannot be impeded,” “We demand free education, job security and free transportation.”

Representing the group, Hatun Ildemir from Egitim-Sen said IMF and World Bank policies made fundamental public services, such as education, health, housing and transportation, a market good. Ildemir demanded that the government re-evaluate who in society is eligible to benefit from free public transportation.

Another group on Saturday protested the IMF, World Bank, and Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association, or TÜSIAD. The group gathered in front of Galatasaray University and carried a banner reading, “Your money and missiles can go to hell. We want peace.” The group walked to TÜSIAD’s building and finished their protest."

Free Public Transport - An Idea Whose Time Has Come

From 'Free Public Transport: The Solution To Pollution':

"In the early 1980s, the Greater London Council under Ken Livingston slashed fares and began to move towards free public transport. The policy was backed by 71 per cent of Londoners, but was destroyed by the Thatcher government and the Law Lords, backed by the car, haulage and oil industries.

Within a year, ticket prices in London had doubled, car journeys had rocketed and there was an extra 6000 accidents on the city’s roads. A similar policy in South Yorkshire under David Blunkett was similarly torpedoed.

That was before global warming and the dangers of greenhouse gases became widely accepted by scientists. Twenty years on, our towns and cities are heading towards permanent gridlock and scientists are pressing the panic buttons. And the idea of free public transport is starting to make a comeback.

In the Belgian city of Hasselt, which covers an area double the size of Dundee, congestion was eliminated in the late 1980s after the introduction of a totally free public transport system. Within a year, bus passenger journeys rose by 870 per cent and have now increased by over 1000 per cent. In dismal contrast, the Scottish Executive has set a target for an annual increase of one per cent in bus journeys and two per cent in rail journeys.

The Danish government has commissioned a research group to examine the feasibility of a free public transport system (Copenhagen Post November 22, 2006 ).

The Melbourne Age newspaper, edited by Andrew Jaspan (a former editor of the Sunday Herald, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday) has called for state-wide free bus travel in Victoria (A radical idea, The Age, May 5 2006)

Matthew Parrish, a Tory MP under Margaret Thatcher, who played a key role in destroying South Yorkshire’s cheap fares policy, now admits he was wrong and has called for London-wide free bus travel:

“I was wrong. I have changed my mind…Never mind the ideology, it just makes sense.” (It’s big, it’s red, and it’s free – and it will save London; The Times. May 8 2003)

Visit Scotland (formerly the Scottish Tourist Board) recently published a report which set out the policy implications of global warming by 2015:

“In order to reduce dependency upon the car, we will see a number of measures to move people onto public transport. These will include free public transport for all in Scotland, whether this is buses or trains”. (Visit Scotland report: Tomorrow’s World, May 2006)"

A Poetic Consolidation Of Weekend News

"I know the hills are alive with Grand Final Fever Captain Von Trapp, but can sex give you cancer?"

Dutton misses out
on the McPherson pre-selection
but they'll find him another seat
before the next election

Bligh says $27 million
for 250 fat cats
will mean we get more frontline staff
what a load of cr*p

60 jobs and a long term legacy
says Anthony Albanese
of the millions to be spent
on an NRL HQ? Oh pleasey!

I bet if you were detained
in Villawood for 3 years
and they called it a "serious administration error"
you'd want more than 70 Gs

according to a documentary
to be screened on the ABC
with other client states
Australia has similarities

forget about the pesticides
mining tailings or pollution
viruses and house mice
hold the cancer solution

Murcott says Sydney's stifled
by a "culture of mediocrity"
Ellwood says the Tank Street Bridge
has poetic qualities

why won't our Prime Minister
meet with the Dalai Lama?
are his gallstones causing him
that much of a drama?

they're protesting in Rome
against Silvio Berlusconi
the Letterman scandal lingers
yet Australia remains the only

country in the world
other than maybe China
where most of its press is owned
by one motherf*cker

tsunamis, earthquakes typhoons
such horror overseas
so how can I send some dollars
and not through corporate charities?

If you know, please email us at spring_hill_voice@hotmail.com

"Just as in 1939 we had to give up on a massive scale the comfortable lifestyle of peacetime, so soon we may feel rich with only a quarter of what we consume now. If we do it right and with enthusiasm, it will not seem a depressing phase of denial but instead, as in 1940, a chance to redeem ourselves. For the young, life will be full of opportunities to serve, to create and they will have a purpose for living."

From 'The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning by James Lovelock' (as published in the latest edition of 'Adbusters' magazine)

Massive Hairy Mussel Marine Stadium Die Off ?

A mass of dead Hairy Mussels (Trichomya hirsutus) beached in Marine Stadium (Gold Coast Spit) [2/10/09].

Why Is The Seaway Some Kind Of Pooch Poohouse?

These days people are responsible in parks. Picking up their pets' poos and putting them in the bin. However, at the seaway, it seems to be a free for all?

People Have Different Priorities At Paradise Point

This development involves removing marine vegetation

Whereas just down the road, they're replanting the foreshore vegetation!

Dancing at the Edge of the Precipice - After Peak Oil

"... The form of civil liberty that we have enjoyed until now was a product of economic growth. The demand to maintain very high levels of consumption under conditions of constricting energy supply will demand a further concentration of state power and a very aggressive foreign policy. Just as Caesar Augustus took Rome from being a limited democracy back to a dictatorship, our presidents will in the coming years enforce whatever measure of state power necessary to maintain access to resources. Civil liberty has always been to some extent constrained by class status. Civil liberty will become increasingly limited by class status as this process matures.

Real Problems, Real Solutions

If you listen to the news every day, you will hear stories about bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, the health reform debate, the state of the economy and the timeline for recovery, perhaps a story about the latest organization to take a stance for or against gay marriage. The myopic nature of our political and academic debate is dangerous. Instead of building the machines we will need to support ourselves as energy supplies decline, we continue to use the steel, glass, electronics, and energy to build the old economy. Even the most radical news outlets rarely mention limitations of energy supply, or the other limits we inevitably face. And even then, a recognition of the connections between the limits of energy supply and current political changes is utterly absent.

The limitations we face are going to manifest in ever-hardening global class lines. The escalating price of energy means that those who can afford to pay the higher prices will grumble and pay, while those who cannot will starve. As this crisis matures, the political obfuscation will only intensify. It is as if we are standing on the deck of the Titanic. The warnings have been issued, but not heard. We are waiting until we feel the water at our ankles. Remediation only becomes more difficult with each passing day.

In the larger perspective, we do not face an energy crisis at all. Even as oil supplies decline, we will still have a greater supply of energy and other resources at our disposal than our grandparents had. The vast majority of people live very frugally, simply because they have to. Even in industrialized nations, some people live much more frugally than others. The real issue is power. As we discussed in Culture Change, consumption is power, throughput is power. The desire of the global upper class to hold on to power drives them to continue to consume, and that is creating a conflict over dwindling resources. ..."

Ever thought about what you could do to help THE FORT?

Well think no more, as we are calling for anyone to help us out by sending letter of your support to assist us with our 're-zoning' application.

THE FORT - Letter of Support

Dear Friend of The Fort,

We are seeking letters of support to assist us with our current 'material change of use' (or zoning) application with Council. While our beautiful building was originally built for, and zoned as "multi-purpose use", this is overriden by it's inclusion (only just) in the Spring Hill local plan (it's really quite confusing but basically stipulates we can only use the site for offices currently).

With thanks to Steffan Town Planning, who are providing services in-kind, we have now applied for "Centre Activities" use, including Shop, Office, Restaurant, Convention Centre and Community Facilities - which allows for all the wonderful activities/services The Fort has (or will have) to offer! We are working day and night to ensure this application is approved, including making major noise-reduction measures, preparing various building documentation (that should already exist), managing heritage conservation, addressing new building codes and of course paying considerable fees for all this.

If you are interested in supporting our cause, we would be truly grateful for a letter of support that addresses some or all of the matters hereunder. ... The letter of support should be forwarded directly to The Fort Arts Hub Inc. (the applicant) and NOT Council, addresseed as follows:

Brisbane City Council
C/o- The Fort Arts Hub Inc.
57 Brunswick Street
FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006

Salutation: "To Whom it May Concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam"

The first paragraph should give some indication of who you are and your general position in life. The letter should indicate that it is given in relation to the application for "Centre Activities" use (including Shop, Office, Restaurant, Convention Centre and Community Facilities) for 57 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley.

Your letter might concentrate on the following:-

What you know about The Fort, how you have participated in it, or how you might like to participate;
The importance of the project (The Fort) for the community;
The importance of the project for Brisbane's arts and culture;
The state of Brisbane's arts and culture;
The ability of the project managers (The Fort Arts Hub Inc., Pete, Kel and Will) to undertake a project of this scale;
Any other matters you think appropriate.
One to four paragraphs would be fine, or more - totally up to you. We will be sending the first round of letters we receive back to Council on Friday this week, and again the week after.

Thank you so much in advance, for your support.

Kelly Timmons
Director / Project Manager

www.thefort.org.au