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Australia’s Aboriginal children detained at the world’s highest rates

By Gerry Georgatos - courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/

In the United States, the Annie Casey Foundation’s report ‘No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration,’ has an assembly of juvenile crime statistics that evidence why locking up children does not work. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rates of adults and children than any other nation.

Refugee advocates rally to support refugees in immigration limbo at Broadmeadows

Over 300 people gathered to support the 55 asylum seekers in immigration detention at the Broadmeadows Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) Centre, organised by the Refugee Action Collective (Victoria). 55 asylum seekers have refugee status but are in immigration limbo as they have adverse security assessments from ASIO with no right of appeal or ability to question ASIO's sources. More than 30 of these people are locked up at Broadmeadows, some for more than 4 years, with no end in sight.

Cuts to single parent payments lead to hardship

Courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/cuts-to-single-parent-payments-lead-to-hardshi...
Gerry Georgatos - There are 630,000 Australian lone parent families with dependents – 84 per cent are single mothers and 16 per cent are single fathers. 54 per cent of these single parents have a youngest child less than nine years of age. Of the parents with a child less than 9 years of age 59 per cent were in some form of employment end of June 2011 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011).

Reversing Victoria's anti-wind farm regulation could boost regional development

Victoria has a new Premier with Ted Baillieu falling on his own sword, with Denis Napthine, the member for South West Coast, being appointed into the role of Premier of Victoria. Just in time as new economic statistics show that the Victorian economy is in recession. Restoring sanity to planning regulations for wind farm development could boost regional development and the Government's very low environmental credentials as it faces re-election in 2014.

Related: Petition - Let's get Victoria back on track: clean energy, protect our farms

Coal protest: activists scale Yallourn power station cooling tower

Late last week two intrepid climate change activists scaled one of the cooling towers at Yallourn coal fired power station in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. In the end they spent 30 hours on the cooling tower, the longest power station occupation of it's kind in Australia, finally coming down voluntarily to be arrested and charged with various offences. The protest highlighted the enormous multi-million compensation being given by the Australian Government to power operators for the imposition of the carbon tax. The brown coal fired power stations in Victoria's La Trobe valley are some of the dirtiest most carbon emissions polluting power stations in Australia and the world.

Related: Quit Coal | Latrobe Valley Coal power and Climate change | Further subsidies for Victorian coal by Victorian and Federal Governments | Electricity Demand and Emissions Falling in Eastern Australia | Climate IMC: Doha climate change talks fail to cut emissions while weakened Kyoto Protocol extended to 2020

Martin Ferguson rebuffs Coal CEO Twiggy Palmcock in launching Energy paper

While Federal Resources and Energy minister Martin Ferguson was launching a white paper on energy, the press conference was interrupted by that scallywag Victorian Coal CEO Twiggy Palmcock who thanked the Minister for his support of the fossil fuel industry.

Related: 2012 Energy white paper | RenewEconomy: Ferguson spies a green energy future … and steps on the gas | The Conversation: Energy White Paper plans to burn, burn, burn it all | Tony Abbott rebuffs Victorian coal mining magnate

Iraqi children need your help - 6000 Iraqi children, victims of the wars, need wheelchairs

Dear people,
Once again we are trying to urgently provide 330 wheelchairs to Iraqi children in Iraq.

Some of you have assisted in the past, we need your urgent assistance again please.

Fund raisers, donations, anything, please contact me.

Would you, your community groups, school, organisation help with urgent fundraisers or donations towards ensuring the shipment of 330 wheelchairs to Iraqi children doing it very tough in difficult circumstances in Iraq?

Climate activists do Banner drops in Boggabri and Melbourne against coal rush

Activists from Quit Coal were able to get a message across this morning: with a banner drop over the main entrance of the Victorian State parliament house. The banner said "'Coal is the single greatest threat to civilisation and all life on our planet' Prof. James Hansen, NASA. Why is Baillieu funding coal?" At the same time activists in central NSW at Boggabri climbed a coal-crusher and dropped a banner which said "Stop the Coal Rush: Protect Health, Water, Climate"

Related: Further subsidies for Victorian coal by Victorian and Federal Governments | Quit Coal photos: Parliament House Banner Drop & Lock On

Melbourne UK consulate rally and occupation (17th August 2012)

On Friday 17th August, in response to the UK Government threats against the Ecuadorean Embassy and there refusal to allow Assange safe passage to Ecuador where he has been given political asylum, a protest was held at the UK Consulate in Melbourne. Three protestors entered the consulate and tried to talk to staff about the treatment of Assange. Staff hid from the protestors and Federal Police and local police entered the Consulate. One protestor was arrested when he tried to bring water to those inside the Consulate. The video's below give a good account of what happened on the day.

White supremacists at Melbourne militaria and weapon fair

This booth is present at each Melbourne Arms and Militaria Fair, held twice yearly at the Melbourne Showgrounds and organised by Jeff Pannan. Photos are from 7 July 2012.

Presence of Nazi memorabilia, firearms, antiques and replicas is expected as the fair has a strong historical focus, however this stall sells only modern T-shirts, flags and a small selection of knives, which were also of modern design. I attended the same fair last year but did not bring a camera then. The stallholders rant constantly about killing refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, homosexuals, immigrants, Jews, Greens etc to any who will listen.