Australia

Flooding rains now burning plains - Bushfire risk and climate change

Submitted by takver on Thu, 06/10/2011 - 3:17am

Grass fires and bushfires are starting already, and it is only early October - with bushfire season officially still nearly a month away. The extremely wet season Australia had at the end of 2010 and start of 2011, brought on by one of the strongest La Niña on record, has stimulated vegetation growth and is set to cause great concern as it dries and cures in the summer heat with the onset of the summer bushfire season.

Geography: 
Australia
Keywords: 
climate change
global warming
bushfire
fire weather

No Harvey No: Global Action for Aussie forests

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/10/2011 - 9:53pm
Date and Time: 
Sat, 08/10/2011 -
9:00am to 6:00pm
Location: 
Harvey Norman stores and landmarks worldwide
Contact Email: 
action@thelaststand.org.au
Website: 
www.thelaststand.org.au

On Saturday 8th October in Australia (which might be your 7th or 8th depending on timezone) join us to stand up for our forests at Harvey Norman stores and other locations across Australia and the planet and say:

No Harvey Norman No! STOP SELLING AUSSIE FOREST DESTRUCTION

Australia’s world-class forests are still being ripped apart by industrial logging operations every single day. The destruction of our native forests is plac...ing our threatened species, clean air and water, and climate in serious danger.

Geography: 
Australia

Climate change, sea level rise and Australia

Submitted by takver on Tue, 04/10/2011 - 12:33am

Average global sea level is rising at the fastest rate in 2000 years according to scientists, and north and western Australia is copping more than double the global average in sea level rise. The rate of increase has accelerated in the last 20 years which has been attributed by scientists to thermal expansion, small glacier melt and accelerating ice sheet loss from the Greenland and West Antarctic ice caps caused by climate change and global warming. A peer reviewed scientific study published in June 2011 from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has shown the rate of Sea level rise is connected to global temperature rise.

Related: CSIRO - Sea Level Rise | Potsdam Institute on Sea level | Sea Level Rise Foundation

Geography: 
Australia
Keywords: 
climate change
global warming
rising sea level

Activist sees court judgment questioning jurisdiction over Aborigines

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/10/2011 - 7:35pm

Aboriginal activist and trained lawyer Michael Anderson says a recent appeal court decision implies that Australian courts have no jurisdiction over Aborigines because they have never ceded sovereignty to the white invaders.

On Friday 30th September Mr Anderson appeared in a NSW District Court hearing an appeal by Ms Nicholson-Kitchener against her conviction for using an uninsured motor vehicle at Deniliquin and driving without a license.

Geography: 
Australia
Promotion: 
Feature

Panel Discussion: Media Inquiry

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 01/10/2011 - 2:57pm
Date and Time: 
Wed, 19/10/2011 -
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Location: 
University of Sydney, Carslaw Theatre 159
Contact Name: 
Dr Peter John Chen
Contact Phone: 
0432 845 766
Contact Email: 
peter.chen@sydney.edu.au
Website: 
http://is.gd/smack

On Wednesday 19th October 2011 from 5pm-6:30pm, you are invited to a
public panel discussion on the current media inquiry initiated by the
Labor Government.

Speakers are:
- Professor Rod Tiffen; Emeritus Professor of Political Science / USyd
- Professor Wendy Bacon; Centre for Independent Journalism / UTS
- Mr Peter Timmins; Commentator, "Open and Shut"

The venue is:
- Carslaw Theatre 159

RSPV To: http://is.gd/smack

Geography: 
Australia

Call out made to Occupy Australia: People of the world rise up on October 15th!

Submitted by Flowerpower on Thu, 29/09/2011 - 10:43am

As the Occupy Wall St protests continue to spread, a call out has been made for Melbourne, Brisbane , Perth, Adelaide and both a rally and occupation in Sydney to join the global day of action United for Global Change on October 15th. Regional centres are now joining with events announced in Townsville, Cairns and Bryon Bay. Occupy Melbourne has stated the aim of "NON-VIOLENTLY sending a message to the financial sector worldwide. Australia too is under the same bind of freedom because of monetary policy and corporate greed. Show your support for Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Australia!!!" The day is an attempt to unite the struggle by ordinary people around the world for a true democracy. A democracy where the needs of the majority of people is put before the profits and privileges of the few. A world united under the banner of solidarity, workers and human rights, peace and environmental justice. It is time for Australia to join the global movement that has seen non-violent mass protests and uprising against both military dictators and the dictators of capital in Greece, Yemen, Chile, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, USA, Spain, Portugal, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, the UK and beyond. It’s time for us to unite. It’s time for them to listen.
Related 15th October International Call out -- Occupy Wall St -- Occupy Melbourne on Facebook -- Occupy Sydney on Facebook -- Occupy Perth on Facebook -- Occupy Brisbane on Meetup -- Occupy Adelaide on Facebook

Geography: 
Australia
Promotion: 
Feature
Keywords: 
Australia
GFC
Global protest movement
United for Change
Occupy Melbourne
Occupy Australia

Marriage discrimination in Australia - a summary

Submitted by bjcrossley on Thu, 22/09/2011 - 8:36am

Subsection 5(1) of the Australian Marriage Act 1961 defines marriage as ‘...the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’ In these nineteen words, Australian law promotes inequality, marginalises and discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) Australians. Same sex marriage, the celebration and recognition of love and commitment by members of the same gender, is outlawed by the Australian Government in the grotesquely out-dated Marriage Act 1961.

Geography: 
Australia
Keywords: 
discrimination
lgbt
marriage
love
Same sex marriage
equal love
equal rights
Gay marriage
katter
homosexual
heterosexual

9/11 anniversary: The forgotten victims of terrorism

Submitted by Wei Ling Chua on Wed, 21/09/2011 - 5:45pm

Brief: This article explores the issues of state’s sponsored terrorism and points out the reality that all weaponry in the 21st century are lethal including those that belt around the human body. Therefore, 21st century is a century for corporation not confrontation…….

Geography: 
Global/International
Australia
Keywords: 
human rights
9/11
human rights abuses
terrorism
iraq war
Afghanistan war
Wikileaks
International news and opinion
State's sponsered terrorism