Newswire

Two biggest parties stick to cruel asylum seeker policies

Peter Mac

Twenty-seven asylum seekers in Melbourne’s Broadmeadows detention centre have ended a ten day hunger strike after finally having been given official reasons for their indefinite detention.

The men belong to a group of 55 men, women and children, who have been held captive in detention centres for up to four years. They include people from Iran and Myanmar (formerly Burma), but most are Sri Lankan Tamils.

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Iraq war general Peter Cosgrove confronted by Catholic worker activists at Brisbane event

Tuesday April 30 7pm at Jindalee Catholic Church, Brisbane.

Catholic anti-war and social justice activists and members of the Catholic Worker from Brisbane and New Zealand gathered to show opposition to the elevation of unapologetic Iraq war General, Peter Cosgrove at a function in Brisbane on Tuesday night. Cosgrove was elevated to the position of Chancellor of Australian Catholic University in 2010 and was awarded a papal knighthood by Cardinal George Pell earlier this year.

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fun fun fun for people with disabilities

Help!
What's the point of having NDIS funded domestic assistance if I am cut off the DSP and don't have a house?
If I am cut off DSP and moved to Newstart I will be unable to afford medications essential to life and I will die, perhaps after an extended expensive process of brain death.
I have conditions that can't be rehabilitated.
What's the point of a rehab plan?
What's the point of a return to work plan if there is no job and no ability to do a job properly or consistently?

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WGAR News: Australia's boom is anything but for its Aboriginal people: John Pilger, The Guardian

Newsletter date: 1 May 2013

Contents:

* John Pilger, The Guardian: Australia's boom is anything but for its Aboriginal people

* Daniel Emerson, The West Australian: Nation's political bloodshed 'ignored'
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: The Killing Times
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: WA Governor states that he was misinterpreted

* The Wire: Coalition says remote communities should fund own water, sewerage [interview with Paddy Gibson]

* Rachel Siewert, New Matilda: When Did Labor Stop Caring?

* Other articles

Get Ready for an Age of Fire

The new age of super fires in N. America, Europe, Australia, Asia. Silviculturalist John Betts explains strange unstoppable forest fires. Then Nicole Rycroft, Exec Dir of enviro group "Canopy". Why they quit talks with industry, as logging ravages the Canadian Boreal forest. Plus MD Donald B. Louria says loss of faith in the future can kill. Radio Ecoshock 130501 1 hour. Listen to/download this Radio Ecoshock Show http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock13/ES_130501_Show_LoFi.mp3

Listen to/Dowload the John Betts interview on super fires (24 minutes)

ALP fails the poor again

A report released today by Anglicare Australia has found it is becoming almost impossible for people on welfare to afford to rent a home.

The welfare group surveyed more than 56,000 rental properties across the country and found less than 1 per cent of those properties were affordable for people on government benefits such as Newstart, parenting payments, the aged pension or disability support pensions.

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WGAR News: Sisters Inside - Debbie Kilroy on [Aboriginal] women in prison: The Stringer

Newsletter date: 30 April 2013

Contents:

* Debbie Kilroy, The Stringer: Sisters Inside - Debbie Kilroy on the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison
* SBS Radionews Audio: Call for crime prevention focus to cut Indigenous jail rates
* The Stringer: KALACC lends its weight to Justice Reinvestment
* Priscilla Collins, Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT: Mandatory rehabilitation bill must be released for public consultation
* Ray Jackson, Green Left: Stop police self investigation
* Background to Aboriginal imprisonment and Deaths in Custody

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.

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A poor man’s treaty: the ‘con’ in constitutional reform

CONSTITUTIONAL recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples seems to have captured the imagination of many white Australians, writes CHRIS GRAHAM. But are the motives really all pure?

April 1, 2013
 
By Chris Graham
 
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The corporation & community

Their currently is a very large gap between corporation & community for communities work with governments to distance the corporation from the communities as much as possible be it geographically & politically. However every town & suburb needs a local corporation & a research laboratory to engage the community in engineering, science & academic pursuits.

WGAR News: A poor man's treaty: the 'con' in constitutional reform: Chris Graham At Large

Newsletter date: 29 April 2013

Contents:

* Chris Graham At Large: A poor man's treaty: the 'con' in constitutional reform

* Nicola Butler, The Stringer: APY lands wasted funds
* Background to Income Management for APY Lands in South Australia

* Paddy Gibson, Solidarity Online: Income Management expansion in effort to break boycott
* Greens Senator Rachel Siewert: Housing report shows more action is needed on NT overcrowding
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws

3,000 anarchists in Greece march in solidarity to Athens Indymedia & 98 FM

Taking the fight from the internet to the streets. On April 25th, 2013 approximately 3.000 anarchists marched in solidarity to Athens Indymedia and 98 FM that have been censored by the greek State since April 11th, amongst dozens of solidarity actions all over Greece and some parts of Europe.

Maurie Plant dodges question on drug test corruption

Four Corners ran a segment on Monday 22nd April called "Who's Cheating Whom" exploring the use of performance enhancing drugs in Australian sport. During the show, the Four Corners reporter asked an Athletics Australia athlete manager, Maurie Plant, about an event 13 years ago in which Mr Plant had asked heptathlete called Jane Flemming to provide a urine sample to substitute for javelin thrower's Sue Howland's sample for a drug test. When the reporter asked Plant to comment about this, Plant becomes defensive, refuses to answer, and walks out on the interview.

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Philippines: Akbayan slams Chinese incursion into Tubbataha Reef

Akbayan Party-list today slammed the incursion of a Chinese fishing vessel into the Tubbataha reef, which the group said is engaged in "state-led" poaching activities at the marine protected area in Palawan.

It was reported that the vessel ran aground some 1.1 nautical miles east of the Tubbataha Reef ranger station. It was reported that the fishing vessel had 12 crew members, allegedly Chinese poachers.

WGAR News: New CLC chairman warns mining companies he will renegotiate royalties!: CAAMA Radio

Newsletter date: 28 April 2013

Contents:

* CAAMA Radio: New CLC chairman warns mining companies he will renegotiate royalties!

* Robin Chapple MLC, WA Greens: Birriliburu IPA declaration ceremony [IPA: Indigenous Protected Area]

* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Woodside & Government will not pay $1.5 billion
* Robin Chapple MLC, WA Greens: Broome ratepayers left in lurch by JPP halt
* NIRS: Broome should get benefits without gas hub: Mitch Torres
* ABC Video: Celebrating the end of James Price Point but floating a future for Browse

Carbon price funding solar PV for Adelaide factory puts Tony Abbott on ice

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made a frosty mistake in visiting the Adelaide Ice Service factory today, arguing the business was a victim of the carbon tax. At the same time Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and local Labor MP Mark Butler announced a grant of nearly $90,000 to the company from the carbon price funded Clean Technology Food and Foundries Program to install a 87.5 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system at its ice manufacturing plant in Regency Park.

The visit continues Abbott's attempt to beat up the carbon price as a negative, but it shows just how shallow and loose with the truth his own campaign is, especially regarding climate change policy. The carbon price hasn't brought economic ruin. Indeed, there are strong arguments by Environment Victoria that the compensation package to carbon intense energy providers is overly generous. Victoria's brown coal generators are being subsidised to continue polluting to maintain healthy profits.