Newswire

March 9 International Day of Action Against Serco: Report-back from Sydney

On Friday 9th of March in response to a call for an international day of action against Serco, a British corporation running government services around the world, from juvenile and adult prisons to immigrant detention centres, to army bases in Afghanistan, to speed cameras in Victoria, parking meters in Chicago, and potentially the Sydney Ferry system.

Demonstrations were held in London, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, where a number of coordinated demonstrations were held throughout the day.

International Day of action against Serco, report-back from Sydney.

On Friday 9th of March in response to a call for an international day of action against Serco, a corporation running government services from juvenile and adult prisons to immigrant detention centres, to army bases in Afghanistan, to speed cameras in Victoria, and soon the Sydney Ferry system.

Demonstrations were held in London, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, where a number of cordinated demonstrations were held throughout the day.

Geography: 

Victorians want Baillieu state government to act on climate change, clean energy

Most Victorians want more action on climate change and renewable energy from the Baillieu State Government according to a new public opinion survey commissioned by Environment Victoria.

The survey was conducted in late December 2011 and early January 2012 involving a series of questions to over 1000 people in Victoria conducted by Essential Media, a professional market survey company. The primary results show that 76 percent of Victorians expect the State Government to take action to reduce greenhouse pollution rather than leaving tackling climate change to the federal sphere of politics. There is also massive support for the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and just 22 per cent believe the 2km wind farm veto is fair.

Geography: 

Cultural heritage signs In country March 2012 James Price Point

In order to ensure that Woodside and all its contractors cannot claim ignorance as a defense to prosecution, the Goolarabooloo people in association with the Walmadan Protectors and the Broome Community NO Gas Campaign have erected Cultural Welcoming to Country and Informational Signs throughout Country.

Geography: 

To get the justice done, the splintered, shard-like "left" needs to coalesce

Gerry Georgatos

The compassionate left wing screams for social justice and argues for our governments and society's institutions to have a heart and help people from the bottom end up, and to desist with the proposition that they can achieve for the downtrodden by working from the top end of town and down.

The bona fide left wing is fractious and forever splintering and yet it calls out for groundswells of people power to coalesce in mass social movements which will give rise to cultural waves.

Japanese whaling fleet abandons further hunting this season

Sea Shepherd are reporting that the Japanese whaling fleet is heading home, with the season coming to an end with weather starting to worsen. Sea Shepherd have again been effective in reducing the lethal efficiency of the illegal Japanese commercial whaling operation that uses a scientific loophole in the International Whaling Commission that allows them to slaughter whales for 'research' and sell the meat as part of their commercial operation.

WGAR News: New report into Stronger Futures consultations by Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning

Newsletter date: 9 March 2012

Contents:
* New report into 'Stronger Futures' consultations by Jumbunna
* Former PM Malcolm Fraser launches new report into consultations
* More 'Stronger Futures' Legislation related articles
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Other articles
* Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 20 events from 9 March 2012

* NEW REPORT INTO 'STRONGER FUTURES' CONSULTATIONS BY JUMBUNNA:

- The Report

Jumbunna, University of Technology Sydney:

Aboriginal Political Party is born to fight injustice

Gerry Georgatos

The Aboriginal Political Party (APP)
has been born in South Australia and it
has based its first principle on fighting
injustice.

Leading the way are APP executive
officers, Kaurna Elder, Lynette Crocker and
Dr Dylan Coleman, the 2011 recipient of
the Queensland Premier’s David Unaipon
Indigenous Literary Award.

On February 19, the 176th South Australian
Letters Patent commemoration was held by
the APP.

“As we move towards a referendum on
constitutional recognition we must consider
the 1836 Letters Patent which defined the

Filipino women march against US military expansion in the Philippines and the Pacific

Unity Statement, March 8, 2012

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2012, we, Filipino women declare in strongest terms possible, our opposition not only to increased presence but to U.S. military presence per se on Philippine soil.

The United States is increasing its military presence in Asia-Pacific, in particular in the Philippines, and the Philippine government is showing no qualms in allowing this to happen.

The Shortwave Report 03/09/12 Listen Globally!

Dear Radio Friend,
The latest Shortwave Report (March 9) is up at the website http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (128kb)(27MB), broadcast quality (16MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at page bottom
(If you have access to Audioport there is a highest quality version posted up there {35MB} http://www.audioport.org/index.php?op=producer-info&uid=904&nav=&)

WA primary school in race row - Back to the 1950s!

Gerry Georgatos

A Western Australian primary school principal has taken the state back forty years with a race row after he targeted all the Aboriginal students in trying to address misbehaviour.

The northern Perth primary school of Neerabup was the talk of its local communities when on Friday, March 1, its principal Brett Lewis tried to address alleged discipline problems by ordering to a special meeting all Aboriginal children from Years 3 to 7 - all of them together.

29th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is proud to announce the 29th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award will open on Friday, 10 August, 2012.

Call for entries is now open.

$40,000 will be awarded to the work considered by judges to be the most outstanding work in the exhibition.

Details at http://www.nretas.nt.gov.au/arts-and-museums/museums/natsiaa .

WGAR News: Our Generation and ANTaR have launched a new video and campaign

Newsletter date: 8 March 2012

Contents:
* Our Generation and ANTaR have launched a new video and campaign
* Proposed Stronger Futures laws "will kill Aboriginal people"
* Write to Senators re Stronger Futures laws
* NT Intervention panel discussion by Dr John Falzon, Lynette De Santis and Adam Giles
* More Stronger Futures Legislation related articles
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention legislation
* "WA stolen wages offer 'cruel and heartless', says legal service" GLW
* "We are lucky Bob Carr was not appointed Indigenous Affairs Minister!" Gerry Georgatos

Queensland Police Commissioner must disclose all police brutality allegations promptly

Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson recently held a press conference confirming a police investigation into the bashing of a handcuffed Gold Coast man had been launched. Mr Atkinson was critical of the leaking of CCTV footage of the attack to the media. He claimed the QPS takes all complaints of police brutality very seriously and the complaint would have been thoroughly investigated even without media pressure.

Geography: 

Stolen wages remain stolen with $2,000 offer

by Gerry Georgatos The Stolen Wages campaign has taken an almighty setback in Western Australia when the state government tossed up a disturbingly paltry compensation offer - and which requires one to extinguish all rights to any further claims if they accept the offer.

Promotion: 

a coalition of deaths

by ray jackson, president, indigenous social justice association

will a coalition of deaths in custody equate to a coalition of activists to fight for them?

that question has been much on my mind since last monday. about noon on that day i attended a rally outside of the nsw parliament house to commemorate and protest a death in custody event. the rally only involved about a dozen people, including myself, and it raised little interest from lunch time crowds and even less from the nsw government or opposition.

Julian Assange fights for his life

Amazing revelations about the depth of privatized spy agencies. And the co-ordinated effort to silence Australian Julian Assange for life.

Stratfor hires former U.S. government agents, and bribes insiders and journalists (possibly in contravention to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act).

Wikileaks announces the initial release from a trove of 5 million Stratfor emails hacked by the group Anonymous.

CD Quality listen/download here:
http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock12/ES_120307_Show.mp3

Faster download Lo-Fi here:
http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock12/ES_120307_Show_LoFi.mp3

Greenpeace activists say coal ship highlights 'Reef in danger'

Greenpeace activists targeted a bulk coal carrier in Gladstone harbour early this morning. They painted 'reef in danger' on the side of the ship around dawn from two inflatable boats to highlight the massive expansion of coal port facilities and shipping through the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef. The action was undertaken to highlight the threat to the Greet Barrier Reef from industrial development and expansion to a UNESCO team visiting Queensland to assess the dangers to the Great Barrier Reef and it's World Heritage status.

Related: Greenpeace Report -Boom Goes the Reef: Australia’s coal export boom and the industrialisation of the Great Barrier Reef (PDF) | Greenpeace - Live Action! A painted picture for UNESCO

Geography: