Senate condemns bloodshed in Syria
09/02/2012 - 2:23pm

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown moved in the Senate today to condemn human rights abuses in Syria and said China and Russia's veto of the UN Security Council resolution aimed at stemming the bloodshed was reprehensible.

"The world needs to act more strongly to stem the bloodshed," Senator Brown said in Canberra.

"The Greens back the sanctions measures imposed by the Foreign Minister.

"The next question to consider is whether the embassy here in Canberra should be closed, as at present they don't represent decency or democracy."

Senator Brown successfully moved:

That the Senate -

a) condemns the appalling human rights abuses and escalating violence in Syria, that has seen thousands of innocent civilians killed; and

b) calls on President Assad to step down, to finally put an end to the intolerable bloodshed of the Syrian people.

Brandis must disqualify from privileges committee
09/02/2012 - 8:28am

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has called on Liberal powerbroker George Brandis to remove himself, or be removed, from the Senate Privileges Committee because he has pre-judged the question of the integrity of Greens Senators Brown and Milne.

"I have reminded the Senate that the Committee of Privileges has the power to recommend jail sentences of six months for Senators. It is parallel to our courts, must apply standards of justice like those of the courts and its decisions are appellable to the courts. Senator Brandis must go," Senator Brown said in Canberra today.

"The Senate is debating dissent in the President's ruling and will vote on the matter, unprecedented in this period of government, later this afternoon."

As outlined by Senator Brown in the Senate last night (p.122, Hansard, 7/02/12), the proposal brought to the Senate President last year was effectively a SLAPP writ, now outlawed in the Australian Capital Territory, as well as in many states of the United States, because of its inherent unfairness.

Brown puts pulp mill opposition to Chandler
08/02/2012 - 1:17pm

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has today written to Mr Richard Chandler, the new investor in Gunns Ltd, recommending he look at better investment opportunities in Tasmania than the unpopular pulp mill proposal in the Tamar Valley.

"The polluting pulp mill cuts right across Tasmania's ‘clean, green and clever' branding and it is only fair that Mr Chandler knows at the outset that the pulp mill proposal is a dinosaur which should be extinct," Senator Brown said.

"I have suggested to Mr Chandler that we catch up so I can outline to him how the pulp mill process was corrupted, why it is so divisive and the much better options for investment and job creation in Tasmania."

Government misleads World Heritage Committee on Tasmanian logging
07/02/2012 - 3:44pm

The Australian Government has lodged a report with the World Heritage Committee that misrepresents the extent of logging in forest surrounding the Tasmanian World Heritage Area, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said today.

"The Australian Government is putting forward a submission to an international committee that essentially does not tell the truth about what is happening in Tasmania's forests," Senator Brown said.

In the report to the committee the government claims in relation to the Tasmanian forests intergovernmental agreement:

Under the terms of the Agreement, significant iconic areas adjacent to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area will be given interim protection from logging activities, including the Upper Florentine, and areas within the Styx, Huon, Picton and Counsel River Valleys, while an independent verification process to assess the values of these areas and available timber reserves is undertaken.

"There are some 18 coupes totalling over 800ha that are being logged, have been logged or are due for logging in the areas the government claims have been protected," Senator Brown said.

"Some of these coupes are within just 1km of the World Heritage Area, which contrasts with the picture the government paints of a secure shield buffering the area from the impacts of logging.

"I have written today to the World Heritage Committee outlining exactly what is happening in Tasmania's forests, including the list of coupes.

"I expect the Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, to formally explain to the committee his error in the report," Senator Brown said

Greens propose plan for fairer superannuation, reform of $30b in tax breaks
06/02/2012 - 3:21pm

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today released the Greens’ proposal to be put to the Superannuation Roundtable recently established by the Government after talks with the Greens.

“The Greens had detailed discussions with the Government about the revenue going to superannuation as part of the mining tax package, and the need to review superannuation tax concessions. We need to make the system fairer,” Senator Brown said in Canberra.

 “Fixing a system so skewed towards high-income earners could go a long way to lift overall levels of savings. Current rules do nothing to ease the growing gap between the rich and poor. 

“Tax breaks on superannuation cost the budget $30 billion a year, as Treasury’s latest Tax Expenditure Statement [released 31/1/2012] showed, with almost half of the concessions on contributions going to the top 12% of income earners. The tax breaks were projected to rise to more than $40 billion a year by 2014-15.”

The Greens' plan would see superannuation taxed at a person’s marginal tax rate minus 15 percentage points. Currently all contributions are taxed at a flat rate of 15%. A person whose marginal tax rate is 15% would pay no tax on super. High-income earners would pay more but still significantly less than their marginal tax rate, retaining the incentive to save for retirement.

“The Greens support raising the superannuation guarantee to 12% but tax reform is a crucial part of the debate, and should occur before the mining tax package is legislated,” Senator Brown said.