Latest Australian Greens Media Releases

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has urgently called on the
Australian Government to condemn the violent and disproportionate
action by Israeli forces, in the wake of the bombing of a United
Nations School on the Gaza strip.

It is estimated that more than 15,000 Palestinians have fled from
their homes in fear, seeking refuge in the UN's 23 Gaza schools.

"It is utterly abhorrent that a United Nations sponsored school was
bombed, despite the UN providing the Israeli military with the GPS
coordinates for all its facilities," said Greens Senator Sarah
Hanson-Young.

"No child should ever be used as a weapon of war, nor should they be
subjected to violence and forced to flee their homes in fear.

Senator Hanson-Young said that with more than 600 Palestinian
civilians killed thus far, the effect this conflict has had on
children has reached crisis point.

"They are under enormous stress, and suffering severe trauma, some are
in such a state of shock that they are unable to cry," she said.

"This humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deepening as every hour passes.
The international community must come together and criticise the
increased violence in the region from both sides, and promote the need
for an urgent international peace operation.

"It is time for the Rudd Government to urgently place on record
Australia's objection and condemnation of the bombing of innocent
Palestinian civilians in the Gaza strip by Israeli forces, and call
for an end to all violence in the region immediately."

Media contact: Emily Johnson on 0427 604 760

Call for legislation to protect the Australian right to political beliefs

Gunns Ltd latest writ, against 13 forest defenders, includes a core claim for aggravated and exemplary damages "because their actions were calculated and/or likely to publicise the political beliefs of Defendants and to thereby gain media publicity for each of them and/or for the beliefs which they hold".

"This is the Gunns empire, one of the western world's most evil environmental outfits, now using the courts to punish pro-environment beliefs," Senator Brown said.

"Polls show 80% of Australians oppose old growth logging. What next for this environmental killer - a suit against 16 million Australians?" Senator Brown asked.

"The federal and state governments should implement legislation to stop such action overriding the fundamental right to freedom of speech and political belief," Senator Brown said.

Senator Brown said he had written to the Tasmanian Minister for Police to ask for an investigation into how Gunns obtained the names of the 13 defendants including those not arrested or charged at the Triabunna protest.

Further information: Ebony Bennett 0409 164 603

Rather than ban the Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin from Australian ports as requested by Japan, Japanese woodchip ships picking up the flensed remains of Australia's old growth forests should be kept out, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"The Prime Minister should get off his couch and make the whalers in Australia's territorial waters face substantial sanctions. Their colleagues killing the biggest living creations on land in Australia should also be stopped," Senator Brown said.

"Hobart will have a warm welcome for Paul Watson and his crew when they return and the least Labor politicians can do is ensure port fees are waived for the Steve Irwin."

Further information: Ebony Bennett 0409 164 603

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Environment Minister Peter
Garrett must announce his decision on the fate of South Australia's
Lower Lakes.

After a ten-day period of public consultation late last year, Minister
Garrett had twenty working days to decide upon the appropriateness of
seawater flooding of Lakes Alexandrina and Albert. An announcement was
expected by December 31 2008.

"It's time for an announcement from the Minister," said Senator
Hanson-Young.

"The Greens want to see Minister Garrett rule out seawater flooding of
the Lower Lakes. 

"Rather than preparing for the worst-case scenario, we should be
proactive in avoiding it. 

"State and federal government attention should be focussed on securing
the long-term sustainability of the Lakes by acquiring freshwater flows,
and investigating intermediate options such as bioremediation."

Senator Hanson-Young said the communities around the Lower Lakes were
disappointed with the lack of consultation and communication from the
Government.

"I last visited communities around the Lower Lakes over the Christmas
break, and what I heard then, and what I've heard time and time again,
is that these communities want better consultation from and
communication with their elected representatives," she said.

"The locals, who rely on the Lakes, are finding out information based on
what they read in the paper and hear on the radio, which isn't good
enough.

"The Lakes communities are passionate about and determined to find a
freshwater solution to this environmental crisis, and the Greens are
supporting them in this fight."

Media contact: Gemma Clark on 0427 604 760

The Greens say former prime minister John Howard is hardly deserving of
a Medal of Freedom from US President George W Bush, given his record on
human rights. 

Howard has been named as a recipient of the United States Presidential
Medal of Freedom, along with former British prime minister Tony Blair
and Colombian president Alvaro Uribe. 

The medal is the highest honour awarded to civilians, described by White
House spokeswoman Dana Perino as being for "efforts to promote
democracy, human rights and peace abroad". Previous recipients include
Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

"John Howard's record on human rights is blemished, to say the least,"
said Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

"We're talking about the Australian prime minister who oversaw the
locking up of children behind razorwire, who stonily ignored the plight
of David Hicks until the eleventh hour of a troubled election campaign,
who demonstrated an appalling lack of compassion during the Tampa
incident, and who disgracefully refused to apologise to the Stolen
Generations.

"John Howard is no Nelson Mandela."

Senator Hanson-Young said it was ironic that President Bush was awarding
medals for human rights, peace and security.

"This is the President who will be remembered as the father of
Guanatanamo Bay, who led the Coalition of the Willing into the debacle
that was and is Iraq," she said.

"This Medal of Freedom seems more of a farewell 'pat on the back' from
President Bush to the mates who stood by him, rather than recognition of
the work of a true leader on peace and human rights."

Media contact: Gemma Clark on 0427 604 760

The Australian Greens say plans to overhaul the Sydney metro could
create a sustainable city for the future, but only if they are
underpinned by public transport and affordable housing. 

"The plans reported in the media today* are an example of what the
federal government could achieve through its Infrastructure Australia
Fund. However, urban consolidation is only ever effective if there's
provision for affordable housing and developments are networked with
fast, affordable public transport."

"We can't afford to invest in exclusive and car-dependent housing
developments that will simply entrench inequality," said the Greens
Transport Spokesperson, Senator Scott Ludlam.

"If we get this right, we can create sustainable urban villages linked
with rapid transit and world-class broadband, with a high proportion of
affordable housing."

 "I've initiated a Senate Inquiry to identify gaps in the nation's
public transport infrastructure. The government should use the findings
of this inquiry, as a road map to guide its infrastructure spending." 

"The government has the potential to fund a range of ambitious projects.
It should spend the money wisely by investing in regional fast rail and
urban public transport networks; creating genuine sustainable cities for
the future." 


For more information or media enquiries please call Robert Simms on 0417
174 302

* As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald today: Linton Besser and
Wendy Frew, 'Get ready for high-rise Sydney,' Sydney Morning Herald, p1

The Australian Greens said today that Aged Care in Western Australia
would soon be in crisis if action isn't taken to address the viability
of the sector.

"Federal Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot is trying to paint a rosy
picture of Aged Care in Australia, claiming that more beds were sought
than were available. However, this does not represent the true picture -
which is of a sector on the edge of crisis. In Western Australia, less
than half those available places were taken up, and the kinds of
services on offer are not keeping up with the changing demand," said
Senator Rachel Siewert today.

Funding in the Aged Care sector is offered to care providers for a
particular number of places or 'beds' - but service providers say that
the rate of funding on offer does not match the cost of providing care.
This results in providers having to cross-subsidise these services and
argue that they cannot afford to provide more beds, despite increasing
demand.

"It is nonsense to try and claim that Aged Care is in a healthy state
around Australia just because in some states the release of some types
of beds were over subscribed - when it is clear there is a growing
problem," said Senator Siewert.

The current Senate Inquiry into Aged Care recently heard that there were
thousands of Aged Care places 'off-line' in WA - where places have been
provisionally allocated but beds and facilities have not been built or
have been decommissioned and not yet replaced. To date only 538 of the
1208 beds offered in WA in the 2008-09 funding round have been taken up
by providers.

"What does the Government intend to do about the looming crisis in Aged
Care in WA?"

"I've heard stories of people waiting months and months to get a bed, of
people only being able to find beds in facilities a long way from their
families," said Senator Siewert.

"When will the Government change the funding formula to reflect the
increasing demand for high care services?"

The increasing commitment to 'ageing in place' has seen a dramatic
change. Elderly Australians now seek to stay at home until they can no
longer do so due to extreme frailty and the need for complex care,
resulting in 72% of new residents to nursing homes requiring high care.

"At the same time service providers are having difficulties in
attracting staff, and have serious concerns about both the short and
long term viability of Aged Care services in WA as well as other
states."

The Greens are demanding that the Federal Government outline its plans
to address the ongoing sustainability of the Aged Care sector in the
face of growing demand from an ageing population.

"Instead of pretending that everything is OK in the Aged Care sector,
the Minister should be listening to the sector and working with them to
address these issues," concluded Senator Siewert. 

For more information or media enquiries please call Tim Norton on 0418
401 180

Federal Minister Peter Garrett’s decision to effectively give Gunn’s an extension of two more years to do the hydro dynamic modelling in Bass Strait is a body blow to Tasmanians and puts the pulp mill squarely on the 2010 federal election agenda, Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne said today.

“It has been obvious from day one that a chlorine dioxide bleaching pulp mill would pollute Bass Strait and that tertiary treatment would be required,” Senator Milne said. “Gunn’s has had since 2004 to prove otherwise but has failed to do so.”

“My campaign for the release of the Hertzfeld report put the federal minister on notice that the community knows that Bass Strait does not flush quickly and that the pulp mill would never achieve the dilution and dispersion that would be required.”

“It should not have required a long drawn out FOI battle, which is still ongoing, to force the government’s hand to take a more serious look at the hydro dynamic modelling in the Environment Impact Management Plan (EIMP).”

“Why does the federal minister think that in two more years Gunns can prove what they have not been able to prove for the past four?”

“Gunns are clearly angling for the taxpayers to have to pay for the tertiary treatment and Mr Rudd should unequivocally guarantee that no federal money will be on the table.”

 “Minister Garrett should have rejected the (EIMP) today on the basis Gunn’s failed to comply with its requirements and put an end to the misery Tasmanian’s have had to suffer since Gunn’s announced its pulp mill in 2004.”

“This pulp mill and the relationship of its proponents with the Tasmanian Labor Government has poisoned the body politic in Tasmania for long enough.”

“Nobody in the Tamar Valley, the tourism industry, the wine industry or the fishing industry can get on with their lives because of the looming threat that this polluting pulp mill poses.”

“This decision is a blow to saving Tasmania’s forests as carbon stores because everyday native forests are felled under the pulp mill forest agreement, even though the EIMP has been approved.”

.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called on Environment Minister Peter Garrett to be upfront with South Australians as to his decision on flooding the Lower Lakes with salt water.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBCA) the Environment Minister had twenty working days to respond to the South Australian Government’s request for approval of removing the barrages and letting salt water into the Lower Lakes. These twenty working days expired on December 31 2008.

“It’s disappointing that no announcement has been made yet by the Minister, although his deadline to do so has passed,” said Senator Hanson-Young.

“It’s a bit rich given that public consultation on this issue was granted only the minimum of ten days – yet the Minister’s own timeframe to make a decision has been extended to suit him.

“It’s one set of rules for politicians, and another for the people.

“The Minister’s tardiness and silence on this issue speaks volumes – it’s time for him to make the lakes a priority and be upfront with South Australians.”

Senator Hanson-Young said salt water flooding of the lakes was not the answer, and that there were other options.

“It’s not an appropriate short-term solution, and definitely not a long-term solution.

“Clearly what the lakes need is some fresh water flows, but in the interim there are ways and means of managing the system.

“Other options like bioremediation should be looked into urgently.”

Senator Hanson-Young said a holistic approach was needed in finding a solution.

“If the State Government is given the approval to flood the lakes with saltwater, this is a green light to the building of the Wellington weir and a new proposed weir at Clayton.

“Rather than being treated as different problems, the various proposals must be rolled into one plan and be referred as such for approval under the EPBCA so the Minister can take into account the risks and long-term impact of all of these proposals together.”

Senator Hanson-Young said state and federal governments had run up the white flag on the Lower Lakes.

“We need an Environment Minister who is committed to ensuring the long-term protection of this internationally important environmental site.

“The Greens are committed to working on sustainable solutions to save Lake Albert, Lake Alexandrina, and the Coorong.”

Media contact: Gemma Clark on 0427 604 760