Freedom of information laws will apply to NBN - Greens
The Australian Greens have secured an agreement with the Government to subject the NBN Co to freedom of information laws.
Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam negotiated amendments to NBN Co's governance arrangements after raising concerns about the multi-billion dollar public company being exempt from the transparency rules.
"The NBN Co should be held to the same standards of transparency as any other government company," said Senator Ludlam. "We have negotiated with the Government and they have agreed NBN Co will be listed as a prescribed authority under the Freedom of Information Act."
Minister must publicly reveal true position on uranium sales to India
The Australian Greens have called on resources Minister Martin Ferguson to make a statement to Parliament on his policy on uranium sales to India, and whether it differs from that of the Australian Government.
Greens spokesperson for nuclear affairs Senator Scott Ludlam said the Government had recently reaffirmed it would not sell uranium to a country that was not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but leaked documents suggested that Minister Ferguson had different plans.
Greens negotiate safeguards for public NBN
The Australian Greens have secured safeguards making any future privatisation of the National Broadband Network subject to a full public inquiry and vote in parliament.
"The point of this exercise is to make it as difficult as possible for a future Government to put us through a repeat of the Telstra privatisation debacle," Senator Scott Ludlam said.
"If we're going to the expense of $11 billion to bring Telstra's networks back into public hands, we'd rather not repeat the whole privatisation mess in 13 years time."
Light rail Green light
Today in Canberra the Greens launched an ambitious plan to give the national capital a state-of-the-art light rail system, and called for better public transport planning across the country.
No NT nuclear waste dump
The Federal Government announced it will repeal the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act. But it has left Muckaty Station outside Tenant Creek in the NT as the most likely target for the national radioactive waste dump.
The repeal legislation is, if anything, more coercive than the bill it replaces.
Greens bring on online privacy inquiry
The Australian Greens have successfully secured a Senate inquiry into online privacy in Australia, following recent concerns over privacy breaches and plans by the Commonwealth to force Internet Service Providers to store web browsing histories of all Australian internet users.
The inquiry will examine online privacy protection and data collection on social networking sites, as well as the data collection activities of private companies and Government agencies.
"Recent events have proven that Australians face a multitude of challenges in protecting their privacy online: whether it be social networking sites and search engines harvesting personal data to sell to advertisers, or Government agencies snooping for their own obscure purposes," said Australian Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.
Real time water monitoring essential at Ranger Uranium Mine: Greens
The lead Commonwealth regulator with oversight of the Ranger Uranium mine has acknowledged that real time water monitoring is the best way to test contamination of waterways downstream of the Ranger Uranium Mine.
After questioning from Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam at Senate estimates in Canberra today, Supervising Scientist Alan Hughes said that his Office had spent several years perfecting techniques for real time water sampling, and that the company had also begun such monitoring.
"It is time the Supervising Scientist stepped in to make sure that real time water quality data is made public by the company so that we can all be confident that events like this don't ever go under the radar," Senator Ludlam said.
Growing concerns over future privatisation of NBN: Greens
As the Senate Select Committee undertakes hearings into the National Broadband Network in Sydney, the Australian Greens have expressed strong concerns about proposals to privatise the network in a decade's time.
"At the very least, the Government should undertake a public interest test and require a vote in Parliament before privatisation lands us back in the same mess we're in today," said Australian Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.
"The Implementation study has proposed that a form of public interest test be undertaken before any decision is made to privatise the NBN. This morning the Select Committee heard evidence in support of this recommendation from industry and user groups.
ERA must explain Ranger uranium leak to shareholders at AGM
The Australian Greens are calling on Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) to use today's Annual General Meeting to provide a full explanation to shareholders of the extent of water contamination seeping from beneath the tailings dam at the Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park, and the future liability for clean up costs.
Environmental regulators for the office of the Supervising Scientist recently admitted that water with uranium concentrations 5400 times background and a cocktail of other radionuclides was leaking from the tailings dam at Ranger.
"It's time ERA revealed the exact nature and magnitude of the leak, the total volume of water that has leaked and some estimates for the cost of site remediation," said Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens spokesperson on nuclear issues.
"We were shocked to find that despite knowing about this leakage for years, the regulators don't seem to know how much is seeping, where it is going, or how highly contaminated it is.
Greens welcome investigation of NT waste dump legal options
The Australian Greens have welcomed a statement by prominent human rights lawyers George Newhouse and Stephen Leonard that options are being investigated for a legal challenge to the Government's flawed proposal to dump radioactive waste in the Northern Territory.
"Human Rights and environmental lawyers from around the country agree there may be a case to mount a challenge," said Greens spokesperson on nuclear issues, Senator Scott Ludlam.
"This is the path of the Government's choosing: conflict instead of consent."
"We've been waiting more than two years for this government to fulfil its election promise to put in place a scientific, accountable and consultative process to deal with this long term issue. Instead we've seen Labor ramp up efforts to force a dump on an unwilling community.