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Confirmed: Indonesian fish stocks contaminated by Montara oil
Concerns repeatedly raised by the Australian Greens that Indonesian fishing grounds were contaminated by oil from last year’s Montara oil spill have been confirmed, following testing of an oil sample submitted to the Montara oil spill inquiry by Australian Greens Senator for WA Rachel Siewert.
“We first raised concerns in October that communities in Indonesia who rely on fish for food were being affected by this oil spill,” Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“The response by the Rudd Government at the time was to play the reports down.
Terrorism white paper: shiny new language, same old laws
The Australian Greens say the Government's long awaited counter-terrorism White Paper cements the creeping expansion of domestic security agencies.
"It will be essential that key aspects of this package are scrutinised by the Parliament and its committees, and we urge the Government to immediately move ahead with the establishment of the National Security Legislation Monitor, which is delayed again in the House of Representatives," said Australian Greens law and justice spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.
Asia Pacific Greens Network 2010 Congress
Taipei, Taiwan- April 30th to May 2nd
Taking Australia to war: who should decide?
An informal hearing is being held in Canberra on Friday to debate a long-standing proposal that would require parliamentary approval to send Australian troops to war.
The so-called 'War Powers' Bill is a decades-old piece of unfinished business, introduced by the Australian Democrats in the 1980s and carried forward by the Australian Greens.
The bill is the subject of a committee inquiry by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade which decided against holding a public hearing into the bill.
"I've taken the unusual step of convening a hearing in Parliament House, with or without the major parties," said Senator Scott Ludlam who re-introduced the bill in 2008.
"The evidence we take from an impressive witness line-up will be submitted to the committee and placed in the public domain to further the debate.
PM backs down on Close the Gap promise: Greens
The Australian Greens question the Rudd Government's ability to Close the Gap in Aboriginal life expectancy and health disadvantage, if the PM can't even keep his commitment to report to Parliament on the first day of sitting.
"The Greens are concerned it appears Mr Rudd won't be reporting on progress in closing the gap on the first day of Parliament," said Senator Rachel Siewert.
"Two years after making the commitment that while-ever he was Prime Minister, the first sitting day of parliament every year would be marked by a report on the government's progress in "closing the gap" between black and white Australians - it looks like Mr Rudd will have a 100% failure rate, having never managed to keep this commitment."
Greens Express Concern for People of Haiti
The Australian Greens have expressed their heartfelt concern for the people of Haiti following yesterday's devastating earthquakes which hit the capital, Port Au Prince.
"Our thoughts are with the many people who have lost their homes, or been injured or killed in the earthquake,'' said Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson on Human Rights.
"We wish all the rescue agencies well in trying to save as many lives as possible and to bring comfort to the survivors and their families.
Financial Regulation and the Tobin Tax
In September in the NSW Legislative Council, I spoke about financial regulation both at home and abroad in the wake of the global financial crisis. I criticised Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for his heavy handed use of tens of thousands of words to slash wildly at 'corporate cowboys' and 'stopping capitalism from canibalising itself', while laying out absolutely no concrete reforms which might stop such a crisis from occurring again.
Greens conference calls for Australia’s aid budget to address climate change impacts
The Greens NSW state conference meeting in Nowra this weekend called on the federal government to refocus Australia's overseas aid program to ensure it addresses the impacts of climate change and helps recipient nations reduce their carbon footprint, Greens NSW lead senate candidate and state MP Lee Rhiannon said today.
Lee accepts petition at international student rally
Lee joined Greens Federal Senator Sarah Hanson-Young at a Fair Education: Justice for International Students rally, one of a nation wide series of rallies. Lee accepted a petition from the students for tabling in NSW Parliament.
Use Some Diplomacy On Asylum Seekers, PM
The Prime Minister must show some leadership and take the venom out of the debate on asylum seekers, according to Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for Immigration and Human Rights, says both Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull are doing themselves and the public a disservice by continuing to refer to asylum seekers as "illegal''.
People who are fleeing persecution have every right to seek asylum under international law, and the Press Council has warned that the use of the words "illegal" or "illegals" in coverage of the issue is inaccurate.
"As a career diplomat, Mr Rudd knows very well the importance of the words he uses,'' Senator Hanson-Young said.
