2025-09-02
The theme of this Green Issue is our right to protest. Public protests are ramping up, whether it be in relation to climate action, Gaza or nationalist, anti-immigrant sentiments. A common response of federal and state governments has been to strengthen anti-protest laws, even to the extent of impinging upon long held citizen rights to peaceful public protest. We present a critique of the open-ended “post and boast” law before the WA parliament, and describe how it may go well beyond the original intention of prevention of social media distribution of filming of criminal events. The proposed WA post and boast Bill has been pushed into committee stage, thanks to the efforts of Greens MLCs, as mentioned in their reports indicated below. We also explore the definition of what exactly is ethical public protest.
Although the WA government likes to boast of its advances in renewable energy and the consequent emissions reduction, it is somewhat misleading in downplaying the ever-increasing emissions from WA’s burgeoning in fossil fuel pollution, at home and abroad. This very uneven equation between emissions reduction and expansion is dissected. And plans for further expansion of fossil fuel production, with consequent environmental damage, into the indefinite future are afoot, namely for fracking in the Kimberley.
August saw the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We describe how a child first learned of these tragedies and how they affected him through life, realizing that we still remain poised on the edge of nuclear catastrophe. The Doomsday clock sits at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
Finally, we take you into the world of some small animals who like to jump onto larger animals for a free ride and meals – ticks.
But importantly, we try to bring you a two-monthly snapshot of what our elected Greens representatives have been doing on behalf of us all. We include updates from Senator Jordon Steele-John and our representatives in the WA Legislative Council – Brad Pettitt, Sophie McNeill, Jess Beckerling and Tim Clifford.
Header photo: Despite the weather thousands turned out for the Gaza rally and march starting from Forrest Place, Perth, 24th August