The Network

Groundwater issues - sustainability, salinity, water sufficiency

2012-01-29T07:05:00.000+11:00

Picture from here

From water campaigner, Maria Reidl:

Maria has sent a link to podcast of a Fran Kelly interview with Professor Craig Simmons of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training and Professor Robert F.Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.

The interview was brought about because of last week's meeting in Sydney where four of the world’s leading authorities on global and regional water issues will gathered to advise on Australia’s groundwater research and training needs.

A note on groundwater below is from here.

Groundwater

Due to the cap on surface water extractions in the Murray-Darling Basin and the scarcity of surface water resources in other areas, groundwater use across Australia has increased by 90% between 1985 and 1996/97 to approximately 5000 GL/year (NLWRA 2001b). Overall, 33% of groundwater extracted is for urban/industrial use, 48% is used for irrigation and 19% is for stock watering and rural use. South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria use more than 60% of groundwater for irrigation, while Western Australia uses 72% for urban and industrial purposes.
The total volume of groundwater that can be sustainably extracted from groundwater resources is currently estimated to be 25 735 GL/year (< 5000 mg/L TDS); however, many undeveloped groundwater resources are in remote areas. More importantly, most groundwater sustainable yield estimates do not consider groundwater dependent ecosystems or the impact of groundwater extraction on baseflows associated with surface waters. These are major issues that need to be addressed before the intensive development of groundwater resources can be managed sustainably. Some groundwater resources are already overdeveloped including the Great Artesian Basin and many small aquifers in the Murray-Darling Basin and along the east coast of Australia.

Further reading & listening:

Scientists warn Australia against groundwater complacency

Sharon Firebrace: I occupy because....

2012-01-28T09:19:00.000+11:00

Radio 3KND personality Sharon Firebrace

explains why she is part of the Occupy movement.

When you read about what Sharon does,

it is a wonder she is still long enough to 'occupy'.

Wayne Swan, Rob Hulls and Pat Comben and seekings answers to questions

2012-01-27T17:30:00.000+11:00

In the long ago when Miss Eagle was a very politically involved person, she took this picture with some of her then comrades-in-politics. I am re-posting this post - original publication September 25 2009 - because to-day, January 27 2012, Rob Hulls has announced his resignation from state politics in Victoria.

Rob has been an excellent Labor Attorney-General. Please note that of the three in the photo, only one is still in office. That's the one in the glasses - Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia Wayne Swan. Wayne, to me, is a good old-fashioned Labor politician and is employing traditional Labor methods in keeping Australia out of the financial difficulties afflicting the world. So far these methods are meeting with great success.

From Miss Eagle's archives.

No, these three lads are not triplets

cutting a birthday cake.

From left: Wayne Swan - then State Secretary of the Qld Branch of the ALP,

now Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia;

Rob Hulls - then Federal Member for Kennedy, a North Qld based seat,

now Victorian Attorney-General;

Pat Comben - then Minister (several portfolios) in the Labor Govt of Wayne Goss,

now an Anglican priest and Registrar of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton

and has the nomenclature of The Hon & Revd Pat Comben.

The date was 15 March 1991.

The place was Charters Towers.

The occasion was the Centenary of the ALP.

Charters Towers was one of the very first branches.

~~~~~~~~~

I am taking the opportunity of putting this picture up

because Rob Hulls is doing a live Q & A on line

this afternoon at 2.30 pm here.

You will need to be quick about getting your

Qs on or you won't get any As

Miss Eagle has asked how we can legally get out of Water Trading

and

rebundle land and water once again.

Let's see if she gets an answer to that.

She might if Rob recognises the name attached to the Q.

AUSTRALIA DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE

2012-01-27T12:36:00.000+11:00

The article below is by Tess Lawrence and is re-posted, with permission, from the Independent Australia website. I hope Networkers will pop over there to follow up on the comments to Tess's article. Tess has kindly published my previous post in the comments section as well. And I hope you too will become a regular reader of IA.

~~~~~~~~~~

AUSTRALIA DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE

by contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence

“Many of our people call it invasion day,” said Mr Mick Dodson, a professor of law at the Australian National University. “To many indigenous Australians, in fact, most indigenous Australians, it really reflects the day in which our world came crashing down.”

When Mick Dodson uttered those words in 2009, after being named Australian of the Year, he addressed the echidna in the outback room. I’m not the only Australian that empathises with him and like thinkers.

We have become so used to having a moribund Federal Parliament that has long divested itself of any concern, or even affection, for its people, but instead has morphed into a wasteland of toxic factions and fetid egos whose venal pursuit of power for power’s sake has reduced our nation’s governance to political squalor and hypocrisy.

This year we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy set up on the grounds of the old Parliament House in Canberra. It is a sacred vigil.

The Tent Embassy has a nobility, patriotic passion and sense of purpose that is completely lacking in The Big House.

Its Coat of Arms and Constitution has no need for royal decree, since the people themselves have decreed it and declared it.

It does not buy and sell speakers and squelchers of the House. Its Ambassadors do not sit in high chairs or high dudgeon.

The Tent Embassy seeks equality not superiority. It seeks recognition that this nation was occupied by aborigines when the first white boat people arrived in their tens, then hundreds, then thousands and now millions and became the master race through brute and gentler force, imposing their language, their religion and their diseases — and whatever else…

It is a disgrace that we have yet to acknowledge the original inhabitants of our Great Southern Land in our Constitution. I say that, as I write, in the midst of much back patting and back stabbing and nonsensical puffery surrounding the issue.

It is more than a disgrace that we have no Treaty in place and I have long felt this.

I feel we will remain an illegitimate nation until we are honourable enough to do the right thing.

In February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wrote himself indelibly into Australian history when he said Sorry. Perhaps we will have to wait for the Gillard FM (Faceless Men) Coup to be reversed for him to negotiate a Treaty.

Certainly, of all the big noters and the big notaries in the Labor Party – the big talkers and the big hawkers – Kevin Rudd came the closest to effecting a Treaty. He might yet get the chance to extend his historical paragraph.

Today, Independent Australia republishes an article I wrote for Planet Oz Media in 2009 about the Dodson Affair. Tragically, so little has changed in the years since. Dodson was seen by some to be ungrateful and ungracious when he made his comments — and yet, I rejoice that other Australians of the Year have since voiced their passions and beliefs and told it like it is, without marinating in spin or ingratiation.

It’s the Australia that I once knew and still love. Our Governments can reduce us to political Shamocracy, but We the People can still act on behalf of, and with, our communities and refuse to be threatened into silence or brutalised by corporations into submission.

AUSTRALIA DAY OR LOSTRALIA DAY?

G’day Australia. Do most of us really believe that it’s the right thing to celebrate Australia Day on the anniversary of a date when a bunch of whiteys preposterously plonked a Union Jackboot in the sand and declared the land unoccupied, when they had clearly seen a bunch of black fellows peeping through the gum leaves.

Smacks of a rip-off to me. Come off it, sport, how UNaustralian is that, mate?! Fair suck of the saveloy our gracious king.

And what’s up with ‘lil Kev. When he was Kevin 007 he said ‘Sorry’ for Gawd’s sake. Now he’s morphed into Kevin 09, long lost blue blood brother to one John Winston Howard, hogging the mike and telling us all the answer is an emphatic ‘ NO! ‘to any thought of moving the date for

Australia Day to a more appropriate ‘time of the month’ or year.

I was rather disturbed at his attitude and his nobody language. How can Kev go on about democracy and freedom of speech and in the same breath dictate to that big black upstart, the man with the hat, and his like, that the date WILL NOT be moved. Who said? You’re an elected servant of the people, Kev. The Great Unwashed. You might be removed at the next election, mate, for all you know. And what’s up with the drongo Supposition agreeing with him?

Not a good thing to say ‘never’ in politics, Kev. We of the never never reckon you could find yourself eating someone else’s turds. I’m with Professor Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year – and

Ron Barassi and the apparent minority to which I belong, that believes in Australia Day – but not its date.

As it stands, it’s a day for dancing alright; dancing on the collective grave of the inhabitants of the First Nation. You’ve lost me on this one Kev. Australia Day is invasion day — Lostralia.

What’s more, Kev, and this is neither threat nor prophecy (in case you’re thinking of issuing any ridgydidge fridge magnets to report any Australia Day insurgents), if you keep this up you could get a pair of thongs thrown at you at your next press conference.

A.D. or B.C.?

Should A.D. (Australia Day) better reflect B.C. (before Cook)? I say yes. I say change — not the short change that keeps coming to indigenous Australians.

Tough if it’s an inconvenience to change the date, or to seriously think about what we are doing to our indigenous brethren. All the platitudes in the gin-joints of the world mean nothing if we are incapable of empathy on this matter.

In truth this country was ‘founded’ on a lie. It was not ‘terra nullius’; but to a people that considered itself the master race of the universe, blacks were not humans. Bungs didn’t count.

Do they now, Kev? Not really. Neither in fact; nor in law. Not the white man’s lore. Not the King’s Law. Nor the white Queen’s Law. Nor, it seems, do we want them contributing to public debate and impacting upon the outcomes of those debates.

A bit of shiny bling…

…to pin on their diseased and diabetic chests

We orchestrated their past and we’ll orchestrate their future. We know what’s good for them.

Say ‘Sorry’, keep them happy, give them a bit of shiny bling to pin on their diseased diabetic chests.

Better hold on the toxic sugar. And the rabid 100% alcohol-proof fences.

Even if they are on the dole forever, their life span is not as long as ours, so whiteys on the dole forever can still enjoy the dole life plan for much longer. In a way, their early deaths represent considerable saving to the public purse. Come to think of it, then, this means it is not economically viable for us to improve their health.

They wouldn’t work in an iron ore lung…

They wouldn’t work in an iron-ore lung anyway.

There are two types of black deaths in custody. There are your traditional black deaths in custody: go alive into a prison cell, come out dead — Aunties wailing and tearing their hearts and hair out.

You know the scenario. They make such a bloody songline and dance about it.

Then there’s the other black deaths in custody. They now run into their thousands.

They’re the black deaths that have taken place since they’ve been in custody of the wider community. Our community. In our political custody and all that entails. That is, the sum total of all of us since white foot first trod heavy upon this Great Southern Land.

Once, in 1967, white and whiteish folks voted for aborigines to be counted in the national census.

What if we turned the tablelands on that? Do you think we could ask indigenous Australians to participate in a referendum about the date on which we should celebrate Australia Day? Could they be trusted with such political gravitas? Is that too big a word for them, Kev?

You probably want to keep them away from the political gravy train. Look at what happened to ATSICK. I mean, you wouldn’t want them handling a Wheat Board or, say, be Victoria’s Minister for Transport, Lynne Kosky, or anything like that.

Reckonciliation — Reconciliation

And you’d have to keep them away from plonk, glue and petrol wouldn’t you, Kev? Thenthey might be able to handle it. You’d have to keep them away from parliamentary dining rooms otherwise all their rellies would be eating there and complaining theirservings weren’t big enough.

Have you seen how they scoff their tucker? As if there’s no tomorrow. A short tomorrow, granted — but, look, they do get everything just handed to them on a platter. They get handouts and handsup and handshakes — and then they paint all those hands and plant them in the ground. And then have the cheek to give us their hand in wreckonciliation … oops! Reconciliation, I mean.

But that’s not all. They might have altercations on a night out with the iguanas, which they like to bake over an open fire. And you’d have to ban them from going overseas and representing us as diplomats because they’ll just get on the booze — they could also lose their daks, gawd love’em; but they do wear those red nappy things when they’re dancing, so it would probably be alright in the long run.

Better still Uncle Kev, keep them away from any real participation in political change. No, I like

the way you stood up to Professor Mick — have you done a bio authenticity check on him? What’s he profess to be a Professor of, ’eh?

We stole this land. Dress it up in laws and legislation as much as you like. We all continue to collude in this theft. As long as we delay Reconciliation and a Treaty, we remain accomplices.

It’s not right. It’s not fair. It’s not justice. We can’t undo the past. But we should be honest enough to acknowledge it.

Obama spells a Mabo backwards

I love this country. Like many of us who travel overseas, I am perplexed at the nostalgia and sentiment that intoxicate the brain when away from her. It is surely a spiritual bond and not the privilege of one skin colour alone. The power comes from her — and not those who walk upon her; sometimes walk all over her.

People keep asking if there’s an Obama type of fellow out there amongst our indigenous folk. Fat chance. You wouldn’t consider Mick or Noel would you? Don’t even think about a black sheila.

Unless it’s that Catherine the Great sprinter, the one who’s got ‘Salome’ as one of her middle names,

strewth! That’s a bible name. Cheek of it. She must be well up herself, with a surname like

Freeman. I reckon she could be a closet Muslim. Think about it, Salome………

She was given a bogong wasn’t she — an OAM I think. It’s that bling thing again with them.

And she won a gold medal in the Olympics desperately trying to ingratiate herself to us.

Trying to be whiter than white. As for her draping their flag around herself like that, well, with a middle name like Salome what do you expect ?

I thought she’d breakdance into the dance of the Five Veils, it being the Olympics and all. It was different when our Dawn nicked the Aussie flag — that’s more in keeping with our tradition and idiom; plus our Dawn’s got the advantage of being white. But look, getting back to skin colour, of course it matters. For a start, some of them are that white they only claim to be black so they can get the benefits.

Funny that Obama spells A Mabo backwards. I reckon that’s a sign. Black Magic. Also, some of them blacks are muslims like Obama. Did you ever hear of anything so ridiculous. What’s wrong with The Dreamtime? Their own culture not good enough for them? Rainbow serpents and Muslims. Didge in one hand — Koran in the other. What’s going on there? They should be facing Uluru, not Mecca; the Southern Cross, not Saudi Arabia.

I dunno, Kev, I think I’ve just about talked myself out of it now. Yeah, keep Invasion Day as Australia Day. After all, there’s more of us than them. Yo, whiteys rule! And don’t forget, they’re a dying race. As long as we go on as we are, soon there won’t be a race problem. They’ll die out. They’ve brought it upon themselves.

Geezus, they didn’t even put up a decent fight. And when you think about it, they may have lost their country but look at all they’ve gained. We brought them Civilisation! We took them out of the

Stone age. They put themselves into the Stoned age. We give them voting rights. They want Land Rights. They want equal rights. They make us feel like guests in our own country.

You can’t build a dunny on a dung heap without them claiming it’s sacred land and demanding billions of Australia Day medals. The only mistake we made was when we didn’t follow the example of our own white European ancestors. We didn’t learn from our own history. After all, did not the Dutch buy Manhattan for 60 guilders, if not baubles and beads, from the local red Indian savages. After all, our mob couldn’t read or write — still can’t. Anyway, even if we had’ve given them a few bob, where were they going to spend it ? They hadn’t even invented money. No shops. No milkbars. No malls.

Says it all, dunnit? I rest my slab.

Australian media blacks out blackfellas unless there's a blame game to play

2012-01-27T11:28:00.000+11:00

Apologies for the length of this post.

Put things needed to be said.

Please stay to the end because there's and eyewitness account

and an eyewitness photo ... even if the professionals turned blind eyes.

On the 24 January, I received an email from switchedon@your.abc.net.au. In this email, the ABC - Australia's national, government funded, public radio - let me know what they were planning to put to air on Thursday 26 January, Australia Day. Here is what they told me they were doing.

I was rather disgusted at what the ABC was boasting about showing Australia in relation to Australia Day. Please note: there was not one mention of Aboriginal people or events. In Canberra, the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was being celebrated and commemorated. Indigenous people were coming to town to remember the history of the Embassy and were planning to make and re-make public claims to Aboriginal sovereignty on the continent of Australia. I would have thought this was a newsworthy event and I wrote to Switched On as follows:

Dear Switched On Folk,

Wonderful to hear of all the goings on at the ABC including the Australia Day stuff. Just thought it funny that nothing Aboriginal rated a mention. I would have thought the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra would have provided enough interesting people and goings-on for the ABC to have a field day with some left over.

SO, could you please advise what, if anything, you are doing that is Aboriginal on 26 January - or mustn't we embarrass the nation by reminding it of its history?

Needless to say, I have not received a reply. However it is now clear that the Australian media has had a field day:

ABC News
Canberra Times
The Australian (please note: no Murdoch paywall on this story)
The Herald Sun (Australia's largest selling newspaper where that well known commenter on race issues, Andrew Bolt, has his two cents worth!)
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Daily Telegraph
The Age
The Courier-Mail

Let's face a few facts here:

People right and left, black and white - over the past 40 years - have wanted, and have tried, to rid Canberra of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The Embassy has been regarded as unsightly - and, to be sure, it is certain not to win any prestigious architectural or design awards unless there is a new category of 'Occupy in Protest'. However, this week one of Australia's most significant writers on architecture has found the Aboriginal Tent Embassy newsorthy.
In the last year or so, we have seen - across the world in Egypt, the USA, London, Melbourne, Sydney - tents set up in conspicuous places as an aid to protest. Seems that the oldest culture in the whole world has come in ahead of more 'civilised' cultures with their Occupy movement maintained not for forty days but forty years. See Greg Cowan's paper Nomadic Resistance: Tent Embassies and Collapsible Architecture: Illegal architecture and protest.
Tony Abbott's words - "I think a lot has changed for the better since then," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Australia Day. "I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian. "I think a lot has changed since then, and I think it probably is time to move on from that." - demonstrate the inability of the majority of Australian people to think themselves into the situation that many - but not all - Aboriginal people find themselves in. This comes from a leader whose party conspired on the basis of lies and innuendo, racism and ignorance to establish a system of Intervention in the lives of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. Abbott and Gillard are members of governments who, to act against Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, removed from Australian law the need to abide by Australia's obligations under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Abbott claimed that Aboriginal people are held in respect in Australia. As a generality and on the basis of Liberal/National Party and Australian Labor Party actions, this is not true. In fact, it is my own view, that lack of respect has always been at the heart of majority Australian attitudes to Aboriginal people. Which brings me back to the fact that the ABC had no plans to bring inclusive positive stories of Aboriginal Australia in its Australia Day coverage.
Yesterday, in connection with the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1500 people marched from the Australian National University (ANU) to new Parliament House. I am told that no media was visibly recording or reporting this event. The media was not to be seen. In short, the media don't want to know about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy or Aboriginal views on sovereignty.
Australian professionals providing security to our public figures need to reconsider their intelligence and their methods. Yesterday's public performance looked like they had participated in too many American Presidential motorcades and watched too many American action movies. The security organisations concerned clearly had no respect for the presence of Aboriginal Australians in the vicinity of The Lobby restaurants.

It is clear to me that there is widespread disrepect for Aboriginal peoples, culture, and claims in Australia. Respect is absent from the very top of our civil and political leadership down to yobbos on the beaches at Cronulla and Bondi. There are people - black and white - staffing the beachhead of reconciliation together. However, they are few and their message is being ignored.

EYEWITNESS PHOTO FROM

DIANA HAYWOOD RANKINE IN CANBERRA

The Tent Embassy 'debacle' from a protester's POV

Further reading:

Confirmation Gillard and Abbott were never threatened by indigenous activists
Ben Eltham in New Matilda: The mob violence that wasn't
Alexandra Lamb in New Matilda: The real tent embassy story
Amy McQuire in Crikey: View from the Tent Embassy: reality v news reports
Mike Stuchbery's opinion piece & his brother's eyewitness account
Labor figure Kim Sattler named as go-between in protest
PM's press secretary gone after melee 'leak'

The so-called international elite is meeting in Davos. Get the low-down from TNI (Transnational Institute)

2012-01-26T17:27:00.000+11:00

From Transparency International. Miss Eagle has great respect for their work. The Transnational Institute carries out cutting-edge analysis on critical global issues, builds alliances with grassroots social movements, develops proposals for a more sustainable and just world.http://www.tni.org

Dear friends,

Today, in a small ski resort in the Swiss Alps, thousands of corporate and political elites will gather at the exclusive World Economic Forum meets during an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy. Its founding President, Klaus Schwab has admitted that capitalism "is out of whack" and needs fixing. Schwab argues that the economic crises we face are due to excesses and "lack of inclusiveness."

To mark the occasion, the Transnational Institute has produced a series of powerful infographics to expose the reality of corporate power and its immense social and environmental costs. They show that the problems are systemic and a result of the hijack of political and economic policy by a small corporate elite. The Davos Class cannot possibly find a solution, because their entrenched power is the reason for the crises.

The Occupy and Indignado movements have exposed the division between 1% and the 99% and have alerted public opinion to the inequality and injustices embedded in neoliberal fundamentalist policies. These infographics give a global face to these issues and over the next few weeks we will also show the linkages between inequality and trade, land and water policies too.

Please share the infographics widely! Thanks for your support.

Brid Brennan, Coordinator
Economic Justice, Corporate Power and Alternatives Programme,
Transnational Institute

Planet Earth: A Corporate World
Which are the biggest companies in the world? Which corporations control them? How does their power compare with states?

The global 0.001%
Globally we are not talking about 1% but an even smaller elite of 0.001% who control two thirds of world GDP. What could that money buy?

The world's richest men
Who are they and how did they get so rich? How much tax do they pay?

Neoliberal architects
A global economy that has benefited a small elite is no accident: it was carefully designed by politicians who often worked for transnational corporations and at times were rewarded by them after leaving office

Introduction to the Davos Class
Susan George
The Davos class run our major institutions and know exactly what they want, but they face a huge crisis of legitimacy because their ideology isn't working and they have virtually no ideas nor imagination to resolve this.

TNI archives on Davos

Voices of the World Social Forum
Interview with Susan George

A Davos lesson: Free-market policies are unpopular
Praful Bidwai

Davos 2000: Global Conspiracy or Capitalist Circus?
Walden Bello

Connect with TNI

Recent TNI Publications

The politics of climate change and the global crisis
Praful Bidwai

Latest from TNI

The War on Colombia’s Poor
Ross Eventon
Soberón: "Debate sobre drogas está secuestrado en el Perú"

Tell us

Do you have suggestions for TNI? Send us your tips on topics you would like to see us cover or general feedback on our website. Do tell!

If you value critical thinking and
real alternatives, donate to TNI!

SURVIVAL DAY: Things to do, places to go

2012-01-26T13:46:00.000+11:00

Canberra

Rally: Stand up & be counted on Sovereignty Day.

Invitation to the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.

For more info visit Sovereignty Day.

Melbourne

Festival: Share the Spirit Festival 2012. Celebrating Survival Day.

Indigenous music, dance and culture as part of Melbourne’s official Survival Day celebrations. 1-7pm.

Treasury Gardens.

Festival: 2012 Belgrave Survival Day.

This event acknowledges the indigenous perspective on the 230 years of European occupation of Australia, and celebrates the survival of the oldest living culture on the globe through live music, storytelling, traditional dance and craft.

Speakers will include

Elder Aunty Dot Peters from Healesville,
Gary Presland and Rodney Augustine from the Save the Kimberley campaign.

Featuring

Yung Warriors and Lou Bennett;
traditional stories by Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie and the Jindi Worobak Dance Troupe;
Wurundjeri elders will be undertaking a smoking ceremony.

12 noon-4pm. Borthwick Park (next to the Belgrave Pool), Benson St, Belgrave.

Always Was Always Will Be Aboriginal Land - Australia Day, Survival Day 2012

2012-01-26T13:12:00.000+11:00

Top picture from NITV Ignite

Bottom picture from Whenua Fenua Enua Vanua

The world's water crisis: wake up Australia, and the USA, and India and the world

2012-01-26T12:47:00.000+11:00

Maria Reidle has sent through some really great Water stuff from the National Geographic. I hate to sound like Hanrahan, but Australia and Australians are not the only ones who aren't doing water well. Please pop over to National Geographic for some water crisis news
.

The World's Water

The world's increasing population and development of agricultural land are putting pressure on the Earth's limited freshwater supplies. Find out what's at stake and how you can help.

Why Should You Care?

Learn more about the world's water challenge with photos, stories, videos, and more.
Visualizing Our Water Footprint

You might be surprised to see how the daily choices you make affect critical watersheds around the world.
How Much Water Per Pound?

How much water does it take to put beef, pork, wheat, and more on your plate? Explore our water footprint interactive and find out.
Water Calculator

Figure out your footprint, then join hundreds of website visitors who together have pledged to save thousands of gallons a day.

Learn More About Freshwater »

The Network singles out special ones from the Australia Day Honours List

2012-01-26T12:10:00.001+11:00

To-day, January 26, is Australia Day - Australia's national day of celebration (that's the settler attitude) or the day to mark survival (that's the Aboriginal point of view). The Governor-General publishes a list of Australian honours. It is my Australia Day ritual to peruse the lists nodding in agreement with some (not a lot) and making snarky remarks to myself about others (quite a few). The snarky remarks go along the lines of - well, he/she has got it for a job in which they were well remunerated; so-and-so got this level of honour while so-and-so did similar activities and only got a lower level of honour.

One thing is always clear to me, though, and that is that Honours Lists are status-ridden. The highest level honours are few, seldom given to women or at least not more than one woman per list, and it is clear that one has to have reached a certain position - usually based on economic position - to be in the running. Although it is possible to work your way up from one level to another. This is noted in the lists with the biographies clearly delineating what the recipient has done since his/her last and lower honour.

For you, dear Networkers, I have singled out a few which are a great fit for the ethos of The Network. I have excerpted their listings and have placed them in the document below so you can read them in greater detail. Those that capture my attention are as follows:

David Rhett BUTLER - Firstly, don't you love the name, Rhett Butler. At least one parent must have loved Gone with the Wind. And, did he marry someone called Vivian and have a daughter called Scarlett? That's not why he made The Network Honours List. No. It is because he is the chair and founder of Skyjuice Foundation. As Networkers realise, water is a major priority on The Network and so I regard this not only as a gong for David Butler but for water as well.
Bryan Andrew KEON-COHEN QC. Networkers will realise that the First Nations have the highest priority on The Network. This blog is concerned for recognition and relationships with the First Peoples of all parts of the globe. This, however, is an Australian blog and The Network's primary concern is with the First Nations of Australia. Bryan Keon-Cohen's work for which he is honoured makes it perfectly clear that his priority is the same as The Network's priority.
Jon Stephenson - like myself an old Townvillean - has gone from the midst of us. Please note, Networkers. If you wish to nominate someone, please don't wait until they are on their last legs. Jon's achievements are amazing. For my money this man should have been nominated years before and received no less than our highest honour. Neither of these things have occurred. This man's achievements are many and unique. We ought to be reading about him in schools and libraries across the country. Is there a Hall of Fame somewhere for Jon Stephenson?
Lyn Pengilly of Parkes and Helen Poulos of Bondi Junction touch my heart strings. The Network emphasises and tries to live and breathe community and communitarianism. Lyn and Helen display this in their daily lives and have been honoured for it - one in regional Australia, the other in the very centre of Australia's major city. They are unpaid. They have done the most basic of volunteer jobs. Without Lyn and Helen and people like them across this nation and across the world our human community would be poverty stricken in mind, body, and spirit. They have turned their hands to what needs doing. They have provided the grease for the wheels of their communities.

Read more about these wonderful people here:

Extending the NT Intervention: please make a submission by 1 February 2012

2012-01-25T10:19:00.000+11:00

From Sabine Kacha:

Picture from here

There is only one week left to voice your opposition to the extension of key NT Intervention measures for another 10 years as of this year. The planned extension of these measures will allow for the continuation of massive human rights violations towards Aboriginal people. One measure, Income Management, has already been announced to be rolled out further in other areas outside the Northern Territory.

Please show your support and have your voice heard and encourage others, organizations and groups to do the same. Even if it is just a few sentences, please do make a submission due by 1 February 2012.

Submissions can be sent per the Senate Committee’s website:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/strong_future_nt_11/info.htm

by email to: community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

or by mail to:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Canberra, ACT 2600.
Ph: 02 6277 3515.

Also, please find attached documents with links to further info about the new policies, Aboriginal Elders voices and for Taking Action, a letter from Barbara Shaw - calling on the Australian Human Rights Commission to request that the government withdraw its proposed legislation and instead work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal people in the NT - as well as a brief summary of the proposed new laws.

Even if your submission may not influence policy makers, at least it will go on the public record. The more organizations, groups and individuals will make a submission, the stronger the case will be against the new legislation.

Many thanks for your kind consideration and taking action on this vital issue.

Best regards,

Sabine Kacha
PS:

points which could be mentioned:
- S91 - customary law
- licensing of stores is still being considered a special measure
- what is food security, access to affordable food
- whole process to expand licensing is not about securing food

- cuts to bilingual education

- mandatory income management

- loss of control and self-determination

- destruction of culture and identity

- homelands/outstation policy

- housing

The bottom line is, the Intervention hasn't worked. The new laws are not what people wanted, were never discussed at consultations and they will only make the situation worse.

Whoever may not feel confident enough to make these statements, could just call for withdrawal of the legislation and the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
More info can be found at:

http://www.stoptheintervention.org/

http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/consultations-mid-2011

http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/

Request to AHRC 16.1.12.pdf
112K View Download

NTER-ext-submissions-appeal-short.doc
42K View Download

Info-Action-December-2011.doc
44K View Download

Summary-SF-new-laws-Nov-2011.pdf
20K View Download

Short changing animals in the Live Animal Export Trade : tell the Australian Government where priorities lay

2012-01-25T09:14:00.001+11:00

From the American experience - Clean water: foundation of healthy communities and a healthy environment 2011-04-27

2012-01-24T17:29:00.000+11:00

From Maria Reidl:

Professor Joe Camilleri on China - Australia's Challenge at Oases

2012-01-24T14:10:00.000+11:00

From Dale Hess:

Dear Breakfasters,

Welcome to 2012 ! Hopefully we'll see you there:

Saturday, February 4:

Prof. Joseph Camilleri talking about China:Australia's Challenge

Joseph Camilleri is Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University. He has written and lectured extensively on international relations, governance and globalisation, human rights, North-South relations, international organisations, the United Nations, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Professor Camilleri is actively engaged in international research, education and advocacy on issues of human rights, civilisation dialogue, global governance reform, peace and security.

He is the recipient of St Michael's Award for Distinguished Service to the Community, and past Australian President of the International Christian Peace Movement, Pax Christi.

Time 9 am-11.30 am breakfast (9 - 9.45 am)

Cost waged $25, unwaged $15

RSVP to OASES 03 9819 3502 or email info@oases.edu.au

The Pacific Institute and 25 years of speaking out on water : Peak Water enters the lexicon

2012-01-24T08:25:00.000+11:00

For Water activists and those with a strong interest in water issues, the Pacific Institute under the leadership of Peter Gleick is a go-to must. It is now celebrating 25 years of sterling service. Congratulations to all who have kept PI afloat!

One recent and valuable contribution - in Miss E's book - mae by PI is the concept of "peak water". The world has become used to discussion about peak oil, but more important that peak oil (after all humanity survived for milennia without oil rigs everywhere) is peak water. Water is important to the planet - it covers so much of it - and vital to the live of most plants; people; and other species.

Peak Water Cited in The New York Times

Last January The New York Times chose "peak water"as one of the 33 words to enter mainstream lexicon, linking directly to the Pacific Institute. The Times wrote: "Like 'peak oil,' a theory that humans may have used the water easiest to obtain, and that scarcity may be on the rise."

Peak Water Concept Impacts Water Management and Planning

Dr. Peter Gleick and International Water and Communities Initiative Director Meena Palaniappan published "Peak Water: Conceptual and Practical Limits to Freshwater Withdrawal and Use" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in June. A version of their analysis was published in On the Water Front, describing peak water in the context of global and local water challenges.

A Labor Govt belittles Aboriginal Australians. The NT Intervention, now AIATSIS. What next?

2012-01-23T18:26:00.001+11:00

From renowned NT journalist, Bob Gosford

The slow death of Aboriginal Research?

AIATSIS suspends research grants

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) website says that it is:

…the world’s premier institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present.

The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research, holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world’s largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Indigenous Studies, and has its own publishing house.

Its activities affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

Fine words and noble ambitions that AIATSIS has strived to fulfill over the past 50 or so years. From my own research on Aboriginal bird knowledge I found the resources in the AIATSIS library and archives an great source of information and inspiration.

But more than a few in the fields of research – anthropology, linguistics, law and archaeology – central to the very fine work that AIATSIS has sponsored over the years are dismayed at this recent announcement in the AIATSIS Grants page:

With the greatest reluctance, the AIATSIS Council has decided that applications for research grants will not be invited for the 2012 year. Although an important discretionary program, this will be the first time in over 20 years that grants will not be available.

AIATSIS funding from Government has fallen steadily over the past decade, in inflation-adjusted terms. Submissions to Government for increased base funding, or exemption from the efficiency dividend, have been unsuccessful. We have now passed the point where all legislated functions can be delivered, and in this context Council took the view that decisive action was called for.

Whilst Council noted, and appreciates, the Government’s decision to exempt AIATSIS from the additional 2.5% efficiency dividend in 2012-13, this will have no positive impact on ongoing funding.

An internal review of the grants program found that it isn’t meeting the intended purposes.

It has been substantially unchanged for over a decade, and would need to be redesigned to meet current expectations from Indigenous communities, researchers and AIATSIS priorities. In addition, the grants program is no longer eligible for inclusion in the Australian Competitive Grants Register, due to a Government policy decision in 2010.

For these reasons, Council reluctantly decided that the grants program could not be funded next year. Instead, the funds will be used to bolster research in priority areas which are critically short of resources.

In the overall scheme of research in Australia the AIATSIS small grants certainly provided bang for the public’s buck. A quick look at the grants over the past few years reveals the depth and breadth of the research funded by these grants – which at about $680,000 per year are pretty modest. Follow the highlighted links for the 2011, 2010 and 2009 research projects and see the breadth, depth and quality of the research for yourself.

Does any of this matter?

For mine it does. Very much.

I agree with the commentator who noted that:

…for very little money AIATSIS was able to tap into some of the latest research and then ensure that outcomes were returned to the institution: manuscripts / audio / visual etc.

This wonderful repository will no longer be fed by this emerging research. While the networks and loyalties of researchers who are funded (such as myself for my PhD field research in the mid 1990′s) will no longer be developed.

The fact that AIATSIS has to manage with dwindling government funding cannot alone explain this action. It is extremely disappointing.

Your thoughts are welcome.

A yarn on the river: getting aboriginal voices into the Basin Plan

2012-01-23T12:44:00.000+11:00

Yarning: getting Aboriginal voices to be heard above the din of the agricultural lobby groups

2012-01-23T12:24:00.000+11:00

Getting Aboriginal voices into the Basin Plan

‘A Yarn on the river: Getting Aboriginal voices into the Basin Plan’ is being distributed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to outline the parts of the draft plan that are most relevant to Aboriginal people.

“We need Aboriginal people to have a say about the draft because the decisions that will be set out in the final plan will have an impact on river country,” said Chief Executive Rhondda Dickson.

“I encourage Aboriginal people around the Basin to read the Yarn and draft plan, talk it through with us and send us submissions.”

The MDBA will be travelling to towns throughout the Basin to talk with Aboriginal people on their country — in halls, homes or by the river. This is part of the broader MDBA 20-week consultation period on the draft Basin Plan.

While visiting country, the MDBA wants to help Aboriginal people learn more about the draft Basin Plan, and have their say about what’s in the final Basin Plan.

The MDBA also funds the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) and Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN). Both MLDRIN and NBAN provide an Indigenous perspective into the development of the Basin Plan. In addition, the MDBA funds the National Cultural Flows Planning and Research Committee, which aims to provide more information on cultural flows.

The Yarn is available from the MDBA website or hard copies can be ordered via engagement@mdba.gov.au or 1800 230 067.

Submissions on the draft plan will close on 16 April 2012.

For more information contact the MDBA Media office at media@mdba.gov.au or 02 6279 0141.

Follow the MDBA http://twitter.com/MD_Basin_Auth
Join the discussion on the MDBA blog:http://freeflow.mdba.gov.au/

MDBA Media Office

Murray–Darling Basin Authority
GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: (02) 6279 0141

e: media@mdba.gov.au
w: www.mdba.gov.au

blog: freeflow.mdba.gov.au

t @MD_Basin_Auth

Further reading:

Fears Basin plan to lose indigenous input

Australia - the need to take greater care of our groundwater : Water for a healthy country

2012-01-22T08:39:00.000+11:00

Material for this post has come via Maria Reidl.
Thanks Maria - you are a great water campaigner.

The national conversations: given over to Abbott, shock jocks & the bigots: or can Australia bring new ideas to the discourse

2012-01-21T10:56:00.004+11:00

Intolerance is the way!

Over at Ash Ghebranious's blog, Ash's Machiavellian Bloggery, he is saying it all for me on Tony Abbott's policies and attitude to refugees and asylum seekers. With words and pix, Ash has got stuck into the nay-saying Abbott.

Sometimes, we don't think carefully enough about what people ARE saying and what they COULD be saying. Abbott has been indulging in negativity ever since Gillard came to power. The LibNats told themselves that the hung parliament could not last and that before 2011 was out, there would be another Federal election. How wrong that political judgment turned out to be. There was no election and, if Gillard and her advisers remain as singleminded and pragmatic as they have been so far, the Gillard government could well go its full term.

But back to what COULD be said. While Abbott has pursued a policy of across the board negativity, he has not been doing Australia any favours at all. On the issue of refugees and asylum seekers, now is the time for unifying the nation, demonstrating compassion, ditching old ideas and seeking new ones. Everytime a hardline government or opposition policy is touted, it heightens intolerance and gives confidence and comfort to the racist and intolerant among us.

Is intolerance to become the hall mark of our national conversation, indeed of our nation? Self-interest and sectarianism are doing quite well for themselves at the moment so we add racism and intolerance to the mix ...and what comes after that?

Where is the Australia we once knew, were proud of, and felt comfortable with? Have we really given over our national conversation to the shock jocks and the bigots? If so, we will not only change our national conversation but the face of Australia as well --- as surely as corporations and gambling have changed the face of football and cricket. Is this what Australians really want?

Whither Science? Professor Emerita Diane Bell and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

2012-01-20T13:56:00.000+11:00

The article below is from my friend Diane Bell. Diane is:

Professor Emerita of Anthropology

The George Washington University

Washington DC USA 20052

Writer and Editor in Residence

Flinders University SA 5001

Visiting Professor

School of Social Studies

University of Adelaide SA 5055

Whither Science?

‘The draft Plan released for public comment by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority on the 28 November 2011 does not provide the most basic information required to allow anybody to make an informed decision on the future management of the water resources of the Basin.’

So begins the withering critique of the MDBA draft Plan by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (WGCS) in what should be essential reading for anyone concerned with the future of the Murray-Darling Basin, the communities and economies that rely on a healthy river. But, I would venture, it is also essential reading for those concerned with the quality of democracy in Australia. The Plan, after all, is to manage the MDB in the national interest.

In advocating that this draft Plan be withdrawn, the WGCS examine five fundamental pieces of environmental information necessary for a credible Basin Plan.

1. The water regime that the best available science says is required for a healthy working river;

2. The cost and feasibility of overcoming river management infrastructure constraints so that environmental flows can be delivered downstream;

3. The impact of increased groundwater extractions on surface water flows (and vice versa), recognising that many groundwater systems in the Basin are directly linked to the river systems;

4. Accounting for the risk to river health from climate change when setting long-term diversion limits; and

5. The volume and frequency of flows that are required to keep the Murray mouth open during times of drought and to discharge salt from the Basin.

With respect to each point, the WGCS finds the draft is fatally flawed. For instance, while endorsing the MDBA methodology that identifies 122 hydrological sites across the Basin and the focus on 18 indicator sites for detailed analysis, the WGCS points out that the draft only addresses 4 of the 18 and even then the information is incomplete and there is no information as to the level of extractions required to satisfy the stated objective of the draft Plan.

With respect to the assertion that 2,750 GL will deliver an open Murray mouth nine years in ten, the WGCS notes the draft Plan fails to say how and whether this will satisfy the objects of the Water Act. And where is the discussion of how 2,750 GL will achieve the flushing of the 2 million tonnes of salt that accumulates each year from the MDB out to sea?

The WGCS states that no scientific reasons are given for doubling groundwater allocations. What sense are we to make of three year, $ 5 million CSIRO research project that recommended groundwater extractions be reduced? And I would add: What of the argument of Professor Craig Simmons, Director, National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, that groundwater will be a major determinant of Australia’s future as the climate warms and our population swells?

How could it be that after so many years, reports, research and reviews, we have come to this pass? Why, rather than defend and refine the existing peer-reviewed science of the October 2010 Guide did the MDBA start again with ‘new science’? Why have the repeated calls of environmental groups, the CSIRO, and the WGCS for independent, transparent and comprehensive peer reviews of the ‘science’ fallen on deaf ears?

In part it seems Craig Knowles, the MDBA Chair, sees the scientific community as offering one view of many in a power play of diametric opposed opinions. When the WGCS walked away from the process in May 2011, Knowles reportedly said: ‘The Wentworth Group clearly have a lot of skin in this game and they're trying to make their position known and stronger and I guess that's their right.’ Of their critique of the draft Plan, he noted their views were well known. His refrain: ‘All views will be considered as part of the consultation period.’

But this is not an exercise in relativism. Some ‘views’ carry more weight than others. In developing the Plan, the Water Act 2007 sets the bar as ‘the best available scientific knowledge and socio-economic analysis’.

What then are we to make of the charge from the WGCS that the draft ‘manipulates science in an attempt to engineer a pre-determined political outcome'? Can science be practiced under political conditions that pertain? If not, what is to be done? To whom is the MDBA accountable? What recourse do we have as citizens if the Plan is an inadequate basis for informed decision-making? $10 billion of taxpayers’ money is in play. Will we insist that the MDBA deliver a scientifically credible Plan for the nation or are we beguiled by the tug-of-war metaphor?

Professor Diane Bell has published ten books

including Daughters of the Dreaming and NgarrindjeriWurruwarrin

and numerous articles. Her current anthropological research

is amongst the peoples she calls the ‘Water Tribe’.

PLEASE NOTE: Miss Eagle has a companion blog to The Network titled Rivers Research. There is a lot of stuff on Rivers - particularly the Murray-Darling Basin and documents relating to the Proposed Plan for the Murray-Darling Basin - there.

Further Reading:

Call to reserve judgment on Basin plan
MPs defend Basin Stance
(against complaints from DRAG - Darling River Action Group)

Dependence on generous environmental flows for environmental survival and South Australia at the journey's end

2012-01-20T12:43:00.000+11:00

The document below is not new. It is a report for the old Murray-Darling Basin Commission and published in 2000.

However, as we embark on the downhill run to the April close of submissions on the Proposed Basin Plan for the Murray-Darling Basin, the issue of flows is paramount. Not to put too fine a point on the matter, in spite of us living in the 21st century, it is not clear that we have left behind 19th century attitudes on the Murray-Darling Basin and its catchments and its rivers and waterways. Water decisions in this country still involve money, power and agricultural development interests.

South Australia is the neighbour at the bottom of the river. Its capital city, Adelaide, is the only capital dependent on the Murray-Darling for its drinking water. There has also been, in recent decades, great degradation in the iconic Coorong.

Maria Reidl has sent this document to me and I think it is pertinent as we consider how to push for greater environmental flows than the irrigators want, as well as more water at the end of the rivers' journeys for those who need to survive in the city, in the country, and in their dependence on environmental water.

Is majority or near majority foreign ownership of Australia's dairy, sugar, and red meat industries endangering our food security?

2012-01-20T08:44:00.000+11:00

From Australian Food News:

Almost half Australia’s food industry is owned by foreign investors, report shows

January 19, 2012
Matt Paish

A report on foreign investment in Australia from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has found that foreign firms accounted for ownership of about half of the nation’s dairy, sugar and red meat sectors.

The report, commissioned by the Australian Government’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), also says that current foreign ownership of agricultural land, business and water entitlements in Australia is comparable with the levels of 1983-84.

According to the report, major companies investing in Australian agribusiness include private companies such as Cargill and Finasucre, public companies such as Wilmar and Parmalat, at least one farmer cooperative, Fonterra, and a state-owned conglomerate, COFCO.

The report states, “Foreign investment in agribusiness has typically been made by companies involved in the same or similar business in other countries seeking to expand their activities at an opportunistic time. However, Kirin (a brewing company) and Wilmar (active in a number of commodities not including sugar) each branched out into new sectors when they invested in Australia’s dairy and sugar sectors, respectively.”

Foreign investment growth in Australian red meat processing

The level of foreign ownership in Australia’s red meat processing industry is now higher than ever, according to the report, with 42 per cent of the industry owned by foreign companies.

According to the report, foreign investment in Australian meat processing has been undertaken largely by companies established in the meat industries of other countries, and their interest has been focused on export rather than domestic operations.

The largest player in Australian meat processing is the Brazilian-owned company JBS Australia, a division of JBS, Brazil’s largest multinational in the food sector, and one of the world’s largest meat companies. The plants now owned by JBS accounted for around 24 per cent of Australian red meat production in 2006 and 2007.

Other major players include US company Cargill, which accounts for 8 per cent of red meat production in Australia, Japanese company Nippon (6 per cent of red meat production) and Harmony, a company based in the Cayman Islands.

Foreign investment in Australian dairy manufacturing

More than half the milk produced in Australia is now processed by foreign-owned companies, with 47 per cent of the nation’s milk processors were still Australian-owned.

Fonterra, a New Zealand farmer-owned cooperative, and the Japanese-owned Lion together handle around 45 per cent of Australia’s milk production. Parmalat, formerly Italian but now under French control, accounts for a little over 5 per cent.

The Australian-owned cooperative Murray Goulburn is still the largest individual dairy processor in Australia, taking around 35 per cent of milk produced. Fonterra, one of the world’s largest dairy manufacturing and exporting companies, is cooperatively owned by New Zealand dairy farmers.

According to the report, foreign ownership of milk processing capacity appears to have been beneficial for the industry. Major foreign investors have injected funds to improve efficiency and maintain profitability while at the same time engaging in some winding down of existing, out-of-date capacities.

Foreign investment in Australian sugar milling

Three foreign-owned milling groups, Sucrogen (controlled from Singapore–Malaysia), Bundaberg (from Belgium) and Tully (from China), now undertake around 60 per cent of Australia’s raw sugar production. Sucrogen mills account for around 43 per cent, Bundaberg for 11 per cent and Tully for 5 per cent.

According to the report, Sugar production in Australia has declined through the past decade as a result of low sugar prices, and a process of rationalisation has taken place, with a number of mills closing. The availability of additional capital from new foreign owners has facilitated this rationalisation and maintained efficiency in the industry.

Tags:

ABARES, Australian-Bureau-of-Agricultural-and-Resource-Economics-and-Sciences,dairy, foreign investment, investment, red-meat, RIRDC, rural-industries-research-and-development-corporation, sugar

PLEASE NOTE

Below the embedded document immediately below these words

are updates + a list of links for further reading.

Update 2012-01-21

Reports to-day that Chinese investment in Australia is coming under increased federal government scrutiny, with ASIO and other intelligence groups weighing up possible national security risks.

Further reading:

Security and sovereignty : the truth behind foreign investment - Paul Barratt

Foreign investment will boost food security - Stephen Kirchner

Food security the fear as foreign investors rush in

Australia’s Food Security May be Jeopardised by Foreign Investments into Agri Firms

Foreign investment concerns not settled yet : farm groups
MSF Sugar directors accept Mitr Phol Offer
Bill Heffernan worried about foreign investment report
ASIO watch on Chinese money
ASIO now targetting Chinese investors
Foreign farmers are small players
China gets a taste for Australian produce
Australian Govt failing farmers on foreign ownership - WA Farmers Federation
China's interest in agriculture growing

The divvy up: Generous for the new comers, niggardly for those who have been here for millennia

2012-01-19T08:34:00.000+11:00

From Diana Hayward Rankin:

Keep vigil with an Iranium asylum seeker on hunger strike

2012-01-18T13:49:00.003+11:00

Picture from here

Solidarity candelight vigil

Support Broadmeadows refugee hunger strikers

Wednesday, January 18, 7-10pm. Melbourne Immigration Transit Accomodation, 120-150 Camp Road, Broadmeadows (behind Maygar army Barracks). A candlelight vigil to support an Iranian asylum seeker who is in the 8th day of a hunger strike at the MITA detention centre, Broadmeadows. He has been detained for 16 months and has just received his second rejection.

The another Iranian refugee was granted refugee status five months ago but is still in detention, waiting for a security clearance. He was on hunger strike for three days before ending his hunger strike last night. On January 14, a visitor to the detention centre witnessed one of these men lying outside on the ground; he had been there for two days. He said, "They treat me like animal so I am an animal."

To get to the detention centre by public transport, take the train to Broadmeadows train station and get on the #902 bus which goes along Camp Road and stops near the detention centre.

The Network

Groundwater issues - sustainability, salinity, water sufficiency

Sharon Firebrace: I occupy because....

Wayne Swan, Rob Hulls and Pat Comben and seekings answers to questions

AUSTRALIA DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE

AUSTRALIA DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE

“Many of our people call it invasion day,” said Mr Mick Dodson, a professor of law at the Australian National University. “To many indigenous Australians, in fact, most indigenous Australians, it really reflects the day in which our world came crashing down.”

AUSTRALIA DAY OR LOSTRALIA DAY?

A.D. or B.C.?

A bit of shiny bling…

…to pin on their diseased and diabetic chests

They wouldn’t work in an iron ore lung…

Reckonciliation — Reconciliation

Obama spells a Mabo backwards

Australian media blacks out blackfellas unless there's a blame game to play

The so-called international elite is meeting in Davos. Get the low-down from TNI (Transnational Institute)

TNI archives on Davos

Voices of the World Social Forum Interview with Susan George A Davos lesson: Free-market policies are unpopular Praful Bidwai Davos 2000: Global Conspiracy or Capitalist Circus? Walden Bello

Connect with TNI

Recent TNI Publications

Latest from TNI

Tell us

SURVIVAL DAY: Things to do, places to go

Always Was Always Will Be Aboriginal Land - Australia Day, Survival Day 2012

The world's water crisis: wake up Australia, and the USA, and India and the world

The World's Water

Why Should You Care?

Visualizing Our Water Footprint

How Much Water Per Pound?

Water Calculator

The Network singles out special ones from the Australia Day Honours List

Extending the NT Intervention: please make a submission by 1 February 2012

Short changing animals in the Live Animal Export Trade : tell the Australian Government where priorities lay

From the American experience - Clean water: foundation of healthy communities and a healthy environment 2011-04-27

Professor Joe Camilleri on China - Australia's Challenge at Oases

The Pacific Institute and 25 years of speaking out on water : Peak Water enters the lexicon

A Labor Govt belittles Aboriginal Australians. The NT Intervention, now AIATSIS. What next?

A yarn on the river: getting aboriginal voices into the Basin Plan

Yarning: getting Aboriginal voices to be heard above the din of the agricultural lobby groups

Australia - the need to take greater care of our groundwater : Water for a healthy country

The national conversations: given over to Abbott, shock jocks & the bigots: or can Australia bring new ideas to the discourse

Intolerance is the way!

Whither Science? Professor Emerita Diane Bell and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

Dependence on generous environmental flows for environmental survival and South Australia at the journey's end

Is majority or near majority foreign ownership of Australia's dairy, sugar, and red meat industries endangering our food security?

From Australian Food News:

Almost half Australia’s food industry is owned by foreign investors, report shows

Tags:

The divvy up: Generous for the new comers, niggardly for those who have been here for millennia

Keep vigil with an Iranium asylum seeker on hunger strike

Voices of the World Social Forum
Interview with Susan George

A Davos lesson: Free-market policies are unpopular
Praful Bidwai

Davos 2000: Global Conspiracy or Capitalist Circus?
Walden Bello