On Saturday April 3, a fully laden bulk carrier ran aground on Douglas Shoal off Rockhampton, Queensland, producing an oil spill threatening the Great Barrier Reef. The Shen Neng 1, carrying about 65,000 tonnes of coal to China, leaked about two tonnes of oil onto the reef before being contained.
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The following was released on April 10 by the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM), Working People's Association (PRP) of Indonesia, People鈥檚 Democratic Party (PRD) of Indonesia, Turn Left Thailand, Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) of the Philippines, Socialist Alliance of Australia
Coal threatens Queensland
It is not a good look for Queensland internationally and here at home with the Chinese coal ship having run aground on the Great Barrier Reef, leaking oil and about to break up.
The massive mines of the Hancock and Waratah coal companies, together with the coal mines of the Bowen Basin coming through with the Northern Missing Link, mean that upwards of 230 million tonnes per annum of coal will be going through the nationally wetlands of Caley Valley and exported through the newly constructed port at Abbot Point.
As the Liberal-National Coalition strives to make 鈥渂order control鈥 a vote-changing issue and the Rudd-ALP government continues to claim its approach is best at keeping the 鈥減eople smugglers鈥 and the 鈥渜ueue-jumpers鈥 under control, do we face the dark prospect of another refugee-bashing federal election?
The following is abridged from an April 7 press release on behalf of Alyawarr walk-off spokesperson Richard Downs and senior Pitjantjatjara elder Murray George.
Soldiers armed with live and rubber bullets attacked the peaceful pro-democracy Red Shirt protests in the centre of Bangkok on April 10. At least 12 people, including a Japanese Reuters reporter, have been shot dead.
On March 18, the federal government managed to pass its new youth allowance scheme through the Senate. The government鈥檚 main aim was to tighten eligibility requirements for students getting youth allowance, so that young people now have to work an average of 30 hours a week for 18 months before qualifying for the benefit.
The NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages has refused to change a transsexual man鈥檚 documents unless he undergoes life-threatening surgery.
A tidal wave of wealth
"Australia's top executives have seen their collective wealth swell by almost three-quarters 鈥 or about $15 billion 鈥 over the past year, easily outstripping gains by ordinary investors.
"The total wealth of Australia's top 200 business chieftains ballooned to $35 billion in 2010, up from $20.3 billion in 2009, according to the BRW 2010 Executive Rich List ...
"The combined wealth of Australian executives was 72 per cent higher than last year ..."
鈥 March 24 Sydney Morning Herald.
Australian PM Kevin Rudd鈥檚 appointment of Tony Burke as population minister continues the Australian tradition of playing political football with immigration. His appointment came after Treasury estimates predicted that Australia鈥檚 population will grow from 22 million to 36 million by 2050.
搁别蝉颈蝉迟补苍肠别鈥檚 Zane Alcorn spoke to Matthew Wright, a climate and energy campaigner from Beyond Zero Emissions. Wright is speaking at the Resistance 2010: the World can鈥檛 Wait! national conference, which will be held in Wollongong from April 24-26.
The federal Labor government announced a moratorium on processing claims for asylum for people coming from Sri Lanka or Afghanistan on April 9.
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