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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • Our higher education plan labor
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    Our higher education plan

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    Bill Shorten Unsubscribe
    4:17 PM (6 minutes ago)
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    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
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    Neville —

    If you work hard and get good marks you should have the opportunity to go to university — no matter what your bank balance is.

    With two in every three jobs of the future expected to require a degree, I want to see more Australians go to university. And importantly, finish university with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, not a debt sentence.

    That’s why today I’ve announced Labor’s positive plan for more graduates, not $100,000 degrees — because that’s the investment our economy needs for the future.

    Investing in education is the single most important thing we can do to maintain and grow Australia’s prosperity, and secure the jobs of the future.

    That’s why we will introduce a new Student Funding Guarantee that will see a greater investment in every student – $11,800 per student in 2018 compared with $9,300 under the Liberals.

    You can read the full detail of our plan here. But this is my main point — unlike the Liberals, we will always ensure access to university is based on hard work and good marks, not someone’s ability to pay.

    Because although we may have a new Prime Minister, we have the same old policies. Malcolm Turnbull has cut deals to get the job and he’s already said he supports Tony Abbott’s plan for $100,000 university degrees. The only way we can stop $100,000 degrees is to change the government.

    We can— along with our policy for 100,000 students to study science, technology, engineering and maths debt free — make sure students have a quality education that supports them to succeed and to build the high-skilled, high-wage jobs of the future.

    I made it clear in my first Budget Reply that higher education would be an election issue and today I delivered on my promise to you.

    Thanks for standing with me on this,

    Bill

  • The John James Newsletter 80 – The Methane Monster
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    The John James Newsletter 80 – The Methane Monster

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    John James
    4:02 PM (6 minutes ago)
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    The John James Newsletter 80 – The Methane Monster
    22 September 2015
    It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins. 
    Benjamin Franklin
    At a conference in Canberra the scientists I spoke to were all of the one opinion, that methane, not C02, is the most to be feared. There are such vast quantities of it that we cannot absorb the impact or sequester it. Life has been made possible on this planet because Nature has hidden most of the methane into its own safe deposit boxes: Both in the land (permafrost) and under the sea (clathrates). In every other mass extinction event over hundreds of millions of years the coup-de-grace has been delivered by the sudden and overwhelming eruption of methane. Once we let this monster out its all over, and quickly on the historical evidence.
     
    To understand our future we need to understand methane. As in the graph below it has never, not even during major extinctions, exceeded 750ppb. In some parts of the upper atmosphere this has now been exceeded twice over. It will take a while for the high levels to be reflected in the climate, and something could still be done to avert a gigantic flaring. As Sam Carana repeats “the situation is now dire and calls for comprehensive and effective action”.
     
    Nevertheless, the days of linear change are behind us. We living in the Age of Abrupt Climate Change. In a later Newsletter I will explore how we could drastically reduce our footprint, and the social and commercial consequences of doing so. 
     
     
    The Methane Monster – Demise of the Arctic 
    Current spike in methane is off the chart compared to all previous spikes – including the Great Dying of 250 million years ago. This graph is at 17mins into the talk.
    Splitting of the Polar Vortex
    The disruption of the Jet Stream. As it slows down it splits and oscillates.This dislocates the air masses, tossing the cold air from the Arctic to the south (where it gets warmer) and tropical hot air into the Arctic (where it triggers methane release). In January it produced horrific cold winter in the central US and simultaneously a 20C winter heatwave in Siberia. The surges of cold and hot air are marked in picture. View from 28 mins on.
    Unexpected methane release from Antarctica and the temperature anomaly.
    The surge comes from the very volatile nature of methane. First shows the temperature. The second the surge in methane which has continued even though the temperature has dropped. This is essentially the same chart as the first one. View at 45 mins.
    And the methane “BOOM” is on the right:
     
    The discussion on methane is continued in these pieces. It is in the forefront of most informed people, but almost totally absent in the press. Sad, but an integral part of the problem. 
    Abrupt climate change
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    Preview YouTube video Abrupt Climate Change Guy McPherson Paul Beckwith part 1 2015

  • URGENT: Polio budget slashed Global Citizen

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    URGENT: Polio budget slashed

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    Global Citizen <reply@globalcitizen.org> Unsubscribe
    9:31 AM (48 minutes ago)
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     Australia can’t break its promise.
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    Hey NEVILLE,

    Have you heard the news? The Australian Government is backing out of its promise and cutting the country’s budget for polio eradication by 50%, making us the first country to go back on its commitment to ending polio.

    Not only is this unacceptable, but it is hypocritical – The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was kick-started by a Queenslander, and thousands of Australian Rotarians have played a role in fundraising for polio eradication.

    Tell the Australian government that we will not allow ourselves to become a country that breaks its promises.
    Up until now, Australia’s leadership has been instrumental in eradicating polio in some of the world’s poorest countries. Thanks in part to the Australian Government, the African continent has now passed a full year without a single case of wild polio.

    Not only is the world at a critical turning point, but the stakes are unbelievably high. We can’t turn our backs now.

    We are 99.9% of the way to seeing the end of polio for good. If the global community fails to commit to funding for the .01% that remains, 10 million more children are at risk of becoming paralyzed within the next 40 years.

    Tweet at the Australian government NOW and ask them to re-commit to end this deadly and paralyzing disease.

    There are points in time that require us to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand our government to change course. This is one of those times.

    Thanks for all you do,
    The Global Citizen Team

  • We sent a clear message BILL SHORTEN LABOR

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    We sent a clear message

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    Bill Shorten Unsubscribe
    9:04 PM (15 minutes ago)
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    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
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    Neville,

    I want to congratulate Matt Keogh and his team on the outstanding campaign they ran in Canning.

    As a very safe Liberal seat, it was always going to be a tough fight.

    But because of our campaign a safe Liberal seat has become a marginal one and the Liberal Party — led by Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop — cut down their Prime Minister.

    The voters in Canning know that changing leaders has changed very little.

    Malcolm Turnbull has committed to every single part of Tony Abbott’s unfair agenda for Australia — inaction on climate, climbing debt and deficit, unfair cuts to our schools and hospitals as well as delaying marriage equality.

    If this swing in Canning was to be replicated across the country, Labor would win more than 30 seats. We know that thousands of Western Australians voted Labor for the first time in this by-election.

    Labor has the policies and the vision for the future to advance Australia beyond the mining boom.

    And tomorrow I will announce Labor’s positive plan for universities — our plan for more graduates, not $100,000 degrees. Because that’s the investment our economy needs.

    Congratulations again to Matt Keogh on his amazing result and congratulations to Andrew Hastie on his election.

    Together we’ve sent a clear message to the Liberals and their unfair cuts and broken promises.

    Thanks for standing with me on this,

    Bill

  • Imagine if they quit! Charlie Wood – 350.org Australia

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    Imagine if they quit!

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    Charlie Wood – 350.org Australia <350@350.org> Unsubscribe
    3:05 PM (0 minutes ago)
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    Neville,

    Last month, the Commonwealth Bank took an important step when they quit their involvement with Adani’s Galilee Basin mega coal mine. But if we want a safe future, we need CommBank to go further and quit all coal.

    Thanks to your pressure, right now CommBank is reviewing their investments in all fossil fuels, ahead of their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 17.

    Click here to tell CommBank to commit to quit all coal at their AGM.

    If we raise our voices now, creatively and en masse, we could get CommBank to quit coal. Imagine that. One of the biggest Australian investors in fossil fuels, ruling out coal for good – the dirtiest and most dangerous fossil fuel of them all.

    Globally, investors are moving their money out of coal because they recognise its enormous risks. Coal is dangerous – responsible for 800,000 deaths annually.[1] And it’s dirty – the leading contributor to runaway climate change.

    Tell CommBank to join the global movement of investors who are quitting coal now!

    CommBank is a major lender to Australian coal – having provided over $4.3 billion in loans to coal projects since 2005.[2] If they quit coal, we’d be a huge step closer to a safer climate and healthier communities.

    When CommBank quit Galilee coal, it showed that, by working together, we can take on some of the largest corporations and dirtiest fossil fuels – and win. Now it’s time for the next step.

    Write a message to CommBank today and together let’s show that Australians everywhere expect our largest and oldest bank to back a clean energy future by quitting coal for good.

    As a movement, we’re winning ground. Let’s keep pushing onwards!

    Charlie for the 350.org Australia team

    [1] EndCoal

    [2] BankTrack

    350.org is building a global climate movement.You can connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and become a Climate Defender and donate monthly to help 350.org keep Australia’s fossil fuels in the ground.

  • They’re eating sharks from our Great Barrier Reef
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    They’re eating sharks from our Great Barrier Reef

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    Australian Marine Conservation Society amcs@amcs.org.au via cmail19.com 
    11:00 AM (6 minutes ago)
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    Stop the export of sharks from our Great Barrier Reef. Act now.

    Dear NEVILLE

    The East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery has real problems.

    The fishery has Australian Government approval to export 600 tonnes of shark every year from our Great Barrier Reef.

    The fishery targets and kills sharks, including the endangered great hammerhead and scalloped hammerhead shark.

    It also accidentally catches threatened species including turtles, dugongs and dolphins.

    Despite operating in our World Heritage Reef, this fishery has limited monitoring and no independent observers (essential tools for a transparent, well-managed fishery).

    However, their export licence is about to expire. The Government has extended it once already, even though little has improved in the fishery in years.

    Please tell the government to stop this fishery from exporting our World Heritage sharks.

    Sharks are vital to the health of our oceans. If you think it’s unacceptable that this fishery is allowed to catch and export sharks from the Great Barrier Reef, have your say now.

    Thank you for all that you do,

    Tooni Mahto
    Marine Campaigner