The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.
New PM, same disregard for the disadvantaged. Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson for Community Services hastoday expressed great disappointment with the Prime Minister’s decisionto continue punitive income management measures in the NorthernTerritory. “Despite a change in leader, the Government is persisting with thisdraconian approach to the most marginalised people in our society,”Senator Rachel Siewert said Continue Reading →
Wilderness Society suspends Marr Updated 2 hours 27 minutes ago Mr Marr has been asked to respond to several claims. (AAP: Alan Porritt, file photo) Related Story: Wilderness Society feud comes to a head Related Story: Wilderness Society head facing the chop The Wilderness Society’s executive director Alec Marr has been suspended by the organisation’s Continue Reading →
Gillard and Abbott locked in race to the bottom – Greens
The Australian Greens warn both major parties are participating in a
race to the bottom on asylum seekers, with the Greens the sole voice of
compassion and fairness following announcements from Prime Minister
Gillard and Opposition Leader Abbott today.
“Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott may differ on some things, but on this
issue they are both backing a return to Howard’s Australia,” said the
Greens’ Immigration Spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
“If voters believe in preserving the Australian fair-go, looking after
the little guy and the need for compassion for our fellow human beings,
it is clearer than ever that they need a strong Green voice in
Parliament.”
“Julia Gillard has made it clear she wants a policy that will be harder
on refugees, more harmful to children in detention and harsher towards
the world’s most vulnerable people.”
“The Greens recognise the small number of people who arrive by boat
seeking protection deserve to have their case heard and be treated
humanely.”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the government will target ports of origin as it aims to stop people smuggling and stem the flow of asylum seekers to Australia.
Ms Gillard on Tuesday called for a national debate on the asylum seeker issue, saying the community had been polarised by inflammatory language from the opposition.
She said the government’s policy goal was clear.
“It is to wreck the people smuggling trade by removing the incentive for boats to leave their ports of origin in the first place,” Ms Gillard said.
The prime minister said Labor’s policy would seek to remove the “profitability of the trade and the danger of the voyage”.
The announcement came after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott earlier in the day confirmed the coalition had ratcheted up its border protection policy.
Ms Gillard said Julian Burnside QC was right on the point it would take 20 years to fill the MCG with illegal arrivals.
But the prominent QC was wrong to label people with concerns about unauthorised arrivals ‘‘rednecks’’, she said.
‘‘Of course there are racists in every country but expressing a desire for a clear and firm policy when you are faced with a difficult problem does not make you a racist,’’ Ms Gillard said.
The debate on asylum seeker policy had been polarised by extreme emotionally charged claims and counter claims by a fundamental disrespect the prime minister said she would reject.
‘‘Even worse is the deliberate use of inflammatory politics presented as policy,’’ Ms Gillard said pointing to opposition claims they would turn boats back.
Mr Abbott’s ‘turn the boats back’ slogan was shallow and ‘‘nonsense’’, Ms Gillard said.
Updated
Ms Gillard says people should feel free to say what they believe about the issue. (Australian Customs and Border Protection)
There are mixed views from within the Labor Party on Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s call for an open debate on asylum seekers.
Ms Gillard has nominated the policy on asylum seekers and border protection as the next thing on her to-do list.
Yesterday she said people should feel free to say what they believe about the issue, but some MPs see echoes of former prime minister John Howard in her words.
Posted
Australian seismologists have discovered a new way to locate earthquakes and map underground fault lines.
The scientists say the discovery could help save lives and property.
Australia experiences a severe earthquake every five years and about two medium-sized earthquakes annually.
Seismologist David Robinson says Australia is one of the most active regions in the world, but the mapping of earthquakes is in its infancy.
“It’s quite common for a an earthquake of similar size to Newcastle to have an uncertainty on its location of the order of up to five kilometres,” he said.