Rudd retreats on web filter legislation
Rudd retreats on web filter legislation
- From: The Australian
- April 29, 2010
KEVIN Rudd has put another election promise on the backburner with his controversial internet filtering legislation set to be shelved until after the next election.
A spokeswoman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said yesterday the legislation would not be introduced next month’s or the June sittings of parliament.
With parliament not sitting again until the last week of August, the laws are unlikely to be passed before the election.
Labor promised before the last election it would force internet service providers to block access to illegal content such as child pornography and X-rated images.
But the US government, Google and free speech advocates have said any efforts to censor the internet would slow download speeds, stop the free flow of information and be ineffective.
Controlled burn of gulf of Mexico oil slick begins
Controlled burn of Gulf of Mexico oil slick begins
- From: AFP
- April 29, 2010
A NASA image shows the slick, below centre, near the Louisiana coast. Inset, oil gushes from a submerged rig pipe. Pictures: NASA/US Coast Guard Source: The Australian
EMERGENCY crews have begun controlled burns of a giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, but a cruel wind shift raised fears the spill could hit Louisiana’s fragile shores by the weekend.
The leading edge of the crude was about 26km off the Louisiana coast by this morning and winds were expected to strengthen and crucially change direction to start coming from the southeast.
Two skimming vessels dispatched by the US Coast Guard and energy giant BP swept the thickest concentrations of oil into a 150m fire-resistant boom.
They then towed it to a 8km “burn zone” set up inside the slick roughly 80km south of the mouth of the Mississippi where it was set alight a few hours before nightfall.
Coca-Cola accused of misleading investors over water use in India
Coca-Cola accused of misleading investors over water use in India Ecologist 23rd April, 2010 Campaigners accuse Coca-Cola CEO of not being open with investors about the potential liabilities it faces for environmental damage in water-stressed areas of India Cola-Cola is misleading investors about potential financial and criminal actions against the company in India, according to Continue Reading →
Gunns ‘buying time’ with restructure
Gunns ‘buying time’ with restructure Posted 10 hours 7 minutes ago The Australian Greens say Tasmanian timber company Gunns is “buying time” by restructuring. John Gay has announced he will step down as chairman of the troubled company in November to head up a new firm, Southern Star. That firm will manage the $2.5 billion Continue Reading →
Gunns chairman ‘to stand down’
Gunns chairman ‘to stand down’ April 23, 2010 – 5:09PM Gunns chairman John Gay will announce today that he will stand down, the Australian Financial Review reported this afternoon. A company spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Gunns shares ended the day up 1 cent, or 2 per cent, to 52.5 cents. Gunns posted Continue Reading →
PM on the run from policy failures
- From: The Australian
- April 23, 2010
- 98 comments
KEVIN Rudd is a good election campaigner and a master at creating an image and building popular expectations. Amid the carnage of the collapse of the $2.45 billion home roofing insulation scheme the Prime Minister single-handedly salvaged a positive image from a protest of angry displaced insulation workers outside Parliament House.
With his shirt sleeves rolled up and a small notebook in hand, Rudd went to the workers as a man of the people while the political furore over the debacle of the roofing insulation subsidy scheme raged inside the House of Representatives. Without an obvious minder or an organised bevy of television cameras and reporters, Rudd went straight to the concerned workers, small-company owners and their families, and put their fears at rest.