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The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
As well as Giovanni’s articles it picks up the most pertinent articles from a range of other news services. You can publish the news feed on your website using RSS, free of charge.
 

  • Sentenced to death at 14 years old AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

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    Sentenced to death at 14 years old

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    Diana, Amnesty International Australia <actioncentre@amnesty.org.au> Unsubscribe
    5:11 PM (31 minutes ago)
    to me
    Shafqat Hussain was still a child when when he was sentenced to death. His execution is due to take place on Tuesday.
    Take action to help save this young man’s life.

     
    Dear Neville,
    Fourteen years old.
    That’s the age Shafqat Hussain was when authorities in Pakistan sentenced him to death.
    According to his lawyers, he was convicted based on a ‘confession’ following nine days of torture while in police custody.
    Earlier this year, public outcry from Amnesty supporters like you helped get Shafqat a stay of execution — but the stay has now expired and Shafqat is due to be killed on Tuesday 9 June.
    Shafqat has been in prison for more than ten years now.
    In 2004, when he was still just a kid, he was sentenced to death for kidnapping and involuntary manslaughter.
    His current lawyers claim he didn’t receive a fair trial. In fact, his state-appointed lawyer at the time failed to introduce a single piece of evidence or call a single witness in his defence — and never raised the fact he was a juvenile.
    Shafqat is not alone. Shockingly, more than 8,000 people now sit on death row in Pakistan.
    The death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment — that’s why 140 countries have abolished it in law or practice.
    It’s time for Pakistan to join them.
    In hope,
    Diana B. Sayed
    Crisis Response Coordinator
    Amnesty International Australia
    PS. Shafqat Hussain’s impending execution on Tuesday 9 June is illegal under domestic and international law. Tell Pakistan it must be stopped and share this action with your friends on Facebook.

  • The dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of

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    The dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of

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    Luke Hilakari
    3:45 PM (25 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear Friend
    Behind closed doors, a secret trade deal is being hatched that is not just bad for Australian workers, but working people all around the world.

    The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement — or ”TPP” — would be the largest trade deal in history, accounting for 40% of the world’s economy. But the TPP agenda is being driven by big business – including big pharmaceuticals and big tobacco – not by ordinary working people.

    In a nutshell, the TPP could allow corporations to sue the Australian Government over laws that protect working people — or environmental regulations that get in the way of their profits.

    The result: a global race to the bottom with lower labour standards and more toxic emissions. 

    But Tony Abbott doesn’t want you to know what’s in this deal. In fact, lobbyists and politicians are working very hard to keep the text under wraps until the deal is done.
    Together, thousands of union members and working people around the world are calling for transparency now. Will you join in?

    Click here to send a message to the Trade Minister tasked with negotiating TPP to immediately halt negotiations and release the text for the world to see. 

    Concerned citizens from around the world are making progress – workers of the world are uniting to stop this dirty deal!

    Will you take a moment to join in? 

    The petition is being organised by the International Trade Union Confederation – we’re proud to join unions worldwide in asking Victorian workers to get involved!
    In Unity,
    Luke Hilakari
    http://www.weareunion.org.au/

  • Neville, thanks for standing with me. Sister Jane-COMMON GRACE

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    Neville, thanks for standing with me

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    Sister Jane – Common Grace <info@commongrace.org.au>
    1:25 PM (56 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear Neville,

    As you know, on Wednesday I had a lovely breakfast with a monk, farmer, fire fighter, doctor, student and chef, with representatives from Australia’s Indigenous and Muslim communities to deliver a petition signed by 73,347 Australians for a pollution free Australia.

    Here’s a short clip of the day, and I encourage you to listen to the stories on the clip of how all kinds of communities in Australia are being harmed by pollution.

    Video.jpg

    It was a wonderful demonstration of public support for a clean energy future. Thank you for adding your voice and helping to make this possible.

    Whilst Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not join us, we spent the day speaking with key decision makers, reached 200,000 people through radio interviews and there was a beautiful story about our breakfast in the Age newspaper yesterday.

    So thank you for all you do for God’s creation, and may we keep standing up for what is just, embodying the grace and love of our maker.

    In Christ
    Sister Jane Keogh

    Common Grace
    http://www.commongrace.org.au/

  • Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW national parks

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    Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government – AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW National Parks

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    Atticus Fleming atticus.fleming@australianwildlife.org via 27746.netcommunity1.com
    		11:03 AM (7 minutes ago)
    to me
    5 June 2015
    Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government
     AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW national parks
    Dear Mrs Gillmore
    “The return of extinct mammals to NSW National Parks will be one of the greatest mammal conservation initiatives ever undertaken in Australia … a powerful demonstration of our commitment to reverse Australia’s mammal extinction crisis.” 
    Professor Tim Flannery (AWC Director)
    Bilbies, Numbats and other mammal species which have not been recorded in NSW for over 100 years are set to be returned to the State’s National Parks under an historic partnership between Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the NSW Government.

    Following an exhaustive tender process, the NSW Environment Minister, the Hon Mark Speakman MP, today announced that the Government will enter into negotiations with AWC to establish large fox and cat-free areas in selected NSW National Parks.  AWC is also set to deliver broader land management and science activities across these National Parks.

    Within the feral-free areas – large areas protected by specially designed conservation fences – wild populations of mammal species that are extinct in NSW including the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, the Brush-tailed Bettong, the Western Barred Bandicoot, the Western Quoll, the Bilby and the Numbat, will be reintroduced.
    Click the image to see rare video footage of a Numbat at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary
    This single initiative will play a critical role in saving at least 10 Australian mammals from extinction.  It represents a large-scale response to the impact of feral cats and foxes – feral cats kill tens of millions of native animals every night across Australia.  Under AWC’s proposed projects:

    • 2 species (Bridled Nailtail Wallaby and Western Barred Bandicoot) will have their remaining global populations increased by more than 100%.
    • At least 6 other species (including the Bilby, Brush-tailed Bettong, Numbat and Greater Stick-nest Rat) will have their remaining populations increased by more than 15%.

    This will be the first partnership of its kind in Australia, highlighting both AWC’s leadership in the conservation sector and the importance of developing new models for collaboration between Government and the non-profit sector.
    Feral cat and fox-proof fences are the only option for restoring many endangered mammal populations  |  Burrowing Bettong
    Please help AWC return 10 extinct mammals to NSW National Parks

    AWC is committed to co-investing with the NSW Government, which will invest several million dollars in this initiative, to secure the return of at least 10 extinct mammals to National Parks.  Your tax deductible donation to AWC will help us roll-out this ground-breaking initiative, building our capacity to deliver the on-ground feral animal control and world class science which underpins AWC’s unique approach to conservation.
    Stay tuned for further details – including an announcement identifying the National Parks where the initiative will be delivered – as AWC and NSW work together to finalise details of this historic partnership.  In the meantime, thank you for your support which is greatly appreciated by all of us at AWC.

    Yours sincerely

    Atticus Fleming
    Chief Executive

  • Today’s a day to be really proud of: WWF Australia
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    Today’s a day to be really proud of:

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    Louise Matthiesson, WWF-Australia noreply@act.wwf.org.au via server8839.e-activist.com 
    11:42 AM (6 hours ago)
    to me
    Under water coral, Great Barrier Reef © Troy Mayne

    Dear NEVILLE,

    I’ve got some exciting news:

    Last night in Queensland, the Government announced a new Sustainable Ports Bill that makes crucial progress on their promise to rein-in industrial dredging and dumping in the Reef’s World Heritage Area. The Bill will ensure that magnificent parts of the Reef coastline like the Fitzroy Delta and Cape York Peninsula are protected from massive industrial expansion.

    It’s a huge step in the right direction for the reef, for tourism operators, for fishers and for the snubfin dolphins who call the Delta home.

    Today’s a day to be really proud of: this wouldn’t have happened without you.

    There are still some loopholes that must be closed – like the ones that allow trans-shipping and dumping for big marina developments to continue.  Also, these new laws won’t stop all port expansions, like the new coal megaport planned for Abbot Point, but they make other parts of the coast much safer.

    And the Australian Government have taken an important step forward this week too.

    On Tuesday, the new regulations that ban dredge spoil dumping in the Marine Park Area came into effect, finally bringing the law in line with community expectations.

    That means that together, this week, we’ve made massive progress to protect the Reef.

    But we’re not done yet.  Stay tuned for an important update tonight about the next step in the campaign to ensure the World Heritage Committee stands strong and holds the Government to account when it meets in Bonn in less than four weeks time.

    You’ve helped us make change happen, and with your help we can – and we will – win the protection we need for our Great Barrier Reef.

    Louise Matthiesson
    Great Barrier Reef Campaigner
    WWF-Australia

    P.S. There’s a lot going on at the moment, if you want more details, you can read WWFs full statements on UNESCOs decision to put the Government on probation here, our statement on the Australian Government’s ban on Marine Park dumping here, and the news about the Queensland Bill here.

  • Is Labor letting our native forests burn?

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    Is Labor letting our native forests burn?

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    Senator Janet Rice
    1:11 PM (1 hour ago)
    to me
    Dear Neville,

    Late last night, Labor joined the Abbott government and passed damaging changes to the Renewable Energy Target through the lower house.Bill Shorten cannot let Labor do a deal with the government and pass these changes to the RET — changes that would see us cut investment in renewable energy, lose sustainable jobs and send our native forests up in flames.

    Share our petition with your friends now and ask them to join you in calling on the two old parties to protect our native forests.

    Keep burning native forests out of the RET
    We must continue to build pressure on Bill Shorten and Labor so they do not support the government’s push to include cutting down and burning up our native forests as so-called ‘renewable energy’.

    If the burning of wood from native forests is included in the RET, Labor must stand with the community and vote this legislation down in the Senate. Click here to ask your friends to join you and over 5,600 others and call on Bill Shorten and Tony Abbott to not burn up our native forests and cut investment in real renewable energy.

    With Labor’s move last night, the fight to protect our native forests now moves to the Senate. I, with your other Greens Senators, will do everything I can in the Senate to stop this dirty deal between Labor and the government.

    Thanks for standing with us,

    Janet, with Adam Bandt

    Senator Janet Rice
    Greens Senator for Victoria