Speech by Kelvin Thomson on Foreign Ownership and Food Security
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Tim Hamilton
Electorate Officer
Office of Kelvin Thomson MP
Member for Wills
(P) 9350 5777
Category: News
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Speech by Kelvin Thomson on Foreign Ownership and Food Security
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Labor can govern without agreement – MP
Labor can govern without agreement – MP
Updated: 09:00, Friday July 20, 2012
Key federal independent MP Tony Windsor says a change of leader would not necessarily bring down the Labor minority government.
Mr Windsor, together with crossbench colleague Rob Oakeshott, signed an agreement following the 2010 federal election in which they guarantee the Gillard government their confidence in parliament’s lower house and to support supply.
The MP insists that agreement is with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and not transferable to anyone else.
But a new Labor leader might not need any formal agreement for the minority government to remain in power, Mr Windsor said.
‘Minority governments can be formed without written agreements,’ he told ABC Radio on Friday, adding that Ms Gillard could have assumed government until Labor’s numbers were tested in parliament.
‘The new leader could enter parliament and assume the government benches until a vote of the parliament says he or she couldn’t.’
Mr Windsor’s comments come amid renewed speculation about the future of Ms Gillard’s leadership.
His oft-stated ‘all-bets-would-be-off’ stance, in the event of a leadership change, has been seen as impediment to the return of Kevin Rudd.
Mr Windsor refused to say whether he was less inclined to support a minority government led by Mr Rudd.
‘If I’m confronted with it, I’ll look at it,’ he said, adding he did not think Labor would dump Ms Gillard.
Senior Labor figures this week have been keen to play down any suggestion Ms Gillard is under threat from a second leadership challenge within six months.
The latest round of speculation was sparked by the comments of chief government whip Joe Fitzgibbon who cast doubt on any political leader’s ability to remain in office without popular support.
Ms Gillard and Labor are languishing in the polls with an election likely in late 2013.
The prime minister continues to enjoy strong support amongst key unions with one reportedly threatening to withdraw $200,000 in political donations to the Labor Party if MPs dump Ms Gillard in favour of Mr Rudd.
Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon told The Australian that Mr Rudd would be a ‘disaster’ for the union movement.
He said Mr Rudd could not be trusted to represent union members and would lose the election if he seized the leadership.
Sources told the newspaper that Mr Sheldon told a meeting of union leaders on Tuesday that a ‘small minority’ of MPs – whom he described as ‘dickheads’ – was continuing to push for Mr Rudd to return to the leadership
He warned that if Mr Rudd was elected leader by caucus, his union’s national office and its state branches would refuse to make financial contributions to federal Labor’s re-election campaign
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Call to halt coal expansion after cancer study
Call to halt coal expansion after cancer study
ABCUpdated July 20, 2012, 9:45 am
ABC © Enlarge photo
The Greens say Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) should put its plans to expand its Kooragang Island terminal on hold until the causes of a possible cancer cluster are found.
A Newcastle University study released yesterday found workers at the site are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the average New South Wales resident.
It also found the employees were three times more likely than Carrington terminal PWCS workers to develop the disease.
The study compared details of 859 employees at Port Waratah Coal Services over a 23-year period, with cancer records for New South Wales and Australia.
63 workers were diagnosed with cancer, with the most common being melanoma, prostate and colon cancer.
Professor of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology from Newcastle University, John Attia says the study did not pinpoint a cause for the high incidence of the disease, and further investigation is recommended.
“The study didn’t look at any soil samples or water samples or air samples so we can’t pinpoint what it is that might be causing this, but it’s something that’s different between Kooragang and Carrington,” he said.
“One of the recommendations was that an independent occupational hygienist engage to look specifically at the physical environment and work processes and see what might be causing it.”
Port Waratah Coal Services has put forward a $5 billion proposal to build a massive new coal terminal at Kooragang Island, but Greens MP John Kaye says the project should now be put on the backburner.
“In the absence of an airtight explanation for the elevated rates of cancer at Kooragang Island, it would be immoral to push ahead with T4 and expose yet more workers on that island to a higher risk of really bad health consequences,” he said.
“Planning for this terminal should be delayed for as long as it takes to find out what is causing an elevated rate of cancer on Kooragang Island, and how that can be avoided.”
The Company says it has been advised there is no established link between the occupational environment and the types of cancers common among employees.
PWCS CEO Hennie Du Plooy says the results are being explained to all employees.
“We’ve engaged specialist advice in this area and our advisers are actually helping us communicate this and interpret this for our employees,” he said.
“So that we can demonstrate that, while the report identifies an increased risk, there is – according to our advice – a low likelihood the risk and the cancers identified have a link to occupational exposure.”
The Maritime Union is calling for a government investigation into cancer rates at all workplaces on Kooragang Island.
Employees are worried the site’s history as an industrial waste area could be to blame for the higher than expected incidence of cancer among workers.
Glen Williams from the Newcastle branch of the Maritime Union says there needs to be more research covering the entire area.
“The results at Kooragang give us great concern as to what’s going on up there,” he said.
“If it’s something in the water on Kooragang, if it’s something in the air, those are questions we need answered.”
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Unions go neutral as poll hopes dry up
Unions go neutral as poll hopes dry up
ANALYSIS
IN THE showdown in February with the former prime minister Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard had almost unanimous support from MPs who owe their position to the union movement.
But following discussions among unions this week, union leaders concede they can no longer hold their MPs in behind the Prime Minister.
The meeting of union leaders discussed how to handle a leadership change if it could not be prevented, as senior Labor figures concede Gillard’s prospects of staying in the job are receding.
In February Gillard had almost unanimous support from the union movement and leaders – including the Australian Workers Union chief, Paul Howes – who lobbied the caucus members associated with their organisations.
AdvertisementBut senior Labor figures and several MPs have told the Herald that unions, including the AWU – which has at least 15 closely associated MPs – have indicated they would not be as active in defending Gillard in another ballot, even though they were not supporting a shift.
In part the change is an acknowledgment of reality, with MPs less fearful of threats to their preselections because opinion polls indicate they are likely to lose their seats at the next election.
”The AWU is not plumping for a change but they are not standing in the way either … that is a significant change in attitude,” a Labor figure said.
The stance is similar to that of the NSW Right faction, as support in that grouping shifts from Gillard.
Union leaders confirmed yesterday that the leadership had been discussed at a meeting this week, but strongly denied there was any shift in their strong support for Gillard.
”The discussion really was about how we would handle a change if it became unstoppable,” one source said. ”It was not a conversation that could be considered in any way supportive of Kevin Rudd.”
The ACTU secretary, Dave Oliver, said: ”Nothing has changed at all. The movement is
supportive of Prime Minister Gillard and her government for the work that is being done on the issues that matter to us most.” And Howes tweeted from Washington that suggestions the union movement was shifting support were ”complete b-s”.
The unions, which imposed a $2 levy on members to establish a $4 million election fighting fund, are deeply concerned that on the latest polling the Coalition would win control of the Senate, putting it in a position to reverse all the industrial relations changes Labor has made.
They are also worried about changes a Coalition government is likely to make to political donations laws, which would break the funding link between Labor’s political and industrial arms.
In NSW the Coalition government has banned donations from organisations, including unions, and in Queensland the Newman government plans to force members of organisations to vote before they can make a donation to a political party.
Labor’s latest returns to the Australian Electoral Commission show that after the 2010 election it was almost $15 million in debt. Corporate donations are evaporating.
On the latest poll figures, Labor would receive 1 million fewer votes across both houses than it did at the last election, which would slice about $2.5 million from the public funding on which it is increasingly reliant.
MPs, who are in their electorates for the winter break, are concerned that despite a fairly smooth introduction of the carbon tax there is no sign of a turnaround in the polls or a lessening of public hostility towards Gillard. But many are unenthusiastic about change.
In February Gillard beat Rudd by 71 votes to 31, including 12 from the NSW Right faction, which would now deliver her five or six votes.
There has also been some shift in the Victorian Right, amid speculation that the former AWU chief and now Workplace Relations Minister, Bill Shorten, could become deputy prime minister to Rudd.
Any new leader would have to renegotiate the support of the independents and the Greens that has allowed Gillard to form government.
Yesterday the independent Tony Windsor said his agreement was ”not a transferable document” and a change would mean ”all bets are off”.
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Avaaz hits 15 million!!!
Avaaz hits 15 million!!!
Inboxx 7:03 AM (3 hours ago)Dear everyone,Wow, our people-powered community has just hit 15 million strong — the largest online political movement ever and anywhere! Size matters, but spirit matters more, and ours is on fire. Together we’re running more campaigns, taking more actions, winning more and winning bigger than ever before.
Just a few days ago, 2.8 million of us played a central role in getting Europe to stop ACTA, the global treaty that would have let corporations censor our Internet worldwide! This was a classic story of a terrible idea drafted in the shadows and pushed through by giant corporations, but like so many bad laws and leaders these days, it was no match for smart people power.
In just the last 6 months, we’ve fought and helped win key battles to save the Internet, create the world’s largest marine reserve network, protect the Brazilian rainforest, keep pressure high on Rupert Murdoch’s media mafia, support the Syrian democracy movement and much, much more. These victories matched the legitimacy of a massive citizen outcry with phone calls, messages and citizen lobbying, strong work with partners and champions, and a powerful delivery of our voices to media and key decision-makers — scroll down to see 15 favourite photos of past petition deliveries!
The world is facing greater crises everyday, and these challenges could divide us like never before, or bring us together like never before. By choosing to come together, from every nation of the world (click here for a global map of our membership), we are proving, over and over again, the awesome power of cooperation — making our 15 million-strong Avaaz community a rising global force for hope and change.
From me and the whole team — huge gratitude for every amazing person in this community — happy 15 everybody!!
From me and the whole team — huge gratitude for every amazing person in this awesome community – happy 15 everybody!!-Ricken
Support the Avaaz Community! We’re entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way.
Avaaz.org is a 15-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 19 countries on 6 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.You are getting this message because you signed “Save our dying planet!” on 2011-12-08 using the email addressnevilleg729@gmail.com.
To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=profile&user=6be3e9aa63582c9b1397464fcc49baa9&lang=en, or simply go here to unsubscribe.To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
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TIPPING POINTS-THE FACTS. COURTESY of DR JOHN JAMES
TIPPING POINTS-THE FACTS. COURTESY of DR JOHN JAMES
When the temperature gets high enough to cause forests to give up their CO2 rather than sequest it, then every tonne of gas given up to the air increases the temperature and causes even more gas to be given up. This is a tipping point – an irreversible moment when the dreaded feedback loop begins.
This is now the central issue for the scientific community: have humans already have gone too far, and may we now be helpless to stop abrupt and runaway global warming.
These ten major tipping points are are right at this moment being triggered.
- Melting glaciers will raise sea levels so that less heat is reflected out to space
- Decline of the flow of fresh water from the Arctic will collapse the Gulf Stream
- Forests will no longer absorb carbon, but become a source.
- Methane clathrates held in the mud under the sea begin to burp
- Melting permafrost releases vast quantities of methane
- Drought kills the Amazon forest and its carbon sink is released
- The benefits of being shielded by global dimming ceases
- Bush fires increase the carbon load and reduce the storage capacity of forests
- As oceans warm the seas absorb less carbon
- All the above plus disastrous weather and coral bleaching and acidification of the oceans disrupt food production
Triggering any one of these ten carbon sinks would cause
runaway greenhouse warming.
The triggering of any one of them would start off the others.The earth has over eons stored greenhouse gasses in forests, the soil and in the oceans. Recent scientific research has shown that small rises in temperature can trigger these sinks into becoming sources, and thus tip the scales against our survival.
Only now, in the past five years, has the scientific community begun to pat serious attention to them. We do not know if they will be triggered today or in decades, It seems there is a ten percent possibility that feedback loops from glacial-meltdown, permafrost methane burping and/or rainforest collapse will commence within the next few years.
Only intense and immediate action beyond anything the
world has ever done can stop this.
If all the good intentions from the Kyoto and Montreal meetings were to be executed in full and immediately, they would not alter the outcome. Like Munich, these agreements were set by politicians playing for time. This is discussed in Footprints #2.The graph shows the range of temperatures possible by the end of the century from computer modeling. The latest ICCC meeting added 50% to these figures.
Taken together, concentrations of CO2 and methane have passed the threshold of 400ppm set as the upper limit of safety by the International Conference on Climate Change. This is of the most enormous significance.
It means we have actually entered the era of dangerous climate change.
We have already reached the point where our children
can no longer count on a safe environment.The Earth is about to be trapped in a vicious cycle of positive feedback, which is why the issue is so serious and urgent. Any extra heat from any source (especially human activity) is amplified, and as it is added this sets off other processes so that heating is accelerating.
It is the self-regulating mechanism of Gaia itself that, perversely, will make it hard to master global warming – because the system contains feedback mechanisms that in the past have acted in concert to keep the Earth much cooler than it otherwise would be. Now, however, they could easily combine to amplify the warming being caused by our activities.
It is NOT too late to minimise the risks – read what YOU can do
Personally and PoliticallyTragically, there are no large negative feedbacks that would reverse the heating process – save the weathering of rocks and occasional fierce tropical storms. Neither can compete.
We are interfering with the natural regulating systems of the planet by increasing our own input while limiting the natural systems that would regulate it.
Global warming will submerge many low-lying island nations in an unstoppable process. Increased numbers of cyclones, droughts and floods are making life unviable for the people on the Carteret atolls in Papua New Guinea. Already 980 have had to be evacuated. Many were starving because rising salt water has destroyed their trees and stopped them growing greens and breadfruit. Next may be the small island nation of Kiribati of 33 small atolls, none of which is more than 2 meters above the Pacific. It is only a matter of time before the entire country is submerged by the rising sea. Also the Tuvalu people have had to arrange for the evacuation of the entire 10,000 population to New Zealand.
For these people, the tipping point has already occurred.
