ABC: Adelaide linked to billionaire Taib Mahmud under investigation for corruption in Malaysia
abc.net.au Report by Nicola Gage, 9 September 2015
abc.net.au
"An international probe has linked South Australia to a billionaire Malaysian politician under investigation for corruption.
The Swiss-based non-government organisation, Bruno Manser Fund, claims Sarawak governor Taib Mahmud spent millions of dollars in South Australia.
The allegations were outlined in a report released on Wednesday that alleges his family's companies invested up to $30 million in the Hilton Hotel in central Adelaide.
The report questioned how he could afford the investment.
Its author, Lukas Straumann, said Mr Mahmud has been under investigation for corruption in Malaysia since 2011."
Read the full story on abc.net.au
Read the Bob Brown Foundation media release, and the full report by the Bruno Manser Fund here.
David Suzuki: Australia's Environmental Leadership Needed Now More Than Ever
An article by David Suzuki in The Huffington Post 18 August 2015
www.huffingtonpost.com.au
"Australia has been a leader in many environmental issues and is now beset with prolonged drought, major fires and degradation of the Great Barrier Reef. Australia has something Canadians envy -- lots of sunshine -- yet has failed to exploit this clean, renewable energy source. Australia, like Canada, must do more to confront the severe environmental challenges we are all facing in our countries and around the world."
Read the full article on thehuffingtonpost.com.au
We need a new Australian flag – something like this
An article by Bob Brown in The Age Aug 17, 2015
theage.com.au
"It is inevitable that Australia will get a new flag. As our nation grows in global stature, becomes more cosmopolitan, and feels more and more left behind by first Canada, and now New Zealand, the move to a new national flag is only a matter of time.
...
The way ahead will be through a lot of public consultation and design input, just as happened in Canada and is happening in New Zealand. The outcome will be a flag that leaves no one in doubt that it is truly Australian. And while the race is not quite yet on, I believe the kangaroo is off to a flying start."
Bob Brown is a former leader of the Australian Greens.
Read the full article on theage.com.au
The Sarawak Report founding editor facing harassment
abc.net.au
"Clare Rewcastle Brown is an exemplar of fearless journalism. Brought up in Malaysia, she has campaigned for the rights of indigenous people in Sarawak against corrupt governments at state and national level. Not least she is a global voice against the ongoing destruction of Sarawak's rainforests by logging companies and its rivers by dam-building outfits aided an abetted by Western agencies - not least the secretive Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation.
Clare came to Tasmania a couple of years back and at a massive Press Conference which I hosted as a Greens senator, talked about corruption in Malaysia and the role of Ta Ann, now in the logging business in Tasmania, in wrecking Sarawakian rainforests: the Tasmanian media gave her no coverage!!!"
Bob Brown
Mackay Conservation Group: Victory! Federal Court rejects Carmichael mine
Patricia Julien celebrates the victory outside the Mackay Conservation Group office
"If built, the proposed Carmichael mine would have been Australia’s largest coal mine exporting up to 60 million tonnes of coal from across the Great Barrier Reef Coast every year.
In July 2014 the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved the Carmichael mine and in January this year we launched a challenge of the mine arguing that the impacts of the project on the climate and threatened species had not been properly addressed.
Minister Hunt has now admitted that he didn’t adequately consider the impact on the yakka skink and the ornamental snake, two vulnerable species impacted by the mine."
...
"This is a historic win for the Climate, fragile ecosystems in western Qld and the Great Barrier Reef.
This victory would not have been possible without the support of the NSW Environmental Defenders Office and everyone who has donated to the case and helped highlight the impacts of this devastating mine on our Reef, the climate and the unique biodiversity of Western Queensland."
Bob Brown: They’re coming to get us!
An article by Bob Brown in "The Big Smoke" 6 Aug 2015.
TheBigSmoke.com.au
They are coming to get us! That is, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment is out to get, of all things, people working to defend, or wanting to donate to, the environment.
Tasmanian Government Abandons Swift Parrot
An article in newmatilda.com by Thom Mitchell
newmatilda.com
'The Tasmanian government has again drawn the ire of conservationists after documents obtained by The Wilderness Society emerged yesterday revealing it had disengaged with the body established to save the endangered Swift Parrot while continuing to log key habitat.'
...
'Jenny Weber, Campaign Manager at the Bob Brown Foundation, said that adding insult to the Swift Parrot’s injury was the fact that logging Tasmania’s native forests actually costs all taxpayers money.
“Despite a 2015 review of Forestry Tasmania, which found the Government Business Enterprise has been losing public money over many years, the current Liberal Government has followed a business as usual model,” Weber said.
“In 2010 the management of Forestry Tasmania lost $306 million; In 2011, they lost $129 million of taxpayers’ funds.
“That’s nearly $1,000 for every man woman and child in the state [and] the Commonwealth has tipped nearly $100 million between 2006 and 2012 alone, too."'
Read the full article on newmatilda.com
Dr. Reese Halter's Earthcast SOS on Australian eco-politics
"Discover how Australia's neo-con government is attempting to silence environmental groups protecting our planet"
Dr. Reese Halter comments on politics and the environment in Australia.
Interesting to hear what it looks like to someone outside the country.
ABC News: Tasmanian Forest Industry Fired Up About Biomass
ABC TV and News website 19 July 2015
ABC.net.au
"Environmentalists are completely opposed to the idea of biomass and have firmly rejected the suggestion it was a renewable energy source.
Peg Putt from the organisation Markets for Change said biomass not only destroyed precious eco-systems but harmed the climate at the same time.
She said its inclusion in the RET was deeply concerning."
Happiness & Its Causes 2015
A video of Bob's presentation at the "Happiness & Its Causes 2015" conference.
“Optimism is a key ingredient for any successful human endeavor – and isn’t keeping Earth viable the greatest endeavor we can ever undertake? It is a fortunate life if a person feels more optimistic than ever before. That’s me.”
For more information on "The Happiness Project" visit http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au. Also check their blog http://www.happyandwell.com.au and subscribe to their newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/lnkcr76.