northern territory
The Northern Territory community is experiencing enormous change since the CLP were elected in August 2012 after 11 years in opposition. In the model of the LNP and Campbell Newman’s “slash and burn to save a quid” policy the CLP government under Terry Mills has axed 600 government jobs (a lot for such a small community) that has resulted in paralysis and insecurity in the public sector. Much the same as Queensland’s LNP, the CLP put forward a 100 day plan and an attitude “to get it done under all circumstances.” General consensus questions the furious force of it all when a newly formed government should take time to assess the situation and deliver incremental changes to the public. An unintended positive for the environment as a result of all this mayhem has been the CLP’s dramatic increase in the cost of providing electricity and water. A rise of up to 30% has been implemented from the 1st of January and, much to the disgust of the public, utility costs have increased at least $300 a quarter. Northern Territory communities and cities are remote and heavily reliant on transported goods, so it’s not hard to imagine the impact of these changes and how the public feels. Many NT Greens members and supporters see the increased cost of power and water as a mixed blessing. It is at least one way to reverse the wasteful use of energy and water that is practiced by many Australians. Much is at stake in the Northern Territory with mining exploration leases granted for national parks and criticism of this being met with convoluted responses. Only three percent of the Northern Territory is National park; a tragedy given it is one of the world’s great wildernesses. With the appointment of a new EPA and a “mining is our future” stance, the Greens community will be working hard to make itself heard and to provide an alternative stance.
NICHOLAS GOULDHURST ACTING NT Convenor
QUEENSLAND
Federal election preparations are continuing to roll out in Queensland with more candidates being endorsed, a federal campaign coordinator in place, a larger office and a growing amount of grassroots campaigning happening. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of issues to campaign on, whether its actions by the federal Labor government such as cuts to sole parents income and neglect of the Great Barrier Reef, or the swingeing spending and service cuts of the state LNP government leaving yawning gaps in supports for the community. The LNP uses economic rhetoric to justify their austerity obsession, but it is clear there has been little thought or planning involved. There is no recognition of what immediate effects the cuts are having on frontline and essential services, let alone the longer term damage with loss of expertise and the degradation of social infrastructure. The rushed, oversized cuts are a false economy causing plenty of hardship and higher unemployment. The LNP state government is providing advance notice of what a Tony Abbott federal government would be like with similar politically driven, economically inept cuts. Speaking of economically inept, Bob Katter’s party is presenting an extra challenge for us in Queensland. Whilst the Katter party doesn’t compete very much directly with the Greens for votes, it is competing for media space. Queensland is also clearly where the Katter party has the best chance of winning a Senate seat – potentially setting them up for a share of balance of power if the LNP Senate vote is high enough. The Greens have delivered an enormous amount in the last couple of years with our balance of power roles federally, and a long list of impressive achievements across environmental, social and economic areas. We have a great record to promote, and plenty to point to when it comes to the shortcomings of the other parties, but with a mainstream media which is mostly unsympathetic, it will require lots of campaigning effort from all of us to get that message out there.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Balance of payments, trade deficit, GDP, GFC, fiscal cliff... These terms are now common place in the media and society. Do we have our priorities right? Good financial responsibility is important (but so are other matters!). With good financial management not only can we balance the books, but we can also raise revenue to help others. What are the Greens doing? Firstly, here are a few examples of how the Greens propose to increase income, reduce costs and even up the playing field: • super profits tax: Australia’s mineral wealth belongs to ALL of us, not just the mining companies. The Greens are the only party proposing to increase the super profits tax on resources with a view to the tax returning a profit – it currently doesn’t • cut the fossil fuel subsidy which amounts to billions of dollars per year • remove the income splitting benefits of trusts These measures would enable more funds to be available for human services and infrastructure in areas such as education, health, environmental protection and social security. Secondly, the Parliamentary budget office at the federal level came about directly as a result of the Greens’ negotiations. It provides independent analysis of each party’s budget and considers the financial implications of proposals. Financial responsibility is important, but so is the state of our environment. I look forward to the day when an environmental index is also reported daily in the media. An index that maps things like: • biodiversity gains and sadly the losses • water levels in the River Murray and the impact on wetlands • pollution levels (so that we can compare across years) • site contamination and remediation across the country I hope that with the Greens influence, these goals can become reality.
RUTH BEACH SA State Convenor
Andrew Bartlett Qld Convenor
NT Greens PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
Queensland Greens PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
TASMANIA
Tasmania’s starring role in the Greens’ nation-wide Too Precious To Lose campaign is the Tarkine; the southern hemisphere’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. Last week Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, gave the go ahead for mining there. What made his announcement worse was the amount of unspoilt wilderness that Burke since dubbed the Minister against the Environment - has handed to the mining industry on a plate. Ignoring the Australian Heritage Council, Burke has protected just 4% of the Tarkine’s 433,000ha. The rest is open season. There are at least 10 mining licences waiting approval. A favoured argument of those in support of mining the Tarkine is that it will create lasting wealth. But there are a host of forgotten mines and former mining towns in the state’s north-west, such as Queenstown, which show the folly of this argument. As the Tasmanian Greens’ lead senate candidate and former economics lecturer, Peter Whish-Wilson said in a recent announcement, “the Greens believe we live in a society, not an economy”. The question I kept asking mining proponents last week was “what happens when these new mines are exhausted?” No one had an answer. This is precisely the problem with cowboy economics, to which sustainability is anathema. The cowboys simply move on to exploit something else. Problem is that we’re running out of things left to exploit. The Greens are the only party championing sustainable economics. As Peter also said, “while we understand the importance of jobs and investment, we are the only political party which recognises that economic growth is not the only road to happiness and prosperity”. In other news, Dan Patman is the new Campaign Director for the Tasmanian Greens. Dan has taken to his new role with a beguiling mix of cool and can-do. We wish him good luck. We are also looking forward to hosting the Greens National Council in Tassie this March. I’m looking forward to an energising council and to showing off the best of Hobart to y’all.
VICTORIA
The Victorian Greens are rejuvenated and raring to go after the summer break. We had a strong 2012 where we increased the number of Greens representatives on local councils during the local government elections. December saw us celebrating the AGV’s 20th anniversary with talks from some of our founding members - who sat under the famed tree in the park in late 1992 and started the AGV - including Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice. In January, we turned out for Victoria’s GLBTI Midsumma Carnival, where the Greens have been a presence for 15 years. Our stall asked festival goers to send Julia and Tony a photo message on Equal Rights which garnered a huge response and viral photos. In February, our Greens contingent in the Pride March gained mainstream news coverage, due to the presence of our five Victorian Federal and State parliamentarians, MLCs Colleen Hartland, Greg Barber and Sue Pennicuik, Deputy Leader Adam Bandt and Senator Richard Di Natale who were joined by Batman and Robin accompanied by Wonder Woman. We are gathering steam for the upcoming Federal election with candidates in place in our priority seats: Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice, Adam Bandt for Melbourne, Ann Birrell for Melbourne Ports and Alex Bhathal for Batman. We’ve also either completed or are in the process of preselecting our other 34 lower house candidates. The AGV is also nearing the final stages of the restructure of staffing arrangements including the executive search for our new Party Director who will be appointed in March. And finally, after last year’s successful establishment of the Victorian Young Greens, a Greens Club has been reestablished at Latrobe University meaning that there are now Greens clubs in the four largest universities in Victoria. We wish Greens around the country all the best in this busy year, fingers crossed for WA and looking forward to seeing you on social media or at National Council meetings.
Alex Bhathal & Dinesh Mathew, AGV Co-Convenors
The months since my last WA report have been ones of frenetic activity as we prepare for the upcoming state election. There is so much going on right now it is hard to know where to begin! Firstly, we have Giz Watson’s push to have an independent Parliamentary Budget Office to level the playing field in costing election promises. If taken up, this would be a game-changer for our state politics. There is also Lynn MacLaren’s initiative to put solar systems on the roofs of 30,000 public and community houses in WA. This will bring down the cost of power for some of the poorest people in the state while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alison Xamon’s drinking water initiatives have identified water savings of up to 260GL a year by 2029 through conservation, recycling and the provision of incentives for grey water plumbing for homes. She is also raising the profile of groundwater issues and of the need to clean up the Swan River. Robin Chapple’s work on James Price Point has helped make it a national issue. The James Price Point TV ad that is forming part of the Too Precious to Lose national campaign is helping to reshape the debate. By engaging high profile and respected Indigenous leaders and spokespeople the Greens have been able to silence the critics. North Metro candidate Cam Poustie will be representing the Greens at the Energy Future Forum on Wednesday 27th February. Each political party will be presenting their vision for our energy future. Senator Scott Ludlam launched a major initiative, the Energy 2029 plan to shift Western Australia onto 100% renewable energy in time for the state’s 200th anniversary. I encourage all Greens to take a look at this ground-breaking proposal, developed with the assistance of Sustainable Energy Now. Finally, I have to give a mention to the outstanding work of our volunteers in keeping the campaign rolling. They are making it possible for us to run a professional campaign on a very tight budget.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
Tom Allen Tasmania Convenor
South Australian Greens 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN Greens GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
Victorian Greens GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
WA Greens PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
march 2013
OUR FEDERAL MPS Senator CHRISTINE MILNE - TAS Federal Parliamentary Leader
As we head into this election year the Greens will continue to stand up as a genuine alternative voice, for a future that puts caring for people and the environment at its core. We want to spread the benefits of the mining boom and use the revenue raised from pricing pollution to invest in a clean, green and clever country. We have been campaigning strongly for a decent mining tax, and Adam Bandt has put a bill through the House to plug the loophole that forces the Commonwealth to reimburse wealthy mining companies every time states hike up royalties. And that’s just one revenue raising measure we’ve proposed. With a better designed mining tax and fewer concessions to the fossil fuel sector we can raise the tens of billions we need to invest in education, healthcare, renewable energy, lifting Newstart as every expert has recommended, and the infrastructure we need to be a clever country with a caring society and healthy environment. I can’t wait for the day concentrated solar thermal power supplies the grid in Australia. This Labor government has been dismantling the environmental protections put in place by its predecessors after decades of campaigning by environmental activists. The Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley, our agricultural land and water, as well as the Tarkine are up for grabs for rapacious mining and Coal Seam Gas interests. We need your support to continue the campaign to protect the places that are too precious to lose (see tooprecioustolose.org.au). The Greens stand up for a society that is sustainable and an economy that puts people and the environment we depend upon at its heart. The Greens’ vision is to take a more holistic view of economic productivity. It’s not just about eking out a budget surplus, it’s about building skills, investing in innovation, supporting community vibrancy, protecting people’s well-being, and looking after the whole environment, now and into the future. senator.milne@aph.gov.au
Senator Rachel Siewert - wa
The campaign to increase Newstart gathers strength as more and more people realise that it is impossible to live on such a low level of income. With the Government’s much vaunted surplus now abandoned, there is added pressure on the Government to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community are not being left behind by economic policy. The community campaign supporting an increase to income support payments, such as Newstart Allowance, has gathered further pace since January 1 when parenting payment cuts moved single parents to Newstart Allowance, an income drop of between $60 and $100 per week. This will no doubt continue in the leadup to the May Budget, which is why we need to keep working hard. To progress the campaign, I will be introducing a private members bill to increase Newstart and other allowance payments by $50 per week. While the Government has been doing its best to ignore this issue, we have been working hard – talking to community groups and the people who continue to live on Newstart in very difficult circumstances. We have gathered evidence around the lived experience of people trying to survive and find a job while living on Newstart which we will be publishing in the near future. We have also been monitoring the impact of throwing people off parenting payment onto Newstart. The Government, for quite some time, refused to admit that Centrelink had made a major error and withdrawn the use of the pensioner concession card from those parents thrown off parenting payment, making their lives even harder. There will be rallies in Canberra and our capital cities when Parliament resumes that will send a clear message to MPs that action is needed. I am confident that this campaign will continue to grow in strength, and that we can continue to provide a voice for those thousands of people who have spoken to us about living day in, day out on Newstart and the challenge this brings for single parents and families. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
Senator Scott Ludlam - WA
I had a busy end to 2012 and a hectic start to 2013 with little respite in between. I addressed a meeting of the Australian Water Association in November and delivered the keynote address on Greens Light Rail for the Southern Corridor for the CY O’Connor ERADE Village Foundation with mayors of the region. And I launched the Greens Bike Vision 2029 plan to deliver a worldclass cycling network in Perth. In December I spoke at a symposium with Lord Leveson on privacy, media, and law reform and later had a big win with the successful campaign to secure emergency funding of $250,000 for the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project. In January I attempted to put the victims of the British nuclear testing at Maralinga in the limelight – appearing on SBS, Radio National and in the British press urging visiting Foreign Secretary William Hague to pay compensation to those exposed to the tests. And in late January I was in the eastern goldfields of WA on a mission to stop uranium mining – meeting with Traditional Owners and activists. February got off to a great start with the culmination of years of campaigning; the incorporation of Koongarra into Kakadu National Park – with uranium mining banned forever from the site. The good news continued with a successful launch of The Greens ‘Energy 2029’ report – a fully costed plan to have Western Australia powered by 100% renewable energy by 2029. In Kalgoorlie the report was met with great enthusiasm and I hosted a full house forum of community, city officials, business and engineering stakeholders on the future of the ‘Solar Goldfields’. I followed this up with a launch of Transforming Perth – an exciting report tackling Perth’s urban planning challenges. And I later hosted a successful forum on Wikileaks, West Papua and the surveillance state at UWA. People sat in the aisles and stood at the back of the lecture theatre to hear Benny Wenda, Suelette Dreyfus and Jennifer Robinson speak and field questions. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
Australian Greens National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au
SENAtor Sarah Hanson-Young - SA
Affordable, flexible and high quality childcare is a major focus for the Greens. In January I announced a Treasury costed policy that would see Early Childhood Teachers rewarded for staying in the childcare industry after they complete their tertiary education. We also conducted a survey of hundreds of childcare centres around the country which showed worrying results when it comes to fees, waiting lists, and a lack of available positions. In response to that survey we launched an online poll at www.childcarepoll.com that gave Australian mums and dads a chance to have their say on what is and isn’t working in the childcare sector, with the results coming soon. On another issue, it was both exciting to see the UK Parliament vote to legalise same-sex marriage and disappointing to watch Australia’s political leaders fail to congratulate them on achieving this essential reform. I will be reintroducing my marriage equality bill into the Senate, meaning all Australians can ask whether the candidates in their electorate will back marriage equality as an election promise. I welcomed the government’s adoption of my initiative to offer visas to Afghan interpreters who work with our troops in their home country. In January I inspected the Manus Island detention facility in Papua New Guinea and I was genuinely shocked by the terrible conditions that the Australian Government is indefinitely detaining refugees in. Below is a drawing given to me by one of the children in detention on Manus Island and it tells more of a story about the appalling conditions than a photo ever could. It is unacceptable that children are being held in these conditions and are being re-traumatised like this. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Senator Lee Rhiannon - nsw
The stench around NSW Labor is growing. The alleged misdeeds of former Ministers (first NSW and now sitting federal MPs), department officers and staffers provides plenty for the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to investigate and a feast for the media with daily revelations of new wrong-doings. With the federal election looming, ALP election planners must be nervous about the impact this will have on Labor’s vote, particularly in my home state of NSW. While there is no guaranteed magic bullet, one strategy the federal government should consider is to introduce a package of democratic reforms into law. Banning corporate donations to candidates and political parties, or at the very least banning donations from developers and the tobacco, gambling and alcohol industries would be a good place to start. New figures released last month, analysed by The Greens NSW’s www. democracy4sale.org project, show $12.3million flowed from big business to the federal divisions of the Labor and Coalition parties in the last financial year alone. Other overdue reforms Labor could pursue, in co-operation with the Greens, are the establishment of a national version of the NSW ICAC, better whistleblower protection for public sector workers, tougher regulation of lobbyists, improved freedom of information legislation, an MPs’ Code of Conduct and a cleanup of MPs’ entitlements. A Truth in Political Advertising Unit would also be a valuable asset, particularly around election time. The Gillard government was born amidst a blaze of rhetoric committing to ‘transparent and accountable’ government and improved parliamentary processes. With public trust in politicians at an all-time low, tightening the screws on corruption and wrong doing by instigating democratic reforms into federal legislation would be a smart move indeed. The Greens will continue to pursue these policies. Labor would be wise to join us. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
Senator Richard Di Natale - vic
Communities across Australia are facing cuts to hospital and emergency services so I was pleased to get support for a Senate inquiry into the critical issue of hospital funding. Many people have been contacting me to voice their frustration at the blame game between state and federal governments when it comes to funding hospitals. I hope the inquiry will help provide some clear recommendations on how to resolve this current mess and some long term reforms for fixing it permanently. If governments can’t fund decent healthcare for our community, education for our kids and to look after the environment, what the heck are we doing here? I’ve also been working on the worrying connection between sport and gambling. Gambling advertising and promotion is out of control with sports-betting ads and the promotion of odds dominating sports broadcasts. Kids are finding it hard to know where a game of sport ends and gambling begins. Ten years ago kids used to collect footy cards, now they follow the odds of their favourite player winning the Brownlow. I had a stroke of good luck when I called for a Senate inquiry into the impact of sports betting advertising on sport the day before one of Australia’s biggest sporting scandals broke. The next day I moved it in the Senate and it was backed by both the major parties. I hope the inquiry will establish what sort of regulation is necessary to protect kids from the growing influence of gambling in sport and given the current mood there’s a chance we could get another Green Bill over the line. There’s a lot more to do and I’m looking forward to working with an energised Greens team in 2013. The federal election will be hard fought, but I’m looking forward to celebrating great wins across Australia and working towards a stronger progressive voice in our nation’s Parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
Senator Larissa Waters - qld
Last year ended on a high note, with the Greens campaign to stop the federal government handing their environmental approval powers to States winning a reprieve and the Prime Minister sending the proposal back to States. I have introduced a Bill to make it unlawful for the Environment Minister to hand off his environment powers, and the Government now needs to back this bill if they want to retain any shred of environmental credibility. The Greens will make this a key election issue. We are also taking on the federal government for being asleep at the coal seam gas wheel. Minister Burke is being disingenuous in his attack on the NSW government on its coal seam gas credentials by trying to have it both ways; criticising the NSW government for low environmental standards while refusing to rule out handing over environmental responsibility to the states. If Minister Burke was serious about protecting our land and water from coal seam gas, the Government would itself act – it could start by supporting my bill to allow the Minister to refuse a CSG project because of its water impacts, and my bill to allow landholders to say no to coal seam gas. Late last year Adam Bandt MP and I worked with Queensland’s public sector union, Together, and secured a Senate inquiry into how the Federal Government can better protect State public servants from job cuts. With 14,000 losing their jobs thanks to Premier Newman’s job cuts, it is particularly important for Queenslanders that state public servants have good protections. Following the Federal Government’s weak response to UNESCO’s warning that the Great Barrier Reef may be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list, we have continued our public and Parliamentary campaign to end the frenzy of dredging, dumping and shipping that comes with new and expanded coal and gas ports. The Reef is at risk from the fossil fuel obsession of the old parties, and only the Greens are standing up for this biodiversity icon and the coastal communities, tourism operators and fishers that it supports. I will continue to speak out against the harmful agenda of the Newman government and the environmental neglect of both old parties federally, and look forward to working alongside you in the federal election campaign. It’s time for more Green voices from Queensland in Parliament! senator.waters@aph.gov.au
Senator Penny Wright - sa
Over the past few months I have been very busy working on a number of issues. Two significant campaigns have been about access to justice, and oil and gas drilling off the coast of Kangaroo Island. Access to the justice system is being eroded by changes to legal aid and high costs, including rising court fees. The Labor Government has refused to acknowledge a crisis in access to legal services, voting against our motion calling for a system where Australians would be able to obtain legal assistance based on the merit of their claim and not the size of their wallet. Labor’s vote against this motion is yet another demonstration of how much they have lost their way. Even the Coalition recognised the need to improve access to justice but the Federal Government is in denial. On the home front, I’m continuing to campaign against plans to explore for oil off Kangaroo Island. This would pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and the Island’s local economy. There is simply no safe time for oil and gas exploration near Kangaroo Island. The Kangaroo Island Canyons and Pool are very special and are home to more than 20 species of whales and dolphins, including endangered Southern Right and Blue Whales. Recently, after some strong campaigning, Environment Minister Tony Burke declared seismic testing in this area a ‘controlled action’. This means the public will now finally have a chance to review the information the mining company (Bight Petroleum) provided in their application and then provide feedback. I believe this review will show oil exploration and drilling in this area is unacceptable. The Kangaroo Island community relies heavily on tourism and fishing industries so it is particularly important they have this chance to have their voices heard. Together, we can we put a stop to this proposal. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
Senator PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
Tasmania has seen more than its fair share of bush fires on the east Coast and Derwent Valley over the past weeks. These events have caused spirited debate around the Greens position on the use of fuel reduction burns. Some commentators have repeatedly confused this fire prevention tool with highly controversial high-intensity forestry regeneration burns, which the Greens have consistently opposed. Appropriate reduction burns are designed to decrease biomass and fuel load ahead of bush fire season with the aim of making such fires easier to fight and ultimately extinguish. Regeneration burns occur in the wake of industrial forestry operations, and usually involve the deployment of napalm from a helicopter to ignite timber residue. Such burns, apart from being outdated and unhealthy, are actually intended to increase biomass. The Greens will also be making a submission to the independent inquiry into the recent fires that the Tasmanian Government has announced as part of continuing efforts to see a tri-partite response to this issue, which will only be exacerbated with a warming climate. In the wake of the Tasmanian fires the Greens have also been working hard to get the message out that Tasmanian tourism operators are still open for business and also advocating to gain financial assistance for operators in affected areas. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
Adam Bandt - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE deputy Leader
The starter’s gun has been fired and we are all off and racing to the Federal election on September 14. We know that Melbourne’s election fight will be close, but we can win. Even if the old parties collaborate on preferences, we are confident we can hold the seat if as few as 1 in 20 voters move to the Greens. With only about a third of the swing we achieved last time, we will win the seat in our own right. We are gearing up for the biggest ‘on the ground’ lower house campaign ever run by the Greens. We have already had meetings of hundreds of volunteers who will spend the next six months doorknocking, making calls and hosting house meetings to communicate our message to voters. The key issues for the contest in Melbourne will be tackling inequality, growing jobs and a sustainable economy, climate change and who can best stand up to Tony Abbott. People know the gap between rich and poor has grown under Labor. They want us to stand up to vested interests and raise the revenue to fund public schools, hospitals, disability insurance and a boost to Newstart of $50 a week. Without a proper mining tax, Labor will continue to make cuts like forcing 100,000 single parents off their payments and onto the dole. Melbourne and much of the nonmining economy is under pressure from the mining boom and the high dollar. We need industry policies and government investment that will secure jobs, balance the two speed economy and sustain us after the mining bubble bursts. We need long-term sustainable growth, with a clean economy. Melbourne will have a big role to play with our strengths in research, science, innovation and smart manufacturing. Now more than ever, Melbourne needs to continue to show progressive leadership. It is not enough to stop Tony Abbott, we need to stop his policies as well. Without a strong Greens voice in Parliament the old parties will pursue a race to the bottom. Melbourne, Australia and the planet need something better. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES australian capital territory
At the time of the last Green Magazine, we were waiting on the final results of one of our toughest election campaigns. Regrettably, we lost three respected parliamentarians; Meredith Hunter in Ginninderra, Caroline Le Couteur in Molonglo and Amanda Bresnan in Brindabella. Shane Rattenbury was returned as Member for Molonglo. Although parts of the media presented this result as a disaster, we achieved our second-highest vote ever – just a few hundred additional votes would have seen us return three parliamentarians rather than one. We also retained the balance of power and entered into a Parliamentary Agreement with a Labor government. Through the agreement, we will deliver gay marriage, light rail and education reforms by 2016. Following his historic term as the first Green to serve as Speaker of a Parliament, Shane Rattenbury has now entered cabinet as Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Housing, Ageing, Corrections and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. Another exciting development has been the pre-selection of Simon Sheikh as our lead candidate for the Senate.
Simon is well known to many Greens members as the former National Director of GetUp. Simon’s achievements at GetUp include launching a successful High Court challenge to unfair electoral laws, securing a multi-billion dollar increase to mental health funding and having the proposed mandatory Internet filter shelved. Simon is already living up to his reputation as an energetic campaigner, with a strong early focus on encouraging Canberrans to enrol to vote. Simon will be joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as candidate for Fraser.
new south wales
Do we live in a community, or are we just part of a growth economy? In NSW there has just been a victory of sorts with regard to Coal Seam Gas. On one hand this is a victory to all those community members, farmers and Greens who have committed to this campaign. The NSW Liberal Government’s proposed 2km buffer around residential areas of more than 1000 people and a no-go zone for some small wine and thoroughbred areas can be seen as a populist reaction, but does nothing to respond seriously to the issue of aquifer damage and contamination. No one in NSW doubts that the Liberal Government is backing the gas companies, hence the question, do we live in a community, or are we just part of an economy? Where do we draw the line, not just with regard to the environment but also with regard to how we protect and enhance our sense of community, wellbeing and sense of belonging? Julia Gillard’s recent statement that Labor is the party of ‘jobs and growth’ leaves the Greens as clearly the last parliamentary party left standing that will publicly advocate for deeper and more meaningful values than the ‘jobs and growth’ mantra. This is the task of all Greens and our supporters. How, in this conservative intellectual time, do we rebuild the hope of communities that they can have a political leadership which will support quality of life and public services? Instead of a Labor/ Liberal bidding war on lower taxes wouldn’t it be good to see a bidding war to increase support for single parents and people on disability pensions? Instead of competition to see who has got the biggest surplus shouldn’t there be a competition to see who can make a really significant investment in public transport or other services? Our job is to change the public debate from one that puts individual wealth first to one that places a fair society and the environment at the top of the list.
James Ryan NSW Convenor
Maiy Azize ACT Convenor ACT Greens GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NSW Greens 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
SENAtor Sarah Hanson-Young - SA
Affordable, flexible and high quality childcare is a major focus for the Greens. In January I announced a Treasury costed policy that would see Early Childhood Teachers rewarded for staying in the childcare industry after they complete their tertiary education. We also conducted a survey of hundreds of childcare centres around the country which showed worrying results when it comes to fees, waiting lists, and a lack of available positions. In response to that survey we launched an online poll at www.childcarepoll.com that gave Australian mums and dads a chance to have their say on what is and isn’t working in the childcare sector, with the results coming soon. On another issue, it was both exciting to see the UK Parliament vote to legalise same-sex marriage and disappointing to watch Australia’s political leaders fail to congratulate them on achieving this essential reform. I will be reintroducing my marriage equality bill into the Senate, meaning all Australians can ask whether the candidates in their electorate will back marriage equality as an election promise. I welcomed the government’s adoption of my initiative to offer visas to Afghan interpreters who work with our troops in their home country. In January I inspected the Manus Island detention facility in Papua New Guinea and I was genuinely shocked by the terrible conditions that the Australian Government is indefinitely detaining refugees in. Below is a drawing given to me by one of the children in detention on Manus Island and it tells more of a story about the appalling conditions than a photo ever could. It is unacceptable that children are being held in these conditions and are being re-traumatised like this. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Senator Lee Rhiannon - nsw
The stench around NSW Labor is growing. The alleged misdeeds of former Ministers (first NSW and now sitting federal MPs), department officers and staffers provides plenty for the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to investigate and a feast for the media with daily revelations of new wrong-doings. With the federal election looming, ALP election planners must be nervous about the impact this will have on Labor’s vote, particularly in my home state of NSW. While there is no guaranteed magic bullet, one strategy the federal government should consider is to introduce a package of democratic reforms into law. Banning corporate donations to candidates and political parties, or at the very least banning donations from developers and the tobacco, gambling and alcohol industries would be a good place to start. New figures released last month, analysed by The Greens NSW’s www. democracy4sale.org project, show $12.3million flowed from big business to the federal divisions of the Labor and Coalition parties in the last financial year alone. Other overdue reforms Labor could pursue, in co-operation with the Greens, are the establishment of a national version of the NSW ICAC, better whistleblower protection for public sector workers, tougher regulation of lobbyists, improved freedom of information legislation, an MPs’ Code of Conduct and a cleanup of MPs’ entitlements. A Truth in Political Advertising Unit would also be a valuable asset, particularly around election time. The Gillard government was born amidst a blaze of rhetoric committing to ‘transparent and accountable’ government and improved parliamentary processes. With public trust in politicians at an all-time low, tightening the screws on corruption and wrong doing by instigating democratic reforms into federal legislation would be a smart move indeed. The Greens will continue to pursue these policies. Labor would be wise to join us. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
Senator Richard Di Natale - vic
Communities across Australia are facing cuts to hospital and emergency services so I was pleased to get support for a Senate inquiry into the critical issue of hospital funding. Many people have been contacting me to voice their frustration at the blame game between state and federal governments when it comes to funding hospitals. I hope the inquiry will help provide some clear recommendations on how to resolve this current mess and some long term reforms for fixing it permanently. If governments can’t fund decent healthcare for our community, education for our kids and to look after the environment, what the heck are we doing here? I’ve also been working on the worrying connection between sport and gambling. Gambling advertising and promotion is out of control with sports-betting ads and the promotion of odds dominating sports broadcasts. Kids are finding it hard to know where a game of sport ends and gambling begins. Ten years ago kids used to collect footy cards, now they follow the odds of their favourite player winning the Brownlow. I had a stroke of good luck when I called for a Senate inquiry into the impact of sports betting advertising on sport the day before one of Australia’s biggest sporting scandals broke. The next day I moved it in the Senate and it was backed by both the major parties. I hope the inquiry will establish what sort of regulation is necessary to protect kids from the growing influence of gambling in sport and given the current mood there’s a chance we could get another Green Bill over the line. There’s a lot more to do and I’m looking forward to working with an energised Greens team in 2013. The federal election will be hard fought, but I’m looking forward to celebrating great wins across Australia and working towards a stronger progressive voice in our nation’s Parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
Senator Larissa Waters - qld
Last year ended on a high note, with the Greens campaign to stop the federal government handing their environmental approval powers to States winning a reprieve and the Prime Minister sending the proposal back to States. I have introduced a Bill to make it unlawful for the Environment Minister to hand off his environment powers, and the Government now needs to back this bill if they want to retain any shred of environmental credibility. The Greens will make this a key election issue. We are also taking on the federal government for being asleep at the coal seam gas wheel. Minister Burke is being disingenuous in his attack on the NSW government on its coal seam gas credentials by trying to have it both ways; criticising the NSW government for low environmental standards while refusing to rule out handing over environmental responsibility to the states. If Minister Burke was serious about protecting our land and water from coal seam gas, the Government would itself act – it could start by supporting my bill to allow the Minister to refuse a CSG project because of its water impacts, and my bill to allow landholders to say no to coal seam gas. Late last year Adam Bandt MP and I worked with Queensland’s public sector union, Together, and secured a Senate inquiry into how the Federal Government can better protect State public servants from job cuts. With 14,000 losing their jobs thanks to Premier Newman’s job cuts, it is particularly important for Queenslanders that state public servants have good protections. Following the Federal Government’s weak response to UNESCO’s warning that the Great Barrier Reef may be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list, we have continued our public and Parliamentary campaign to end the frenzy of dredging, dumping and shipping that comes with new and expanded coal and gas ports. The Reef is at risk from the fossil fuel obsession of the old parties, and only the Greens are standing up for this biodiversity icon and the coastal communities, tourism operators and fishers that it supports. I will continue to speak out against the harmful agenda of the Newman government and the environmental neglect of both old parties federally, and look forward to working alongside you in the federal election campaign. It’s time for more Green voices from Queensland in Parliament! senator.waters@aph.gov.au
Senator Penny Wright - sa
Over the past few months I have been very busy working on a number of issues. Two significant campaigns have been about access to justice, and oil and gas drilling off the coast of Kangaroo Island. Access to the justice system is being eroded by changes to legal aid and high costs, including rising court fees. The Labor Government has refused to acknowledge a crisis in access to legal services, voting against our motion calling for a system where Australians would be able to obtain legal assistance based on the merit of their claim and not the size of their wallet. Labor’s vote against this motion is yet another demonstration of how much they have lost their way. Even the Coalition recognised the need to improve access to justice but the Federal Government is in denial. On the home front, I’m continuing to campaign against plans to explore for oil off Kangaroo Island. This would pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and the Island’s local economy. There is simply no safe time for oil and gas exploration near Kangaroo Island. The Kangaroo Island Canyons and Pool are very special and are home to more than 20 species of whales and dolphins, including endangered Southern Right and Blue Whales. Recently, after some strong campaigning, Environment Minister Tony Burke declared seismic testing in this area a ‘controlled action’. This means the public will now finally have a chance to review the information the mining company (Bight Petroleum) provided in their application and then provide feedback. I believe this review will show oil exploration and drilling in this area is unacceptable. The Kangaroo Island community relies heavily on tourism and fishing industries so it is particularly important they have this chance to have their voices heard. Together, we can we put a stop to this proposal. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
Senator PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
Tasmania has seen more than its fair share of bush fires on the east Coast and Derwent Valley over the past weeks. These events have caused spirited debate around the Greens position on the use of fuel reduction burns. Some commentators have repeatedly confused this fire prevention tool with highly controversial high-intensity forestry regeneration burns, which the Greens have consistently opposed. Appropriate reduction burns are designed to decrease biomass and fuel load ahead of bush fire season with the aim of making such fires easier to fight and ultimately extinguish. Regeneration burns occur in the wake of industrial forestry operations, and usually involve the deployment of napalm from a helicopter to ignite timber residue. Such burns, apart from being outdated and unhealthy, are actually intended to increase biomass. The Greens will also be making a submission to the independent inquiry into the recent fires that the Tasmanian Government has announced as part of continuing efforts to see a tri-partite response to this issue, which will only be exacerbated with a warming climate. In the wake of the Tasmanian fires the Greens have also been working hard to get the message out that Tasmanian tourism operators are still open for business and also advocating to gain financial assistance for operators in affected areas. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
Adam Bandt - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE deputy Leader
The starter’s gun has been fired and we are all off and racing to the Federal election on September 14. We know that Melbourne’s election fight will be close, but we can win. Even if the old parties collaborate on preferences, we are confident we can hold the seat if as few as 1 in 20 voters move to the Greens. With only about a third of the swing we achieved last time, we will win the seat in our own right. We are gearing up for the biggest ‘on the ground’ lower house campaign ever run by the Greens. We have already had meetings of hundreds of volunteers who will spend the next six months doorknocking, making calls and hosting house meetings to communicate our message to voters. The key issues for the contest in Melbourne will be tackling inequality, growing jobs and a sustainable economy, climate change and who can best stand up to Tony Abbott. People know the gap between rich and poor has grown under Labor. They want us to stand up to vested interests and raise the revenue to fund public schools, hospitals, disability insurance and a boost to Newstart of $50 a week. Without a proper mining tax, Labor will continue to make cuts like forcing 100,000 single parents off their payments and onto the dole. Melbourne and much of the nonmining economy is under pressure from the mining boom and the high dollar. We need industry policies and government investment that will secure jobs, balance the two speed economy and sustain us after the mining bubble bursts. We need long-term sustainable growth, with a clean economy. Melbourne will have a big role to play with our strengths in research, science, innovation and smart manufacturing. Now more than ever, Melbourne needs to continue to show progressive leadership. It is not enough to stop Tony Abbott, we need to stop his policies as well. Without a strong Greens voice in Parliament the old parties will pursue a race to the bottom. Melbourne, Australia and the planet need something better. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES australian capital territory
At the time of the last Green Magazine, we were waiting on the final results of one of our toughest election campaigns. Regrettably, we lost three respected parliamentarians; Meredith Hunter in Ginninderra, Caroline Le Couteur in Molonglo and Amanda Bresnan in Brindabella. Shane Rattenbury was returned as Member for Molonglo. Although parts of the media presented this result as a disaster, we achieved our second-highest vote ever – just a few hundred additional votes would have seen us return three parliamentarians rather than one. We also retained the balance of power and entered into a Parliamentary Agreement with a Labor government. Through the agreement, we will deliver gay marriage, light rail and education reforms by 2016. Following his historic term as the first Green to serve as Speaker of a Parliament, Shane Rattenbury has now entered cabinet as Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Housing, Ageing, Corrections and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. Another exciting development has been the pre-selection of Simon Sheikh as our lead candidate for the Senate.
Simon is well known to many Greens members as the former National Director of GetUp. Simon’s achievements at GetUp include launching a successful High Court challenge to unfair electoral laws, securing a multi-billion dollar increase to mental health funding and having the proposed mandatory Internet filter shelved. Simon is already living up to his reputation as an energetic campaigner, with a strong early focus on encouraging Canberrans to enrol to vote. Simon will be joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as candidate for Fraser.
new south wales
Do we live in a community, or are we just part of a growth economy? In NSW there has just been a victory of sorts with regard to Coal Seam Gas. On one hand this is a victory to all those community members, farmers and Greens who have committed to this campaign. The NSW Liberal Government’s proposed 2km buffer around residential areas of more than 1000 people and a no-go zone for some small wine and thoroughbred areas can be seen as a populist reaction, but does nothing to respond seriously to the issue of aquifer damage and contamination. No one in NSW doubts that the Liberal Government is backing the gas companies, hence the question, do we live in a community, or are we just part of an economy? Where do we draw the line, not just with regard to the environment but also with regard to how we protect and enhance our sense of community, wellbeing and sense of belonging? Julia Gillard’s recent statement that Labor is the party of ‘jobs and growth’ leaves the Greens as clearly the last parliamentary party left standing that will publicly advocate for deeper and more meaningful values than the ‘jobs and growth’ mantra. This is the task of all Greens and our supporters. How, in this conservative intellectual time, do we rebuild the hope of communities that they can have a political leadership which will support quality of life and public services? Instead of a Labor/ Liberal bidding war on lower taxes wouldn’t it be good to see a bidding war to increase support for single parents and people on disability pensions? Instead of competition to see who has got the biggest surplus shouldn’t there be a competition to see who can make a really significant investment in public transport or other services? Our job is to change the public debate from one that puts individual wealth first to one that places a fair society and the environment at the top of the list.
James Ryan NSW Convenor
Maiy Azize ACT Convenor ACT Greens GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NSW Greens 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
SENAtor Sarah Hanson-Young - SA
Affordable, flexible and high quality childcare is a major focus for the Greens. In January I announced a Treasury costed policy that would see Early Childhood Teachers rewarded for staying in the childcare industry after they complete their tertiary education. We also conducted a survey of hundreds of childcare centres around the country which showed worrying results when it comes to fees, waiting lists, and a lack of available positions. In response to that survey we launched an online poll at www.childcarepoll.com that gave Australian mums and dads a chance to have their say on what is and isn’t working in the childcare sector, with the results coming soon. On another issue, it was both exciting to see the UK Parliament vote to legalise same-sex marriage and disappointing to watch Australia’s political leaders fail to congratulate them on achieving this essential reform. I will be reintroducing my marriage equality bill into the Senate, meaning all Australians can ask whether the candidates in their electorate will back marriage equality as an election promise. I welcomed the government’s adoption of my initiative to offer visas to Afghan interpreters who work with our troops in their home country. In January I inspected the Manus Island detention facility in Papua New Guinea and I was genuinely shocked by the terrible conditions that the Australian Government is indefinitely detaining refugees in. Below is a drawing given to me by one of the children in detention on Manus Island and it tells more of a story about the appalling conditions than a photo ever could. It is unacceptable that children are being held in these conditions and are being re-traumatised like this. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Senator Lee Rhiannon - nsw
The stench around NSW Labor is growing. The alleged misdeeds of former Ministers (first NSW and now sitting federal MPs), department officers and staffers provides plenty for the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to investigate and a feast for the media with daily revelations of new wrong-doings. With the federal election looming, ALP election planners must be nervous about the impact this will have on Labor’s vote, particularly in my home state of NSW. While there is no guaranteed magic bullet, one strategy the federal government should consider is to introduce a package of democratic reforms into law. Banning corporate donations to candidates and political parties, or at the very least banning donations from developers and the tobacco, gambling and alcohol industries would be a good place to start. New figures released last month, analysed by The Greens NSW’s www. democracy4sale.org project, show $12.3million flowed from big business to the federal divisions of the Labor and Coalition parties in the last financial year alone. Other overdue reforms Labor could pursue, in co-operation with the Greens, are the establishment of a national version of the NSW ICAC, better whistleblower protection for public sector workers, tougher regulation of lobbyists, improved freedom of information legislation, an MPs’ Code of Conduct and a cleanup of MPs’ entitlements. A Truth in Political Advertising Unit would also be a valuable asset, particularly around election time. The Gillard government was born amidst a blaze of rhetoric committing to ‘transparent and accountable’ government and improved parliamentary processes. With public trust in politicians at an all-time low, tightening the screws on corruption and wrong doing by instigating democratic reforms into federal legislation would be a smart move indeed. The Greens will continue to pursue these policies. Labor would be wise to join us. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
Senator Richard Di Natale - vic
Communities across Australia are facing cuts to hospital and emergency services so I was pleased to get support for a Senate inquiry into the critical issue of hospital funding. Many people have been contacting me to voice their frustration at the blame game between state and federal governments when it comes to funding hospitals. I hope the inquiry will help provide some clear recommendations on how to resolve this current mess and some long term reforms for fixing it permanently. If governments can’t fund decent healthcare for our community, education for our kids and to look after the environment, what the heck are we doing here? I’ve also been working on the worrying connection between sport and gambling. Gambling advertising and promotion is out of control with sports-betting ads and the promotion of odds dominating sports broadcasts. Kids are finding it hard to know where a game of sport ends and gambling begins. Ten years ago kids used to collect footy cards, now they follow the odds of their favourite player winning the Brownlow. I had a stroke of good luck when I called for a Senate inquiry into the impact of sports betting advertising on sport the day before one of Australia’s biggest sporting scandals broke. The next day I moved it in the Senate and it was backed by both the major parties. I hope the inquiry will establish what sort of regulation is necessary to protect kids from the growing influence of gambling in sport and given the current mood there’s a chance we could get another Green Bill over the line. There’s a lot more to do and I’m looking forward to working with an energised Greens team in 2013. The federal election will be hard fought, but I’m looking forward to celebrating great wins across Australia and working towards a stronger progressive voice in our nation’s Parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
Senator Larissa Waters - qld
Last year ended on a high note, with the Greens campaign to stop the federal government handing their environmental approval powers to States winning a reprieve and the Prime Minister sending the proposal back to States. I have introduced a Bill to make it unlawful for the Environment Minister to hand off his environment powers, and the Government now needs to back this bill if they want to retain any shred of environmental credibility. The Greens will make this a key election issue. We are also taking on the federal government for being asleep at the coal seam gas wheel. Minister Burke is being disingenuous in his attack on the NSW government on its coal seam gas credentials by trying to have it both ways; criticising the NSW government for low environmental standards while refusing to rule out handing over environmental responsibility to the states. If Minister Burke was serious about protecting our land and water from coal seam gas, the Government would itself act – it could start by supporting my bill to allow the Minister to refuse a CSG project because of its water impacts, and my bill to allow landholders to say no to coal seam gas. Late last year Adam Bandt MP and I worked with Queensland’s public sector union, Together, and secured a Senate inquiry into how the Federal Government can better protect State public servants from job cuts. With 14,000 losing their jobs thanks to Premier Newman’s job cuts, it is particularly important for Queenslanders that state public servants have good protections. Following the Federal Government’s weak response to UNESCO’s warning that the Great Barrier Reef may be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list, we have continued our public and Parliamentary campaign to end the frenzy of dredging, dumping and shipping that comes with new and expanded coal and gas ports. The Reef is at risk from the fossil fuel obsession of the old parties, and only the Greens are standing up for this biodiversity icon and the coastal communities, tourism operators and fishers that it supports. I will continue to speak out against the harmful agenda of the Newman government and the environmental neglect of both old parties federally, and look forward to working alongside you in the federal election campaign. It’s time for more Green voices from Queensland in Parliament! senator.waters@aph.gov.au
Senator Penny Wright - sa
Over the past few months I have been very busy working on a number of issues. Two significant campaigns have been about access to justice, and oil and gas drilling off the coast of Kangaroo Island. Access to the justice system is being eroded by changes to legal aid and high costs, including rising court fees. The Labor Government has refused to acknowledge a crisis in access to legal services, voting against our motion calling for a system where Australians would be able to obtain legal assistance based on the merit of their claim and not the size of their wallet. Labor’s vote against this motion is yet another demonstration of how much they have lost their way. Even the Coalition recognised the need to improve access to justice but the Federal Government is in denial. On the home front, I’m continuing to campaign against plans to explore for oil off Kangaroo Island. This would pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and the Island’s local economy. There is simply no safe time for oil and gas exploration near Kangaroo Island. The Kangaroo Island Canyons and Pool are very special and are home to more than 20 species of whales and dolphins, including endangered Southern Right and Blue Whales. Recently, after some strong campaigning, Environment Minister Tony Burke declared seismic testing in this area a ‘controlled action’. This means the public will now finally have a chance to review the information the mining company (Bight Petroleum) provided in their application and then provide feedback. I believe this review will show oil exploration and drilling in this area is unacceptable. The Kangaroo Island community relies heavily on tourism and fishing industries so it is particularly important they have this chance to have their voices heard. Together, we can we put a stop to this proposal. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
Senator PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
Tasmania has seen more than its fair share of bush fires on the east Coast and Derwent Valley over the past weeks. These events have caused spirited debate around the Greens position on the use of fuel reduction burns. Some commentators have repeatedly confused this fire prevention tool with highly controversial high-intensity forestry regeneration burns, which the Greens have consistently opposed. Appropriate reduction burns are designed to decrease biomass and fuel load ahead of bush fire season with the aim of making such fires easier to fight and ultimately extinguish. Regeneration burns occur in the wake of industrial forestry operations, and usually involve the deployment of napalm from a helicopter to ignite timber residue. Such burns, apart from being outdated and unhealthy, are actually intended to increase biomass. The Greens will also be making a submission to the independent inquiry into the recent fires that the Tasmanian Government has announced as part of continuing efforts to see a tri-partite response to this issue, which will only be exacerbated with a warming climate. In the wake of the Tasmanian fires the Greens have also been working hard to get the message out that Tasmanian tourism operators are still open for business and also advocating to gain financial assistance for operators in affected areas. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
Adam Bandt - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE deputy Leader
The starter’s gun has been fired and we are all off and racing to the Federal election on September 14. We know that Melbourne’s election fight will be close, but we can win. Even if the old parties collaborate on preferences, we are confident we can hold the seat if as few as 1 in 20 voters move to the Greens. With only about a third of the swing we achieved last time, we will win the seat in our own right. We are gearing up for the biggest ‘on the ground’ lower house campaign ever run by the Greens. We have already had meetings of hundreds of volunteers who will spend the next six months doorknocking, making calls and hosting house meetings to communicate our message to voters. The key issues for the contest in Melbourne will be tackling inequality, growing jobs and a sustainable economy, climate change and who can best stand up to Tony Abbott. People know the gap between rich and poor has grown under Labor. They want us to stand up to vested interests and raise the revenue to fund public schools, hospitals, disability insurance and a boost to Newstart of $50 a week. Without a proper mining tax, Labor will continue to make cuts like forcing 100,000 single parents off their payments and onto the dole. Melbourne and much of the nonmining economy is under pressure from the mining boom and the high dollar. We need industry policies and government investment that will secure jobs, balance the two speed economy and sustain us after the mining bubble bursts. We need long-term sustainable growth, with a clean economy. Melbourne will have a big role to play with our strengths in research, science, innovation and smart manufacturing. Now more than ever, Melbourne needs to continue to show progressive leadership. It is not enough to stop Tony Abbott, we need to stop his policies as well. Without a strong Greens voice in Parliament the old parties will pursue a race to the bottom. Melbourne, Australia and the planet need something better. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES australian capital territory
At the time of the last Green Magazine, we were waiting on the final results of one of our toughest election campaigns. Regrettably, we lost three respected parliamentarians; Meredith Hunter in Ginninderra, Caroline Le Couteur in Molonglo and Amanda Bresnan in Brindabella. Shane Rattenbury was returned as Member for Molonglo. Although parts of the media presented this result as a disaster, we achieved our second-highest vote ever – just a few hundred additional votes would have seen us return three parliamentarians rather than one. We also retained the balance of power and entered into a Parliamentary Agreement with a Labor government. Through the agreement, we will deliver gay marriage, light rail and education reforms by 2016. Following his historic term as the first Green to serve as Speaker of a Parliament, Shane Rattenbury has now entered cabinet as Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Housing, Ageing, Corrections and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. Another exciting development has been the pre-selection of Simon Sheikh as our lead candidate for the Senate.
Simon is well known to many Greens members as the former National Director of GetUp. Simon’s achievements at GetUp include launching a successful High Court challenge to unfair electoral laws, securing a multi-billion dollar increase to mental health funding and having the proposed mandatory Internet filter shelved. Simon is already living up to his reputation as an energetic campaigner, with a strong early focus on encouraging Canberrans to enrol to vote. Simon will be joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as candidate for Fraser.
new south wales
Do we live in a community, or are we just part of a growth economy? In NSW there has just been a victory of sorts with regard to Coal Seam Gas. On one hand this is a victory to all those community members, farmers and Greens who have committed to this campaign. The NSW Liberal Government’s proposed 2km buffer around residential areas of more than 1000 people and a no-go zone for some small wine and thoroughbred areas can be seen as a populist reaction, but does nothing to respond seriously to the issue of aquifer damage and contamination. No one in NSW doubts that the Liberal Government is backing the gas companies, hence the question, do we live in a community, or are we just part of an economy? Where do we draw the line, not just with regard to the environment but also with regard to how we protect and enhance our sense of community, wellbeing and sense of belonging? Julia Gillard’s recent statement that Labor is the party of ‘jobs and growth’ leaves the Greens as clearly the last parliamentary party left standing that will publicly advocate for deeper and more meaningful values than the ‘jobs and growth’ mantra. This is the task of all Greens and our supporters. How, in this conservative intellectual time, do we rebuild the hope of communities that they can have a political leadership which will support quality of life and public services? Instead of a Labor/ Liberal bidding war on lower taxes wouldn’t it be good to see a bidding war to increase support for single parents and people on disability pensions? Instead of competition to see who has got the biggest surplus shouldn’t there be a competition to see who can make a really significant investment in public transport or other services? Our job is to change the public debate from one that puts individual wealth first to one that places a fair society and the environment at the top of the list.
James Ryan NSW Convenor
Maiy Azize ACT Convenor ACT Greens GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NSW Greens 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
northern territory
The Northern Territory community is experiencing enormous change since the CLP were elected in August 2012 after 11 years in opposition. In the model of the LNP and Campbell Newman’s “slash and burn to save a quid” policy the CLP government under Terry Mills has axed 600 government jobs (a lot for such a small community) that has resulted in paralysis and insecurity in the public sector. Much the same as Queensland’s LNP, the CLP put forward a 100 day plan and an attitude “to get it done under all circumstances.” General consensus questions the furious force of it all when a newly formed government should take time to assess the situation and deliver incremental changes to the public. An unintended positive for the environment as a result of all this mayhem has been the CLP’s dramatic increase in the cost of providing electricity and water. A rise of up to 30% has been implemented from the 1st of January and, much to the disgust of the public, utility costs have increased at least $300 a quarter. Northern Territory communities and cities are remote and heavily reliant on transported goods, so it’s not hard to imagine the impact of these changes and how the public feels. Many NT Greens members and supporters see the increased cost of power and water as a mixed blessing. It is at least one way to reverse the wasteful use of energy and water that is practiced by many Australians. Much is at stake in the Northern Territory with mining exploration leases granted for national parks and criticism of this being met with convoluted responses. Only three percent of the Northern Territory is National park; a tragedy given it is one of the world’s great wildernesses. With the appointment of a new EPA and a “mining is our future” stance, the Greens community will be working hard to make itself heard and to provide an alternative stance.
NICHOLAS GOULDHURST ACTING NT Convenor
QUEENSLAND
Federal election preparations are continuing to roll out in Queensland with more candidates being endorsed, a federal campaign coordinator in place, a larger office and a growing amount of grassroots campaigning happening. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of issues to campaign on, whether its actions by the federal Labor government such as cuts to sole parents income and neglect of the Great Barrier Reef, or the swingeing spending and service cuts of the state LNP government leaving yawning gaps in supports for the community. The LNP uses economic rhetoric to justify their austerity obsession, but it is clear there has been little thought or planning involved. There is no recognition of what immediate effects the cuts are having on frontline and essential services, let alone the longer term damage with loss of expertise and the degradation of social infrastructure. The rushed, oversized cuts are a false economy causing plenty of hardship and higher unemployment. The LNP state government is providing advance notice of what a Tony Abbott federal government would be like with similar politically driven, economically inept cuts. Speaking of economically inept, Bob Katter’s party is presenting an extra challenge for us in Queensland. Whilst the Katter party doesn’t compete very much directly with the Greens for votes, it is competing for media space. Queensland is also clearly where the Katter party has the best chance of winning a Senate seat – potentially setting them up for a share of balance of power if the LNP Senate vote is high enough. The Greens have delivered an enormous amount in the last couple of years with our balance of power roles federally, and a long list of impressive achievements across environmental, social and economic areas. We have a great record to promote, and plenty to point to when it comes to the shortcomings of the other parties, but with a mainstream media which is mostly unsympathetic, it will require lots of campaigning effort from all of us to get that message out there.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Balance of payments, trade deficit, GDP, GFC, fiscal cliff... These terms are now common place in the media and society. Do we have our priorities right? Good financial responsibility is important (but so are other matters!). With good financial management not only can we balance the books, but we can also raise revenue to help others. What are the Greens doing? Firstly, here are a few examples of how the Greens propose to increase income, reduce costs and even up the playing field: • super profits tax: Australia’s mineral wealth belongs to ALL of us, not just the mining companies. The Greens are the only party proposing to increase the super profits tax on resources with a view to the tax returning a profit – it currently doesn’t • cut the fossil fuel subsidy which amounts to billions of dollars per year • remove the income splitting benefits of trusts These measures would enable more funds to be available for human services and infrastructure in areas such as education, health, environmental protection and social security. Secondly, the Parliamentary budget office at the federal level came about directly as a result of the Greens’ negotiations. It provides independent analysis of each party’s budget and considers the financial implications of proposals. Financial responsibility is important, but so is the state of our environment. I look forward to the day when an environmental index is also reported daily in the media. An index that maps things like: • biodiversity gains and sadly the losses • water levels in the River Murray and the impact on wetlands • pollution levels (so that we can compare across years) • site contamination and remediation across the country I hope that with the Greens influence, these goals can become reality.
RUTH BEACH SA State Convenor
Andrew Bartlett Qld Convenor
NT Greens PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
Queensland Greens PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
TASMANIA
Tasmania’s starring role in the Greens’ nation-wide Too Precious To Lose campaign is the Tarkine; the southern hemisphere’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. Last week Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, gave the go ahead for mining there. What made his announcement worse was the amount of unspoilt wilderness that Burke since dubbed the Minister against the Environment - has handed to the mining industry on a plate. Ignoring the Australian Heritage Council, Burke has protected just 4% of the Tarkine’s 433,000ha. The rest is open season. There are at least 10 mining licences waiting approval. A favoured argument of those in support of mining the Tarkine is that it will create lasting wealth. But there are a host of forgotten mines and former mining towns in the state’s north-west, such as Queenstown, which show the folly of this argument. As the Tasmanian Greens’ lead senate candidate and former economics lecturer, Peter Whish-Wilson said in a recent announcement, “the Greens believe we live in a society, not an economy”. The question I kept asking mining proponents last week was “what happens when these new mines are exhausted?” No one had an answer. This is precisely the problem with cowboy economics, to which sustainability is anathema. The cowboys simply move on to exploit something else. Problem is that we’re running out of things left to exploit. The Greens are the only party championing sustainable economics. As Peter also said, “while we understand the importance of jobs and investment, we are the only political party which recognises that economic growth is not the only road to happiness and prosperity”. In other news, Dan Patman is the new Campaign Director for the Tasmanian Greens. Dan has taken to his new role with a beguiling mix of cool and can-do. We wish him good luck. We are also looking forward to hosting the Greens National Council in Tassie this March. I’m looking forward to an energising council and to showing off the best of Hobart to y’all.
VICTORIA
The Victorian Greens are rejuvenated and raring to go after the summer break. We had a strong 2012 where we increased the number of Greens representatives on local councils during the local government elections. December saw us celebrating the AGV’s 20th anniversary with talks from some of our founding members - who sat under the famed tree in the park in late 1992 and started the AGV - including Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice. In January, we turned out for Victoria’s GLBTI Midsumma Carnival, where the Greens have been a presence for 15 years. Our stall asked festival goers to send Julia and Tony a photo message on Equal Rights which garnered a huge response and viral photos. In February, our Greens contingent in the Pride March gained mainstream news coverage, due to the presence of our five Victorian Federal and State parliamentarians, MLCs Colleen Hartland, Greg Barber and Sue Pennicuik, Deputy Leader Adam Bandt and Senator Richard Di Natale who were joined by Batman and Robin accompanied by Wonder Woman. We are gathering steam for the upcoming Federal election with candidates in place in our priority seats: Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice, Adam Bandt for Melbourne, Ann Birrell for Melbourne Ports and Alex Bhathal for Batman. We’ve also either completed or are in the process of preselecting our other 34 lower house candidates. The AGV is also nearing the final stages of the restructure of staffing arrangements including the executive search for our new Party Director who will be appointed in March. And finally, after last year’s successful establishment of the Victorian Young Greens, a Greens Club has been reestablished at Latrobe University meaning that there are now Greens clubs in the four largest universities in Victoria. We wish Greens around the country all the best in this busy year, fingers crossed for WA and looking forward to seeing you on social media or at National Council meetings.
Alex Bhathal & Dinesh Mathew, AGV Co-Convenors
The months since my last WA report have been ones of frenetic activity as we prepare for the upcoming state election. There is so much going on right now it is hard to know where to begin! Firstly, we have Giz Watson’s push to have an independent Parliamentary Budget Office to level the playing field in costing election promises. If taken up, this would be a game-changer for our state politics. There is also Lynn MacLaren’s initiative to put solar systems on the roofs of 30,000 public and community houses in WA. This will bring down the cost of power for some of the poorest people in the state while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alison Xamon’s drinking water initiatives have identified water savings of up to 260GL a year by 2029 through conservation, recycling and the provision of incentives for grey water plumbing for homes. She is also raising the profile of groundwater issues and of the need to clean up the Swan River. Robin Chapple’s work on James Price Point has helped make it a national issue. The James Price Point TV ad that is forming part of the Too Precious to Lose national campaign is helping to reshape the debate. By engaging high profile and respected Indigenous leaders and spokespeople the Greens have been able to silence the critics. North Metro candidate Cam Poustie will be representing the Greens at the Energy Future Forum on Wednesday 27th February. Each political party will be presenting their vision for our energy future. Senator Scott Ludlam launched a major initiative, the Energy 2029 plan to shift Western Australia onto 100% renewable energy in time for the state’s 200th anniversary. I encourage all Greens to take a look at this ground-breaking proposal, developed with the assistance of Sustainable Energy Now. Finally, I have to give a mention to the outstanding work of our volunteers in keeping the campaign rolling. They are making it possible for us to run a professional campaign on a very tight budget.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
Tom Allen Tasmania Convenor
South Australian Greens 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN Greens GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
Victorian Greens GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
WA Greens PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
march 2013
OUR FEDERAL MPS Senator CHRISTINE MILNE - TAS Federal Parliamentary Leader
As we head into this election year the Greens will continue to stand up as a genuine alternative voice, for a future that puts caring for people and the environment at its core. We want to spread the benefits of the mining boom and use the revenue raised from pricing pollution to invest in a clean, green and clever country. We have been campaigning strongly for a decent mining tax, and Adam Bandt has put a bill through the House to plug the loophole that forces the Commonwealth to reimburse wealthy mining companies every time states hike up royalties. And that’s just one revenue raising measure we’ve proposed. With a better designed mining tax and fewer concessions to the fossil fuel sector we can raise the tens of billions we need to invest in education, healthcare, renewable energy, lifting Newstart as every expert has recommended, and the infrastructure we need to be a clever country with a caring society and healthy environment. I can’t wait for the day concentrated solar thermal power supplies the grid in Australia. This Labor government has been dismantling the environmental protections put in place by its predecessors after decades of campaigning by environmental activists. The Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley, our agricultural land and water, as well as the Tarkine are up for grabs for rapacious mining and Coal Seam Gas interests. We need your support to continue the campaign to protect the places that are too precious to lose (see tooprecioustolose.org.au). The Greens stand up for a society that is sustainable and an economy that puts people and the environment we depend upon at its heart. The Greens’ vision is to take a more holistic view of economic productivity. It’s not just about eking out a budget surplus, it’s about building skills, investing in innovation, supporting community vibrancy, protecting people’s well-being, and looking after the whole environment, now and into the future. senator.milne@aph.gov.au
Senator Rachel Siewert - wa
The campaign to increase Newstart gathers strength as more and more people realise that it is impossible to live on such a low level of income. With the Government’s much vaunted surplus now abandoned, there is added pressure on the Government to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community are not being left behind by economic policy. The community campaign supporting an increase to income support payments, such as Newstart Allowance, has gathered further pace since January 1 when parenting payment cuts moved single parents to Newstart Allowance, an income drop of between $60 and $100 per week. This will no doubt continue in the leadup to the May Budget, which is why we need to keep working hard. To progress the campaign, I will be introducing a private members bill to increase Newstart and other allowance payments by $50 per week. While the Government has been doing its best to ignore this issue, we have been working hard – talking to community groups and the people who continue to live on Newstart in very difficult circumstances. We have gathered evidence around the lived experience of people trying to survive and find a job while living on Newstart which we will be publishing in the near future. We have also been monitoring the impact of throwing people off parenting payment onto Newstart. The Government, for quite some time, refused to admit that Centrelink had made a major error and withdrawn the use of the pensioner concession card from those parents thrown off parenting payment, making their lives even harder. There will be rallies in Canberra and our capital cities when Parliament resumes that will send a clear message to MPs that action is needed. I am confident that this campaign will continue to grow in strength, and that we can continue to provide a voice for those thousands of people who have spoken to us about living day in, day out on Newstart and the challenge this brings for single parents and families. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
Senator Scott Ludlam - WA
I had a busy end to 2012 and a hectic start to 2013 with little respite in between. I addressed a meeting of the Australian Water Association in November and delivered the keynote address on Greens Light Rail for the Southern Corridor for the CY O’Connor ERADE Village Foundation with mayors of the region. And I launched the Greens Bike Vision 2029 plan to deliver a worldclass cycling network in Perth. In December I spoke at a symposium with Lord Leveson on privacy, media, and law reform and later had a big win with the successful campaign to secure emergency funding of $250,000 for the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project. In January I attempted to put the victims of the British nuclear testing at Maralinga in the limelight – appearing on SBS, Radio National and in the British press urging visiting Foreign Secretary William Hague to pay compensation to those exposed to the tests. And in late January I was in the eastern goldfields of WA on a mission to stop uranium mining – meeting with Traditional Owners and activists. February got off to a great start with the culmination of years of campaigning; the incorporation of Koongarra into Kakadu National Park – with uranium mining banned forever from the site. The good news continued with a successful launch of The Greens ‘Energy 2029’ report – a fully costed plan to have Western Australia powered by 100% renewable energy by 2029. In Kalgoorlie the report was met with great enthusiasm and I hosted a full house forum of community, city officials, business and engineering stakeholders on the future of the ‘Solar Goldfields’. I followed this up with a launch of Transforming Perth – an exciting report tackling Perth’s urban planning challenges. And I later hosted a successful forum on Wikileaks, West Papua and the surveillance state at UWA. People sat in the aisles and stood at the back of the lecture theatre to hear Benny Wenda, Suelette Dreyfus and Jennifer Robinson speak and field questions. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
Australian Greens National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au
northern territory
The Northern Territory community is experiencing enormous change since the CLP were elected in August 2012 after 11 years in opposition. In the model of the LNP and Campbell Newman’s “slash and burn to save a quid” policy the CLP government under Terry Mills has axed 600 government jobs (a lot for such a small community) that has resulted in paralysis and insecurity in the public sector. Much the same as Queensland’s LNP, the CLP put forward a 100 day plan and an attitude “to get it done under all circumstances.” General consensus questions the furious force of it all when a newly formed government should take time to assess the situation and deliver incremental changes to the public. An unintended positive for the environment as a result of all this mayhem has been the CLP’s dramatic increase in the cost of providing electricity and water. A rise of up to 30% has been implemented from the 1st of January and, much to the disgust of the public, utility costs have increased at least $300 a quarter. Northern Territory communities and cities are remote and heavily reliant on transported goods, so it’s not hard to imagine the impact of these changes and how the public feels. Many NT Greens members and supporters see the increased cost of power and water as a mixed blessing. It is at least one way to reverse the wasteful use of energy and water that is practiced by many Australians. Much is at stake in the Northern Territory with mining exploration leases granted for national parks and criticism of this being met with convoluted responses. Only three percent of the Northern Territory is National park; a tragedy given it is one of the world’s great wildernesses. With the appointment of a new EPA and a “mining is our future” stance, the Greens community will be working hard to make itself heard and to provide an alternative stance.
NICHOLAS GOULDHURST ACTING NT Convenor
QUEENSLAND
Federal election preparations are continuing to roll out in Queensland with more candidates being endorsed, a federal campaign coordinator in place, a larger office and a growing amount of grassroots campaigning happening. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of issues to campaign on, whether its actions by the federal Labor government such as cuts to sole parents income and neglect of the Great Barrier Reef, or the swingeing spending and service cuts of the state LNP government leaving yawning gaps in supports for the community. The LNP uses economic rhetoric to justify their austerity obsession, but it is clear there has been little thought or planning involved. There is no recognition of what immediate effects the cuts are having on frontline and essential services, let alone the longer term damage with loss of expertise and the degradation of social infrastructure. The rushed, oversized cuts are a false economy causing plenty of hardship and higher unemployment. The LNP state government is providing advance notice of what a Tony Abbott federal government would be like with similar politically driven, economically inept cuts. Speaking of economically inept, Bob Katter’s party is presenting an extra challenge for us in Queensland. Whilst the Katter party doesn’t compete very much directly with the Greens for votes, it is competing for media space. Queensland is also clearly where the Katter party has the best chance of winning a Senate seat – potentially setting them up for a share of balance of power if the LNP Senate vote is high enough. The Greens have delivered an enormous amount in the last couple of years with our balance of power roles federally, and a long list of impressive achievements across environmental, social and economic areas. We have a great record to promote, and plenty to point to when it comes to the shortcomings of the other parties, but with a mainstream media which is mostly unsympathetic, it will require lots of campaigning effort from all of us to get that message out there.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Balance of payments, trade deficit, GDP, GFC, fiscal cliff... These terms are now common place in the media and society. Do we have our priorities right? Good financial responsibility is important (but so are other matters!). With good financial management not only can we balance the books, but we can also raise revenue to help others. What are the Greens doing? Firstly, here are a few examples of how the Greens propose to increase income, reduce costs and even up the playing field: • super profits tax: Australia’s mineral wealth belongs to ALL of us, not just the mining companies. The Greens are the only party proposing to increase the super profits tax on resources with a view to the tax returning a profit – it currently doesn’t • cut the fossil fuel subsidy which amounts to billions of dollars per year • remove the income splitting benefits of trusts These measures would enable more funds to be available for human services and infrastructure in areas such as education, health, environmental protection and social security. Secondly, the Parliamentary budget office at the federal level came about directly as a result of the Greens’ negotiations. It provides independent analysis of each party’s budget and considers the financial implications of proposals. Financial responsibility is important, but so is the state of our environment. I look forward to the day when an environmental index is also reported daily in the media. An index that maps things like: • biodiversity gains and sadly the losses • water levels in the River Murray and the impact on wetlands • pollution levels (so that we can compare across years) • site contamination and remediation across the country I hope that with the Greens influence, these goals can become reality.
RUTH BEACH SA State Convenor
Andrew Bartlett Qld Convenor
NT Greens PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
Queensland Greens PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
TASMANIA
Tasmania’s starring role in the Greens’ nation-wide Too Precious To Lose campaign is the Tarkine; the southern hemisphere’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. Last week Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, gave the go ahead for mining there. What made his announcement worse was the amount of unspoilt wilderness that Burke since dubbed the Minister against the Environment - has handed to the mining industry on a plate. Ignoring the Australian Heritage Council, Burke has protected just 4% of the Tarkine’s 433,000ha. The rest is open season. There are at least 10 mining licences waiting approval. A favoured argument of those in support of mining the Tarkine is that it will create lasting wealth. But there are a host of forgotten mines and former mining towns in the state’s north-west, such as Queenstown, which show the folly of this argument. As the Tasmanian Greens’ lead senate candidate and former economics lecturer, Peter Whish-Wilson said in a recent announcement, “the Greens believe we live in a society, not an economy”. The question I kept asking mining proponents last week was “what happens when these new mines are exhausted?” No one had an answer. This is precisely the problem with cowboy economics, to which sustainability is anathema. The cowboys simply move on to exploit something else. Problem is that we’re running out of things left to exploit. The Greens are the only party championing sustainable economics. As Peter also said, “while we understand the importance of jobs and investment, we are the only political party which recognises that economic growth is not the only road to happiness and prosperity”. In other news, Dan Patman is the new Campaign Director for the Tasmanian Greens. Dan has taken to his new role with a beguiling mix of cool and can-do. We wish him good luck. We are also looking forward to hosting the Greens National Council in Tassie this March. I’m looking forward to an energising council and to showing off the best of Hobart to y’all.
VICTORIA
The Victorian Greens are rejuvenated and raring to go after the summer break. We had a strong 2012 where we increased the number of Greens representatives on local councils during the local government elections. December saw us celebrating the AGV’s 20th anniversary with talks from some of our founding members - who sat under the famed tree in the park in late 1992 and started the AGV - including Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice. In January, we turned out for Victoria’s GLBTI Midsumma Carnival, where the Greens have been a presence for 15 years. Our stall asked festival goers to send Julia and Tony a photo message on Equal Rights which garnered a huge response and viral photos. In February, our Greens contingent in the Pride March gained mainstream news coverage, due to the presence of our five Victorian Federal and State parliamentarians, MLCs Colleen Hartland, Greg Barber and Sue Pennicuik, Deputy Leader Adam Bandt and Senator Richard Di Natale who were joined by Batman and Robin accompanied by Wonder Woman. We are gathering steam for the upcoming Federal election with candidates in place in our priority seats: Lead Senate Candidate Janet Rice, Adam Bandt for Melbourne, Ann Birrell for Melbourne Ports and Alex Bhathal for Batman. We’ve also either completed or are in the process of preselecting our other 34 lower house candidates. The AGV is also nearing the final stages of the restructure of staffing arrangements including the executive search for our new Party Director who will be appointed in March. And finally, after last year’s successful establishment of the Victorian Young Greens, a Greens Club has been reestablished at Latrobe University meaning that there are now Greens clubs in the four largest universities in Victoria. We wish Greens around the country all the best in this busy year, fingers crossed for WA and looking forward to seeing you on social media or at National Council meetings.
Alex Bhathal & Dinesh Mathew, AGV Co-Convenors
The months since my last WA report have been ones of frenetic activity as we prepare for the upcoming state election. There is so much going on right now it is hard to know where to begin! Firstly, we have Giz Watson’s push to have an independent Parliamentary Budget Office to level the playing field in costing election promises. If taken up, this would be a game-changer for our state politics. There is also Lynn MacLaren’s initiative to put solar systems on the roofs of 30,000 public and community houses in WA. This will bring down the cost of power for some of the poorest people in the state while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alison Xamon’s drinking water initiatives have identified water savings of up to 260GL a year by 2029 through conservation, recycling and the provision of incentives for grey water plumbing for homes. She is also raising the profile of groundwater issues and of the need to clean up the Swan River. Robin Chapple’s work on James Price Point has helped make it a national issue. The James Price Point TV ad that is forming part of the Too Precious to Lose national campaign is helping to reshape the debate. By engaging high profile and respected Indigenous leaders and spokespeople the Greens have been able to silence the critics. North Metro candidate Cam Poustie will be representing the Greens at the Energy Future Forum on Wednesday 27th February. Each political party will be presenting their vision for our energy future. Senator Scott Ludlam launched a major initiative, the Energy 2029 plan to shift Western Australia onto 100% renewable energy in time for the state’s 200th anniversary. I encourage all Greens to take a look at this ground-breaking proposal, developed with the assistance of Sustainable Energy Now. Finally, I have to give a mention to the outstanding work of our volunteers in keeping the campaign rolling. They are making it possible for us to run a professional campaign on a very tight budget.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
Tom Allen Tasmania Convenor
South Australian Greens 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN Greens GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
Victorian Greens GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
WA Greens PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
march 2013
OUR FEDERAL MPS Senator CHRISTINE MILNE - TAS Federal Parliamentary Leader
As we head into this election year the Greens will continue to stand up as a genuine alternative voice, for a future that puts caring for people and the environment at its core. We want to spread the benefits of the mining boom and use the revenue raised from pricing pollution to invest in a clean, green and clever country. We have been campaigning strongly for a decent mining tax, and Adam Bandt has put a bill through the House to plug the loophole that forces the Commonwealth to reimburse wealthy mining companies every time states hike up royalties. And that’s just one revenue raising measure we’ve proposed. With a better designed mining tax and fewer concessions to the fossil fuel sector we can raise the tens of billions we need to invest in education, healthcare, renewable energy, lifting Newstart as every expert has recommended, and the infrastructure we need to be a clever country with a caring society and healthy environment. I can’t wait for the day concentrated solar thermal power supplies the grid in Australia. This Labor government has been dismantling the environmental protections put in place by its predecessors after decades of campaigning by environmental activists. The Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley, our agricultural land and water, as well as the Tarkine are up for grabs for rapacious mining and Coal Seam Gas interests. We need your support to continue the campaign to protect the places that are too precious to lose (see tooprecioustolose.org.au). The Greens stand up for a society that is sustainable and an economy that puts people and the environment we depend upon at its heart. The Greens’ vision is to take a more holistic view of economic productivity. It’s not just about eking out a budget surplus, it’s about building skills, investing in innovation, supporting community vibrancy, protecting people’s well-being, and looking after the whole environment, now and into the future. senator.milne@aph.gov.au
Senator Rachel Siewert - wa
The campaign to increase Newstart gathers strength as more and more people realise that it is impossible to live on such a low level of income. With the Government’s much vaunted surplus now abandoned, there is added pressure on the Government to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community are not being left behind by economic policy. The community campaign supporting an increase to income support payments, such as Newstart Allowance, has gathered further pace since January 1 when parenting payment cuts moved single parents to Newstart Allowance, an income drop of between $60 and $100 per week. This will no doubt continue in the leadup to the May Budget, which is why we need to keep working hard. To progress the campaign, I will be introducing a private members bill to increase Newstart and other allowance payments by $50 per week. While the Government has been doing its best to ignore this issue, we have been working hard – talking to community groups and the people who continue to live on Newstart in very difficult circumstances. We have gathered evidence around the lived experience of people trying to survive and find a job while living on Newstart which we will be publishing in the near future. We have also been monitoring the impact of throwing people off parenting payment onto Newstart. The Government, for quite some time, refused to admit that Centrelink had made a major error and withdrawn the use of the pensioner concession card from those parents thrown off parenting payment, making their lives even harder. There will be rallies in Canberra and our capital cities when Parliament resumes that will send a clear message to MPs that action is needed. I am confident that this campaign will continue to grow in strength, and that we can continue to provide a voice for those thousands of people who have spoken to us about living day in, day out on Newstart and the challenge this brings for single parents and families. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
Senator Scott Ludlam - WA
I had a busy end to 2012 and a hectic start to 2013 with little respite in between. I addressed a meeting of the Australian Water Association in November and delivered the keynote address on Greens Light Rail for the Southern Corridor for the CY O’Connor ERADE Village Foundation with mayors of the region. And I launched the Greens Bike Vision 2029 plan to deliver a worldclass cycling network in Perth. In December I spoke at a symposium with Lord Leveson on privacy, media, and law reform and later had a big win with the successful campaign to secure emergency funding of $250,000 for the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project. In January I attempted to put the victims of the British nuclear testing at Maralinga in the limelight – appearing on SBS, Radio National and in the British press urging visiting Foreign Secretary William Hague to pay compensation to those exposed to the tests. And in late January I was in the eastern goldfields of WA on a mission to stop uranium mining – meeting with Traditional Owners and activists. February got off to a great start with the culmination of years of campaigning; the incorporation of Koongarra into Kakadu National Park – with uranium mining banned forever from the site. The good news continued with a successful launch of The Greens ‘Energy 2029’ report – a fully costed plan to have Western Australia powered by 100% renewable energy by 2029. In Kalgoorlie the report was met with great enthusiasm and I hosted a full house forum of community, city officials, business and engineering stakeholders on the future of the ‘Solar Goldfields’. I followed this up with a launch of Transforming Perth – an exciting report tackling Perth’s urban planning challenges. And I later hosted a successful forum on Wikileaks, West Papua and the surveillance state at UWA. People sat in the aisles and stood at the back of the lecture theatre to hear Benny Wenda, Suelette Dreyfus and Jennifer Robinson speak and field questions. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
Australian Greens National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au