FoE Australia News
Earthworker Solar Water Heating
The Earthworker Cooperative is proud to be collaborating with Friends of the Earth to work towards a socially just and sustainable future. Heat your water with a solar hot water system from the Earthworker Cooperative and you'll be supporting local green jobs, reducing your energy bills, and if you mention this ad $80 will be donated to Friends of the Earth!
The BOLT-ON Solar Heat pump provides an efficient, affordable and easy way to go solar − even if you're renting, live in an apartment or have limited sun exposure. There is a special low-interest loan available to pay off an Earthworker solar hot water system (visit www.bankmecu.com.au/earthworker).
Earthworker is a community-led initiative, working to establish an Australia-wide network of not-for-profit community-owned cooperatives. Earthworker is now producing solar hot water systems in a factory in Dandenong. Each unit sold now is a step toward opening the first worker-owned factory in Morwell.
To find out more, go solar, or get involved with the cooperative, visit www.earthworkercooperative.com.au
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Brisbane G20 Peoples Convergence, Nov. 8-16
The G20 Leaders Summit will bring the leaders of the worlds' 20 largest economies to Brisbane in November this year. The "austerity" budget that has just been delivered to Australians is a small taste of what people around the world have been experiencing under G20 driven economic systems − systems which prioritise profit over community welfare and the environment. There is an alternative!
BrisCAN-G20 is a broad network of groups concerned about the social and ecological impacts of the G20. We see the G20 Summit as an opportunity to unite and work on transforming our society to a more just and sustainable one.
First Nation's Decolonisation Before Profit events will run through the week Nov 8−16 and will include a Global First Nations Conference on Nov 15−16 and an Eco-Village forum space. For more information visit http://brisbaneblacks.com/g20/program
Peoples Convergence: We will be hosting and supporting a week symposiums, workshops, idea sharing, marches, film screenings, and other creative events, November 8−16 in Brisbane.
Visioning Another World: The G20 Peoples Summit will be a three-day festival of symposiums, idea-sharing, art, creative activities, education and action. It will take place in various location in Brisbane November 12−14.
The Peoples Summit will be followed by two days of creative action, education and solidarity while the G20 Leaders Summit is taking place, including the Peoples Rally and March on November 15. Join us in this united call for global social and ecological justice!
Week of action: We are planning for vibrant community action to take place throughout the week of the G20 Summit. You are invited to contribute to the planned events and to organise your own creative response to the G20.
To register your interest in the Peoples Summit, volunteer, donate your time, skills or money or for more information:
f: www.facebook.com/briscan.g20
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Campaign against CSG extraction at Nguddaboolgan (Mt Mulligan)
A series of events are planned for Far North Queensland over the next few months by a coalition of traditional custodians, landholders, concerned people and FoE Kuranda to inform the general public about the detrimental impacts from unconventional gas extraction. This development may include 'fracking' within a 550 sq km area around Nguddaboolgan (60 kms north-west of Mareeba), one of Australia's most sacred and culturally significant sites.
There are real concerns that the underground aquifers and iconic the iconic Mitchell and Walsh Rivers could be polluted as a result. Fracking at Nguddaboolgan could be the first step to opening up the rest of North Queensland to this particularly destructive form of mining. No tier of government has conducted any community consultation on this proposed development to date.
Meanwhile, FoE Kuranda has an ongoing campaign to improve the water quality of the Barron River, which is polluted with intensive agricultural runoff and sediment. This polluted river is damaging the Great Barrier Reef and is also a threat to the health of the people of Kuranda and Mareeba that take their town water supply from the river.
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Challar forest protest camp
FoE is supporting an ongoing camp established in south-west WA, established in December 2013 to protest the logging of the Challar forest. Challar blocks 09 and 08 are logged by Forest Products Commission (FPC) of WA. It is a government agency, logging the last karri stands in the area and replacing them with plantations. The forest also contains a mix of jarrah and marri with ancient, 7m grass trees which can live for 950 years. The local community has been protesting against this needless destruction.
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World Parks Congress in Sydney in November
Sydney will host the sixth World Parks Congress from November 12−18. The Congress is held every 10 years by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and it's expected that as many as 3000 people will attend, including government, NGO and industry representatives, Indigenous and community leaders and researchers and scientists from across the world. The theme for this year's congress is People, Parks and Planet: Inspiring Solutions. FoE has been keeping in touch with congress preparations; networking with our fellow eNGOs on issues of common interest; and will be hosting side-events during the congress itself. There are plenty of opportunities to help out through your local FoE group, to volunteer at the congress itself, or to attend as a member of the public.
For more information contact nick.mcclean@archive.foe.org.au or visit http://worldparkscongress.org
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Climate change related displacement
Very positive feedback followed a symposium held in Brisbane on May 23, titled 'When people have to move: Climate change related displacement and pre-emptive migration pathways in the Australia-Pacific region', jointly organised by the QUT Faculty of Law and the Climate Frontlines collective of FoE Brisbane.
Some highlights of the program were:
- Setting the Scene: Experiences of Displacement – a combined short videos and commentary presentation by SBS journalist Stefan Armbruster.
- Overview of International Frameworks, with presentations by QUT's Dr Rowena Maguire and FoE's Claire van Herpen.
- The Pacific and International Negotiations, with contributions from Peter Emberson, Pacific Conference of Churches; Dr Ian Fry, ANU lecturer and advisor to the Prime Minister of Tuvalu on UNFCCC negotiations; Ratu Manasa Katonivualiku, Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs, involved in the development of a national relocation plan; and QUT's Bridget Lewis, on regional responses to displacement.
- Migration Pathways: Programs and Experiences, including analysis of existing programs in both Australia and New Zealand, their potential for expansion, and new initiatives.
- A mock trial: The case for climate 'refugees'.
- A final panel discussion on the way forward, moderated by independent Pacific journalist Nic Maclellan, with participation by Senator Larissa Waters.
A summary of the presentations is in preparation and will be available for public circulation in the near future. It will be circulated to all federal and state politicians who were invited to the symposium. A special edition of the QUT Law Review will be dedicated to contributions from symposium presenters with a legal focus.
Contact: wendy.flannery@archive.foe.org.au
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Steve Marsh court case
Steve Marsh is an organic farmer from a community south of Perth in Kojonup, WA. In 2010, the WA government lifted the ban on GM canola, allowing for the commercial cultivation of this GM crop for the first time. As a result, many farmers, including Marsh's neighbour, began growing GM canola. Subsequently, Steve found GM canola plants spread over much of his farm, containing seed. Steve lost his organic certification.
This contamination has had a dramatic impact on Steve and his livelihood, while Monsanto, because of their 'no liability' agreement signed with each GM farmer, are free of any responsibility for GM contamination. Instead of accepting this biotech invasion, Steve decided to take a stand. As the only avenue available, Steve took his neighbour to court for compensation of loss and damages. This case is the first of its kind in the world, where an organic farmer is seeking compensation from a GM farmer when his rights have been violated by GM contamination.
On May 28, the judgment came down in Steve's case. We are very disappointed to report that Steve lost the case. Steve is currently considering his options.
For further information, and documents from the case, please check the Safe Food website. http://safefoodfoundation.org/what-we-do/help-this-farmer/
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Fair Food Adelaide launch
On May 8, 50 people gathered at the Box Factory community centre in Adelaide to discuss the future of the local food movement in South Australia. Hosted by Fair Food Adelaide, a collective of FoE Adelaide, the event offered an opportunity for representatives from farms, businesses, activist and community organisations to engage in an energetic workshop, which focused on generating critical food sovereignty ideas.
Led by facilitator Kim Hill from Deep Green Resistance, the discussion started with a question about the exciting things that are happening already in food sovereignty. The answers ranged from the current trend of growing your own food, verge farming in the suburbs, young farmer scholarships and a new event for 2014, started in SA, called supermarket-free month.
The discussion then moved onto goals for 2014 and how to make this happen. Events that focus on food education, foraging and expanding the definition of 'food' to include natives and weeds were key issues discussed. Minimising waste, creating recipes, food swaps and supporting organisations that facilitate these swaps like Ripe Near Me were popular ideas.
More information about the discussion and outcomes is available from Fair Food Adelaide coordinator Rachel Ryan: ryan.rach@gmail.com
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Food safety under threat from GM crops
Worldwide marches were held in May to express concerns about the food domination plans of megacorporations like Monsanto. Many people are concerned that food safety is under threat as multinational biotech corporations attempt to gain total control of the food supply and force us to eat their genetically engineered food whether we like it or not; effectively treating us like a giant science experiment.
The Adelaide March Against Monsanto rally was organised as a project of FoE Adelaide's 'Fair Food Adelaide' collective. It built momentum for a continuation of a GM-ban across South Australia, and pressure to implement this ban in other states.
SA is the only mainland state to have a moratorium on commercial GM but food labelling and testing are currently inadequate and we want that to change. The rally was joined by SA's Minster for Agriculture Leon Bignell, Senator Nick Xenophon and Greens MLC Mark Parnell.
More information: www.march-against-monsanto.com
− Robyn Wood, FoE Adelaide
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Irradiated food
The amount of irradiated food in the Australian and New Zealand diet is set to increase, and there is strong pressure to remove mandatory labelling for irradiated food. In 2014, Food Standard Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) will be reviewing mandatory labelling requirements for irradiated food. It is clear from publicly accessible documents that the review is framed in a manner to question the need for labelling of irradiated products rather than as a non-biased overview of the efficacious of irradiation labelling.
Food Irradiation Watch, a FoE affiliate, believes it is a consumer right to know whether food has been irradiated as well as a food producer's right to ensure that their non-irradiated food is clearly distinguishable from irradiated products. The only way to guarantee consumers an informed decision and to safeguard producers from potentially negative consumer association of their product is to ensure clear mandatory labelling.
More information:
w: www.foodirradiationwatch.org
f: www.facebook.com/groups/212241255452651/
ph: 0411 118 737
− Robin Taubenfeld, Food Irradiation Watch
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Anti-wind farm laws cost Victoria jobs
FoE released a report in April detailing the economic and environmental costs of the Victorian government's anti-wind farm laws. The analysis shows that anti-wind farm laws introduced by former Premier Ted Baillieu hit the wind energy sector hard, costing jobs and investment opportunities for regional Victoria. Eleven proposed wind farms have been scrapped in recent years.
The report is posted at: http://tinyurl.com/wind-farm-laws
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FSANZ fails to ensure safety of foods containing nanomaterials
A report released in May by FoE's Emerging Technologies Campaign (previously Nanotechnology Campaign), titled 'Way too little', looks at the now widespread presence of nanomaterials in the food chain and how little Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is doing to ensure our safety. There has been a dramatic increase in the use of nanomaterials in food, food additives, supplements, food packaging, food contact materials and agricultural chemicals. At the same time there is a growing body of peer-reviewed evidence that certain nanomaterials may pose risks to human health. Yet FSANZ has failed to take even basic steps to regulate the use of nanomaterials in food; they don't know what nanomaterials are in food or where they are being used; and do not require even basic safety testing.
The report is posted at:
http://nano.archive.foe.org.au/sites/default/files/FOE_nanotech_food_rep...
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Renewable Energy Target Road Trip
The Abbott government has initiated a review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) − Australia's flagship renewable energy policy. It is widely feared that the review will result in a watering down of the target, and hence damage the investment climate for renewable energy in the country.
In May, FoE's Yes 2 Renewables campaign launched its fact-finding RET Review Road Trip at the Hepburn Wind farm in Victoria − the birthplace of community energy in Australia to highlight the benefits that have come from the RET target. The visit to the Hepburn Wind farm was the first stop of an 11-week road trip to get a real understanding of the impact the Renewable Energy Target has had on communities in south eastern Australia.
We visited a range of places that have benefitted from renewable energy projects or experienced the impacts of fossil fuel pollution. This included manufacturing facilities in Portland in south west Victoria, the Latrobe Valley, where communities have been badly impacted by a major fire at the Hazelwood coal mine over summer, and suburbs where there has been significant uptake of roof top solar. We finished the tour in the wind region around Canberra, and helped co-host a major event at Parliament House in Canberra for world wind day in mid June.
More information: http://yes2renewables.org/2014/04/08/yes-2-renewables-launch-ret-road-trip
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Keeping Euros out of dirty coal in Australia
In May, FoE affiliate Market Forces visited Europe where several banks that are key to new coal export projects in Australia were holding their annual general meetings.
After Market Forces attended its AGM, and with support from a strong local campaign, HSBC agreed that it would not fund the Abbot Point coal export expansion in Queensland. The group chief executive of HSBC said that given UNESCO's strong concerns about the expansion of Abbot Point, the bank would be "extraordinarily unlikely to go anywhere near it".
Deutsche Bank also made an important commitment at its AGM which could help encourage more banks from financing the expansion of coal exports in Australia. Deutsche Bank's chairman agreed that the bank would not consider any request to finance the expansion of the Abbot Point coal export port, given the concerns of UNESCO over the proposed expansion's impacts on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
More information: www.marketforces.org.au/europecoalfinance
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On-shore gas drilling stopped in Victoria until 2015
In 2012, a campaign launched by FoE Melbourne and Quit Coal was able to achieve the first significant environmental victory under the current Victorian government. The then Premier, Ted Baillieu, announced a moratorium on the process of fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and a ban on the use of the use of the dangerous BTEX chemicals in the gas drilling process.
Since then we have worked with dozens of regional communities to build the mobilised power that could force the government to also halt the exploratory drilling that was being proposed.
A cornerstone of the community opposition became focused around a plan by Lakes Oil to carry out horizontal drilling near Seaspray in Gippsland. Although the company lodged its application in December 2013, it took the government more than six months to make a determination on the application. This was because of the strong resistance from the Seaspray community.
The company refused to listen to the community and pressed ahead with its plan to drill. Working with the community, we had organised to bring seven locals to Melbourne to ride horses through the city to Parliament. They were going to announce their intention to blockade gas drilling operations if the Energy Minister approved the works application from Lakes Oil. A day before the ride, the state government announced that it would "put a hold on making any decisions on the approval of current onshore gas exploration work plans" until after the community consultation process – safely on the far side of the late-2014 state election.
We were aiming to stop an approval of horizontal drilling at Seaspray. What we got was a halt to approvals across the state, until after the consultation process. This is a brilliant victory for the community. It is a testament to the power of sustained and determined community organising and the remarkable community of Seaspray, who have been on the front-line in the campaign against new oil and gas drilling.
Of course, the government hopes to take the heat out of the issue. They thought the same thing when they announced the moratorium on fracking, and when they extended the moratorium. We are currently working to ensure there is a strong turnout to the government's community consultation on unconventional gas. The next stage in this campaign is for the major parties to commit to making this ban permanent.
More information:
www.foemelbourne.org.au/coal_and_gas
www.foemelbourne.org.au/seaspray_story
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Radioactive Exposure Tour
The 2014 radtour was an epic adventure all the way from Melbourne to Muckaty (north of Tennant Creek) in the NT, site of a proposed radioactive waste dump. Forty people packed their swags, bags and instruments in five vehicles, three of which were powered with vege oil picked up from fish and chip shops and service stations along the way. Participants came from Australia, India, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, England, New Zealand and France.
Some highlights from the radtour:
- Talking to Mrs Eileen Wingfield, Kokatha elder, about her struggles against the radioactive waste dump proposal in South Australia (success!) and against the Olympic Dam uranium mine.
- Hearing from nuclear veteran and whistle-blower Avon Hudson about his time working at Maralinga
- Lunar eclipse on Arabunna country over Lake Eyre
- Camping at Walatinna Station, the home of Yankunytjatjara man Yami Lester, and hearing his story of the Emu Field nuclear test in 1953 that blinded him.
- Protesting at Pine Gap, the Joint US/Australia Defence Facility with Aranda woman, Mitch.
- Learning about the NT Intervention from local heroine and resident of Mt Nancy town camp resident Barbara Shaw
- Hitting the road to Tennant Creek with Uncle Kevin Buzzacott, defender of Lake Eyre and the beautiful Arabunna country north of the Olympic Dam mine
- Hearing Dianne Stokes continue to fight against the nuclear waste dump and inspire the radtour group to "go back and rattle the city!" as we sat on her traditional lands.
- A bush trip and starlight with the Muckaty mob defending their country from the proposed radioactive waste dump, which will be in court in June 2014.
Let us know if you want to be kept informed about plans for next year's radtour: email ace@archive.foe.org.au
Since the radtour, campaigners from FoE's Anti-nuclear & Clean Energy (ACE) campaign have been working hard to support Muckaty Traditional Owners in their efforts to prevent the Abbott government foisting a nuclear waste dump on their land. We helped organised a public meeting and support actions when Traditional Owners were in Melbourne for a Federal Court hearing; took part in a national day of action on June 20; helped organise a crowdfunder for the Beyond Nuclear Initiative; and ACE campaigners have been in Darwin speaking to union and council representatives as well as attending a protest rally at Tennant Creek on May 25.
More information and photos:
- http://radioactivetour.com
- Rachel Evans and Yuya Mori, 'Tour exposes radioactive racism', www.greenleft.org.au/node/56316