Australia – Government Funds Lifeline, But Vital Phone Services Still Costing Consumers

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Hello and welcome to the latest news update from Pro Bono Australia. This week the Federal Government is set to make mobile phone calls to Lifeline – the national telephone-based support service for people in crisis – free of charge under an agreement between three major phone carriers. As well, private sector support for arts and cultural organisations in Australia continues to grow according to the results of the 2011 AbaF survey of private sector support for the arts. And, Volunteering Victoria produces an information pack to help volunteers and organisations understand and meet their responsibilities under new legislation including important changes to the way sexual harassment law applies to volunteers. Plus much more… Our news service is updated regularly online, so if you want to know what’s happening before your weekly update arrives in the inbox, just visit www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news Lina Caneva – Editor, Karen Mahlab – Founder, Ryan Witcombe – Journalist, Government Funds Lifeline, But Vital Services Still Costing Consumers Mobile phone calls to Lifeline – the national telephone-based support service for people in crisis – are set to become free of charge under an agreement made between three major phone carriers and the Federal Government. Private Sector Support for Arts Continues to Grow Private sector support for arts and cultural organisations in Australia continues to grow according to the results of the 2011 AbaF survey of private sector support for the arts. Sexual Harassment and Volunteers: Information Pack Volunteering Victoria has produced an information pack to help volunteers and organisations to understand and meet their responsibilities under new legislation which includes important changes to the way sexual harassment law applies to volunteers. ATO Releases New NFP Guide on Tax Deductibility The Australian tax Office has released a new version of its GiftPack guide to help Not for Profits understand what to do if they want to receive tax-deductible gifts. Queensland Flood Aftermath Needs More Than One-Off Donations One-off donations aren’t enough to get the flood-affected Queensland communities back to their full lives, according to charitable trust managers, Perpetual. Aged Care Indexation Misses the Mark Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) says it’s disappointed with the Government’s 1.9% indexation of funding for aged care, describing it as a meagre increase given the current rise in inflation. Social Enterprise: Re-Embedding Markets with Social and Cultural Values Social enterprise is a way of re-embedding markets with social and cultural values, which have been eroded by neo-liberal economic policies, according to an international expert. Most NFP Executives Plan to Leave Within Five Years: US Study Two-thirds of US NFP Executives plan to leave their jobs within the next five years, citing frustration with their organisations’ shaky finances, under-performing boards of directors, and the difficulty of maintaining healthy work-life balance in their demanding roles, according to a US study. Patchwork Economy Bodes Well for Not for Profits CBA Finance News | Since the Global Financial Crisis, jobs growth in the residential care services industry has left the mining industry for dust, according to the Commonwealth Bank. Annual Grantmakers Salary Report Released The median salary for foundation staff in the United States is $70,000, according to a new benchmarking report from the Council on Foundations. New Fire Recovery Unit for Victoria The new Fire Recovery Unit comes into effect from 1 July 2011 to oversee Victoria’s ongoing bushfire recovery effort. Volunteers and the Equal Pay Claim Australia’s informal, unpaid or non-professional modes of care work should not be forgotten in the current equal pay claim for community workers.

Perth Radio covering disability issues for people from diverse backgrounds – EthnicAbility Next Week (04/07/2011) – Crime and People With Mental Illness

Message from my friend and colleague Zeliha Iscel

The Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre (EDAC)presents
‘EthnicAbility’, a program on disability and ethnicity
Mondays From 7:30-8:00 pm (WA time) on 95.3 6EBA FM World Radio.

You can also listen live on the web at www.6eba.com.au and click on
‘Listen now’.

Next week on ‘EthnicAbility’, (4th July 2011), Mike Seward, Executive
Director, Arafmi Mental Health Carers and Friends Association (WA)
Inc., will join us to discuss issues around people with mental illness
in Australia’s judicial system (WA in particular).

How does the judicial system deal with people with mental illness, particularly
those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? What if
they also have a disability? Does a mental illness relieve a person
from prison sentence if they commit a serious crime? Get an insight
into these and other issues … next week on ‘EthnicAbility’.

We are always open to your comments and suggestions. Feel free to
call us during ‘EthnicAbility’ on 9227 5953 or any time during work
hours on 9388 7455. You can also email your comments to:
ethnicability
We look forward to hearing from you.

To receive emails outlining upcoming programs on ‘EthnicAbility send a
blank enmail email to ethnicability+subscribe

If you would like to be a sponsor of ‘EthnicAbility’, contact Zel on
(08) 9388 7455. By sponsoring ‘EthnicAbility’, you will be helping to
disclose issues that impact on the lives of ethnic people with
disability, their family, community and service providers.

EthnicAbility goes to air every Monday evening from 7:30-8:00 pm on
95.3 6EBA FM.

If you miss ‘EthnicAbility’, you can hear it on-demand at
www.edac.org.au.
Click on ‘Radio Program’ and choose the show you want to listen to.

EthnicAbility explores issues affecting people with a disability from
an ethnic background. In so doing, we will be speaking to people with
a disability from an ethnic background themselves, their parents/
family, friends, community members and service providers. And we may
Even talk to you!

So don’t forget to switch on your radio or join us through the
internet every Monday at 7:30 pm.
For further information, phone edac on 9388 7455 to be redirected to
Zel or Sanja, or send an email to ethnicability.

Greens Western Australia on Refugees and Mental Health – Detention policies run risk of creating mentally ill future Australians-Greens

Detention policies run risk of creating mentally ill future Australians-Greens

29 June 2011

Last night in Parliament, Greens MLC Alison Xamon warned that the current policy position of locking up asylum seekers was running a serious risk of creating a future cohort of Australians with serious mental health issues. The comments came after recent research released in NSW indicated that asylum seekers who had been left in prolonged detention were emerging with more serious mental health issues than when they arrived.

“When Vietnamese refugees arrived in the 70’s, the Government policy strategy was to promote calm and to focus on swift resettlement. These people were, like many current refugees, extremely traumatised, having escaped terrible fear and persecution. Yet because of the way their resettlement was handled their prospects for maintaining positive mental health were found to have remained high, despite having experienced great trauma,” Ms Xamon Greens WA Spokesperson for Mental Health said.

Image via Wikipedia

Ms Xamon’s comments were made in response to research from Professor Derrick Silove from the School of Psychiatry in NSW who has been heading up studies looking at the long-term impacts of detention on refugees and their mental health.

“40 years later, instead of treating our refugees with compassion, we’re locking them away for long periods in detention centres. This is mainly due to the disgusting and shameless way in which the whole issue has been allowed to be politicised.

“Studies show that prolonged detention has a huge impact on detainees’ mental health, especially the children. Depression, post-traumatic stress, separation anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, suicidal ideation and self-harm, to name a few , were all dramatically increased in children as a direct result of prolonged detention.

“How on earth do we justify doing this to children? Or to their parents? Or to any human being? We should be focussing on helping these people to get over their horrific experiences, not adding to their trauma.

“There is accruing scientific evidence of the harm that detention is having on refugees. These are vulnerable people, leaving unimaginable circumstances. They risk their lives to come here, only to be detained indefinitely once they arrive. It’s no wonder there are unprecedented levels of suicide and self harm occurring in our detention centres.

“We need to release these people into community accommodation, as they do elsewhere in the world, and start showing them a bit of compassion before the situation deteriorates any further,” added Ms Xamon.

For further comment contact Alison 9272 1718

Hon Alison Xamon MLC

Member for the East Metropolitan Region

Office: 62 Eighth Ave Maylands WA 6051

Postal Address: PO Box 104 Maylands WA 6931

Phone: (08) 9272 1718

Fax: (08) 9272 1719

Portfolios: Water, Urban Bushland, Mental Health, Education, Training, Industrial Relations, Employment, Occupational Health & Safety, Disabilities, Women, Children & Youth, Public Service, Community Services, Electoral Affairs, Consumer Protection, Vet Affairs, Volunteering

Related articles

• Mental Health in Australian Detention Centres (iranianasylumseeker.wordpress.com)
• Riots at Australian Immigration Centre’s (iranianasylumseeker.wordpress.com)

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

West Australian Govt – hard hearts, soft minds – #mentalhealth – “Mentally ill being evicted from homes in Buswell’s anti-social tenant crackdown”

Mentally ill being evicted from homes in Buswell’s anti-social tenant crackdown

29 June 2011

Mentally ill Homeswest tenants are being evicted from their homes and facing homelessness as part of the government’s crackdown on “anti-social” tenants.

“Once again the government is charging ahead with a one-size-fits-all populist, but ill thought out, policy which is having adverse effects on tenants who are living with serious mental illness,” Alison Xamon, WA Greens Spokesperson on Mental Illness said.

The comments come after Ms Xamon raised the issue in Parliament last night.

“The Disruptive Behaviour Management Strategy has no provisions to deal with mentally ill tenants and that’s leading to people with medical conditions being evicted from their homes for behaviours arising from their illness. Surely it would not have been that difficult for the Government to have foreseen a scenario where a mentally ill person might get caught up in this so-called “reform” and to have made the necessary amendments to deal with that. Or is it that Minister Buswell just doesn’t care about those living with a mental illness?

“This is just the latest in the growing number of government initiatives that appear to have been written on the back of a napkin over lunch, with no finesse or real thought as to the possible real-life ramifications.

“I urge the Minister for Housing and the Minister for Mental Illness to start talking about the ramifications of these policies and to begin making the detailed and difficult decisions that are needed to deal with our society’s growing and complex mental health problems. Complex problems can not be dealt with by simplistic solutions.

“Evicting the mentally ill from their homes and making them homeless as a result is scandalous and is in no way the sign of a civilized society. These people need our support, not to be left at great risk and further disadvantage. Minister Buswell has got this policy very wrong and now he needs to make it right,” added Ms Xamon.

Hon Alison Xamon MLC

Member for the East Metropolitan Region

Office: 62 Eighth Ave Maylands WA 6051

Postal Address: PO Box 104 Maylands WA 6931

Phone: (08) 9272 1718

Fax: (08) 9272 1719

Portfolios: Water, Urban Bushland, Mental Health, Education, Training, Industrial Relations, Employment, Occupational Health & Safety, Disabilities, Women, Children & Youth, Public Service, Community Services,Electoral Affairs, Consumer Protection, Vet Affairs, Volunteering

Related articles

• ‘Passionate’ meeting, but Delridge homeless-housing project will roll on (westseattleblog.com)

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Change.org people celebrate a big week of activism – Fwd: Victory, victory, victory, victory!

#MentalHealth Join the search for the Top 40 misleading, dangerous or just plain stupid things ever said or written about ADHD.

Top 40 misleading, dangerous or just plain stupid claims ever made about ADHD

http://speedupsitstill.com/top-40-misleading-dangerous-plain-stupid-claims-adhd

Image via Wikipedia

Join the search for the Top 40 misleading, dangerous or just plain stupid things ever said or written about ADHD.

The catalyst for this search is that in last week’s blog (21 June 2011) I invited Sydney paediatrician Professor Michael Kohn to justify his recent claim that ‘stimulant medication, like Ritalin, helped brain growth’ in ADHD children. (http://speedupsitstill.com/evidence-support-adhd-expert-prof-kohns-claim-amphetamines-aid-brain-development) Unfortunately Professor Kohn has not yet taken up the opportunity to provide evidence to support his astonishing claim.

Subsequently readers have asked me in light of the longstanding evidence that drugs like dexamphetamine and Ritalin impair brain development, is Prof Kohn’s claim is among the most misleading and dangerous assertions about ADHD I have heard? Possibly, but I think it is only fair to give Professor Kohn a little more time to justify his claim.

To date the most outrageous totally discredited statements I have heard or read include;

1- “This [dexamphetamine] is not addictive stuff. In fact, I wish it was a little more addictive so that my younger patients would remember to take it rather than having to be reminded by their long-suffering parents.”- Perth psychiatrist Dr Roger Patterson1

2- “Fidgeting and foot movements (known in our research setting as ‘Wender’s sign’) are very common signs of hyperactivity in adult ADHD patients – so much so that such patients can usually be diagnosed in the waiting room by a knowledgeable receptionist.”- Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Paul Wender.2

3- “A lot of people discovered they had ADHD by accident. For example, truckies who needed uppers to keep them awake while they were driving across the Nullarbor suddenly found that they were driving a whole lot better…when they were taking dexies.”3 – Michelle Toner then Executive Officer of the pharmaceutical company ADHD support group the Learning and Attentional Disorders Society of WA (LADS).4

And another cracker from Michelle Toner in the same TV interview

4- “In order to get a high equivalent to what people are taking [as] street speed, you would have to take close to 200 tablets [of dexamphetamine]. Children take 1 or 6 tablets a day and it is not addictive at all.’’5

These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many even more outrageous statements out there (including the American Psychiatric Association 18 ADHD diagnostic criteria see http://speedupsitstill.com/dodgy-diagnosis).

Please join the on-going search for the Top 40, most incorrect, inaccurate, misleading, dishonest, dangerous or just plain stupid things every said or written about ADHD. Send details of statements you nominate to martinwhitely Please include as much detail as necessary to verify the authenticity of the statement. Your name will not be made public.

Martin Whitely MLA

www.speedupsitstill.com

Huge news on Australian Forest conservation, and an urgent call to action from GetUp – BREAKING: forest agreement reached

Image via Wikipedia

In the early hours of this morning, the Tasmanian logging industry and environmental groups signed off on a final agreement to protect 570,000 hectares of ancient high conservation value forests, with the majority of it being protected immediately. The conflict between these two groups has been a part of the political landscape for a generation of Australians – but last night’s agreement can end it.

This turning point will mean nothing if the agreement does not have the full commitment and financial support of State and Federal Governments. Environmentalists, unionists and loggers have over a year negotiating this agreement - now is when you come in. Our voices can help pressure the Federal and Tasmanian Government to implement this historic agreement.

Can you send an email to your local MP or Senator and ask them to commit to implementing this agreement by creating Australia’s newest national parks for Australia’s oldest trees:

http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/save-our-forests/forestry-agreement/email-your-mp-or-senator

Ending the 30 year deadlock hasn’t been easy. Both sides have agreed to significant compromises. Long-held positions were challenged and set aside in order to come to an agreement that can deliver real environmental protection and a sustainable timber industry that is competitive in the 21st century marketplace.

The agreement opens the way for the government to immediately save almost half a million hectares of Tasmania’s ancient native forests. Like the Daintree rainforests and Kakadu, Tasmania’s forests are a key part of our national identity.

We need to show the government that is it not just the representatives of the timber industry and environment groups who support an end to the conflict over Tasmania’s forests. Send your message here.

Thanks for all you do,
The GetUp team.

PS – The newly released agreement is a complex one. It addresses some issues up front and leaves others to be resolved through ongoing processes. To read the full agreement and discuss what it means, check out this blog post.

West Australia #mentalhealth – Unanimous support for ‘mental health court’ needs to be turned into action

Unanimous support for ‘mental health court’ needs to be turned into action

22 June 2011

WA Greens Spokesperson for Mental Health, Alison Xamon, has welcomed todays unanimous support for her calls to set up a court intervention program for the mentally ill, but has warned that without a clear action plan the proposal could lose momentum and flounder. The comments came in conclusion to her motion in Parliament calling for the establishment of the court.

“Everyone has acknowledged that a mental health court is long overdue, but we need to get cracking with further consultation and a clear timeline for making this vision a reality. The longer we leave it, the longer mentally ill people will find themselves caught up in our criminal justice system,” Ms Xamon said.

In May, Ms Xamon called on the Attorney General to urgently take the advice of the Law Reform Commission and set up a court intervention programme for the mentally ill, to reduce the number of these people ending up in jail.

“A record number of people are being incarcerated in WA. Many are mentally ill or mentally impaired and they need medical help, not jail terms.

“We have a unique opportunity to capitalise on this across-the-board support for a mental health court and get it off the ground. It’s the humane option and an economically responsible one, since imprisonment is the most expensive option for dealing with mental illness,” Ms Xamon said.

Ms Xamon’s Parliamentary motion referred to Recommendation 23 of the Law Reform Commission Final Report, Court Intervention Programs: Project No.96 (June 2009) which recommends the establishment of a mental impairment court intervention program in WA.

“So far, every government has failed to act and adequately address the problem of why so many mentally ill people end up in our prisons.

“This government has made the situation even worse by introducing draconian and retrograde legislation, such as mandatory sentencing, that limits the discretion of our courts and has a devastating effect on people experiencing mental illness.

In 2008 an ABS survey found that 41% of people who had been imprisoned had suffered a mental illness in the 12 months prior to the survey. That is more than double the incidence of such disorders (19%) in people who had never been to jail.

“We know that court intervention programs are effective. For example WA’s Drug Court has been a success because it takes a therapeutic rather than a punitive approach. Programs like this can reduce crime, the strain on our prison system and prevent repeat offences.

“Our prisons should not be used as defacto mental health institutions. A mental health court is a step in the right direction to remedy this situation. I urge everyone who supports this to push it forward as a matter of urgency”

Hon Alison Xamon MLC

Member for the East Metropolitan Region

Office: 62 Eighth Ave Maylands WA 6051

Postal Address: PO Box 104 Maylands WA 6931

Phone: (08) 9272 1718

Fax: (08) 9272 1719

Portfolios: Water, Urban Bushland, Mental Health, Education, Training, Industrial Relations, Employment, Occupational Health & Safety, Disabilities, Women, Children & Youth, Public Service, Community Services, Electoral Affairs, Consumer Protection, Vet Affairs, Volunteering

Senator Ludlam’s speech in solidarity with the protesters fighting to save the beautiful James Price Point in the Kimberley.

Senator Ludlam’s speech in solidarity with the protesters fighting to save the beautiful James Price Point in the Kimberley.

Australian privacy at greater risk than ever – Planned boost in ASIO power sparks warning from WA Senator

Planned boost in ASIO power sparks warning from WA Senator

Image via Wikipedia

Media Release: Senator Scott Ludlam Wednesday June 22nd, 2011

The Australian Greens warned today that a Government plan to significantly broaden ASIO’s mandate was unjustified and dangerous.

Greens justice spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam tabled a dissenting report today on the Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill, raising serious concerns about the proposed law and the shambolic process behind it.

“Last week the Bill was subject to a committee hearing, three months ahead of schedule and restricted to just 90 minutes, without any ASIO representatives present to answer questions.”

Senator Ludlam said the Government appeared “desperate” to pass the Bill but could not explain why.

“At the hearing, I asked why the haste and was told by the Attorney General’s Department; ‘I can assure you that it is very important’.

“The Government intends to radically expand the range of people and organisations on which ASIO can collect intelligence but gave incomprehensible answers on the reason for the expanded mandate.

“These so-called ‘Wikileaks Amendments’ are invoked if it is deemed to be in the interest of national security or ‘national economic well being’ – which can mean whatever ASIO wants it to mean.

“The public deserves to know – why is this happening and who will be targeted.”

The dissenting report will be available via: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/intelligence_services/index.htm

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302

Image via Wikipedia

Related articles

• ASIO gets more power to snoop (theage.com.au)
• Australian government expands spy agency’s powers (theromangate.wordpress.com)
• ASIO’s info records found flawed (news.theage.com.au)
• ASIO faces questions over asylum seekers (news.theage.com.au)
• Spy chief deems terror list ‘fallible’ (theage.com.au)

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Which online platforms do you use?

In australia – Alcoa employees ‘green’ their environments

Please find attached a media release from Alcoa in relation to our Green Works initiative. Plus two relevant photos of employees from the Peel Office in Pinjarra and Wagerup Refinery near Waroona.

Kind regards, Sarah

Sarah Tempest
Communications Advisor I Corporate Affairs

Alcoa of Australia Limited t +61 8 9316 5462 f +61 8 9316 5662 m +61 (0) 404 800 417 Corner Davy and Marmion Streets, Booragoon, Western Australia PO Box 252, Applecross WA 6953 www.alcoa.com.au Sign up here to receive alcoa community e-news

peel office amy vaninetti chris branch sue mclaughlin sue nancarrow

wagerup maya hogarth heather nieman estelle whitford

Media Release-Alcoa employees green their environments-21June2011.pdf

Greens MEDIA Australia – Political and community backlash seem to have sparked a rethink by BHP on Yeelirrie Uranium

Robin Chapple MLC

Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region

MEDIA RELEASE

BHP: leaving Yeelirrie uranium in the ground makes economic sense

Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Greens (WA) MLC Robin Chapple

The Australian Greens welcome indications that BHP may be abandoning plans for its Yeelirrie uranium mine.

“The political and community backlash in WA is indeed significant” Senator Scott Ludlam said today, citing the story in today’s West Australian.

“The WA community, our churches, unions, environment and women’s groups remain firmly opposed. Aboriginal people from all over the state are united in their determination to stop their land and water being contaminated by uranium mining. As the WA Nuclear Free Alliance gathering in April concluded, “We can’t close the gap by increasing the number of radioactive holes in the ground.”

“Australian uranium exporters and investors are uniquely vulnerable to the volatile and unpredictable nuclear industry that has never lived up to the promises it has made in the past,” Senator Ludlam continued.

“The largest mining company in the world is watching the impact of the Fukushima disaster: the German government has decided to phase out nuclear power by 2022. The Swiss government will phase out nuclear power permanently by 2034. Japan has abandoned plans for nuclear energy to provide half of its capacity and has scrapped 14 planned new reactors. The Mayor of Osaka City, KEPCo’s biggest shareholder, has called on KEPCo to abandon nuclear energy. The Chinese State Council has also put an embargo on approval of new reactors.

“The nuclear renaissance is dead. The nuclear industry was in enormous trouble well before the disaster at the Fukushima complex. As at 1 April 2011 there were 437 nuclear plants operating in the world, seven fewer than in 2002. In 2008 for the first time since the beginning of the nuclear age no new unit was started up. Seven new plants were added in 2009 and 2010 while 11 were shut down over that period.”

“The only future the nuclear industry has is in long-term intergenerational waste management and stewardship of the extraordinary categories of toxic and poisonous waste it produces. The reckless pursuit of electricity too cheap to meter must finally be set aside as the pipedream that it always was,” Senator Ludlam concluded.

“The Brendan Grylls deal over uranium royalties, to form a coalition government with Colin Barnett must now be seen for what it has created: an uranium feeding frenzy that had no substance,” said Robin Chapple, Greens MLC for the Mining and Pastoral Region.

For comment call: Senator Scott Ludlam (02) 6277 3467 Robin Chapple MLC (08) 9486 8255

Hi from the crew at AIM. Just showing pe

Hi from the crew at AIM. Just showing people how useful hootsuite and tweetdeck are. Any input on other tools for fb twitter etc?

Speak up, be heard – YOUNG WEST AUSTRALI

Speak up, be heard – YOUNG WEST AUSTRALIANS URGED TO TAKE PART IN NATIONAL SURVEY http://ht.ly/5jS9d Pls share,RT #Youth

My friend Pauline has this cool little b

My friend Pauline has this cool little black dog we need to see pics of near you! pls RT Black Dog Day http://ht.ly/5jQ3t #mentalhealth

New York – Watch Day 2 of #140conf LIVE

Watch Day 2 of #140conf LIVE Today (June 16 2011) Starting at 8:00 AM EDT / 1400 CEST the 2011 #140conf will be broadcast LIVE. The event can be seen on UStream over at: http://www.ustream.tv/nyc140conf (subscribe to get notified when we are broadcasting) The event will be broadcast from 8:00 AM to 6PM EDT today. Review the #140conf schedule over at: http://nyc.140conf.com/schedule ==== Announcements: - #140conf Returns to NYC – June 19/20, 2012 -#140edu – "Exploring the State of Education NOW" – August 2/3 2011 in NYC. - #140conf SmallTown – returns to Hutchinson, Kansas on Sep 20, 2011 - BrandsConf 2011 – November 9th in NYC. "Call for Speakers" to be announced shortly. - #140conf Hudson Valley – August 23, 2011 - #140conf Ontario – September 15, 2011 Interested in bringing #140conf to your town? Apply to host a #140conf LOCAL event.

Australia loses more freedom – Boost in ASIO powers set for rubber stamp – WA Senator warns

Boost in ASIO powers set for rubber stamp – WA Senator warns

Media Release: Senator Scott Ludlam Thursday June 16th

The Australian Greens have raised concerns about the lack of scrutiny of a Government bid to expand the powers of ASIO.

The Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 was subject to a 90-minute inquiry in the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Senate Committee today – so that the committee can report back three months earlier than originally scheduled – without any ASIO representatives present to answer questions.

The Greens legal affairs spokesperson, Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam, said the bill merited far greater examination, but now expected the Government to rush it through the Parliament next week.

“You would hope that the agency requesting these proposed increases in power would be available to answer questions about the legislation,” he said. “The Government wants to dramatically expand the range of people and organisations on which ASIO can collect intelligence. In the hearing today the Government was unable to give satisfactory answers on the practical implications of ASIO’s expanded mandate.

“These new powers can be exercised if it is deemed to be in the interest of national security or ‘national economic well being’ – which is incredibly broad.

“If ASIO is to be given the power to essentially carry out commercial espionage on behalf of Australian companies, then the Government needs to make a compelling case for that.”

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302

Australian Institute of Management Perth International Seminar – The Language of Leadership with Professor Jay Conger, London Business School

An AIM International Seminar with Professor Jay Conger, London Business School
Monday 1 August 9.00am -12.00noon, Hyatt Regency Perth

The art of persuasion is an essential skill for leaders, managers and supervisors.

This short seminar is aimed at managers, leaders, supervisors and team leaders tasked with the job of aligning their staff towards a common
goal. Anyone in the business of communicating persuasively will benefit from hearing about the latest research on inspirational
leadership language.

Seminar Topics:

• Why the language of leadership has been forced to change?
• Ways not to persuade
• Effective communication and presentation strategies
• Connecting emotionally.

Professor Conger with his interactive and stimulating style will share his insights into the language of leadership gained from his global research
looking at the most effective change agents, the most effective team leaders and the emotional subtleties of language. These insights will give you
practical ideas you can use to align your organisation or team.

Book Onlineor Call Client Services on (08) 9383 8000.
Please do not reply to this email.

This event is just one of the events, that is taking place during AIM WA’s Leadership week which runs from 27 July – 3 August.
Look out for the full program of events that will be available soon on www.aimwa.com

Follow us on Twitter | Privacy Policy | Feedback
Copyright 2011 Australian Institute of Management (WA). All Rights Reserved.

Australia – When did the Government know the full extent of the #Fukushima crisis? – Greens. cc @neko_neko_nek

When did the Australian Government know the full extent of the  crisis? – Greens

 

Image via Wikipedia

 

Image via Wikipedia

When did the Australian Government know the full extent of the Fukushima crisis? – Greens

Media Release – Senator Scott Ludlam – Wednesday June 15

The Government must reveal when it first knew that radiation impacts from the Fukushima meltdown were twice as bad as first claimed by Japanese authorities, the Australian Greens said today.

Senator Scott Ludlam raised the issue as a matter of public importance today in the Senate while honouring the victims of the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11^th.

“On June 1^st, the world learned that Japanese authorities had suppressed detection of radioactive tellurium 6km from Fukushima since March 12^th. The presence of this isotope indicates that the temperature of the fuel rods was over 1000 degrees, indicating that 24 hours after the crisis, Japanese authorities knew a meltdown had started.

“Did the Australian interdepartmental emergency task force set up by DFAT as a result of the emergency know this? Did ARPANSA? If not, why not?  Did the Australian Government assist in suppressing this information, or was it not passed on at all by Japanese authorities?

“On June 7^th Japan confessed that fuel in three of the reactors at Fukushima had melted through the reactor containment structures.  The day before this report was submitted to the UN, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency doubled the figure for the radiation it estimated was released into the atmosphere in the first six days from 370,000 terabecquerels to 770,000.

“The Australian people have a right to know – when did our government know this category 7 disaster was twice as bad as the Japanese government claimed?

 “Radioactive poison has been leaking for three months into the air, into the water and on to Japan’s fields, it is now in Tokyo’s sewerage system, in drinking water, in food, in tea, in fish. The Japanese government has been involved in a cover-up. Has ours?”

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302

Related articles

• Fukushima Already Ten Times Worse Than Chernobyl In Ocean Waters, Suggests Data (mountainrepublic.net)
• Greens, Ferguson in meltdown over uranium (news.theage.com.au)
• The New York Times: As much currency as the Zimbabwe dollar (ampontan.wordpress.com)

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Palestine and Israel together in peace, the Vulcan way – Watch new Clip + Mr Spock Supports Peace Now!

Perth Australia – Wings Refugee Day Sunday June 26 – pls share/rt this post, should be awesome!

WINGS Organisation for Cross-Cultural Development Inc.

Celebrate:World Refugee Day 2011

“Freedom from Fear”

Guest Speaker:

Glenda Hickey

Guest Poets:

Afeif Ismail

Abdo Kantibye

Carina Hoang

Hassan Alnwab

Peter Jeffrey

Vivienne Doran

Guest Singers:

Alex Bainbridge

WAZA Multicultural Singing Group

M.C:

Vivienne Dayman.

When: Sunday 26th of June, 2011 7 –9:30 pm.

Where: Good Shepherd Centre; 30 Balga Ave; Balga

For more information: Afeif Ismail

afeif5

ALL WELCOME

Australia – Former child migrants bring first class action against Fairbridge and Government

June 14, 2011

Former child migrants bring first class action against Fairbridge and Government

Former client migrants have commenced a class action against the Fairbridge Foundation, the State of NSW and the Commonwealth of Australia in the Supreme Court of NSW, seeking compensation for injuries suffered at the notorious Fairbridge Farm School at Molong in the central west of NSW.

The action, being conducted by national law firm Slater & Gordon, is the first class action against the local arm of the Fairbridge Foundation and is believed to be the first class action against an Australian government connected with the practice of child migration.

The former Molong residents are claiming the Foundation and the two governments allowed a system of institutional abuse to develop and persist at the Molong Farm School over many decades.

It is alleged many children suffered terrible physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the staff at the residency and have suffered lifelong psychiatric and physical injuries as a result.

More than 65 former residents are already supporting the class action and seeking compensation as part of the claim.

Slater & Gordon lawyer, Mr Ken Fowlie, said the class action was a last resort after the foundation and both governments refused to entertain any kind of redress scheme for victims.

“It is very disappointing former residents of the Molong Farm, who have already endured so much, now have to go through a long and difficult legal fight to win justice,” Mr Fowlie said.

“Despite recent Senate inquiries recommending the creation of an out-of-court scheme to compensate victims, our clients have been left with no choice but to go to court to seek justice.

“The time has come for the Fairbridge Foundation and the state and federal governments, which all played critical roles in this misguided programme, to recognise the suffering these people went through and still endure, and to do the right thing.

‘’We are calling on the Fairbridge Foundation, the State of NSW and the Commonwealth to engage with us, to resolve these tragic cases and to allow our clients to move on with their lives.”

For much of the 1900s the British-based Fairbridge Foundation sent children from the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada and Rhodesia for resettlement, mostly without their parents.

Between 1938 and 1974,hundreds of children, some as young as four, were sent from England to the Fairbridge Farm School in Molong.

Customarily, the children became guardians of the Commonwealth and then the State and often never saw their parents again.

The class action covers all residents at the Molong Fairbridge Farm School for any period between 1938 and 1974 who were physically or sexually assaulted and who have suffered a relevant injury including post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or some other form of psychiatric or physical injury.

Further details: Ken Fowlie 02 8267 0600

Media contact: Angela Bell 0430 355 554

Media Background

· Former child residents of the Fairbridge Farm School in Molong have commenced a class action in connection with a number of allegations relating to their treatment at the farm between 1938 and 1974.

· The Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 placed legal guardianship for the children with the Federal Minister for Immigration who in turn transferred custodial responsibility to the State of NSW Child Welfare Department.

· It is alleged in the class action that both Governments had a duty of care to the children.

· Class members make the following complaints:

o Assaults, including sexual assaults by members of staff;

o Sexual assaults by persons to whose care the children were entrusted;

o Poor quality of education leaving many illiterate; and

o General humiliation and lack of caring.

· It is alleged that insufficient action was taken to ensure the safety of the children.

· Attempts have been made over the past four years to resolve the case and to create an appropriate compensation scheme.

110614 CPL Former child migrants bring first class action against Fairbridge and Government.pdf

Iran – In Loving Memory: Hoda Saber, Evin Cellmate – By Saeed Pourheydar

In Loving Memory: Hoda Saber, Evin Cellmate – By Saeed Pourheydar lissnup | June 12, 2011 at 8:44 pm | Categories: Iran Election | URL: http://wp.me/pQvKK-hr

Posted on Saeed Pourheydar’s Facebook on June 12th, 2011 – 8:30pm Tehran Time

Tears continue to roll down my face. I’m not sure what to write. Hoda has also left us; a man whom I adored and loved; a love and admiration I had never experienced until I met him. Hoda Saber and I were cellmates in room 3 at Evin’s ward 350. He was the epitome of dignity and humanity.

Saeed Matinpour, Hoda and I used to cook together for our cellmates. Every night we would walk up and down the corridor and chat for half an hour. We spoke of the Green movement and it’s future, we spoke of the National Religious Alliance* [Meli-Mazhabi political group], we spoke of the history of resistance in Iran and of Ezzatollah Sahabi **.

I knew that Hoda would not be able to endure the departure of Ezzatollah and Haleh. The news of his hunger strike along with that of Amir Khosro worried me greatly. Because I am familiar with his physical condition, the news and the indifference of the prison officials and those responsible for the infirmary, even further increased my concerns. I completely understood his dire predicament.

I recall once when his blood pressure fell so badly that he fainted and we carried him to the infirmary. Half an hour later instead of transferring him to a hospital they returned him back to the ward in the same poor physical condition. They gave him some sugar water and an IV injection and as far as they were concerned, he had been cured. He was a little pale but he remained as steadfast and strong as ever. I used to trade my tangerines with his apples. He always said that the sweet tangerines were good for him….

When I heard of the passing of Ezzatallah Sahabi I asked God to make sure Hoda was spared the news. I even wished that he would perhaps be taken to solitary confinement on that day, because I knew he would not be able to endure it. Though Hoda was not strong enough to withstand a hunger strike, I knew that he would launch one in protest to Haleh’s death. I knew that he would continue to the bitter end… and he did….

I am incapable of writing… I am overwhelmed with tears – my body engulfed with an utter sense of sorrow and anger…

*Translator’s note: National Religious Alliance (NRA) is a loosely knit group of activists who favor political reform and who advocate the implementation of constitutional provisions to uphold the rule of law. The grouping, which has no formal structure, came together to contest the parliamentary elections of 2000.

**The late Ezzatollah Sahabi, Iranian scholar, humanitarian, democracy activist, politician, former parliament member and leader of the National Religious Alliance died on May 31st, 2011. His daughter Haleh Sahabi, a humanitarian and democracy activist died of cardiac arrest on June 1st at her father’s funeral after being attacked by plain clothes thugs disrupting the funeral procession.

********************

Posted on June 12th, 2011 – 9:30pm Tehran Time

My dear Hoda were you in pain? Were you moaning until dawn with chest pain without anyone coming to your aide? Hoda, do you remember that time when I had chest pain and you put a pill under my tongue in the middle of the night? Where was I Hoda to cure your aching heart? I wish you had known that the pills were still under the bed, where you had last given them to me…. GOD can you hear me???????!!!!!!!!!!!

Source: Saeed Pourheydar’s Facebook http://www.facebook.com/saeed.pourheydar?sk=wall

******************

بمیرم هدی جان نازنین درد داشتی ، تا صبح ناله می کردی از درد قلبت اما کسی یاری ات نکرد ….. هدی قلبم درد گرفته بود یادت هست نیمه شب قرص گذاشتی زیر زبانم … بمیرم که نبودم قلب نازنینت را یاری دهم ….. کاش می دانستی قرصهایم زیر تخت جا مانده بود ، همانها که خودت دادی بهم …. خدایاااااااااااا ((((

اشک امانم نمی دهد بنویسم ، نمیدانم اصلا چه بنویسم ، هدی هم رفت . مردی که شیفته اش بودم ، عاشقش بودم . عشق واقعی که تا آن روز تجربه نکرده بودم … در اتاق سه بند 350 هم اتاق بودیم ، او کوه شرافت بود و مردانگی …

من ، سعید متین پور و هدی صابر آشپزی می کردیم برای اتاق ، هرشب نیم ساعت در راهرو بند قدم می زدیم باهم و صحبت می کردیم . از جن…بش و آینده آن ، از ملی مذهبی ها ، تاریخ مبارزات مردم ایران ، از عزت الله سحابی می گفت برایم .

می دانستم صبر صابر از دوری عزت و هاله سحابی لبریز می شود . خبر اعتصاب غذایش به همراه امیر خسرو را که شنیدم خیلی نگران شدم . از اوضاع و احوال جسمی اش مطلع بودم و نگرانی ام دو چندان می شد وقتی از بی تفاوتی مسئولین و بهداری زندان نسبت به حال و روزش کاملا آگاه بودم .

یک بار از افت شدید فشار خون از هوش رفت و با برانکارد بردیمش بهداری ، نیم ساعت طول نکشید بجای انتقالش به بیمارستان با همان حال برگشت به بند ، یعنی گفتند برش گردانید به بند . با آب قند و یک سرم به خیال خودشان درمانش کردند . رنگش پریده بود هدی اما همچون کوه استوار بود . نارنگی هایم را با سیب هایش عوض کردم ، می گفت نارنگی شیرین برایش خوب است ….

خبر فوت عزت الله سحابی را که شنیدم از خدا خواستم که هدی این خبر را نشنود ، حتی آرزو کردم ای کاش همان روز هدی صابر را به انفرادی ببرند تا نشنود خبر را که میدانستم طاقت نخواهد آورد ، شک نداشتم اعتصاب غذا می کند و تا آخر هم می رود و رفت تا آخرش ….

نمیتونم بنویسم …. اشک ، غم و عصبانیت سراسر وجودم را فرا گرفته

via BanouyeSabz on facebook.com

Posted via email from lissping

Add a comment to this post

Western Australia – MEDIA: $50 million for a carbon capture and storage, WRONG

Robin Chapple MLC

Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region

MEDIA RELEASE

Right Money wrong Industry

The Federal Government is providing $50 million for a

View Larger Map

studies for the Collie Coal Industry!

The Dinosaurs went extinct because they didn’t see the asteroid coming.

We know climate change is real and the point of no return is rapidly approaching.

We know climate change is human induced by the clearing of land and the burning of stored carbon (coal, oil and gas), the world’s carbon banks.

So it smacks of hypocrisy that government (I can understand the industry’s self interest), are spending $50 of taxpayers’ dollars on propping up an industry that should be phased out immediately.

The funds should be made available to enhance and repair the southwest interconnected grid to facilitate the take-up of renewable energy systems and provide assistance for future energy sources not the Dinosaurs of the past.

For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 9486 8255

Robin Chapple MLC

Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region

PO Box 94, West

View Larger Map

WA 6872

41 Havelock Street, West Perth. WA 6005

Phone: (08) 9486 8255 | Email: Robin.Chapple | Freecall: 1800 138 610

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Japan’s new experience – People power emerges from the radiated homes near #Fukushima

Yasuhira San @neko_neko_nek  tweets from #Fukushima on the historic protests by families forced to send children to school in radiated areas.

 

As the Nuclear plant owner and Japanese Government continue to ignore desperate pleas for relocation they have created a new people’s movement.

 

Yasuhiro San is one of many people who have used previous community experience ( as a labour organiser ) and new media’s choice of hard news, twitter, to highlight the need for urgent action.

 

Online activists like me have been working together with ‘tweeps’ in Japan since the Tsunami to provide accurate information and lately to demand safety for children and adults living in areas radiated well beyond the work safety standard.

 

Tonight Yasuhiro San was clearly moved by the nature of the community response to deadly threats, suggesting it is the first time a real people’s movement has emerged in Japan’s living memory.

 

 

Shadow Map of Fukushima Prefecture

A series of tweets from Yasuhiro San, not in his first language.

 

KONNICHIWA Tony san! 

About June 11 2011.

 Somebody said yesterday ”Today is history!”.#Fukushima,#Nuclear,#611nonukes 

Ordinary people appealed for their human rights for the first time from their hearts in Japan.

There have never been people’s revolution in true meaning in Japan.

 The great reformation had been done by the rulling class or Foreign power.

Reformations had never been by people from our own heart.

The present establishment was builded right after when Japan was lost by United Nation at 1945.

At 1945, USA changed sovereign from Tenno,Japanese Emperor to Nation.

But we, Japanese had not gotten it by ourseleves. So we have not known the true value of it.

We have left difficulty to Government and bureaucrats. 

We wouldn’t struggle to solve it by ourselves.

But now we wake up.

We have to do by ourseleves.  

We have to struggle to continue to get human rights by ourseleves.

Related articles

• Japan:Fukushima workers’ exposure tops 650mSV (laaska.wordpress.com)
• Unemployed Japanese Workers Flock to Radiation-Contaminated Fukushima [Japan] (gizmodo.com)
• Japan:Fukushima to check internal radiation exposure (laaska.wordpress.com)
• #Radiation Contamination in Japan: “Let’s All Help Fukushima Farmers” by Buying Their Produce (tipggita32.wordpress.com)
• Japan: massive anti-nuclear protests planned for June 11 (boingboing.net)

Video updates Western Australia – Mining & resources in the Kimberly, Fukushima,Pastoral reform

From my mate: Greens MLC Robin Chapple – well worth a look

Hi all

My new Robin’s Roundup video blog is now up and running at:

http://www.robinchapple.com/robins-roundup-2-june-2011

covering

• Greens MPs’ visit to the Kimberly,
• Mining and Resources in the Kimberley,
• Coal Seam Gas,
• Fukushima,
• Pastoral Reform,
• Climate Change Policy in WA,
• Renewable Energy,
• Esperance Festival of the Wind,
• and the Burrup.

All the best

Robin Chapple MLC

Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region

PO Box 94, West Perth WA 6872

41 Havelock Street, West Perth. WA 6005

Phone: (08) 9486 8255 | Email: Robin.Chapple | Freecall: 1800 138 610

Thousands Turn Out to Demand Equal Pay

Hello and welcome to the latest news update from Pro Bono Australia. Another big week for the Not for Profit sector with social and community sector workers turning out in their thousands at rallies around the nation, calling on State and Federal governments to fund a pay increase for the sector’s female-dominated workforce. And Not for Profits are being asked for the first time whether donations made by cheque are still a vital part of fundraising in Australia. Public consultation has begun to decide the future of cheques in Australia while the debate rages in the UK. Take our Instant Poll and let us know your thoughts on whether cheque donations are still important to Not for Profits. Also this week we report on some of the reforms targeting Not for Profit tax concessions flagged in the Federal Budget which come into force from July 1st. Our news service is updated regularly online, so if you want to know what’s happening before your weekly update arrives in the inbox, just visit www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news Lina Caneva – Editor, Karen Mahlab – Founder, Ryan Witcombe – Journalist Thousands Turn Out to Demand Equal Pay Social and community sector workers have turned out in their thousands at rallies around the nation, calling on state and federal governments to fund a pay increase for the sector’s female-dominated workforce. The Future of Cheques for Not for Profits? Australia has begun public consultations into the future of the use of cheques – a topic that has been raging in the UK for a number of years causing great consternation in the Not for Profit sector. GFC Hit Tax Deductible Giving to Australian NFPs The Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09 saw a decrease in the amount of money Australians donated to Not for Profit organisations, according to a recent examination of tax-deductible giving data. Tax Changes for NFPs Some of the reforms targeting Not for Profit tax concessions flagged in the Federal Budget come into force from July 1st. Human Rights Commission Supports Pay Claim The community sector wages claim has received strong support from the Australian Human Rights Commission. Don’t Dump Direct Marketing – Study New US research finds that integrated Direct Marketing is essential for maximising the long-term value of online-acquired donors. Advance Your Career in the Community Sector – Sponsored Article Grow your skills as a professional in the community sector with QUT’s Graduate Certificate and Master of Business (Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies) Online Service Promotes Giving One Percent An Australian couple is trying to create a cultural change in the way Australians give. The Million Dollar List: Tracking Major Donors Top philanthropists in the US and their high-net-worth donations can now be tracked on a new website called The Million Dollar List. Google Information Sessions for Not for Profits Google is set to run free information sessions to educate Not for Profit organisations about the product, services and support that Google offers to NFPs. Leadership Scholarships for NFP Leaders Scholarships are available for future leaders from the Not for Profit sector to take part in an intensive year-long leadership program in Queensland.

World leading psychiatrist writes – Australia’s Reckless Experiment In Early Intervention – prevention that will do more harm than good

Australia’s Reckless Experiment In Early Intervention – prevention that will do more harm than good

The following is a verbatim copy of a blog by Dr Allen Frances. The original is available at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201105/australias-reckless-experiment-in-early-intervention

Dr Frances is a former Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University. Whilst at Duke he led the American Psychiatric Association Task Force that revised the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). His attack on Australia’s blind acceptance of Professor Patrick McGorry’s model of early intervention comes from the very heart of heart of the psychiatric profession and can’t be ignored.

by Allen J. Frances, M.D. in DSM5 in Distress

Patrick McGorry is a charismatic psychiatrist who has recently gained heroic status. First he was chosen to be Australia’s Man of the Year. Now, he has convinced the Australian government to spend more than $400 million over five years to fund his plan for a nationwide system of Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centres. McGorry is the visionary prophet and pied piper of preventive psychiatry. His goal is to diagnose mental disorders early and treat them expectantly- before they can do their worst damage.

McGorry’s goal is certainly great. But its current achievement is simply impossible and Australia’s plans are patently premature. Early intervention to prevent psychosis requires first that there be an accurate tool to identify who will later become psychotic and who will not. Unfortunately, no such accurate tool exists. The false positive rate in selecting prepsychosis is at least about 60-70% in the very best of hands and may be as high as 90% in general practice. That’s right, folks, nine misidentified non patients for one accurately identified truly prepsychotic patient. Those are totally unacceptable odds.

What are the costs? McGorry does not recommend antipsychotic medications as a routine part of his prevention regimen. But experience teaches us that they will be overused despite having no proven efficacy and posing the risk of massive weight gain (and its consequent array of serious complications). The false positives will also suffer unnecessary stigma and worry and will undergo unnecessary and misdirected treatment. And surely there are many more productive ways to spend $400 million doing a better job of managing the mental health needs of those who have real and treatable psychiatric disorders.

Unfortunately, Mcgorry is a false prophet who’s visions are offered at least a few decades before their time. Australia, led astray by his impractical hopes, is about to embark on a vast and untried public health experiment that will almost surely cause more harm to its children than it prevents. Before embarking on this headlong and reckless rush, the following research steps need to be accomplished:

1) Developing a proven and reliable definition of “Psychosis Risk”

2) Learning how to use it in a way that reduces current outrageously high false positive rates to levels that are tolerable.

3) Demonstrating that the interventions chosen are indeed effective in preventing psychosis.

4) Determining the likely rate of antipsychotic use and how this influences the overall risk/benefit balance sheet of early intervention.

5) Studying the beneficial and harmful impacts of early diagnosis on stigma and self perception.

6) Comparing the marginal utility of a dollar spent trying to prevent an alleged future disorder vs a dollar spent treating an already clearly established one.

This is a research enterprise that will take many groups around the world many decades to complete. But it is an absolutely necessary precondition before spending $400 million on what is likely to be a failure. The Australian experiment will be flying blind on an airplane that is not at all ready to leave the ground. Doing prevention prematurely and poorly will give a good idea an unnecessary bad name.

McGorry’s intentions are clearly noble, but so were Don Quixote’s. The kindly knight’s delusional good intentions and misguided interventions wreaked havoc and confusion at every turn. Sad to say, Australia’s well intended impulse to protect its children will paradoxically put them at greater risk. Let’s applaud McGorry’s vision but not blindly follow him down an unknown path fraught with dangers.

Sent by Martin Whitely MLA

www.speedupsitstill.com

Uranium industry still pushes nuclear as Fukushima revealed to be twice as bad as first claimed – WA Senator

Uranium industry still pushes nuclear as Fukushima revealed to be twice as bad as first claimed – WA Senator

Media Alert: Senator Scott Ludlam, Thursday June 9th, 2011

The nuclear industry and its chief supporter Martin Ferguson are in a state of denial as they continue to promote nuclear power in the shadow of the Fukushima disaster, the Australian Greens said today.

A day after the Japanese Government admitted the radiation leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was twice that originally claimed, the Australian Uranium Association called for a nuclear power sector in Australia.

At a debate in Perth between the Greens spokesperson for nuclear issues, Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam, and AUA CEO Michael Angwin, Senator Ludlam described the nuclear industry’s climate credentials as “commercial self-interest masquerading as energy policy”.

“As leading industrialised nations such as Germany, Switzerland and Austria lead the charge for a nuclear-free Europe, the uranium industry advocates in our own country continue to flog the radioactive dead horse,” he said. “There is no place for nuclear power in Australia. It is not cheap, it is not safe and it is not necessary.”

Senator Ludlam said the desperate attempts by Minister Ferguson to resuscitate the reputation of nuclear power since Fukushima, including his comments today, were “reckless and futile”.

“The energy minister wants to sell uranium to India – which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia – which has a horrendous recent record on foreign policy and assisted Iran’s nuclear program, and the United Arab Emirates – a dictatorship. He is not someone who can be taken seriously on this issue,” said Senator Ludlam.

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302