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Responding to the leaked Coalition report that the opposition razor gang is looking for $70 billion in budget cuts Greens Senator for NSW Lee Rhiannon has said she is concerned an Abbott led government would make life tougher for people living in NSW. (The Australian today).

"Public services across NSW will suffer if the Liberals and Nationals form government at the next election,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“The hardship will be considerable as the Coalition parties will target public services, like health and education.

Blog by Lee Rhiannon

Last Friday in Newcastle, two members of local community group Rising Tide climbed onto the coal conveyor belt at the coal port and hung a banner saying “We’re sorry Somalia. Coal = climate change and starvation.”

I put out a media release that afternoon congratulating Rising Tide for their peaceful direct action and echoing the community’s message that coal expansion in Australia is directly contributing to worsening impacts of climate change around the world.

Enter The Australian, again putting into practice their editorial stance that the Greens should be destroyed at the ballot box.

Today’s edition of The Australian ran an article criticising me for supporting the action and for linking the drought in the horn of Africa and the famine in Somalia to climate change.

Federal Greens Senator for NSW Lee Rhiannon today congratulated Rising Tide activists who scaled a coal conveyor belt at the Port of Newcastle to highlight the link between coal, climate change and famine in Somalia.

“Non-violent actions are a courageous way to underline the urgent need to combat the global impacts of climate change by constraining the growth of NSW’s coal industry,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“Ship after ship leaving Newcastle Port, heaped with coal, are contributing to the greatest threat we face in human history.
 

Greens Senator for NSW Lee Rhiannon has called on the Federal government to resist industry demands for foreign aid money to be spent on improving and building new abattoirs in Indonesia, saying such a move will divert funding from the key task of overcoming poverty (“Human costs of export ban hitting hard says NT chief, The Age today).

 “While there is a pressing need to stop the inhumane treatment of cattle in Indonesia, it would be wrong to redirect precious foreign aid dollars to this task,” said animal welfare and foreign aid spokesperson Senator Rhiannon.

“The Greens will not be backing away from our bill to ban live cattle exports.