Land Use Change & Forestry

Asylum seeker debate out of proportion

Blog Post | Blog of Sarah Hanson-Young

Tuesday 23rd August 2011, 10:00am

Yesterday the full bench of the High Court began hearing a challenge to the Malaysian solution.

The Greens hope David Manne and Debbie Mortimer, SC, and their legal team succeeds, not least because we do not want unaccompanied children to be expelled to a country where their rights cannot be guaranteed. It's not yet clear when the court will issue its ruling, but it could permanently derail the Gillard government's plans to export Australia's international obligations to give protection to countries including Malaysia and, possibly, Papua New Guinea.

The Greens and others, such as human rights groups, have for years lobbied against mandatory detention. We think there's a better way, one that's humane and compassionate, in handling some of the world's most vulnerable people. We do not support the policy of locking fragile people up as a first resort, when it clearly should the last thing we should do. Indeed, Australia is the only country in the world as signatory to the Refugee Convention that arbitrarily detains asylum seekers, contrary to what the convention suggests.

Whenever the major parties, or shock jocks for that matter, seek to attack asylum seekers and others who lack a voice, myself and the Greens will be there to stand up for them. We refuse to follow the ALP and Coalition in a race to the bottom.

I think the Australian electorate is sick of that competition. They're tired of both sides repeating the same mantras, using the same language - indeed the same policies - to confront what is a relatively small problem, compared with the volumes of people arriving on the EU's shores. The major parties' responses cost billions of dollars and damage lives unnecessarily.

Australians want alternatives to a policy of mandatory detention because it has failed to be a deterrent for people seeking our protection since it took effect in the early 1990s. They want their government to explore other paths, such as those outlined in the Centre for Policy Development's report A New Approach, Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees and Asylum Seekers released yesterday.

They want their elected representatives to show results for policies to deal with Australia's ageing population, how to provide more affordable child care options, and a national dental health scheme. In addition to finally ensuring the future of a healthy Murray Darling Basin, they'd also like to see their parliament amend the Marriage Act, so same-sex couples can get married and formally celebrate their commitment to each other.

Everyday Australians are eager to see their government deliver a mining tax that fairly redistributes the wealth from the present boom so it is invested here and not sent overseas. They fear the proceeds risk being squandered instead of funding essential public transport and other infrastructure. And what about a sovereign wealth fund, which Treasury has supported, to invest in future generations?

The major parties have created these problems with immigration and asylum seeker policy, which serve their interests. But we can solve them all with practical measures and confront other challenges that the community would prefer we concentrate on.

First published in The National Times on August 23, 2011.

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Greens Leader’s statement on the Canberra convoy

Media Release | Spokesperson Bob Brown

Sunday 21st August 2011, 3:52pm

"Some might call the predicted thousands of trucks descending on Canberra ending up as hundreds (ABC, 21/8/11) a ‘flop', but these Australians have every right to a peaceful presence on the parliamentary lawns," Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"It seems like the prime qualification to be there is to be angry about something - these are Abbott's angry people," Senator Brown said.

"But it seems their views on some issues are fairly shorted sighted, very ‘me-now'."

"The number of angry people in Canberra tomorrow will increase much more than the numbers of truckers arriving in town," Senator Brown predicted.

Delay is the deadliest form of denial

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young

Thursday 11th August 2011, 4:16pm

The Australian Greens say the Murray Darling Basin Authority's second delay in eight days to the draft report means there's less time for the parliament and public to assess its contents.

$1.7 billion from carbon price to protect biodiversity and help land managers

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne

Sunday 10th July 2011, 11:50am

$1.7 billion in independently managed funds to protect biodiversity and create jobs in rural Australia and indigenous communities is a great aspect of the agreement to put a price on pollution.

"The Greens and the country Independents have helped bring a real focus on regional Australia into the carbon price package," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"I am delighted we have secured an ongoing fund to conserve biodiversity worth $948 million over the first 6 years.

"Everyone who loves our magnificent forests will be delighted that there will not only be incentives to save forests but that creating renewable energy certificates from burning native forests is no longer permitted."

Govt must act to protect water licences from foreign ownership

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young

Friday 1st July 2011, 11:02am

The Australian Greens are calling on the federal government to alter the powers of the Foreign Investment Review Board to include water licences.

Forest deal breaks public trust: Brown

Media Release | Spokesperson Bob Brown

Saturday 12th March 2011, 2:20pm

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said in Hobart today that the deal struck between Forestry Tasmania CEO Bob Gordon and federal independent facilitator Bill Kelty was a breach of public trust in the forest principles process.

"Mr Kelty says 'let me place on record our appreciation of Bob Gordon and Forestry Tasmania for your support in this difficult process' - no mention of environmentalists."

"Mr Gordon says 'Mr Kelty believes an agreement may be possible, if a proposed pulp mill at Bell Bay proceeds', and to add insult to injury adds that 'by necessity, some coupes in the area proposed by ENGOs for reservation will be logged over the next six months'. That is, the
proposed moratorium has been dumped."

"The Australian Greens saw that the iconic forests of Tasmania had become too expensive for the industry to continue logging. The industry came to environmentalists to help rescue it, not the forests."

"But now the industry is calling the shots and going for a massive taxpayer funded injection of funds to keep logging in native forests, on a broad scale, for the next 16 years at least. That's not on. We will oppose the public purse being robbed to fund further forest destruction
or the Gunns pulp mill," Senator Brown said.

Brown says federal forest money misdirected

Media Release | Spokesperson Bob Brown

Friday 11th March 2011, 4:42pm

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says he is alarmed that Tasmania's forest moratorium is no longer a moratorium.

"Logging will not be stopped, as agreed, in all high conservation value forests by 15 March. The loggers have breached the agreement," Senator Brown said.

"The loggers' agreement to a 'full' moratorium from the 15 March now comes with strings attached to the public purse. And rather than reduce the scale of forest destruction, it is to be transferred to other
forests at taxpayers' expense.

"Meanwhile, the publicly acclaimed 600,000ha to be protected has been reduced to 565,000ha, with at least 5000ha more in dispute.

"I reiterate that money should only go to help loggers exit the industry or to aid management of Tasmania's forests for the much more job-rich hospitality and tourism industries, or to help protect the private forest estate.

"The priority should be for the security of Tasmania's native forests rather than security for the chainsaws," Senator Brown said.

Milne response to Prof Garnaut's latest paper

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne

Tuesday 1st March 2011, 3:43pm

Responding to Professor Garnaut's later paper, Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne said:

"I welcome Professor Garnaut's recognition that there is huge abatement potential in the landscape which, if well managed, can bring great benefits to both the climate and rural communities.

"But it is important that Professor Garnaut has also highlighted the uncertainty about the volume of potential carbon emissions reductions from green carbon and the risks that this uncertainty poses to the integrity of a carbon pricing scheme. As we work to design a carbon price mechanism and the suite of policies that will complement it, the MPCCC will need to work out the best way to drive improvements in the land sector whilst maintaining the integrity of the price mechanism.

"The Greens view is that, rather than open the carbon pricing scheme to a possibly huge quantity of offsets, a more prudent approach may be to find an alternative funding mechanism for green carbon and I am pleased to see that Professor Garnaut has noted this as an option in his paper today.

"Professor Garnaut should also be congratulated for raising the issue of food security today. If we fail to tackle the climate crisis in conjunction with the conflicts between food, fuel and fibre crops, food prices will sky-rocket, adding far more to cost of living for all Australians than a carbon price may do - and, while we can help people with rising prices due to a carbon price, you cannot compensate people for climate change."

Greens Leader: New Year's Message

Media Release | Spokesperson Bob Brown

Thursday 30th December 2010, 4:14pm

Greens Leader Bob Brown said today his aim is to give Australia progressive and prosperous governance in 2011, beginning with work towards a Gillard government carbon price to tackle global warming, stimulate the economy and generate new business opportunities.

"Amid more extreme weather events, which are occurring more frequently, the new year gives Australians a chance to think beyond ‘sides' and embrace effective, innovative and green ways of building a future for the developed economy that is most at risk from global warming," Senator Brown said.

Building on the Greens' ongoing work, the Greens in 2011 in both houses of Parliament, will also be working towards:

A mining tax to fund free tertiary education for every young Australian at $2.5 billion per annum and a sovereign wealth fund to safeguard a low-carbon future
High Speed Rail to link Australia's biggest cities and better light rail within those cities
Giving the Gillard government essential support for its national broadband network
A national marine park system to protect fish nurseries and the nation's marine biodiversity for all time
Achieving auditory (hearing) testing and support for all indigenous children
Protection of Australia's remaining native forests, woodlands and wildlife
Australia taking a lead in a global effort to divert some of the more than $1 trillion annual weapons budget, so that every child on Earth has access to food, clean water and schooling.

Senator Brown said he looked forward to the four new Australian Greens Senators taking their seats on the 1st of July.

"While assuring the Gillard government of stability, we will also be looking for good ideas from the Coalition and Independents which the Greens could assist through Parliament."

"I spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi over the Christmas break and I look forward to visiting her and Burmese government members in 2011."

Senator Brown said he has never felt happier in his 35 years in politics and, along with his talented team of Greens MPs in Canberra, welcomes 2011 and the new opportunities it opens up for Australia.

"I also see the NSW election in March as an early opportunity for voters dissatisfied with both the bigger parties to back the Greens in record numbers and elect more Greens into both houses in Macquarie Street."

Cancun puts Forestry Tasmania on notice

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne

Tuesday 14th December 2010, 10:57am

Forestry Tasmania's years of escaping scrutiny and responsibility for its greenhouse gas emissions from logging carbon-rich native forests are coming to end thanks to the Cancun climate agreements, the Australian Greens said today.

"The global community has long recognized that one of the cheapest and fastest ways of reducing emissions is to protect the massive carbon stores in the world's forests," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"At Cancun the rules about accounting for emissions from logging were clarified and it is expected that Australia will elect to include these emissions in our national accounts.

"The Federal Government will now have to substantially increase the transparency of its methods used to calculate native forest logging emissions, leaving Forestry Tasmania nowhere to hide.