Australian Greens spokesperson for mining Senator Larissa Waters today called for an end to the federal Government’s handballing of responsibility for risky coal seam gas (CSG) mining, and said it’s time to do the proper homework on the long-term impacts of CSG.

Senator Waters yesterday introduced a bill into the Senate that would allow the federal Government to consider the potentially irreversible impacts of CSG and other mining on water resources when assessing and approving mining activities.

“Australians are getting tired of the federal Government constantly dodging any responsibility for the damage CSG is and may be doing to our groundwater resources, our good agricultural land and our regional communities,” Senator Waters said.

“The federal Government is already responsible for regulating major mining activities that impact upon “matters of national environmental significance” – and it belies common sense that water currently isn’t one of these.

“Environment Minister Tony Burke is reportedly concerned my bill will retrospectively apply to existing leases, which is an embarrassing misunderstanding as it will not affect any approval given prior to the bill’s introduction.

“Likewise the shadow minister Greg Hunt has misconstrued the scope of my bill, which has no relationship with the proposed mining tax and hence presents no obstacle to the Coalition supporting my bill.

“Tony Windsor’s proposal to use some of the proposed mining tax revenue is one way of funding proper scientific research into the full impacts of CSG mining, but does not change the Greens’ support for the mining tax.

“We do however welcome Mr Windsor’s support for the Greens long-held position that there should be a moratorium on coal seam gas until its long term impacts on our environment and communities are understood.

“This morning Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said people should wait for the science – and he should take this sage advice himself. The federal government should not approve any further coal seam gas applications without a proper scientific understanding of the long term impacts of this industry.”

You can listen to Senator Waters' press conference here.Download:You can listen to Senator Waters' press conference here.

Greens’ gambling spokesperson, Senator Richard Di Natale, has called the Coalition discussion paper on problem gambling a hollow, shallow, meaningless document.

“It looks like it’s been written by the pokies industry for the pokies industry. It’s weak on pokies and tough on their competitors, such as online gambling.

“It’s not a surprise to anyone that Mr. Abbott has found yet another industry lobby group to shill for if it gives him another reason to attack the government.

“Voluntary pre-commitment and many other measures in the paper raise the white flag on problem gambling.

“Even worse Tony Abbott’s policy has called into question the role of the Commonwealth in gambling reform proving again that he’s all opposition and no leader.”

Senator Di Natale noted that while the discussion paper attacked mandatory pre-commitment, it ignored the Greens’ policy of $1 bet limits all together.

Last night the CEO of St George Illawara Leagues Club acknowledged that it was his preferred option.

“The Clubs lobby have found it hard to attack the Greens position and it appears that the Coalition are struggling as well.”

Media contact: Andrew Blyberg 0457 901 600

The Australia-US deal over the Naval Communication Station at North West Cape threatens Ningaloo Reef and needs a complete overhaul, the Australian Greens warned today.

Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam issued a dissenting report in the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties report tabled today in the Senate. Senator Ludlam said the role of the base in supporting the American nuclear-armed submarine fleet was a cause of grave concern and in conflict with Australian commitments to nuclear disarmament.

"Long after the end of the Cold War, this base still facilitates nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The credibility of Australia's efforts to push for nuclear disarmament on the global level is greatly reduced when we lend ports, infrastructure and personnel to legitimising the retention and deployment of nuclear weapons."

Senator Ludlam said the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties had acknowledged the proposed 25-year deal would cause conflicting obligations if nuclear disarmament diplomacy advances in the near future, but had "refused to acknowledge that allowing nuclear weapon states to continue business as usual deters any action towards disarmament".

"So long as Australia continues lend credence to the notion that nuclear weapons bring security by allowing bases on our soil to facilitate the nuclear weapons apparatus, we are missing an opportunity to demonstrate that reducing and ultimately eliminating the role of nuclear weapons is practically achievable.

"The US and Australia should work together on disarmament. This would liberate massive fiscal, human and technical resources for investment in development and sustainability. This would strengthen rather than destroy our alliance with the US."

Senator Ludlam said the operation of the station is also a threat to the local environment.

"The station sits on Ningaloo Reef - WA's Great Barrier Reef. North West Cape base emits very low frequency communications and environmentalists have concerns due to the possible ecological impact of low frequency waves on the creatures inhabiting this precious marine sanctuary."

"The Inquiry into this treaty revealed disagreement between the US and Australia regarding the base. For over ten years there has been no clarity on who is responsible for cleaning up contaminated sites. While that dispute continues, we have asbestos and diesel fuel lying around far too close to a marine sanctuary. If we are going to enter into a 25-year agreement, shouldn't we clear up this dispute first?"

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre - 0417 174 302

 

 

The Australian Greens have expressed their condolences after at least seven asylum seekers drowned off the Indonesian island of Java earlier today.

"This is very sad and distressing news and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who've died and the survivors," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said today.

"Australia needs to be doing more to create safer pathways for asylum seekers in our region to reduce the need for them to board boats and try reaching Australia for our protection.

"This must include taking more people directly from Indonesia and Malaysia before they set out in unseaworthy vessels."

Separately, the Greens have criticised the Gillard government's attempt to fast-track people smuggling laws into the parliament tonight.

"This legislation serves only to severely punish poor and illiterate Indonesian fishermen and boys who crew these boats," Sen. Hanson-Young added.

"It does nothing to target the actual people smugglers operating in Indonesia and elsewhere.

"It's just a smoke-screen to stop current legal challenges to the ongoing detention of dozens of Indonesian children and minors who are in custody in Australia.

"The Greens want the people smuggling legislation to be properly scrutinised by an inquiry, as is the normal process."

The Australian Greens have recommended that the Federal Government postpones changes to the Better Access program to ensure the ongoing delivery of services to patients.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into Commonwealth Funding and Administration of Mental Health Services has made a series of recommendations in her additional comments to the Committee's majority report.

"Current Government policy to rationalise the number of sessions under the Better Access initiative is likely to, in the immediate term exacerbate existing service gaps for people with severe and persistent mental illness. Unfortunately the current system is not ready for the Government’s proposed changes” Senator Siewert said today.

“The Government should revise its scheduling for the 2011-12 Federal budget changes to ensure continuity of care.

"The Government needs to demonstrate that other programs are adequately equipped to provide services to people with a severe or persistent mental illness.

"Additionally, it is important that any tightening of eligibility for Better Access be delayed until the youth mental health initiatives funded in the 2011/12 Federal Budget are fully expanded and operational.

"Better Access began as an initiative aimed at high-prevalence disorders but the initiative has been increasingly used by people experiencing severe symptoms.  While I understand the Government’s arguments for changing the current programs, the changes at this stage could have unintended consequences.

"I have also recommended that the Government consider an interim program through the MBS that would allow access to six additional sessions for consumers who meet tightened criteria based on the severity of their condition as a potential means of transition to the new system”, said Senator Siewert.

Senator Penny Wright, Greens Spokesperson on Mental Health, supported Senator Siewert’s recommendations.  “It was clear from evidence before the committee that many people will fall through gaps if the changes to Better Access go ahead before the ATAPS system is suitably geared up.” 

Senator Wright also noted that there was no consumer representative on the Mental Health Expert Working Group in the lead up to the Better Access changes in the budget. “If mental health programs and initiatives are to be effective and responsive, it is crucial that the voices of consumers and carers are included and heard at every stage.”

Media Enquiries –

For Senator Siewert – Chris Redman on 0418 401 180

For Senator Wright – Anna Chang on 0417 173 508

After declaring a blood oath that he will repeal every last one of the Clean Energy Future bills, Tony Abbott has now added the Australian Renewable Energy Agency [ARENA] bill to the Carbon Farming Initiative as elements of the package he won't oppose or repeal, the Australian Greens said today.

"With the ARENA bill joining the Carbon Farming Initiative on the list of bills the Coalition either won't oppose or won't repeal, Mr Abbott's blood oath is looking decidedly watery," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

Opposition Energy Spokesman, Ian MacFarlane told the House of Representatives this evening that the Coalition will not oppose the ARENA bill and supports its aim of centralising research and development funding for renewable energy. This comes after extensive attacks on renewable energy and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, as well as explicit attacks on ARENA after it was first announced in July.

"The key reason for establishing ARENA is to avoid the appalling political interference that characterised energy policy under the Howard government when Mr MacFarlane was Minister.

"He of all people knows the extent to which renewable energy funding programs were politicised and undermined.

"I welcome Mr MacFarlane and Tony Abbott's support for ARENA as an independent statutory authority that will be run by independent experts beyond the experience of either the Coalition or the Labor Party."

 

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has welcomed the passage into law of legislation which ensures the democratic right of territory citizens to be governed by their elected representatives without a federal executive override.

"This is the first Greens' bill ever to pass the federal parliament. Support for the bill is an extension of the new politics in Australia where people have voted for greater diversity and support better representation for all Australians. It is simply common sense," Senator Brown said in Canberra today.

The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Amendment (Disallowance and Amendment Power of the Commonwealth) Bill 2010, introduced into the Senate by Senator Brown on 29 September 2010, was passed by the lower house today after the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, having completed an inquiry, recommended it become law.

"The passage of the bill is an enhancement of democracy in Australia and means laws in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory can only be overturned by an act of federal parliament rather than at the whim of a federal minister or Cabinet," Senator Brown said.

 

The Australian Greens have recommended that the Federal Government postpones changes to the Better Access program to ensure the ongoing delivery of services to patients.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into Commonwealth Funding and Administration of Mental Health Services has made a series of recommendations in her additional comments to the Committee's majority report.

"Current Government policy to rationalise the number of sessions under the Better Access initiative is likely to, in the immediate term exacerbate existing service gaps for people with severe and persistent mental illness. Unfortunately the current system is not ready for the Government’s proposed changes” Senator Siewert said today.

“The Government should revise its scheduling for the 2011-12 Federal budget changes to ensure continuity of care.

"The Government needs to demonstrate that other programs are adequately equipped to provide services to people with a severe or persistent mental illness.

"Additionally, it is important that any tightening of eligibility for Better Access be delayed until the youth mental health initiatives funded in the 2011/12 Federal Budget are fully expanded and operational.

"Better Access began as an initiative aimed at high-prevalence disorders but the initiative has been increasingly used by people experiencing severe symptoms.  While I understand the Government’s arguments for changing the current programs, the changes at this stage could have unintended consequences.

"I have also recommended that the Government consider an interim program through the MBS that would allow access to six additional sessions for consumers who meet tightened criteria based on the severity of their condition as a potential means of transition to the new system”, said Senator Siewert.

Senator Penny Wright, Greens Spokesperson on Mental Health, supported Senator Siewert’s recommendations.  “It was clear from evidence before the committee that many people will fall through gaps if the changes to Better Access go ahead before the ATAPS system is suitably geared up.” 

Senator Wright also noted that there was no consumer representative on the Mental Health Expert Working Group in the lead up to the Better Access changes in the budget. “If mental health programs and initiatives are to be effective and responsive, it is crucial that the voices of consumers and carers are included and heard at every stage.”

Forestry Minister, Joe Ludwig must reveal once and for all if the Gillard government will intervene as Premier Giddings endorses logging within informally reserved forests secured under the Tasmanian forests Intergovernmental Agreement, Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Christine Milne said today.

"I asked Minister Ludwig today if the Federal government will stand by as Premier Giddings persists in breaching the conditions of the IGA, but his response simply outlined that an agreement exists to move Tasmania away from destroying its prime, native forest habitats.

"Tasmanians are growing increasingly tired of being promised the protection of our natural assets and then watching in dismay as the log trucks continue rolling in and out of informal reserves.

"If the Minister intends renegotiating the Intergovernmental Agreement with Premier Giddings then he should say so.

"Yesterday, during Question Time, Senator Ludwig made reference to the government deciding which coupes within informally protected areas will be harvested. This is not in accordance with the agreement.

"Minister Ludwig needs to confirm that the future of these coupes within the 430,000 hectares set aside in reserves is to be protected from logging as it is clearly part of the agreement signed by the Gillard government.

"Clauses 25 and 26 of the agreement are crystal clear. No logging is to occur within the newly designated reserves. The Minister should either honour the agreement, or own up that he intends renegotiating a deal in favour of logging.

"Tasmanians deserve to know if Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Ludwig intend to stand by and watch as the Giddings government rips up the IGA."

 

The Australian Senate has today agreed, without division, to the Greens’ motion for Australia to take a lead role in devising how we globally accommodate an inevitably greater population within our finite planetary boundaries.

Australian Greens population spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters welcomed the unity of the Senate on her joint motion with Senator Bob Brown on the important issue of sustainable global population.

“As the world’s seven billionth human being is born this week, the Greens’ motion acknowledged that the global population has grown exponentially from two billion people in 1927, and may build to nine or ten billion people later this century,” Senator Waters said.

“This is an historic and challenging situation, and we must develop strategies to sustain seven billion plus people on our finite planet.

“As the world’s wealthiest nation in terms of natural resources per capita, as estimated by the United Nations, it is fitting that Australia takes a lead role on this issue.”

Greens MP Adam Bandt says the Government's excuse for excluding gold from the mining tax does not wash.

Mr Bandt asked the Treasurer about putting gold in the mining tax in Question Time today.

"Gold is traded on international and local markets. To suggest it can't be taxed because it is mined with other minerals is simply not right", Mr Bandt said.

"Mr Swan's explanation does not wash. His own department recommended gold be in the original mining tax."

"Australia is the world's second biggest gold miner after China. If the government had the courage to stand up to the miners, gold would be in the legislation that will come before Parliament tomorrow."

"We estimate that the inclusion of the gold would generate at least $1.8 billion in revenue over the next decade."

"As I pointed out in Question Time this revenue could easily cover the impact assessments on farming of coal seam gas, something that rural independents are requesting."

"I hope other members of parliament take on board the amendments to ensure gold miners pay their fair share."

Greens MP Adam Bandt will move amendments to include gold in the government's mining tax when it comes before the House.

 

Australia’s water resources during the assessment and approval of any mining activity, by adding a ‘water trigger’ to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

“Food security and water are national issues that deserve protection at the federal level, and this bill will allow us to deliver that protection,” Senator Waters said.

“The states have demonstrated they are inept at handling the risks associated with coal seam gas mining to date, and Australian communities are now demanding national action to prevent CSG from jeopardising the long term sustainability of our food and water supply.

“Tony Windsor’s proposal to use $200–400 million of mining tax revenue to fund proper research into the impacts of CSG on aquifers and ecosystems is a great idea which the Greens support – and it could be funded by the Greens’ proposal to include gold in the mining tax.

“But of course this catchment-wide research should have already been done before the rush to cover the driest inhabited continent in the world with CSG wells.

 “Water is the most valuable resource our country has, and yet we’ve allowed the runaway coal seam gas industry, an industry that considers water to be a waste product, to put our surface and groundwater systems at risk.

“CSG risks contaminating groundwater with fracking chemicals and de-watering the groundwater table by punching a hole straight through aquifers, and both the National Water Commission and the CSIRO have voiced their concerns about the long-term impacts of this industry.

“The Greens committed to this action during the 2010 election, and it is the action on coal seam gas that communities are asking for – I am urging all parties to stop kowtowing to the CSG industry and support my bill to protect our precious water resources.”

You can listen to Senator Waters' comments here.Download:You can listen to Senator Waters' comments here.

In a remarkable Senate vote, the Government and the Opposition have voted down a Greens motion:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The pressing need for Australia to confirm a date for the safe return of Australian troops from Afghanistan.

"The Opposition provided one speaker, defence spokesperson David Johnston, who spoke for less than three minutes in the one-hour debate. All sides expressed condolences for the family and friends of the three Australian soldiers killed on Saturday," Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"The Senate has voted that while issues such as Paid Parental Leave (16 March 2010), Climate Change (22 November 2010) and Indigenous Health Services (18 November 2009) are urgent or important, setting a date for our troops to come home is not!"

"I doubt that this Parliament has ever debated less, and so neglected its responsibilities, to troops serving in a war on behalf of this nation," Senator Brown said.

 

The Australian Greens say they are disappointed but not surprised that Labor and the Coalition united to vote down a motion about deteriorating human rights conditions in Tibet.

"Since March this year at least four monks and one nun have taken their lives by self-immolation in acts of protest to highlight abuses against Tibetan people," Greens' Tibet spokesperson, Sen. Hanson-Young, said today.

"Our Senate motion urged the Australian government to raise these matters with its Chinese counterpart, but the old parties declined to back it.

"There is no reason why the elected government of Australia is being timid by not standing up to Beijing.

"The Greens will continue using our voices for those who can't and highlight abuses against Tibetans in Tibet and surrounding areas."

The defeated Senate motion in full:

That the Senate:

(a) Notes:

i) The tragic deaths by self-immolation of four monks from the Kirti Monastery and one nun from the Dechen Chokorling nunnery, in Ngaba county eastern Tibet (Sichuan province) between 16 March and 17 October 2011, and

ii) Since March 2011 ten Tibetan people have set themselves on fire in order to highlight the continued human rights abuse and oppression of the Tibetan people.

(b) Recognises:

i) The people of Tibet continue to be subject to appalling human rights abuses, and

ii) The Chinese authorities have continued to take repressive measures against monks and nuns, particularly of the Kirti Monastery, since the self-immolation of a monk in March this year; and

(c ) Calls on the Government to urge the Chinese government to cease repressive measures against the Tibetan people and respect human rights in Tibet.

 

 

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today the Government should ensure Qantas' plans to operate offshore under a different name, and employ cheap labour, are not in breach of the Qantas Sale Act 1992.

"The Greens will hold the Government to its promise made today in the Senate, in response to a question to Senator Evans, to subject Qantas to monitoring to ensure it is aware of its legislative obligations and complies with the Act," Senator Brown said.

"It is questionable that Qantas, as Senator Evans claims, is currently complying with the Act. If Qantas conducts scheduled flights overseas under a name that is not Qantas then the airline could be found to be in breach of the Act."

"Employers should also be required to match the 72-hour notice period that unions are required to give prior to industrial action," Senator Brown said in the Senate while questioning Senator Evans.

 

Toro Energy's bid to mine uranium at Wiluna has raised a series of unanswered questions, WA Greens warned today.

In his submission to the Environmental Protection Authority, Greens Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam identified a several alarming holes in company's impact assessment of the proposed mine.

"Only the first iteration of this project is being assessed. This project should not proceed until there is a full public inquiry as provided for under the Act into the wider environmental and public health consequences of uranium mining in WA, and full disclosure by the company as to the real scope of the project. This company has multiple targets on dozens of tenements across the north-east goldfields."

Senator Ludlam said Toro's application was startlingly incomplete.

"The company does not yet know from where it will source 35 million tonnes of groundwater over the proposed 14 year life of the mine. It does not yet have a coherent proposal for transporting the radioactive concentrate thousands of kilometres to the port of Darwin. Toro has not yet undertaken a formal assessment of security risks, despite acknowledging potentially high risks in the transport phase, and there has been no high volume air sampling for much of the 2010 sampling period.

"A formal agreement with Aboriginal Traditional Owners has not been signed and the mandatory heritage mapping survey has not yet been completed.

"Toro has not revealed estimates of future mine closure liability and has not submitted a final rehabilitation plan. This is remarkable given the company intends for post-closure liability to pass to Australian taxpayers only 10 years after mining ceases, though the consequences of the mine will endure for many centuries."

Greens WA member for the mining and pastoral region Robin Chapple MLC said the "original EIS in March 1981 of the failed Lake Way project identified the need to build a new bore field for the Town of Wiluna as the water draw done would have posed a risk to the community. There is no such commitment or acknowledgment in the current referral relating to water drawdown or contamination".

Senator Ludlam said it is ridiculous that the EPA is still precluded from considering the wider consequences of uranium exports - and restricted to assessing only the domestic impacts of the project.

"Australia's general approach involves approving exports of this material while refusing any liability for the risks inherent in fissioning the product in reactors, let alone contemplating the fact our uranium exports facilitate diversion of other sources into nuclear weapons production.

"If the events following the triple-meltdown in Japan have taught us anything, it is that the calculated ignorance of Australian policy makers as to the consequences of this trade is no longer supported by the majority of Australians, and should be brought within the remit of the EPA."

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre - 0417 174 302

 

 

Greens MP and workplace relations spokesperson, Adam Bandt, has called on the Workplace Relations Minister to detail plans to protect local jobs from Qantas off-shoring.

Mr Bandt also called on Qantas CEO Allan Joyce to give back his giant pay rise as a way of mending his relationship with the public and his workforce.

"Qantas always wanted to avoid a negotiated outcome and now the government has helped them get what they want", Mr Bandt said.

"I sat through much of the Fair Work hearing yesterday. There was nothing from the government that suggests they have a plan to stop the off-shoring of jobs."

"Now that the government has done what Qantas wanted and removed the workers' capacity to protect Australian jobs, the government has a responsibility to outline how it will prevent Qantas from off-shoring its workforce."

"With the negotiations now likely over within 21 days, the Workplace Relations Minister, Senator Evans, must explain this week how the government will step in and protect local jobs."

"The Australian Greens will be talking with the government on moving forward with our bill currently before the Senate that would strengthen the Qantas Sale Act."

"Allan Joyce has forfeited any moral right to that pay rise. He has breached faith with the flying public and his workforce, refusing to take his multi-million pay rise would start to heal the wounds."

Mr Bandt will question the Prime Minister on these issues in Question Time today.

 

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today expressed great sadness at the deaths of three Australian soldiers and a local interpreter in Afghanistan and extended his hopes for a speedy as possible recovery to the seven defence force personnel who were wounded.

"The Greens join all Australians in offering condolences to their family and friends, and comrades in Afghanistan, as they deal with this terrible tragedy. They will all be remembered in Australia's archives for their courage and commitment to our nation," Senator Brown said in Hobart.

Thirty-two Australian soldiers have now lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan.

"Greens call again for Australia's defence force personnel to be brought home to Australia, without delay," Senator Brown said.

 

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to demand Qantas management get the fleet back in the air.

"This lock out is also a sell out of the spirit of Australia," Senator Brown said.

"It is a multi-millionaire's lock out of responsible decent pilots, crew and other staff whose work gives Australia the world's best airline."

"This lock out is about exporting Qantas to a world of lower cost, lower services values and lower safety. The Government should stand up to Qantas' selfish top brass," Senator Brown said.

Senator Brown will comment further tomorrow at a press conference at 12.15pm in Hobart.

 

Reports today that the ambulance called to Villawood to attend the suicide of a detainee on Tuesday night was phoned by a member of the public outside the facility is another reason why there must be 24-hour medical care at all detention centres, the Greens said today.

"With each day comes another sad revelation about the circumstances which led confirmed refugee ‘Shooty' to take his own life, because he was ignored by those meant to ensure his protection," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.

"There is no excuse for not having 24-hour medical care and a resident psychiatrist available at each detention facility. On a daily basis detainees are suffering mental illness, anxiety and attempting self-harm as a result of their incarceration and lack of appropriate medical and psychiatric support.

"If the Government is going to keep asylum seekers locked up in detention, they must provide the basic medical support and treatment they need. This is clearly not happening.

"The Greens also back the statement today by a coalition of health groups calling for the government to immediately release into the community all mentally-fragile detainees and others at risk, as a matter of urgency."

Today we also have more reports of self-harm in the Darwin Detention Centre involving a man while two other detainees are protesting on the roof for a fourth day.

"The government must take steps today for a permanent fix to the persistent problems with detention centres," Sen. Hanson-Young said.

"These are: moving people into the community after an initial health and security check, 30-day limits on detention and for any extensions beyond that to be reviewed by a court.

"In the meantime, making sure doctors, psychologists and mental health experts are caring for those in detention who are suffering -- rather than security guards trained to lower standards than nightclub bouncers -- would be a start."