Sand mining on Stradbroke Island, offshore from Brisbane, will be phased out by 2027, under a new plan announced by the Queensland state government on June 20. Most of the island will become national park and development of ecotourism will be the main industry.
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Despite a promise before the last election, the Brumby state Labor government has introduced legislation to extend the urban growth boundary for Melbourne. Planning Amendment VC 67 expands Melbourne鈥檚 Urban Growth Boundary to accommodate the 284,000 houses the government expects will be needed if Melbourne鈥檚 population reaches 5 million before 2030.
About 70 people from the Green Wedge Coalition, Protectors of Public Lands and Planning Backlash protested against these plans on June 22.
Queer rights groups are initiating a high school referendum against homophobia and for same-sex marriage rights over August 2-6.
Planned to help build the August 14 National Day of Action for equal marriage rights, the referendum will be a chance for students to discuss homophobia and how to combat it in their school.
There are high levels of homophobia and prejudice in high schools. In Australia, 68% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and inter-sex (LGBTI) people experience homophobia in school.
Australian Labor Party finance minister Lindsay Tanner announced on June 24 he would quit politics at the next election. His seat, the electorate of Melbourne, could become the first lower house seat one by the Greens in a federal election.
Greens candidate for Melbourne Adam Bandt is running a serious campaign. The Greens say only one in 10 people who voted ALP last time need to change to the Greens for Bandt to win the seat.
Bandt spoke to 麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Ben Courtice about his campaign.
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The Canadian province of Alberta is well known as a climate-destroying behemoth. The tar sands developments in its north are the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.
Less well known are the ambitions of its neighbouring province, British Columbia. It shares similar fossil fuel reserves and ambitions as Alberta. Vast coal and natural gas reserves are being opened at breakneck speed.
Construction is underway or planned for accompanying road, rail, pipeline and supertanker transport routes.
Newly installed Prime Minister Julia Gillard has offered a truce and fresh negotiations with the mining industry over the government's proposed Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT).
Watching the industry's advertising campaign, you'd think the RSPT spelt the end of civilisation as we know it. According to one BHP Billiton ad, the RSPT will mean 鈥渇ewer projects, jobs and opportunities for our future generations鈥. The ad's title, above an all-Australian image of young blokes playing footy, reads: 鈥淎ustralia loves to compete, but the Super Tax could take us out of the game.鈥
On June 20, a 100-strong rally against the Northern Territory Emergency Response (the 鈥淣T intervention鈥) was held, protesting its third anniversary. On June 21 the Senate passed legislation allowing one of the most oppressive aspects of the intervention 鈥 welfare quarantining 鈥 to be extended to all welfare recipients (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in the NT, and then to targeted communities throughout Australia.
A major split over the US blockade of Cuba has emerged between domestic 鈥渄issidents鈥 in Cuba and their former partners in Miami. The US corporate media is paying attention to what appears to be a new anti-Cuban strategy.
A letter signed by 74 of the 鈥渄issidents鈥 on the island calls for an end to Washington鈥檚 ban on US citizens travelling to Cuba. On the other hand, most of the Cuban-American members of Congress are fiercely defending the nearly 50-year-old economic blockade in all its forms. The 鈥渘ew contras鈥 are now up against the old.
The world鈥檚 worst ever oil spill is also the biggest methane leak in human history, US government scientists have said.
The US Geological Survey鈥檚 鈥渇low team鈥 has estimated between 4.5 billion to 9 billion cubic feet of natural gas have escaped from BP鈥檚 Deepwater Horizon rig since it exploded in April, Associated Press said on June 19.
John Kessler, an oceanographer at the Texas A&M University, told AP the leak was 鈥渢he most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history鈥. Scientists think methane makes up 40% to 70% of what is spilling from the damaged BP rig.
Michael Kumarasamy, one of the asylum seekers accused of being involved in a riot between Tamil and Afghan detainees at Christmas Island detention centre in November 2009, attended his trial on June 18 鈥 about two hours late.
Kumarasamy鈥檚 lawyer, Simon Freitag, had emailed Perth Immigration Detention Centre to ensure staff there knew when the case was on. When his client was late, he again rang Perth IDC.
Refugees and climate change
Today (June 20) is World Refugee Day, observed each year as a way of raising awareness on the plight of refugees. Given the increasingly regressive policies being adopted by the federal government when it comes to asylum seekers, this day is needed more than ever.
On June 22, Queensland unions won a court victory with the ruling that Queensland Rail had broken the law by not consulting workers over privatisation plans.
鈥淨ueensland Rail has been slapped with a $600,000 fine after it failed to consult its workers over plans to privatise part of the company鈥, the June 23 Courier-Mail reported. 鈥淎 Federal Court ruling earlier this month found QR breached 20 of its enterprise bargaining agreements by not consulting workers about the planned sell-off before it was announced.鈥
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