The Australian Greens call on the Prime Minister to explain why she has put all options on the table to raise revenue except the most obvious one - the mining tax.

“Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan and Penny Wong need to explain why the resources giants are being treated with kid gloves and shielded from any tax increase, while the community is being asked to foot the bill for the budget black hole,” Australian Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne said today.

“In the Senate Inquiry hearing into the mining tax yesterday, established by the Greens, Economics Professors Ross Garnaut and John Quiggin said there is no reason why Labor should not put a consistent 40 per cent tax across oil, gas coal, iron ore and other commodities such as gold. (more…)

The Australian Greens today welcomed the announcement of measures to help struggling farmers with crippling debt, but say further action is likely to be needed.

“Many farmers, particularly those in Western Australia are in dire financial circumstances and face the prospect of having to walk off the land. These measures will provide some much needed assistance,” Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens agriculture spokesperson said today.

“However further support and assistance may be necessary to address the longer term future of the agriculture sector.

“Neglect by both State and Federal Governments over an extended period of time has seen Australian agriculture fall into the crisis we’re currently seeing.

“The Greens will carefully review this package with a view to securing the long term future of agriculture in this country,” Senator Siewert concluded.

Greens spokesperson on women Senator Lee Rhiannon has questioned whether women can trust opposition leader Tony Abbott’s promise today that he will heed the advice of technical experts on abortion drugs and has called on him to definitively declare his position on women’s right to access the full range of reproductive health procedures.

“Abbott’s assurance that he will accept the advice of technical experts cannot be trusted if you look at his history during the Howard years,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“As Health Minister in 2005 Mr Abbott relied on limited advice from the Chief Health Officer on whether to lift the ban on RU486.

“Mr Abbott was criticised by the AMA’s rural taskforce and the Rural Doctor’s Association of Australia for failing to consult with them. He instead took the Chief Health Officer’s advice that rural and regional health services and GPs were not equipped to provide medical abortion.

“Women living in regional and rural areas have been disadvantaged ever since.

“The attitude of the Opposition leader to women’s rights is shaping up as issue of public interest in the coming election campaign. (more…)

Earth Day dates back to 1970 when the first one was held in the U.S.A., but this year’s in particular is a day for sober reflection, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore.

“Every day there are email notifications calling for action on multiple environmental disasters. Unlike the finance reports however, which appear without fail in news bulletins and newspapers, many of these issues receive no coverage at all.

“You name it, it’s happening – the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and the habitat of indigenous peoples for gold-mining; farmland and forest being turned into palm oil plantations;  attempts by corporations to patent a plant that has been used for thousands of years or to introduce genetically manipulated organisms into land or water when they have not been proven to be safe for human health or the environment. And of course the biggest potential environmental catastrophe of our time, climate change with its more frequent extreme weather and fire events, melting ice and glaciers, and rising sea levels. (more…)

Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore will continue the Conversations series during the 2013 federal election campaign, starting in Bermagui on Tuesday May 7 with “The People Smuggler” author, Robin de Crespigny.

The series began in 2010 when Catherine talked to a variety of people on a number of topics including climate change, nuclear issues, forestry and economics, at events that took place around the Eden-Monaro electorate.

“With a relatively long lead-up time to an election whose date we know, it is a great opportunity to expand the program,” says Catherine. (more…)

It’s Earth Day! (more…)

In his comments about Greens policies on population and immigration, my colleague Peter Marshall seems convinced that Tony Abbott will take over government in September (“Triangular problem”, letters, April . Unlike him and, it would seem, the majority of media commentators, I do not see this outcome as inevitable. Yes, the ALP has a way to go to explain some of its policies and actions to the public, and yes, given we live in a democracy the media needs to give adequate space to all parties to explain their platforms. If that actually happened, I believe the most likely outcome would be  a government comprising a healthy mix of views, reflecting the reality of what is Australia today. Bring on proportional representation in all houses of parliament!

To find out more about this rally, taking place in Sydney on April 18 with speakers Bob Brown and Bob Debus, visit the website.

Currently known candidates for Eden-Monaro will meet for the first time in a political forum to be held on Saturday April 13 as part of the Two Fires Festival of Arts and Activism. The Festival, to honour the legacy of writer and activist Judith Wright and named after one of her poems, has been held in Braidwood every two years since 2005. This is the first time there has been a specifically political event at the Festival.

“It’s about time,” says Catherine Moore, Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro.

“There is often a disconnect between activists working for change in their communities, and the politicians who are making the decisions which affect us all. Take the example of the Iraq War, where hundreds of thousands of Australians joined millions around the world protesting against it. But it made not a scrap of difference to the governments of the time.” (more…)

The first candidates forum for the 2013 Eden-Monaro campaign will take place this Saturday April 13 at 1pm in the National Theatre.

View the poster for the event by clicking on the link below. (more…)