The Greens in Palerang
 

Archive for the 'Monaro 2011' Category

Greens to take up issues with new MP for Monaro

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Greens candidate for Monaro Paul Cockram today congratulated John Barilaro on his election as the Member for Monaro and said The Greens would be taking up key issues with the new State MP. 
 
“We’d like to remind everyone that he plans to make improvements in health services his first priority.
 
“The Greens will be taking up a number of critical issues with Mr Barilaro including environmental safety at the proposed gold mine at Major’s Creek, the need for better public transport services connecting Queanbeyan and Canberra, and on-going threats to important woodland from road projects.
 
“We will also be raising the importance of having a price on carbon pollution to promote renewables and address climate change. I expect John Barilaro as a National to go in to bat for the farmers in NSW fighting against unrestricted appropriation of farming land for coal and gas extraction.” (more…)

letter to the editor, International Women’s Day

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

With March 8 2011 the centenary of International Women’s Day (IWD), I was keen to ask the ALP and Nationals Monaro candidates at the Q and A event in Queanbeyan on IWD about their parties’ efforts to increase the number of women in Parliament, and to find out what proportion of their candidates for the March 26 election are women. I didn’t need to ask The Greens, as I already know that, as always, Greens are standing in all seats and at least 50% of our candidates are women.

I was surprised to learn that neither of the other candidates knew how many of their women members were standing, and dismayed to hear from the Nationals candidate the old “merit-based” line.

Given that more than 50% of the population are women, and comparing that to the small numbers of women around Council tables, in parliaments and in boardrooms, the use of the merit-based argument is unacceptable, as it is in effect saying that women are simply not capable. And it is no excuse to say that there are not enough women coming forward. If this is the case, it is about time we looked closely at the prevailing culture, and took steps to change it.

Catherine Moore, Greens NSW Upper House candidate

Take the burden off local government

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Greens Upper House candidate Jeremy Buckingham and Monaro Greens candidate Paul Cockram joined forces today to highlight the problems for local government as a result of state government cost shifting.

Jeremy Buckingham, a councillor on Orange City Council and The Greens Upper House candidate, and Paul Cockram, Palerang councillor and Greens candidate for Monaro, both have first-hand experience with the perils of cost-shifting.

A recent survey by the Local Government and Shires Association of 77 councils put the cost to local government at $440 million, which is about two-thirds of the councils’ infrastructure shortfall. (more…)

Is your backyard safe?

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Greens Upper House candidate Jeremy Buckingham and Monaro Greens candidate Paul Cockram are joining forces to present a screening of the award winning film, Gasland in Jerrabomberra tonight.

This film highlights the lengths to which the fossil fuel industry will go in the USA to make a profit from coal seam gas.

Now it’s happening here in NSW and Queensland as documented in a recent  Four Corners program on ABC TV. Farmers on whose land this is taking place are concerned that arable farming land is being taken over and there are serious questions about the water table being depleted or contaminated.

“We may not have any gas seam gas exploration going on in this region yet,” said Paul Cockram.

“But as oil supplies dry up and gas becomes a substitute energy source, the search will intensify. (more…)

Monaro Greens candidate leads climate change debate

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

The Greens candidate for Monaro in the March State Election, Paul Cockram, had his first public meeting with the other candidates in Cooma last week hosted by the NSW Farmers Federation.

The Greens’ policies for climate change action, as explained by Paul Cockram, out-shone the avoidance of specifics by the candidates representing the old parties.

“The Greens have a clear and strong commitment to action on reducing carbon emissions by moving to alternative energy sources now. It was disappointing to hear the Labor and National candidates say that action would take some time,” said Paul. (more…)

Please don’t drive a wedge between farmers and environmentalists

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

(letter to the editor, published in The Land, January 27)

After reading Mal Peters’ anti-Green article in last week’s The Land (Eat trees you bastards), I must agree with his mother.

According to Mal’s mother, we “must always be mindful of the impacts our actions have on others”.

That philosophy is spot on and is the underlying imperative in the forming of Greens’ policies.

The farmers I know in the Braidwood region are not at odds with The Greens’ advocacy of ‘farming for the long haul’, improved soil fertility and reduced cost through reduced chemical inputs.

Elsewhere in the same paper there are impassioned pleas for common sense to prevail where coal mining threatens to wreck agricultural land. This has been The Greens’ position for a decade or more, long before the other parties woke up to the threat.

Please Mal, don’t try to drive a wedge between farmers and environmentalists. If we talk constructively and listen to each other it will become obvious that we are all on the same side.

Paul Cockram, Greens candidate for Monaro

Greens say no to major regional processing facility for Majors Creek

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

The Greens candidate for Monaro Paul Cockram has said that it is unacceptable to develop a major regional processing facility and gold mine next to the village of Majors Creek.

The Dargues Reef Gold Project proposed by Cortona will have serious impacts on the community of Majors Creek through industrial noise, increased traffic, dust pollution and high risk to drinking and stock water from the creek and bores. Also at risk are regionally significant vegetation communities, threatened species and conservation reserves as well as the surface and ground waters of Majors Creek, Araluen Valley and the Deua River Catchment.

An independent report commissioned by Eurobodalla Shire Council has also slammed the project, identifying high risks to the Deua Catchment including pollution by sewage, hydrocarbons and chemicals. (more…)

Coalition scraps ethics classes

Friday, November 26th, 2010

(published Queanbeyan Age, 26 November 2010)

Greens candidate for Monaro Paul Cockram expressed his disappointment at the NSW Coalition’s decision to scrap ethics classes.

“We’re really going backwards here. If this is an indication of social policy under a fundamentalist O’Farrell government, we’re heading for big trouble,” he said.

“I remember many years ago one of my children booked himself back into scripture because the alternative on offer was so mind-numbingly boring.”

“If scripture classes can’t incorporate ethics into their teaching, it makes you wonder what values they do espouse,” said Paul Cockram.

“In this country we’re proud of our religious tolerance. It’s time this tolerance was reciprocated.”

Switch-on, switch-off clean energy commitment

Friday, October 29th, 2010

(letter to the editor, published October 29, SMH)

The sudden axing of the 60¢ gross feed-in tariff at midnight last Wednesday was another low point in the sorry saga of energy policy in Australia these days.

We should all feel sorry for the solar installers trying to establish their business with these ‘hot and cold’ government decisions.

Who is doing the research behind government policy? Every time either the Federal or State government introduces a scheme that encourages people to move to solar, they seem unprepared for the enthusiastic community support. (more…)

NSW clubs hit the jackpot

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

(published in the Queanbeyan Age 22 October 2010)

The Greens candidate for Monaro Paul Cockram reckons that NSW clubs have hit the jackpot with the Coalition.

“Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell, with Nationals Monaro candidate John Barilaro in his shadow, have announced their policy to take $300 million out of community services and hailed this as good news for the people of New South Wales.”

“They must think we’re all a mob of mug punters,” said Paul Cockram.

“How can we be expected to believe that this sudden concern for the welfare of clubs is not related to the recent shift in political donations from Labor to the Coalition?”

“Providing basic services to the whole community is the job of responsible government. Clubs are businesses and as such pay tax, especially on the money that’s put straight into the pokies.

“Giving this money back to clubs and allowing them to decide which sections of the community are deserving of support is appalling administration and a clear indication of just how ill-prepared the Coalition is to take over government in NSW,” said Paul. (more…)

Authorised by Catherine Moore, 1149 Charleys Forest Road, Charleys Forest NSW 2622 for the Braidwood Greens
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Welcome to the website for the Greens in Palerang, who comprise the Braidwood Greens and some members of the Queanbeyan-Monaro Greens local groups. These groups run joint campaigns in the state seat of Monaro, and together with the Eurobodalla and Bega Greens groups, in the federal seat of Eden-Monaro.

Green policies are based on the four green principles of: These principles are at the foundation of everything we do, from our local activities and the way we operate in our local group to our representation at the local government level.

The Greens