The Greens in Palerang
 

Archive for the 'Asylum seekers' Category

100 days, 40 failures: a preview of secretive, cruel and chaotic government

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Releasing a list of the Abbott government’s top failures, the Australian Greens say the first 100 days have been a secretive, cruel and chaotic preview of what is to come.

“During the election campaign the Abbott government’s true agenda was hidden behind cheap rhetoric, but you can’t run a country with a slogan,” said Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne.

“The Abbott government has tried to claim a so-called mandate to take Australia back to the last century, but he doesn’t have one. The longer Prime Minister Abbott and his big business mates run the show, the less the public knows about what’s going on behind the scenes. The Abbott government is a secretive, cruel and chaotic government.

“The Australian people didn’t sign up to this, and the Greens will stand against it. (more…)

An uncertain future for Eden-Monaro

Sunday, September 8th, 2013

If honesty and accountability had been a compulsory part of election campaigning we may have ended up with a different result after Saturday’s election, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore.

“The Greens ran a positive campaign, but without the backing of Australia’s biggest media magnate and millions of campaign dollars to use on advertising and leaflets, it was always going to be hard to get our message across,” says Catherine.

“This was compounded by the commonly expressed view of media commentators that there was no point in talking to other parties because only the ALP or Coalition would win the election, and the misinformation that was perpetuated, particularly by the Coalition, about The Greens.

“But the success of Adam Bandt has shown that where Greens are elected, they enjoy enormous support and are likely to be re-elected, no matter what preference deals are done by others in an attempt to keep them out. (more…)

The future lies in your hands

Sunday, September 1st, 2013

Voters face a serious choice on September 7 and the choice they make will determine the direction this country follows, not just for the next three years but for a long time after, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore.

“On the one hand we have an Opposition that has set itself up to take control, but whose policies are largely unknown and whose actions are all about making the rich richer. It is an Opposition that denies the need to act decisively on climate change and perpetuates fear and loathing of some of the most vulnerable people, including asylum seekers,” says Catherine.

“On the other hand we have  government that seems to be trying to match the Opposition’s position in a number of areas, including refugees, and that also lacks the courage to ask the wealthiest to pay a fairer share.

“Both are determined to hold onto power at any cost, and have lost sight of the need to make decisions for the greater good of the whole community, into the future.

“But it doesn’t have to be simply an “either… or” situation. (more…)

Standing up for what matters - contribution for August Snowy River Echo

Thursday, August 1st, 2013

Our comprehensive election platform “Standing up for what matters” has been fully costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office and makes The Greens the obvious choice for all who want to see a change of focus in politics. If implemented, it would ensure a healthy, just and sustainable future for the people of Eden-Monaro.

Simple measures like a 0.2% levy on bank assets above $100 billion, the abolition of fossil fuel subsidies, an effective mining tax and 50% tax on all incomes in excess of $1,000,000 would raise $42.7 billion.

There is an urgent need to act on climate change. If we don’t, there is every likelihood we will see an end to snow this century, and farming will be even more difficult than it is now. The Greens want a swift transition to renewable energy, for which there is huge potential here, and which would create thousands of jobs. Imagine if Eden-Monaro became home to Australia’s first solar thermal energy plant!

Farmers are essential to our country’s future prosperity and a sustainable economy. We propose actions to strengthen the viability of farming and farming communities, and increase support for small business and local employment in general. (more…)

Australian Greens invest in refugee safety

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

The Australian Greens have launched a new plan to give refugees a safer pathway to protection. The plan includes increasing the government’s humanitarian intake to 30,000 a year, providing an extra $70 million per annum in emergency funding to help fast track the processing of refugee claims in Indonesia and shutting down all detention camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

It comes on top of a Galaxy poll, commissioned by the Australian Greens, which shows that 48 per cent of Australians don’t trust Labor or the Coalition to care for refugees ahead of political interests, while 20 per cent remain undecided.

“The majority of Australians recognise that Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott cannot be trusted to care for refugees,” Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne said.

“They are locked in a race to the bottom to see who can adopt the cruellest approach to refugees, including dumping them on our poorest neighbours. (more…)

Standing up for what matters in Eden-Monaro

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

In the wake of the launch of The Australian Greens’ policy platform “Standing up for what matters”, Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore says that The Greens are the obvious party of choice for all those who want to see a change of focus in politics, and positive and meaningful proposals to take us into the future.

“If they were implemented, the policy initiatives that we have released for this election would ensure a healthy, just and sustainable future for the people of Eden-Monaro.

“By introducing simple measures like a 0.2% levy on bank assets in excess of $100 billion, the abolition of tax-payer funded fossil fuel subsidies, an effective mining tax and 50% tax on incomes in excess of $1,000,000, we could raise $42.7 billion over three years.

“These funds could then be directed into social and environmental policy actions that benefited all Australians. (more…)

Conversations series begins in Bermagui

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

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…)

Feeding the fear and loathing

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Letter to the editor

In the last week, an almost unidentified leaflet has been landing in letterboxes around NSW and possibly the country. Inexplicably, though perhaps coincidentally, it uses the colours of the Aboriginal flag to tell us that “illegal boat arrivals” are costing tax-payers big money – no less than $12.8 million per boat. The word illegal is used four times, and we are told that $6.6 billion has been “wasted on illegal boat arrival cost blow-outs” between 2008 and 2012. The leaflet has been authorised (see the very small print at the bottom) by one Mark Neeham, whom googling reveals to be the State Director of the Liberal Party of Australia.

A political party that has its sights set on governing the country would do well to come up with some visionary policies. A party with vision would talk about ways to process asylum seekers rapidly onshore, thus saving no small proportion of those billions. Such a party would talk about preventative health measures to save on hospital costs down the track, and adequate investment in public education and transport. Instead, the Liberal Party has opted to continue to create fear and loathing in the Australian community about people whose lives are so unbearable that they are forced to leave their homes and seek asylum in a country that is supposed to be compassionate, humane and fair. A close to anonymous scare campaign such as this one is no less than despicable.

Catherine Moore
Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro

Climate change is still the biggest issue

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Climate change is still the biggest issue facing the community, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore, who has just concluded a week of attending events in the electorate.

“It’s been very inspiring to meet people concerned about some key issues important to The Greens and community groups, including the asylum seeker issue, putting a stop to hunting in National Parks, and the dominant theme of the past seven days, climate change.

“The week began with the Clean Energy for Eternity-hosted Climate Commission forum in Bega, where Professor Lesley Hughes gave a sobering presentation on global warming. She highlighted the high number of records that have been broken over summer, a dire warning of conditions that are approaching much faster than was predicted. (more…)

Asylum seekers, persecution and post-traumatic stress

Monday, March 11th, 2013

(letter to the editor, sent to Eden-Monaro media)

Ah how we take our opportunities to freely express our views in the newspaper for granted. Thanks to Amnesty and the newly re-formed Braidwood branch of Rural Australians for Refugees, I was lucky enough on Wednesday night to hear Robin de Crespigny read from and talk about her book “The People Smuggler”, which I am now reading.

Robin referred to the post-traumatic stress being experienced by refugees in detention in Australia and elsewhere and it occurred to me that it is no wonder this is so common. People who come here are fleeing persecution, but Australians are fortunate enough to have no concept of what persecution really means. In many cases, those who eventually make it here have been tortured for doing something as simple as speaking out against an oppressive regime, but they spoke out and continued to speak out because they knew it was the right thing. Eventually they had no choice but to escape and make the often dangerous journey (though nowhere near as dangerous as their lives at home) to a place where people live freely with endless opportunities, But instead of a rapid and efficient process to establish their refugee status when they arrive, they are put in concentration camp-like detention centres with no idea of when they will be released, and many are kept there for years on end. (more…)

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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.

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