Climate change action = a citizen's assembly? Surely that's what we call Parliament? What Twiggy said and more..

Gillard heckled at climate policy launch (ABC)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard faced a small but vocal group of protesters

as she launched Labor's climate change policy at the University of

Queensland in Brisbane this morning. The centrepiece of Labor's plan is a

so-called "citizens' assembly" which would gather together volunteers to

sound out public support for a price on carbon. The assembly would be made

up of up to 200 volunteers and would work alongside a group of scientists

appointed by the government to advise it on climate change. But the

measures did not go down well with protesters from climate action group

Six Degrees who were gathered outside the open-air venue. And the plan has

also been roundly attacked by opponents from both sides of politics and

environmentalists, who accused Ms Gillard of abdicating responsibility on

climate action. One protester was tackled to the ground only metres away

from Ms Gillard after he tried to rush the podium during the speech. The

young man was handcuffed and led away by police as the Prime Minister

pressed on. Later identified as PhD student Bradley Smith, he told triple

j's Hack program why he disrupted the speech. "Scientists have been

telling us we need to take action on climate change for a long time. The

government have had a mandate to take strong action on climate change for

the last three years. "That's what the election was about three years ago,

and we've seen no action. So I feel the need to do whatever I can because

it's not just about me, it's about the whole planet." The protest

threatened to overshadow the announcement of Labor's plans to tackle

climate change. And the citizens' assembly plan has already been roundly

criticised by the Opposition and Greens.

An ideal opportunity to write a Letter to the Ed. Surely we already have a

citizen's assembly.. it's called Parliament!!! You can also comment online

in support of Greens long hard push for real action right now. And don't

forget your blogs, tweets, forums and facebook.

PUT SENATOR BROWN IN LEADERS DEBATE!! 7PM Project and more..

Pressure is building to put Senator Brown in the leader’s debate this Sunday. There's online opportunities for you to be involved in this, as well as writing Letters to the Eds. Some points on this are below. 

*** PUT SENATOR BROWN IN LEADERS DEBATE ***

• Australia is a vibrant democracy.  We pride ourselves on hearing different points of view.
• The Australian Greens put forward alternative policies that more than a million Australians voted for in 2007.
• This election The Greens are the clear third party.
• If ALP/Coalition are confident in their party’s policies and their ability to debate, they should be willing to include Senator Brown in the debate.
• Many other democracies around the world include smaller parties in their political debates.  The inclusion of the Liberal Democrat leader, now Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in Britain was credited with making for a much more open, informative and interesting debate.

*** LETTERS TO EDs ***

letters@theaustralian.com.au

letters@couriermail.com.au

letters@theage.com.au

letters@smh.com.au

Preferences, voters rights and more...

The biggest story today is obviously The Greens/ALP "preferences deal".

Preferences are a damaging issue as it makes voters think a vote for the

Greens is not meaningful - that it is being stolen from them and put

somewhere they didn’t decide, and that politics is about back room deals

they are not part of. We've therefore been asked by the National Committee

to focus on countering negative messages and providing correct and

positive information on this issue over the next few days.

Some points to note in your letters, blogs, posts, calls:

- Preference arrangements between parties are only valid to the voter if

they vote above the line. If I vote below the line then my preferences go

where I choose for them to go.

- Senator Bob Brown is saying voters should Vote 1 Australian Green and

after that it is up to them to decide where they vote based on each

candidate, their party and its policies.

- The preference arrangement between parties does flow down into "how to

vote cards" but they are a guide only. Each voter can and should put their

preferences in their own chosen order according to what they think of the

other parties and their policies. No one should feel their vote is being

decided by any party’s external arrangement.

-  By law all political parties must lodge a preference arrangement with

the AEC for the Senate.

Tony Abbott - ignorant on climate, Greens confident in election, Beware The Greens, UCG fails safety test and more..

This afternoon, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott commented that China and
India would not introduce a carbon price so Australia would not have to do
so. This comment clearly shows that the Opposition has little
understanding of what action is actually being taken against climate
change by our regional neighbours. A full press release from Senator
Christine Milne is below. Please consider writing a Letter to the Editor
of the national papers on this issue - Australia is being left behind, and
the would-be governing party doesn't seem to know it. 


***
Greens confident as election underway (SBS World News)


The Australian Greens are confident they will steal votes from both major
parties, as the federal election campaign kicks off. Greens leader Bob
Brown says people are disenfranchised from the major parties due to their
lack of action on climate change. "Somebody said last week that the Greens
are more Labor than Labor, more Liberal than the Liberals and
unsurprisingly greener than both," Mr Brown told Sky News. "That's a
pretty good accolade, I think it sums it up," he said, referring to voter
sentiment. The party is hoping to pick up seats in both the upper and
lower house, to add to its current representation of five senators. 


You can add a comment online in support.

The rise of the Greens? - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The rise of the Greens? - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Meet The Greens Lead Senate Candidate for QLD, Larissa Waters

Liberals want three election debates; Everyone (except The Greens) fails on climate report card.

Liberals want three election debates (ABC)

As Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott battle

it out over who is more fiscally conservative, the Liberal Party has

challenged Labor to hold three debates during the election campaign. The

parties are yet to settle on the conditions of the face-to-face leaders'

debates during the campaign but Greens leader Bob Brown wants to be

there...

You can post a comment online and/or write a Letter to the Editor agreeing

that The Greens should be an integral part of leaders debates. At the 2007

Federal election the Greens recorded 7.8% of the vote, up from 7.2% in

2004, 5.0% in 2001 and 2.6% in 1998. Current polls suggest up to 13% of

Australians will vote Green in the 2010 election. The Greens also believe

that the public should be involved in these very important debates.

Bob Brown at NPC, Indigenous singer is new Greens star, Carbon Courage and more..

Liberal and Labor have caused 'political depression' (ABC)

In a speech to the National Press Club yesterday, Australian Greens

leader, Bob Brown described how he sees Australians turning away from the

major parties and their squabbling. "THIS YEAR WILL BE another milestone

in politics for the Australian Greens. The sole balance of power in the

Senate and a breakthrough into the House of Representatives are both

within reach. Australia's voters are looking for more progressive politics

and the stable, experienced leadership which we alone have produced over

the past three turbulent years in Canberra..."

Senator Brown's speech yesterday was inspiring and his responses to

questions from the floor are something all Greens can be proud of. You can

post a comment in support online at ABC.

Garrett stalls Qld coal seam gas project, Galaxy poll shows 55% support for Greens performance, Can Greens direct preferences? Greens unplug Melbourne & more..

Garrett stalls Qld's coal seam gas projects (ABC/AFR)

The Federal Government has ordered two mining companies to submit revised

environmental impact statements (EIS) for multi-billion-dollar coal seam

gas projects in Queensland. Santos and BG want to convert coal seam gas in

the Surat Basin in southern Queensland to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for

export from Gladstone in the state's central region.

This story doesn't mention the Greens, but kudos to the Greens for pushing

the issue and seeking the direct involvement of the Minister. You could

write a Letter to the Editor of the Courier Mail and The Australian. Whilst the 
Minister's action to intervene is commended, the Greens believe

the current laws are inadequate to have the impacts comprehensively

assessed, and are calling on Minister Garrett to visit the farmers in the

Darling Downs, like Senator Brown and Lead Senate Candidate for Queensland

Larissa Waters did last week. 

Larissa Waters said: “Minister Garrett's assessment is limited to impacts on 

threatened species. Without a trigger in our federal environment laws, the full 

impacts of CSG mining on farmland, groundwater and climate change cannot 

be assessed. If Minister Garrett is not considering the impacts of CSG mining 

on prime food producing land, then who is?" The full media release from QLD Greens is here. 

Please consider writing a letter calling for the Minister to meet with farmers and/or The Greens to

get a full understanding of this important issue for QLD.

RELATED STORIES

Garrett pauses on LNG (Gladstone Observer)

Greens welcome gas project delays (Gladstone Observer)

Dr Richard Di Natale, Greens Senate Candidate Vic, wants Australia to lead the world on preventative health.