Patrick J. Byrne

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ENERGY: Will Windsor and Abbott deliver mandated ethanol?

Energy & EnvironmentMay 28, 2011

Will Tony Abbott be able to rally the full support of the Liberal Party, and will Tony Windsor work with the Coalition, to introduce a federal mandate for sugar-cane-based ethanol in Australian fuel? Liberal policy is to mandate a percentage of ethanol in fuel, a vital first incentive to putting in place a viable Australian industry to turn sugar-cane into biofuel. However, Abbott faces resistance from economic rationalists in his party. Any bill to introduce mandated ethanol will also require support from NSW rural independent MP, Tony Windsor. He supports ethanol, but does not support the Coalition. Deregulation and bad…

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RESEARCH PROJECT: Australia’s food security under threat

UncategorizedMay 14, 2011

Please help Australia’s food security research project. The National Civic Council and AusBuy are together seeking financial support to commission a research project on the threats to Australia’s food security. The research project is to be headed by Dr Mark McGovern, lecturer in the Queensland University of Technology’s school of economics and…

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HUMAN RIGHTS: China and Vietnam human rights crackdown

UncategorizedApril 30, 2011

China’s leaders are cracking down on dissidents while, over the border, Vietnamese and Laotian officials are brutally persecuting Christians. Patrick J. Byrne reports. Laotian and Vietnamese troops brutally abused, then executed at point-blank range, four young Hmong Christian women in front of their husbands and families, after confiscating their one Bible, according…

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RURAL AFFAIRS: Farmers hit by supermarket price war

Rural AffairsApril 16, 2011

Ballarat farmers blockaded McCain Foods with tractors to get a fair price for their potatoes, while Coles supermarket chain has slashed the price of milk, triggering a Senate inquiry. Last month, Ballarat potato-farmers blockaded the local McCain Foods processing plant with their tractors after the company cut its offering price to farmers to $25 per tonne less than last year’s. Gaining national media coverage, with Queensland independent federal MP, Bob Katter, leading the protest, McCain relented and offered a price slightly better than last year. Local farmers argue that the downward pressure on prices by McCain has seen the number…

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