The Rudd Government has rejected the establishment of a human rights act in Australia, in its official response to the 2009 report of the National Human Rights Consultation chaired by Father Frank Brennan. Instead, the Rudd Government has proposed a large expansion of government spending on the human rights “industry”, in both the government and…
Last week, an international conference was attended by leaders of 47 countries in Washington, to stop terrorists procuring nuclear weapons. In opening the Nuclear Security Summit, US President Barack Obama stated: “Nuclear materials that could be sold or stolen and fashioned into a nuclear weapon exist in dozens of nations. … Terrorist networks such as…
Australia’s apple and pear industries have been put at risk by a recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in favour of Australia importing apples from New Zealand, where the fire blight disease is endemic. Fire blight-infected apple fruitletwith bacterial ooze Although Australia has an open-door policy on imports, importing apples from countries affected by fire…
The deaths of over 170 people in the Victorian bushfire tragedy of February 2009 has led to a change in policy by the state’s Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), which is now trying to conduct large-scale burn-offs around Victoria. Evidence given to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission showed clearly that the failure to reduce fuel loads in state forests and national parks over recent decades contributed to the huge death toll and the extensive loss of property during the bushfires. The 2009 bushfires burned over 400,000 hectares (ha). Although wildfires in some previous years burned larger areas, the 2009…
