[clear]Last night I headed over to FBi, a successful not for profit radio station in inner Sydney to meet up with the Budget_Aus team to listen to Treasurer Joe Hockey deliver his first budget speech. We were hosted by Heidi Pett and the rest of the FBi Backchat team who were working on their show about […]
A Eureka Stockade moment? Your #BentleyBlockade brief before NSW Police ‘Operation Stapler’
May 14, 2014
[clear] [clear]Northern Rivers communities unite against government-endorsed gas mining frenzy In protest against the mining frenzy that is gripping the country, the community-led non-violent blockade at Bentley in the Northern Rivers of NSW is emerging as one of the largest social uprisings the country has witnessed. The blockade of the drill site, which began almost […]
Reporting grassroots greenshoots when faith in establishment politics dies: @margokingston1
May 2, 2014
Margo: A version of this column appeared in the Byron Shire Echo – @Echonetdaily – on 29 April as a substitute for Mungo McCallum’s weekly column while he recovered from surgery. Mungo and I last discussed politics just after the federal election on Late Night Live. We both knew what Abbott would do – seek to close down free […]
Civil disobedience and the #leardblockade: @adropex comments
April 22, 2014
[clear] It was in January, whilst on a family beach holiday, that I first became aware of the protest happening at the Leard State Forest. I had not heard of the Leard before, however the words ‘Maules Creek’ and ‘Whitehaven’ vaguely floated into my consciousness as I read a Twitter report of the action […]
East West Link a collision course for Victorian state election: @tackvera reports
April 4, 2014
In the lead-up to the Victorian state election in November 2014, the East West Link tunnel toll road continues to be a divisive and unpopular issue for the Premier Denis Napthine and his Liberal Government. The toll road is projected to cost $8 billion to connect the Eastern Freeway and Alexandra Parade to Citylink as […]
Freedom and Prosperity Party’s @NoDirectAction campaigns from east coast: @GuinevereHall reports #WAvotes
March 29, 2014
[clear] A handful of the 77 candidates vying to represent Western Australia in the rerun Senate election live in other states. I contacted Bill Koutalianos, president of the Freedom and Prosperity Party and its number one senate candidate, via Twitter and email. At first he said he wasn’t intending to come to Perth in the […]
Big coal gets hot and heavy with protestors: @georgefwoods responds to @NSWMC and @ResourcesQLD
March 19, 2014
By Georgina Woods @georgefwoods 19th March 2014 The industry bodies that represent the coal export industry in NSW and Queensland have recently taken to lambasting, belittling and smearing the intentions of individuals and organisations that have dared to face up to them and speak the truth about the consequences of the unchecked expansion of coal in Australia. Some politicians, particularly […]
#MarchinMarch Katoomba report by @bluntshovels
March 17, 2014
By El Gibbs @bluntshovels 17th March 2014 Over 700 people gathered in front of the historic Carrington Hotel in Katoomba on Sunday to protest against the Federal Government, spilling out onto the street. Many hand-made signs featured, with slogans such as “What happened to taking care? Of ourselves, each other, our country”, “It’s not money […]
#leardblockade: Whitehaven Coal under criminal investigation for allegedly false statements on environmental offsets for Maules Creek mine
February 26, 2014
Evidence by Environment Department to Senate Estimates Environment and Communications Legislation Committee about Whitehaven Coal’s plan to fell the critically endangered Leard State Forest for a coal mine Senator WATERS (Greens, Queensland): Can I move now to the Maules Creek coalmine approval. Can the department table a copy of the independent review into the offsets issue? Mr Tregurtha : Under […]
Then they came for the farmers… #SPC #leardblockade
February 7, 2014
[clear] By Alison Parkes 6th February 2014 Two recent issues have been in the news lately concerning rural and regional communities – the impending closure of SPC and the Leardblockade. People in capital cities, on social media and old media talk about thinks like SPC or live export or another mine as if they are […]
