June 2009

24th of Jun, 2009

From Pit to Port: Privatisation's impact on Queensland

At the beginning of June, Queensland awoke to find Premier Anna Bligh having ordered the privatisation of $15 billion worth of significant state assets, including Queensland Motorways Ltd, Forest Plantations Queensland, Queensland Rail's coal freight business and the Abbot Point Coal Terminal.

In the following weeks, this move has been seen by environmentalists and unions alike as a direct attack on Queensland workers and the global climate. Despite its rhetoric about real action on climate change, we have seen the Bligh Government firmly commit to immediate financial gain ahead of the welfare of its citizens.

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18th of Jun, 2009

Light on the Hill: ETU Opposes Asset Sale

ETU Electrical Trades Union of Australia

The Electrical Trades Union’s (ETU) Statewide Queensland campaign against the privatisation of our keystone assets commences today. The campaign, to be known as "Light on the Hill", seeks primarily to hold the Labor party to their traditional values (and indeed, their party platform!).

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coal infrastructure

17th of Jun, 2009

The Queensland Budget: Coal versus Climate Change

The release of the Queensland budget yesterday provides an important insight to the government's credibility on the climate change - particularly when you compare their investments in renewable energy and climate adaptation against their continuing subsidisation of the coal industry.

We've done a bit of a comparison, and the figures stack up this way: even on a conservative account,subsidies to the coal industry in the budget is 23 times greater than the TOTAL climate change initiatives (including renewable projects, adaptation, energy efficiencies and disaster preparation).

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16th of Jun, 2009

Queensland Coal Subsidies: Lessons for the Budget

Queensland Budget Doesn't Remove Coal Subsidies

Last year, Six Degrees conducted research into the subsidies provided by the Queensland Government to the coal industry for the 2006-2007 budget. We found that the total amount of direct and quantifiable subsidisation was $3.8 billion per year. The research also confirmed the impact of these subsidies in the opportunity costs of spending on the coal industry, which results in less public funds available for less carbon intensive and sunrise industries.

The current subsidy regime, which is likely to be continued in the current budget, entrenches dependence on carbon intensive industries and energy sources when clearly the focus should be on breaking this dependence.

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coal infrastructure

8th of Jun, 2009

Farmers Hopes: Dashed by an Act of Spite

Farmers from across New South Wales today gathered outside what passes in this State for a Parliament. They came in their hundreds believing that their representatives might consider their stories, their experiences and their views (if not their votes).

No-one thought it would be easy. These people know that - they are farmers. "Easy" is not what farmers ever expect from their lot in life.

All these affected farmers posed the same economic question: coal or food?

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coal communities

5th of Jun, 2009

Agricultural Protection Bill - Defeated by One, Single, Vote

Famers Support the Greens Bill to Protect Against Mining

More than 200 farmers from across New South Wales converged upon the steps on Parliament House yesterday, chanting "You Can't Eat Coal" in support of the proposed amendments to the Mining Act to protect farming land from mining expansion. Despite this, the bill was voted down in the House by a single vote - as the Shooters Party, the Rev. Fred Nile and the ALP joined forces to defeat the proposal.

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5th of Jun, 2009

Reminder to Queensland Ministers: Coal Causes Climate Change

Anna Bligh's Office in South Brisbane A Global Warming Crime Scene

This World Environment Day, Friday 5 June, concerned citizens from across Brisbane joined with Six Degrees to declare Government Ministers' Offices "Global Warming Crime-scenes" to deliver a clear message that their inaction on phasing out coal in the face of climate change makes them utterly negligent.

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4th of Jun, 2009

Climate change: How Good is the Global Solution?

This first evening in a series of climate justice events will focus on the international UN climate talks, in the lead up to Copenhagen in December 2009.

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4th of Jun, 2009

The LOCAL Opportunity: Building Living Economies

Michael Shuman: Building Local Economies

On Sunday, 21st June, the Brisbane Transition Hub will present a workshop with renowned economist and entreprenuer Michael Shuman on The Local Opportunity: Building Resilient Businesses and Local Living Economies. If you are interested in positive and viable ways to build stronger businesses and communities in the changing economic, environmental and global context, then this workshop is for you.

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3rd of Jun, 2009

NSW Farmers Association Support Agricultural Protection

The NSW Farmers’ Association has added its support to the the Mining Amendment (Safeguarding Agricultural Land and Water) Bill which is due to be debated in NSW Parliament on Thursday. It remains to be seen how the National Party responds in the Parliamentary debate on the bill - which is designed to protect prime agricultural lands and waters feeding those lands from the encroachment of mining.

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