Australian Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam today launched a campaign urging the Government to strengthen media cross ownership laws and protect diversity in the Australian mass media.

Senator Ludlam said the recent Fairfax raid by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart was just an example of the ongoing concentration of media ownership in Australia.

“This is not about Mrs Rinehart’s personal world view. It’s about the mass media in Australia being run by a tiny handful of people which is getting smaller and smaller.”

“Eleven of Australia’s twelve capital city daily papers are owned by either Fairfax or Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd. The remaining newspaper is effectively controlled by the owner of Channel Seven. It stands to reason that the concentration of media ownership in this country has gone far enough.”

“Disturbingly, Australia is already ranked 30th in the world for press freedom. By comparison, Canada is 10th and New Zealand is 13th.” (Reporters Without Borders – Press Freedom Index 2011/2012)

Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has bought almost 14% of Fairfax Media, adding to her 10% stake in Channel Ten. The reach of Fairfax extends beyond the city mastheads the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age into regional towns right across Australia.

“The weakening of Australia’s media ownership laws by the Howard Government has had a negative impact on the integrity of public debate in Australia, a situation that will worsen if further concentration of ownership is permitted.”

“With the support of the Australian Greens, the Government can take the urgent action required to protect diversity in media ownership in Australia. We have asked the Australian people to write to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy through our website – http://www.greensmps.org.au/media-ownership – to urge him to take action before it is too late.”

He said that a statement of principle by the Council opposing coal mining or coal seam gas [CSG] extraction in the region would demonstrate its true concern for the environment.

“Not many people know that the Maryborough Basin, which is presently being prepared for coal mining and CSG in the Mary Valley, extends down to Point Arkwright. I’d be very concerned that open land in Verrierdale, for example, might be exploited for coal or gas.

“People south of Coolum might not know that there is another coal basin, the Nambour Basin, that covers the rest of the Sunshine Coast. These basins with coal reserves extend from the Blackall Range out to sea.

“It is essential for the future integrity of the Sunshine Coast environment and its attraction as a desirable region for people to live in and raise their families that the open land never be degraded by these industries.

“It is generally thought that the coal mining and CSG issues facing farmers and communities in the Darling Downs and NSW have nothing to do with the Sunshine Coast. But exploration has already extended as far south as Wolvi.

“It is no accident that mining magnate, Mr Clive Palmer, is eyeing off the Sunshine Coast.”

Dr McDonald said that he has repeatedly asked LNP MPs to oppose coal mining and CSG in the Mary Valley. He said their silence spoke loudly of their support for the mining industry in our neighbourhood.

He accused the LNP of hypocrisy. “The LNP yelled loud and long against the Traveston Dam and they joined with Mary River activists and The Greens in opposing the dam. Yet when coal companies are exploring the length of the Mary River for coal and CSG, their concern for the environment disappears.

“Every major tributary of the Mary River is being explored, and their concern over Traveston for the health of the Mary River and its unique species has disappeared.

“The Sunshine Coast Regional Council must stand firm against these activities extending into the Sunshine Coast and I urge Mayor Bob Abbott to send a clear message to Labor and the LNP that the Council will lead the community in opposition to mining the Coast.

“The Noosa Greens have actively opposed coal mining along the Mary River and its tributaries. We are concerned for the health of the river, the Mary River Cod, the lungfish and the Mary River Turtle. Coal mining and CSG will threaten the world heritage sea grasslands at the mouth of the river if coal mining is approved.”

Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate, Noosa

http://www.ga.gov.au/oceans/ea_ons_Nmbr.jsp

http://www.ga.gov.au/energy/province-sedimentary-basin-geology/petroleum/offshore-eastern-australia/nambour.html#map

http://www.ga.gov.au/provexplorer/provinceDetails.do?eno=22361

“http://www.ga.gov.au/energy/province-sedimentary-basin-geology/petroleum/offshore-eastern-australia/maryborough.html

http://www.nrm.se/en/menu/researchandcollections/departments/palaeobotany/collections/databases/jaustralia/jaustralialandsb.13786.htm

http://widebaygreens.org/2011/05/the-greens-call-for-a-moratorium-on-coal-seam-gas/

http://widebaygreens.org/2012/01/standing-up-for-the-noosa-biosphere-means-standing-up-for-the-sandy-straits-biosphere/

http://widebaygreens.org/2010/05/queensland-beautiful-one-day-open-cut-coalmines-the-next/

http://actiononcoalandgas.org/

You’d think, that if citizenship and welcoming migrants as fellow Australians were important, some thought would be put into ensuring their formal induction is a memorable day for those people who have come to our country, and decided to adopt the responsibilities of full citizenship.

What the Sunshine Coast Regional Council dished up was an appalling, ocker display that appeared to have been put together in the most diffident fashion. Mayor, Bob Abbott, for the most part was the only speaker to give the ceremony some gravitas. Bob couldn’t help himself and finishing off with a loud “Aussie, Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi” at the end of the formal ceremony was a banal end to his barely audible reading of the Oath and Affirmation.

They were the only clear words we heard from Bob Abbott. He spoke quietly into an inadequate PA system and could not be heard by most of the audience. A Council, which will spend $80,000 on electrical equipment for a commercial food and wine festival in Noosa, could not even be bothered installing a professional PA system.

Councillor Russell Green gave a blokey introduction to the MC whose only qualifications for the job seemed to be inappropriate blokey in-jokes [Cr Green really hit the mark] and the fact that he’d been the presenter for some travel program. Enunciation was not one of his qualities and I wonder what those new citizens for whom English is a second language made of it. At the end of what should have been an important and significant highlight of the morning he engaged in banter about football and cricket. WTF!

I didn’t stay to hear any of the other speakers so I didn’t get to hear local member Glen Elmes who looked not the least embarrassed by the nonsense and I wondered whether a woman’s voice would be heard on stage before the pipe band arrived.

This appalling clique that was onstage throughout has got to go!

Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate, Noosa
Australia Day

Dr McDonald said that the LNP and Labor leaders had descended to a schoolyard level of debate on the election date.

“I have no doubt that the decision will be controversial concerning the decision to push back the Council elections, but people have been confused between coverage of State and local government elections.

“The Greens policy supports fixed terms and the adoption of that principle will take away the demeaning argy bargy that we have seen this week between Campbell Newman and Anna Bligh.

“However, the biggest problem we face in Queensland is that no party once in government seriously commits to any long term action planning.

“People often say to me that The Greens can never win government so it is a wasted vote. But voting for The Greens is a vote for the future. We must leave behind the dysfunctional ratbaggery that has characterised the Queensland Parliament and deal with long term issues beyond the three-year electoral cycle instead of short-term, populist programs.

“If I am elected to the Parliament for Noosa I can focus my contribution in representing Noosa on the solutions requiring long-term strategy and action, such as a commitment to the infrastructure planning and programs necessary to prepare for the effects of climate change in the region and economic prosperity for Noosa in the post-carbon economy.

“This is not something you ever hear from Mr Elmes or the Young Labor candidate from Brisbane.

“Because I am not constrained by the vested interests that support Labor and the LNP, my focus will be on the benefits for the whole of the electorate and the region rather than select groups and the coal and gas industries.”

Dr McDonald said, “The Noosa and Hinterland Greens Branch are organised and ready for the long campaign.”

Jim McDonald campaigning for the Greens

Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate Noosa
Media Release, 25 January 2012

He said, “I think it is important that a candidate aspiring to represent Noosa should be present at the formal induction of new citizens into the community.

“Citizenship ceremonies are one of the most moving secular ceremonies in our nation. I have always admired the bravery of migrants who choose to set up a new life in Australia and to formally identify themselves with our nation by taking on citizenship.

“My own migrant origins in Australia stretch back 180 years, so there hasn’t been a tradition in my family of people formally taking on citizenship. But the challenges facing today’s migrants and my forebears who were free settlers are similar in many respects.

“Some of our new citizens will have fled tyranny and persecution and we welcome them into our community and wish them a safe and prosperous future in our country.

“On behalf of the Noosa Greens, I welcome all our new fellow Australians.”

Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate Noosa
Media Release, 25 January 2012

I’d like to thank Bob Ansett for pointing out what the LNP’s website says about Noosa’s de-amalgamation because what the LNP spokesperson for Local Government, Gympie MP, David Gibson, says and doesn’t say on that website is quite different from the LNP’s actual policy.

As The Greens candidate for Noosa, I have called for a referendum to establish the ratepayers’ wishes as the primary step in giving the Noosa community the local government it really wants. This is a community-focussed process of decision-making and the role of the Government will be then to facilitate – through community consultation – any changes resulting from the community’s response.

The LNP proposal is for “an advisory poll of voters in any proposed new Local Government boundary” after a Queensland Boundaries Commissioner has prepared their “preferred options” for any changes after he or she has considered submissions from the community.

These are important differences that need to be understood by all the groups involved. The LNP offers the Noosa community an “advisory” role in a poll. The policy does not indicate what kind of poll that might be. The Greens have called for a local  referendum – let the community decide on deamalgamation not some appointed Commissioner fiddling with boundaries, “advised” by the community.

This “advisory poll” is something quite different from Mr Newman’s and Mr Gibson’s undertaking that “residents living within the proposed new council area will, by a simple majority, vote whether or not they wish to establish a new Noosa Shire Council”.

In designating a role for a Commissioner to make the decision on whether Noosa is to get the Council it wants, the LNP has developed a process that pushes the community to the side. LNP policy also will load the cost of a new Noosa Council on the residents: “ratepayers of any proposed new local authority would bear the full costs of any de-amalgamation.”

The Greens position is that if the community decides on separation the cost should be borne by the Government since it was the Queensland Government that forced amalgamation on us in the first place.

The Commissioner’s process of decision-making looks very like a “Yes Minister” scenario. I say that because the LNP policy includes the critical statement of principle: “The LNP has made it clear that its preference is for Queensland’s Councils to remain as  currently constituted to avoid any further disruption and cost for local communities.” With that statement goes any confidence that accommodating the electorate’s interests is anything more than a sop to the community’s wishes.

As a Noosa resident who favours de-amalgamation, I’m rather disappointed that Friends of Noosa and the Alliance find the LNP position so attractive since any close examination of the LNP policy shows that Campbell Newman and David Gibson have made an offer that is designed to fail the wishes of the Noosa community, and the LNP cannot be trusted to carry out their wishes.

Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate
Noosa
13 January 2012

He said, “No-one should assume that the Noosa community as a whole still has the views that were evident in 2007 – 8. There is significant churn in this electorate as residents come and go. “At the moment, the activists and the other candidates hitching a ride on the de-amalgamation campaign only think they know. People I talk to are not of a single voice on the issue.

“We need to get away from the hysteria evident in the public debate. The State Government owes it to the people of Noosa and those communities willing to join in a new Noosa Council to conduct a referendum in the Noosa region when the State election is held.”

Dr McDonald said that a referendum in Noosa and communities wishing to join in on the establishment of a new Council would be a smart move for the Queensland Government. It would establish once and for all what Noosa people really want for their area.

He said that although the Independent Alliance had taken some of the party political spin out of the issue, the old party politics had hobbled the Noosa Council issue. “I’ve been listening for years now to Bob Ansett rail against Anna Bligh. When Friends of Noosa threw their lot behind Glen Elmes and the LNP, and claimed to speak for the residents, they cut off any opportunity for the Noosa community to negotiate separation with the Queensland Government before the Coast councils were amalgamated. They made it an Opposition campaign
issue.

“The Greens campaigned for de-amalgamation during the last State election. It is still Greens policy for Noosa. However, establishing the actual wishes of Noosa residents today is the fundamental priority in considering Noosa’s future.

“The Greens believe in strong Local Government,” he said, “but the most important point is that a separate council should not be imposed on Noosa any more than amalgamation was. If the majority want the Regional Council to work better, then the new Government should respond to that.

“Earlier this year, Greens Leader, Bob Brown, sought to strengthen local government by calling for a federal referendum to include provisions in the Constitution to protect Councils in areas like Noosa. “Meanwhile the local branches of the Labor Party remain silent. I am sure that Glen Elmes himself is sincere about de-amalgamation but the LNP makes promises that have so many back-out provisions their commitment cannot be believed.

“Considering the affordability question is critical, but the debate is off the rails. On the one side the Alliance costings would support the argument for a new council. On the other side, Cr Brennan has aligned himself with the technocrats in the Regional Council and some opposition is based almost solely on the costs.

“The Noosa Greens believe the State Government, which inflicted amalgamation on Noosa, should cover the costs of separation if the residents of Noosa and surrounding communities wishing to join with Noosa are given an opportunity to vote on it and they actually support the creation of a new Noosa Council.”

Jim McDonald
Noosa Greens Candidate
13 December 2011

Greens’ spokesperson for gambling, Senator Richard Di Natale, claimed that the government should not use a trial to delay pokies reform, which is another reason to embrace $1 bets.

“There is an opportunity to do something to curb the scourge of problem gambling right now – we don’t know if that opportunity will exist in the next term or under a future government,” said Senator Di Natale.

“Clubs Australia are pushing for a trial of mandatory pre-commitment that would delay meaningful nation-wide pokies reform in the hope that the government changes and the status quo continues.

“$1 bet limits could be legislated this year and implemented immediately, according to the Greens’ 5 year timetable. There would be no need for a trial of implementation because it would not require any new technology.

“$1 bets is the most effective policy to curb problem gambling and it has support in the community and across the Parliament. This should be a no brainer.

“Clubs Australia understands this, which is why they are grasping at straws to stop it.

“They continue to make outrageous claims about the cost and now they claim that the Government should read the fine print of their agreement with Andrew Wilkie, which doesn’t mention $1 bets.

“Clubs Australia need to read the large print of the government’s agreement with Andrew Wilkie. The government has agreed to poker machine reform, the community supports it and action, not a trial, is what’s needed.”

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has welcomed the release of the report by the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government.

“The Gillard government and the Opposition should get behind this important and needed constitutional reform,” Senator Brown said.

“The panel’s outcome is the result of the process that stemmed from the agreement the Greens signed with Labor on 1 September 2010.”

The agreement stated that the parties would work together and with other parliamentarians to:

Hold referenda during the 43rd Parliament or at the next election on Indigenous constitutional recognition and recognition of local government in the Constitution.

Greens MP and banking spokesperson, Adam Bandt, has warned the big four banks to pass on the full interest rate cut or risk government support in the event they’re hit by another financial crisis.

“Last time there was a financial crisis, the banks received significant support from the government and the Parliament.

We gave them cheap credit and effectively guaranteed their operations”, Mr Bandt said.

“If the banks aren’t willing to support the Australian people with an interest rate cut, why should we give them generous support if the European financial crisis hits their bottom line?”

“The big banks are rapidly destroying any goodwill they have with the public.”

“The big four banks have made a combined record profit this year of over $23 billion. They can afford to pass on a full rate cut.”‬‪

“If they don’t pass on the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut, the big banks should expect a frosty reception if they come cap-in-hand to Parliament complaining about another global financial crisis.”

“The government certainly shouldn’t be giving them a tax cut of $4 billion over the next decade.”