LL:ART: Secret trials of genetically-modified crops in NSW
http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0003/21/A22069-2000Mar21.shtml Secret trials of genetically-modified crops in NSW Source: AAP | Published: Tuesday March 21, 3:32 PM By Linda Silmalis SYDNEY, March 21 AAP - Secret trial plots of genetically-modified crops were being grown throughout New South Wales in locations not even known by the state government, a parliamentary committee was told today. The crops, mainly of canola, were part of a federal government-approved trial to investigate the concept of using genetics to modify plants, the committee heard. NSW Agriculture revealed the experiments were occurring across Australia under the approval of the federal body, the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee (GMAC). While the plots were small, they were causing concern, NSW Agriculture's Helen Scott Orr told the NSW upper house inquiry into the introduction of genetically-modified foods. Canola seeds had the potential to cross-pollinate and contaminate neighbouring crops without the knowledge of farmers, Ms Scott Orr, NSW Agriculture research, advisory and education executive director, said. Under existing federal guidelines, companies wanting to conduct a trial were assessed on a case-by-case basis by GMAC. The state government lacked the legal power to force the operators of the trial plots to disclose their locations, Ms Scott Orr said. 'There are trial plots all over the state,' she told the hearing. 'But once you start talking about making public the sites, you are talking about legal powers to do that ... which we don't have. 'We do have concerns.' The plot locations were only known to GMAC, she said. Genetic modification is the practice of inserting genes into plants, animals or micro-organisms artificially to produce a specific characteristic. This could include anything from the production of blue tomatoes to foods that contain antigens or extra doses of vitamins. Multinational company Aventis Crop Science and Monsanto Australia, two of several companies behind the crop trials, said the locations were kept secret for commercial reasons. But Aventis spokeswoman Naomi Stevens said farmers who fell within isolation buffer zones as set out by GMAC were informed of the trials. 'The exact locations are considered to be in commercial confidence,' Ms Stevens told AAP after the hearing. 'This is really essential so we can maintain the integrity of the field development. 'It's a scientific trial so we need to manage the site and ensure that we don't have any contamination issues.' The crop sizes varied from a couple of plants to several hectares, she said. The federal government is developing a regulatory framework on genetic modification technology with legislation expected to be enacted in January next year. Today's hearing was held to discuss concerns about the introduction of genetically-modified food. In its submission, NSW Agriculture said it was difficult to determine the advantages and disadvantages of allowing modified foods into the marketplace. While some foods might be extremely popular, there could be an even greater market for foods not genetically-modified, it said. The technology could also be used as a trade barrier by countries who wanted to keep their markets free of genetically-modified food, it said. The department said there was a need for governments and scientific organisations to ensure the public and industry were well-informed before the technology was adopted. * This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Day of Action: Young People in Nursing Homes
DAY OF ACTION: APRIL 1 YOUNG PEOPLE IN NURSING HOMES? YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING! We should all be able to get the support we need, in the place we want to live-- but many young people with disabilities are living in in aged care nursing homes because there is nowhere else for them to go. People with disabilities need housing. We need support. And we need choices-- real choices. JOIN THE DAY OF ACTION Meet at the Melbourne GPO at 1pm on April 1st. We will then march to Parliament House. Travel costs may be reimbursed-- and taxi vouchers are available. For more information, contact Victoria Chipperfield at Headway Victoria: Phone: (03) 9642-2411. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.VD -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: Maralinga's radio-active scrap sold
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,2294,464674%255E1702,00.html Maralinga's radioactive scrap sold From LOUISE ROBSON of AAP 21mar00 11.00am (AEDT) RADIOACTIVE wreckage from the Maralinga nuclear test site was sold as scrap by the Australian government - none of it tested for contamination, the British officer in charge of the final stages of the clean up in the 1960s has revealed. Approximately 500 tonnes of scrap was removed from the site, freighted by rail and sold from the Department of Supply's auction site in Salisbury, north of Adelaide during the late 1960s. None of the material was ever tested for radioactive contamination, according to former flight lieutenant Sam McGee, the man in charge of the British government's 1967 clean-up mission Operation Brumby. Dented and distorted material was buried in a huge Ground Zero crater left by the bomb blast but anything intact was sent to Adelaide for sale, McGee said in a written account of his time at the base. Between 1952 and 1963, sites at Maralinga and Emu in South Australia were used for atmospheric explosions of 12 nuclear bombs and ground level explosions of plutonium, uranium and other radioactive devices. The detonations scattered contaminated fragments of metal across a 130km radius of the South Australian and Western Australian deserts. Operation Brumby was supposed to have cleaned the site before the British government handed it back. But checks in the 1980s found the sites were still contaminated and a second British-Australian STG20 million ($51.77 million) clean-up mission was completed earlier this month. McGee was the last person to leave Maralinga after the initial clean up. He supervised the burial of wreckage from the Maralinga test site and the disposal of around 500 tons of scrap from the site. "I became something like a commissioned scrap metal merchant," he recalled. "The material that had apparently not been distorted by blast power was collected and sent by rail from Watson down to Salisbury Department of Supply auction site for sale, generally as scrap metal. "The material itself consisted as far as I can remember mainly of metal cabinets, things like fridge cabinets, metal spars rather like small railway sleepers, metal work benches - it was all eventually sold as scrap. "As scrap, it would be carted away to a smelter and turned into ingots." McGee's recollections are supported by an official source. A 1967 report on the clean-up prepared for the British government's Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston by Royal Engineer Major W Cook records that one of the 10 30m towers from which the nuclear bombs were detonated was sold, and the remainder buried. The report also states that a Mustang aircraft left intact was also sold by the Department of Supply "and left on site for collection by the buyer". McGee said none of the scrap was ever tested for radioactive contamination and none of the 35 British and Australian airmen or the 100-strong British Army Pioneer Corps at the site during his tour of duty were ever supplied with radioactive monitoring devices. "It never occurred to me to issue any instructions to check materials for contamination and I did not simply because I was unaware of any risks," he wrote. "Whatever the material was, it was simply picked up out on the range, trucked to the railway loop at Watson where the airmen loaded it on to a waiting open truck wagon." A study by Australian researcher Sue Roff has established that at least seven of the men involved in Operation Brumby contracted cancer, probably from their exposure to radioactive dust. "They include Major Cook, the author of the 1967 report." Roff, based at Dundee University in Scotland, has studied the health of test veterans for the past decade. Her work has revealed high rates of cancer and other radiation related diseases among the 40,000 Australian, British and Pacific servicemen who witnessed Britain's atomic tests during the 1950s and 60s. * This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: Racist police / Police violence at Reclaim the Streets
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0003/21/national/national01.html Racist remarks by police caught on video By LINDA DOHERTY Four police officers face disciplinary action after being caught on their own surveillance cameras making racist remarks to Australian residents of Arabic appearance. The Bankstown-based male officers were undertaking video surveillance in a car in Bankstown late last year when they made the comments to a group of people on the street, but the tape only came to light during the investigation of a civilian's complaint to police. Mr Jeff Jarratt, the Police Deputy Commissioner (field operations), refused to reveal the remarks yesterday but said they were "racially derogative". "I wouldn't want to repeat them [the comments] because I find them derogatory and for me to repeat them would be simply compounding an already unsatisfactory situation," Mr Jarratt said. "They're Australians, I believe, who feature on the video." The four officers - senior constables and constables - had "expressed remorse" for their actions to Police Internal Affairs investigators. Mr Jarratt said the officers had breached the Police Service Code of Conduct and he was awaiting legal advice on possible breaches of legislation such as the Anti-Discrimination Act before deciding on disciplinary action. He confirmed they could face formal proceedings, including suspension and dismissal. "They're experienced officers and frankly should have known better," Mr Jarratt said. "During the interview with Internal Affairs they've expressed remorse for the comments they've made. That does not lessen their unacceptable nature but it shows that the officers are perhaps in the process of learning from mistakes they've made." The video was discovered when a man charged with an unrelated criminal offence complained to police about the derogatory remarks. During the legal discovery process, police handed a copy to the man's lawyer. Mr Jarratt said he had now asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to withdraw the charges against the man, who was not a subject of the remarks. Bankstown and other suburbs in Sydney's south-west have witnessed a wave of violent crime in recent months, including 40 shootings, an attempt to ram an ambulance, and firings at police and a television cameraman. Mr Jarratt yesterday defended the Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan, who last month blamed rival Lebanese gangs for the violence and called on the Lebanese community to help police catch the "evil gun-toting criminals". "The Commissioner has made very strong his view that we are about working with the community in partnership to target criminals who make this an unpleasant place to live," he said. A flood of new allegations about police conduct in the Bankstown area last week forced the Police Integrity Commission to defer a inquiry into the conduct of some officers in the patrol. The Police Integrity Commissioner, Mr Paul Urquhart, said the planned three-day inquiry had been deferred because of "additional material". It is understood the PIC advertised in a local newspaper, which resulted in the wide response about alleged police misconduct. -- http://www.smh.com.au/news/0003/21/national/national11.html Road protest video to Ryan A videotape allegedly showing police punching people in the head and charging on horses at a weekend protest was yesterday handed to the Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan. Two officers were taken to hospital for treatment and another had his nose broken after the clash with about 3,000 road protesters on Saturday night near the Eastern Distributor. Superintendent Donald Graham said the problems escalated when about 60 protesters from Reclaim the Streets - an organisation against car culture - rushed onto the distributor, blocking traffic at one of the northern tollgates. In a letter to Mr Ryan, Greens MP Ms Lee Rhiannon said she had also seen police using capsicum spray and pushing people off and over cement barricades. She said the scenes had been captured on video. AAP -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: New International Bookshop News
The return of class to feminism -- Marilyn Lake and Morag Loh 6.30 pm on Wednesday 22 March at the New International Bookshop, To celebrate the release of "Left-Wing Ladies" -- the first serious history of the Union of Australian Women -- Carmel Shute hosts a discussion between Professor Marilyn Lake and the UAW's Morag Loh on the return of class to feminism, with plenty of time for discussion and debate. Trades Hall (cnr Victoria and Lygon Sts), Carlton. All welcome. For more info, call 9662 3744. Trotsky returns to the NIB A leader of the Russian revolution, a gifted journalist and polemicist and an elegant theoretician, Leon Trotsky's work is crucial to understanding the 20th century and beyond. But for too long his books have been expensive and hard to find. At last, the New International Bookshop is now stocking a comprehensive range of texts from this key figure in Marxist theory. Books in stock include The Revolution Betrayed, Their Morals and Ours, The First Five Years of the Communist International, In Defense of Marxism and many others (including numerous rare pamphlets). LL.VC -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Cuba: Eva Seoane speaks
The Australia-Cuba Friendship Society (ACFS) invites you to a Public Meeting Come and hear Eva Seoane talk about the current situation in Cuba Eva is Vice President of ICAP (Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos) (Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People) Date: Monday 27 March 2000 Time: 7:30pm Venue: Communications Electrical Plumbing Union 71 Cromwell St, Collingwood Admission: Free (ACFS members please bring a plate or a drink) Supper:Provided Enquiries: Joan 9857 9249 Maree 9478 9473 (for enquiries in Spanish) LL.VC -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: East Timor will rise from the ashes
EAST TIMOR WILL RISE FROM THE ASHES Andy Alcock Information Officer CIET (SA) Inc All who have visited East Timor since last year's referendum with the ensuing mass murder and destruction report of the chaos and horrifying living conditions for people now. While not denying the magnitude of the problems faced by the East Timorese, this article will attempt to show that not only will this tiny nation rise from the ashes, its leaders are an inspiration to the region. The East Timorese are not having it easy with 70% of their infrastructure destroyed, an eighth of the population trapped in West Timor, 90% of the people unemployed, many exposed to dengue, malaria, intestinal and other diseases; large numbers starving because of inadequate food supplies and regular attacks from across the border and the regular excavation of mass graves. In terms of actual financial wealth, East Timor would have to be at rock bottom of the world's development charts. At a recent CIET public meeting, Helder da Costa (a member of the World Bank assessment mission to Timor in 1999) and Michael Sullivan (from Flinders University) talked of the problems facing Timor. Both were positive about the long term prospects. The country is economically viable with oil and minerals reserves both on land and in the Timor Gap. Also there are good prospects with tourism and agriculture. Before the occupation, Timor was a popular tourist destination and had a flourishing agriculture sector - especially its famous Arabica coffee industry. Obviously, East Timor will have to avoid following some of the damaging models of development that the IMF and the World Bank like to impose on the Third World eg the neoliberal strategy of slashing public sector agencies. Another positive for Timor is the performance of their leaders in the face of present adversity. They make our political leaders (both government and opposition) look as though they are desperately in need of charisma and compassion transplants! Terry McCarthy in Asia Magazine of 20 March 2000 in an article Rising From the Ashes speaks of Xanana Gusmão as the charismatic former guerrilla leader who is bringing hope that his beloved East Timor will finally be freed from centuries of fear. He goes on to describe a situation he witnessed in Dili. A woman in black whose husband and brother were killed by the Indonesian military's militia last September was waiting for Xanana Gusmão who was working his way through a crowd. When he reached her, she threw her arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder. Gusmão held her for some time, all the while talking to her in a low, soothing voice. Then he reached up and gently wiped the tears from her face, kissed her on both cheeks and moved on. "..something remarkable is happening in that half of the island," says McCarthy. "Gusmão, 53, a former guerrilla leader and political prisoner, has tapped into reserves that are out of reach of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, reserves of willpower and pride the people themselves barely knew existed. Combining the authority of Nelson Mandela and the charisma of Che Guevara, Gusmão has been travelling the country, spreading his vision of the future". Wherever he goes, he preaches a message of forgiveness and reconciliation which has been picked up by East Timorese at home and in the diaspora. Last October, I had the honour to meet Xanana when he visited Melbourne. While he was speaking to a huge gathering at Melbourne Town Hall, I was informed that there were probably a few former militias amongst a number of refugees. In mock seriousness, I suggested that they had better take care as we would take some disciplinary action against them. A young women of my acquaintance who left Timor 21 years ago aged 9 months, chided me saying "Xanana has told us that we must forgive!" A few weeks later on ABC's Lateline, a journalist interviewed a Timorese teenager who was bedridden with a leg fractured by militia machine gun bullets. During the incident, his father who attempted to protect him was shot dead in front of him. His mother and sister were dragged away and he had not heard of them since. When this young man was asked what should happen to those who had inflicted the tragedy on him and his family, there was no hesitation, "They should be forgiven," he said. Of course, not all East Timorese feel the same about forgiveness and reconciliation, but Xanana and Jose Ramos Horta have great influence over the grass roots. Last month when Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid visited Dili, an angry crowd gathered at a public ceremony to protest the murders and the disappearances of their relatives and friends during the Indonesian occupation. The Timorese leader immediately jumped off the platform and worked his way through the crowd pleading and reasoning with people. Single-handedly, he pacified several hundred people. Jose Ramos Horta told the people that Gus Dur (
LL:AA: Defend victimised CPSU delegate
"Would you please stop harassing this union member!" What would you think if a union delegate said this to management? Too right - a union delegate who is doing their job! Do you think such a statement should provoke a witchhunt under the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct? Of course not!!! But this is exactly what has a happened to Marcus Banks, Community and Public Sector Union delegate at Moreland Centrelink. Marcus has been forced transferred to Darebin Centrelink and faces an investigation for a possible breach of the Public Service Act Code of Conduct because he allegedly raised his voice when asking a section manager at Moreland Centrelink to stop harassing a union member. The issue was referred to Area North Central Management which took up the complaint under the Code of Conduct without any attempt at local mediation and in contravention of its own disputes resolution procedure! CPSU members at Moreland passed a motion demanding Marcus be returned to Moreland and the charges dropped. The Area North Central delegates committee also embraced the issue and established a sub-committee to defend Marcus Banks. Many other groups of CPSU members in Centrelink and throughout the union nationally have passed motions supporting Marcus and demanding that the charges be dropped. CPSU members understand the fundamental principles involved in this case. The Public Service Act, which includes the Code of Conduct, only became law last year and gives management far reaching powers to sack workers. This case, centred on the right of a union delegate to represent a member, is a critical test case with obvious implications for the whole union movement. If militant delegates can get picked off by management, the entire union movement is weakened. The charges against Marcus Banks must be dropped now! This is what Left Link subscribers can do to help: (1) Send messages of solidarity to Marcus c/- [EMAIL PROTECTED] (2) Circulate the appropriate petition (one for CPSU members and one for the wider union movement and Centrelink clients) supporting Marcus and demanding the charges be dropped. Contact Mick Burnside, Secretary of the Area North Central Delegates Committee on 9611-2407. (3) Help publicise this case by passing motions of solidarity, discussing it with co-workers, publishing articles in union journals etc. (4) CPSU members are invited to get involved in Area North Central delegates committee sub-committee to defend Marcus Banks. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details of the next meeting. Act today - an attack on one is an attack on all! Yours in solidarity Alison Thorne Member of defend Marcus Banks sub-committee of the Area North Central delegates committee -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
