November 26, 2003

US groups warn on trade agreement

Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth (U.S), National Environment Trust, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defence Council & Sierra Club

Australian Federal Parliament
C/o The Hon. Mark Vaile
Federal Minister for Trade
Parliament House
Canberra, ACT 2600
Australia

By Fax: 61 2 6273 4128

Dear Members of Parliament,

Re Australia- U.S Free Trade Agreement

November 5, 2003

Australia Wimps Out On Nuke Disarmament In United Nations

Australian Peace Committee
Friends Of The Earth Australia

Australia has 'wimped out' on the nuclear disarmament issue in the United Nations General Assembly First Committee.

October 28, 2003

Peace Groups Urge Govt To Follow Senate, and Support UN Weapons Resolution

Friends of The Earth Australia
Australian Peace Committee
Campaign For International Cooperation And Disarmament (CICD)

Australian peace groups have urged the government to follow yesterdays vote by the Australian Senate in support of the New Agenda Resolution 'Towards a nuclear weapon free world: a New Agenda' supported by South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Sweden and Ireland, which is being put through the United Nations General Assembly's First Committee on disarmament on 29 October.

October 22, 2003

Geneva, London. 22 October 2003. In the midst of growing European dissent over the impending arrival of the first four of 13 toxic, deteriorating ex-naval vessels from the US "ghost fleet", a new report, Needless Risk, was released jointly today by the Basel Action Network in Geneva and Friends of the Earth UK in London. The report details not only the environmental threat posed by the risky towage of aged naval vessels, but likewise exposes the fact that the United States has the adequate technical capacity to deal with the ships safely at home and that the trans-oceanic shipments are in contradiction with national and international law.

October 15, 2003

Senate Motions On Nuke Weapons Welcomed

Friends Of The Earth Australia
Australian Peace Committee

Australian peace and environment groups Friends of the Earth Australia and Australian Peace Committee today welcomed two notices of motion placed by Senator Andrew Bartlett of the Democrats on the subject of nuclear weapons.

October 11, 2003

Friends of the Earth Indonesia, (WALHI) demands the government halt operations at the Grasberg mine (known as ?Freeport¹) following a disastrous landslide on Thursday morning 9 October 2003. The Grasberg mine in West Papua is jointly owned by USA-based Freeport McMoran and UK/Australian mining company Rio Tinto Ltd.

September 9, 2003

Cancun, Mexico, September 9, 2003 - Trade and environment ministers from all around the world gathering today in Mexico at a key meeting ahead of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial in Cancun were warned not to trade away the environment.

September 2, 2003

The official death toll from the recent heat wave in France has reached 11,500 with air pollution, inadequate heath system and elderly people living in isolation being challenged as the cause of such tragic figures. This is an average of 800 deaths per day during the 14 day heat wave where temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius during the beginning of August.

August 26, 2003

GM crops in Spain don't deliver promises, but harm farmers and environment

A new study published today by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace demonstrates that the growing of GM crops in Spain is causing contamination of organic crops, producing low yields and its benefits are grossly overstated. The report is also highly critical of the Spanish Government for failing to properly control or monitor the situation. [ 1 ]

August 15, 2003

Dozers rolling at Jabiluka
Rehabilitation work commences at Kakadu mine-site

Australian Conservation Foundation
Environment Centre of the Northern Territory
Friends of the Earth Australia

Environment groups have welcomed the start of rehabilitation work this week at the Jabiluka uranium mine-site. A report on last night's ABC 7-30 Report confirmed that mining company Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) began putting uranium back down the mine on Tuesday.

July 7, 2003

US Policies Worsening North Korean Nuke Crisis Say Peace Groups: Aust Should Take Lead In Restoring Sanity

Friends Of The Earth Australia
Australian Peace Committee
Ozpeace
Rally For Peace (Brisbane)
Campaign For International Cooperation And Disarmament (CICD)

Australian Peace groups Friends of the Earth, the Australian Peace Committee, Ozpeace and CICD have accused the Australian government of following along with US policies that are steadily worsening the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis, creating a real risk of either a conventional conflict or possibly a nuclear exchange.

June 16, 2003

Environment group Friends of the Earth (FoE) has today urged communities in NSW to make sure their voice is clearly heard over Federal Government plans to transport and dump nuclear waste.

June 6, 2003

There are increasing calls to assist the 2,000 Cateret Islanders that are stranded without food on small atolls off Bougainville. For the past five months the Islanders have been reliant upon the fish that they catch as crops and gardens have been destroyed by high tides. Schools have closed indefinitely and children are reported to be suffering ill-health because of lack of food.

May 26, 2003

Position : Anti-Nuclear Campaigner

Friends of the Earth, Australia is seeking a committed and passionate campaigner to work on nuclear issues across Australia. The campaigner would be responsible for coordinating the national campaign in conjunction with local FoE groups, especially in Melbourne. The position is
for 4 days per week and covers key elements of the nuclear fuel cycle, including proposed waste facilities, current uranium mines, the Lucas Heights reactor, engagement with Indigenous and other affected communities and liaison with the national environment movement.

May 14, 2003

May 13, 2003 Washington (US) / Brussels (Belgium) -- The United States administration is to bring a case in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the European Union over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), according to media reports today [1]. The US case may be joined by Argentina and Canada, large-scale GMO producers, and by Egypt, hoping for a US free trade deal later this year.

May 6, 2003

Federal Government moves to transport large volumes of radioactive waste through NSW suburban and regional communities have run into a serious hurdle with the Carr Government confirming a dedicated NSW Parliamentary Inquiry will examine the controversial plan.

May 1, 2003

Kakadu Mayday Call: Mining Giant Rio Tinto Must Act Now

Friends of the Earth Australia
Australian Conservation Foundation
Environment Centre NT (ECNT)

Leading environmental groups will call on British based mining giant Rio Tinto to honour its existing commitments and begin rehabilitating the stalled Jabiluka uranium mine site in Kakadu National Park at the company's annual meeting in Perth today. A statement from senior Mirrar traditional owner Yvonne Margarula calling for rehabilitation and clear consent provisions will also be presented at today's meeting.

April 15, 2003

Friends of the Earth Australia has today welcomed the award of a major international environment prize to senior Aboriginal women from northern South Australia for their efforts to stop radioactive waste dumping on their traditional lands.

March 30, 2003

Australia's major national and state environment groups, representing hundreds of thousands of Australians have today called for an urgent negotiated solution to the current conflict in Iraq.

March 21, 2003

Peace Groups Call On Govt To Recall Troops

Friends Of The Earth Australia
Australian Peace Committee
Campaign For International Cooperation And Disarmament (CICD)

Friends of the Earth Australia, CICD, and the Australian Peace Committee have welcomed a Senate motion passed at 4pm yesterday after intense debate which calls on the Howard government to reject war and return troops home as soon as possible. The groups call on the government to do as the motion suggests and pull out of the war immediately.

February 4, 2003

A media conference series on the impending war

Presented by the Walk Against The War Coalition

January 23, 2003

The Federal Government is set to override state governments to transport and dispose nuclear waste from the troubled nuclear reactor in Sydney. Science Minister Peter McGauran today released the final Environmental Impact Statement for the National Radioactive Waste Repository. National environment group Friends of the Earth said the move is ill conceived and ignores significant community and South Australian government opposition.