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Tasmanian environment organisations, Huon Valley Environment Centre and Still Wild Still Threatened, have called on Climate Change Minister Penny Wong to heed the calls of all stakeholders and consider all the science surrounding forests and carbon emissions, as she opens a climate change conference organised by the logging industry in Sydney this week. Penny Wong will address logging industry head honchos including Forestry Tasmania's Bob Gordon at the $2,200 a-head Asia Pacific Forest Industries Climate Change Conference. The conference is billed as giving participants "The Opportunity to Influence Australian Government on Forestry's Role in the Emissions Trading Scheme." We are calling on Minister Wong to accept a real climate change solution and end logging of mature, old growth and high conservation-value forests. We are extremely concerned that Minister Wong, who is charged with the important task of steering Australia down a low-carbon path, is pandering to wood chipping and old growth logging interests, whose activities have been shown to pose a major climate impact," Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said. HVEC

The House of Representatives Climate Change, the Environment and Arts Committee is meeting in Darwin this week to hear evidence of coastal climate change. Eric Woehler from Birds Australia says migratory birds are the "canary in the mine" for the nation's coastal zones. He says in Tasmania some flock numbers have halved. "I've been involved in coastal research and coastal management in Tasmania now for 30 years, working both on shore birds and sea birds and in the 30 years that I've been involved in I've seen at a state level average a loss of 50 per cent of the numbers of birds and the mix of birds," he said. "There are birds that I remember seeing in the 80s that I haven't seen now for 20 years." Mr Woehler says development, rising sea levels, livestock and recreational activities like four-wheel-driving and jet skiing are all contributing to predictions that Australia will lose most if its beach nesting birds in the next 50 to 70 years.

The suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act in the Northern Territory in 2007 during the Emergency Intervention is a human rights issue for all Australians. The Law Council of Australia states that, "the suspension of the RDA (Racial Discrimination Act 1975) under the Northern Territury Response legislation has been condemned by the Law Council as "utterly unacceptable". The Northern Territory’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Tony Fitzgerald, has been quoted as saying that, “the suspension of the Northern Territory and Federal race discrimination legislation can never be justified”. You can help get this vital piece of legislation reinstated by signing the online petition at Go Petition. The petition is sponsored by Senator Rachel Siewert and she will present it to the Senate in late August 2008. Deadline is August 28.

The formation of an international Working Group of electricity energy experts was announced last week at the conclusion of the Inaugural Symposium on Electrical Energy Evolution in China and Australia, in Palm Cove, Queensland. Symposium chair, CSIRO scientist Dr Geoff James, said the decision to form the Working Group was a major outcome of the three-day specialist conference on sustainable electricity. “This think-tank of 22 leading academic and industry specialists from China and Australia will work together to develop better ways to utilise and distribute electricity,” Dr James said. “Recognising the strong trade links and shared energy challenges which face our two nations, the Working Group will draw on the expertise of both countries to continue the work begun at this forum towards achieving sustainable electricity supply.” “This think-tank of 22 leading academic and industry specialists from China and Australia will work together to develop better ways to utilise and distribute electricity,” Dr James said.The Working Party membership is drawn from Australian industry and key Australian and Chinese universities.

Tasmania's publicly owned ancient forests are still being destroyed by Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd. This short film shows 6 months of non violent direct action in Tasmania's Southern Forests between November 07 and April 08. Engage Media