The Australian environment movement along with the union movement organised some of the biggest rallies Australia has seen in some time last weekend.
For those who arrived on the last train from the Herald Sun building, there's something wrong with society today.
Spain, like many European countries, has been looted by the powerful, who now seek to foist their losses onto the public purse, and thereby onto the public.
The second in the two-part series from Kim Sauberg on allowing citizens to better use technology to uncover truth.
When I was a child, and the internet was just a bizarre U.S. military experiment, I looked hopefully to computers as a possible future solver of all things factual.
Many commentators have pointed out how "soft" the Budget was compared to all the "tough" hype however despite this, it still failed to add additional funds into key areas.
The following essay (first published in Tristan's blog Left Focus) is a response to Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan - who has recently written a Fabian Essay - whose obvious significance concerns the coming Australian Federal Budget for 2011-12.
Outgoing senator Guy Barnett chairs an inquiry into film and literature classification, and hopes to extend the scheme to all "artwork".
It is testament to man's tremendous ingenuity that we can harness forces of nature so mighty and terrible they threaten not only humanity, but the very survival of every organism on this earth.
The News of the World phonehacking scandal is going ballistic in the UK. In 2006 a private investigator and a 'rogue journalist' from the paper (as NoW and News Ltd -and implicitly the police - insisted at the time) were jailed for hacking into the voicemails of people at Buckingham Palace.
For me what most illustrates the moribund nature of Sydney's administration is not the public transport(try Melbourne's).
A report from Roy Morgan Research recently pointed out that Australian society has become more individualistic and “less available”.
While Japan is visited by cruel calamity(and the consequences of disastrous nuclear planning), in geopolitics too a great earthquake is underway. American, or western, hegemony, backed by Australia and New Zealand, is shaking.
Despite having ironed out some significant flaws of late, it seems that the PM's leadership is in terminal decline.
As part of theangle.org's "Independent Voices" series for the NSW election, we bring you a question and answer session with Janet Mays, Independent Candidate for the Blue Mountains. Passionate about the community, preserving the environment and healthcare, Janet is well-known as the founder of Blue Mountains HEAL (Hospital Equity & Access Lobby).
By Alex Schlotzer: There can be little doubt that Tony Abbott has stumbled into a wasps’ nest over his party’s opposition to a flood levy. Unfortunately for him, and his beleaguered colleagues, instead of compromising, he’s decided to try to smash his way out. It all started with what’s been dubbed as the “summer...
By Alex Schlotzer: Social media is the new political battle ground. We saw it during the federal election and the recent Victorian state election. Political parties around the world have quickly jumped on the band-wagon, especially after Obama’s overwhelming success using it during his election campaign. However with its meteoric growth in use and...
John O'Driscoll examines the recently-revealed dangers of having a US-centric control freak recommending war against the Chinese.
As a child, in the 70s, I remember reading about the labour-saving devices that would make drudgery a historical curiosity. Whether in Omni magazine, or Sunday newspaper liftouts, robots and mechanisation promised that we all could join the chattering classes, with time available for political awareness and participation.
The second part of a series on the Victorian election. This article originally appeared in Tristran's blog Left Focus.
In this the first of a two-part series, theangle.org publishes a summary of Greens policies in the upcoming Victorian state election. This article was originally published at Left Focus.
Theangle.org's Rich Bowden spoke to Bruce Robinson, Convenor for ASPO-Australia (Australian Association for the Study of Peak Oil) about the threat of oil shortages to the country, the measures that need to be taken to offset such a crisis and the hopes for renewable energy.
Given the nature of agriculture in this country and the effects of rising populations both here and globally, I contend it is time to re-examine the virtues of a stable productive yeoman farming sector.
By Damian Baker: As part of our new focus on development and human rights issues, theangle.org is reposting old articles printed on the site which still have a high degree of revelance. We start with co-founder Damian Baker’s trip to Papua New Guinea in November 2009 where he encountered the lives of the people...
While water recycling and desalination have both been touted as showing the way forward on water reuse, and helping to offset a “peak water” scenario, experts have noted significant drawbacks to both, including the amount of energy needed to power wastewater recycling and desalination plants.
The combined swing in primary vote against Liberal and Labor is almost entirely represented in the increased Greens primary vote, with the rest being distributed among the minor parties and independent.
Left Focus's Tristan Ewins gives us his perspective of the ongoing drama of Election 2010 and what went wrong for Labor.
While the concept of peak water as an overarching term for the increased shortage of water supplies in Asia remains contentious, it has served to focus attention on the increasing water crisis facing many countries
Greens' candidate for the seat of Macquarie Carmel McCallum talks to theangle's Rich Bowden about her chances of victory in the western Sydney/Blue Mountains seat, the issues that most concern voters and her opinion of the strength of the asylum seeker issue.
An integrated water management system, though essential to protect developing nations facing climate change, is but one part of a wider “climate proofing” system, a report released by the UK-based sustainable development NGO Forum for the Future has said.
In this article Tristan Ewins of Left Focus examines some issues from a progressive perspective that could be crucial for Australians still to decide their vote for the August 21 2010 Australian Federal Election.
John Passant makes the case for the nationalisation of the Commonwealth Bank in his blog En Passant
Lee Rhiannon, former NSW Upper House member, and now Federal Senate candidate for NSW speaks with theangle.org's Rich Bowden on accountability for corporate donations to political parties, how the Greens' policies look to take advantage of a green economy and outlines what she sees as voter frustration over the Government's inability to stand up...
While water activists and environmentalists have hailed the recent decision by the UN General Assembly to grant access to safe water and adequate sanitation as a human right, Australia and New Zealand followed the United States, Canada and the UK in abstaining from the vote.
By Rich Bowden: Rich Bowden talks to Major-General Michael Keating, chair of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM), about the growing support amongst Australians for a republic, how the ARM is raising the profile of the debate and the Major-General’s personal reasons for supporting an Australian Head of State. Rich Bowden: The republic debate appears to...
As polls continue to show Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in with a real chance of becoming prime minister later this month, ACTU Media Co-ordinator comments on the lack of scrutiny of the volatile leader from the media and lists the questions the media should be asking.
Reading back over my very first article for theangle.org it's interesting to note the changes (or lack of them) to Australia’s policies regarding treatment of asylum seekers.
One of the more intriguing aspects of the 2010 election has been the rise of SenatorOnline, a direct representation model which aims to give Australians the opportunity to directly influence Parliamentary votes through the Internet.
On 9 April 2010, the Minister of Immigration Chris Evans announced changes to Australian immigration processing, whereby the processing of asylum applications for both Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers was stopped.
Melbourne-based writer, blogger and activist Kevin Rennie originally wrote this article on an East Timor solution for refugees for an international audience as part of the European Journalism Centre's Th!nk3 blogging project. We reprint it here with his kind permission.
ADB Assistant Chief Economist Juzhong Zhuang, editor of a new book on inequality and inclusive growth in Asia, says rising growth rates in Asia have masked rising inequality, leading to two faces of Asia - one shining and the other suffering.
when you look at the statistic that refugee and humanitarian visas make up just 0.03 percent of all visas granted last year, you wonder why this issue has become so politicized and such a sticky policy issue leading into the election.
In a conference with ramifications in the Asia Pacific region, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah has called on the UN's World Food Program to show leadership in the global battle against hunger.
Paul Bateson, of the Blue Mountains-based sustainability consultants EcoSTEPS, recently took time out from a tourism-focused sustainability meeting in Samoa to present the country's prime minister with a Socceroos shirt.
A new report issued by specialist insurance group Lloyds, along with environmental organisation WWF, has warned global businesses of the consequences of corporate inaction in fighting the growing global water scarcity crisis.
In the first of a series, theangle's managing editor Alex Schlotzer shares tips and tricks for the use of photo sharing sites for the activist and citizen reporter. This article first appeared in an April 16 post in Alex's blog.
A growing population and increasing industrialisation have been listed as the chief threats to water supply in the Asia Pacific, according to a UN-sponsored report released last month.
By Fausto Belo Ximenes: I do agree to a certain degree that the support from the international community has been very limited. Yet it is paramount importance to understand the nature of the so-called international community and to what extent it could be influential in the world politics. The international community functions largely [if...
Unlike elections being held on the east coast, the South Australian and Tasmanian elections' campaigns are moving along at fever pitch.
This slide towards inevitable extinction of many whale species begs the question: why do countries continue to slaughter whales and dolphins, for what amounts to unadulterated commercial gain?
Paul Bateson, Associate Consultant at sustainability advisers EcoSteps, talks to Rich Bowden about the recent Tourism Investment for the Development of Enterprise and Sustainability (TIDES) conference in Apia, Samoa.
Sanitation uptake in developing countries can be improved using a more innovative and market-based approach, recent research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has claimed.
Radio New Zealand International Don Wiseman recently interviewed Damian Baker, co-founder of theangle.org, to discuss his recent photojournalist mission to the island of Bougainville, PNG, where he documented tensions over the re-opening of the contentious Panguna mine between the semi-autonomous Government, mine owners and the remnants of the Bougainville resistance.Share on Facebook
The Liberal/National Opposition's Tony Abbott, Julie Bishop and Eric Abetz, joined by Finance spokesman Barnaby Joyce, are seemingly carrying out a successful formula for losing the next election.
Two researchers from Western Australia's Murdoch University have combined to dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding those seeking asylum in Australia.
Editor/contributor Alex Schlotzer casts his eye over the state of electronic civil disobedience (ECD) in Australia, looking at its growth in scope and acceptance as a legitimate form of protest.
With only a couple of days since federal politicians returned to Parliament for the start of the sitting year, so far we’ve seen a deluge of hot air and rubbish from the Tories, especially Tony “The Monk” Abbott and even Joe “The Tutu” Hockey who look to be attempting to make mileage from speaking...
theangle.org proudly announces the latest in our live event coverage -- a live and detailed commentary on Victorian vital Altona by-election. We'll be providing an analysis of the ballot count and the candidates' campaigns in this important pointer to the state and federal elections to be held later in the year.
Regional editor Alex Schlotzer takes a look at what lies ahead for the big, and not-so-big, political players in the Southeast Asia/Pacific in 2010.
By Jon Moore: Part IV There is a mantra amongst the Left Greens regarding energy efficiency and lower energy costs. They believe energy efficiency is the first step to “saving the world”. The argument goes along these lines: If we use energy more efficiently then we will use less, if we use less we...
theangle's contributing regional editor Alex Schlotzer reports on "Share the Spirit" in Melbourne -- an Australia Day festival where Indigenous and non-indigenous people come together to celebrate the sharing the country.
By Kevin Rennie: When the Governor-General’s representative in London visited Oz in 1954, I was six years old. We stood waiting patiently in Mt Alexander Road, near Melbourne’s Essendon Airport for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We had been given little British and Australian flags to greet her passing by. The Union Jack in...
By Simon Hukin: Every human age is characterised by a peculiar destructive obsession. From the religious charlatanism of the dark ages to the ascent of dictatorship in the early twentieth century, as a civilisation we have an enduring passion for self-harm. However, most of these preoccupations have been both largely self-evident and rebelled against....
Alex Schlotzer rolls out the crystal ball and gives us a look at what's in store in Victorian politics for 2010.
By Rich Bowden: A report conducted by Wellington’s Victoria University has found young Muslims living in New Zealand have adapted well to society. The study looked at the lives of 180 Muslim youths aged 13 to 19 years and gauged their psychological and social well-being based on life satisfaction, psychological symptoms, school adjustment and...
Political analyst Alex Schlotzer takes a look at the important events and examines Australia's influence in the Pacific's political year of 2009.
Resident Earth philosopher Jon Moore questions the role of humanity's aspirations and democratic instincts in Part Three of his series.
By Rich Bowden: Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled he will return to a hardline refugee policy accusing the Government of lacking “steel” against asylum seekers who attempt to arrive in the country on boats. Speaking to reporters in the wake of the intervening of the third Australian-bound refugee boat in the last...
In the final installment of his series, Simon Hukin bemoans the lack of focus on true culture - the Arts in Australia.
In this first of a two-part series, Simon Hukin examines how sport is leaching vital funding from the Arts.
In his second of a five-part series, Jon Moore explains that it is impossible to revert to a previous "Golden Age" and warns that we must adapt to changing circumstances or perish.
By Alex Schlotzer: The Internet filtering ‘debate’ is pretty much dead in the water. However with the announcement of the mandatory ISP-level internet filter proceeding, the web’s nearly melted down. Australians on Twitter and Facebook began decrying the further erosion of our civil liberties. But just as quickly began an erroneous debate about what...
Simon Hukin, General Secretary of the W.A. Secondary Students' Association and General Manager, Quantum Butterfly Studios has penned the above open letter to Senator Conroy listing his concerns about the recently-announced mandatory Internet filter.
By Rich Bowden: The Australian Greens have said the 2010 federal election will be fought on the issue of climate change saying the country should now show world leadership in cutting carbon emissions after the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks. Leader of the Greens, Senator Bob Brown has criticised Prime Minister Rudd’s policy...
By Rich Bowden: More than twenty percent of the five thousand children who die every year in East Timor, do so through preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation and drinking unclean water, according to a new supplementary report released by aid agency WaterAid Australia. The NGO said despite poor or non-existent sanitation facilities being...
By Rich Bowden: Former Australian of the Year Prof Tim Flannery has praised a climate agreement reached by world leaders at Copenhagen and described Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s role in the key talks as “outstanding.” In a online statement from the Danish capital, author, leading climate scientist and commentator Prof Flannery, speaking on behalf...
By Alex Schlotzer New Zealand is far better placed to be a stronger regional partner, or “peacekeeper” (or even “sheriff”) than Australia. Some will decry me as being “un-Australian” or worse but in my humble opinion our neighbours from across the ditch are in a superior position to exercise successful regional diplomacy than Australia....
In the first of a five part series, author and archaeologist Jon Moore takes a sideways look at the great climate debate and asks the question, is everything we are being told bollocks?
Originally published in theangle.org in three parts, we bring you the full post of Simon Hukin's discussion on a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).
By Damian Baker Joint venture partners in Papua New Guinea’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) development announced the go ahead of one of the country’s largest resources projects in a statement earlier this week. The AU$16.5 billion project will proceed, subject to the signing of final agreements. The consortium of companies involved in the operation...
By Rich Bowden: Research conducted in New Zealand has exploded customers’ preconceptions that switching banks is a difficult and expensive procedure. Dr Claire Matthews, who researched the subject for her Doctor of Philosophy in Banking Studies at Massey University‘s Centre for Banking Studies, questioned nearly 3000 New Zealanders on their attitudes to switching banks...
By David Bowden: Let’s get the history lesson out of the way first. Rowland S. Howard is famous primarily for two things – firstly for writing “Shivers” in the band Boys Next Door, which gave us our first glimpse of a young Nick Cave, but more importantly for his role in the band they...
By Alex Schlotzer Okay that might be a bit presumptuous given that polls have not yet closed but that was certainly the major news that energised Green members yesterday at the close of campaigning in the seat of Higgins. With Malcolm Mackerras predicting in his article that voters would give the nod to Greens...
By Rich Bowden: As a special presentation for our readers, theangle.org will be running live coverage of the count from the twin by-elections this weekend in Bradfield (NSW) and Higgins (Vic) using the Cover it Live software. Both seats were vacated by outgoing Liberal party luminaries Brendan Nelson and Peter Costello and are considered...
By Damian Baker: The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project is the biggest of its type in the history of PNG. Oil was found in the southern highlands 20 years ago but gas has emerged as the energy hope for the future. An Australian company, Oil Search, is in the process of developing its gas...
By Simon Hukin: Why I Love Tax and You Should Too A carbon tax has none of the problems associated with other carbon reduction schemes. The carbon tax is an incentive for polluters to clean up their act and to encourage venture capitalists to invest in innovative clean, renewable technologies, by making them more...
Our love affair with oil, the most glorious and tragic story of our times, but how does it end? Michael Hodgkin looks at the science behind the story.
In the second of a three-part series, Simon Hukin analyses Australia's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), compares it with the European model and outlines the influence of the business lobby in shaping a carbon reduction scheme.
By Rich Bowden: The Church of Scientology has described a speech by independent Senator Nick Xenophon yesterday outlining allegations against the church as an “abuse of parliamentary privilege.” The Church was responding to Senator Xenophon’s statement in which he said he was “…deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have...
In the first of a three-part series, Simon Hukin analyses the effectiveness of Australia's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), examines the alternative schemes and outlines the pitfalls involved in the problem of adopting a scheme to effectively reduce the country's carbon emissions.
Damian Baker's interviews with Mekamui and local Bouganvillians about the effects of the Panguna Mine.
By Damian Baker: After a somewhat tense introduction we finally got to meet and talk with the leader of the remnants of the Bougainville militia General Chris Uma. Following the initial breaking of the ice, as General Uma seemed to realise we were there to tell his story, he relaxed and came across as...
Just a few months after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s re-election for a second term, his administration is hardly off to a flyer with the country struck by yet more natural disasters. Yudhoyono (better known as SBY) is also being entangled in a crisis of his own making – agreeing to become involved in...
Well, that's the apology to the stolen generations over and done with, we now return you to your normal viewing; re-runs of the Howard Years.
Porgera is nestled in a valley in the PNG highlands shadowed on one side by 300-meter rock walls, with all other approaches covered in dense tropical jungle.
While PM Kevin Rudd has welcomed 60 percent population growth in Australia by 2050, others have questioned if the country can sustain this.
Alex Schlotzer. More than a couple of generations appear to have forgotten what unions have done for them.
By-Elections: A Final Commentary
Political analyst Alex Schlotzer writes on the Higgins and Bradfield weekend by-elections; what it means for the leadership of the Liberal Party, Australia's political landscape and whether the issue of climate change will be a vote changer in the run up to the next election.
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