Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a dispute resolution method included in hundreds of trade and investment agreements designed to give exclusive legal protection to foreign companies investing abroad, giving them the right to sue host governments in a private tribunal over any perceived breach of the rules around the treatment of investors. This secret corporate court system is system is a threat to Australia's democracy and environment and we believe it should be banned.

Friends of the Earth Australia news from early 2018. Published in Chain Reaction #132, April 2018. National magazine of Friends of the Earth Australia. www.foe.org.au/chain_reaction_132

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This year's Radioactive Exposure Tour (radtour), organised by FoE's Nuclear Free Campaign, was a big success.

The Victoria Central Goldfields town of Tarnagulla has been announced as the first recipient of the Victorian government's Climate Change Innovation Partnerships grant scheme.

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) Committee which has been running the Inquiry into the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017 has released its report late this afternoon. The Committee has released a Majority Report (written by government and ALP members) and a Minority Report (dissenting report) from the Australian Greens. “This is a significant step back by the government members of this Committee from the extreme measures proposed in the original Bill” said Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker. “The original Bill was clearly ideological over-reach, and the Committee members had the common sense to recognise this”.

Queensland energy company, Linc Energy, have been found guilty of polluting a significant part of the Darling Downs at their underground coal gasification facility.

It’s crunch time in the campaign to stop the cable car up the face of kunanyi/ Mt Wellington. The proposal is being fast tracked by the Tasmanian government (background here). If you’ll be anywhere near Hobart on Sunday 6th May please join this event and show your opposition to the desecration of the mountain.

Press release: Melbourne, 5 April 2018: Friends of the Earth Netherlands takes the first step in legal action against Shell to stop the destruction of the climate. This ground-breaking case, if successful, would significantly limit Shell's investments in oil and gas globally by requiring them to comply with global climate targets.

Hobart is fortunate to be one of the few cities in the world to have a wild mountain on its doorstep. Mount Wellington/ kunanyi provides an iconic backdrop to the city and provides an important habitat for a range of threatened species including the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, the Grey Goshawk and the Wedge Tailed Eagle.