Australian Nuclear Free Alliance Friends of the Earth Brisbane Qld Nuclear Free Alliance The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance and Friends of the Earth Brisbane will vigorously oppose the Federal Government’s siting of a national nuclear waste storage facility anywhere in Queensland. The federal government has today released a short-list of six possible sites for a national nuclear waste repository, and one is in Queensland. The site, called Oman Ama, is 150 km inland from the Gold Coast.

Friends of the Earth Australia media release November 12, 2015 Friends of the Earth Australia has welcomed the public communication by Shadow Immigration Minister, Richard Marles MP*, indicating that Labor is finally willing to take up in a serious way the issue of Pacific people forced to migrate because of climate change related displacement. Mr Marles has stated that “Australia being a destination for climate change migrants has to be up for discussion.”

The Final TPP text, released on Thursday night, confirms all of our worst fears. The Environment Chapter is weak and lazy, encouraging rather than enforcing any regulations that may otherwise have served to protect the natural environment. The General Commitments outlined at the beginning of the chapter state that nations must “strive to ensure that [their] environmental laws and policies provide for, and encourage, high levels of environmental protection and... continue to improve [their] respective levels of environmental protection”, but also that they must “recognise the sovereign right of each Party to establish its own levels of domestic environmental protection and its own environmental priorities, and to establish, adopt or modify its environmental laws and policies accordingly”. In other words, it would be nice if the participating nations had solid environmental laws, but nothing will be enforced.

                   Approximately 3,000 Tasmanians were exposed to high levels of toxins in drinking water on a regular basis during 2013-14. Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth Australia (FoE), today released a report assessing information from TasWater on non-Microbiological detections of pollutants in Tasmanian drinking water between July 2013 and June 2014. The information was supplied to FoE via Right to Information (RTI) legislation. Approximately 3,000 Tasmanians were exposed to high levels of toxins in drinking water on a regular basis during 2013-14, with perhaps as many as 20,000 people exposed to high levels at some time during 2013-14.

                          61 prominent Australians have signed an open letter backing the President of Kiribati’s call for a moratorium on new coal mines.

BONN, GERMANY, October 23, 2015 – The final preparation session for December’s global climate summit in Paris is ending in disappointment and disarray today in Bonn. The weak negotiation text, which is largely favorable to developed countries, points to a shockingly inadequate deal at the Paris talks. Developing countries opposed a non-transparent process, after an attempt to remove observers from some negotiation rooms.

This week is National Water Week, and a perfect political storm is brewing that could threaten the hard-won gains for Australia’s greatest river system. Friends of the Earth needs your help to secure a sustainable future for the Murray Darling Basin. Send your message to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now.

Melbourne community groups and unions have joined the International week of action against the TPP, staging a rally outside the office of Veolia in Melbourne.Under the ISDS Clauses in “Free” Trade Agreements foreign corporations can sue sovereign governments where they claim domestic laws and regulations may diminish their profits. Workers’ wages and conditions, health and safety are not exempt.

 Friends of the Earth is concerned that the Government’s moves to delete the definitions of gene technology, GMO (genetically modified organism) and GM product from the Food Standards Act are an attempt to deregulate risky new genetic engineering techniques by stealth. Furthermore, it appears that the Government has not discussed these proposed changes with either the state governments or the New Zealand Government. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Amendment Bill 2015 is scheduled for debate in the House today and Senate tomorrow.

Friends of the Earth International 5 October 2015 ATLANTA, USA, October 5, 2015 – Today trade ministers from 12 countries negotiating the giant 'Trans Pacific Partnership' reached an agreement on a trade deal which sets the economic rules for 40 percent of the world economy.