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Human Rights & Justice

Human Rights

Substantial legislative changes are needed to reaffirm Australia’s commitment to universal human rights and the rule of law. The ‘war on terror’ has undermined the civil rights of all Australians. The Greens oppose laws that allow people to be detained indefinitely. Access to justice for all Australians relies on fair and affordable legal advice. Legal aid funding needs to be boosted to ensure equality before the law.

Rudd Carbon Plan Unravelling: Urgent Review Needed

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Saturday 20th December 2008, 1:17pm
in

The Australian Greens say the growing discontent over the Government's carbon trading scheme - including the Government's own advisor Professor Ross Garnaut - now means it's imperative that an immediate review be held of the scheme's targets and design.
Australian Greens Climate Spokesperson and Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said today's blunt assessment by Prof. Garnaut condemning compensation for big polluters as 'over the top', echoed other damning assessments from economists, scientists and environmentalists.

Climate politics vs climate action

Blog Post | Christine Milne
Friday 19th December 2008, 4:02pm
by TimHollo in

This was published today at ABC Unleashed

The release on Monday of the Rudd Government's climate change white paper is a clear demonstration that this Government is intent on playing politics with climate change without actually doing anything about it.

The useless emissions reduction target and self-defeating design of the scheme tells only half the story. The Government pre-empted the announcement by throwing half a billion dollars at expanding coal infrastructure in the Hunter Valley, and followed it up with a badly-designed incentive scheme for renewable energy that will ensure it does not grow beyond a marginal player to challenge the dominance of the coal sector.

Today's Age newspaper's editorial put it clearly:

NZ radio interview on White Paper

Greencast | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Thursday 18th December 2008, 10:13am
in

Christine talks to Paul Deady from NZ radio 95b

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Kicking the renewables sector while it's down: 20% undermined, no certainty for solar

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Wednesday 17th December 2008, 12:56pm
in

Just two days after delivering its 'big polluters' bail-out package', the Rudd Government has announced a deeply flawed renewable energy target that breaches its election promise and will entrench sector's boom and bust cycles, the Australian Greens said today.

"After giving big polluters everything they asked for in Monday's white paper, today the Rudd Government is kicking the renewable energy sector while it's down," Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said.

Some are more equal than others - what does the emissions target mean?

Blog Post | Christine Milne
Tuesday 16th December 2008, 8:00pm
by ChristineMilne in

This post was published originally this morning at ABC Online

One of the most important numbers in Australia's history was revealed yesterday - a number that carries with it the hopes and fears of millions of people and embodies our priorities as a nation, our balancing of the relative worth of human beings.

It has been argued that the 5 per cent 2020 emissions reduction target that Prime Minister Rudd announced is no more or less than a political balancing act - navigating a midway path between the competing demands of business and scientists, of the Coalition and the Greens. But that is an extremely superficial view, and one that fails to see just how all-encompassing climate change is. There are much deeper choices at the core of any decision on emissions targets.

Perhaps the most obvious of these choices is the question 'do we value our children as much as ourselves?'

Obama chooses Chu: US will rapidly overtake Australia

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Tuesday 16th December 2008, 12:00am
in

The Australian Greens today welcomed US President-elect Obama's choice of energy efficiency expert Dr Steven Chu as his energy secretary.

The choice of Nobel Prize winning Dr Chu will help to ensure that the USA moves rapidly into a Green New Deal that build jobs and prosperity through energy efficiency and renewable energy. It will dramatically increase the pressure on Australia to follow suit.

"Dr Chu is an inspired choice who will drive the transformation in the American economy that the Rudd Government completely failed to deliver yesterday," Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said.

Rudd raises white flag of surrender on climate change

Media Release | Spokesperson Bob Brown, Christine Milne
Monday 15th December 2008, 2:22pm
in

Greens campaign for 40% target

The Australian Greens will campaign for a 40 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to save the planet from catastrophic climate change.

"Prime Minister Rudd's 5% target is a global embarrassment and a recipe for global catastrophe," Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

Business-as-usual cannot trump the laws of science on climate change

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Sunday 14th December 2008, 1:39pm
in

The Australian Greens today warned the Rudd Government that its emissions trading scheme must be based on science.

"Prime Minister Rudd must recognise that he cannot negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry. Speeding up already announced renewable energy funding will not compensate for weak targets," Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"The only certainty provided by weak targets is that they will have to be increased very soon. The Prime Minister's spin that he is trying to strike a 'balance' between greens and business is scientifically ignorant nonsense," Senator Milne said.

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