BRISBANE — The Brisbane Timor Leste Goodwill Coalition for Justice in the Timor Sea has launched "A Fair Go for Timor Leste" campaign, with plans to distribute a brochure over the period September 4-14 outlining the case for East Timor.
Supporters are being urged to contact the news media, via letters to the editor, talk-back radio or other means, to publicise the case for East Timor.
On September 20, the Australian government will enter the next round of negotiations with the East Timorese government on the Timor Sea maritime boundary. "The recent apparent breakthrough in negotiations does not guarantee East Timor the sovereign right to establish its boundaries according to international law and benefit from resources in its legitimate territory", the campaign appeal states.
For more information, contact the Brisbane Timor Leste Goodwill Coalition at <timor-brissuppport-subscribe@listsriseup.net>.
Jim McIlroy
Drug law reform activists await appeal outcome
DARWIN — Four human rights activists facing imprisonment for a 2002 protest in the Northern Territory Parliament are awaiting an appeal decision against their conviction. The appellate judge has reserved his judgement after hearing three days of submissions from the defendants.
Gary Meyerhoff, Robert Inder-Smith and Stuart Highway, all members of the Network Against Prohibition, and Mick Lambe, the coordinator of People Against Racism in Aboriginal Homelands, were among a group of nine people who invaded the chamber of the NT Legislative Assembly on May 14, 2002.
The protest was held on the day that the Labor government's repressive "drug house laws" were adopted by the NT Parliament.
After a 16-day trial in the Darwin Magistrates Court in 2002, the activists were sentenced to 14- and 21-month jail terms.
"We're up against a lot of vested interests", stated Highway in his appeal on August 30, noting what he believes to be the high level of corruption in the NT police force and justice system. Meyerhoff commented that "ever since the formation of the NAP in 2001, they have hit us will all these charges in the hope that we would leave the territory or go to legal aid and plead guilty, but we're not going anywhere".
Kathy Newnam
Prisoner support program axed
HOBART — On August 14, more than 100 people gathered outside parliament to protest the abrupt ending by the state Labor government of the prisoner support program "Inside Out".
According to Vicki Douglas, "The decision to end the program was made with no community consultation". Douglas helped initiate the program after her son suicided in prison five years ago following a rape, when no psychiatrist had been available to see him.
Four more tragic deaths followed, and "Inside Out" was established in response to public pressure. Douglas told the rally that the program cost $50,000 per year to run, and that the recent $650,000 payout to the resigning governor could have funded the program for 13 years.
Mike Taplin, until recently a worker with "Inside Out", said that his work involved contact with 80-100 inmates every month. "Young people are terrified of what might happen to them. I'm sure we've saved lives", he said.
"It makes economic sense to fund reform programs and reduce recidivism", said Nick McKim, the justice spokesperson for the Greens. He also condemned the Howard government for its proposal to remove the right to vote for certain prisoners.
Linda Seaborn
Minor forestry concessions
HOBART — The Tasmanian government announced a series of minor reforms affecting Tasmania's forestry industry on August 30.
The reforms will end Forestry Tasmania's automatic exemption from freedom of information requests; create a new Forest Practices Authority to replace the industry-dominated Forest Practices Board; create two new positions to investigate alleged breaches of the Forest Practices Code; and increase the maximum penalty for breaches of the code from $15,000 to $100,000.
The reforms, which do not affect the rampant clear-felling taking place in Tasmania, have been criticised by the Greens as a big disappointment that will "fail to save a single tree".
Socialist Alliance candidate for Denison, Kamala Emanuel, told Green Left Weekly that "[forests minister] Bryan Green is obviously feeling the pressure from the burgeoning campaign against clear-felling" and that the reforms should spur on the campaign.
Alex Bainbridge
Halliburton subsidiary protested
SYDNEY — On August 31, 30 people attended a picket of Halliburton subsidiary Kellog, Brown and Root's offices in solidarity with US protesters confronting the Republican National Convention.
According to a statement read out at the protest, "Kellogg, Brown and Root was paid $33 million to build detention camps at Guantanamo Bay, and was also contracted to build prisoner-of-war camps in Iraq. Its contract with the US military is worth as least $500 million, with potentional to increase to $7 billion after reconstruction ... Just as the systems of war and capitalism are global, so is opposition to them, and we want to make our opposition visible here."
The action was organised by the anti-war group Mutiny.
Rachel Evans
From Green Left Weekly, September 8, 2004.
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