July 12, 2008
While I was surfing around the interwebs, I happened across this image of a 2005 oil on board painting by artist Robert Hannaford of Senator Bob Brown.
The work was a finalist in the 2005 Archibald art prize.
Hannaford has entered a work in the Archibalds every year since 1991 and has been a finalist each time he has entered.
You can see a larger image here.
Enjoy.
July 10, 2008
Professor Tim Flannery (above) will deliver the 2008 instalment of the annual George Briscoe Kerferd Oration at La Trobe University in Beechworth.
The renowned scientist, author and activist was awarded Australian of the year in 2007, has contributed to over 90 scientific papers on mammalian development and paleontology, as well as human population distribution, it’s effect on the natural environment and climate.
Proffessor Flannery has gained national prominence as an outspoken advocate for the Murray Darling basin and controversy for his comments in support of minke whaling.
2008 George Briscoe Kerferd Oration
Date: Sunday 27 July
Time: 11am
Venue: La Trobe University, Beechworth
July 9, 2008
The NSW Greens recently held their June State Delegates committee meeting, minuites of that meeting are available as a PDF document, please advise via email if you would like a copy.
July 5, 2008
Firstly I’d like to say a sincere thank you to the members of the Albury Wodonga Greens who voted to entrust me with the position of secretary treasurer for the upcoming financial year.
It’s a great privilege, and a responsibility I will do my best to honour.
It’s an exciting time for the Greens both locally and nationally, and one which sees a number of challenges laid out.
This week sees the commencement of NAIDOC week for 2008 and as such it is a significant time to reflect on the work which still remains to be done strengthening the reconciliation process and in making sure that Indigenous Australians are ensured their rightful place within Australian society.
A number of local activities are planned in celebration of this significant week, details are available on the website of local artist David Dunn.
July 27 will be Planet Ark’s annual National Tree Day, an opportunity to be involved in helping the local environment in a very hands on way.
With climate change and the degraded state of the Murray-Darling basin firmly on the agenda, this is an opportunity to personally contribute in a small way to helping restore the balance.
Later in the year, focus will shift to local council elections on both sides of the border, obviously this is an important time in shaping the future of our region for years to come.
High on the list of priorities is reducing the disturbing amount of alcohol fueled violence in Dean Street, improving police numbers to both Albury and Wodonga and ensuring that local government spending is done both sustainably and in a way which will best benefit all sectors of the community.
Our ailing health and education systems are in need of repair, we remain commited to maintaining pressure on state and federal governments to ensure these essential services are not ignored.
I look forward to working in closely with the rest of the group, and supporters in the local community in helping the Australian Greens continue to act as a positive force for change and build a fairer, more equitable future for our region.
Jody Barbary.
July 2, 2008
Sunday 27th July wil be the Planet Ark National tree planting day for 2008.
Last year saw a number of volunteers re vegetate a stretch of bushland along the Murray at the base of Monument hill thanks to the efforts of coordinator Anthea Packer (of Parklands Albury Wodonga).
Remember to wear a hat, long-sleeved shirt and sun-block. Take plenty of water to drink. Wear sensible shoes and gardening gloves.
The link to the Albury site is here.
Wodonga is here
July 2, 2008
By happy co-incidence, the winter solstice on Saturday 21st June co-incided with the Albury Wodonga Greens AGM.
The meeting was a relatively informal occasion, an opportunity for members to catch up, talk about issues and enjoy some tasty food.
The formal part of the meeting dealt with two pressing issues, the formal appointment of service positions, and discussions about candidacy for the upcoming council elections in both Albury and Wodonga.
We welcome Jody Barbary to the role of branch secretary/ treasurer for a 12 month appointment.
While no firm resolve was reached regarding candidacy for either council election, the issue remains open for further discussion.
The meeting was concluded with a screening of “Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion” an informative and moving documentary about human rights violations in Tibet following the Chinese invasion.
May 12, 2008
An (inexcusably) belated, but nonetheless sincere thank you to all the members and supporters who gave so freely of their time and energy during the 2007 Federal election campaign.
As a result of the assistance given by volunteers on both sides of the border, the Australian Greens were able to achieve a record result for both Farrer and Indi which is just fantastic.
AEC results can be found here for Farrer and herefor Indi.
Obviously thanks and congratulations must go to both Darran Stonehouse and Helen Robinson for the quite different but equally fantastic campaigns they both ran.
Two excellent candidates, and reflected by a “personal best” result for the Australian Greens on both sides of the Murray River.
Two significant points to note, firstly, the positive swing towards us in both electorates, part of this can be attributed to a smaller field of candidates in both electorates, meaning the overall vote was spread over fewer candidates, but mostly I think the shift in result is indicative of a change in attitude of many people in the electorates. The drought has brought the reality of climate change home to a good many people and of course, the now defunct, Draconian Workchoices legislation precipitated a landslide exodus in the co-alition’s support base.
The second point of note, is that in both electorates we achieved higher than the milestone 4%, this is significant because it means that the deposit we had to pay to the AEC in order to run a candidate was refunded.
This amounts to some $500 in each electorate, so the benefit in not having to raise that money again to field a candidate next time is obvious.
So what now? Well there are several things happening over the upcoming months, as indicated in the previous post, we have a film screening coming up in June of the award winning documentary “Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion” about the Chinese invasion of Tibet, this will follow our AGM at which we will appoint service positions for the upcoming year.
Nationally, I think it’s apparent the Greens are going to have an increasing role to play in Australian politics. Infighting within the Liberal party in Victoria and Queensland, which, in the words of Victorian Liberal leader Ted Baillieu “goes above and beyond factionalism, this is outright treachery” have raised serious questions about the Liberal party’s capacity to provide an effective opposition.
If the rift within the Liberal party in Victoria and Queensland goes national (which is entirely possible) it may well be that the Greens are being called upon increasingly to provide a political opposition to the ALP’s political dominance.
As it’s my intention to maintain this site as an online forum for interaction and debate as well as dissemination of information on issues relevant to Green politics in Australia and specifically within the Albury Wodonga region, it’s worth checking in on a regular basis to keep up with any updates and upcoming events.
Feel free to bookmark this site or subscribe, comments are always welcome, obviously comments which are abusive or derogatory to other posters will be subject to moderation.
May 12, 2008
The Albury Wodonga Greens are proud to present a special screening at 2:30pm, Saturday 21st June of award winning documentary Tibet: cry of the Snow Lion.
The film will screen in the upstairs audio visual room of the Albury Library Museum and chronicles the politics and history of the Chinese invasion of Tibet and subsequent human rights abuses resulting in the exile of Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
The event will be catered, with light snacks and tea and coffee available.
A gold coin donation by way of admission would be appreciated.
the Green Light 
