Global Voices » Oceania

Australia Day: Fury Follows Aboriginal Tent Embassy Protest

Kevin Rennie — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:18:19 +0000

Australia Day ceremonies are usually the dullest of events. But not when Australia’s political leaders are together just walking distance from a gathering at the contentious Aboriginal Tent Embassy. When the crowd there heard a report that earlier in the day Opposition leader Tony Abbott had suggested its removal, a spontaneous protest took place at the Lobby restaurant where Prime Minister Julia Gillard was awarding emergency medals.

The fracas quickly turned to farce. Developments have included: that Mr Abbott’s remarks were misreported; the original tip-off came via Tony Hodges, one of the PM's media advisors (who has since resigned); accusations of a media beat-up of violence; a shoe lost by Ms Gillard was returned after suggestions of an ebay auction; a go-between was named followed by strong denials. At least that’s the best guess at the moment.

Preston Institute knew who to blame in Silly Advisers, Silly Media – This is Canberra, Today:

Yesterday’s “outrage” involving the PM and Tony Abbott has been one of the more diverting stories doing the rounds of our media. It appears to tell us more about the media and contemporary politics more than it does about Australia’s protesting spirit.

The story itself, of an escape from a Canberra restaurant besieged by unarmed protestors, provided some great footage for the TV print media to run around the world and back.

…The reality seems to be more prosaic, with Gillard and Abbott under little substantial threat.

In a very detailed analysis at the The Conscience Vote Marian Dalton argued that:

If no one remembers anything else from Australia Day, they’ll remember the footage of Prime Minister Julia Gillard being dragged to safety…

It was an ugly display, and it did nothing good for the cause of the Tent Embassy.

What remains, then, is a shameful display of behaviour that did nothing but harm the cause of indigenous rights, and the Tent Embassy in particular.

Skepticlawyer couldn’t resist the imagery of the abandoned shoe in her post When one’s IQ is less than one’s shoe size, and we’re only talking one shoe…

Tony Abbott gives me the screaming heaves, he really does. He’s the worst sort of godbothering big government conservative. But he did not call for the tent embassy to be ‘torn down’ and he did not ‘incite a riot’. Any rioting – as is usually the case – was the responsibility of the rioters.

There is speculation in the media that Tony Hodges misquoted Abbott, making his comments more aggressive. In a perverse way, I hope that’s true, because to respond to the above with violence suggests that at least some people in Australia have made their way into political cloud-cuckoo-land.

In the post, Australia Day 2012: Evil prevails, when good men say nothing, Gladly the cross-eyed bear defends the need for the tent embassy but not the manner of protest:

Indigenous Australians have every reason to be angry. They have every reason to defend their embassy. But this is Australia and, whatever our history, whatever the mistakes of the past, here, today, we do not fight political battles with physical violence.

…I am sickened and appalled at what appears to have been an attempt by some Aboriginal activists and their cohorts to bully and frighten Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday.

In the latest twist, johnboy revealed on RiotAct’s open forum that:

In the Canberra Times the Secretary of Unions ACT, Kim Sattler, is denying she was the one who riled up the Tent Embassy with news from the Prime Minister’s Office that Tony Abbott was in the nearby lobby restaurant.
When contacted by the Sunday Canberra Times this morning, Ms Sattler said she had been at the tent embassy but she was not the go between.
“I heard it from the crowd,’’ she said.
This is a bit tricky as The Age reports that Prime Minister Gillard is saying it was Ms Sattler.

Who knows the truth at this stage.

Mike Stuchbery captured the spirit of things on his self-titled blog:

There’s the soundbite, the outrage, the money shot and what’s left is for the carrion-eaters to blog and crow about.

Nobody comes away from today’s events in Canberra looking good.

Least of all, the protesters

He even has an eyewitness in his “little brother”, if you’re interested in an alleged firsthand account.

Perhaps modern politics is more about image than about reality. And a contest amongst both media and commentariat to be the most outraged. Ironically too many were ready to chastise the tent embassy crowd for reacting hastily to incorrect information, only to do the same thing themselves to media reports.

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:26:18 +0000

Intercontinental Cry has a list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues, some made by indigenous people from Brazil, Australia, Panama, USA, Northern Kenya, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Australia: Politician Sprayed over Migrant Deodorant “Dog-Whistle”

Kevin Rennie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:34:36 +0000

There has been a contest for the worst pun following remarks by Teresa Gambaro, a Federal Member of the Australian Parliament. She called for immigrants on work visas to be taught ‘social norms’ such as the use of deodorants and waiting in orderly queues. (My post title is a poor contender.)

Teresa Gambaro

At Independent Australia, Tess Lawrence's post ‘Gambaro goes the raw prawn‘, is biting in its satire:

I am calling on Teresa to organise a Senate Select Committee so we can really thrash out this serious issue in the first session of Parliament. In fact, I want to see the wearing of deodorant become mandatory and written into our Constitution.

And shameless in its play on words:

You are clearly Prime Ministerial material by any measure, Dear Teresa. From henceforth, let the armpits be the electoral litmus test. You bring a whole new meaning to the hair of the dog.

Before any politician should covet the Upper House, we the People, should examine their Upper Lip.

Unless politicians pass the sniff test, they should remain on the nose of the Australian people.

The Castlemaine Independent’s satirist suggests that Politicians must wear deodorant:

Politicians should be taught about the importance of wearing deodorant…

Ms Gambaro said …she was concerned about politicians not integrating into the community because they were behind the eight-ball on health, hygiene and lifestyle, as well as on climate change, industrial relations, refugees and a host of other issues.

Marion Elizabeth Diamond of Historians are Past Caring doesn’t use deodorants and wonders during her musings on the “great unwashed”:

But I never knew before that my personal habits made me un-Australian.

Gambaro has her defenders. Dom looks at the broader issue of “cultural awareness training“:

… We can provide these people with assistance that they need in a way that respects them as people, and is flexible enough to see them as individuals and people capable of independent thought.
We're all so sensitive of difference, and its denial, that we're not willing to assist people with basic cultural training that could help them. Gambaro's right, she just needs some media training.

Speaking ‘In Support of Integration‘, Suzer, “an American expat living in Australia with her Aussie husband”, also supports her:

Taken out of context, one might easily judge Ms Gambaro. I'm dissappointed to see migrant advocacy groups take immediate offense, rather than seeing that Ms Gambaro might actually be an advocate herself for new migrants. Diversity training in Australian workplaces is not only a good idea, but a necessity, for both current and new Australians, so that we can learn about each other.

Your Democracy was less than kind to either Gambaro or cabbies when it reposted from Crikey:

Teresa Gambaro clearly encountered a smelly taxi driver or two over the festive period. It sparked a thought-bubble (to be generous) in the opposition citizenship spokesperson's mind…

Meanwhile, amid accusations of dog-whistling, Teresa Gambaro backs off migrant remarks after a rebuke from a senior Conservative parliamentary colleague. She claims to have been “misconstrued”. She can join the end of a very long, orderly queue of pollies claiming that!

(Dog-whistling “employs coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience”.)

Even the cartoonists are commenting, though it is probably not that kind of dog that Jon Kudelka has in mind:

Image courtesy of Jon Kudelka Cartoons

Finally, Opposition spokeswoman Teresa Gambaro has cracked the age-old question of why we all can’t just get along, and the answer turns out to be deodorant. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up.

The Twitter hashtag #gambaro has more dreadful jokes and some serious comment. Check it out while the poop is still fresh.

COP17: Young Trackers Share Final Thoughts on Climate Change Talks

Andrea Arzaba — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:24:04 +0000

Adopt a Negotiator Project trackers updated their blogs daily during the two weeks of climate change talks at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP17, held from November 28 to December 9, 2011, in South Africa. Trackers followed negotiations from their regional perspectives, writing in languages like Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, French, Polish and English.

One of the major results of the conference was the second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding international treaty to reduce green house emissions. However, the commitment was weak, as major polluters like Canada, US, Japan, Russia, Australia and New Zealand refused to sign into this second period.

Climate activists and organizations of civil society were disappointed about the outcomes of the conference, especially because countries agreed to a new legal instrument that will replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2020, when urgent action is needed.

Here are were some of the most relevant conclusions written by the trackers:

South Africa tracker Alex Lenferna reports on the final events in the post “An Interim Disappointment at COP 17″:

I should be on a bus home now; instead I’m sitting in the ICC waiting for the proverbial white smoke to emerge as ministers try to bring COP17 to a close. Last night was supposed to be the closing night for COP 17, but there has been much disagreement among the global community around some very problematic texts that are being discussed around long-term cooperative action and the Kyoto Protocol…

Farrukh Zaman, following Pakistan, writes in “Decisions at COP17: Delayed or Derailed?”:

So while the delay has happened at COP17, let’s hope the negotiations don’t get derailed by postponing them till next year. But just one thing of caution, even though time has and is running out, we don’t need haste decisions; rather we want fair, ambitious and balanced package out of Durban. If that can’t happen here, then COP bis can be our last resort.

France tracker Sébastien Duyck in “Endless conference towards an agreement on never ending negotiations” concludes:

Regarding negotiations for a comprehensive agreement that would include legally binding targets for emissions reduction, the Presidency proposes yet another extension of the discussions. This approach convinces few among the observers still in the conference venue. It appears that we keep relaying on the same solutions (creating a new ad-hoc working group…), despite the fact that they have already been tested repeatedly in the past and have not delivered any successful outcome since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

Daily Trackers meeting - COP17, Durban. Photo by Andrea Arzaba

In “Do białego rana. Noc kobiet” (”Until dawn. Women's Night”), Milosz Hordun, Poland's tracker, says:

Ta noc należy do kobiet. Po pierwsze jest Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, przewodnicząca obradom. Zdecydowanie zmęczona ostatnimi dwoma tygodniami. Stara się skutecznie prowadzić strony do celu, udowadniając że afrykański COP może być skuteczny i przełomowy. Często jednak się gubi w procedurach, musi prosić o wsparcie sekretariatu. Jest Conni Hedegaard, unijna komisarz. Także na jej twarzy maluje się zmęczenie. Widać, że trudno jest jej znosić ogromną presję psychiczną, związaną z rozbratem między oczekiwaniami wielu Europejczyków oraz środowisk ekologicznych na całym świecie a możliwościami negocjacyjnymi.

This night is a women's night. First of all, there is Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chairs the session. She is definitively tired from the last two weeks. She does her best to lead the two sides towards a common goal, proving that the African COP may be successful and become a turning point. However, she gets lost in the proceedings quite often; she has to ask the secretary for help. There is also Connie Hedegaard - European Commissioner [for Climate Action]. Though tiredness is written all over her face, too. You can see how difficult it is for her to handle this enormous pressure as there is a gap between what many Europeans and environmentalist through the globe hope for and negotiating possibilities.

Priti Rajagopalan, from India, summarized the conference's accomplishments in the post “COP17-This is what happened“:

5.18am, International Convention Center, Durban

The verdict is out. What was accomplished at Durban.

1) Something called the Durban railtrack or trackroad ..oh, wait…platform.
2) Empty second commitment period
3) Empty green climate fund
4) Sleepy people most of whom had left by the time the final verdict was given.
5) How manipulative, apparently transparent democratic , multilateral process works.
6) People are looking for CBDR and Bali. If someone finds it, please return it.
7) Unclear mitigation target.
8) Massive failure of a peaceful kind.

To read other final posts of trackers following the United States, Mexico, Australia, China, Canada and New Zealand, among many others, visit Adopt a Negotiator Project webpage.

Andrea Arzaba participated in COP17 as a Young Tracker for Mexico [es].

Thanks to Krzysztof Pawliszak for translating Milosz Hordun's quote.

Global Voices: Donate Today

Georgia Popplewell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:23:12 +0000

2011 has been an extraordinary year for online content. Global Voices has been there as revolutions happened, dictatorships fell, and network effects rippled through the cities and neighborhoods of our contributors reporting from around the world.

To celebrate what’s been an extremely exciting year for us, we, along with our friends at Morningside Analytics, have created a limited-edition poster that visualizes “attentive clusters” of bloggers who link to Global Voices and cite similar online content. The resulting image portrays the scope of the Global Voices community, and turns it into a work of art that commemorates an important year in the history and impact of citizen media. The poster is available to anyone who donates US$25 or more. Reserve yours today through this link. We’ll be mailing out posters in January 2012.

Even if you don’t want a poster, we’d love your support. Regular donations are tax-deductible in the U.S, and can be made through our Donate page. And please also be sure to share this post with your networks!

Global Voices is a volunteer community of over 500 writers, translators, and digital media activists who bring you underreported stories and conversations from around the world. Watch our new video highlighting images and quotations from some of our supporters:

Global Voices is at the centre of a truly global conversation, and your support helps keep us there. Thank you!

Australia: Comment on the Palestine Boycott, Divestment & Sanction Campaign

Kevin Rennie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:10:19 +0000

Crikey's NAJ Taylor gathers five of Australia's Middle East diaspora to write about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction of Israel campaign. How effective is it at “balancing the competing harms”? How “useful is [it] for members of the Israeli and Palestinian, as well as Jewish and Muslim, diaspora”?

Australia: Obama Charm Offensive Not Everyone's Cup Of Tea

Kevin Rennie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:37:40 +0000

Even before Airforce One had landed in Australia on Wednesday 16 November 2011, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard were online targets.

In his post John Passant threw a left hook at both Obama and the local Greens Party:

The Greens support war criminal Barack Obama

Instead of welcoming mass murderer Obama, the Greens, as the biggest non-mainstream party, should be organising demonstrations against the war criminal.

On the right side of the political stage, the little known Australian TEA Party announced a rally of their own:

This is our big chance to impact the extreme left elites that are crippling our country and indeed the world.

…Julia Gillard and Barak Obama. These two deeply cynical Politicians are seeking to deflect disastrous domestic policies and unpopularity in their respective countries with a carefully choreographed - ‘photo op ‘ – propaganda event.

At Twitter Erin Riley warned against anti-US criticism:

@erinrileyau
And now for two days of reflexive, ill-informed anti-Americanism #obama #ObamaOz 16 Nov

Seamus’ message seemed to fit this category:

@deweyite
Good to see #obama taking the time to visit his constituents in the 51st state #auspol 16 Nov

Meanwhile the Northern Territory Insurance Office issued the President a free crocodile $A 50,000 insurance policy for his visit to Darwin on Thursday.

Obama Crocodile Insurance. Image courtesy TIO.

PR Warrior saw some merit in this gimmicky self-promotion:

In this age of digitised communications and ‘authentic conversations with your community of followers', it's refreshing to see there is still room for a good old-fashioned media publicity stunt.

A different, far more serious and potentially more deadly policy was the centrepiece of the visit. Your Democracy reposted an Op-Ed by Strategic Studies heavyweight Hugh White questioning plans to beef up America’s military presence in Australia. He concluded that:

Australia should tell Obama we take a different view on China.

A new Asia could evolve in which China exercises more power and influence than it has before, but does not dominate, and in which America no longer exercises primacy, but still plays a large and vital role. In short, an Asia in which the US and China share power.

This should be Australia's vision of Asia's future. We do not want to live under Chinse domination, but nor do we want to be squeezed by US-China rivalry. That is why, having given Obama a respectful hearing, we should explain why we take a different view. That is what good allies do.

Perhaps speech analyst and coach Dean Frenkel had in mind the Australian connection to the film The King’s Speech. Public speaking 101: A lesson in leadership from Obama was vocal advice for Oz politicians:

This is an opportunity for our elected representatives to listen to the outstanding professional communicator of our generation, the finest American political speaker since Martin Luther King. First and foremost, Mr Obama should trigger awakenings about the importance of communication skills to politicians. After listening to him, Australian politicians should clear their eyes, look into mirror, appraise their own abilities, commit to raising their standards and taking away some of Obama's qualities by osmosis.

Oz news aggregator, The Wall, had the top 100 tweets that it updated during the 27 hour charm offensive, plus a number of stories.

Twitter hashtags went viral, with #Aubama topping the trends and #POTUSinOz competing for the most obscure tag.

Fawning would be a fair description of many of the tweets, mixed with the usual fixation on his plane and his car. Barack certainly charmed much of the local audience. For the other view see the Aus TEA Party’s OBAMA /GILLARD … Makes Me Sick! or Gillard is worse than Obama ???

Barb is also not a fan, tweeting this link to Rupert Murdoch’s online new.com.au. The newspaper version has the less tacky title ‘Touching times for Julia Gillard and US President Barack Obama’:

@BabsNation
The Audacity of Grope: news.com.au/national/touch… Sums up this fawning, #Obama lovefest perfectly #Aubama #tcot #Auspol 17 Nov

On her blog Everyone is a Moon, Bron had her own ideas on this piece of ‘satire’ in THE AUDACITY OF TRIPE :

On a Presidential visit, there’s always plenty of news to, y’know, report. The US-Australia alliance. Security in the Pacific-Asia region. The expansion of US military presence in Australia. The implications of all this for China and India. Instead, we get this tedious, demeaning shit that I probably should come to accept from News Ltd by now, anyway.

Nick Condon was taken with the President’s speech to the Federal Parliament:

@nickcondon
Not gonna lie…. Obama is an incredible speaker. Amazing speech and only good things for Australia. #aubama 17 Nov

Two other hot topics fired some netizens: Julia Gillard’s intention to sell uranium to India and climate change action but there isn't room to cover those here.

As Airforce One left Darwin, the US was leading the rest of the world at the end of the first day of the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne golf course. We might wonder how long America will be the unrivalled world leader. (Incidentally, neither Obama, nor this year’s Honorary Chair, Julia Gillard, was scheduled to visit the Cup.)

P.S. President Obama didn't need his free croc insurance this time but it could come in handy when he retires or is retired.

New Caledonia: Controversy around the 1988 Ouvéa Hostage Taking Movie

Suzanne Lehn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:26:37 +0000

French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz's movie “L'ordre et la morale” (”Order and morality”), that recounts the tragic 1988 hostage taking at the Ouvéa cave, is not welcome in New Caledonia. The blog Ecran Noir ('Black Screen') describes the local controversy around the film's release, here and here [fr]. After New Caledonia's one and only theater declined, the movie will finally be shown in the Tjibaou Cultural Center [fr] in the capital Nouméa, on Déc. 12.

Australia: Historic New Carbon Price Law Divides Nation

Kevin Rennie — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:26:34 +0000

The Australian Federal Parliament finally passed the contentious Clean Energy Bill on 8 November 2011. The legislation introduces a carbon price of $A 23 per tonne from July 2012, leading to an emissions trading scheme (cap and trade) after 3 years.

Peter Campbell's blog on the state of the planet congratulated those involved in passing the legislation:

This is wonderful news. It is a shame it has taken so long for us to finally price pollution and provide leadership and and incentives for a clean energy future.

Well done Julia Gillard, The Labor Government, the MPCCC, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakshott, all the Greens in the senate - particularly Christine Milne and Bob Brown and their advisors - and Adam Bandt in the House of Representatives.

Some opponents were quick to make negative comparisons. @marksharma saw parallels with the far right:

Australia is NOT a democracy anymore.We are now under the ‘occupation' of Nazis led by Julia Gillard & Hitler Bob Brown! #auspol #CarbonTAX 8 Nov

The No Carbon Tax post Injecting Carbon Tax preferred to use parallels with drug addiction in their attack:

In 2011 Australia started injecting carbon tax into our industry to make some of us feel good about ‘doing something’ against Climate Change. Like crack cocaine, it makes some of us feel good, like crack it it is an addictive source of income to the government, like crack it achieves absolutely nothing and like crack, you don’t feel the harm until some years down the track.

The rest of the world sensibly said NO to the hard drug of Carbon Taxing the whole economy. So Australia, enjoy…

The controversial pressure group @GalileoMovement rounded off the standard attacks with an appeal against the left bogey:

Waste, waste, waste bit.ly/vSLduV A trademark of socialism's central control 12 Nov

@ki_sekiya wondered about the possible contradictions in these ideological attacks, contrasting the Opposition leader’s support of direct funding with the government’s market-based emissions trading scheme:

Funny how the Self-proclaimed “Capitalists”, are supporting Abbott's “Direct Action” Plan and calling a Market-mechanism, Communist. #auspol 8 Nov

In supporting the legislation, Mark Banhisch used a non-emotive style to explore the political aspects at Larvatus Prodeo:

Finally, on the politics: much ink has been spilled, and will no doubt continue to be, over the implications for partisan politics. We need to think less about this, and more about what the ‘debate’ says about the power of unreason in public life, and sheer self-interest on the part of powerful actors. But I derive considerable hope from the fact that it’s been shown that amidst an unprecedented volume of noise, big things can still be done, and from the fact that it’s more than possible that reality may now prevail over irrationalism.

Well known climate skeptic Jennifer Marohasy tried to link the carbon price to the Global Financial Crisis in her post Australia to Become Involved in ‘Subprime’ Carbon Market? :

In addition to buying carbon units in the auction process, secondary markets and derivative markets will likely also develop in Australia also linked in to the international greenhouse-gas trading system.

So does this in effect mean Australia will soon be linked in to a type of ‘subprime’ UN compliant carbon trading scheme?

On ‘My blog for my rants, raves and thoughts!’ carbon tax advocate Alex Schlotzer hoped that vocal opposition is in decline:

There’s already evidence of this with the fervour that existed on the Conservative Action Network’s climate change group easing, and not nearly as rabid as it was during the height of the anti-carbon price ‘movement’.

Judge for yourself. The twitter hash tags #nocarbontax and #carbontax seem to have been less active during the last week than may have had been expected.

However, strong opponents of climate action at Catallaxy Files have not lowered their voices. One of several posts questioned the sources of funding for the new website yourcarbonprice.com.au an online calculator of the carbon price’s impact on individuals:

But an important question is who is paying for the collaboration of CHOICE, ACOSS (who alarmingly seems to be arguing for this package knowing full well that most of the green schemes are extraordinarily regressive – eg. solar feed-in tariffs) and the Climate Institute to produce yourcarbonprice.com.au?

Scientist Alan Marshall of SkepticalScience took A Moment to Savor! before reminding readers about what he believes needs to be done next:

While the Clean Energy Future legislation, and the actions by other nations listed above, are all commendable, international efforts will need to be ramped up if we are to have a chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. At Copenhagen, scientists were seeking a 25% to 40% reduction in emissions from the developed nations, and commitments to date fall well short of that target. In the upcoming COP 17 conference in Durban and beyond, the science needs to set the agenda.

The issue should be a central part of the 2013 Federal election, as Opposition leader Tony Abbott has sworn ‘a pledge in blood' to overturn the carbon tax.

Australian Documentary about Japanese Yakuza

Tomomi Sasaki — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:59:50 +0000

Jake Adelstein comments on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 2010 documentary, “Yakuza”. The video is now available for viewing on YouTube.

New Caledonia: From Paris to Nouméa in a Microlight Plane

Claire Ulrich — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:13:43 +0000

Two French microlight planes enthusiasts, aboard the microlight Spirit of Noumea, are planning to re-live French aviators Paul Klein and Henri Martinet's groundbreaking 1939 plane journey from Nouméa, New Caledonia, to Paris. Their journey can be followed on this map and is also documented via their diary [fr] on the project's site.

Update on Global Voices Mentorship: Meet the Activists

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:01:03 +0000

For over a month, ten Global Voices bloggers have been working with activists from ten different countries as mentors of members of the new Blogger Swarm of Activista, the youth network of international development organization ActionAid. The mentorship focusses on blogging, networking and online capacity building.

Members of the Activista Blogger Swarm (pictured here) are each working with a Global Voices mentor

In a previous post we introduced all the participants, and now we would like to invite you to find out more about the activists involved, via the Activista Youtube channel. Here's Kodili, from Uganda, sharing why she became an activist, her motivations and her expectations of the Blogger Swarm project:

Follow the Swarm!

The Blogger Swarm aims to put youth at the forefront of the discussion about food and climate justice, the issues on which the activists involved are focusing their individual work and research.

With the help of Global Voices mentors they are working on their blogging skills while getting more comfortable with using digital tools for collaborative work and online networking. Here is a list of some of their latest blog posts:

Awa Njie (Gambia) | Overcoming global hunger and poverty - smallholder women farmers are the key players
David Habba (Nigeria) | “I will never be a farmer!”
Anajana Luitel (Nepal) | Is our education reproducing gender norms?
Benadette Chandia Kodili (Uganda) | Waste is wealth
Emilia Jomalinis (Brazil) | Try a kitchen garden
Hannah Moloney (Australia) | Hats Off to Small Farmers
Collins Odhiambo (Kenya) | Government's deaf ears to the hungry
Tina McPherson (Australia) | If you always do what you have always done, you WON'T always get what you have always got
Elly Ahimidiwe (Tanzania) | My father, the feminist
Afrin Chowdhury (Bangladesh) | Blogger Swarm and me
Loyiso Zweni (South Africa) | Why my friends do not want to be farmers

To stay updated subscribe to the Blogger Swarm blog or follow our mentors and mentees list on Twitter.

Thanks for supporting this initiative!

Vanuatu: Concern on Media Independence

Mong Palatino — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:51:36 +0000

The Pacific Freedom Forum released a statement expressing concern about the reported visit of a politician in a state-owned media station in Vanuatu demanding the censorship about his arrest on the eve of Vanuatu Independence day celebrations

Malaysia-Australia Refugee Swap Deal Criticised

Jerrenn Lam — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:04:59 +0000

The refugee swap between Malaysia and Australia that was signed on July 25, 2011, has been suspended by the Australian High Court after huge criticism. Under the deal, the next 800 refugees to arrive in Australia will be sent to Malaysia, and in return Australia will take in 4,000 refugees from Malaysia in the next four years. The court has set the date of August 22 to hear a legal challenge to the swap.

Aliran, a Malaysian NGO, wrote in their blog:

Malaysia has not guaranteed human rights protection for either its own citizens, legitimate asylum seekers, refugees or any other migrants in this country, as recent events here have revealed… Aliran is dismayed that the most fundamental requirements of refugee protection, especially the basic human rights of all refugees, is not covered by the Australia-Malaysia asylum seekers-for-refugees swap deal signed on 25 July 2011 – notwithstanding that Malaysia is not a state party to the 1951 Refugees Convention.

Opposition politician Teresa Kok also criticised the deal, and was quoted in Malaysia Today (an online Malaysian news portal) as saying that “the exchange of money (USD $320mil) involved in the swap is vulgar”.

Jay Fletcher, writing in Green Left, wrote:

The Australia-Malaysia refugee “swap” deal, signed in Kuala Lumpur on July 25, further persecutes people who have escaped conflict and terror and have an international right to seek asylum in Australia.

The Australian government said the plan was intended to attack the “people smugglers’ business model”. But, in reality, it is a high-priced human trafficking deal between two governments known for discriminating against refugees.

Try Me-lah wrote in LoyarBurok that:

It is precisely due to the fear harbored in their home countries that refugees seek refuge elsewhere and in return, the countries they flee to are expected to be in compliance with treatment stated in the Convention. As a result, protection and education for refugees, especially children, remains an important part of the Convention and it is these aspects that we may fail the test under UN standards since we have not yet ratified the Convention. Similarly, Australia is seen as shirking its burdens rather than sharing it. It has given the rest of the world the impression that neither Australia nor Malaysia has signed this deal for the wellbeing of these people, but touches upon a larger issue: economic and political standing.

Human rights appear to be the biggest issue that is lobbied around. In The Conversation, Gregore Lopez wrote:

The concerns expressed by international human rights groups are justified. Malaysia’s history of human rights is simply atrocious. This is despite the fact Malaysia is an upper middle-income economy with aspirations to become a high-income economy by 2020.

The issue, however, have been kept quiet in Malaysia- the mainstream media has not published any articles on the issue, and it rarely shows up on the online media as well. On social media, this issue does not appear to catch Malaysians' attention, either.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported:

After a sometimes tetchy hearing in Canberra, Justice Ken Hayne declared government plans to send all boat people to Malaysia raised “serious questions” that ought to be examined by all the judges of the court in a fortnight's time. A full frontal challenge is being mounted to the Malaysia plan. Sixteen asylum seekers on Christmas Island, represented by the lawyers David Manne and Debbie Mortimer, SC, want to argue before the full High Court that the protection due to them - and required under Australia's Migration Act - would not be available in Malaysia.

Thumbnail used is from the twitpic page of @presstvmobile. Photo of refugees protesting against deportation in Malaysia.

Australia: Malaysia No Solution to ‘Boat People' Politics

Kevin Rennie — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:54:28 +0000

The Australian government’s attempt to take a hard line on people smugglers and asylum seekers arriving by boat has hit a major snag. In December 2010, approximately 50 asylum seekers were drowned at Christmas Island when their boat was smashed on the rocks. A legal challenge has postponed a swap of the surviving refugees with Malaysia.

Amber Jamieson’s Malaysia deal in disarray summarises the latest situation for online media site Crikey:

The challenge, led by QC David Manne on behalf of 42 recently arrived asylum seekers (including six unaccompanied minors), focuses on human rights surrounding the policy and questions what protection Malaysia will offer to asylum seekers sent by Australia.

…Sixteen of the men were due to fly out to Malaysia yesterday, the first of the government’s new refugee swap deal with Malaysia, which will see 800 “boat people” swapped with 4000 refugees from Malaysia.

The plan has had some limited support in the blogosphere but has been criticised by both those wanting a stop to the so-called ‘boat people’ arrivals and those with concerns about human rights.

Laberal who claims to be ‘bored with trying to find the differences between the two parties, the Labor Party and the Liberal Party’ (the two major parties) presents his view in cartoon form:

Image from Laberal blog

Ian's cartoon harks back to the former Howard government’s Pacific solution of sending boat arrivals to Nauru, a policy that the current Gillard government has rejected.

In Border fantasies out of control, Kim of group blog Lavartus Prodeo looks at some disturbing poll figures that may help to explain the government’s tough stance:

Still, if the poll is right and fact would lower the number of “very concerned” Australians from 43% to 33%, it’s still a rather stunning figure. The beast seems to have taken on a life of its own.

Charitably, one might assume that at least some of this concern might be around a desire to avoid such horrors as happened near Christmas Island around Christmas last year.

Legal Eagle at Skeptic Lawyer is no fan of the latest solution:

I must confess to being sceptical from the beginning about the Malaysian “solution”. Deporting people to far flung islands or other countries does not provide much of a “solution”. There needs to be a total paradigm shift. The real problem, as I’ve said before, is about the perverse incentives our law sets up for asylum seekers — it’s easier for a person to get a visa once they are here on our soil than it is when they are off our soil, even though the asylum seeker’s circumstances have not changed one iota.

In Christians cannot accept Malaysia solution Rob Benson of iDigress ‘Musings of an antipodean contrarian’ looks at the issue from a moral standpoint:

The federal government’s so-called “Malaysia solution” looks like decisive action, but it’s abhorrent from a human rights perspective, and at odds with a balanced Christian view of justice and compassion.

The policy will send a message to prospective asylum seekers and people traffickers, but it is simply the wrong thing to do.

Peter’s Aussie Views News is primarily concerned with the children, especially those not accompanied by adults:

I do not know under what degree of anguish and suffering a mother might send her child in a small boat to a foreign land. But I do know what degree of callousness is required to send an unaccompanied child in a plane to Malaysia. It remains to be seen whether Australia will abandon its international responsibilities and any claim to the concept of “fair go” and send the recently arrived unaccompanied children to Malaysia.

John George has Had Enough at Had Enough. He neither supports the government or people who he calls ‘illegals’.

So the Malaysian Solution looks doomed; another Gillard debacle. We are now going to open the doors to 4000 so-called refugees regardless of whether any of our illegals are transferred to Malaysia. I mean the deal was lop-sided in the first place but now it is worse. I mean does this lot have a licence on stupidity or what?

Why on earth Gillard & Co have to be so darned stubborn as to turn their backs on the Naru Solution just because they might be seen as supporting a Howard Initiative is beyond me.

Prominent lawyer and human rights advocate Julian Burnside implores Australians to reflect on our national character:

So here we are: Australia in 2011. For convenience we have forgotten our origins, our good fortune, our blindness and our selfishness. In place of memory we have constructed a national myth of a generous, welcoming country, a land of new arrivals where everyone gets a fair go; a myth in which vanity fills the emptiness where the truth was forgotten.

Or perhaps it's not a myth after all. Perhaps our national image is true, but our politicians have forgotten what it is. If we value who we are, we should remind them. Because our true character as a nation is being reshaped each day by what our politicians do in our name. Tell Canberra we are better than that, lest we forget.

Whatever the result of the legal action, the issue of asylum seekers is not going away in a hurry, especially while there is no consensus between the political parties on how to deal with it.

Thumbnail image used by Flickr user Takver (CC BY-NC 2.0).