NEWS SELECTION

 

 

 

BOLIVIAN REBELLION CONTINUES

A major rebellion is taking place in Bolivia, unreported by Western mass media. Thousands of rural people are blocking roads and meeting deadly armed attacks by soldiers, police and right-wing militias. One of the aims in Cochabamba is the demand for the April water privatisation reversal to be cemented into law. Coca subsistence farmers are demanding compensation before they pull the plants and transfer to other crops. Report, 4 October.


29 Aug 00
PERTH PUBLIC CONVENTION TO TACKLE GLOBAL ISSUES

Perth's first true Community Convention on economic, social and environmental issues of 'globalisation' will take place on 25 November, 2000, from 8.30 am. The venue will be the 630-seat Elizabeth Jolley Lecture Theatre at Curtin University of Technology, Bentley. The self-funding budget is still being worked on, but efforts are being made to keep the cost of seats down below $50, with earlybird and unwaged concessions below $35. An earlybird application form will be ready to send to enquirers in the second week of September.

The morning session will attempt to develop an overview of economic globalisation, its impacts on the Australian community and the capacity of civil society to assert a remedial influence on future outcomes. The invited guest speakers are Tony Cooke (Unions WA), Patricia Ranald (Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Sydney) and Peter Westmore (National Civic Council, Melbourne). Half of the available time has been allocated to open discussion from the floor. There will be a 20-minute morning coffee break at the half-way mark.

From 12 noon to 1.00 pm, informal alfresco luncheon arrangements wll allow people to either bring their own fare or be served a fresh bagel or ploughman's lunch on site (with vegetarian option).

After lunch, the afternoon 'workshop' sessions in nearby breakout rooms will be the heart of the Convention. A selection of the most vexing issues will be presented by authoritative speakers in open forums designed to enable a maximum of public participation through audience-panel discussions. The Convention will then conclude with a powerful 40-minute action-focussed closing session.

The workshop programme is still being developed and there is plenty of opportunity for new people to participate in this work. The provisional list of topics is:

SESSION ONE WORKSHOPS, 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm

* Challenges of Globalisation to Workers
* Agriculture, GMO foods and labelling
* Development and Third World themes
* Global Corporate Assault on Women, their work and environment
* Environmental Impacts and Consequences
* Sustainable Economics
* Health Care and Therapeutic Implications
* Protection of Democratic National Government

[Coffee Break of 20 minutes]

SESSION TWO WORKSHOPS, 3.20 pm to 4.50 pm

* Workers' options for responding and organising
* Liability of Multinational Corporations for Human Rights Abuses
* Social Impacts and Welfare
* Big Brother and Other Relatives
* Seattle & S11:-- the New Global Protest Movement
* Uranium Industry and Military Connections
* Global injustice, Global solutions--perspectives for solidarity
* Globalisation--A Way Forward for Australia

From its inception in June this year, participation in the N25 organising group has been open to all critics of economic globalism, irrespective of their political or other affiliations--and the Convention will reflect this community-wide scope.

The aim is to release a resounding community voice against the trampling of human rights, lifestyle and natural environment in the irrational pursuit of unlimited corporate and bureaucratic privilege.

Convention enquiries to:

N25 Perth Convention
PO Box 92
Innaloo City, WA 6918

Website: http://www.ecwa.asn.au/n25/

Phone +61 (0)8 9246 3882
Fax   +61 (0)8 9246 4284
Email jenks@iinet.net.au

29 July 00
A short history of the rise and fall of GMO crops
New Zealand Greens Party commentator Christine Dann is compiling a full report on the progress of GMOs and has released an interim summary which makes very interesting reading.

24 July 00
Planning a Perth convention to mark Seattle anniversary
Today a meeting of diverse NGOs and campaign groups was convened by the StopMAI Coalition, aiming to institute a broad-based convention on economic globalisation in November this year. Groups of the right, left and centre were represented. The projected convention date of 25 November is intended to provide an avenue for energies generated by anti-globalist protests in Melbourne (Sep 11-13) and Prague (around Sep 26). It would also celebrate the first anniversary of the Nov 30 shutdown of the WTO Seattle summit. News of future progress will be presented here and on a special website to be hosted by the Environment Centre of Western Australia at http://www.ecwa.asn.au/n25

PERTH, 9 May 00
WA activists attend DFAT seminar on WTO
by Brian Jenkins

For the first time, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has invited members of civil society to attend an informative seminar in Perth (one of a series being held in all State capitals).

The 1�-hour afternoon presentation was at the Duxton Hotel today (9 May). Subject was the WTO dispute settlement system - and how it can be made to operate in favour of Australian exporters. Three members of StopMAI attended and participated in the discussion as representatives of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET).

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