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Canadian mining giant spews poison into Argentina 鈥 again

One year after spilling enough cyanide solution to fill at least 40% of an Olympic-size swimming pool at the controversial Veladero mine in Argentina, Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold owned up on September 15 to another cyanide leak at the same gold mining operation in the country鈥檚 mountainous and river-rich San Juan province.

Barrick announced it had suspended work at the mine to address the leak, caused on September 8 by a damaged pipe carrying dilute cyanide solution used in gold processing.

Ten per cent of wilderness has disappeared since 1993

One-tenth of the Earth's wilderness has disappeared since the 1990s, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology.

Over the past 20 years, wilderness areas equal to half the size of Australia have been lost. Researchers say the loss highlights the need for global agreements to protect remaining areas unaffected by human activities.

Sue Bolton: 'a true community leader'

Community activists, residents and supporters came together to launch Sue Bolton's campaign for re-election to the City of Moreland Council in Melbourne's northern suburbs on September 10.

Bolton, a member of Socialist Alliance, received some heart-warming endorsements and pledges of support from a number of community members.

Dakota pipeline struggle: Native Americans versus fossil fuels

鈥淭housands of in North Dakota are protesting a pipeline project that puts their water supply at risk, threatens to plow up their sacred sites, and would worsen climate change,鈥 Chuck Collins wrote at on September 14.

CUB boycott grows

The momentum to boycott Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) products is growing. The Monash Student Association鈥檚 Sir Johns Bar and the Swinburne Student Association will no longer stock any CUB products.

Hotels across the nation 鈥 including The Tote in Abbotsford, The Lincoln in Carlton, the Kent Street Bar in Collingwood, and the Raccoon Bar in Melbourne, the Unicorn in Ballarat and the Grand Yamanto and Cecil Hotel in Queensland 鈥 are also refusing to serve CUB beers on tap.

However, most pubs are locked into contracts for their tap beers.

Amazonian pollution by Chevron.

Ecuadoreans go to Canada to collect Chevron compensation

Ecuadorean indigenous groups鈥 years-long court battle to force oil giant Chevron to pay US$9.5 billion in damages for the environmental disaster known as the 鈥淎mazon Chernobyl鈥 began a new phase on September 12 鈥 this time in Canada.

Plaintiffs from Ecuador have been trying for years to collect damages it won in its 2011 lawsuit against Chevron in a court in Ecuador, where the multinational oil giant no longer has assets that can be seized.

17-year-olds out of Queensland adult prisons

THE Queensland government announced on September 7 that it will move all 17-year-olds out of adult prisons within 12 months of new laws being passed.

It plans to pass legislation in the Parliament by the end of this year to facilitate the change.

There were 48 17-year-olds in the state's adult prisons at the time of the announcement.

The move means 17-year-olds will no longer be viewed as adults by the courts. However, 17-year-olds currently before the courts would be placed in adult prisons, if sentenced to jail time, until the laws officially change.

Forum participants

Venezuela facing right-wing destabilisation: report of Brisbane Forum

On the 43rd anniversary of the coup that ousted the elected government of President Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, a forum 鈥淐risis in Venezuela: An Eyewitness Report鈥 drew parallels with the current situation in Venezuela.聽

The forum was hosted by the Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN) Brisbane and Australian Solidarity with Latin America (ASLA).

Where is the opposition?

The Labor opposition has voted for the $6.3 billion in public spending cuts over four years proposed by the Malcolm Turnbull government. The opposition agreed to support 20 of the 24 cuts originally proposed by the government in its "Omnibus Bill" and put forward more cuts of its own to prove how committed Labor is to 鈥渂udget repair鈥.

NSW water protection laws 'worthless'

Conservationists who gathered outside the Land and Environment Court on September 13 were extremely disappointed by the court decision to allow the continued discharge of polluted mine water into Sydney's drinking water supplies. They chanted "Wild rivers, not waste water" and "Clean water, not coal water" after the ruling.

Colong Foundation for Wilderness Director Keith Muir said: "4nature has failed to overturn the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) decision that allows Centennial Coal to discharge polluted water from the Springvale mine into the Coxs River.

Macquarie Island research station to close

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) announced on September 13 plans to close its permanent research station on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, which has been operating since 1948, and instead use a network of field huts to be used by seasonal staff.

The AAD said an independent engineering investigation had concluded there were increasing occupational health and safety risks, environmental contamination and risks from ocean inundation at the ageing base unless it underwent a major upgrade.

Vaca Muerta oil field, Neuqu茅n, Argentina.

Argentina: Indigenous community launches anti-fracking fight

Mapuche Indigenous communities in the Argentine Patagonian province of Neuquen have denounced fracking in the Vaca Muerta shale reserves, which they claim are contaminating their land and groundwater, killing their livestock.