The federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane announced early in his term that one of his first priorities was to expand the coal seam gas (CSG) industry in NSW.
This will put him on a collision course with a powerful rural and city alliance 鈥 including activists like mother-of-four Melinda Wilson from western Sydney.
Wilson helped form No CSG Blacktown and CSG Free Western Sydney. She is organising a in Sydney on October 22.
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Mainstream media outlets gave substantial coverage to the UN鈥檚 new report on the climate change crisis late last month, which said the Earth鈥檚 climate is warming faster than at any point in the past 65 million years and that human activity is the cause.
Disappointingly, though not unsurprisingly, the news reports .
A new free trade deal to be signed this year could allow foreign corporations to sue the Australian government for introducing environmental regulations on coal seam gas (CSG).
Australia has joined 11 other countries 鈥 the United States, Malaysia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam 鈥 in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). Unlike most trade deals, other countries can sign on in the future.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill told ABC News Breakfast on October 18: 鈥淭he climatic conditions that fuelled that fire yesterday were just unprecedented ... an unprecedented disaster.鈥
More than 100 fires broke out across New South Wales on October 17. By October 19, they had destroyed at least 193 homes in the Blue Mountains alone and caused at least one confirmed death.
On Thursday October 17, New South Wales suffered the worst outbreak of bushfires in decades. Although it is not yet summer, the day was another one of high temperatures and hot, dry gusty winds. Fires raged out of control destroying hundreds of homes and killing one 63-year-old man trying to defend his home.
Sydney city and surrounding suburbs, as well as Newcastle and Wollongong, were covered by towering smoke plumes and ash, even though the nearest bushfires were tens of kilometres away to the north, west and south. It was apocalyptic.
A group of Iranians were on hunger strike outside the immigration department in Melbourne on October 19. Local Australian-Iranian man Jahangir Hosseini has been on hunger strike for more than 30 days. Another four women and one man have joined him on hunger strike.
The hunger strikers plan to continue their hunger strike until seven hostages abducted by Iraqi forces are released.
Hosseini called on the Australian government to intervene to secure the immediate release of the seven hostages, six of who are women.
More than 100 residents of Sydney's inner western suburbs attended a public meeting at Leichhardt Town Hall on October 10 to oppose the NSW Liberal government's plan to build the WestConnex toll road.
The road would link the M4 motorway to Sydney Airport. The $10-15 billion project would involve a 33-kilometre toll road to extend the M4 from Strathfield to Mascot Airport and Port Botany, and duplicate the M5 East and M6 tollways.
In the ballot to elect the Australian Labor Party leader that concluded on October 9, 74% of the membership voted 鈥 30,426 of the party鈥檚 43,823 members 鈥 apparently energised by the novel prospect of having a say in the leadership.
Although the two aspirants, Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, are leaders of the party鈥檚 right and left factions respectively, both avoided controversy by saying next to nothing about policy.
I recently had the misfortune of being granted an audience with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and was unlucky enough to conduct an interview with him. I include the transcript below.
* * *
Well, thank you very much, prime minister, for agreeing to this interview.
Well, I am always very happy to be interviewed by my good friends at the Daily Telegraph.
Yes...
You鈥檝e moved offices I see. Nice Che Guevara poster!
Yes... Can I get you something to drink? I鈥檓 having a beer.
You don鈥檛 have any Bollinger do you?
A bill to recognise crime or harm against a foetus was debated a second time in NSW parliament on October 17. About 100 protesters rallied outside before filling the public gallery to witness the debate.
Liberal MP Chris Spence's bill, the Crimes Amendment (Zoe鈥檚 Law) Bill 2013 No. 2, also known as 鈥淶oe's law鈥, aims to amend the NSW Crimes Act.
It would give rights and personhood to foetuses of more than 20 weeks (or weighing more than 400 grams), which has troubling implications for women鈥檚 reproductive control.
Discussing the last-minute deal in the United States Congress to avoid triggering a debt default, Gail Collins, a columnist in the New York Times wrote: 鈥淲ell, um, yippie. Wow.
鈥淐ongress has decided it won鈥檛 trigger a global financial crisis out of pure pique. Can鈥檛 get any better than that.鈥
Much could be written about the antics of the far right in the Republican Party on display for the world these past weeks.
These photographs were taken on October 17 from Sydney's inner-west 鈥 many kilometres away from the nearest fires (which were in the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Newcastle) in what has been described as the worst bush fires in the state of NSW in decades.
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