Collectives in the Australian Student Environment Network have been busy across the continent - check out the latest happenings below!
news
sean gig in march
The first SEAN gig of the year is going to take place on the weekend of week 3 (19th-21st March) at a beach house in Wombarra (Just north of Wollongong, accessible by cityrail network).
The focus of the SEAN gig will be on skilling-up brand new collective members in stuff like facilitation, collective organising, consensus, theories of change etc, refreshing and reviewing this stuff for older members, giving people the opportunity to develop their workshop facilitation skills, and giving collectives the time and resources to strategise for the coming year!
There is also a beach! There is also a large large area of grass big enough for ultimate frisbee!
This is a great opportunity for us to get together as a network, share the things we know and the skills we have, and avoid as much wheel reinvention as possible!
Accommodation: there are some beds in the beach house, but not enough to go round. Instead, it would be great if everyone could organise tents, sleeping bags and mats etc. There is A LOT of space out the back for camping.
Getting there: We will have meeting points in Sydney and specific trains that people will be catching both on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Watch this space for more details. The plan so far is that we will set up and have informal chats on Friday night, so people arriving Saturday won’t miss out on anything.
People from outside the Sydney and Wollongong area who are interested in coming along (do come!) can be offered transport subsidies.
In the mean time, we need volunteers to run workshops! We would love to match up more experienced workshop facilitators with those who are still a bit nervous (or have never done it before!). There are workshop plans that ASEN has put together like: theories of change, building and maintaining collectives, facilitation and consensus, non violent direct action but feel free to put together your own workshop! Let us know if you are keen and we will put you on the program.
>>To register click here<<
It’s crucial we know how many people are coming so we can organise food and enough room for you all.
Hope to see you all there!
Aimee Bull-McMahon 0407204973
Chris Moore 042252159
James Curtin 0400372889
nuclear waste likely to be dumped in nt
25 February 2010 
News, Nuclear Free
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/23/2827837.htm?site=alicesprings
Australia’s first nuclear waste dump is likely to be sited in the Northern Territory.
Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has revealed Muckaty Station, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as the location the Federal Government will pursue for a national radioactive waste repository.
“We will proceed firstly with the only voluntary site that we have, and that goes to the Ngapa land with respect to the Muckaty Station,” he told 105.7 ABC Darwin.
Mr Ferguson said several sites preferred by the Howard government would no longer be pursued.
“We have knocked out the three sites which were not volunteered by the community but were determined by politicians in Canberra,” he said.
This is “despite the fact that scientifically they actually stack up”.
Should environmental and scientific assessments fail at the Muckaty site, Mr Ferguson said the nuclear waste dump could be located elsewhere in Australia.
“I also have the capacity, if I assess that that is not a proper site, to then open up to a national voluntary site nomination process.”
Mr Ferguson said the Government would this week repeal Howard government legislation that would have enabled it to force the waste dump on the Northern Territory.
He said radioactive waste stored at the site would not be linked to Australia’s uranium exports, but to isotopes used in medical treatments.
He said the Muckaty site had been nominated by the Northern Land Council, however he acknowledged that some traditional owners were not in agreement.
“Clearly there are some differences in terms of the Muckaty Land Trust.”
He said before the site could be approved as a waste dump, the Northern Land Council would “have to prove that it’s been done in accordance with the law of the Northern Territory”.
He said a final decision on the dump site would still take a long time.
“If the science stacks up, and if it meets environmental approvals - but thirdly and more importantly, it obtains the necessary approval from the Ngapa people, through the Northern Land Council - then it will potentially be the appropriate site.”
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative says the decision is extremely disappointing.
“There is an agreement that was made between the Northern Land Council, the Federal Government and some traditional owners of the land trust,” she said.
“This agreement has never been made public and there’s been a number of documents submitted by other traditional owners calling for the contract and the agreement to be made public so they can see what’s actually been agreed upon for their country.
“It’s a very contested nomination.”
A woman representing some traditional owners of the Muckaty Land Trust says she wants the Federal Resources Minister to visit her country before making decisions about a nuclear waste facility.
Dianne Stokes represents the area’s Miyilwayi traditional owners and says any past agreement with the Ngapa people is not valid.
“I want to get the traditional owners together, talk about it and maybe have a ceremony to show Martin Ferguson who we are, because he didn’t come when we asked him,” she said.
“We’ve written him a letter to come.
“He never came towards us, he never came and faced us, he never came and talked to us.
“None of the people, not even the NLC, came and talked to the traditional owners.”
–
Beyond Nuclear Initiative
www.beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com
08 8952 2011
0429 900 774
get along to australia’s climate action summit 2010
Saturday March 13 – Monday March 15 Australian National University, Canberra
You’re invited to the 2010 Climate Action Summit, the only national meeting of the grassroots movement for a safe climate.
The Summit will provide much needed space to work out how we move forward in the year of a federal election after Copenhagen. Plenary speakers include David Karoly, Christine Milne, and Walden Bello, and there is a strong focus on alliance building and tactics to build the movement.
The full program is available for download from http://www.climatesummit.org.au/summit-2010-program
With the climate summit this year we’re aiming to build on the work of last year, and have developed campaign streams, a network stream as well as issues and skills workshops.
The campaign stream are: 100% renewables, coal campaigning, vote climate, climate emergency, green jobs and building alliances with trade unions. There is also a full range of issues and skills workshops on topics as diverse as forests, transport, climate justice, alternatives to the CPRS, population, media, dealing with sceptics, lobbying and communicating on climate change.
Who should come to the Summit?
- Members of climate action groups, whether actively involved in organising or just wanting to learn more about the issue and meet like minded people
- anyone interested in or active on climate change
Registration
Please register through the Climate Summit website, at http://www.climatesummit.org.au/register-2010-summit.This year we are asking participants for a registration payment to cover the costs of organising the summit. Registration will cost $10-15 per person day for unwaged individuals and $25-30 per person per day for waged individuals.
Applications for exemptions can be made by emailing 2010climatesummit@gmail.com.
For more information please contact Ellen Roberts on 0408 583 694.
free tash and all copenhagen climate prisoners!
Danish authorities are continuing to detain an Australian, Natasha Verco, for a fourth week since the Copenhagen climate conference. She is currently detained in the Vestre Faengsel prison, and will appear in court in Copenhagen on Monday January 4th 2010.
Natasha was arrested on Sunday December 13th, three days before the major ‘Reclaim Power’ protest during the United Nations climate negotiations. She is being charged with “incitement” for her role in organising the climate justice protest.
Holly Creenaune, spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Sydney, says, “Natasha should be released, and charges against her dropped. Three weeks gaol for a protest she could not even attend is obscene. We already gave the Danes a princess – give us back our protestor!
“The Copenhagen meeting was an abject failure – with rich countries like Australia pushing false solutions of offsetting and carbon trading, and avoiding urgently-needed emissions reductions. But instead of taking action, the authorities locked up those who actually were,” says Ms Creenaune.
Tadzio Mueller, a German arrested alongside Natasha, said on his release from custody, “The Danish government’s appallingly disproportionate reaction, the political policing used to gaol some 1800 activists for nothing at all; using tear gas, pepper spray, baton charges and mass preemptive arrests; sets a precedent dangerous not only for Denmark, but for the future of the world.” A statement from the prisoners is available at www.climate-justice-action.org/
Ms Verco is a long-time advocate for social change in Sydney, Australia. She is a graduate of the University if Sydney, where in 2000 she was elected President of the Student Representative Council. She was an active member of ASEN and the NSW Student Environment Activist Network; and later, an important educator for social change. She undertook Honors at the University of Technology honors program in Social Inquiry, was a founder of Rural Australians for Refugees, and a co-founder of Friends of the Earth Sydney.
A direct appeal to the Danish Consul General in Sydney, Michael Hansen, was launched today. Friends of the Earth Sydney will hand-deliver a personal letter to Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, who comes from Australia. Friends and supporters of Mrs Verco will gather at the Danish Consulate General to raise their concerns directly in person.
The letter asserts the right to protest as a fundamental human right, and requests the charges against Mrs Verco be dropped and that she be immediately released so that she can continue her important work for climate justice. The Australian Student Environment Network demands all climate justice activists be released immediately.
ccen summer skillshare in the forest
There’s a camp coming up in the beautiful forests of East Gippsland. It’s on like donkey kong from the 3rd to 6th of December so get in soon.
They’ll be skills based workshops and some awesome practical workshops too.
Please register online by Thursday 26th of November to help us organise everything!
For more information email victoria@asen.org.au.
people & planet: social justice & environment diaries & calendars 2010
People & Planet is published by a partnership of 40 Australian social justice and environment organisations, and raises funds for the work of these organisations in promoting a just, sustainable world.
ASEN has got a few around the country that we’re selling as a fundraiser for the amazing state networks - keep an eye out for the ASEN promo spot in there.
They feature 55 exceptional photos of people and places around the world, accompanied by short, fascinating stories about social and environmental issues.
The diary is printed on a mix of recycled and plantation paper and spiral bound. Every second page features a striking and inspiring photo of people and places around the world, with each facing page covering one week from January to December 2010.
The 2010 People & Planet Diary/Calendar costs $19.95 - look out for them on a ASEN stall in a state capital or we can post one for an extra $2.75. Email info[at]asen.org.au for more details.
new resource to download: climate justice kit
Friends of the Earth Sydney collective put this 16-page booklet together as a resource for climate justice action – for people organising in their communities and in their workplaces.
Download the Climate Justice Kit here.
Right now, all eyes are on climate change stories – whether it’s the upcoming international talks at Copenhagen, or the new coal-fired power stations being proposed to meet Sydney’s future energy consumption. But we don’t always look at what debates over ‘parts per million’ and emissions trading mean in human terms: who will pay, whose land is being mined or covered with private plantations, and whether ‘green’ industries are creating jobs where workers have a real voice in their workplaces.
We think climate justice is about which solutions to the climate crisis we campaign for, and how we campaign for them. This Climate Justice Kit includes short stories from across the world of communities that are fighting for clean air and secure livelihoods in the face of big polluters and offset entrepreneurs; as well as some key facts, like who is going to bear the heaviest burdens of climate change.
You can download the Climate Justice Kit here: http://tiny.cc/KW2Qg
Regardless of what businessmen and politicians do in Copenhagen (or any other capital cities), people across the globe will keep fighting for real solutions. We hope some of our ideas for action will be a useful contribution to that struggle in Australia.
If you’d like printed copies mailed to you, let foesydney@gmail.com know how many you want, your name and address.
If you have comments or questions, are keen to do a workshop or an action with us, we’d love to hear from you!
student night blockade against uranium mining in meghalaya, india
15 October 2009 News, Nuclear Free
Shillong, Oct 14 – The influential Khasi Students Union (KSU) has announced a two-night road blockade in Meghalaya beginning Wednesday to protest a proposed uranium mining project in the state.
The road blockade would affect vehicular movement, specially night passenger buses and goods laden trucks, on the national highways between Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
The blockade will be on from 7 p.m. till 5 a.m. Wednesday, and then again for the same duration Thursday.
‘The KSU at a meeting Tuesday decided to intensify its stir… to protest the Meghalaya government’s decision to lease out land to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL),’ said KSU president Samuel B. Jyrwa.
‘The KSU believes the uranium project would harm the environment and health of people living adjoining areas,’ Jyrwa said.
The state government has tightened security across the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of southeastern Meghalaya.
‘We are concerned that the proposed road blockades may affect other northeastern states too,’ Meghalaya principal secretary (home) Barkos Warjri told reporters here.
Police heads of the four districts — East Khasi Hills, West KhasiHills, Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi — have been asked to see that the traffic flow along the national and other highways are not disturbed due to the night blockade.
Chief Minister D.D. Lapang told reporters: ‘The uranium reserves are a national property and no one can stop the government from using them.’
‘The government has waited for 20 long years to persuade the people to allow uranium mining at Domiasiat in West Khasi Hills district of southern Meghalaya.’
The KSU and local parties have been spearheading the movement against the Meghalaya government’s decision to allow the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to carry out pre-project development programmes in 422 square hectares in the uranium-rich
areas of West Khasi Hills.
A senior Meghalaya government official said the union ministry of environment and forests had already allowed UCIL to start uranium mining for the annual production of 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore and processing of 1,500 tonnes of the mineral ore per day in West Khasi Hills district.
The UCIL has proposed a Rs.1,046 crore open-cast uranium mining and processing plant at Domiasiat in the West Khasi Hills district. Meghalaya has an estimated 9.22 million tones of uranium ore deposits.
climate camp ‘09: student activists shutdown bhp billiton’s dendrobium mine
In the early hours of the 11th of October, four student activists locked onto the conveyor belt at the Dendrobium coal mine in Wollongong. The group was protesting over concerns about the mine’s impacts on the local river system. Shot and edited by Tyler Freeman Smith, music by The Herd.
qean training camp: november 27-29
When: Friday 27th - Sunday 29th November
Where: Chowan Creek Rd, Uki
How much?: 20-60, fee waivers available if you need
How to register: click here and fill out the form!
Combining popular ed workshopping and plenty of relaxation and time for fun, QEAN gigs are a chance to get away from the city lights and learn a whole bunch about how to sustain and energise organising and activism.
This time around, we’ll be gathering in northern nsw for two splendid days of learning about the theories and practice of popular education. We’ll spend the Saturday exploring the benefit of education for social movements, and how the ways we undertake education is crucial in whether we are working for disempowerment or empowerment. Sunday we’ll have the chance to turn theory into practice and develop our own workshops for training participants. Great music, good food and company throughout.
Time to get your feet dirty and your mind re-energised and re-focused. Let’s gather and make this future happen!
newsletters
Every 3 months, ASEN puts out a newsletter about what’s been happening round the continent . If your collective, state network or working group has been up to something cool, send an email to kristy@asen.org.au telling us all about it.
asen-newsletter1-January - March 2009
ASEN Newsletter August-September 2008
ASEN Newsletter June-July 2008