n every conflict over the living world, something is being protected. And most of the time, it’s the wrong thing.

The world’s most destructive industries are fiercely protected by governments. The three sectors that appear to be most responsible for the collapse of ecosystems and erasure of wildlife are fossil fuels, fisheries and farming. In 2021, governments directly subsidised oil and gas production to the tune of $64bn (£53bn), and spent a further $531bn (£443bn) on keeping fossil fuel prices low. The latest figures for fisheries, from 2018, suggest that global subsidies for the sector amount to $35bn a year, over 80% of which go to large-scale industrial fishing. Most are paid to “enhance capacity”: in other words to help the industry, as marine ecosystems collapse, catch more fish.

Every year, governments spend $500bn on farm subsidies, the great majority of which pay no regard to environmental protection. Even the payments that claim to do so often inflict more harm than good. For example, many of the European Union’s pillar two “green” subsidies sustain livestock farming on land that would be better used for ecological restoration. Over half the European farm budget is spent on propping up animal farming, which is arguably the world’s most ecologically destructive industry.

Pasture-fed meat production destroys five times as much forest as palm oil does. It now threatens some of the richest habitats on Earth, among which are forests in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and Myanmar. Meat production could swallow 3m square kilometres of the world’s most biodiverse places in 35 years. That’s almost the size of India. In Australia, 94% of the deforestation in the catchment area of the Great Barrier Reef – a major cause of coral loss – is associated with beef production. Yet most of these catastrophes are delivered with the help of public money.

The more destructive the business, the more likely it is to enjoy political protection. A study published this month claims that chicken factories being built in Herefordshire and Shropshire are likely to destroy far more jobs than they create, wrecking tourism through the river pollution, air pollution, smell and scenic blight they cause. But none of the planning applications for these factories has been obliged to provide an economic impact analysis. Planning officers, the paper found, are highly dismissive of the hospitality industry, treating it as “non-serious and trivial”. By comparison, the paper found, “attitudes to farming were very different; described as serious, ‘proper’ (male) work”. The “tough”, “masculine” industries driving Earth systems towards collapse are pampered and protected by governments, while less destructive sectors must fend for themselves.

While there is no shortage of public money for the destruction of life on Earth, budgets for its protection always fall short. According to the UN, $536bn a year will be needed to protect the living world – far less than the amount being paid to destroy it – yet almost all this funding is missing. Some has been promised, scarcely any has materialised. So much for public money for public goods.

The political protection of destructive industries is woven into the fabric of politics, not least because of the pollution paradox (“the more damaging the commercial enterprise, the more money it must spend on politics to ensure it’s not regulated out of existence. As a result, politics comes to be dominated by the most damaging commercial enterprises.”) Earth systems, by contrast, are treated as an afterthought, an ornament: nice to have, but dispensable when their protection conflicts with the necessity of extraction. In reality, the irreducible essential is a habitable planet.

In 2010, at a biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan, governments set themselves 20 goals, to be met by 2020. None has been achieved. As they prepare for the biodiversity Cop15 summit in Montreal next week, governments are investing not in the defence of the living world but in greenwash.

The headline objective is to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. But what governments mean by protection often bears little resemblance to what ecologists mean.

Take the UK, for example. On paper, it has one of the highest proportions of protected land in the rich world, at 28%. It could easily raise this proportion to 30% and claim to have fulfilled its obligations. But it is also one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. How can this be? Because most of our “protected” areas are nothing of the kind.

One analysis suggests that only 5% of our land meets the international definition of a protected area. Even these scraps are at risk, as scarcely anyone is left to enforce the law: the regulators have been stripped to the bone and beyond. At sea, most of our marine protected areas are nothing but lines on the map: trawlers still rip them apart.

All this is likely to become much worse. If the retained EU law bill goes ahead, the entire basis of legal protection in the UK could be torn down. Even by the standards of this government, the mindless vandalism involved is gobsmacking. To prove that Brexit means Brexit, 570 environmental laws must be deleted or replaced by the end of next year. There will be no public consultation, no scope for presenting evidence and, in all likelihood, no opportunity for parliamentary debate. It is logistically impossible to replace so much legislation in such a short period, so the most likely outcome is deletion. If so, it’s game over for rivers, soil, air quality, groundwater, wildlife and habitats in the UK, and game on for cheats and con artists. The whole country will, in effect, become a freeport.

Never underestimate the destructive instincts of the Conservative party, prepared to ruin everything for the sake of an idea. Never underestimate its appetite for chaos and dysfunction.

The protected industries driving us towards destruction will take everything if they are not checked. We face a brutal contest for control over land and sea: between those who seek to convert our life support systems into profit, and those who seek to defend, restore and, where possible, return them to the indigenous people dispossessed by capitalism’s fire front. These are never just technical or scientific issues. They cannot be resolved by management alone. They are deeply political. We can protect the living world or we can protect the companies destroying it. We cannot do both.

By George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist – theguardian.com

L’article Analysis. From the Amazon to Australia, why is your money funding Earth’s destruction est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Djokovic faces deportation once more and is expected to challenge the decision by immigration minister Alex Hawke, though time is running out before the start of the Australian Open on Monday.

Novak Djokovic has had his Australian visa cancelled by immigration minister Alex Hawke “on health and good order grounds”, and now faces deportation from the country only three days before the start of the Australian Open.

However, the 34-year-old Serbian can still launch another legal challenge to remain in Australia.

The men’s tennis number one was scheduled to play in the Australian Open, which begins on Monday.

« Today I exercised my power… to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so, » Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the decision followed « careful consideration. »

Alluding to the heavy criticism his government has faced for allowing the unvaccinated player into Australia, Mr Morrison said: « Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected. »

Djokovic will meet immigration officials in Melbourne on Saturday morning, and will be allowed to stay in his current accommodation on Friday night – some Australian media had speculated that he may be moved to an immigration detention hotel.

The nine-time Australian Open winner was hoping to defend his title next week, which if he won, would make him the most successful male tennis player in history with a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

For the moment, Djokovic remains in the Australian Open draw and is due to face fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic early next week. If he is deported, however, his slot will most likely go to Russian player Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic’s visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after Australian border Force officials said he had « failed to provide appropriate evidence » to receive a vaccine exemption.

His initial announcement that he was coming to play in the Open prompted a backlash from some Australians, who have lived under long and strict Covid lockdowns, because it was unclear if he could meet the country’s strict entry rules. Melbourne in particular was hard bit by lockdowns, enduring 262 days under heavy restrictions last year.

Djokovic was detained for hours at the airport’s immigration control when he first arrived, and then spent days at an immigration hotel. Days later his visa was reinstated by a judge, who ordered his release, ruling that border officials ignored correct procedure when he arrived.

But on Friday evening in Melbourne, Mr Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa under separate powers in Australia’s Migration Act.

The act allows him to deport anyone he deems a potential risk to « the health, safety or good order of the Australian community », however Djokovic can still appeal this.

It comes after Djokovic addressed allegations that his agent had accidentally made a false declaration on his travel form. Djokovic also admitted meeting a journalist and having a photoshoot after testing positive for Covid-19.

World Opinions – Agencies

L’article Novak Djokovic: Australia cancels tennis player’s visa for a second time est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

All of greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains and Wollongong regions will enter a two-week coronavirus lockdown until 9 July and new restrictions will be in place for the remainder of New South Wales.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced the expanded lockdown – the first lockdown of greater Sydney since last year – would commence at 6pm Saturday, following crisis talks due to the growing number of exposure sites associated with the Sydney outbreak of the Delta Covid-19 variant.

The state recorded 29 cases up to 8pm on Friday, including 17 that had been announced Friday morning. Only 12 of those had been in isolation while infectious.

“We’re never afraid to take a decision we need to keep our citizens safe,” Berejikilan said on Saturday afternoon. “Unfortunately this is a situation where we absolutely have to.”

Until 11.59pm on 9 July, anyone in greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong will only be permitted to leave their homes for essential reasons: shopping for food and essential goods and services, medical care or compassionate needs, exercise outdoors in groups of up to 10, and essential work or education where that cannot occur at home. There will be no curfew.

Weddings will be able to proceed on Saturday 26 June up to 11.59pm on Sunday 27 June but then cannot go ahead for the remainder of the two-week period.

Funerals can take place with up to a maximum of 100 people, with one person per four square metres and mask-wearing if indoors.

Berejiklian also asked people to use QR codes to check-in at all venues, including supermarkets and takeaway stores, no matter how brief the visit.

She said the length of the lockdown was necessary and flagged that support for businesses would be announced in coming days. She said the government would be pushing for commonwealth support payments for hotspots.

“If we’re going to do this, we need to do it properly,” she said. “There’s no point doing a three-day and then having the virus continue to bubble away in the community.”

She said if there was a dramatic change after seven days authorities would evaluate the situation but the best current advice was that two weeks was necessary “in order to make sure that we get to our target of zero community transmission, which has always been our target from the beginning of the pandemic”.

The remainder of NSW will move to restrictions including mandatory masks in all indoor non-residential settings and at organised outdoor events, no drinking while standing at indoor venues, no singing by audiences or choirs at indoor events or places of worship and no dancing at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs.

Dancing will be permitted for the wedding party at weddings only, to a maximum of 20 people.

Anyone from the greater Sydney region who has arrived in a regional area on or after June 21 must observe a 14-day stay at home order from the date they left greater Sydney.

The lockdown was announced after crisis talks held on Saturday morning determined it should be expanded beyond the four council areas that had been subject to lockdown orders since Friday night.

More than 55,000 people were tested on Friday but the NSW premier said on Saturday morning “that’s where the good news ends” – with only 12 of the 29 new cases in isolation during their infectious period.

Berejiklian foreshadowed the lockdown due to the growing number of exposure sites beyond the Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and the City of Sydney local government areas.

They included a workplace outbreak associated with the retail/wholesale business Great Ocean Foods in Marrickville, with staff and their household contacts asked to immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days and customers who had not used the QR code to check in asked to come forward.

The state’s chief health officer, Kerry Chant, said authorities were concerned that delivery drivers to that site had also become infectious, meaning anyone who received a delivery from Monday 21 June to Friday 25 June and their household contacts was also being asked to immediately get tested and isolate until further advice was provided by NSW Health.

Two other venues of concern were the Cheers Bar and Grill on George Street in Sydney, which was attended by a case in the early hours of Sunday 20 June, and the Rebel Sport store in Bankstown, which a case attended between 3.45pm and 4.30pm on Thursday 24 June.

“The situation overnight has highlighted that an increasing number of people have been undetected and infectious in the community,” Chant said. “Largely they were contained in the four LGAs, but now we are seeing the spread to exposure venues outside of those four LGAs, and that is the basis for my growing concern.”

The government reiterated its advice that people who live in the LGAs of City of Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West and Bayside were not permitted to leave metropolitan Sydney.

The health minister, Brad Hazzard, said there was a “growing and more intense concern” from health authorities and the government about the Delta variant of Covid-19.

“The Delta variant is proving to be a very formidable foe,” he said. “No matter what defensive steps we are taking at the moment, the virus seems to understand how to counter-attack in different locations. That’s causing us a high level of concern.

“We had yesterday hoped to be able to continue community sport, but it’s become evident with the new cases that we’ve seen coming in today that that can’t continue.”

Hazzard also made a new public health order on Friday night enforcing compulsory face masks and at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for drivers transporting international arrivals, including air crew.

Workers will have three days to get vaccinated before the vaccination order applies from 28 June. The mask order took effect on Friday night.

World Opinions News – theguardian.com

L’article NSW Covid outbreaks: Gladys Berejiklian locks down Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Cascading scandals of alleged rape, sexual misconduct and discrimination inside Australia’s parliament have destabilised the conservative government as accused ministers are sidelined and assault victims, women’s groups and female politicians demand a shakeup of what they describe as an endemic culture of ‘toxic’ masculinity within politics. 

It’s almost been a week since the #March4Justice protests and I wanted to acknowledge all the women and men who took time out from their busy lives to advocate for a safer, more equitable Australia. Truly, from the bottom of my heart thank-you.

📷: @mpbowers & @DomLorrimer pic.twitter.com/zVariIWYdh

— Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) March 21, 2021

Repeated reports of sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment of women by Australia’s political elite have triggered the biggest mass women’s rallies the country has seen. Using the #March4justice hashtag, hundreds of thousands of women gathered all over the country in a second-wave #Metoo moment that galvanised women – from the very young to the elderly – and from all political stripes.

At the march on the capital, the wives of former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd stood hand in hand in a show of solidarity with Australian women, despite their allegiances to opposing political parties.

Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said she’d “never seen any moment like this”.

But by Monday, the fury unleashed at the March 15 demonstrations boiled over as Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that two of his ministers caught in the eye of the storm of the Canberra allegations – defence minister Linda Reynolds and attorney general Christian Porter – would lose their high-profile portfolios but remain part of the cabinet.

It’s almost been a week since the #March4Justice protests and I wanted to acknowledge all the women and men who took time out from their busy lives to advocate for a safer, more equitable Australia. Truly, from the bottom of my heart thank-you.

📷: @mpbowers & @DomLorrimer pic.twitter.com/zVariIWYdh

— Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) March 21, 2021

The PM’s decision not to force the implicated ministers to resign has played into public perceptions of an entitled political class.

Professor Catharine Lumby, a researcher and consultant on workplace cultures at Sydney University, says that like many countries, Australia has huge issues with sexual assault and harassment that have been ignored for decades despite women consistently raising them.

“Unfortunately there is a culture of masculinity in this country that can be toxic,” Lumby says. “There’s what’s called a ‘rape myths acceptance’. What that is about is men placing blame on women for their decision to sexually assault, thinking ‘Well, she deserved it, she was drunk or she was wearing provocative clothing.’ The reality is there’s a deeply entrenched culture of misogyny among our so-called leaders and it’s born out of a culture of entitlement and privilege.”

Lumby’s assessment is reflected in the shocking and widespread allegations of abuse and mistreatment of women that have emerged from the highest political offices in the country. 

The allegations detail a range of abuses from the use of the parliament’s chapel for sexual relations, signing sex workers into Parliament House, to a ministerial aide sacked after video footage emerged of him masturbating over the desk of a female minister’s desk and to the story of a woman who committed suicide after reporting to police a historical rape involving then Federal Attorney General Christian Porter. The woman had alleged the assault occurred when she was 16 years old in 1988, when both were still students. 

Porter has denied the allegations and launched defamation proceedings against Australia’s public broadcaster ABC, which first aired the claims.

Another MP, Dr Andrew Laming, accused over the weekend of ‘upskirting’ and other inappropriate behaviour towards female staff and constituents, has agreed to undergo empathy training.

But it was the story told by a former young staffer to the government, Brittany Higgins, that first burst the bubble shielding Canberra and the several male ministers and staffers whose transgressive behaviours had been allowed to go unchecked. Higgins went public on February 15 with accusations that a senior colleague had raped her inside a government minister’s office in March 2019. 

Higgins, who was 24 years old at the time of the alleged rape, said she did not receive adequate support after she reported the incident and that she was called ‘a lying cow’ by then defence minister Reynolds. The minister was forced to apologise and is to pay damages to Higgins. Since Higgins went public, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment.

World Opinions Trends – France 24

L’article Women lead cultural reckoning as claims of sexual abuse, sexism besiege Australian government est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The Bureau of Meteorology, state health departments, the Western Australian opposition leader, charities and Facebook itself are among those to have been hit by Facebook’s ban on news in Australia.

Facebook's news ban hammer having a lot of collateral damage. pic.twitter.com/mP4pfd3nL5

— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) February 17, 2021

On Thursday morning Facebook began preventing Australian news sites from posting, while also stopping Australian users from sharing or viewing content from any news outlets, both Australian and international.

The social media giant said it made the decision in response to the news media bargaining code currently before the Senate, which would force Facebook and Google to negotiate with news companies for payment for content.

While the ban was only meant to target Australian news publishers, dozens of pages run by key government agencies, community pages, union pages, charity organisations and politicians were also blocked for several hours.

Australia’s main source of weather information, the Bureau of Meteorology, said on Thursday morning that it had been blocked, and was advising users to go to its direct website, app or Twitter page.

Facebook's news ban hammer having a lot of collateral damage. pic.twitter.com/mP4pfd3nL5

— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) February 17, 2021

As Australia prepares to begin the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, state health departments, including SA Health and Queensland Health, were unable to post.$

1800 Respect is gone now too.

That's Australia's main domestic violence phone service. https://t.co/vbMUN6YAFJ pic.twitter.com/HKEl7ySpnJ

— VCOSS (@VCOSS) February 17, 2021

So @Facebook has blocked access to our website. We are not a news organisation. Australian workers can not now find out about their rights at work via @Facebook. This is disgraceful & needs to be reversed immediately pic.twitter.com/588Qf1JbuD

— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) February 17, 2021

Facebook's news ban hammer having a lot of collateral damage. pic.twitter.com/mP4pfd3nL5

— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) February 17, 2021

By Josh Taylor – theguardian.com

L’article Facebook’s botched Australia news ban hits health departments, charities and its own pages est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.