ENVIRONMENT-AUSTRALIA: Split Over Carbon Capture Technology

Australia’s plan to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology - whereby greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions from fossil-fuel fired power stations are trapped and stored rather than released into the atmosphere - is pitting green groups against one another.

AUSTRALIA: Diffident on UN Grant of Larger Continental Shelf

While last month’s landmark ruling by a United Nations body granting Australia jurisdiction over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed has been hailed as a "potential bonanza", a leading expert on international law expects the government to proceed with caution.

AUSTRALIA: Women in Top Posts but Discrimination Prevails

While some have hailed the recent announcement that a woman is to be Australia’s next governor-general as a breakthrough for women - the first time that the English monarch’s representative in this country will not be male - advocacy groups argue that discrimination against women remains prevalent.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Inquiry Into Terror Suspect Haneef&#39s Case &#39Pointless&#39

Concerns are being raised that the judicial inquiry into the case of former terrorism suspect, Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef, could be a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.

AUSTRALIA: Seeking a Bigger Global Role

Recent overseas trips by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd are said to have projected a more robust image of Australia onto the world and revealed a nascent desire to be regarded as a serious global player.

AUSTRALIA: Olympic Torch Set to Light Passions

With demonstrations and counter-demonstrations anticipated this week when the Olympic torch relay makes its way through Canberra, a leading Chinese student’s association has called for politics to make way for harmony.

POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Youth Lead the Way on National Issues

A leading youth delegate attending this weekend’s summit on Australia’s future has called for participants to follow the example set by the nation’s youth and "come with an open mind’’.

DEATH PENALTY: Bali Nine Case – Test For Aussie Policy

The recent downgrading of the sentences for three Australian drug smugglers from death to life terms has been largely welcomed here. But with three other members of the 'Bali Nine' group still on death row, the role played by Australia’s federal police in their arrests remains contentious.

AUSTRALIA/US: Rudd’s Salute to Bush Exposes Sensibilities

While Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has laughed off a playful salute to U.S. President George W. Bush during last week’s NATO summit as "just a joke", the imagery lends credence to accusations that Australia is the United States’ "deputy sheriff" in the region.

AUSTRALIA: Rudd&#39s Japan Snub Sign of China&#39s Rise

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s decision to leave Japan off the itinerary of his current 17-day world tour - that includes the United States, Europe and China - has raised the ire of many in the land of the rising sun.

AUSTRALIA: Bone to Pick With NATO On Afghan Deployments

As the largest non-NATO contributor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, Australia is expected to make its own demands at this week’s crucial summit of the arms pact in Bucharest.

ENVIRONMENT-AUSTRALIA: Lights Out, Action! It’s Earth Hour

Organisers of Earth Hour 2008 estimate that in excess of 30 million people worldwide will take action on Saturday to raise awareness of how small changes can make big differences when it comes to climate change.

AUSTRALIA: Mock Refugee Camp Brings Home Grim Realities

Moving aggressively before the locked wire gate, the border guards used large sticks to keep the refugees in check. Eventually, with the aid of bribes, the participants were allowed to cross the border in order to seek refuge in the camp on the other side.

AUSTRALIA: Calls to Boycott Beijing Olympics

The crackdown by Chinese authorities on protesters in Tibet has elicited calls within Australia, a major sporting power, to boycott the Beijing Olympics.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Detaining, Deporting Citizens

The Rudd government is hoping that the high-profile case of an Australian resident wrongfully detained in the country’s immigration detention system for more than ten months has been brought to a close. But this alarming case is far from being an isolated one.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Concerns Over New Indigenous People’s Body

Indigenous Australians have largely welcomed the government’s scrapping of the controversial National Indigenous Council (NIC) to make way for a new representative body.

ENVIRONMENT-INDONESIA: Deforestation Causing More Than Landslides

While conjecture remains over whether deforestation was to blame for the landslides and floods that killed dozens of people in Indonesia on Dec.26 last year, there appears to be a consensus regarding other consequences of forest destruction.

AUSTRALIA: Act Now On Climate Change Gov’t Warned

An interim report on Australia’s ability to combat climate change has called on the government to take action now as a matter of urgency.

AUSTRALIA/INDIA: Uranium Export Policy Not Set In Stone – Analysts

Despite Australia’s recently confirming that it will not be exporting uranium to India - reversing an agreement made by the previous government - analysts argue that a deal could yet be struck.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Apology To Stolen Generations – A Good Start

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s recent apology to indigenous Australians, for the wrongs and injustices inflicted upon them by the policies of past governments, was momentous. But other indigenous issues are yet to be resolved.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Citizenship Test Discriminatory – Migrant Advocates

Refugee and multicultural advocates say that Australia’s controversial citizenship test, introduced late last year by the previous government, discriminates against applicants from marginalised, non-English speaking backgrounds.