Friends of the Earth Brisbane is a community based social change co-operative working on local, regional, national and international issues. We are working towards the creation of an ecologically sustainable and socially just society through community action. Thanks for your support! Please consider giving an end of financial year, tax deductible donation here.
The Myth of the 'Professional Protester'
 The headline screamed 'Professional Protesters!' and the article concluded with "well practiced fringe activists engaging in fear mongering". Even though I wasn't surprised, I couldn't help but groan. In Six Degrees, a small, volunteer-run collective, we often joke about how if we're professionals, then we're way overdue for a payrise.... 
News and Resources Qld Courts Support Locals Right to Protest
Last month, the Brisbane magistrates court supported the efforts of Gladstone local Mark Discoll in his stand defending the destructive dredging of the Gladstone Harbour in the Great Barrier Reef. More here. An unexpectedly large audience turned up for the presentation by Tuvalu Climate Negotiator Ian Fry, “Between Durban and Rio”. It was great to see so many students from both UQ and other Brisbane universities, as well as representatives of a wide range of environmental and eco-justice NGOs. They were Siliga Aoga, a Brisbane-based Tuvaluan previously working with UN ESACP, Sean Kelly, regional co-ordinator for the AYCC in Queensland, and Neil Davidson who focuses on whole system design and has been involved in a project on Collaboration around Climate Change, Carrying Capacity and Cultural Cohesion. One of the highlights of Ian’s presentation was the illustration of challenges Small Island States have to face when trying to negotiate their interests in international forums with “big power” interests, including those of neighbouring Australia. In follow up conversations, new ideas emerged for how the Climate Frontlines collective might engage in new advocacy initiatives.  Toro Energy, a small-time player in the resource industry with no experience in mining of any kind, wants to open WA’s first uranium mine near the Goldfields community of Wiluna. The open air mine will produce thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste that, according to the government’s own advice, will need to be isolated for 10,000 years. The highly concentrated and highly radioactive uranium that is extracted will be trucked thousands of kilometres on public roads through WA communities to Adelaide or Darwin for export. Go to http://ccwa.org.au/saynototoro to sign the petition.
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