Australia and Oceania news and discussions

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Australia and Oceania news and discussions

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This thread is for news and discussions pertaining to the following geographic region.

Mainly the countries of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and New Caledonia, but many smaller island nations too.


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Tasmanian devils born in the wild on Australian mainland for the first time in 3,000 years

May 26, 2021 / 12:22 PM / CBS News

Australia is experiencing a very unique baby boom. Tasmanian devils have just been born in the wild on the continent's mainland for the first time since they disappeared there about 3,000 years ago.

Last year, conservationists released 26 of the adult carnivorous marsupials into a sanctuary at Barrington Tops, north of Sydney. It marked the first step in their attempt to establish a sustainable population of the endangered species, which has been decimated by illness in its remaining habitat on the island of Tasmania.

They hoped their efforts, over a decade in the making, would achieve similar success as the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the United States in the 1990s.

"There's so much at stake here. We've done everything we can, but if the devils don't breed, it's all over," conservation group Aussie Ark president Tim Faulkner said in a statement.

Researchers have been studying the ferocious animals from afar since their release. This week, they celebrated the birth of seven Tasmanian devil joeys in the nearly 1,000-acre Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered ... -mainland/


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Article a few weeks old, Sky News Australia is going to be rebranded as Fox News Australia.

https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2021/05/ ... ews.com.au.
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UN irks Australia by recommending that Great Barrier Reef be listed 'in danger'

June 22, 2021

CANBERRA, June 22 (Reuters) - The Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are "in danger", a United Nations panel said on Tuesday, drawing an angry response from Australia, which called the recommendation politically motivated.

Australia has lobbied furiously for years to stay off the endangered list as it could lead to the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem losing the U.N. heritage status, taking some of the shine off its attraction for tourists.

Making its recommendation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee said action was needed to counter the effects of climate change as the prospects of the reef retaining that cherished status had deteriorated.

At Australia's invitations, UNESCO delegates visited an unspoilt stretch of the reef in 2015, but scientists say it has suffered three major coral bleaching events since, caused by severe marine heatwaves.

"This decision was flawed. Clearly there were politics behind it," Leys said, adding that Australia had conveyed its concerns to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 021-06-22/
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Australia Aided by 'Fossil Fuel Pariah States' in Bid to Keep Great Barrier Reef Off 'In Danger' List
by Andrea Germanos
July 14, 2021

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/ ... anger-list

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Just ahead of a United Nations World Heritage Committee meeting weighing updated classifications for U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization sites, new reporting on Wednesday reveals how Australia is working to thwart the Great Barrier Reef being designated as "in danger."

According to The Guardian, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are co-sponsoring amendments that reject UNESCO's finding, released last month, that the reef is in danger and would prevent such a designation until 2023 or later.

"Imagine teaming up with fossil fuel pariah states to delay saving Australia's greatest natural wonder," quipped Jo Robb, a Green Party councillor for South Oxfordshire in England. Prime Minister "Scott Morrison's Australia is a disgrace."

In its draft recommendation in June, UNESCO said (pdf) the reef should be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger as it's facing "ascertained danger," language the body uses to refer to "specific and proven imminent threats." The draft pointed to ongoing deterioration from threats including the climate emergency and suffering from significant coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017, and 2020.

That recommendation drew immediate criticism from Morrison's government, which continues to prop up the fossil industry. Climate campaigners, however, said the recommendation was totally unsurprising. “The UNESCO warning could not be any clearer," Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesperson Martin Zavan said last month. "The Great Barrier Reef is in danger because of the Morrison government's failure to act on climate change."
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caltrek wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:14 pm Australia Aided by 'Fossil Fuel Pariah States' in Bid to Keep Great Barrier Reef Off 'In Danger' List
by Andrea Germanos
July 14, 2021

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/ ... anger-list

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Just ahead of a United Nations World Heritage Committee meeting weighing updated classifications for U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization sites, new reporting on Wednesday reveals how Australia is working to thwart the Great Barrier Reef being designated as "in danger."

According to The Guardian, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are co-sponsoring amendments that reject UNESCO's finding, released last month, that the reef is in danger and would prevent such a designation until 2023 or later.

"Imagine teaming up with fossil fuel pariah states to delay saving Australia's greatest natural wonder," quipped Jo Robb, a Green Party councillor for South Oxfordshire in England. Prime Minister "Scott Morrison's Australia is a disgrace."

In its draft recommendation in June, UNESCO said (pdf) the reef should be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger as it's facing "ascertained danger," language the body uses to refer to "specific and proven imminent threats." The draft pointed to ongoing deterioration from threats including the climate emergency and suffering from significant coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017, and 2020.

That recommendation drew immediate criticism from Morrison's government, which continues to prop up the fossil industry. Climate campaigners, however, said the recommendation was totally unsurprising. “The UNESCO warning could not be any clearer," Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesperson Martin Zavan said last month. "The Great Barrier Reef is in danger because of the Morrison government's failure to act on climate change."
I think this is absolutely disgusting, Scott Morrison is definitely corrupt.
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New Zealand farmers stage huge protest over environmental rules
Fri 16 Jul 2021

Thousands of farmers have descended on dozens of towns and cities across New Zealand in their tractors in a nationwide protest against a swathe of new environmental regulations.

The Howl of a Protest event was tipped to be the largest of its kind for the rural sector, with motorcades expected in 51 towns and cities.

Farmers drove tractors, bearing placards, from the outskirts of Auckland into the city centre on Friday morning, causing gridlock on the motorways. In Whangarei, protesters took over a sports field, while in Dunedin, a five-kilometre long convoy snaked its way through the city, bringing it to a standstill.




Wellington, where parliament is based, was deliberately left off the itinerary.

The protest was organised by Groundswell NZ, a grassroots organisation made up of farmers, growers, contractors and tradespeople, who say they are frustrated with the interference in private property rights, unworkable climate-change policies and unfair costs.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... ntal-rules
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‘Extraordinary profits’: New Zealand considers breaking up supermarket duopoly
Thu 29 Jul 2021

New Zealand’s government will consider breaking up its supermarket duopoly to secure more affordable food prices for shoppers, after a new report that found the grocers were making huge profits and charging some of the highest prices in the OECD.

David Clark, the commerce and consumer affairs minister, said on Thursday the government would “do whatever it takes to make sure New Zealanders get a fair deal at the checkout”.

“There have been extraordinary profits made in the sector over a period of time compared to international settings … We want everybody to be winning, not just one part of the sector to be taking out super profits,” Clark said.
a woman packing her shopping

The new draft report by the Commerce Commission, the government agency that regulates competition, monopolies and fair trading, found New Zealand shoppers face some of the most expensive groceries in the OECD.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... foodstuffs
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