Additional Estimates - Wednesday 15 February - Economics Committee - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

QUESTION NO. 1465

Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 14 November 2011:

Malaysian press* is reporting severe and unreasonable restrictions on public access to documents relating to Lynas Corporation's controversial rare earth refinery, sparking an outcry from locals.

Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Greens WA MLC Robin Chapple have written to Western Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corporation and the Malaysian Government requesting copies of its application documents so that they can be properly distributed.

WA Senators Rachel Siewert and Scott Ludlam say today's historic carbon price vote is the start of serious action on climate change.

"The passage of the Clean Energy Future package through the Senate represents a new beginning for our economy, with new industries and new jobs being created," Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown, Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters, Senators for Western Australia Rachel Siewert and Scott Ludlam, and Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt spoke to the media about the Australian Greens National Conference in Fremantle, WA.

Topics included the allocation of preferences, the environmental threats posed by developments in the Kimberley, and the Nationals' call for a "discussion paper" on coal seam gas. 

Watershed research from the Australia Institute released today once again illustrates the need for Australia to manage the mining boom properly, say the Australian Greens.

Greens Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam said the paper ‘Mining the Truth' makes it clear the mining industry is dodging its social responsibilities while causing damage to other sectors of the economy.

The Australian Greens say Woodside-commissioned confidential reports into the carbon footprint of Australian gas have revealed industry claims that gas is a clean fuel are greatly overstated.

Greens Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam said the gas industry had significantly exaggerated the benefit of LNG production as a substitute for coal-fired power generation.

(Question No. 358)

Senator Ludlam asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice, on 13 December 2010:

Given that the function of the National Contact Point (NCP), as an executive arm of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), is to promote the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines) and ‘good corporate responsibility', and to investigate complaints about the behaviour of individual companies in the context of these guidelines: