Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has backed the Australia Day call by Civil Liberties Australia for a new inquiry into the impact ten years of counter-terrorism measures have had on lives and liberties of Australians. This follows the release yesterday of the Independent Review of the Intelligence Community.

“When parliament resumes in two weeks I will move to establish an independent inquiry into the impact of Australia’s anti-terror measures,” Senator Rhiannon said.

Blog post by Senator Lee Rhiannon

The lunar landscape that is the immediate visual legacy of open cut coal mining in the Hunter is a stark reminder of the ongoing damage being inflicted on this fertile river valley.

I have just spent two days meeting with locals deeply troubled by coalmine expansion in this area. With my colleague Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham we’ll be stepping up our support for their campaigns in this David v Goliath style dispute.

We started our visit at Rosedale farmstead, home of beeffarmer Wendy Bowman. This stunning property nestled on the alluvial river flats of the Glennies Creek was the site of a significant win against the mining giant Yancoal owned by Yankuang Group Corporation Limited.

Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig must not budge from the February deadline for accrediting live sheep exports to the Middle East following reports today that sheep traders are pushing for an extension, said Greens Senator and animal welfare spokesperson Lee Rhiannon (Australian Financial Review, 23/1/11, p3).

“This is a litmus test of the government’s commitment to live export reforms and Senator Ludwig will betray the public if he buckles to industry bullying and gives sheep traders more time to conform”, said Senator Rhiannon.

Blog post by Senator Lee Rhiannon

High life and high tech have taken on a whole new meaning with the Save Tassie Forests campaigner Miranda Gibson living and working in a 60m up in a tree-sit. She is at the top of a Eucalyptus delegatensis tree in a coupe under Mount Muir, west of the Styx Valley. This ABC photo gives some sense of this courageous protest.

I caught up with Miranda by phone yesterday. She spoke of her passion for these forests, her life perched high above the ground and how she is filming and blogging. In the past few days a currawong has regularly joined her on the platform. Her filming of the wildlife is worth checking out.

Blog post by Senator Lee Rhiannon

Wherever I go, so do my bird watching interests. I have even started compiling a bird list for the parliamentary precinct: so far variety has been low. But what I miss out in terms of diversity the magpies make up for with their antics.

This summer I had what I think will be an all time bird watching highlight for me. I was swimming at Wylies Baths, a stunning rockpool at Coogee, when a small pied cormorant landed about three metres from me.

I have always wanted to watch a bird swim underwater and here was my chance. Fortunately I had goggles on and dived as the little pied cormorant took off underwater. It was spectacular seeing it twist and swerve after a school of fish.