By Election - Only 75% vote

Though the ALP suffered a 24% swing against it in Greatorex Greens candidate Jane Clark was heartened voters stayed with the Greens; with the Green vote similar to that gained in the general election in 2005. On only the second occasion the Greens have contested the seat of Greatorex The Greens polled just a few % points behind the ALP and are fast becoming the progressive voice of Alice Springs as ALP support slips away at a rate similar to their increasing silence on social issues.
The Greens have cemented a core vote of 1 in 10 electors and intend to build on this in the future.

The Greens ran an honest campaign raising issues of principle, uranium mining, grog rehabilitation, and sustainable planning and consultative democracy, while bringing public attention to the integrity of other candidates using colour to discuss law and order and other cheap stunts. The Greens candidate Jane Clark hopes the new member for Greatorex will distance himself from his earlier comments on radio regarding crime and race and take a more honest and measured approach to discussing issues affecting all residents of Alice Springs.

On another point, Clark points out that less than 75% of electorate turned up to vote which fuels concern that the NT Electoral Commission needs sufficient funding to get the message out regarding by elections. 1100 people didn't cast their vote.

Addressing the Rivers of Grog and Rehabilitation

The CLP's desire to add 100 places to the jail population is an inadequate knee jerk response. Society has failed to address the uncontrolled availability of cheap alcohol to all and sundry. It is far more challenging to address our social problems in town and the causes of recidivism. People leaving jail need access to meaningful work, strong psychological support, appropriate rehabilitation facilities and education so they do not end up back in the judicial system.

I also question the CLP's reason for using the colours red, yellow and black for their election crime leaflet. They never use those colours in any of their literature - perhaps there was a reason they could share with us all? Is this, perhaps, the new CLP corporate colour scheme?

More rehab services are needed because grog is a massive factor in offending. WE WOULD REDUCE SUPPLY by buying back problem takeaway outlet licences. Take-away outlets in abundance in the middle of a Dry Town is nonsensical. Even Pt Augusta, the pin up town for Dry Town enthusiasts, does not allow you to buy grog where you fill up for petrol or buy essential foodstuffs. Buy-back may cost money but not the amount 100 new places in jail will cost. Jail is not a deterrent. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to keep someone in jail for a year, and then what....?

Labor's announced redevelopment of Aranda House is welcome but long overdue and nowhere near enough. Labor's Alcohol Court is another idea which could help some, but the current system is only able to deal with 50 people per year - it's not enough.

When are we going to get genuine strategies from the old parties, instead of last minute election grabbing, uncosted, insubstantial 'promises'?


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..hot tags: alcohol crime rehabilitation election stunts knee jerk responses greatorex by election jane clark matt conlan jo nixon paul herrick clare martin ABC news radio Imparja television 8HA community bananas in pyjamas poll bludger our campaigns..

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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens

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Radioactive water for Alice Springs v Clean Power for the Cities

Have you ever paused to think about the implications of nuclear energy beyond the image of a pristine power station producing so called greenhouse friendly emissions? (but cast thoughts of the recent leak at Japan's largest nuclear power plant from your head as it will ruin it for you)

We in Alice could soon be witnessing the filth of uranium mining on our doorstep if mining of the Angela and Pamela deposits takes place just 23km away from our CBD. Firstly, all mining operations make heavy use of fossil fuels - just digging the massive hole is a hugely energy consuming activity. The landscape will be permanently damaged. Gigalitres of water will be required during the extraction process and the waste water will be radioactive - where will that go, I wonder?

Even if a person was in favour of nuclear energy, surely there is no justification for yet another mine in a fragile desert environment in close proximity to Alice Springs. The NT government has a poor record for community consultation when big bucks are on the table - they will divert rivers, change laws and suck up to the the big guys instead of listening to the views of the people who's lives with be adversely affected.

Our region is unlikely to ever have access to the so called clean power anyway. It is for the energy hungry city centres. And we may even be 'lucky' enough to host the waste at the end of the process! Where's the benefit for Alice Springs in all this? We'll be the solar city and nuclear waste centre.

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hot tags: uranium nuclear free alice mining angela and pamela greatorex by election jane clark matt conlan jo nixon paul herrick clare martin ABC news radio Imparja television 8HA community bananas in pyjamas poll bludger our campaigns

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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens
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The Greens Charter Regarding Meaningful Work

1. To encourage, develop and assist work that is safe, fairly paid, socially useful, personally fulfilling and not harmful to the environment.
   
2. To encourage and facilitate more flexible work arrangements (such as job sharing, part-time work, self-employment), on-going education, training and social welfare (including child-care) so that more people can engage in meaningful work.

In my time on the executive of LGANT I consulted with and lobbied on behalf of remote community leaders with regard to appropriate training and meaningful work. I put it to Territory Goverment ministers both personally and formally at meetings that the issue of meaningful work needs to be addressed on communities. The flow on benefit for all is obvious.

Community leaders asked to be able to conduct motor vehicle registration testing on communities. This would have provided training for young people already interested in mechanics and also made it possible for locals to register their car without having to drive hundreds of kilometres to Alice Springs. The idea was refused as 'too difficult'. Surely one community could have conducted a trial and then other communities built on the knowledge acquired?

Similar issues were presented regarding the training of Aboriginal Community Police Officers. Flexible relevant training needs to commence. We need to meet enthusiastic people with likeminded enthusiasm and enable access to training and support which will lead to meaningful work.

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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens

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There's something rotten in Darwin

Darwin-centric politics is becoming 'on the nose' with arrogance running rife. There is total disregard of the issues and needs of Central Australia and blatant dismissal of our social, environmental and health needs. Both Labor and CLP are letting us down, and have done so for years.

Let's make the historic decision to put a Green in to clean up their act, to push the agenda of Central Australia to address their rotten attitude towards the second largest city in the Territory.

Click here to download our leaflet and find out more about our platform.


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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens
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The Greens Flyer

Click here to download The Greens flyer


The Greens - the alternative to the Old Parties
The Territory has the most unbalanced Parliament in Australia with no effective opposition. The Greens support electoral reform to provide proportional representation to achieve a more balanced parliament, and to ensure the diverse views of the community are debated and represented.

Uranium Mining
Only The Greens oppose all aspects of the nuclear industry. The Angela and Pamela Uranium deposits approved by the NT Government are just 23km south of Alice Springs! Uranium mines are bad news in the long term, because they leave behind huge volumes of radioactive waste, but for this particular deposit, in this region, the most pressing concern is the massive impacts to the availability of water for other uses.

We support the rapid adoption of job creating sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal power.

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The NT government must:set emissions targets now;move investment focus away from carbon-heavy fossil fuel based projects to alternatives that are clean and create jobs;create incentives for households and business to invest in grid-connected solar power andincrease the buy back price for excess energy to reward those individual households and businesses that are ready to invest in renewable solutions.

Working Together on Social Issues
The Greens support the proposals set out in the“Little Children are Sacred” report. The Federal Government has devised their own set of top-down actions which do not follow these recommendations.

The Greens believe a comprehensive and considered approach working together with Aboriginal communities is the only way forward.

Sustainable Urban Planning
Creating sustainably urban environments involves consultation with community. The community needs to have a say in the development of:
Wildlife corridors
Creative Collectives for Arts Community
Safety, Lifestyle, Future Growth, Prosperity
Public Transport,
Walkways and clean bike paths
Accountability for public utilities

Improving the Health of Territorians
Accessible Health Care
Dental services in High Schools.

TheGreens.pdf << Download a copy of the flyer

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Battle of the Cans

A project promoting legal urban art including training for the artists. I was actively involved in the following project and continue to push for more graffiti walls and multimedia video projects for Youth.

this project has great support from the young people in town. A graffiti art competition was held where individuals or groups painted a 3mx2m board. Some school groups participated as well as people from various youth outreaches in town.

Myself , Council CEO and a Council Depot Staffer judged the artwork. The 4 winners were invited to a workshop with Graffiti artist Kieron Wilson from Queensland. They then commenced creating artworks at the Skate park. The older participants worked late into the night and groups came to hang out and watch them work. For the duration of the project there was significantly less graffiti around town.

Here's the web site I put up with some of their work. there has since been more graffiti art projects like the one at Centralia College.

http://www.netgrrl.com.au/maynardgcrebbs/


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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens
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Issues I have fought for

During my time on Alice Springs Town Council I have fought hard against the conservatives on many issues including:

my opposition to a youth curfew (council supported the Youth Curfew but could not implement it as the NT government has jurisdiction over this area)

Nuclear free alice - my motion was lost

The right of Bowerbird tip shop to maintain scavenging rights on the dump (the contract is up for renewal at the end of the year and opposition is already apparent)

Kerbside recycling was supported by me but knocked on the head as too expensive by council

The second largest contributer to land fill (after tyres) is computer hardware which is full of toxic chemicals such as mercury. There are moves for the computer industry to be made to take back their own waste and dispose of safely. I asked that the dump be organised so that computer hadware has it's own section until we find a way to make the industry clean it up. I also asked that glass be put in a single section making it possible for future recycling as it it too expensive at the moment. Both suggestions were dismissed.

Buffel management in the river - this grass burns at a much higher temperature than spinifex causing damage, and eventually death, to the huge trees

regeneration of anzac hill - FINALLY the last budget included $10 000 for this to go ahead.

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authorised by D Schild 12 Mills St Alice Springs NT for The Greens
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Greens for Greatorex

The Greens are delighted to announce Jane Clark former Alice Springs Town Council Alderman, long term Alice resident and successful small businesswoman has been pre-selected as the Greens candidate for Greatorex By-election on July 28 2007.

Jane Clark is the only candidate with experience as an elected representative of Alice Springs residents and has tackled environment and social issues issues including supporting a nuclear free Alice, with conviction and compassion over the past 3 years.

Ms Clark has resigned from her local government positions under s13 of the Local Government Act in order to stand in the election.

Ms Clark said, “After much consideration and reviewing of the policies, I realized that the issues I have been fighting for in the past are the ones supported by the Greens. The Greens is a grass roots organisation with a participatory approach rather than top down like the old parties. This gives me the opportunity to go in to bat for the people of Greatorex on issues that effect their lives, challenging the established parties to do better.”

Contact: Jane Clark
Phone: 0417864935
Email: jane@netgrrl.com.au
Written by Jane Clark
Authorised by D Schild
12 Mills St Alice Springs NT
for The Greens