APSNet 2 June 2008

1. Cessation of ADF Operations in Southern Iraq
2. Australia Joins Allies in Bid to Ban Cluster Bombs
3. Indonesian Bid to End Emissions Stand-Off
4. As Papua New Guinea Pushes for Payments for Forest Conservation, New Analysis Says Nation May Be Running Out of Forests to Protect
   
5. Elders Want Answers over Nuclear Waste Dump Location
6. Labor Softens on Uranium Sales to India
7. Closing the Gap: Building Capacity in Pacific Fisheries Governance and Institutions

1. Cessation of ADF Operations in Southern Iraq, News Blog, Department of Defence, 2008-06-02

The Overwatch Battle Group (OBG-W) and Australian Army Training Team (AATT-I) formally ceased operations at a ceremony in Camp Terendak, Talil. Minister for Defence, the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP, said the conclusion of the dual missions marked the completion of a significant phase in Australia’s military commitment to the rehabilitation of Iraq.

• Combat Troops Pull Out of Iraq, David McLennan, Canberra Times, 2008-06-02

2. Australia Joins Allies in Bid to Ban Cluster Bombs, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2008-05-30

Australia has joined more than 100 other nations in a draft treaty to ban so-called cluster munitions, which scatter dozens of bomblets over battlefields. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said that agreeing to the draft treaty would not stop Australia from pushing ahead with plans to buy deadly new SMArt 155 artillery shells, which activists wanted included in the ban.

• Cluster Munitions Dublin Diplomatic Conference 19-30 May 2008, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland
• Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Convention on Cluster Munitions, Presidency Paper, Draft Convention on Cluster Munitions, Dublin 19 – 30 May 2008, 2008-05-28 [78.8 KB, PDF]
• Cluster Bombs, Global Security

3. Indonesian Bid to End Emissions Stand-Off, Hamish Macdonald, Age, 2008-05-30

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said Indonesia would cut emissions by 2020 by 17% from the level that would have been reached with its current mix of fuels for electricity and transport. And by policing the clearing of jungle for palm oil plantations, the Government plans to stop the forest fires. Indonesia is ranked as the world’s third-biggest polluting country because of these fires, which produce about 80% of its carbon dioxide emissions.

4. As Papua New Guinea Pushes for Payments for Forest Conservation, New Analysis Says Nation May Be Running Out of Forests to Protect, ForestNewsWire, 2008-06-02

The report, “The State of the Forests of Papua New Guinea”, estimates that in 2001, PNG’s accessible forests were being cleared or degraded at a rate of 362,000 hectares a year. At that pace, by 2021, the authors estimate that 83 percent of the country’s accessible forest (and 53 percent of its total forested area) will be gone or severely damaged.

• The State of the Forests of Papua New Guinea: Mapping the Extent and Condition of Forest Cover and Measuring the Drivers of Forest Change in the Period 1972-2002, Phil Shearman et al, UPNG, 2008 [20 MB, PDF]

5. Elders Want Answers over Nuclear Waste Dump Location, Sarah Smiles, Age, 2008-06-02

Aboriginal elders from Muckaty Station in the NT say they have been stonewalled by the Commonwealth over whether their land will be used as a nuclear waste dump. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has failed to answer letters from the NT Government and traditional elders on whether he will repeal the act and proceed with the dump. Concern is mounting in Labor ranks over whether he will stick to the ALP’s election promise.

• Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 [Provisions], Senate, Australian Parliament, 2006-11-30

6. Labor Softens on Uranium Sales to India, Josh Gordon, SMH, 2008-06-01

The Rudd Government’s resolve not to sell uranium to India is weakening after Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith signalled that country’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty could be overlooked. Mr Smith said that, although the Government had a “strong policy” of not exporting uranium to non-signatory countries, the ban could be overturned if a long-awaited “123” agreement between India and the US was finalised.

7. Closing the Gap: Building Capacity in Pacific Fisheries Governance and Institutions, Quentin Hanich, Feleti Teo and Martin Tsamenyi, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, April 2008 [1.7 MB, PDF]

This report researches governance and institutional gaps within the Pacific Islands region that undermine the effective management and development of the region’s fish stocks.

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Richard Tanter,
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