eBulletin #7 February 2006

Dear Friends,

Hello and welcome to the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice's first eBulletin for 2007.
We'll keep these brief and only send them out when we've something to tell you. If you don't want to be on this email list please simply reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject. Feel free to circulate this eBulletin as widely as you see fit and if you're not on the mailing list but would like to be please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know.

Contents:

1. Forum: World Trade Organisation 101
2. Lobbyocracy
3. Special Membership Offer
4. Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice T-Shirts now on sale
5. Other other organisations' events

1. Forum: The World Trade Organisation: 101

The World Trade Organisation is one of the most powerful – and most controversial – organisations in the world. It makes the rules for global trade, but increasingly its rules are affecting the domestic laws of many of the world's countries. However few people know much about the WTO. What is it? Why does it exist? Who runs it? Who set's it's agenda? Who is it accountable to?

In this hour-long forum Mike Cebon (Global Trade Watch) and Jagjit Plahe (Monash University) will unravel the mysteries of the WTO, provide a critical analysis of what goes on behind its closed doors, and explain why you should care.

When: 7pm Tuesday 21st February 2006
Where: Evatt Room @ Trades Hall (cnr Lygon St and Victoria St Carlton)
Cost: $5 (Free for ACDJ members)

2. Lobbyocracy: the Hypocrisy of Democracy

The Australia Centre for Democracy and Justice put out a press release earlier today with Democracy Watch and Democracy4Sale regarding the proposed changes to political donations that are currently before the Senate at the moment. You can view the press release here: http://democracyandjustice.org/content/view/61/1/

The Australia Centre for Democracy and Justice will be launching a new campaign early next year around issues of corporate lobbying of government and we need your help.

We’ve registered www.lobbyocracy.org and installed a Wiki, a piece of web-base software that allows anyone to edit the site. We want you to get in there and add everything you know about the lobbying activities of corporations in Australia.

We will be launching this campaign with a forum early next year and we want the site well populated by then so go to the site, register and start editing.

If you've any questions please feel free to email us.

3. Membership - SPECIAL OFFER

Thanks to our friends at Ocean Press and Husta La Victoria St Bookshop we have 20 copies of The Emerging Police State by William Kunstler to give to the next 20 people that join up as members of the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice. This book, valued at $23 is available to memberships which start from as low as $20 a year.

Our Membership scheme is three tiered, with students/concessions being $20, full price/waged $40, solidarity/household/organisation $100.

OurCommunity.com.au kindly processes our memberships and you can sign up at their site: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/membership/membership_details.form?membershipId=715

Alternatively you can print out a membership form at: http://www.democracyandjustice.org/images/Membership%20form.pdf and send it back to us.

Donations can also be made through the OurCommunity.com.au site at:
http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/acdj.

4. Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice T-Shirts now on Sale!

Sick of being a walking billboard for a nasty multinational corporation? Sick of wearing clothing made in conditions that constitute human rights abuses? Stuck for ideas for Christmas presents and don't want to give all your hard earned dollars to corporate bully boys that hardly need more money? Concerned about how attractive you are?

We've just the thing for you. Stylish, no-sweat, Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice T-Shirts. For a meager $25 (inc Postage and Handling) you can be the hippest person on the block and all money made goes straight to your favorite non-profit: The Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice.

Order forms are available at:
http://www.democracyandjustice.org/images/tshirts.pdf or just send us an email and we'll fix you up.

5. Other events

If you’d like your event included in this list please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “eBulletin” in the subject.

# Friends of the Earth: Climate Refugee Forum

BMW Edge, Federation Square, 3-5pm, Saturday 18th February 2006

Climate change threatens to displace at least 150 million people in the next fifty years making this a sustainable living issue that requires immediate action. Friends of the Earth presents a forum highlighting how climate change is damaging food and water security, local livelihoods and sovereignty of people in the global South, due to the benefits that we have in industrialised countries – air conditioning, driving, flying. Friends of the Earth Australia is using this forum as a tool to inform, in the overall campaign for recognition and acceptance of climate refugees from the Pacific.

Come to the forum to hear speakers Don Kennedy, who was born in Tuvalu (an island nation in the Pacific) and currently advocates for Tuvaluan interests; Anne O’Rourke, vice-president of Liberty Victoria will speak on civil liberties and human rights in relation to climate refugees; Julieanne Richards from Climate Action Network Australia will speak on the science of climate change context and how people are displaced by climate change and Cam Walker, campaigns coordinator at Friends of the Earth will introduce the event.

Actors for Refugees will perform a theatrical piece to capture peoples’ imaginations about what it means to be displaced.

# Protests planned for Melbourne G20 meeting

The 2006 G20 meeting of finance ministers, reserve bank governors and the heads of the World Bank and IMF will take place in Melbourne on November 18-19. This will be the most significant gathering in Melbourne of people responsible for pushing corporate-led globalisation, neoliberalism and capitalism since the World Economic Forum. The next organising meeting is Saturday Feb 25th, 2-4pm.