I thought it very brave of Christine Forster to finally come out & admit to being Tony Abbott's sister.
means Olgs? I'm teasing you.
Bandt elected deputy Greens leader
Updated April 13, 2012 16:01:30/ABC news
Bob Brown, Christine Milne, Adam Bandt Photo: Honoured and excited:
The Greens have elected their sole federal MP Adam Bandt to the deputy leadership following the resignation of long-time party leader Bob Brown earlier today.
"I have just been elected the deputy leader of the Greens. A huge honour and I'm really excited!" Mr Bandt tweeted.
Mr Bandt is replacing Christine Milne, who has been elevated to the leadership.
It is believed Scott Ludlam and Sarah Hanson-Young also stood for the deputy's position.
Senator Milne says Mr Bandt shares her passion to start a national conversation about what Australian society values.
Senator Brown announced his resignation from the leadership and the Senate after 16 years in the Federal Parliament.
He says he is confident the party will flourish in his absence.
ASIO eyes green groups
Philip Dorling
April 12, 2012/the AGE
Comments 99
AUSTRALIA'S leading counter-terrorism agency has been providing intelligence to the federal government on environmental groups that campaign against coalmining.
The Australia Security Intelligence Organisation's politically sensitive monitoring of the campaigners comes after Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson warned that protests at power stations and coal export terminals could have ''life-threatening'' consequences and ''major trade and investment implications''.
Security officials have suggested privately that environmental activists pose greater threats to energy infrastructure than terrorists. But confirmation that ASIO has been monitoring and advising on security issues arising from such activism is likely to cause tensions between federal Labor and their parliamentary allies, the Australian Greens.
Greens leader Bob Brown said yesterday it was ''intolerable that the Labor government was spying on conservation groups'' and condemned the ''deployment of ASIO as a political weapon'' against peaceful protests. .....
................The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism on Tuesday confirmed ASIO's role in advising on security issues relating to protests against coalmining when it refused to release under freedom of information a December 2010 ministerial brief on the possible disruption of energy infrastructure by protesters.
The document has been wholly exempted from release because it contains sensitive information exchanged between federal, state and territory governments, and classified information derived from ''an intelligence agency document''.
ASIO is exempt from freedom of information laws and is described on its website as ''the only agency in the Australian intelligence community authorised in the normal course of its duties to undertake investigations into the activities of Australian persons''. Other FOI documents confirm that Mr Ferguson pressed then attorney-general Robert McClelland in September 2009 to see whether ''the intelligence-gathering services of the Australian Federal Police'' could be used to help energy companies handle increasing activity by coalmining protesters. ...<cont>
