Media Releases

2007 Articles

28 DEC 2007

Down the mine: Lafayette's lesson

Australian mining company, Lafayette, operator of the Rapu Rapu mine on the small island of the same name in the Philippines, has just entered into voluntary administration. The news may raise eyebrows given the current mining boom, however, not everyone is surprised. The story of Lafayette's mining operation and the company's financial failure resonates with a lesson that Oxfam Australia has long observed; a company that fails to obtain and retain a social licence to operate, in other words one that operates without community approval, is not viable. Other Australian mining companies operating in the Philippines and elsewhere should pay heed to Lafayette's rise and fall and take note of this cautionary tale. Read full release »

12 DEC 2007

A mountain to climb in Bali?

The United Nations Bali Climate Change Summit feels akin to climbing Mt Everest in just two weeks. For the last 10 days a myriad of bureaucratic sherpas from around the world have been carrying their loads up the mountain, agreeing what can be agreed and setting aside areas of disagreement to be picked up in a last final push to the summit by Ministers when they arrive today for the final three crucial days of negotiations this week. Read full release »

04 DEC 2007

Time for immediate action as climate change remains a race against the clock

Make no mistake ' Australians worry about climate change. Labor's sweeping victory in the Federal Election was, after all, partly due to Prime Minister Rudd's commitment to ratify Kyoto. And in Bali this week the Government has a one off opportunity to flex some muscle on climate change. In one fell swoop Australia could go from the back of the pack to the front by declaring to the world that it's ready and willing to take up the challenge, not just for Australians but for all people around the world to tackle the worst effects of climate change. Read full release »

18 NOV 2007

Our chance to help the planet

For the first time in many years, overseas aid has been elevated to the spotlight during an election campaign, highlighting Australia's potential to play a pivotal role in transforming our region and saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Read full release »

31 OCT 2007

Fight for the hearts rather than the hip pockets

Andrew Hewett's opinion on the effect that tax cuts won't have on voters in this election. Read full release »

15 OCT 2007

Fair go for settlers with special needs

It's time to speak out loudly and clearly for an Australian refugee policy which is non discriminatory and firmly based on the actual humanitarian needs of those seeking to resettle to this country. African-Australians have done absolutely nothing to deserve to be singled out for having apparently failed to integrate in their new home, Australia. They are no different from other vulnerable groups such as South Americans, Cambodians, and Vietnamese refugees who have previously looked to Australia for protection from persecution. Read full release »

09 OCT 2007

Mental health system fails our Indigenous people

Opinion from Oxfam International Action Partner Rebecca Richards on Indigneous mental health. Read full release »

07 OCT 2007

The dark side of Australia's mining sector

Australia's mining sector is booming with some companies raking in multi-billion dollars profits. Everyone from shareholders to the national treasury stand to reap a reward in the mining bonanza. But have some Australian miners been driven by an unquenchable thirst to mine precious minerals at any price? Read full release »

05 OCT 2007

Plenty of aid, but is it for a ?Greater? Mekong?

His name is Bunlaamb and he lives on the banks of the usually-sanguine Se San River in north-eastern Cambodia. But for the last seven years, the life of this farmer-fisherman, and the rest of his village, has been turned upside down by sudden water fluctuations caused by a series of large hydropower dams built upstream, on the Vietnamese side of the border. Read full release »

19 SEP 2007

Profits for all in the mining boom?

Recent profit announcements from Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and other mining majors riding the wave of demand for minerals from China and India suggest the ride isn't likely to be over any time soon. However not everyone is benefiting from riding the mining wave. Read full release »

14 SEP 2007

Australia should help the drowning nations

ALTHOUGH the consensus from APEC was that much had been achieved, this feeling may not be shared by many of the people who live throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Read full release »

03 SEP 2007

Counting the cost of unaccountable pacific solution

Six years ago this week a Norwegian cargo ship named the Tampa sparked a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway and Indonesia as well as worldwide controversy when it came to the aid of 438 asylum seekers whose dilapidated fishing boat started to sink 85 nautical miles off the Australian territory of Christmas Island. Read full release »

24 AUG 2007

Offshore centres deny all a fair go

Six years ago this week a Norwegian cargo ship named the Tampa sparked a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway and Indonesia as well as worldwide controversy when it came to the aid of 438 asylum seekers whose dilapidated fishing boat started to sink 85 nautical miles off the Australian territory of Christmas Island. Read full release »

23 AUG 2007

"Objects" need active role to close gap

The crisis affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is urgent ' but it has existed for a very long time. It is, at its core, a crisis of inequality, the type of inequality that can't be reversed with a quick fix. Read full release »

15 AUG 2007

Iraq - rebuilding an empty country?

Comment on Australia's role in Iraq and the humanitarian situation with reference to the Oxfam Internation report. Read full release »

23 JUL 2007

Cheap drugs - our duty to the poor

As Australians we expect our Government to provide us with medicines that improve health and save lives. Good health is, after all, arguably what we all cherish most in life. No surprise then that people in less developed countries also want to have universal access to medicines, especially to treat HIV and AIDS. Yet as a major international conference on AIDS opens this week in Sydney, the news from the developing world is bleak. Read full release »

20 JUL 2007

Indigenous people must be able to set own course

Undeniably there is a national crisis in Indigenous welfare. It's taken years and numerous reports and calls for action from Aboriginal leaders for governments to act. Now there is the political will to invest in the sorts of basic services other Australians take for granted; primary health care, education, housing and health. Read full release »

15 JUL 2007

It's time to close the gap

There is a national crisis in Indigenous welfare. It's taken years and numerous reports and calls for action from Aboriginal leaders for governments to act. Now there is the political will to invest in the sorts of basic services other Australians take for granted; primary health care, education, housing and health. Read full release »

06 JUL 2007

Aboriginal health needs more than a quick fix

Picture in your mind a massive billboard poster featuring an Aboriginal flag in the form of a band aid alongside the words: The Indigenous health crisis needs more than a quick fix. Read full release »

28 JUN 2007

Building a better future for the nation

Undeniably there is a national crisis in Indigenous welfare. It's taken years and numerous reports and calls for action from Aboriginal leaders for governments to act. Now there is the political will to invest in the sorts of basic services other Australians take for granted; primary health care, education, housing and health. Read full release »