News stories by Stephen de Tarczynski, page 6

Despite the Kevin Rudd-led government committing to introduce all ten recommendations of the inquiry into Australian authorities’ bungled terrorism investigation of Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, civil rights groups are concerned at the lack of accountability for mistakes made.

Refugee rights organisations have criticised the Rudd government’s decision to hold suspected asylum seekers in a controversial detention centre on an isolated Australian island in the Indian Ocean.

The gap between the Rudd government’s rhetoric and practice in addressing climate change, albeit with one eye on the worsening global financial conditions, has led to a palpable feeling of betrayal among Australians.

With electronic items high on Christmas shopping lists, a new report is calling on the government to ensure that manufacturers collect and recycle unwanted computers and mobile phones to protect environmental and human health.

As the Rudd government continues to speak of the need to balance concerns for civil liberties with maintaining intrusive counter-terror legislation to protect Australia, rights groups are stepping up their campaign against the laws.

As Japan’s whaling fleet sails south for the annual hunting season, Greenpeace and the Australian government are concentrating their anti-whaling actions on diplomacy and public opinion in Japan.