Petition Tag - environment

Since his election into office as the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper has created many false promises about fighting climate change. None of these have been fulfilled.

He said, a year ago, when he opted out of the Kyoto Accord, that their GHG emission targets were too high and that Canada wouldn't be able to reach them. In return, he promised to set some realistic goals for Canada. Those goals still haven't been set.

After making this promise, Stephen Harper quickly rearranged his cabinet, firing the former environment minister, Rona Ambrose, and replacing her with Jim Flaherty, former finance minister who knows, or seems to know, nothing about the environment.

This petition intends to make Stephen Harper aware of climate change and the fact that he is the only person who can greatly change our goals and emission levels.

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The Old Forests Appeal is an online petition that highlights the value of protecting old forests in the fight against global warming.

Please, read the text below and click to sign yourself or your organisation onto the appeal.

The appeal will be presented to Australian politicians and industries to highlight the value of old forests in the fight against climate change.

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Raoghat needs to be protected if we have to save planet earth.

One of the Newpaper today stated that a MOU to plunder the Raoghat Hills will be signed at Delhi on 6th August,2007.

If at all this projects comes up it will be doomsday to the beautiful flaura and fauna and the rich culture and traditions of the Indigenous people residing in Bastar.

On 3rd july 2007 the Business Community of Narainpur District in North Bastar called for a "Bund"(closure) .The reason was the fight between the Business Communities of Narainpur and Antagarh District for the ownership of Raoghat Township once the Raoghat mines start.

This looks like a well planned conspiracy to divert the mind of the people from the real issues surrounding the RaoGhat Mines and the Rail Project.Is it because this project was rejected in the nineties by the Enviroment and Forest Ministry?Why the State Government feels that now when there is a worlwide concern to save Environment that they will get clearance from the Ministry?

Why are the sentiments of the Indigenous people being completely ignored?

Has anyone bothered to find out about the name "Rao Ghat"?According to the local belief Rao Ghat is home too the Creator of this world Lord "Raja Rao Natraj" and Goddess "Mata Maoli"(sister of Maa Danteshwari) and their family.

Not only the local people come here to worship daily but also they gather in large numbers throughout the year and take out "Jatra"(procession) of the God and Godess.Even lot of foreign tourist come here to enjoy the wonderful eco-system present at Rao Ghat.

So any mining at RaoGhat will be like destroying the God and Goddess of the Tribals thus will come under the SC/ST Atrocities Act of the Constitution of India.

Is the State Government planning a revolt by the Indigenous people so that they can kill and displace more tribals as they have been doing since the start of Salwa Judum??

Just because "Dalli Rajhara" mines are over Bhilai Steel plant now wants "Rao Ghat" mines.What will happen once the "Rao Ghat" mines are also exhausted?

Is it really the BSP which wants the mines or they are playing in the hands of Tata,Essar,Jindal and other Sponge Iron Units of Chhattisgarh? Afterall the "Bailadilla" mines in Dantewada District which belongs to the NMDC is now being allotted to the likes of Tata Steel,Essar Steel and other mining companies?

In the days of Global Warming,Tsunami and Weather Change do we really need to destroy the most beautiful and amazing eco-system still existing in RaoGhat?

Is BSP playing in the hands of Tata and Essar Steel?
Are we not worried that our future generation won't have fresh air to breathe or will there be a future generations at all???

The Locals in Raoghat area have strong belief in their God and Goddess and they feel that if RaoGhat is disturbed it will bring an end to the human race.

Is the State Government and the Government at the Center listening?May be the State Government and the Business Community for once should think about what they are leaving for the future generations and not their immediate gains....

As per the provisions of the Constitution of India, the resolve of the village council is supreme in Bastar District. No body can play with the resolve of the tribal village council. However, contrary to those provisions, state government is acting as the agent of the private industrial houses, did not bothered to educate the tribals about the importance of public hearing at a village council to manage the favorable resolve of the village council.

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For all of the facts about the desalination plant proposed for Kurnell, please go to http://www.kurnell.com/desalfacts.htm

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Sungei Khatib Bongsu, located in Yishun, is one of the last natural areas in Singapore that have yet to be touched by development. It is a densely forested area leading gradually into a mangrove rich area, contributing to its rich array of biodiversity. It is also a place to experience how the kampong lifestyle was in olden days.

Earlier this year, however, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) decided to completely restrict access of Sungei Khatib Bongsu to the public in order to utilize the area for its own purposes. The last two residents of Sungei Khatib Bongsu who have lived on this land and made a living by fish and prawn farming were also forcefully evicted into modern living, they now reluctantly have to adapt to.

Khatib Bongsu is one of the last few local sites left that retain the essence of a kampong lifestyle that used to exist in Singapore. Should its natural environment be further destroyed or denied access to the public, particularly students like us, we stand to lose forever a huge range of biodiversity and a place where we will be able to get a taste of olden Singapore.

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Started in Mr. Allain's Grade 12 Law Class, Green is a non-profit organization sweeping the country.

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http://www.myspace.com/bscaeg

Here is what is planned:

A new, two lane, street-lit, tarmac road with pavement is planned to be built across Pymmes Brook and the green space running alongside it - right at the entrance to Hadley Woods.

The road is intended to provide access to a new, 1350 place school called JCoSS which is planned for Westbrook Crescent in New Barnet.

After it has cut across the brook, the road is planned to continue up to the proposed site of the JCoSS school across what is currently the playing field of Livingstone Primary School at the very edge of Hadley Woods.

We believe that a faith school such as JCoSS has the potential to add cultural enrichment to our area, and we welcome that. However this must not be at the expense of the safety of our children or the environment in which we all live.

We can stop this road, stop all the traffic it will generate and save our green space, but it is crucially important that we demonstrate strong opposition, and we need your help to do this.

http://www.myspace.com/bscaeg

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Millions of people are accepting global warming thory as simple fact without even glancing at the science. Why? because sensational and apocalyptic predictions are drilled into them day after day, and opponents of the theory are ridiculed and treated like holocaust deniers.

It is very easy for a newspaper to say that by 2050 30% (or 10, 20, 40, 50, 60 or 70%, depending on who you ask) of the world's major coastal cities will be under water, be cause by the time 2050 comes and western civilization has NOT collapsed, everyone will have forgotten the prediction, as people have conveniently forgotten the apocalyptic and sensational predictions of global cooling 40 years ago.

People say nonsense, like global warming is killing 70,000 people every year (or even up to 1,000,000 acoording to some pseudo-scientific scaremongers), but really global warming theory is killing thousands, because in Africa people are, for example, forced to use expensive and inefficient solar panels which prevent them from having enough electricity to move out of devastating poverty.

When, subjected to close scrutiny, the evidence that humans are causing global warmings is very poor. For example it was hotter 1000 years ago (before people had cars or power stations or anything like that) than it is now (note that polar bears didnot become extinct and that all of the world's major cities were not washed away in apocalyptic floods) . Also, consider the fact that rotting leaves produce more CO2 every year than humans. In fact, humans only produce 4% of the world's CO2 emissions, and all of that was once in the atmosphere anyway.

Global temperatures are going up. Fine. They have been changing since the earth began. Has anyone heard of the Ice Age? Anyway, human CO2 emissions are also going up. Fine. That is only to be expected with advances in human civilization. Just because they are happening at the same time does not mean that human CO2 is increasing temperatures. If I plugged my toaster in, and at the exact same moment a comet crashed into Jupiter, would you think that my toaster had caused the crash? No? So why apply the same logic to climate change!

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---English
Global warming is a problem that concerns everyone, but some governments (like USA, the most contaminating one) seem to do nothing about it. Their time is over. It's time for us, people of the world to declare what we want our governments to do for us, for this planet, for you and me.

---Español
El calentamiento global es un problema que nos atañe a todos, pero algunos gobiernos (como el de EEUU,el mas contaminante de todos) parecen ignorar este asunto, como si no tuviese nada que ver con ellos. Es hora de que nosotros, ciudadanos del mundo manifestemos lo que deseamos que nuestros gobiernos hagan por nosotros, por este planeta.

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This petition is to urge the government of Sri Lanka to take urgent measures to control the flood situation in Sri Lanka, very particularly in the city of Colombo. Many residences and major streets that have never been flooded in history are now getting flooded regularly for the slightest rain. The present and past governments of all colors should take responsibility for the following:

• Ignoring the environmental impact of unscrupulous filling of land all over the island and not being able to control this menace. A recent example of such irresponsible action is the filling of over 300 acres of land near Diyawanna oya for building a golf course, under instructions from the former president. There are many recent examples of corrupt local politicians unscrupulously filling land at the expense of helpless citizens.


• The drain systems in Colombo and surrounding areas are in a dilapidated condition and are not being maintained despite heavy taxes being levied by the local authorities and the government from the residents. This is an example of callous irresponsibility and bad governance and these authorities should be held accountable for the lack of maintainance of these facilities.

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Adaptated & revised by Pierre Mathieu, inspired by C Tomasini's "Promotion of cycling in Canada" le 16 novembre 2006 (4100 + anglophones signatures gathered as of march 20th 2007...) ... et ça continue en français...

To all federal, provincial and municipal ministers and administrators
In charge of Environnement, Health, Sustainable Development and Finances,

The Kyoto Protocol is not an option it is the MINIMUM engagement that is reasonably attainable and to which all canadians have made a commitment. The governments are at awe as to how to accomplish that. Citizens of all provinces across Canada , and especially in urban areas, are the key players in the realisation of this goal. But they need the right means and incentives to act on their personnal environment s. To act on their own health as well as the earth that carries them...

At a time when environmental protection has become one of the top priorities for Canadians, we, the undersigned, request that the Canadian government do all in its power to promote cycling as a climate-change solution.

In the summer of 2006, the Canadian government took steps to promote public transit as a climate change solution by offering a tax credit to public transit users.

At that time Mr. Flaherty said “Gridlock has become one of the most pressing issues across the GTA, eroding the quality of life and having a negative impact on business and productivity. Our government’s new transit tax credit will make transit more affordable, giving people even more incentive to park their keys and leave their cars at home.”

HE could have first said : "... having a negative impact on HEALTH, business"
and THAT is a reality present in all urban areas across Canada!

Then Environment Minister Rona Ambrose additionally said “The transit tax credit will not only save people money, but by taking public transit Canadians will be helping to improve our environment. The transit tax credit is part of our government's made in Canada environmental plan. Our transit tax initiative will take the equivalent of 56,000 cars off the road each year which will significantly reduce greenhouse gases here in Canada."

Department of Finance Canada (2006). Taking public transit is now more affordable in Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-031e.html

We agree with Mr. Flaherty and Ms. Ambrose that removing cars from the roads should be one of Canada’s top priorities. We feel this can be achieved by promoting cycling as a substitute to the automobile. We also feel that the government needs to promote cycling due to its health benefits.

According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute:

Current estimates place the cost of physical inactivity in Canada at $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs and $3.7 billion in indirect costs) and the cost of obesity in Canada at $4.3 billion ($1.6 billion of direct costs and $2.7 billion of indirect costs) in health care expenditures. This represents the totaleconomic cost as 2.6% and 2.2% respectively of the total health care costs in Canada. There is concern that chronic disease resulting from obesity may threaten or cripple the health care system in Canada.

Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. 2004 Physical Activity Monitor and Sport. Retrieved Nov. 4, 2006 from http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/pam2004.php

As well, in 2003 the Federal and Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness set a national target to increase levels of physical activity by ten percentage points in each province and territory by the year 2010. A primary reason that they set this target was that “Physical inactivity levels in Canada remain a serious public health burden. Fifty-five percent of Canadians do not meet minimum guidelines for regular physical activity necessary to attain health benefits. Physical inactivity increases the risk of chronic disease, premature death and disability.”

Government of New Brunswick. (2003) News Release: Federal and Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness Target Increase in Physical Activity. Retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pc-ch/news-comm/ce021712_e.htm

As cycling would combat climate change by removing people from their cars, and ease the burden on the health care system by helping people maintain an active lifestyle, we ask the Canadian government to do everything in its power to promote cycling as a means of transportation.

Steps which we feel would achieve this include:

a) Offering a tax credit to bicycle commuters similar to that offered to public transit users. Cyclists would be required to have their employer verify that they commute to work by bicycle, and would then be given a credit based on the value of the C02 emissions they would have released into the atmosphere had they driven a car to work.

b) Creating a program similar to Britain’s “Cycle to Work” initiative. In this program the employer purchases a bike and related accessories for an employee who wishes to commute to work by bicycle. The employer then claims the taxes back from the government, and sells the bike to the employee at the tax-free price over an extended period of time with small deductions from the employee’s paycheque.

c) Offering tax incentives to employers which set up bike lockers and showers for employees who wish to cycle to work.

d) A removal of GST from bikes and bike accessories.

These steps and others can promote cycling as a transit alternative, but perhaps more importantly, the implementation of one or all of them would be a strong statement from the federal government - legitimizing cycling as a preferred means of transportation. Please make this statement, and help us make Canada part of the solution to climate change.

In Montreal, for example, the public Administration, raised the cost of parking to jointly encourage & fund public transport and "downtown" cleansiness...However a great initiative, it can most surely be effective and welcomed if it is matched with the right incentives or compensations to those whom make the greatests efforts to take responsibility for their own health and that of our environment: to those who use the most ecologically & economicaly viable means of transportation :

Human powered ... & humanity empowering ... CYCLING!!!

Cycling, when made possible and accessible is yet more viable than petrol powered public transit.
Be it said, as scientifically proven, that habbits adopted early can last a lifetime... So the governments must provide strong incentives to those who have taken bad habbits (of taking the car to the corner store...) and also encourage our youth to adopt good ones such as what is yet the most economically, ecologically and physically efficient means of transportation CYCLING!

Yes! The environment is our planet ... The environment is first and foremost US ! In the likemind of "Think Globally, Act locally" our body's health is our first step and easiest involvement to the "ecological challenge" at hand. The financial /fiscal incentives that be granted by our gouvernments to cyclists will be more tha completely compensated by the savings in healthcare costs and rewarded by a significantly increased (or recovered) quality of Life.

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Adaptation & traduction par Pierre Mathieu inspirée de "Promotion of cycling in Canada" initiée par C Tomasini le 16 novembre 2006 (plus de 4000 signatures anglophones recueillies...) ... et ça continue en français...

À tous ministres fédéraux, provinciaux ou élus municipaux,
responsables du développement durable, de l'environnement et des finances ,

À un moment où la protection de l'environnement est devenue une des priorités principales pour les Canadiens, nous, les soussignés, demandons que les gouvernements canadien ,provinciaux et municipaux s'unissent et fassent tout dans leur pouvoir afin de promouvoir le cyclisme comme une solution au changement climatique.

Le protocole de Kyoto, n'est pas une option, c'est l'engagement MINIMUM et réalisable auquel nous avons tous la responsabilité d'adhérer. Les citoyens et citoyennes de toutes les provinces & grandes villes du Canada doivent et s'impliquer; et un grand nombre d'entre eux sont prêts à le faire d'autre n'attendent que d'avoir la motivation et le moyen de le faire. C'est pourquoi nous demandons à nos élus de passer à l'action!

À l’été de 2006, le gouvernement canadien a pris des mesures pour promouvoir le transport en commun comme une solution de changement climatique en offrant un crédit d'impôt aux utilisateurs de transport en communs.

À ce moment-là M. Flaherty a dit "le Gros embouteillage est devenu une des questions les plus urgentes à travers le Grand Toronto, érodant la qualité de la vie et ayant un impact négatif pour les affaires et la productivité. Le nouveau crédit d'impôt de transport de notre gouvernement rendra le transport public plus accessible, donnant aux citoyens encore plus de motivation pour garer leurs clefs et laisser leurs voitures à la maison. " Il aurait aussi sépcifier: un impact négatif pour LA SANTÉ... Et cette réalité est présente dans toutes les grandes villes du Canada...
Alors Ministre de l'Environnement, Rona Ambrose a de plus dit "le crédit d'impôt de transport économisera non seulement l'argent des citoyens, mais en adoptant le transport en commun les Canadiens aideront à améliorer notre environnement. Le crédit d'impôt de transport fait partie de notre plan environnemental « fait » au Canada

Notre initiative de réduction d'impôt de transport retirera l'équivalent de 56,000 voitures de la route chaque année qui réduira significativement des gaz à effet de serre ici au Canada. "le Département des finances du Canada (2006) affirme que le transport en commun est maintenant plus accessible & abordable au Canada.
Extrait de http: //ww.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-031e.html

Nous sommes d'accord avec M. Flaherty et Mme Ambrose que l'enlèvement de voitures des routes devrait être une des priorités supérieures du Canada. Nous estimons que cela peut être réalisé en promouvant faisant du vélo comme un remplaçant à l'automobile. Nous estimons aussi que le gouvernement doit promouvoir faisant du vélo en raison de ses prestations maladie.

Selon l'Institut de recherches de Style de vie et santé au Canada (Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute: Des évaluations actuelles placent le coût d'inactivité physique au Canada à 5.3 milliards de $ (1.6 milliards de $ dans des dépenses directes et 3.7 milliards de $ dans des dépenses indirectes) et le coût d'obésité au Canada à 4.3 milliards de $ (1.6 milliards de $ de dépenses directes et 2.7 milliards de $ de dépenses indirectes) dans des dépenses de services médicaux. Cela représente le coût de totaleconomic comme 2.6 % et 2.2 % respectivement des dépenses de services médicaux totales au Canada.

Il y a des preuves grandissant que les maladies chroniques résultant de l'obésité menacent et paralysent le système de services médicaux au Canada.
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. 2004 Physical Activity Monitor and Sport. Recouvré le 4 novembre 2006 de www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/pam 2004.php

En 2003 les Ministres Fédéraux et Provinciaux/Territoriaux Responsables du Sport, la Récréation et la Santé(les Aptitudes) font une cible nationale augmenter les niveaux d'activité physique par dix points de pourcentage dans chaque province(domaine) et territoire à l'année 2010. Une raison principale(primaire) qu'ils mettent cette cible était ce "des niveaux d'inactivité Physiques au Canada restent un fardeau de santé publique sérieux.

55% pour cent des Canadiens ne rencontrent pas les directives minimales pour l'activité physique régulière nécessaire pour être éligible des prestations d’assurance-maladie. L'inactivité physique augmente le risque de la maladie chronique, la mort prématurée et l'incapacité. "Gouvernement de Nouveau-Brunswick. (2003) Communiqué de presse : Ministres Fédéraux et Provinciaux/Territoriaux Responsables de Sport, Récréation et Augmentation de Cible de Santé(d'Aptitudes) d'Activité Physique. Recouvré de http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pc-ch/news-comm/ce021712_e.htm
À Montréal, par exemple, l'administration publique a haussé le coût du stationnement sur la rue c'est sans doute une excellente initiative mais surtout si elle est jumelée à des incitatifs ou compensations pour ceux qui font les efforts nécessaires pour "faire leur part" de la façon la plus "écologique":
Le cyclisme, encore bien plus écologique et économique que le transport en commun

L'environnement c'est la planète... c'est nous!
Dans l'esprit de "Penser globalement et d'agir localement" la vigueur et la santé de nos corps c'est le début de notre implication dans le "défi écologique". Les avantages fiscaux accordés par les gouvernements seront largement compensées par les économies en matière de gestion de la santé, et récompensée par une meilleure qualité de vie des citoyens.

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Leaving dog poo smells bad, looks ugly and lets face it, nobody likes treading in it!

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The Formula 1 Grand Prix was relocated from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996 amidst both fanfare and protest. Hailed as a sporting event triumph by the then government, the site chosen was a major city recreational park of state significance, Albert Park, which was subsequently altered substantially to accomodate the racing track which included the clear felling of over 1000 mature trees.

Ten yeas later, inflated attendance figures keep falling as do the economic benefits, but the abuse of the local area by the Australian Grand Prix Corporate keeps increasing.

The official ticket allocation and attendance has fallen by 25%, however independent reports claim that the actual attendances are much lower. The government makes claims of net economic benefit, which are also questionable.

The cost to taxpayers has risen to over $30 million dollars. While the organisers claim that the value of international advertising to Melbourne is something like $100 million, one would question the value of marketing the world's most liveable city to petrolheads and whether it is worth the pain caused to Melburnians.

The disruption to users of the park is massive, and the time taken to assemble and dissassemble the track takes longer each year, forcing local sporting clubs off their grounds.

Now, during our worst ever drought, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is using our precious lake water to keep the grass green around the track and to wet and prepare the road surfaces. This is just before Stage 4 water restrictions come into place, whilst the rest of the park is dry and trees are dying, television audiences will see only pristine green grass in the immediate track areas. Inside the park, areas where grass once grew and is now dirt and dust due to the drought has been covered in many tonnes of woodchips for the convenience of spectators, which would seem like a massive waste of trees. The Grand Prix corporation injects little into the massive maintenance costs of the park, of which it contributes significant wear and tear and this is an indirect cost to taxpayers via Parks Victoria.

Furthermore, noise pollution over the Grand Prix weekend directly affects over 1 million people in the inner metro area.

It is time to return Albert Park back to the public and put an end to this abuse of one of our greatest cultural, recreational and sporting icons. We want to make a statemtnet against the government sacrificing parkland for commercial enterprise.

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The Benevolent Society (TBS) has land on Ocean Street, BONDI. This land:
- was donated to them in 1917, instead of being purchased;
- is not charged Council rates;
- is partially Heritage listed;
- contains a number of rare and protected species of trees.

TBS wants to build on this land:
- two 10 storey buildings;
- one 8 storey building;
- one 6 storey building;
- other structures and facilities.

The buildings would consist of 127 apartments. These apartments would not be sold, but would be perpetually loan-leased to elderly people, and mostly at market rates (loan-lease is an arrangement in which a lump sum payment up-front guarantees lease until death, then the property is leased again, and again, and again).

They lodged a development application (DA) on with the Waverley Council on 21 May 2008 (http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/pes/building/detail.asp?DaID=309).

This project raises many serious concerns such as:

1. The scale of the development (8 - 10 storeys) is shocking in an already overdeveloped area.

2. Only 10% of the appartments will be for the needy - all the former occupants who were really elderly and needy were evicted & had to move out of their regular environment.

3. Although TBS got the land for free, a great majority of the apartments will be sold for a total of millions on the open market.

4. The terrifying traffic & parking problems it will cause, when approx 200-300 extra residents, visitors, carers, tradesmen etc will start converging in their vehicles toward the limited number of 80 car spaces provided. The overflow will end up looking for parking space in both Ocean & Wellington Sts., where there probably like now, will be none.

5. There appears to be no provision for in-house care. "Apartments for Life" as they like to call it, but with no carers for the elderly!

6. Dementia sufferers will be left to roam around, like they tend to do, in such a large complex with insufficient supervision.

7. Detrimental impact on local residents by the reduction of light due to shadows cast by the height of the proposed buildings. e.g. almost complete lack of sunlight 24/7 on the north & westerly side of the building in 22-28 Wellington St., with probably a similar effect on other buildings in the area. The traffic congestion & the strain on the environment with regard to water, sewerage, electricity, vehicle pollution and the intention to destroy trees to make room for the bldgs.

8. The whole project appears to be an experimental one, in that no-one knows if it will benefit anyone, or if it will be fully occupied.

9. The closure of the Maurice O'Sullivan Childreens' Day Care Centre will certainly leave working parents in an unenviable situation.

10. Lastly but not leastly, TBS has been caught lying many times in their communication about the project. For example, they claimed they had the support from Bondi School to open a new childcare, which is not true, and they said they would inform the community of the lodgment date of the DA, which did not happen.

More information is available in
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/benevolent-development-lacks-charity-say-residents/2008/05/21/1211182896592.html and http://www.oceandoa.org/

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Head Start is a program that was founded by parents and supported by government funds. The organizational structure of Head Start allows parents to vote on issues that will affect their children's well-being. Parents are entitled to reject the decisions made by board members.

The main objective at Head Start, Inc. should be to make sure the children are being taught in a healthy and safe environment. The move of Head Start from its current location to the Paulding's Children's Academy located at 145 Academy Drive in Dallas, Georgia 30132 was not voted on or approved by any parents who children attend the center located at 55 Hiram Drive in Hiram, Georgia 30341.

This move will cause parents to have to make alternate child care arrangements for their children. The center is not within reasonable proximity from each parents home and Head Start does not provide bus transportation for its students.

The new location smells unsanitary upon entering and parents are not allowed to take a walk through the center to get a better idea of the environment in which their children will be learning.

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It is an expectation of each individual to maintain and promote a safe environment for all children and for those who are unable to defend themselves.

It should be an obligation of our government to provide reasonable information that will benefit those of us who are caring for our future, those who are our children.

In achieving a safe environment it should be expected that our government make freely available a database listing convicted sex offenders and paedophiles. It should be without hesitation that such a database be available not just to a select few but to the whole of Australia and so that all socio-economic backgrounds can benefit without financial discrimination.

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Since the extreme drop in temperatures this year, areas around the shipping and receiving lanes have become too frigid and unbearable. There is not enough sufficient devices in place to defer the wind from entering the building, therefore creating a very cold work environment.

Employees are having to wear extra layers or heavier clothing to stay warm, which causes interference throughout the work day, i.e. clothing getting in the way during picking, loss of concentration, etc.

This will ultimately cause a drop in performance, accuracy, and total work flow in areas vital to Epson America daily business.

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We live in an age where increased violence, irreversible damage to the environment and inequality on national, economical, religious and political levels have become acceptable when in fact, it is unacceptable.

We live in a time where we have the resources, technology and experience to reverse these damaging effects on ourselves, our environment and our neighbouring countries.

We have a responsibility to create awareness in ourselves and others and to make positive changes towards:

*Finding peaceful resolutions to any conflict with other people, communities and countries.
*Nourishing and respecting the environment and planet on all levels
*Creating equality amongst ourselves and our neighbours within Australia and Overseas

It is up to each and every one of us to create the necessary changes in our lives, and inspire others to do the same, so that we can all live happier, more fulfilling lives.

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From: Protect Our Woods, Heartwood, GreenFire Consulting Group, Indiana Forest Alliance and Tree of Life Alliance.

Date: November 22, 2006

The proposed “German Ridge Restoration Project” would clearcut 355 acres, shelterwood cut 120 acres, and thin 215 acres for a total of 685 acres of logging. The proposed timber sale also authorizes the building of two miles of new roads, the building of two miles of temporary roads, and the reconstruction of nine miles of existing roads. The project further authorizes prescribed burning of 2,170 acres, in one of the most popular recreation areas in the forest, an area known to be used by Indiana bats, and would likely add even more pollution to an area of Indiana that is already a nonattainment area for particulate matter. This is the first project the Forest Service is attempting to implement under the new Hoosier Forest Plan, which is still pending appeal from several environmental groups and individuals.

The German Ridge project has been stopped two times in the past ten years; the first time in the late 1990’s due to the discovery of Indiana bats in the project area, and the second time, this past summer, due to the Forest Service’s appealing officer’s decision that the environmental impact statement did not include an adequate “cumulative impact analysis,” and that the costs of the road building were not included in the economic analysis.

This is the third time, then, that the Forest Service is attempting to recycle this same, environmentally and economically destructive project. A few weeks ago, the Forest Service issued a “Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement” (SDEIS) to “correct the deficiencies in the last Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).” In other words, the Forest Service is refusing to throw this project out, but instead, has merely changed its paperwork. The public needs to comment on this new SDEIS.

There is a 45-day comment period on this new Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) that will end Monday, Dec 4. The document can be viewed by going to http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/project_docs/dn_dm/g_ridge_draft_sup_eis.pdf. You can also request a copy by writing the Forest Service at Hoosier National Forest Supervisors Office, 811 Constitution Avenue, Bedford, IN 47421 or by calling (812) 275-5987. You can send your comments to the Forest Service at the address above, or by Fax (812) 279-3423, or emailing r9_hoosier_website@fs.fed.us. Please send your comments into the Forest Service by December 4th!

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For the past month Matt has done a great job in Brischat contributing to clean up the community and introduce a healthy chat environment. However there have been several kickings in which decent and actively positive members of the Brischat community, have confronted Matt in a civil and respectful manner about why people have been kicked, and inturn kicked themselves without warning or reason.

There have also been times people have been booted just because of Matt’s pure annoyance. Matt has also used sarcasm on many an occasion which in turn alienates the positive members of the Brischat community, and turns them away from coming back. The point of this cleanup is to introduce a positive chat environment and clear up the mess so people can enjoy themselves.

This is a community chatroom, and matt does have a certain level of responsibility as a moderator to respect the wishes and good of the general community. Treat unto those as how you wish to be treated. Sign this petition if you have been booted for the above reasons, including Alias, Reason, or what you witnessed.

Please keep screenshots handy if such an incident occurs for evidence. Personal attacks and justified kicking comments will be deleted from this petition.

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Fed up with the way the country’s heading?

The current Labour government is out of touch with reality and opposition parties are not listening.

For too long public confidence has been worn out with the British criminal justice system allowing criminals to abuse human rights legalisation to avoid facing the consequences of their unlawful actions.

For too long juvenile delinquents have been simply slapped on the wrist for causing anti-social behaviour and nothing is done to prevent their despicable crimes.

For too long the government has been looking after the wrong people, locking up pensioners who cannot afford to pay their high Council Tax bills while allowing dangerous young thugs to freely prowl the streets.

For too long the government has prevaricated taking action to limit and control mass immigration, which has caused house prices to rocket meaning young British-born people cannot afford to get on to the housing ladder. The country is full and our public services are over-stretched.

For too long too long our hospitals have been hygienically neglected contributing to the significant rise in infections from our wards.

For too long there have been systematic problems with the NHS which overpaid NHS managers cover up to report a “all is well” message to Whitehall.

For too long too long our education system has been dubbed down and school discipline is almost non-existent leading to long-term social problems and leaving school leavers unequipped to deal with the world of work.

For too long the government has imposed high green taxes without using the proceeds to fund weaning the UK economy off oil. We need a long-term plan to change the UK’s oil-based economy into a Hydrogen one, so we will not have to rely on such an unstable part of the world for resources.

For too long the government has complicated regulation and taxes leaving our economy vulnerable when competing with the Far East.

If you want to make a difference, let your frustration out and send the politicians a clear message to get a grip on these serious issues then back the Save Britain Campaign’s petition.

THE SAVE BRITAIN CAMPAIGN PROPOSALS

A. Law, Order & Justice

1. End Labour’s early release scheme, which is responsible for a large amount of horrific crimes which should not have happened. Criminals should serve their sentences in full and even longer sentences for bad behaviour.

2. Criminal age of responsibility to be lowered to 8 years. Children’s detention centres until 12 years.

3. Trial of youths over 12 years in magistrate’s/crown courts not youth courts. Their crimes are just as serious.

4. Children/teenagers to receive equivalent prison sentences as adults.

5. Reintroduction of Borstals for 12-18 year olds with a focus on discipline, education, routine and authority. Careers in army to be offered to juveniles who are not likely to find employment after leaving Borstal.

6. Parents of young offenders to reimburse the state with the cost of legal aid, if youth is found guilty.

7. There have been incidents where young criminals are ‘invited’ to police stations for interview. All young offenders should be treated like adults and be properly arrested and questioned in police stations.

8. The justice system should never penalise people who stand up to anti-social behaviour. Am adult should have the right to use any force necessary to defend themselves against a delinquent youths’ behaviour.

9. End the over-use of community sentences, tagging offenders and cautions and adopt a ‘prison works’ attitude.

10. Give the public the right to impose a ‘vote of no confidence’ against lenient judges and have them sacked.

11. Allow the press to publicise the name of a juvenile found guilty of a crime.

12. Ban the press from revealing defendants’ names until proven guilty.

13. Allow defendants’ previous criminal convictions to be stated in court in order to illustrate a better nature of character.

14. A victim should have the option to have the offender absent from the court room when giving evidence.

15. A national DNA database should exist to clear up forensic detection when solving crimes. Also this would assist police in tracing burglars, a crime currently with low clear up rates.

16. Double the sentence for second-time offenders, triple the sentence for third-time offenders and a whole life sentence for the fourth offence. This will send a clear message to any criminal thinking of re-offending, while keeping repeated offenders away from the community for a very long time.

17. ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ approach to sentencing and criminal punishment.

18. A convicted serial criminal should be issued with a sentence that cumulates the total years of each separate crime, i.e. 5 x mugging offences should mean 5 x mugging sentences, meaning that judges cannot issue concurrent sentences.

19. All prisoners should be locked in their cells for 23 hours a day with one hour to wash and exercise.

20. Prisoners, including young offenders, should have no luxury food, no pool tables, no televisions or any other form of entertainment – only books to educate themselves.

21. Prisoners should be made to wear ovals, as in America.

22. Prisons should have a policy of bare minimal religious accommodation.

23. A programme of punishment first then rehabilitation should be implemented.

24. Prisoners should not be entitled to have any visitors in order to dramatically cut down drugs entering our prisons. Only communication with family should be via telephone.

25. Murderers should not serve 15 or 20 years in gaol but the entire duration of their life. Life for a life.

26. Give the Home Secretary back the power to impose whole life sentences on dangerous criminals and also impose whole life sentences on paedophiles that have been released and murderers released early.

27. Implement a mass prison building scheme to create more gaol places.

28. Change categories of offences against the person to ‘provoked’ or ‘unprovoked’, with racially aggravated falling in unprovoked. A White person’s life is not less than a non-White person’s life.

29. Whole life sentences for paedophiles. There is NO reason why they should be free in society, it is in there constitution to prey on children.

30. Overhaul of the use of the defence in court on grounds of mental health. Offenders that are a danger to the public should be detained.

31. There is no excuse for any crime and therefore excuses used by criminals for committing crimes should not be acknowledged in trials.

32. Make provisions for manslaughter to carry a maximum whole life sentence to ensure that murderers/dangerous drivers pleading guilty to manslaughter are not let off a life punishment for their actions.

33. Abolish the use of Police Community Support Officers and put local Police Constables on the beat. Each Constable should have their own small area to patrol and get to know the local area and trouble-makers.

34. Police Constables on the beat in their own small local patches will be able to swiftly respond to emergency calls.

35. Significantly cut the number of forms police need to complete to free up time patrolling the streets on foot.

36. Elected Chief Constables to ensure local people’s policing requirements are always being satisfied.

37. Repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and replace with a Charter of Rights & Responsibilities, where a responsibility would need to be met before the entitlement of the right.

38. Criminals should not be entitled to any human right, as they have not met the responsibility of being law-abiding. This would include illegal immigrants not being entitled to any human rights, as they have broken the law entering the UK without permission.

39. Prisoners should never be entitled to any form of compensation as they should be compensating society by giving up their freedom in prison.

40. Imprisonment of drug users with cold turkey treatment. This is a much cheaper and more punishing method.

41. More investment in the Prison Service could be achieved by making criminals pay for it by taxing them more when they’re released, deductions from benefits and seizing more drug-barons’ assets.

42. Reinstating Cannabis as a Category B drug, as the current Category C gives out the wrong message. This drug has detrimental mental health consequences.

43. Applying a ‘traffic-light’ grading system on all areas where anti-social behaviour is rife. Red areas would be patrolled by armed police to restore order in no-go areas. Amber areas would have high police visibility with local trouble-making youths being targeted and prosecuted on the spot for causing anti-social behaviour. When the local community feel safe they can then elect for the area to be ‘green’.

44. Prosecute members of the Irish Travelling Community who cause anti-social behaviour and damage local areas with waste. Also create a Travellers’ licence to monitor the community, also devising a new Travellers’ tax charge to compensate council tax funds used to accommodate travellers.

45. An end to prosecuting pensioners who cannot afford to pay high Council Tax bills, when juvenile delinquents are free to prowl the streets.

46. Cruelty to animals should be treated with the utmost seriousness in courts, as psychological studies show that this behaviour can lead to carrying out violence on other people, even torture and murder.

47. Courts need to back shopkeepers and businesses more by sentencing shoplifters and ordering them to reimburse what they have stolen. Having proper police presence on High Streets would also act as a deterrent.

48. A person should have the right to use gross disproportionate against intruders to protect their property and family, and the intruder should not have the right to seek compensation for any injury caused by illegally entering the property.

49. British-born terrorists should be charged with high treason and goaled for the entire duration of their lives.

50. A law should be created, as in France, whereby a person can be tried in the UK for committing or conspiring to torture people abroad.

B. Mass Immigration & Europe

1. The only legitimate Asylum Seekers are those that enter the UK by raft or by aeroplane, as international law states that they must claim asylum in the first safe country. Therefore as the vast majority of asylum seekers have already crossed countries like France, their asylum application should be rejected.

2. Immigrants who enter the country illegally without permission should be imprisoned then deported as they are breaking the law.

3. A limit should be adopted for economic migration with an Australian-style points system.

4. All immigrants should have rigorous health checks, a high level of English and a completely clean criminal record before entering the UK.

5. Create a UK Border Police to put into operation the mass deportation of illegal immigrants living in the UK and to protect our borders from those seeking to undermine our country.

6. The UK should leave the European Union and implement common trade agreements similar with Europe to those of Norway and Iceland. Leaving the EU would restore sole sovereignty to the British government and the authority to control our borders.

C. Health

1. Consultant John Petri at his Norfolk hospital has more than doubled his work rate by introducing a French-style “production line” under which he carries out overlapping operations in different theatres. He operates on one patient while the next is prepared in a second theatre. Petri moves on to the second patient while leaving a junior to finish the first. By the time the second operation is nearing completion, a third patient is waiting for him in the original theatre. The result is that Petri can now operate on patients within two weeks of their first consultation. So, let’s introduce Petri’s dual-operating theatre method and cut waiting lists dramatically.

2. Let’s make Doctors’ and Nurses’ working lives hassle-free without having the pressure of centralised targets and the delay that bureaucracy causes.

3. Free-up hospital beds by giving patients increased amounts of oxygen and fluids after their operation, so they recover quicker, which a recent medical study has revealed.

4. Bring back Matron and let her reinstate discipline and organisation on our hospital wards.

5. Allow for dirty wards to be shut down to cut hospital bugs.

6. Discontinue the use of private cleaning firms in our hospitals and employ more cleaners to be under the instruction of Matron.

7. Cut out middle management and let frontline NHS staff take control of their working lives.

8. It is a disgrace that so many nurses have spent years training and now they are told they cannot work in the NHS. Sacking middle managers will free up funds to employ these much needed staff.

9. Overhaul of Dentists’ contracts with massive investment in NHS dentistry to ensure everyone can find a local NHS dentist.

10. Re-localise health services, so that patients do not need to travel far for their much needed treatment.

11. Give patients back the right to choose their local GP.

12. Create local boards of mixed local NHS staff and users of health services to ensure patient’s needs are always being met.

13. Free the NHS from politicisation.

14. Foreigners entering the UK should ensure they have private health insurance to fund any NHS treatment they require during their stay.

D. Education

1. Introduce an education system similar to the German one with more grammar schools to stretch the brightest pupils studying there GCSEs, vocational schools which could combine high-standard literacy/numeracy with a trade in the form of a diploma and army-style boot-camp boarding schools to enforce discipline in unruly pupils and offer them a career in the armed forces, so that they don’t lead a life of criminality, drugs and state benefit reliance after they leave school.

2. SAT exams scrapped at all ages. 11-Plus and 14-Plus exams to decide which educational route students should take.

3. Reform the ‘A’ Levels into a standard similar to that of the previous decades to ensure that the legacy qualification really is the gold-standard of British education.

4. Encourage foreign language learning at an early age so that future generations can do more business with Europe and the world.

5. Make bullying in our schools a criminal offence with criminal consequences to emphasise the seriousness of the behaviour.

6. Synthetic phonics should be taught to all primary school pupils to rapidly boost their reading skills.

7. Tough emphasis on spelling, grammar and punctuation in the English language GCSE and ‘A’ Level, with vocabulary boosting classes. Learning grammatical terms will ensure that pupils are technically competent in English.

8. University top-up fees to be scrapped.

9. Emphasis on discipline, routine and respect in all schools.

10. Give teacher’s the right to physically remove unruly pupils from lessons.

11. Every school to have a supervised detention room for disobedient pupils.

12. Cut teacher’s paper work to free up their time.

13. Free schools from town hall control and let them be independent, trusting professionals to do their job.

14. A flat rate of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) should be available to ALL students.

15. An end to means-testing for university student loans and tuition fees. A set annual amount should be available to ALL students.

E. British Culture & Fairness

1. Abolish political correctness in all its excessive form, as Britain was the birth nation of freedom of speech. PC causes more problems and tension for minority groups, who the vast majority of which oppose politically correct measures.

2. Freedom of speech should be recognised by re-allowing protesters to protest in Parliament Square.

3. End the absurd politically correct view that it is racist to want limited and controlled immigration.

4. End the use of equal opportunities monitoring forms in recruitment, as EVERYONE is equal and an application should be based on a candidate’s ability.

5. End the use of health questionnaires in recruitment, as it is not fair for employers to discriminate against a candidate’s health.

6. It is currently legal in the UK to discriminate against gay and lesbian people by denying them goods, services, hotel rooms and access to licensed premises. A law should be created to ban such discrimination.

7. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) should seek to encourage British Muslim culture to be less oppressive to women and less hostile to gay and lesbian people by tackling homophobic and sexist views common in the British Muslim community. British Muslims are British and should all have the view that all British people are equal. It is a disgrace that the MCB upholds double standards by wanting equality for Muslims but opposed Civil Partnerships and an equal age of consent for gay and lesbian people.

8. British culture and history should be taught widely throughout the national curriculum.

9. The Union flag should be flown above every national and local government building, every school, every police station (including Northern Ireland), every religious building (including Mosques as British Muslims are British too) and in our town and city centres.

10. Councils should NOT refrain from funding Guy Fawkes night and Christmas events and NOT rename Christmas as the ‘Winter Festival’.

11. The Monarch is a symbol of British culture and heritage, which we should all be proud of.

12. Re-instate hereditary peers in the House of Lords by abolishing the House of Lords Act 1999, so that Bills can properly and objectively be scrutinised before becoming law. This would also ensure the cash-for-peerages scandal would never occur again.

13. Abolish the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and reinstate the use of the House of Lords and Privy Council as the final courts of appeal, as these institutions have been used for hundreds of years.

14. Increase women’s state retirement age to 65, as men and women should be treated equally.

15. Operate a ‘first come first serve’ policy for council house waiting lists, as opposed to a circumstantial and politically correct policy.

16. End plans to introduce a house price levy to replace council tax, which would see tax bills substantially rise due to house price inflation and councils using ‘Big Brother’ measures by forcing council officials to enter homes and give them powers to fine homeowners who do not co-operate.

17. Repeal the ban on fox hunting, as this has been a British tradition for hundreds of years.

18. Those who repeatedly show no signs of actively seeking employment should have their benefit stopped immediately.

19. Minimum jobseekers’ claimant age to be increased from 16 to 18 years. Also no claimant should be entitled to the benefit unless they have paid a minimum of 6 months national insurance contributions.

20. Overhaul disability assessment for state benefit qualification to ensure that those who fluke the system do not profit from the funds that should be directed to those who genuinely need support.

21. Teaching is a stressful job and teachers who have been sacked for suffering with depression should get the treatment they need and the encouragement back into the profession they’re dedicated to.

22. Teachers should have the right to bring criminal proceedings against pupils who make false allegations of abuse.

23. Re-open the mental health hospitals that were closed to accommodate the unstable mental health sufferers who struggle living in the community.

24. Local services for people with learning disabilities that have been cut should be made available again.

25. Restoration of disbanded armed forces regiments such as the Royal Irish Regiment, Royal Scots, Royal Scots Fusiliers, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Black Watch, the Highlanders Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders which have served British military interests for generations.

26. Increase defence spending and let’s strengthen our over-stretched navy, air force and army from the current thinned-down entities weakened by the Labour government.

27. End the ‘war’ on the motorist by abolishing plans for road tolls, reducing the amount of speed cameras and the unwarranted amount of parking fines issued. How can this government expect motorists to abandon use of their cars when public transport is the most expensive in Europe?

28. Scottish tax payers to fund the running of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish politicians’ wages.

29. Welsh tax payers to fund the running of the Welsh Assembly and Welsh politicians’ wages.

30. MPs excessive salaries should be slashed by 50% at least.

31. Slash public sector managers’ pay where excessive.

32. The Child Support Agency should be scrapped and replaced with a body that is fair and fast when dealing with separated parents, being tough with parents who do not pay maintenance for their children and thorough with particular patents who refuse to let the other parent see their child.

33. Children of parents who have abandoned them throughout their childhood should have the right to claim 18 years (21 years if attended university) of maintenance.

34. Parents should have the right to use childcare vouchers to pay Grandparents to care for children.

35. A comprehensive public enquiry should be conducted into the true reasons behind the Iraq war with deceitful politicians who proposed the conflict to be held to account. Just before the invasion commenced, the Iraqi government switched from selling oil in US dollars to Euros. If other oil countries followed suit, the US economy would have experienced a major, nearly irrevocable, depression dragging the UK with her. Once allied forces occupied Iraq, the Euro oil exchange was switch back to selling oil in US dollars.

36. A full and unbiased enquiry into the cash-for-peerages scandal with the Prime Minister being publicly held to account, as he has responsibility when appointing peers.

37. The British government should establish a tough foreign policy to deal with the current Zimbabwe situation and hold the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to account for his crimes against humanity. As Zimbabwe is an ex-colony, Britain has a moral duty to pursue such a proposal.

38. Political parties with links to terrorism should be banned from entering the Houses of Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and the Stormont and receive no public finances.

39. In the interests of national security, a law should be created whereby all MPs must have been born in the UK and have no dual nationality.

F. Environment & Climate Change

1. High investment backed by the government into hydrogen fuel cell technology research to speed up the full-scale arrival of hydrogen vehicles and energy plants.

2. A long-term plan to change Britain’s oil-based economy into a hydrogen one, so that we no longer need to rely for resources from such an unstable part of the world.

3. The Hydrogen economy plan should include the production of hydrogen and manufacturing of hydrogen technology in the UK to export abroad.

4. An international treaty lead by the UK to encourage the development of Hydrogen economies which involves the US, Europe, China and India at the heart of the programme.

5. A rigorous emphasis on recycling.

6. Green taxes to finance Hydrogen plan.

7. Availability of more open green public places.

G. Economic Competitiveness, Public Finances & Housing

1. Radically simplify regulation for business and the public sector by thinning and capping the amount of regulation, unifying areas of common ground, also applying a Dutch-style ‘one in – one out’ rule.

2. Simplify tax law and adopt a long term plan to lower and flatten direct taxes.

3. Long-term plan to cut small companies’ rate of Corporation Tax from 19% to 15% and main rate from 30% to 25%. Also increasing the number of years that companies can offset current trade losses against previous profits to claim back tax.

4. VAT should be scrapped and replaced with a simpler American-style Goods & Services Tax (GST).

5. Long-term Income Tax reform:
a. Increase personal allowance from £5,035 to £7,125 minimum.
b. Abolish starting rate of 10% (the personal allowance increase will make income at this level tax-free).
c. Increase dividend tax credit from 10% to 20%.
d. Increase basic dividend rate from 10% to 20% (net tax will be 0%).
e. Cut basic non-savings rate from 22% to 20%.
f. Increase higher dividend rate from 32.5% to 40% (net tax will be 20%, as opposed to the current 22.5%).

6. Re-instate Married Couple’s Allowance for all married couples and civil partners.

7. Allow private medical insurance to be a tax-free benefit or if paid by employee then allow for premiums to be a charge on income to gain tax relief.

8. Abolish the Gift Aid scheme and allow donations bestowed to charity to be a charge on income for greater Income Tax relief. Also allow all donations by companies to be expensed for Corporation Tax purposes.

9. Allow pension contributions to be treated as a charge on income to enhance Income Tax relief.

10. Every pensioner over 65 years should be entitled to a flat rate personal allowance of £10,000 minimum, which should not be tapered depending on income.

11. Re-instate a 20% dividend tax credit and abolish stamp duty for pension funds.

12. Set up a national pension fund insurance scheme to ensure that contributors are fully compensated for funds that go bust; this will restore confidence in pension funds.

13. Increase Inheritance Tax nil rate band to £500,000 and cut 40% rate.

14. Abolish the current system of tax credits and replace with a tax reducer system similar to Married Couple’s Allowance.

15. Allow a married or civil partner to transfer their tax-free personal allowance to their spouse, if one spouse decides to remain at home to spend more time with their family.

16. Write off tax credit overpayments, so that hard-up families do not endure anymore financial hardship.

17. Long-term plan to reduce Council Tax significantly and cut pensioners’ Council Tax bills by at least 50%.

18. Tax cuts should always be funded by economic growth and cuts in inefficient public sector areas such as excessive administration and middle management but NEVER from cutting frontline public sector staff and services.

19. Encourage high-class engineering with investment and tax-breaks in order to make certain the UK’s place in the manufacturing world which is being lost to the Far East.

20. Promote high-class engineering qualifications in schools, colleges and universities.

21. Scrap the useless New Deal programme and save circa £1 billion.

22. Thin down and simplify the welfare state but not to the detriment of those in genuine need.

23. Reform the benefits system to ensure that two-parent families are not penalised.

24. Encourage businesses to put into practice apprentice schemes so that leavers from education can be trained to succeed in a career the day they leave school, college or university.

25. Businesses should be encouraged to provide apprenticeships for mature adults who have to re-train in another field during their working life.

26. Cut excessive immigration to relax demand for housing.

27. Put into practice a mass council house building programme to increase supply of social housing, giving tenants the right to buy after 5 years and use the proceeds and rental income to fund further building.

28. A good economy has good infrastructure. Therefore the Department for Transport should endorse a mass road improvement programme, ensuring a good quality foundation of tarmac on our roads, bypasses where needed, extra lanes for busy motorways, rationalising our roads by cutting excessive road signs and placing pedestrian crossings in less interfering places.

29. A long-term plan to restore the four original rail companies, each owning their own track, with a rigorous punctuality arrangement including services for more regular trains.

30. Banning rail companies from charging double fares for peak journeys, as hard-working commuters should never be made to pay more just because they have to get to work.

31. Low budget airlines should not be taxed more; as such airlines are more efficient in filling up planes and making full use of capacity.

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Dear Mr. Baird and and Mr. Flaherty:

At a time when environmental protection has become one of the top priorities for Canadians, we, the undersigned, request that the Canadian government do all in its power to promote cycling as a climate-change solution.

In the summer of 2006, the Canadian government took steps to promote public transit as a climate change solution by offering a tax credit to public transit users.

At that time Mr. Flaherty said “Gridlock has become one of the most pressing issues across the GTA, eroding the quality of life and having a negative impact on business and productivity. Our government’s new transit tax credit will make transit more affordable, giving people even more incentive to park their keys and leave their cars at home.”

Then Environment Minister Rona Ambrose additionally said “The transit tax credit will not only save people money, but by taking public transit Canadians will be helping to improve our environment. The transit tax credit is part of our government's made in Canada environmental plan. Our transit tax initiative will take the equivalent of 56,000 cars off the road each year which will significantly reduce greenhouse gases here in Canada."
Department of Finance Canada (2006). Taking public transit is now more affordable in Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-031e.html

We agree with Mr. Flaherty and Ms. Ambrose that removing cars from the roads should be one of Canada’s top priorities. We feel this can be achieved by promoting cycling as a substitute to the automobile. We also feel that the government needs to promote cycling due to its health benefits.

According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute:
Current estimates place the cost of physical inactivity in Canada at $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs and $3.7 billion in indirect costs) and the cost of obesity in Canada at $4.3 billion ($1.6 billion of direct costs and $2.7 billion of indirect costs) in health care expenditures. This represents the totaleconomic cost as 2.6% and 2.2% respectively of the total health care costs in Canada. There is concern that chronic disease resulting from obesity may threaten or cripple the health care system in Canada.
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. 2004 Physical Activity Monitor and Sport. Retrieved Nov. 4, 2006 from http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/pam2004.php

As well, in 2003 the Federal and Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness set a national target to increase levels of physical activity by ten percentage points in each province and territory by the year 2010. A primary reason that they set this target was that “Physical inactivity levels in Canada remain a serious public health burden. Fifty-five percent of Canadians do not meet minimum guidelines for regular physical activity necessary to attain health benefits. Physical inactivity increases the risk of chronic disease, premature death and disability.”
Government of New Brunswick. (2003) News Release: Federal and Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness Target Increase in Physical Activity. Retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pc-ch/news-comm/ce021712_e.htm

As cycling would combat climate change by removing people from their cars, and ease the burden on the health care system by helping people maintain an active lifestyle, we ask the Canadian government to do everything in its power to promote cycling as a means of transportation.

Steps which we feel would achieve this include:
a) Offering a tax credit to bicycle commuters similar to that offered to public transit users. Cyclists would be required to have their employer verify that they commute to work by bicycle, and would then be given a credit based on the value of the C02 emissions they would have released into the atmosphere had they driven a car to work.
b) Creating a program similar to Britain’s “Cycle to Work” initiative. In this program the employer purchases a bike and related accessories for an employee who wishes to commute to work by bicycle. The employer then claims the taxes back from the government, and sells the bike to the employee at the tax-free price over an extended period of time with small deductions from the employee’s paycheque.
c) Offering tax incentives to employers which set up bike lockers and showers for employees who wish to cycle to work.
d) A removal of GST from bikes and bike accessories.

These steps and others can promote cycling as a transit alternative, but perhaps more importantly, the implementation of one or all of them would be a strong statement from the federal government - legitimizing cycling as a preferred means of transportation. Please make this statement, and help us make Canada part of the solution to climate change.

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There is an application before MEPA which proposes to develop a large area of unspoilt land at Hondoq ir-Rummien in Gozo - one of the few remaining tracts of open countryside left in the Maltese Islands.

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A developer is planning to build a 4 story 56 unit condominium building and 58 townhouses on Graceview Dr. and Quarry Road.

Townhouses will be built directly across form Meadowvale school, and in the wooded area off Quarry Road. The concominium building will be built on Graceview Dr. next to the Catholic cemetary and directly across from and in front of 2 rancher style houses and one 2 story house.

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By signing this petition I recognise that:

· Recent changes in our atmosphere are due to humankind’s exploitation of planet earth. These changes are having a negative impact on all life, and as they increase, they make the world a less hospitable environment for both humans and other life forms.

· The global economy, which relies on oil, cannot be sustained unless energy is sourced from broader and more environmentally friendly means.

· We have already extracted around half of the world’s oil, and soon we will be forced to make changes to the way we live our lives.

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August 4, 2006

In many places, pollution from mining operations damages marine habitats and contaminates seafood consumed by local people, threatening our oceans and ultimately ourselves and our future.

In the Philippines, Bicol's immensely beautiful marine environment and its fragile sea creatures face a grave threat—toxic pollution and siltation caused by mining operations in Rapu Rapu Island in Albay.

The pristine waters of the Bicol region are acknowledged as the feeding grounds and migratory route of the whale shark, the largest fish in the sea. It is also home to five of the seven known marine turtles in the world, and its rich seagrass beds and mangroves, which make for a high marine biodiversity index, have turned the area into exceptionally rich fishing grounds for the region's fishermen.

The Philippine government allowed Australian firm Lafayette Philippines Inc to start the extraction of gold, silver, copper and zinc within Rapu Rapu in April 2005 despite strong opposition from local and national groups concerned that toxic mine tailings will be released into the sea. Clearly, the island is a dangerous place for a mine: not only is it situated along the country's typhoon belt, but also along a major fault, making it a high-risk area for mining catastrophes. During its few - months of operation, the mining company showed negligence and government agencies, such as the Environmental Management Bureau and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, failed to act on behalf of the people and environment. In October and November 2005, cyanide and other contaminants from the mine spilled into the sea and around the island, resulting in massive fish kills.

On May 19, 2006, a government-commissioned report recommended canceling the license of Lafayette in Rapu Rapu and a moratorium on all mining at Rapu Rapu. Greenpeace is running a petition to President Gloria Arroyo to follow the recommendations of the Rapu Rapu Factfinding Commission.

The Greenpeace petition calls for permanent closure of the mine and obligation or Lafayette to clean and rehabilitate the mine site so that further damage can be avoided.

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July 18, 2006

Inter Care, a UK charity has for 32 years collected unused, returned but perfect, as-new medicines from GP practices to send to 100 African clinics.

World Health Organisation guidelines on medicine supply overseas are closely followed. This activity is now being stopped by impending prosecution of the UK Environment Agency (the enforcement agency of the Dept of Environment) as they say the law designates these prescription medicines as waste, which must only be disposed of in landfill sites.

Inter Care has been sending out 6000kg per year of these life-saving medicines with a market value of £300,000pa. This is less than 1% of the total NHS prescriptions wasted and destroyed.

There needs to be a change in the law to allow the re-use of NHS returned & unused medicines in developing countries provided meticulous standards are met as follows:- at least 18 months before expiry date; perfect, unopened and undamaged; each drug specifically requested by local health professionals in the area of use.

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July 11, 2006

We treat the environment like a joke.

I have seen so many rivers/lakes in the past full of rubbish and dangerous objects such as beer bottles, cans, plastic bags and plastic. But you can help!

Think about it:
National Tree Day
Cleanup Australia Day
Or just simply helping the environment by easily picking up rubbish you see and putting it securely into the rubbish bin! It's not hard at all.

Rivers And Lakes:
Have you ever noticed the scummy dirty look on rivers? Many causes of pollution including sewage and fertilizers containing nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.In excess levels, nutrients over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.

Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.

The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the most crutial environmental problems within the 20th century. Waterborne chemical pollution entering rivers and streams cause tramendous amounts of destruction.

Pathogens are another type of pollution that prove very harmful. They can cause many illnesses that range from typhoid and dysentery to minor respiratory and skin diseases

Three last forms of water pollution exist in the forms of petroleum, radioactive substances, and heat. Petroleum often pollutes waterbodies in the form of oil, resulting from oil spills.

SAY "NO" TO PLASTIC BAGS!!!They are very dangerous to birds and other native wildlife.Birds use littered plastic bags for their nests and end up getting caught/tangled in it and experience a horrible suffocation!

Use the green environmentally friendly bags!!!Put an End to Plastic Bags - it's in your hands. It's simple and inexpensive to make the change.

Please sign my petition!

All comments/signatures will be greatly appreciated.

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July 4, 2006

Complete Baner Sus Link Road.

The road has been proposed for a long time. It has only been half completed.

This road will shorten the distance people have to travel from baner to pashan.

There is a road already infront Rajwada hotel, but the road goes through slums and is risky for girls.

Also many people have started living in the area adjacent to the baner sus link road.

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