The New South Wales Greens have launched their website for the upcoming federal election. Check it out at www.greens.org.au/nsw

From the Inner West Courier

Senator Kerry Nettle, who was raised in the Inner West, kicked off the campaigns of local Greens candidates last Friday with a multicultural message.So far, all the inner-Sydney Greens candidates for the yet-to-be-announced federal election come from ethnic backgrounds - a first for the political party.

The candidates include Ashfield councillor Marc Rerceretnam for Lowe and Marrickville councillor Saeed Khan for Grayndler.

Senator Nettle said multiculturalism would be a big issue in the federal election.

“At a time when the big parties are attacking multiculturalism and ethnic communities, the Greens are proud to support diversity,” Senator Nettle said. “I am looking forward to campaigning with [Marc and Saeed] in their electorates to send a message about the importance of multiculturalism for Australia.”

Dr Rerceretnam, who is of Singaporean background, said there were many issues to tackle in Lowe.

“I am passionate about protecting workers’ rights, stemming the effects of climate change and human rights,” Dr Rerceretnam said.

“A key local issue for the Greens is climate change and the legacy we are leaving our children. I have three young children and I worry about their future.”

Dr Rerceretnam said he hoped to pick up where 2004 Greens candidate Shireen Murphy left off.

Ms Murphy gained a 5 per cent swing and polled 9.2 per cent of the primary vote at the last election.

Marc Rerceretnam was elected to be the candidate for Lowe for the Greens. Marc has been an Ashfield Councillor since 2004 and is the chairperson of both the Communications Committee and the Local Multicultural Ethnic Affairs Committee. Marc has said he will take a holistic approach to issues and not ignore traditional state or local government issues just because this is a federal election.

If you would like to help with the campaign there are many jobs available for people of all ages and skill sets. Please email the volunteer coordinator Eva Griffith. If you have a specific job in mind, let her know. Current volunteer positions include:

• Staffing stalls in the Lowe area promoting the Greens.
• Delivering leaflets to letterboxes in your area.
• Handing out flyers and newspapers at Cityrail stations.
• And many more…

Motion by Clrs Rerceretnam, Hawkins and Dale

It is a undisputed scientific fact that burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and hence, temperatures are rising.

The majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, is already occurring and it is the result of human activities and not a natural occurrence.
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