Hero returns for a view of green history:
Beyond the protection of the river, one of the lasting impacts of the battle over the Franklin was the introduction of strict penalties designed to stop protesters. Dr Brown says the legacy of the laws used to charge the protesters - that they could not ''lurk, loiter, hide or secrete'' - have been mimicked across the country.
Today, nearly every environmental campaign from the Kimberley to the Tarkine is said to be ''as big as the Franklin". Dr Brown says none is the same - ''It was the first of national significance, and you can't do that again'' - but that the opposition to the proposed James Price Point gas hub comes closest.
''Last week 20,000 people marched in Fremantle about this, and yet it received no coverage,'' he says. ''Once it is gone you can't get it back. If ever there has parallels to the Franklin it is that.''
Photo Damian Kelly
ACTION OF THE DAY
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A score of ANZ Banking Group machines sprawled across six capital cities were plastered with "out of order" signs on Sunday after campaigners launched their latest bid to draw attention to the bank's funding of the coal industry.
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I'm not gay but I have a brother who is gay and very gifted in artistic ways.
ReplyDeleteFor straight people having to live with the disgusting corruption that is destroying our planet is enough to drive us crazy.
What would it be like to be gay and green?
This story made me think of that.
"American actor James Franco has slammed the Australian Classification Board's decision to ban the gay film I Want Your Love.
Travis Mathews's film about a young gay man in San Francisco was considered by the board to be too explicit in its sex scenes.
The board refused to allow it to be screened at the upcoming Brisbane Queer Film Festival and Melbourne Film Festival, whose organisers have described the decision as an embarrassment for Australia.
That sentiment has been echoed by Franco, who took to YouTube to appeal to the board to reverse its decision.
"I don't know why in this day and age something like this - a film that's using sex not for titillation but to talk about being human - is being banned," the actor said.
"It's just embarrassing. I hope you'll reconsider."
Franco, who has worked with Mathews in the past, says he is disappointed the board has such a conservative view of sex scenes.
"It's how we create children, it's how we connect," he said.
"To keep it away from films that want to explore it as human behaviour is very short-sighted and I think very hypocritical.
"I don't think we would be having this conversation if he had made a very violent film."
Mathews has told triple J's Hack the board's decision is surprising because the film is wrapping up an otherwise successful festival season overseas.
"Australia is the only country that's banning the film and it's the only country where there's been a discussion of censoring it or banning it," he said.
Franco, known for his Oscar nomination-winning turn in 127 Hours, will next be seen in Oz The Great And Powerful."
I would imagine it would still feel as if we were living back in the '50's and 60's.