November 2009

National Edition

Dear Activist,

Thank you for your recent support of Oxfam Australia’s campaign work. Supporters have contributed to real change in the last year including increased awareness about the impacts of climate change and major  inroads to achieving Indigenous health equality. Keep informed and stay active with the Activist newsletter – your first edition is below. (If you don’t wish to receive the Activist, unsubscribe using the link to the right.)

Watch stories from people impacted by climate change 

After days of extreme heat and years of poor rainfall, Bonny Francis lost her home and her business in one of Victoria’s Black Saturday fires.

“We’ve lived here for 20 years. In the last...12 years, the rainfall has dropped, we’ve had hotter summers. We’ve felt a lot more at risk every successive summer. I’m not an expert [on climate change]…but this has cost us our livelihood. It’s cost the local community enormously.” 
Watch Bonny’s testimony

Australians aren’t new to bushfires. But it was the extent and ferocity of last summer’s fires that has shaken Bonny’s community.

Sadly, Bonny is not alone, and climate testimony like hers is being collected by Oxfam around the world for our Climate Hearings.

The Australian Climate Hearing
Through 2009, Oxfam has sponsored a number of international Climate Hearing events.  Watch stories from these Climate Hearings as well as local stories from our region in the weeks leading up to the Australian Climate Hearing on 23 November.

In the meantime, join the debate and share your own climate testimonies, thoughts, videos and events with us on A Climate for Change, and look out for the Australian Climate Hearing video with highlights from the night soon after the event.

Walk against Warming 

Coinciding with the UN Climate Change talks in Copenhagen, this year’s Walk Against Warming is more important than ever. While the world leaders talk, you can walk the walk. It’s being done all over the world: from New York to Tokyo; from Mumbai to Paris; and all over Australia.

So get out your diary and pencil in Saturday 12 December to Walk Against Warming.

Find out details of the walk nearest you (Note: new events being posted regularly)

A better way for NT communities 

If your government said it would only fix essential services to your property as long as you agreed to hand over control of your property for a fixed amount of time, how would you feel? If your government told you where and how you could spend your money, wouldn't you feel outraged?

This is how the government treats Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory. Aboriginal people have been standing up and shouting NO but their voices have been ignored.

Find out more and take action

Reel Change: climate change short film competition 

Submissions for the Reel Change short film competition are now open! The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival (HRAFF) and Make Poverty History (MPH) are seeking informative, inspiring and confronting films on climate change, poverty and human rights to screen at the 2010 Festival and to feature as part of the MPH climate change campaign. Submissions Deadline: December 11.

Find out more
More on the human impacts on climate change 

Stop the killing in the Congo 

The war in the Congo has killed over 5 million people. The situation is getting worse with a Congolese military operation – backed by UN peacekeepers – failing in its bid to disarm militia groups. Worse, the  Congolese army are looting villages and raping women.

Tell the UN you don’t want international peacekeepers to be part of escalating the humanitarian crisis.

Sign the Crisis in Congo Petition, to help stop the killing.

World's biggest arms traders promise Global Arms Treaty 

Last week at the United Nations after years of discussions and debates, the vast majority of governments – 153 in total - agreed a timetable to establish a "strong and robust" Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) by 2012.

This is great news! Tthere is currently no global treaty on the conventional arms trade, and arms are often traded into situations where they undermine human rights and sustainable development.

Most of the world’s biggest arms traders – including the USA, UK, France and Germany - will now all back the UN process. Australia co-authored the resolution and was a vocal supporter of a strong ATT during the debates.

We’ve been working hard to lobby governments on this critical decision – and thank all of the Activists who participated in our online action last month. Your action truly made a difference.

Now it’s up to all of us to hold the Australian Government to their commitment to deliver a treaty that will save lives. Find out more

Campaigning works. Thanks for taking action.

Oxfam Australia Campaigns Team.