G20 Meeting invites Business, Excludes Civil Society : Melbourne Indymedia

The select group of business leaders to lunch with G20 Finance ministers and bureaucrats included: Mr Charles Goodyear, CEO, BHP Billiton Limited; Mr Leigh Clifford, CEO, Rio Tinto Limited; Dr Ali Al-Naimi, Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of Saudi Aramco; Mr Roger Agnelli, Managing President of CVRD; Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, Anglo American plc; Mr Ron Brenneman, President and CEO, PetroCanada; and Sir Robert Wilson, Chairman of BG Group.

So while G20 Finance ministers were quite prepared to meet world business leaders in mining and energy industries, they would not comtemplate meeting with Aid, Development and Environmental Non-Government Organisations on reducing poverty and third world debt, and in discussing the financial aspects of the global social and environmental challenges of climate change, peak oil, the development of alternative energy technologies, and continuing escalating environmental destruction.

On climate change the G20 communique said "We discussed the links between energy and climate change policy, including the role of market-based mechanisms, and agreed that the G-20 would monitor this issue."

Costello reluctantly put climate change on the agenda at the last moment under pressure of British Treasury Secretary Stephen Timms, who wanted to make a presentation on the Stern report on climate change. The report itself was distributed to the finance ministers and central bankers attending the meeting. Mr Timms was reported in the Australian as saying that the Stern report represented the first time that the science and economics of climate change had been brought together. "What we want is this report and its conclusions to be discussed as widely as possible," he said.

But there was no mention in the G20 communique of the Stern report on the Economics of Climate Change and what the G20 countries are going to do to avert massive financial costs by delaying expenditure on reducing greenhouse gas production in the next 10-15 years. Stern said that Climate change is a massive failure in the market economy. Indeed, an essential ingredient of businees today is to privatise profits for the wealth of the few and move social and environmental expenses to the public purse.

But expect more consumer production and international trade: "We agreed that enhancing global trade by strengthening markets, and ensuring sustainability by promoting investment and encouraging efficiency, are the best ways to deliver lasting resource security."

There were a few crumbs on Aid and Debt Reduction: "Building on the G-20 Statement on Global Development Issues in 2005, we welcome recent increases in aid and debt relief and underscore the importance of pledges of further aid increases being fulfilled, along with renewed efforts to improve the quality of aid. We also underscored the importance of helping countries reap the benefits of higher aid and debt relief, and avoid a new build-up of unsustainable debt. Increased development financing must be accompanied by improved aid effectiveness to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. All G-20 members have pledged their support for the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. We agreed that the G-20 will work toward improving aid effectiveness and good governance in the period ahead."

And that was the G20 meeting. A good hobnob for the business and political elite to meet to further their agenda of economic development, resource exploitation, reduction in tariff and trade barriers. Maintain the economic enslavement of third world countries through the IMF and World Bank, with just enough debt writeoff to avoid massive third world civil unrest.

Pure Neo-liberalism with its ideological adoption of market economics to the exclusion of social and environmental costs. And with climate change these costs are mounting to affect every person and every economy on the planet. Massive movements of Environmental refugees will become common, agriculture will change as rainfall and climate changes. Potable drinking water, once only an issue in third world countries, will increasingly become a first world problem.

While media attention is focussed on a bit of argy bargy between protesters and police in the streets of Melbourne, the real social criminals made their getaway in limousines. Next year, the Financial elite will meet in South Africa.

Now just who is that is getting the poor out of public housing won for inner city living workers in the Rocks by the NSW BLF Green bans in the 1970s ?
Is it the usual evil Liberals ? No It's the Alternative Liberal Party aka Labor (without u) doing the dirty. They have to keep up the rivalry with melbourne's law and order media blitz of G20 protesters to show they can make Sydney safe for APEC next year. A nice little inner city Police State with no access to workers except for shift permits like in the Olympics 2000 spectacle then if you know what's good for you getta outta yuppie town !

The $750,000 harbourfront bargains

Justin Norrie and Jonathan Pearlman
November 21, 2006

Other related coverage
* You can't help but think we're not wanted
* Enough to make renters weep

UP TO 16 historic Millers Point terraces previously used for public housing will be sold off to private investors at a bargain-basement price - $750,000 each - when real estate agents say they could fetch three times as much.

It has outraged locals who say they are being cynically squeezed out of the harbourfront area near The Rocks.

The State Government showed its hand yesterday after the Herald reported residents' fears of a secret Government plan to sell 190 of these properties to private investors, using 99-year leases. The Minister for Housing, Cherie Burton, announced that the leases would generate just $12 million. Local real estate agents said that meant they were being "sold off" for less than a third of their market value in some cases.

Residents say they are being targeted for removal. "I've said we're not wanted here, and this is proof," said Colin Tooher, who has lived in Millers Point all his life. "They're getting rid of all the public housing and gentrifying the whole area."

So far Ms Burton's office has only earmarked two properties, at 56 and 64 Argyle Place, for sale, but it is also considering selling several properties in

Lower Fort Street. A terrace at 34 Argyle Place sold six months ago for $2 million. A real estate agent, Jaime Upton, of the Ray White Double Bay Group, described the Government's plan as "a big sell-off as far as I can tell, and by talking about 'leases' it's just being sneaky".

Ms Upton said the $750,000 price tag was "the absolute minimum entry level into the Millers Point market, and that's for very small, very rundown places. Some of the big places on Lower Fort Street could sell for $2.5 million. So $750,000 is extremely cheap."

A spokesman for Ms Burton, Adam Wand, said many of the properties needed refurbishing that could cost more than $1 million, which would "not be worthwhile for the Government".

But an independent councillor on City of Sydney Council, Marcelle Hoff, said: "If this goes ahead it is only the first step before the Government turns its attention towards any Department of Housing estate it can make a buck out of, at the cost of residents.'

Leasing the Millers Point properties will help fund public housing worth $60 million in inner western Sydney.

Ms Burton said the 180 tenants affected would be offered temporary housing in the inner west.

I think the serial smikers mask has slipped slightly lately... and there is a real nasty bugger underneath. Plenty of examples but here's just one. The serial smirker released some boilerplate about free trade and the Opec cartel...and nothing at all about the single desk for wheat?
Maybe he's going to fix that little detail when some miracle makes him PM. When the incumbant Mini-me accidently falls off an oil rig perhaps.