10 August 2000

Media Advisory

Guest speaker at Australian Green AGM

Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons will be the guest speaker at the Tasmanian Green Party AGM in Tasmania this weekend.

Ms Fitzsimons will also meet with the leader of the Australian Green Party, Senator Bob Brown, at the conference.

They will discuss co-operation between the two Green Parties and trans-Tasman green issues, including:

1. The refusal last week of the joint Australian-New Zealand food authority to label all genetically engineered food.

2. The passage of nuclear waste ships through the Tasman sea and whether the international agreement on 'rights of innocent passage' should apply to nuclear waste ships. Ms Fitzsimons will also update Senator Brown on her members bill (sent to select committee last month) which would extend New Zealand's nuclear-free zone to the 200 mile economic limit, and exclude nuclear waste ships.

3. Global moves to combat climate change and the Hague conference for parties to the Kyoto Protocol in November. Both Green Parties will have representatives at the conference.

4. The threat to jobs, the environment and sovereignity from globalisation, including the proposed Singapore free trade agreement and the AFTA/CER free trade zone.

Ms Fitzsimons will also support Senator Brown's opposition to proposed new Australian legislation which would give the military wide-ranging powers to suppress domestic unrest.

Jeanette Fitzsimons MP: (04) 470 6661 or 025 586 068 Gina Dempster, Press secretary: (04) 470 6723 or 021 1265 289

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