The Dalai Lama’s seventy-fourth birthday is tomorrow, the 5th of July.

In Australia, the local Tibetan community will gather to celebrate the birth date of their spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, in the Indian town of Dharamsala, the heart of the exiled Tibetan community and home of the Dalai Lama, an Australian delegation of MPs are spending their second last day of a six-day-visit participating in a public celebration of His Holiness’ birthday.

The delegation consists of Labor MPs Michael Danby and Melissa Parke, Liberal MP Peter Slipper, Australian Greens Senators Scott Ludlam and Sarah Hanson-Young and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon.

It is the first time an Australian parliamentary delegation has been sent over to visit the spiritual leader.
2ser’s Biwa Kwan spoke with Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

They say that a week is a very long time in politics, but that was not the case this week for the NSW Upper House.

On Wednesday the Labor Government had seen a number of key pieces of legislation knocked back in the Upper House, and signs were that it was only going to get worse.

The proposed sale of the state lotteries, which would see more than half a billion dollars enter the government’s coffers, was set to fail.

Rather than see that the bill rejected, the Government invoked a little used parliamentary procedure, and walked out of the House.

With no ministers sitting in the chamber, the Upper house president closed down the Upper House, and it won’t be reopened until September first.

It is believed to be the first time the Upper House has been shut down in its nearly 200-year history.

Veteran reporter Alex Mitchell was the former state political reporter for the Sun Herald, and now writes for the online paper Crikey.

He spoke with 2ser’s Julia Holman.

After drugs and weapons, child trafficking is the third largest source of income for organised crime outfits in South East Asia.

The United Nations estimates that almost one-and-a-half million people are abducted and sold worldwide every year.

Over half of these are women and young girls.

Much of the trade happens in countries with porous borders where poverty is rife.

John Curtis set up an organisation in 2004 to stem child trafficking in South East Asia.

Called The Grey Man, the organisation is made up of ex-police officers and ordinary Australians.

They work covertly in Thailand and Cambodia removing children from brothels and returning them to their families.

2SER’s Alex McDonald spoke to former Green Beret commando turned Grey Man leader, John Curtis.

www.thegreyman.org

Alcohol is fast shedding its image of a harmless social pastime as more studies highlight the serious consequences of binge drinking.

With 30-50% of alcohol consumption regarded as abusive and beyond safe levels, it has become the main focus of this year’s National Drug Action Week.

Some organisations say alcohol misuse is increasingly being compared to the social harms associated with illicit drugs.
Odyssey house is a leading rehabilitation service provider.
CEO James Pitts says we need to treat alcohol abuse in far more serious way.

He's speaking here with 2ser’s Caroline Savransky.

The Barangaroo development at East Darling Harbour has come under scrutiny amid claims from the Opposition that it’s being treated as a cash-grabbing opportunity by the State Government.

The Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird says the three groups pitching for the development contract are being asked to commit millions of dollars as part of their bidding proposals.

But the head of the authority charged with assessing the plans, says the upfront fees are simply standard procedure for this kind of development.

Mr Baird told 2SER’s Sophie Tarr, he fears that the cash-strapped NSW government – whose latest budget has a forecasted deficit of $990 million – may award the contract based on revenue, rather than on merit.

Cancer poses a serious threat to several animal species around the world.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has released a first-ever worldwide study of the impacts of cancer on wildlife.

They say the cancer in Australia's Tasmanian Devils fist alerted conservationists to the problem, which could drive the species to extinction.

2ser's Esther Han reports.

The Blue Mountain’s infamous Three Sisters is visited by thousands of tourists each year.

But a proposed tourist attraction, set to exhibit koalas in a shopping centre close to the Three Sisters lookout, has outraged local residents and animal welfare groups.

They say the development reeks of unethical tourism and animal cruelty.

The developer, Fivex Property Group, says the exhibit would encourage tourists into the shopping centre, increasing its financial viability.

While the Blue Mountains Council has already denied the development, Fivex have turned to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales to approve their plan.

This report from 2ser’s Rosie Lewis begins with the general manager of Fivex, Lesli Berger.

Are you a smoker?

According to news reports published this week, so is President Barack Obama.

He, like so many others, started smoking as a teenager.

But that hasn’t stopped him introducing tough new laws to regulate the huge American tobacco industry.

The new law will see strict controls on cigarette marketing and new rules to monitor the products added to tobacco.

Stafford Sanders from the health group Ash Australia says the US move is historic.

He spoke to 2SER’s, Nastasia Campanella.

High levels of pollutants are emerging from the Wallerawang coal-fired power station near Lithgow, threatening the already strained ecosystem of the Coxs River.

Despite the high levels of arsenic, copper, salt and heavy metals in the water, the operators of the plant, Delta Energy, say that they’ve always operated within their environmental license, which is issued by the state government.

Volunteers from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society say that they’ve been using water testing kits for years in the area, and have been passing on their disturbing findings to the NSW department of environment and climate change, but with little effect.

Aquatic Ecologist Dr Ian Wright has been wading around the waterways of the Warragamba catchments for decades, and he is pressing ahead with new research into the health of the Coxs River ecosystem.

The findings of Dr Wright are now being used by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society as the basis for court action against the operators of the plant in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

2SER's Tim Roxburgh asked him what his recent research was showing about the health of the river.

The NSW Government has sold two public housing properties at Miller’s Point in Sydney, with fourteen more set to go under the hammer.

The properties sold for 2.2 million dollars, and the money raised from the auctions will be used to fund more social housing in Sydney’s Inner-West.

The Housing department has identified the properties as suitable for ninety-nine year leases to the private market.

But the New South Wales Tenants Union says this is just short of selling the buildings at top price to the richer part of town.

They also claim there are problems with the Housing sector’s management.

The Union’s policy officer, Chris Martin, spoke with 2SER’s Rosie Lewis.

A new bill that would allow recreational hunters to shoot native animals and birds in New South Wales national parks has been slammed by opposition.

The NSW Shooters Party introduced the bill to Parliament, and are hoping to get Labour party support.

They say the new law would not affect threatened species, but would allow the killing of feral animals.

Both the Green’s and the Liberals say the bill is unacceptable.

2SER’s Rosie Lewis spoke with Green’s MP Lee Rhiannon.

A fifty-three year-old grandmother was jailed for contempt of court last month after she failed to turn her computer over to US authorities.

The ageing blogger had written an unflattering post about the late Anna Nicole Smith, and the former playboy model's family decided to sue for defamation.

The woman is one of about twelve-million North American adults now blogging on a regular basis.

More than half of them write using a pseudonym.

Blogging anonymously makes sense in media-sensitive countries like China and Zimbabwe, but what are the possible legal implications for Australians who defame people on the net?

2SER’s Alex McDonald filed this report.

The Australian National University recently conducted a study looking at the acceptance of minority groups in the workforce.

The results showed that applicants with Chinese, Middle-Eastern and Indigenous sounding names were far less likely to be called in for an interview or hired, raising the issue of discrimination in Australia’s workforce and what can be done to minimize it.

2ser’s Caroline Savransky spoke with Professor Andrew Leigh from the Research School of Social Sciences about the findings.

Kangaroo meat has become known as the cheap and ethical alternative to red meat.

But according to a new animal liberation report, the welfare of kangaroos and their joeys is being compromised to supply the industry.

Felicity Evans takes a look at how these kangaroos are suffering and what's been done to stop the bludgeoning of joeys.

How are you marking World Environment Day? Maybe by installing a few new energy efficient light bulbs?

Well spare a thought for the people of Cuba, who've been told to turn off their lights, or to be more precise, to "save money or die"

As the Global Financial Crisis hits, the Cuban economy seems less affected than many of it's neighbours.

But despite this, the government is still pushing through with cost saving environmental measures.

Jessica Tapp has the story.

Queensland doctor Caroline de Costa says she's going to stop performing medical abortions.

De Costa has been one of the leading advocates of the abortion drug RU486.

But she says she now fears legal repercussions for herself and her patients.

This week a young Cairns girl and her partner will appear in court for using the drug to have an abortion.

The trial is set to reignite debate over the legality of medically acquired terminations.

Jennifer Richardson reports.

Students in Sydney will take to the streets tomorrow (Sunday) to support their international classmates, after attacks on Indian students in Melbourne earlier this week.

They say the attacks are just one example of the discrimination and fear international students experience.

And they've warned students won't want to come to Australia safety on and off campus doesn't improve.

2SER's Chris van Egmond reports.

We all use the internet everyday, but how secure is your personal data?

With everything from insurance to bank account details being stored online, it can be hard to keep it all safe.

Data theft and computer hacking is rising, and it even has US President Obama on edge.

Nick Gilbert reports.

Art is often seen as a means of expression, but for those with communication disorders, it can offer an insight into an otherwise veiled world.

The Painting The Spectrum exhibition is currently on show in Sydney’s Double Bay, an exhibition of works by adults with autism.

Approximately one in 160 Australians are on the autism spectrum. There is no known cause and no cure for the lifelong disease.

Typical traits include impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviour.

Yet while verbal and written communication for those with autism is generally limited, it seems it does not hinder artistic talent.

2ser’s Julia Holman went to the exhibition, and compiled this report.

The state Government’s plan to privatize NSW Lotteries has drawn more criticism this week, after it was revealed that one of the potential buyers wants to massively increase gaming across the state.

The G-tech corporation wants to introduce lottery ticket vending machines and says far more revenue could be made after privatisation.

This has drawn criticism from several groups including welfare organisations, who believe the poor will be targeted by slick gambling marketing campaigns.

Alex Mitchell is a former Sun Herald journalist who now writes for Crikey. Ashley Felderhof asked him why the NSW government is pushing the sell off.

Violence against gays and lesbians is being fuelled by an increase in the number of homophobic websites, according to the NSW Anti-Discrimination board.

The board says there is evidence of a significant rise in gay hate material on the internet, which can prompt actual violence in the community.

In NSW alone there are five serious assaults on gay people each month, and many more are abused without making a formal complaint or seeking police help.

Rosie Lewis spoke with the President of the Anti-Discrimination Board, Stepan Kerkyasharian.

Amnesty International has called on the G-20 to urgently address what it calls a global human rights deficit.

The organisation has just released its annual report which details abuses around the world.

2SER Jacinta Patterson was at the launch of the report in Sydney this week.

The NSW Government is considering a plan to extend Sydney’s light rail to the inner-west.

At the moment, the light rail terminates six kilometres from the city in Lilyfield.

The new line would extend to Leichhardt and to the Dulwich Hill train station.

Operators say the link could be ready within a year and would cost less than 70 million dollars to build – a fraction of the five-point-three billion set aside for the contentious CBD metro rail line.

Leading the government’s rail push is the transport minister, David Campbell.

He took time out last year to look at the light rail systems in Paris and Nice.

But other government ministers are not sold on the idea.

Gavin Gatenby from the Sydney transport lobby group, Eco-Transit Sydney, told 2SER’s Alex McDonald, that a year should be more than enough time to complete the light rail upgrade.

This week South Australian police have used the state’s new bikie laws to request control orders, limiting the activities of two members of the Finks bikie club.

It remains unknown whether or not these bikies have committed previous crimes, because South Australian laws restrict the release of criminal records.

Democrat and Green members of South Australia’s upper house, say that the secrecy surrounding the new laws is excessive.

There are also concerns that innocent people could get caught up in the laws by associating with people placed under a control order.

It is a crime to associate with people who have been placed under a control order, but the list of people who have been placed under these orders is not made public.

South Australian Greens MP, Mark Parnell, has called for the names of everyone subject to a control order to be released.

Tim Roxburgh asked him how the control orders operate.

With US President Barack Obama introducing tough new standards for vehicle fuel efficiency, many other countries are reviewing their standards, including Australia.

Federal Transport minister Anthony Albanese is eager to implement mandatory laws, which would force car makers to achieve more kilomotres per litre of petrol and a reduction in exhaust emissions.

Several ministers are backing his plan but the Industry minister Kim Carr is not on board.

2ser’s Caroline Savransky spoke with Monica Richter, from the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Reports have emerged that some aid workers in Papua New Guinea can earn more in a year than Kevin Rudd.

These consultants are paid for by Australian taxpayers through the government’s overseas aid agency, AusAID.

They can earn up to 360, 000 dollars a year.

Experts say that aid money often finds its way back to Australia in the form of consultancy fees or company profits.

AusAID says the rates paid to consultants in PNG are comparable to rates paid for the same kind of work around the world.

Tim Anderson is a senior politics lecturer at Sydney University and a member of the board of Aid Watch, an independent organisation that monitors aid and trade issues.

2ser’s Tim Roxburgh asked him whether AusAID follows any guidelines when deciding how to pay consultants.

The long running civil war in Sri Lankan Government was declared over this week, when Singhalese forces killed the leader of the rebel Tamil Tigers.

Government forces have now taken over the countries northern areas which were formerly under the control of the Tamils, who’ve been fighting for an independent homeland.

But with the end of the conflict has come a humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of Tamils forced to evacuate their homes.

The Sri Lankan Government says it’s hoping to integrate the Tamils into a new and unified nation.

But others believe that atrocities continue to take place, and that the death toll over the last three months has been greatly under-estimated.

With the Government still denying access to the conflict areas for aid organisations and the media, it’s difficult to assess the extent of the crisis.

Dr Brian Senewiratne is a physician from the majority Singhalese community who has been campaigning for the Tamil cause for decades. He spoke with 2ser’s Julia Holman.

Consumers who pay extra for electricity from renewable sources are likely to cancel their accounts unless the Rudd government changes its climate change policies.

That's according to The Alternative Technology Association and consumer group, Choice.

They say the current goal of cutting carbon emissions by 5 percent should be for industry only and not include ordinary homes.

Because of the way the government has set up the system, efforts by individuals to reduce emissions are effectively not being counted.

Senior policy officer at Choice, Victoria Coleman says changes need to be made to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of people using green power, stay connected.

She spoke with 2ser’s Caroline Savransky.

Sex workers say The Daily Telegraph misrepresented the industry in a series of inflammatory articles about brothels this week.

The paper claims that the tough new laws introduced by the NSW Government 18 months ago, designed to stamp out illegal brothels, are not working.

The reports quoted the "Adult Business Association" which claims that a growing number of illegal brothels with poor health standards are operating throughout Sydney.

But sex worker groups say labeling brothels “illegal” simply contributes to the demonisation of prostitution.

They say there's no such thing as “illegal” brothels, rather their development applications have not been approved by the council.

Elena Jeffrey’s, President of the Scarlet Alliance, spoke with 2SER’s Erin Smith.

The Australian Society for Dental Anaesthesia is warning that dentists using a new pain drug may be putting their patients lives at risk.

"Penthrox" is designed to relieve pain and anxiety in patients undergoing surgery, but now serious questions are being raised about its safety.

Inga Ting reports.

Notorious Holocaust denier Fredrick Toben has been sentenced to three months jail after repeatedly ignoring court orders not to publish material deemed “offensive”.

Australia has no specific laws against holocaust denial, but Toben was ordered by the federal court to stop publishing material on his website that denied the holocaust occurred and cast doubt on the idea that gas chambers were used to murder Jews.

The racist material has been roundly condemned, but a few voices have also cautiously raised concerns that the rulings represent a new encroachment on freedom of speech.

While playing down the holocaust is clearly offensive to some people, critics say people like Toben should not be jailed, simply for expressing unorthodox or extreme views.

2SER’s Tim Roxburgh asked Katherine Gelber, Associate Professor in Politics at the University of New South Wales, about the circumstances preceeding Toben’s arrest.

With new studies showing that 50% of Australians between the ages of 18-25 would not vote if it was not compulsory, society has to wonder what it is doing wrong to drive the interests of young people away from politics.

Issues are starting to arise as to whether youth are being targeted correctly and if their interests are being met by political parties.

The Australian Electoral Commission have partnered with Sydney University to launch a Youth Electoral Study to further explore these issues.

The study focuses on what's making young people weary of politics and what can be done to change this.

2ser’s Caroline Savransky spoke to Media Academic Dr Jason Sternberg from the Queensland University of Technology.

This month marks ten years since the New South Wales government agreed to allow a medically supervised injecting centre in Kings Cross.

By giving injecting drug users a safe place to shoot up, the centre aims to prevent overdoses and keep drug use off the streets.

It was originally intended as an 18-month trial, and staff believed the centre would be made permanent if they could prove it was saving lives.

But ten years later, the New South Wales government is still refusing to grant the centre permanent status.

Staff say it’s time the government admitted that their work has been a success.

2SER’s Jacinta Patterson visited the centre to find out more.

Councils and property developers have locked horns over the State Government’s decision to change the way large projects are approved in NSW.

From July 1 – joint regional planning panels will assess all NSW building projects exceeding 10 million dollars. A power previously held by local governments.

NSW has 152 councils, but the new plan will see their work taken over by just six committees.

And councilors aren’t happy about it, or the reasons behind it.

2SER’s Patrick Wright has this report.

The Rudd government has been roundly criticised by welfare experts this week following Tuesday's budget, which failed to devote any funds to help the growing numbers of people losing their jobs.

Pensioners received a long awaited pay rise of $32 per week but those on unemployment benefits and sole parent benefits were overlooked, despite dire predictions about rising unemployment over the next 12 months.

Economists predict the recession will push the unemployment rate to over 8% which will leave more than a million people on the dole.

The current basic Newstart allowance is a tiny $227 per week for a single person ($32 per day), well below the official poverty line.

The National Welfare Rights Centre has challenged all MP's to try to live for a week on the dole to see if they could cope.

Centre President Kate Beaumont is speaking here with 2SER's Mark Robinson.