Campaign launched to make Great Barrier Reef an Australian citizen
Sydney: A campaign was launched in Australia on Wednesday to push for citizenship to be granted to the Great Barrier Reef in order to strengthen protection of the world’s largest living organism. The Change.org petition, addressed to the Ministers of Environment, Citizenship and Home Affairs as well as Prime Minister Scott Morrison, highlighted that the Great Barrier Reef protects the country’s coastline and contributes about 6.4 billion Australian dollars ($4.5 billion) annually to its economy, as well as supporting 64,000 jobs. “But despite her massive contribution to Australia, she’s still denied the one basic right of every Australian citizen – the right to live,” said the petition started by social media and entertainment publisher, LADbible. The health of the Great Barrier Reef, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, has deteriorated in recent decades due to climate change, which also caused two deadly mass coral-bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. The petition said that the ecosystem is being threatened by coal mining, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change inaction and proposed that it should be given citizenship to grant it rights including the right to health, freedom from torture or inhuman treatment or punishment, the right to maintain own means of subsistence and the right to life. In a 2017 world-first, the New Zealand government granted the Whanganui River legal personhood, giving it the same legal rights as a human being. (IANS)
Aussie supplier fined USD 1.6 mn for selling fake aboriginal art
Sydney: Australian indigenous art supplier, Birubi Art, has been fined 1.6 million US dollars for selling items including didgeridoos and boomerangs which falsely claimed were made by local Aboriginal artists. The penalty was handed down by the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday, with the intention of protecting indigenous culture and deterring similar misrepresentations from occurring in the future. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) accused Birubi Art of selling 50,000 boomerangs, didgeridoos, bullroarers and message stones between 2015 and 2017. “Birubi’s actions were extremely serious. Not only did they mislead consumers, they were liable to cause offence and distress to Australian Aboriginal people,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said. The items featured images, symbols and designs resembling that of the indigenous Australians, along with claims of being “Authentic Aboriginal Art” in order to enhance their value. “Engagement in the Indigenous Australian art industry is extremely important to a significant number of Australian Aboriginal people, especially those in remote regions,” Court said. Court also said that the ACCC will be monitoring traders of indigenous Australian art and souvenirs to ensure confidence in the Indigenous Australian art industry and will take action against those who mislead consumers about the nature of their products. (PTI)