Posts by Neena Bhandari

Australia’s No to Prohibit-Nukes Resolution Triggers Debate

0 Comments read Nuclear Disarmament

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 15.12.2016 (IDN) – As the curtain falls on 2016, the year that marked the fifth anniversary of Fukushima and the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disasters, sending a sombre reminder of the devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences of these weapons of mass destruction, the resolve to free the world of nuclear weapons is stronger than ever before.

The United Nations Resolution A/C.1/71/L.41, which calls for negotiations on a “legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination”, was adopted at the 71st session of the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on October 27, 2016 with 123 members, including nuclear North Korea, voting in favour of taking forward the multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, 38 voted against and 16 abstained.

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Protests in Australia Against Adani Coal Mining Project

0 Comments read Business and Trade, Environment & Development

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 03.12.2016 (Economic and Political Weekly): While serious questions remain on the commercial viability and environmental feasibility of the Adani Mining Pty Ltd’s (AMPL) A$21.7 billion Carmichael coal mine, rail and port projects in the state of Queensland, the company is confident of commencing construction between July and September 2017. The projects’ headquarters will be based in Townsville, in north Queensland.

AMPL, a subsidiary of India-based Adani Enterprises, on 10 November 2016 crossed one of the major hurdles with the Queensland Parliament passing the Environmental Protection (Underground Water Management) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, 2016 and the amended Water Legislation Amendment Bill, 2015 (Queensland Parliament 2016, 2015). The amended legislation means that companies that had already undergone scrutiny through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Land Court would still require a water licence, but that would not go through the public objection process.

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Want to smash the pay gap? Here’s why it requires collaboration

0 Comments read Features, Gender, Human Resource

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 18 November 2016 (HRM): Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Director Libby Lyons argues the pay gap is cause for concern – for men and women. “Too often, the phrase gender equality is code for women’s equality, but men have their own challenges in the workplace that we need to address as well,” she says.

Elizabeth (Libby) Lyons has been director of the WGEA for just over a year now, so it’s a good time to take stock, particularly given the recent figures showing the gender pay gap hasn’t altered much and is currently at 16.2 per cent. But Lyons is a pragmatist.

“The pay gap has hovered between 15 and 19 per cent for the past two decades. We need to be realistic; it’s not going to change overnight. My focus is on working with employers to create a sustainable momentum for change,” she says.

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