Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian Greens won its first lower house seat in a general election as support for the party surged almost 50 percent, making it a potential power broker for the nation’s next government. “It’s clear the Greens will have the balance of power in the Senate,” party leader Bob Brown said late yesterday after Adam Bandt took the seat of Melbourne from Labor. “In the lower house, results also show we’ll bring both the major parties into the 21st century. People have endorsed greater action on climate change.” The Greens won 11.4 percent of the national vote the commission’s website showed. That compares with 7.8 percent in 2007, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. The coalition wants to set up an A$1 billion fund to encourage companies to reduce emissions and establish a 15,000- strong “green army” to repair environmental damage. For details: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJQTL8ImXa.E
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ISSUES BEING DEBATED: In East Africa, despite colonialism, the British afforded the Goan a sliver of a socio-political voice. Read *Into The Diaspora Wilderness* by Selma Carvalho. Soon to be available in Toronto. Pp 290. Via mail-order from [email protected] http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/
