Author: John McCarthy, AIIA

During the festive season we were entertained by the United States’ diplomatic mail and by Julian Assange’s alleged transgressions under the midnight sun.

As 2011 gets under way, we need to think what WikiLeaks will bequeath us. Read more…

Author: John McCarthy, ANU

Palm oil is now the world’s most widely traded vegetable oil. As Indonesia is the centre of global production, palm oil is a priority for Indonesia’s economic planners. With millions of hectares either under oil palm or planned for development, a highly polarized debate surrounds the question of oil palm development in Indonesia. The underlying question here is: can a boom in agricultural commodities such as oil palm provide a pathway out of poverty? Or does it amount to an instrument of mass immiseration?

In the last year, Greenpeace has pursed a very successful campaign against a range of large multinationals.
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