to 10am. Friends of the Koala provides the vehicle, equipment and training. Harvesting takes place in numerous locations in and around Lismore depending on the varieties of leaf required. Commitment is extremely important because the koalas must eat come what may. For more information about leaf collection and other ways to assist koala conservation on the Northern Rivers please phone 6622 1233 or email info@friendsofthekoala .org. Lorraine Vass President Friends of the Koala Corporate stranglehold I find the comments coming out of CHOGM rather worrying. Talking about how they are going to make sure that countries stick to democracy. It's like all these Occupy gatherings around the world have gone completely over the heads of the state leaders gathering in Perth. Democracy is rather meaningless in a corporate controlled world. Governments have totally lost their authority to govern. Instead they sit passively waiting in their gated compounds, commonly called Parliament House in the colloquial speech, with their hands out waiting for the lobbyists from corporations to turn up with the latest offer, threat or demand. In fact, due to privatisation, the whole infrastructure of the country, including the military, will not work without the co-operation of multinational corporations. The young are the losers worldwide in this new system. Many of them have a far greater awareness of the danger to the environment and an open society than their elders who are sticking to outdated modes of thought and governance. It is the young who have a lifetime to live on