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A leaked management briefing from New South Wales government-owned electricity network business Ausgrid has revealed a plan to slash jobs, close local depots, axe apprenticeships, sell off state-of-the-art training facilities and outsource call centres all in the lead-up to the privatisation of the company. The state government is committed to selling off 50.4% of Ausgrid on a 99-year lease in 2016.
Socialist Alliance poster.

This is part of a series of articles detailing the policies and platform the Socialist Alliance will be taking to the Federal election.

In an embarrassing twist in one of the few prosecutions to come from the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will drop a blackmail charge against Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) organiser John Lomax. ACT DPP Jon White confirmed his office would offer no evidence against Lomax when he next appears in court on October 19.
While the whole globe 鈥 from polar regions to the equator 鈥 has experienced record-breaking high temperatures, a small part of the Earth has experienced the opposite. Scientists say both are indications of the dangerous affects of climate change. In September, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were the hottest ever recorded in the 135 years since records have been kept.
The New South Wales government is preparing a fire sale of state-owned properties around the Sydney Harbour foreshore, on the pretext of funding an upgrade of the Circular Quay ferry wharves. Premier Mike Baird announced on September 28 that government-owned hotels and office buildings would be sold to raise $200 million for the renovation project.

South America鈥檚 largest country, Brazil, has been rocked in recent months by a political crisis, partly fuelled by mass protests calling for the removal of centre-left President Dilma Rousseff. The protests come as the country officially moves into recession, with Brazil鈥檚 economy expected to contract by 2% this year. Brazil has been governed by a Workers鈥 Party (PT)-led coalition for over a decade, firstly under Luiz Ignacio 鈥淟ula鈥 da Silva and now Dilma, as she is commonly known.

Death to deregulation banner.

The new Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham announced on October 1 that he has no plans to reintroduce legislation to deregulate university fees this year: the key words in that statement are 鈥渢his year鈥.

On September 21 the federal government released a Radicalisation Awareness Kit. The kit consists of a 32-page booklet that links environmental activism, 鈥渁lternative music鈥 and terrorism. Most prominently the case study of a young woman named Karen has been shared widely on social media. While Karen鈥檚 story starts off excitingly enough with university politics, direct action to protect the environment and alternative music, sadly in the end Karen sells out her activist ideals and joins an NGO.
I was asked to speak today about my perspective on abortion law reform in NSW as a medical student. I realised that my perspective on this 鈥 even though it鈥檚 fairly well informed 鈥 actually can鈥檛 be separated at all from my perspective as a young woman in NSW, especially a young woman who, dare I say it, has sex.

Greens MLC and spokesperson for women Mehreen Faruqi launched her bill to remove abortion from the NSW Crimes Act on September 28, International Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. Faruqi said that there needed to be a campaign to 鈥渂ust the myths surrounding abortion鈥.