Trevor Grant passed away on March 6, after a long battle with .
Trevor was well known as a sports reporter, particularly for his reporting on AFL, for many Melbourne newspapers. While the mainstream media has focused on that aspect of his life, what was not mentioned was the contribution he made to the community via 3CR, a community radio station in Melbourne, and as convenor of the Tamil Refugee Council.
The West Papuan Friendship Mural in the Darwin CBD, which has become a poignant symbol of solidarity between the people of West Papua and Australia, was half painted over on March 4 after strong pressure from the Indonesian Consulate.
The mural was painted in June 2015 as part of a week of action in solidarity the West Papuan struggle for independence from Indonesia.
鈥淲ater is life!鈥 was the cry heard throughout Washington, DC on March 10 as thousands of people聽聽for Indigenous rights and the sovereignty of native nations, that day.
United Firefighters Union (UFU) members working in the Corporate and Technical Division of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) have voted overwhelmingly for a campaign of bans in support of their enterprise agreement campaign.
The Corporate and Technical Division includes non-firefighting employees of the MFB, such as payroll and finance staff and computer technicians.
President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order temporarily banning all refugees, as well as people from six majority-Muslim countries, from entering the United States, said on March 7.
In contrast to the fanfare that accompanied Trump鈥檚 rollout of January鈥檚 ill-fated travel ban, the March 6 signing was a decidedly low-key event. Trump signed the executive order out of public view.
On March 8, women around the world gave themselves a day off 鈥 from the system.
Fans from Western Sydney Wanderers A-League football team distributed hundreds of rainbow flags to those attending the club鈥檚 March 5 match against Adelaide United. The move came after two weeks of controversy sparked by a banner raised by some Wanderers fans during their team鈥檚 1-0 victory over cross-town rivals Sydney FC, which was widely condemned in the media and among many fans for being homophobic.
Generating electricity using renewable energy is now cheaper than using fossil fuels, but mining companies, banks and governments in Australia continue to invest significantly more in coal, oil and gas than wind and solar.聽
Sex workers and their allies rallied for law reform and an end to stigma in Brisbane on March 8. It was the first public rally held by Respect Inc, a peer-led rights and support organisation for sex workers. Twenty people wearing red, holding signs and displaying red umbrellas gathered in Queens Garden and marched to Parliament House.
Speaking out against Queensland's 17-year-old sex work laws and chanting, 鈥淣othing about us without us,鈥 workers demanded the Labor state government consult with them to ensure legal changes that would decriminalise their work.
Jesse Lee* is organising the Sydney leg of the March in March protest on March 25. She lives in Sydney鈥檚 west and is the primary carer for one of her children. She has first-hand experience of the welfare cuts and the vagaries of the disability support scheme.聽
Lee put her hand up to organise the Sydney march because she strongly believes that protests are important and they work. She also believes that now is not the time to be quiet.
Ecuador will return to the polls on April 2 after a first round presidential vote failed to deliver a decisive victory for Lenin Moreno, the candidate seeking to continue outgoing President Rafael Correa鈥檚 pro-poor 鈥淐itizens鈥 Revolution鈥. 聽
Moreno now faces the challenge of ensuring Ecuador does not join the list of countries in the region where the left has recently lost at the ballot box. 聽
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has signed new work arrangements with Japanese energy giant Inpex covering the $34 billion Ichthys LNG project, off the north-west coast of Western Australia.
They include the implementation of a diversity program, the promotion of Australian crews on certain support vessels and an enhanced dispute settlement process with a dedicated conciliator to help resolve potential disputes.