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Write on: Letters to the editor

Educational feudalism Julia Gillard sure wants to take the neoliberal stick to public education and parents. Firstly, impoverished parents who find it difficult to send their children to school every day will become even more impoverished by

No to war spending

On August 27, outside a "Defence White Paper community consultation", Stop the War Coalition held a protest. Inside, peace activists made up about 40% of an audience of about 100.

Small victory for G20 protesters

A county court judge reduced the sentences of four G20 protesters on appeal on August 28. The four, along with other activists, received severe penalties last April in relation to altercations with police at a protest against the G20 meeting held in Melbourne in November 2006.

Gillard pledges to keep ABCC

Building unions, legal representatives and building workers met with ALP parliamentarians in Canberra on August 25 to lobby for the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

On the box

Black Coffee: Gold in Your Cup — Coffee drinkers are questioning the origin of their coffee, the living conditions of those who produce it, and the misery of the slaves who were in the original coffee trade. SBS, Friday, September 5,

The making of "the news"

Flat Earth News: An Award-winning Reporter Exposes Falsehood, Distortion & Propaganda in the Global Media
By Nick Davies
Chatto & Windus, 2008
408 pages, $54.95 (hb)

Brisbane rallies to save Mary River

A busload of “Save the Mary River” activists from Brisbane will join an expected 1000-plus protesters to form a human chain at the location of the planned Traveston Dam on the Mary River on September 6. The rally will be part of GetUp’s climate torch relay, in support of actions to address climate change.

Communities demand action on dying Murray

Among the crowd of some 2000 protesters in front of South Australia’s Parliament House on August 1, eco-activists in jeans and windcheaters mingled with people in Akubra hats and Driza-Bone jackets. Mentions of Labor Party Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, federal water minister Penny Wong and South Australian Premier Mike Rann drew sustained jeers.

UWS students campaign for better education

The University of Western Sydney Student Association (UWSSA) has launched a new campaign for better quality education, with speak-outs, information stalls and open forums that are drawing many students into action.

'Historic' Ballarat agreement boosts NTEU strategy

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has finalised the first agreement in a new round of collective bargaining in universities. The University of Ballarat agreement gives a 10.9% pay increase over 15 months.

Call for moratorium on water licenses

The NSW Greens have called for moratorium on the issuing of water licenses in the Murray-Darling Basin until a thorough independent study of the cumulative impact of mining on water resources in the basin has been made.

Peru: Indigenous rebellion in the Amazon

Peruvian President Alan Garcia suffered a major political setback on August 22 after Congress voted 66-29 in favour of repealing controversial presidential decrees that would have facilitated the privatisation of communal indigenous lands.