The recently released independent Gonski review into school funding reaffirms what many teachers and parents already knew. Current school funding arrangements are dysfunctional and inequitable and the failure to reform the way we resource our public schools has come at an immense social and economic cost.
Gonski鈥檚 recommendations are far from perfect and recommend continued public funding of elite private schools. But they do highlight the need for an immediate injection of funds into public schools.
The problem
915
The gas industry is fond of saying that burning gas for energy will help tackle climate change. Australian burning coal seam gas (CSG) results in 50% less greenhouse gas emissions than coal. bump up that figure to 70%.
Newly appointed foreign minister Bob Carr said : 鈥淎s [NSW] Premier, I never saw a demonstration that didn鈥檛 hurt the side that mounted it. And I was never persuaded by a noisy crowd with a few placards.鈥
But on March 2, the same week he was appointed, the federal government gave a powerful confirmation of the power of protests.
March 11 was the first anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in north-east Japan and the meltdowns, explosions and fires at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The impacts of the nuclear disaster have been horrendous. More than 100,000 people are still homeless and some will never be able to return.
Homeless, jobless, separated from friends and family, the toll on people's health and mental well-being has been significant 鈥 one indication being a sharp rise in suicide rates. One farmer鈥檚 suicide note simply read: 鈥淚 wish there wasn鈥檛 a nuclear plant.鈥
released the statement below on March 16. * * * Today marks the launch of 鈥淏eat the Blockade鈥 鈥 a day of action on April 5 to protest the and raise vital funds for its work to continue.
Over 200 people attended a coal seam gas community forum in Oakdale on March 11, packing out the Workers鈥 Club. Local residents organised the meeting to tell the community about CSG development in their suburb.
released the statement below on March 16.
* * *
Thursday March 15 2012 was a big day for the coal seam gas (CSG) issue in our state parliament.
In the morning a by Jeremy Buckingham of the Greens 鈥 to place a moratorium on all CSG projects in the state, other than the Camden production field.
Bob Katter鈥檚 homophobia is abhorrent, says socialist candidate
The Socialist Alliance Queensland released the statement below on March 15.
* * *
Liam Flenady, Socialist Alliance candidate for the seat of South Brisbane in the March 24 Queensland elections, has slammed the TV ad by Bob Katter's Australian Party (KAP) that attacked Liberal National Party (LNP) leader Campbell Newman over the equal marriage issue. "The advert is homophobic and abhorrent to all decent human values," Flenady said.
released the statement below on March 14.
* * *
Forest Rescue has been waging a non violent direct action battle with the Western Australia state government鈥檚 Forest Products Commission (FPC) in order to secure the last remaining numbat habitat in the southwest 鈥 the Warrup Forest near Bridgetown in WA.
The forest is one of the last remaining intact colonies of the numbat, of which less than a thousand remain in the wild. The numbat was originally found across the whole of southern Australia.
The released the statement below on March 15.
* * *
Billions of dollars 鈥 desperately needed for public health, education, transport, closing the shameful gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and a real response to the climate change crisis 鈥 will be wasted if the Gillard Labor government hands down another 1% cut in the corporate tax rate.
- Previous page
- Page 4
- Next page