Delegates arriving at the Australia-China Minerals Investment Summit in Darwin on May 17 were met with about 20 protesters. The group had a strong message for those going into the convention centre: 鈥淪top uranium mining, lock the gates on shale oil and gas, go solar!鈥
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The North West Alliance released this statement on May 23.
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A broad range of farmers and community members concerned about the impacts of new mining and coal seam gas proposals across NSW north-west are expressing their support for the Gomeroi native title claimants in their recent stance to halt all mining in the region.
The Gomeroi native title claimants are the latest group to publicly oppose coal seam gas in the north-west, joining a range of farmers, town residents, conservationists and church ministers in the battle.
Socialist activists are involved in political struggles across many different issues. From equal marriage rights to defending education, refugee rights to the environment, socialists help organise and lead these campaigns, and seek to win important political reforms around them.
It might seem contradictory for socialists to fight for reforms. Since socialists oppose capitalism and the capitalist state, why is it that they campaign for measures that encourage the expansion of the capitalist state?
The rising pressures on the costs of living for Australian households, in particular caused by soaring electricity prices, will likely be a feature battleground in the September federal election.
The two big parties have long been scuffling over who is to blame for an issue that severely affects most Australian households and is a huge source of discontent as a result.
As part of its federal election campaign this year, the Socialist Alliance is calling for the mining industry, the big banks and the energy companies to be put back into public hands, so that they can be run in a way that respects the environment and social justice.
But several other important industries should also be in line for nationalisation under workers' and community control in future.
Australia鈥檚 first Aboriginal parliamentary leader, Adam Giles, announced on May 13 that his government would increase the number of Aboriginal children removed from their families. Concerns that a new stolen generation could be created were putting children at risk, he said.
It鈥檚 been a busy week for discussions of racism. Delta Goodrem re-tweeted a photo of a fan in blackface and was criticised for being racist, Mia Freedman and asked us all to save the word racist for something really important, and we had the blackface discussion all over again.
This statement was released by Socialist Alliance on May 25.
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The Gonski review into school funding showed the need for an immediate injection of funds into public schools.
The independent Gonski review into school funding reaffirms what many teachers and parents already knew. Current school funding arrangements are dysfunctional and inequitable. The failure to reform the way we resource our public schools has come at a big social and economic cost.
Gonski鈥檚 recommendations are far from perfect 鈥 it recommends continued public funding of elite private schools.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme, now to be known as DisabilityCare, has become a central theme of Australia鈥檚 national debate. This is a tribute to the many thousands of people who have campaigned tirelessly for better support for and inclusion of people with disabilities in society.
Jose Maria Aznar, Spain鈥檚 messianically neoliberal former prime minister, announced during a television interview on May 21 that he was ready again to serve his country.
鈥淚 will act in accordance with my responsibility, my conscience, my party and my country, regardless of consequences, have no doubt about that鈥, intoned the Popular Party (PP) leader who took Spain to war in Iraq. Aznar was defeated in the 2004 national election after claiming that the Madrid train bombing was the work of Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA).
I had to spend some time in waiting rooms for medical checkups recently. It was an opportunity to glance through glossy magazines.
In its latest issue, National Geographic magazine has an article entitled 鈥淚s Australia the Face of Climate Change to Come?鈥. It said that after a major spike in extreme weather over the past few years, scientists were looking at 鈥渢he lucky country鈥 as a 鈥渂ellwether for the Earth's changing climate鈥.
It may not be so lucky for us but I guess being a bellwether is useful.
Registrations are now open for the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network鈥檚 (AVSN) next brigade to revolutionary Venezuela. The solidarity tour, to run over December 4-13 this year, will be a special one for the AVSN, the first since the election of President Nicolas Maduro following the death of Hugo Chavez on March 5.
Since 1998, when Chavez was first elected president, the Bolivarian revolution has achieved remarkable things by putting control of Venezuela鈥檚 politics and economy back into the hands of the poor majority.
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