In the wake of the victory of the No campaign in the referendum, racists and right-wingers of all sorts have taken special delight pointing out that many Labor-voting working-class suburban electorates voted No.
This article is based on a speech delivered at a Palestine solidarity rally in Melbourne on 15 October.
The fox is in charge of the chook house. Dracula is guarding the blood bank. And the CEO of one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world will preside over the big United Nations climate conference at the end of this year.
While most of us stress about soaring rents and energy bills, petrol back over $2 a litre and the lack of bulk-billing doctors, spare a thought for the filthy rich. The latest annual “Rich List” published by the Australian Financial Review, featuring the country’s 200 wealthiest citizens, gives us some idea of their preoccupations.
There are five main themes of my article on the industrial campaign at Sydney University, each of which is disputed by the Rank and File Action (RAFA) group in its self-justification.
Sydney University is one of the biggest employers in the country and has some of the deepest pockets. Management reported an incredible $1 billion surplus just last year. What happens at the university industrially matters across the country. Sydney workers’ history of consistent industrial action has won some of the best conditions at any Australian university—until now.