Up to two million workers shut down Kolkata
In the lead-up to the Left Front’s electoral launch on 3 February, I was warned by comrades and taxi drivers alike that traffic would be bedlam. Working class people from all over West Bengal, India’s fourth most populous state, were descending on Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground in a show...CONTINUE READING
The fight for abortion rights in Argentina
In Argentina, abortions are legal only if a pregnant person’s life is deemed to be in danger, or if a pregnancy can be proved to be the result of rape. As a result, between 350,000 and 500,000 women undergo illegal abortions each year. Between 45,000 and 65,000 are hospitalised annually du...CONTINUE READING
Abortion finally decriminalised in Queensland
The Queensland parliament has passed a bill striking all references to abortion from the criminal code. Under new legislation, women can access an abortion on request during the first 22 weeks of pregnancy and with the consent of two health practitioners after that time. This move is long...CONTINUE READING
The failure of service privatisation
The Australian Council of Social Service and Choice magazine recently commissioned a study into the effects of privatisation on “human services”. They found that, far from achieving efficiency, opening social services to the market has been disastrous. Surveying vocational education and tr...CONTINUE READING
More horror for children in Australia’s gulags
Children on Nauru are exhibiting signs of resignation syndrome, a rare mental disorder born from extreme trauma. The physiological basis of the illness is unclear. What is known is that traumatised children, including those caught in the horror of immigration limbo or who live without hope...CONTINUE READING
Paedophile protector Peter Hollingworth’s $350,000 annual pension
Peter Hollingworth, when serving as archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s, repeatedly failed to discipline child sexual abusers in churches and schools. In one example, the paedophile John Elliott remained a priest at St Barnabas Anglican Church in Sunnybank until retirement – despite both E...CONTINUE READING
A fight for abortion rights in Queensland
Queensland Labor has proposed a bill, to be moved in October, that will remove abortion from the criminal code. The 1899 legislation in effect today contains penalties of seven years, 14 years or even life imprisonment for women who unlawfully terminate pregnancies and for people who assis...CONTINUE READING
‘A fight we must not back down from’ – Oaky North coal miners take on Glencore
Tieri is a company town – established in the early ’80s by mining bosses who wanted a workforce on hand in a remote part of Queensland. Most of the 1,600 or so people who live there today have something to do with Glencore’s coal mines in Oaky Creek. Lachlan has worked at Oaky Creek as a c...CONTINUE READING
Griffith University restructures a disaster for students and staff
Griffith University has introduced sweeping restructuring this year, with more to come. The changes are an attempt to boost profits at the expense of education quality and accessibility. Without student consultation, and ignoring staff concerns, management implemented a trimester system in...CONTINUE READING