A meeting of kings
French president Emmanuel Macron is very short. Like Napoleon. He is also very young. Like Napoleon. And Macron’s adoration for Napoleon is profound. He is the most king-like leader the French republic has ever had. So where better for Macron to take his guest of honour, Donald Trump, than...CONTINUE READING
Liberals propose new higher education attacks – it’s time for students to take to the streets again
Students are facing yet another attack from the federal government. If the Liberals pass their latest education package, announced Monday by education minister Simon Birmingham, fees will be increased and higher education funding will be slashed. The government has proposed a 7.5 percent f...CONTINUE READING
This election was not about sexism
Donald Trump is an unreconstructed misogynist and a threat to women’s rights. But it is outlandish to attribute the US election result to sexism. Attempts to do so are designed to excuse Clinton. Van Badham, who recently wrote a piece praising Clinton without qualification, wrote of her he...CONTINUE READING
Van Badham’s defence of Hillary Clinton is insufferable right wing crap
Most defences of Hillary Clinton start by conceding two obvious realities: first, that she is deeply unpopular, and second, that she has no credibility among the left. Because of the reluctance of many progressive people to support Clinton, the liberal press has felt compelled to devote mu...CONTINUE READING
These welfare ‘reforms’ are like curing oxygen dependence with suffocation
The government has announced that it’s going to get tough on welfare. Again. Earlier this month, with the help of Labor, it waved through an omnibus bill that will cut payments to more than 2.2 million people on welfare, among other attacks. This time, carers and single parents are in the...CONTINUE READING
Students can’t trust the ALP
Two years ago, I stood with dozens of other student activists in the north courtyard at Melbourne University and witnessed Bill Shorten declare his opposition to the Liberals’ attacks on education. For good measure he signed a pledge: “I Bill Shorten pledge that the ALP will block proposed...CONTINUE READING
The fight for education must continue
Education minister Chris Pyne won’t give up on fee deregulation. Despite overwhelming opposition from students, staff and the public, he remains fiercely committed to allowing universities to control the cost of education. He also wants to cut government funding by 20 percent. The impact o...CONTINUE READING
University deregulation defeated – but the push for a US-style system continues
Bringing in a US-style higher education model has proven more difficult than education minister Christopher Pyne and PM Tony Abbott had hoped. For the second time in four months, Pyne’s bill to deregulate university fees has been voted down by the senate. This is a victory for students. Fr...CONTINUE READING
Boral picks a fight it can’t win at Barangaroo
Workers at the Barangaroo hotel and casino construction site in Sydney’s inner city have had an important victory. About 100 concrete placers employed by De Martin and Gasparini, a subsidiary of multinational corporation Boral, put down tools on 13 February in response to an attack on wage...CONTINUE READING