What’s left in the ALP?
With a Bill Shorten ALP government likely to take office this year, will any opposition come from Labor’s left to the party’s right wing policies? Don’t count on it. Last year ended with the ALP national conference in Adelaide. With the Liberals in crisis, and with an election-winning lead...CONTINUE READING
Global political turmoil and its echo in Australia
The turmoil in the Liberal Party highlighted by the downfall of Malcolm Turnbull has been the most important development in Australian politics over the last year. It reflects that politics here is catching up with international developments (the rise of Trump, the surge in support for the...CONTINUE READING
A socialist electoral campaign like none in living memory
For the last two months, hundreds of socialist activists have been pounding the pavements of Melbourne’s northern suburbs – knocking on doors, handing out leaflets at train stations and shopping centres, putting up posters and letterboxing homes. There hasn’t been a socialist electoral cam...CONTINUE READING
Student strike offers a way forward for climate action
Thousands of students walked out of school to demand action on climate change on 30 November, defying prime minister Scott Morrison’s argument that schools not be “turned into parliaments” and for there to be “less activism in schools”. Protests took place in all mainland state capitals an...CONTINUE READING
‘It’s a victory of hope over cynicism’
I’m not usually stuck for words. But to be sitting on 7.4 percent is pretty incredible. We started with a candidate who had never lived in the area, who couldn’t find his way over Pascoe Vale Road – or rather, I could find my way too easily over Pascoe Vale Road: “Oh there it is again, wha...CONTINUE READING
Victorian election shows the potential for a genuine left alternative
In an age when governments are lucky to inspire anything other than contempt among the mass of people, the Victorian Labor government gained a significant swing in the 24 November election. The ALP will likely increase its lower house majority from 45 seats to more than 55 (of 88) and is o...CONTINUE READING
Australia’s poverty disgrace
Two reports published in October make clear the widening gulf between rich and poor: luxury at the one end, barely getting by at the other. Investment bank Credit Suisse’s latest global wealth report revealed that there are nearly 3,000 super rich in Australia – those with wealth of more t...CONTINUE READING
Yindjibarndis vs. Twiggy: ‘We will make you pay dearly’
The Yindjibarndi people are no strangers to struggle. After a 14-year battle with Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), they are one step closer to gaining compensation from a mining company — a first in Australian history. Initiated in 2003, the case is one of the longes...CONTINUE READING
‘Yes’ victory has changed the game
What better way to celebrate the first anniversary of the victorious “yes” vote for marriage equality than by watching the Liberal Party and the Christian right’s handling of the Religious Freedom Review. From Howard to Morrison, the right have positioned themselves as valiant fighters for...CONTINUE READING