Adani’s ‘job creation’ lie
“Don’t take my coal job and I won’t take your soy latte” is the slogan on a bumper sticker seen recently in Townsville, Queensland. The sticker was made by supporters of Adani’s proposed mega coal mine at nearby Carmichael, referring to the (apparently all soy latte-drinking) environmental...CONTINUE READING
Was Brighton killer’s anger fuelled by unjust imprisonment?
In the wake of the Brighton, Melbourne, siege, when lone gunman Yacqub Khayre killed a hotel worker and held a woman hostage in the name of ISIS and its rival al-Qaeda, the law and order hounds have been off the leash. Australia has already passed some of the most extensive anti-terror leg...CONTINUE READING
It’s champagne for the bosses as workers are shafted
Australia has now experienced 26 years without a recession, a world record. But the rising tide is not lifting all boats. Corporate Australia is enjoying a profits bonanza while workers are under pressure on every front. The national accounts published this week show that, in the first thr...CONTINUE READING
Barefaced lies as government moves to deport thousands of refugees
The Australian government is escalating its attacks on refugees. On 20 May, immigration minister Peter Dutton announced that 7,500 people would face immediate deportation should they fail to complete asylum claims by 1 October. Clearly taking inspiration from Donald Trump, whose administra...CONTINUE READING
Doyle’s army: mayor wants more guns in Melbourne
In the wake of the Manchester bombing, Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle has called for Victorian police to be armed with assault rifles. Doyle’s controversial statements, made in an interview on 3AW, shocked right wing presenter Neil Mitchell. “You can’t have a bloke on point duty or walking d...CONTINUE READING
Constitutional change: symbolism won’t cut it
If one thing is clear from the “Uluru Statement From the Heart” issued after a large Indigenous conference in late May, it is that mere symbolic constitutional recognition of their existence will not satisfy Indigenous people. The Uluru Statement reflects, in some measure, their desire for...CONTINUE READING
Hanson supporters sook over mural
The side exterior wall of Newtone Betta Home Living in Footscray is well muraled. One orange-faced character, shown in four stages of life, could be straight out of Motörhead. He goes from moustache to goatee to pencil mo then full angular styling, with a constant full black mullet as his...CONTINUE READING
Comedy Company at the Magistrates’ Court as fascists wait for hearing
“It’s no different to what was on the Paul Hogan show or the Comedy Company.” Steven Joyce is standing on the footpath outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. He’s here to support far right United Patriots Front (UPF) members Blair Cottrell, Chris Shortis and Neil Erikson. The trio have...CONTINUE READING
Rental crisis shows need for public housing
A rent crisis is pushing thousands of people into poverty and to the suburban fringes of the east coast capitals, particularly Sydney and Melbourne. According to SGS Economics and Planning, a consultancy firm, pretty much every suburb in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane is “extremely unaffor...CONTINUE READING