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The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has accused the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) of bullying tactics and using its coercive powers to attack press freedom, in a statement released on February 27.
Q&A’s two-party “balance” The ABC’s Q&A’s format has predictably resulted in a deliberate search for Coalition supporters to achieve audience “balance”. The cause of this problem is the format of Q&A, which is built around politicians of the major parties. This is quite different from the predecessor program Difference of Opinion, which was productive of a much greater panel variety than the sterile two-party context.
The militant actions of the South African dock workers who refused to offload goods from Israeli ships during the Gaza massacre was an important boost for the international solidarity movement.
Eight Nigerian indigenous communities announced on February 19 that they are suing Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Agip and Nigeria National Petroleum for failing to cease gas flaring, which, they describe as “gross injustice and unfairness to host communities”.
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) is locked in dispute with rogue electrical contractor company John Goss, which is pushing a non-union agreement that locks in a four-year wage freeze for apprentices, offers only an 8% pay rise over four years to tradespeople, and tears up the 36-hour working week calendar.
On February 14, Letty Marie Scott (nee Gibson) Nupanunga, of the Anmatyerre nation in Central Australia, passed away, aged 56. Letty was a lifelong campaigner for justice — especially on the issue of black deaths in custody, which touched her life indelibly.
One of the most prominent Murri campaigners in Brisbane, longtime social justice activist, Sam Watson, will contest Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s seat of South Brisbane at the March 21 state election. Watson is running as the candidate for the Socialist Alliance.
A half century ago, a young doctor and Cuban guerilla sought to bring revolution to Bolivia and was brutally murdered for his efforts. Forty years after the death of Che Guevara, hundreds of Cuban doctors have been welcomed to assist Bolivians in establishing a fair and just society.
The only hope for stopping climate change is the political movement fostered by the recent Climate Action Summit and the groups forming all over the country, according to author Clive Hamilton at a February 25 meeting at the University of Western Australia.
Plastics manufacturer Nylex has been placed in the hands of receivers. Nylex is a well-known name — the company produces the iconic Esky, water tanks, wheelie bins, hose and garden fittings, and interior trimmings for car manufacturers.
In a speech to military troops at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina on February 27, US President Barack Obama announced that most of the 142,000 US soldiers in Iraq will be withdrawn by August 2010, leaving behind a “residual force” of 50,000 troops.
After seven-and-a-half years of unjust imprisonment, on February 16, the brothers Hector and Antonio Cerezo were released.