Actions by construction giant John Holland have led to 40 workers being sacked from the Melbourne Westgate Reconstruction project because they did not accept an agreement that would mean they earned less than the standard industry rate.
Australia
Across university campuses, students are organising in support of Palestine. A big focus will be Palestine Solidarity Week, an international week of action beginning on March 30.
More than 4000 signatures on a petition in support of Gaza were handed over to ALP federal MP Julia Irwin outside her Cecil Hills office on March 7. They were collected over the last two months. Irwin has pledged to table the petition in parliament.
"Democracy, yes! Dictatorship, no!", chanted protesters outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney on March 4, where visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was staying. The protest was organised by the Korean Resource Centre.
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.
One of the most prominent Murri campaigners in Brisbane, longtime social justice activist, Sam Watson, will contest Queensland Premier Anna Blighs seat of South Brisbane at the March 21 state election. Watson is running as the candidate for the Socialist Alliance.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on February 18 showed that retail sales increased by 0.8% (seasonally adjusted) in the December quarter.
The key United Nations report used as the basis for climate change policies in many countries, including Australia, seriously underestimated the dangers of global warming, one of its leading compilers has warned.
On February 13, Australian troops killed five children and injured at least two other adult civilians in a night-time “operation” in Afghanistan’s southern Oruzgan province.
Looking back at the growth of the climate movement, it is clear we have made significant progress.
Less than a year ago, it was widely held among mainstream economists that the world economy was doing fine, and that, in the face of any eventual problems, Australia would be secure.
Its no secret that students are increasingly working late shifts after school to get by.
Such is the outrage caused by Israels latest attack on Gaza in December-January that even some local governments in New South Wales have passed, or are considering, motions condemning the attack and calling on the Australian government to ban the sale of any military material to Israel.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) plans to shed thousands of full-time jobs and drastically increase outsourcing in areas including debt collection, tax refund management and business activity statements as part of a new efficiency drive, according to the February 13 Australian Financial Review.
On February 13, more than 100 people rallied outside the Moorabool Street 7-Eleven in the heart of Geelong, Victoria.
ADELAIDE South Australian public school and TAFE teachers have been awarded a 3.75% interim pay rise by the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) the first pay rise for SA teachers in 16 months.
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