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Don’t be fooled by Mike Baird’s sell-off spin

The other night the phone rang. I picked it up and a recorded voice said something like “The NSW Premier Mike Baird isn’t going to lease the state’s electricity assets. He’s not going to sell them. He is going to create jobs. Don’t be fooled.” Indeed, I thought. This happened on the same day that the Hunter Valley’s unemployment rate topped 10% and set a 10-year record. The link between unemployment and privatisation is so obvious that Baird can’t say the “P” word. Gladys Berejiklian, Baird’s Minister for the Hunter, is also coy about the “P” word.

Barack Obama's plans for Cuba

A second round of talks between US and Cuban diplomats began in Washington on February 27, with the aim of restoring diplomatic relations. US President Barack Obama announced, in what he termed the most significant Cuba policy shift in more than 50 years, that he will pursue diplomatic relations and urge Congress to dismantle the US blockade of Cuba.

Indigenous groups call for water justice in Murray-Darling Basin

An alliance of 46 Sovereign First Nations from across the Murray Darling Basin has proposed a new partnership between government and traditional owners to ensure key reforms on Aboriginal ownership and management of water entitlements are fulfilled.

Greece wins deal, breathing space, but made to pay high cost

Greece’s new SYRIZA government submitted its list of proposed economic reforms to the Eurogroup (the finance ministers of eurozone nations) on February 23 as a precondition for its international creditors to approve a four-month loan extension. The deal was signed on February 20. With Greece’s existing loan arrangement expiring on February 28 and bankruptcy looming, a last-minute deal was finally agreed after three weeks of intense negotiations. The talks had been characterised by daily — sometimes hourly — twists and turns, claims and counterclaims, leaks and threats.

European Left: Greece bridging agreement first step to ending austerity

The SYRIZA government's list of reforms, drawn up as part of its temporary four-month loan extension deal, was accepted by the Eurogroup on February 24. In a February 25 statement, the Party of the European Left (EL) said: "The fight for democracy and against austerity in Europe is far from being finished, but this bridging agreement is a very important first step.

Cyclone Lam hits Aboriginal Communities in NT who now face weeks without housing

Last week, as mainstream media across Australia reported on recovery efforts in Queensland following Cyclone Marcia, thousands of Aboriginal people displaced by a different cyclone in the Northern Territory were all but ignored. *** DONATE TO THE CYCLONE LAM DISASTER SUPPORT CAMPAIGN ***
Rapper Lady Lash with her son, Thomas.

Parents Lady Lash and Provocalz rap about new stolen generation

Lady Lash says it was her own family's trauma that inspired her to record "Stolen", a song about Indigenous children being taken from their parents. "My grandmother, she went through a lot of the stuff where she was hidden," says the mother-of-three, who recorded the song in collaboration with a fellow Aboriginal rapper and parent, Provocalz.