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Port Melville approval overturned by Federal Court

The Federal Court has overturned the federal government’s decision to allow a $180 million deep sea port on Melville Island near Darwin without an environmental assessment.

Approval of the Port Melville oil and gas marine supply base on the banks of the near pristine Apsley Strait was reversed on October 21 after legal action by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) on behalf of Environment Centre NT (ECNT).

The decision means the operation of the base at Port Melville now has no Commonwealth approval and all operations must cease.  

The Knitting Nannas’ ‘Great NannArrest’

In a coordinated effort on United Nations Day on October 24, the Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG) made long-overdue citizens’ arrests of some of the biggest climate criminals in the land.

“The Great NannArrest” involved citizen’s arrests of MPs, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his eastern Sydney electorate office.

When they found the PM missing in action at his Edgecliff office, they arrested another Malcolm — a man wearing a mask.

Rallies against systemic violence against Aboriginal people

A defiant action was organised on October 22 to protest the recent murder in custody of Wayne “Fella” Morrison.

Morrison died at Royal Adelaide Hospital on September 26, three days after a beating by prison guards at Adelaide’s Yatala Labour Prison left him brain dead.

Baird sells Ausgrid, community loses out

The NSW Coalition has sold 50.4% of the publicly-owned power distribution network Ausgrid to a consortium of AustralianSuper and IFM Investors. It is spinning it as a "win" for the mums and dads. The reality is otherwise. Without public ownership of energy, we have very little chance of moving swiftly to more sustainable options, as the climate science demands.

Judge: Legal to tell bigots to ‘fuck off’

Charges of offensive language against three protesters at a Community Action Against Homophobia protest against NSW Christian Democrat politician Fred Nile in September last year have been dismissed after a year-long court battle.

On October 25, all charges and fines against Cat Rose, Patrick Wright and April Holcombe were dismissed after a judge ruled that chanting “fuck Fred Nile” and “fuck off bigots” through a loudspeaker does not constitute offensive behaviour.

Sex workers’ profession no longer affects sentences

The Victorian Sentencing Manual, which acts as a guide to sentencing in all Victorian jurisdictions, now says a sex worker’s profession should have no impact on the sentencing of sex offenders who target them. The manual previously suggested that sex workers were less vulnerable in cases of sexual assault than other victims due to the nature of their work.

Companies don't give a shit

Ultimately, the only way to ensure a secure future for jobs is to replace the whole capitalist system with one in which human need is prioritised above corporate profits.

Nurses union: Keep Maitland Hospital public

The NSW government wants to privatise hospitals in Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral. But people are fighting back. Brett Holmes, general secretary of NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, lays out the arguments.

Women a majority in new ACT parliament

For the first time in ACT history, the majority of politicians elected to the Legislative Assembly are women. The final results revealed 52% of the ACT's politicians, or 13 out of 25, were women.

The final result of the election for the expanded 25-seat Assembly, held on October 15, was announced by Electoral Commissioner Phil Green on October 26. The make-up of the parliament will be Labor 12 members, the Liberals 11 and the Greens two.

Melbourne public housing site to be redeveloped with private units

The Huttonham Estate in Preston was one of Victoria’s first public housing estates when it was built in the 1940s.

Once home to 60 families, the houses were demolished five years ago and the land has been untouched and vacant ever since.

Now the Victorian government has revealed plans to build 68 public housing units and an unknown number of privately-owned dwellings on the land.

Housing groups say the land should be used for its intended purpose of housing low-income residents amid skyrocketing property prices in Melbourne.

Venezuela’s communes form the front line of a difficult revolutionary struggle

Building the Commune
By George Ciccariello-Maher
Verso Books, 2016

Every commune is different, George Ciccariello-Maher says in Building the Commune, but “the coffee is always too sweet, and the process is always difficult, endlessly messy and unpredictable in its inescapable creativity”.

UN rejects blockade of Cuba, again, as US abstains for first time

In a historic step toward lifting the blockade on Cuba, the United States abstained Wednesday in the United Nations General Assembly vote, unanimously calling for the end of the Cold War measure for the 25th consecutive year.

"The United States has always voted against this resolution," said US representative to the UN Samantha Power. "Today, the United States will abstain."