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Kevin Rudd should overturn the ALP’s policy of supporting the ban on same-sex marriage.
On October 15, on a vote of five to three, a Sydney City Council planning committee voted to send the development applications (DAs) for the distribution of mX, City Weekly and 9 to 5 to the next council meeting for approval.
The Book that Shook the World — The Little Red School Book has been described as "essentially a manual for kids on how to challenge the authority of the school system". SBS, Friday, November 2, 8.30pm. Australia by Numbers: Brewarrina 2839 —
On October 21, the day of the “great debate”, Labor leader Kevin Rudd announced Labor’s latest policy to help “working families”. He promised, if elected, to increase the federal government rebate on child care costs from 30% to 50% and to pay the rebate quarterly rather than annually. This promise stands alongside Labor’s pledge to allocate $2.5 billion dollars to allow “working families” to claim 50% of educational costs up to $750 per year for primary school kids, or $1500 for high schoolers. And of course, let’s not forget the “education revolution”.
The movement to oppose genetically modified crops and foods in Australia received international support for its campaign with the October tour of the Consumers’ Union of Japan (CUJ).
The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq
By Patrick Cockburn
Verso, 2006
229 pages, $49.95 (hb)
Guy Pearse — the speechwriter for the federal Coalition environment minister from 1997 to 2000 who blew the whistle last year on the Howard government’s use of Australia’s biggest polluters to write its greenhouse gas emissions policy — visited Melbourne on October 24 as part of an east-coast speaking tour.
On September 21 about 200 people attended a forum on Sri Lanka organised by People for Human Rights and Racial Equality, a group comprising Sri Lankans of different ethnic groups living in Australia.
It was when they played Kermit the Frog singing The Rainbow Connection at Gail Lord’s funeral that I started crying.
In the lead-up to the federal election, your guide to what’s really happening behind the spin of the official campaign.
On October 25, 20 people attended a forum on the current situation in Burma. The meeting was organised by the socialist youth organisation Resistance, and featured two human rights activists from Burma — Benya Aye and Sujauddin Karimuddin. The
Vladimir Villegas, Venezuela’s foreign affairs vice-minister for Asia, Oceania and the Middle East, met with members and affiliates of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network at Casa Latina on October 22. Villegas, who had just completed a week of meetings with government leaders in the Pacific about how Venezuela could provide development assistance for their ailing economies and environments, spoke about the progress of the Bolivarian revolution, and outlined Venezuela’s plan for strengthening cooperation with the countries of Asia Pacific based on solidarity, respect for sovereignty and collaboration in the areas of energy diversification, health services and education, in particular. The next day, Villegas was joined by solidarity activists and representatives of other Latin American governments at a tribute held at the bust of Simon Bolivar in the Plaza Iberoamerica.