Come Saturday night, most political parties in Australia will be winding up their public campaigning until the next elections. The rank-and-file members who did their stint of letterboxing and polling booth duty will mostly retreat into inactivity, leaving “politics” once again to the professional politicians. No wonder so many people are cynical about politics — in their experience, it’s about politicians doing it by themselves and largely for themselves.
732
The housing affordability crisis is serious enough for both Labor and the Coalition to promise home-buyers financial support in the present election. According to official statistics it has never been harder for first home buyers to acquire a home.
The 17th Ibero-American summit, held in Santiago, Chile, on November 8-10 brought together Latin American nations as well as Spain and Portugal. It was also the scene of a diplomatic incident that gave fresh fodder to the current campaign in the international corporate media aimed at demonising the government of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez.
Voting Howard out on November 24 will not be enough to defeat Work Choices. However, on the choice of alternative governments, it is important that we preference Labor ahead of the Coalition, to elect a Labor government. And if we vote for the Socialist Alliance first and the Greens second, we send the most powerful message that any vote can, that we want all of Howards IR laws abolished, not just tinkered with. But even the election of a Labor government will not be the end of it. If we are to finally bury Work Choices once and for all, we will have to continue the struggle.
With the ALP likely to form the next federal government, its important to scutinise its promises and policies. After 11 years of conservative neoliberal rule, Labor wants our vote even though it promises more of the same.
Palestine
For a self-proclaimed committed leftist, Philip Mendes (Write On, GLW#730) displays a remarkable right-wing capacity for slander and muddying the waters of debate. Presumably, the leftist Mendes does not supported the Frech colonialists
Here are a few words to get you thinking: Malcolm Turnbull. Marginal seat. Queer rights. Hot potato. Yes, these words may seem slightly obscure but are guaranteed to be nowhere near as confusing as political stances towards gay rights issues in the fast approaching elections.
Charges against Izhar Ul-Haque have been dropped after a judge found on November 12 that ASIO officers had deliberately committed the offences of false imprisonment and kidnapping. This comes after a series of abusive charges against several people, with a senior police officer saying that police were instructed to charge as many people as possible to test the limits of new terrorism legislation.
Following Venezuelan President Hugo Chavezs call to not leave the streets for one single day of the campaign to approve the proposed constitutional reforms in a referendum on December 2 that would significantly deepen Venezuelas transformation towards socialism, the Yes campaign has kicked into gear.
The Climate Change Coalition is a new political party. Green Left Weeklys Zane Alcorn spoke to CCC candidate Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, who is running for the Senate in New South Wales.
Iraq — The Logic of Withdrawal
By Anthony Arnove
The New Press, 2007
178 pages, $26.00 (pb)
By Anthony Arnove
The New Press, 2007
178 pages, $26.00 (pb)
This month marks the third anniversary of the massive US military assault on the rebel Iraqi city of Fallujah, 55 kilometres west of Baghdad. A year after the US assault, the New York Times described Fallujah as virtually a police state. Little has changed in the two years since. The October 14 Chicago Tribune described Fallujah as a place under 24-hour lockdown, surrounded by berms and barbed wire.
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