Issue 1244

News

Elections ahead

The proposed law will raise the amount of government funding political parties receive for campaigning purposes while placing tighter restrictions on individual and third-party donations.

Sydney train

Community groups and transport experts have spoken out about the wrong-headedness of dismantling the existing public Sydenham to Bankstown rail line service only to replace it with a privately-run service.

Sydney bus

In a time of climate crisis, Sydney needs to urgently improve its public transport system — not privatise it.

A protest outside BHP's AGM, in Sydney on November 7.

A protest was held outside BHP's annual shareholders meeting, in Sydney on November 7.

Speakers condemned BHP's climate denial and spoke about the devastating impact bushfires are having in Australia.

The rally was called by Extinction Rebellion.

World Resistance Day for Rojava, Sydney, November 3.

Initially known as World Kobanê Day, the day was first observed in November 2014 as a day of international support for the resistance of the people of Kobanê in Rojava who defeated the extremist forces of Islamic State (ISIS).

A protest at the Townsville office of Adani contractor BMD on November 1.

Climate activists protested outside the Townsville office of Adani contractor BMD on November 1, just hours after Prime Minister Scott Morrison threatened to outlaw such secondary boycott campaigns.

A Chile solidarity rally in Sydney on November 2.

Hundreds of people marched through Sydney to show solidarity with Chilean protesters demanding the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera, on November 2.

Casuals occupy office of University of Melbourne Arts dean

It is an open secret that Australian universities are underpaying casual academics. However, casuals and their allies, with the support of union officials, are fighting back by forming union member-led groups such as the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Casuals Network.

A peaceful rally on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, in solidarity with the Rojava Revolution in northern Syria was attacked by Turkish chauvinists on November 3.

Analysis

The Baaka (Darling) River, Wilcannia

The Darling remains the canary in the coal mine for the Murray-Darling Basin.

Gough Whitlam.

Gough Whitlam was a maverick social democrat who believed a foreign power should not be allowed to dictate Australia’s economic and foreign policies. There seems little doubt the US was involved in his sacking.

Protest outside the Brisbane headquarters of Adani contractor GHD Engineering on August 1.

Federal government attempts to silence environmentalists can, in large part, be explained by the successes of the campaign that has stalled Indian mining giant Adani’s Carmichael coal mine from going ahead.

A Stop Adani protest in Brisbane on October 23.

Could Indian mining firm Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, in Central Queensland, become a stranded asset? A number of recent events indicate the answer could be “Yes”.

Moir cartoon

We need to understand Morrison’s attacks on “progressivism” and a “new breed of radical activism” as more than just an attack on our right to protest or the right of investors to decide where to put their cash.

The disastrous results of privatisation, outsourcing and deregulation in the aged care sector have been further exposed in the commission’s report. The aged care system, along with health care in general, should instead be placed under public ownership and control, and made accessible to the whole community.

Brendan Adams from Radio Wilcannia

“We have to rely on bottled water to bathe our babies. There is no fresh water to drink,” explained local Wilcannia Aboriginal elder Brendan Adams. "We are all living in Third World conditions.”

One of the many street artworks that have emerged as part of Lebanon's rebellion against corruption.

There is a real rebellion taking place. It is time to choose sides.

World

Across the globe, people are rising.

People's power movements are toppling dictators and forcing governments to resign. These movements are demanding democratic rights and economic justice, opposing corruption, oppression and occupation.

Mass student-led mobilisations for serious action on climate change are shifting domestic and international politics, putting the climate emergency on the agenda like never before.

Huge protests have erupted on the streets of Iraq. Green Left Weekly’s Sam Wainwright spoke to Khalil Albawy. Albawy is a member of the Iraqi Communist Party and Secretary of the Iraqi and Australian Friendship Society in Western Australia.

Electors in the German state of Thüringen cast their votes for a new state government on October 27. Thüringen was part of the former East Germany prior to reunification in 1990.

Twelve men were detained under Malaysia’s Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) on October 11–12, among them two state parliamentarians from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), part of the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition.

A few days after Diwali, Delhiites woke up to find the city enveloped by thick smoke and haze, forcing authorities to declare a health emergency.

Green Left Weekly’s Nate Thompson and Susan Price spoke to three young Chileans, who have been participating in the mobilisations. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.

I went to Chile because the United Nation's Climate Conference was to be hosted in Santiago. Now, I am an observer of the widespread protests which are calling for President Sebastian Pinera to resign, a new constitution and to address the widespread inequality.

Australian environmentalist John Englart is in Chile due to the United Nations climate conference being originally hosted in Santiago. He now finds himself an observer of the widespread social protest movement calling for the President Sebastian Pinera’s resignation, a new constitution and progress to addressing social inequality.

Culture

The makers of this documentary advocate using psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin mushrooms and an African hallucinogen called iboga in the treatment of opioid addiction and other drug dependencies.