Climate protesters organised a snap action inside a lavish foyer of Barangaroo where Marsh Insurance Brokers have its Sydney office early on March 5, reports Coral Wynter.
News
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Zebedee Parkes writes that about 100 university students rallied for climate action in Sydney on March 13, as part of a national day of action.
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Water activists rallied outside WaterNSW offices in Parramatta on March 13 to demand an end to water trading, reports Zebedee Parkes.
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Police closed off Wilcannia Bridge, where the Barrier Highway crosses the Darling (Baaka) River, on March 13 following calls by local activists to blockade it in protest at water theft, cultural oppression and ecocide, reports Rachel Evans.
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Hundreds rallied in Werribee, Victoria, against a proposal to dump toxic soil nearby on March 4. This is not the first time Werribee has been threatened with a toxic dump, writes Kerry Smith.
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Water activists will blockade the Barrier Highway at Wilcannia Bridge and other bridges throughout the Darling Basin on March 13 to draw attention to corporate water theft, cultural oppression and ecocide, reports Tracey Carpenter.
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Peter Boyle reports that bus drivers and their supporters turned their backs on NSW transport minister Andrew Constance on March 5, in protest at the government's privatisation of bus services.
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Organised by Latinxs Feministas en Melbourne on March 5 and DecoFem Collective in Sydney on March 7, Latin American women performed the feminist anthem "The rapist is you" at International Women's Day events, reports Zebedee Parkes.
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Refugee rights rallies will be held around the country on April 5, reports Kerry Smith. [Updated: These events have been cancelled due to COVID-19].
Analysis
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It is amazing what can be achieved by a potentially uncontrollable pandemic that doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor, doesn’t respect national boundaries and will destroy a global economy quicker than I’ll destroy a bottle of gin if forced to stay at home without sport to watch for more than a day, writes Carlo Sands.
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Bob McIlroy is a small farmer in the Bonang region of East Gippsland, Victoria, with 30 years' experience with the local Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA). He spoke to Green Left about the experience of the giant bushfires and what needs to be done.
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While 'social distancing' measures are important, what we need more than ever to get through this crisis is “social solidarity”, write Pip Hinman and Susan Price.
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Livestock have been scapegoated for all agricultural greenhouse emissions. But, properly managed, their contribution is negligible for methane, and they can be key to tackling the climate crisis, write Elena Garcia and Alan Broughton.
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Eliminating livestock farming is no solution to curb the production of greenhouse gases. However, supporting ecological agriculture and attacking the fossil fuel industry are, argues Alan Broughton.
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The Indigenous Social Justice Association says a pattern has emerged in successive First Nations coronial inquests, whereby authorities are excused of any wrongdoings, despite the court’s supposedly neutral stance, writes Paul Gregoire.
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It is clear the federal government has badly mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic, with doctors now warning Australia is on track to be in a "worse position than Italy is currently in". But humane alternatives are possible, argues Chris Jenkins.
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The priorities of the federal government’s stimulus package are not only wrong — they will not work. Lisbeth Latham argues the focus must be on protecting incomes.
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Despite promises to the contrary, the New South Wales government looks set to privatise the remaining 49% of the WestConnex motorway, reports Andrew Chuter.
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Abortion doctor and long-term pro-choice campaigner Kamala Emanuel outlines why abortion must be seen as a health issue, at an International Working Women's Day rally in Brisbane on March 8.
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Little more than 10 years after the Global Financial Crisis, the world economy faces another crash. Last time, the trigger was so-called “sub-prime” mortgages; but this time, it is a virulent virus — COVID-19 — writes Graham Matthews.
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As COVID-19 spreads globally, and the threat of widespread community transmission becomes more real, it has become clear the new coronavirus poses not only a major health risk but a significant threat to the livelihoods of millions of workers, writes Lisbeth Latham.
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Nuclear power is prohibited in Australia, but a review is underway and the nuclear industry wants the ban removed. Jim Green argues laws banning nuclear power have served the country well and must be retained.
World
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There is well-founded concern over what will happen as COVID-19 spreads in war zones and refugee camps, where people who are already suffering from poor health and nutrition and from weakened immunity live cramped together with minimal facilities, writes Sarah Glynn.
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Climate campaigners are urging world leaders to learn from those governments who are handling the coronavirus pandemic, arguing there should be no return to business as usual, writes Jessica Corbett.
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The International Monetary Fund has rejected Venezuela's appeal for an emergency US$5 billion loan to face the coronavirus health crisis, reports Ricardo Vaz.
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Cuban cartoonists confront COVID-19 with humour and a nasobuco (facemask).
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Cuban medicine could treat thousands of coronavirus patients as production of a “flagship” drug known to combat the disease is set to increase significantly, writes Steve Sweeney.
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Two Italian volunteers used a 3D printer to manufacture a desperately-needed ventilator component for patients stricken by the COVID-19 virus, writes Kerry Smith. The printed valves saved more than 10 lives in a hospital in the northern Italian city of Brescia.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is already having an impact on the Democratic Party primaries in the United States. The Ohio primary was cancelled on March 17, and others will be cancelled in the coming weeks. When, or if, they will be held is not known. Barry Sheppard writes on where the primaries stood as of March 17.
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Stuck at home in precautionary quarantine in Abruzzo, central Italy, Daniele Fulvi writes people are organising flash mobs and virtual gatherings to prevent isolation and maintain a sense of community.
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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 5, where they agreed on a plan for a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib province, writes Chris Slee.
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Amid the mounting COVID-19 pandemic, capitalist governments around the world have clearly prioritised corporate welfare over public health. But Cuba has set an example of international solidarity in its response, writes Peter Boyle.
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Former United States soldier and whistleblower Chelsea Manning was freed from prison on March 12, after having served nearly 10 months for refusing to testify before a grand jury set up to investigate WikiLeaks, writes Kerry Smith.
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Afghan pro-democracy activist and former parliamentarian Malalai Joya spoke to Green Left about the US “peace deal” with the Taliban and how it amounts to a continuation of the 19-year war.
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While Turkey and Greece have turned refugees away from their borders, Peter Boyle reports that the revolutionary Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (better known as Rojava) has welcomed refugees from war-devastated Idlib province in Syria.
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Green Left's Peter Boyle spoke to Socialist Party of Malaysia deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan (Arul) about the latest political developments since the meltdown of the Pakatan Harapan government.
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Women across Mexico refused to work, shop, do housework or be active on social media and mobilised in their thousands against violence and abuse on March 9, writes Tamara Pearson.
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Mobs of Hindu nationalists targeted protesters opposed to the Narendra Modi government's racist Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on February 23.
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A state of fear is being re-established in Sri Lanka ahead of snap elections, writes Chris Slee.
Culture
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US singer songwriter David Rovics singing his brand new song "Viral solidarity", in Brisbane on March 14
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How to be a Good Wife is charming, quirky celebration of women’s liberation and endorsement of the 1968 spirit, writes Barry Healy.
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Returning for its second season, The Heights provides a refreshingly new take on that great Australian TV staple, the soap opera, writes Barry Healy.
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In a Trumpian world of winners and losers, of populist racism and algorithms drilling ever further into the layers of our souls for profit, remaining hopeful for a better world can seem a futile exercise. But Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary reminds us that nihilism is not the only option, writes Tracey Sorenson.
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La Vie Scolaire sets out to show another side to Paris' famous banlieues, one that is more hopeful, but fails to develop into a memorable film, argues Barry Healy.