More than 70 people attended an online meeting organised by the Refugee Action Collective to discuss the global struggles of refugees, reports Chris Slee.
Issue 1261
News
In the latest episode of Lockdown: Coronavirus, capitalism and solidarity, Zebedee Parkes take a look at cruise ships, the role of Border Force and what Australia could be doing to fight the pandemic.
As the cost of bailing out corporate Australia keeps rising, the calls to raise the regressive GST and cut taxes for the rich have already started. They have to be resisted, argues Peter Boyle.
After a 10-day shutdown, maritime workers at Hutchison Ports Australia Sydney terminal returned to work with some of the most stringent COVID-19 measures in place, reports Kerry Smith.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has condemned the federal government for its decision to freeze pay rises for Commonwealth public servants for the next 12 months, reports Stanley Blair.
Hear a first-hand account about the conditions refugees detained in the Mantra Hotel in Melbourne have to endure and the activists risking fines and arrest to get them out.
Filmed by Katrina Channells.
Carlo Sands has a chat about dystopian fiction.
Emma Murphy reports the family of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day, who died in custody, have mixed feelings about the coroner's findings. They say the struggle for justice must continue.
Unions have slammed the government’s handling of the crew still on board the Ruby Princess as inhumane, reports Jim McIlroy.
When public service unions in Tasmania realised the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak, they acted swiftly to protect workers, reports Jenny Forward.
Victoria Police issued $43,000 in fines to refugee rights supporters for protesting for detainees to be released from crammed conditions, reports participant Chris Slee.
Analysis
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young peoples’ lives should not be discounted, writes Fred Fuentes.
The whole crew of the Ruby Princess need to be tested for COVID-19, and a huge dose of sunshine needs to be shone on the events and parties involved in this disaster, writes Arthur Rorris.
The United Workers Union has released its plan to ensure that no worker is left behind during the COVID-19 crisis. Godfrey Moase spoke to Sue Bolton about it.
The cost of the COVID-19 corporate bailouts is still growing, but the battle over who will carry that cost has only just begin, writes Peter Boyle.
The coronavirus-inspired JobSeeker rate rise needs to be kept beyond the end of this current crisis, writes Holly Anderson.
“We’re all in this together” is the refrain from governments. Trouble is, the rhetoric does not match reality and renters’ rights are being trampled, writes Pip Hinman.
Banjo P Kay writes that after two years of sheet metal work, he was sacked a result of the COVID-19 crisis and now faces an uncertain future.
In typical neoliberal style, the federal government’s COVID-19 response is leaving local councils in a ditch, argues Graham Matthews.
Alex Bainbridge spoke to Australian Greens' leader Adam Bandt about COVID-19, climate change and the party's priorities.
World
Addressing a global pandemic must involve public health planning that cross borders and confronting global inequality and the climate crisis, writes Tamara Pearson.
In the wake of democratic socialist Bernie Sanders’ ending his campaign for the United States Democratic presidential nomination, Seattle’s socialist city councillor Kshama Sawant argues that to defeat the power of corporate rule, working people must build independent class struggle.
While Turkey is releasing prisoners to prevent a COVID-19 disaster in the jails, the 50,000 political prisoners currently being detained will not be considered, writes Peter Boyle.
Air travel has played a key role in turning a localised epidemic in the Wuhan district of China into a global pandemic, writes Hans Baer.
Barry Sheppard reports on the horrific spread of the pandemic in the United States and the widening chasm in international cooperation.
Pandemics have their roots in environmental change and ecosystem disturbances. Understanding their foundational causes can provide fertile ground for the systemic changes we so desperately need, writes Dale McKinley.
Structural inequality and racism means African Americans are dying at a much higher rate than whites in the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Malik Miah.
As the devastation from the COVID-19 virus continues, how are countries from the Global South coping? Featuring activists from The Philippines, Malaysia, India and the Middle East.
Green Left's Alex Bainbridge travelled to Turkey in February, where he spoke with People's Democratic Party MP Hişyar Özsoy about repression in the country.
Culture
Barry Healy reviews two stories — one a novel, the other a play — that examine the artists' colony on the Greek island of Hydra from the early 1950s to the early '60s.
The history of the Haitian slaves’ revolt has been well-documented by CLR James in The Black Jacobins, among other books. But the period in between has been largely left blank, writes Barry Healy.
Nazi Germany's invasion of Holland was comparatively easy, but the Occupation was fraught due to the resistance. Among those who risked their lives in the struggle were three young women: Hannie Schaft and the sisters, Truus and Freddie Oversteegen. This book tells their story, writes Barry Healy.