Issue 1277

News

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and education minister Dan Tehan are on the offensive against higher education. But students are fighting back, reports Kerry Smith.

The approval for Whitehaven Coal to extend its Vickery coal mine represents a green light to a serial vandal amid a climate emergency in which Australia is playing a leading role, argues Margaret Gleeson.

The organising efforts of precariously employed workers in higher education was the topic of an all-day “Organise Your University Right Now” Zoom symposium, reports Jonathan Strauss.

Sat-Scan imaging

Residents in several suburbs impacted by the rapidly expanding network of WestConnex roads and tunnels say their homes have suffered wall cracks and jamming doors. Peter Boyle spoke to Krish Patel from Sat-Scan about their findings linking the two.

The federal government has successfully turned a humanitarian decision into a cruel one by forcing the transfer of a frail detainee from one detention centre in Melbourne to a remote one in Western Australia, reports Chloe DS.

Extinction Rebellion protested outside the Commonwealth Bank headquarters to demand the bank end its investment in fossil fuel projects, reports AJ Tennant.

Coral Wynter writes that Galilee Blockade protested outside insurance company AON, calling on it to cease working with Adani.

Coral Wynter reports on a protest against the continuing destruction of the climate by some keen bike riders.

Wangan and Jagalingou evict Adani

The Wangan and Jagalingou, the Traditional Owners of the Galilee Basin, have issued an eviction notice to Adani, reports Kerry Smith.

 

Protesters gathered in Sydney’s Botanical Gardens on August 16 to express solidarity with the people of Bolivia in their struggle against dictatorial repression and for democratic rights, report Jim McIlroy and Coral Wynter.

School Strike 4 Climate has called a national day of action focussed on decarbonising the post-COVID-19 economy. And they are asking for support from workers and the community.

Ali Mirzaei, who is being detained in the Mantra Hotel in Melbourne, sent the following message to Green Left on August 16.

Hundreds of refugee rights activists stared down police intimidation to protest the continued detention of refugees at the Kangaroo Point detention centre, reports Alex Bainbridge.

Analysis

Sam Wainwright looks at what's behind Peter Dutton's fanatical determination to deport Tamil asylum seekers Priya, Nades and their two young daughters to Sri Lanka.

A special inquiry into the Ruby Princess debacle has found authorities made “serious mistakes”, some even “inexcusable”. However, as Jim McIlroy reports, it did not recommend any action be taken against them.

There are solutions to the housing crisis, but they require public investment and a shift away from the commodification of housing, argues Jacob Andrewartha.

Three unions have called for the scrapping of the working holiday visa program, claiming it will lead to better wages. But will it? Or is it an excuse to scapegoat and play the nationalist card, asks Zane Alcorn.

Union organiser Sarah Hathway will contest the City of Greater Geelong local council elections on a platform focussed on meeting community needs, reports Sue Bull.

As the pandemic drags on, it's natural to long for a vaccine that will fix it. But, as Martin Wolterding and Coral Wynter explain, that may be harder to do than first thought.

Dan Lanzini and Gomilleroi man Kodi Brady are committed to saving the Pilliga State Forest. They spoke to Green Left about why they are against Santos’ push to set up industrial-scale coal seam gas wells in the last remaining substantial temperate forest in Australia.

A new ACCC report has identified major weaknesses in the water market, but recommends more of the same, reports Tracey Carpenter.

In our latest podcast, Green Left sits down with Alison Pennington, a senior economist at the Centre for Future Work, to discuss the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government's response and alternatives to austerity and deregulation.

World

However significant Kamala Harris' candidacy is as the first Black and South Asian woman candidate nominated to high office by either major party, Malik Miah argues it is not a reason for working people to actively campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Climate activists Greta Thunberg, Luisa Neubauer, Anuna de Wever and Adélaïde Charlier have initiated an open letter to European Union and global leaders, calling on them to deliver on their promises, writes Susan Price.

Following the adoption of a law to guarantee elections before October 18, the Bolivian Workers Centre has voted to temporarily halt pro-democracy protests. But it has vowed to mobilise again if the coup regime does not abide by the deadline, writes Susan Price.

The Republic of North Macedonia's parliamentary elections, held amid the global COVID-19 pandemic on July 15, resulted in a hung parliament, write Atanas Grkov and Mark Tan.

Belarusians are now entering their second week of daily mass protests against the 26-year dictatorship of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, reports Clare Lemlich. The scale of resistance is unprecedented in contemporary Belarusian history and shows no signs of slowing down. 

The cultivation of relations between the Emiratis (and the other Gulf nations) and Israel have been disguised as the promotion of Muslim-Jewish interfaith cooperation, writes Rupen Savoulian. But this cynical ploy cannot disguise the naked and brazen economic and geopolitical interests motivating both parties.

Culture

The extradition trial of the world’s most famous whistleblower, Julian Assange, is set to recommence in London next month. Fred Fuentes reviews a new film that documents Assange's father's fight to free his son.

Bernard Collaery is well known as a legal champion of Timor-Leste and a thorn in the side of successive Australian governments as they have illegally and immorally stolen that country's resources. Barry Healy takes a look at his new book Oil Under Troubled Water.

The charming and humorous Sri Prem Baba

Chasing the Present focuses on the psychological and spiritual journey of a successful young New York businessperson who finds himself at a mental crossroads, beset by panic attacks while advancing a successful career, writes Barry Healy.