Issue 1355

News

A Drum Rebellion-organised action outside Tanya Plibersek’s office urged her to protect kangaroos. Jesse Holly reports.

Left organisations and climate activist groups, including Extinction Rebellion and Friends of the Earth, mobilised hundreds of people to a united climate rally. Jacob Andrewartha reports.

Hundreds of truck drivers and their vehicles converged on Parliament House in Canberra demanding transport industry safety rules. Jim McIlroy reports.

A bill introduced by Labor MPs to overturn the 25-year ban on the ACT and NT being able to legislate voluntary assisted dying passed through the House of Representatives. Suzanne James reports.

Protesters gathered at Parliament House to demand the Labor government apply diplomatic pressure to the British and United States governments to drop the political case against Julian Assange. Kerry Smith reports.

The campaign to save the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo is continuing after the NSW government announced it would close the museum to the public for “rejuvenation”. Jim McIlroy reports. 

A snap protest in front of Centrelink, initiated by a stay-at-home mother, called for JobSeeker to be raised. Tyrus Maxwell reports.

 

Rallies supporting the call from Rojava for the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over north and east Syria were held across the world on July 23. Peter Boyle reports on one of the first, in Sydney. 

Isaac Nellist reports on a regular picket by housing activists to call for a boost in public funding for public housing.

Refugee supporters rallied at Sydney Town Hall on July 24 to call for justice and permanent protection for refugees. Isaac Nellist reports. 

Nine years too long: Brisbane rally for refugee rights

Protesters chanted “Nine years too long, free the refugees” while marching through the streets of Brisbane on July 23, reports Alex Bainbridge.

Analysis

It is abundantly clear that billionaires run parliament. To take them on, we must build a party and movement capable of improving people’s lives outside the cycle of electoral politics, argues Max Chandler-Mather

The Australian Greens, with their biggest ever parliamentary caucus, are laying out plans for progressive change. Alex Bainbridge and Pip Hinman report.

Despite the Treasurer saying workers’ wages are not to blame for inflation, the government is not coming up with solutions to address wage stagnation, argues Jacob Andrewartha.

Government inaction in the face of a warming climate, developer greed and poor planning are to blame for the catastrophic impacts of recent floods in New South Wales, argues Ben Radford.

The billions of dollars wasted on military spending and tax cuts for the rich should be used to fund renewables, argues Peter Boyle

Jonathan Sriranganathan discusses what it mean for a political party to follow the principle of “grassroots participatory democracy”.

Trans rights campaigners say that the push to remove gender neutral language from a Medicare form sets a dangerous precedent for an already marginalised section of the population. Nova Sobieralski reports.

After being caught using facial recognition technology, three major retailers have given a meek assurance that they will “pause” their use. Binoy Kampmark reports.

The ABC says China is making “outlandish” claims about Australia. But Tomahawk Cruise missiles on Australian vessels, nuclear-powered submarines and integration of NATO into the Indo-Pacific all point in one direction, argues William Briggs.

World

Campaigners

In an August 2 referendum, voters in Kansas resoundingly rejected a proposed amendment to remove the right to abortion from the state's constitution, reports Jake Johnson.

Child in Yemen

Just weeks after visiting the Middle East, United States President Joe Biden’s administration approved more than US$5 billion in missile sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reports Brett Wilkins.

Workers

International trade unions are calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to veto two anti-worker bills that were recently passed by parliament amid Russia’s invasion, reports Federico Fuentes.

Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi's tour of Asia has deliberately and in a calculated manner heightened tensions in the region, writes William Briggs. It was designed to be provocative and has succeeded.

Jiyan Tolhildan

Jiyan Tolhildan (Salwa Yusuf), a leader of the Syrian Defence Force (SDF) Counter Terrorism Units, and who led the fight against ISIS, was murdered by Turkey in a drone strike on July 22, reports Sarah Glynn.

Massai resist land grabs

For decades, the Maasai have been resisting displacement by mining, tourism and conservation, reports Hibist Kassa.

Boris Kagarlitsky

Boris Kagarlitsky discusses the domestic factors behind Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and the role of the left in anti-war organising.

Australian cinematographer Jake Lloyd Jones talks to Peter Boyle about the ongoing “David and Goliath struggle” between the Kurds and the Turkish state from Bashur (South Kurdistan) in northern Iraq.

Peter Boyle reports three socialist parties from the Asia-Pacific region have supported the call from Rojava for a no-fly zone to stop a threatened invasion by Turkey.

Culture

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time is a glowing tribute to a great and suffering writer who exposed the core futility of US culture, writes Barry Healy.

Protest albums from July 2022

Mat Ward looks back at July's political news and the best new music that related to it.

Anita Briem as Saga, a woman discovering more about her past as she tries to reconstruct her memorie

Barry Healy reviews Quake, which gives an insight into family dysfunction and violence and how individual members come to bear the guilt of collective failures.