Issue 1437

News

Join the protest and march to say sovereignty was never ceded, racism and fascism are not welcome.

Blak Caucus organised a protest outside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate office in Marrickville to demand sanctions be placed on the Country Liberal Party government of the Northern Territory over its racism. Zebedee Parkes reports.

A national day of action for Palestine has been called by rank-and-file National Tertiary Education Union members in the NSW division. Markela Panegyres reports.

The Anthony Albanese government is rushing through new laws to make it easier to deport people by stripping them of their legal rights to challenge unfair decisions on their asylum claims. Pip Hinman reports.

'Freedom not fascism', anti-racist counter protest to the 'March for Australia' in Magan-djin/Brisba

Far-right-organised “March for Australia” rallies were met by counter-protests across the country. Alex BainbridgeJordan AK and Solomon Doyle report.

The overwhelming majority of submissions to the Northern Territory inquiry into voluntary assisted dying support the territory having a law governing end-of-life care options. Suzanne James reports.

As Israel pursues its genocidal plans to displace or kill people who are determined to stay in Gaza City, protests for justice in Palestine continued in several cities on the weekend. Pip Hinman and Jacob Andrewartha reports.

More than 100 staff working at the Art Gallery of NSW and their supporters protested NSW Labor’s plan to cut 51 jobs from the gallery workforce. Jim McIlroy reports.

Protesters gathered outside the electorate office of Queensland health minister Tim Nicholls’ office to demand the Liberal National Party reinstate gender-affirming care. Elias Boyle reports.

Byron Shire Council adopted an Ethical Procurement Policy, mandating council to boycott all companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements. Nick Fredman reports.

Anti-genocide activists left their message on SEC Plating, which manufactures parts for F-35 stealth bombers used by Israel to kill Palestinians in Gaza. Ben Radford reports.

A resident-driven petition calling on Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne to not attend a Zionist-supported summit, which purports to be against antisemitism, has attracted close to 800 signatures within a few days of being online. Peter Boyle reports.

A contingent from the Korean community joined the nationwide march for Palestine, reports Peter Boyle.

Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, an environmental scientist from Bethlehem University, was a keynote speaker at a forum on the Palestine ecocide. Jim McIlroy reports.

More than 200,000 people took the streets across the country in a national day of protest to demand Labor sanction Israel and stop the two-way arms trade.

Remah Naji addresses Justice for Palestine media conference

Justice for Palestine has moved its planned protest to Queens Park, Magan-djin/Brisbane, in response to an anti-democratic move by Queensland police. Alex Bainbridge reports.

NBN contractors protesting outside Service Stream's offices

The Communication Workers Union led a rally of independent contractors outside Service Stream’s office in Naarm/Melbourne, protesting the company’s proposed 20–30% rate cuts for subcontractors. Kalindi Salvo Sampson reports.

Unions NSW organised a “Unions for Peace” rally at Town Hall Square on Gadigal Country/Sydney, the first such action it has organised since Israel ramped up its genocide in Gaza in October 2023. Jim McIlroy reports.

About 300 people attended a vigil organised by the Sydney Druze community in solidarity with the people of Sweida/Suwayda, Syria, at Martin Place on Gadigal Country/Sydney. Peter Boyle reports.

Despite the NSW Public Service Association incumbents trying to weaponise the Members Coalition’s (MC) support for justice for Palestine, several MC members won spots in the recent delegate elections. Steve O'Brien reports.

Protesters in Naarm/Melbourne express solidarity with targeted Palestinian journalists, August 17

The Israeli military continued attacks on Gaza City, as protesters in Australia gear up for a major national rally. Pip Hinman and Alex Bainbridge report.

A well-attended meeting at the Victorian Trades Hall endorsed the call for unions to join the National Day of Action on August 24. Jacob Andrewartha reports.

 

Several hundred people attended climate organisation Rising Tide’s Action Camp at the Addison Road Community Centre. Jim McIlroy reports.

Analysis

Sue Bolton argues the counter protests to the racist anti-migrant March for Australia protests were necessary and need to continue, but progressives also need to take aim at bipartisan policies which normalise racism. 

The Zionist movement is unable to handle criticism, naming anyone who criticises their efforts at narrative control “antisemitic”, writes Wendy Bacon.

The importance of Green Left as one of the most longstanding people-powered alternative media projects was underlined by the many statements of support it received during its “Powering Rebellion” livestream broadcast. Peter Boyle reports.

Does the massive outpouring of support for the Palestinian people, demonstrated by the Sydney Harbour Bridge march and the National March for Palestine, mark a turning point, asks Sam Wainwright.

Israel’s real estate, property development, defence and finance industries are all represented at next month’s antisemitism summit on the Gold Coast. Yaakov Aharon and Wendy Bacon report.

As developers hoover up public housing and the rental market boils dry, housing insecurity has become the new normal. But is the latest cheap home loan, high density model proposed by the YIMBY movement really the answer? Suzanne James investigates.

Tasmanians saw through the major parties’ spin and neither achieved a majority. Solomon Doyle argues it is clear people want systemic solutions to the worsening housing, healthcare and ecological destruction crises.

Binoy Kampmark writes that even the conservative think tank Strategic Analysis Australia is questioning the AUKUS deal. Meanwhile, Australia is being asked by the United States to do more for its “defence”.

Nadia Refaei, co-president of Tasmanian Palestine Advocacy Network, told the recent national day of protest for Palestine that Labor’s decision to recognise Palestine is an an empty gesture, offering the appearance of progress without changing material conditions.

An all-expenses-paid pro-Israel summit marketed to local government office bearers raises concerns about ethics and politics in their local communities. Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon report.

Socialist Alliance national co-convenor Sam Wainwright talks to Alex Bainbridge about the extraordinary momentum behind the August 24 national day of action for Gaza, and why the Australian government needs to sanction Israel.

Calendar showing 4-day workweek

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged a national move towards a four-day workweek, in a proposal put to the federal Labor government’s Economic Reform Roundtable. Jim McIlroy reports.

Tasmanian unions’ bargaining power has dramatically weakened since the 1970s, writes Solomon Doyle, because of the changing nature of traditionally union-strong industries and the impact of anti-worker laws.

Judith Treanor, on behalf of Jews Against the Occupation ’48, asked at the Palestine Action Group’s rally: how it is possible that 22 months into a livestreamed genocide, the world is still debating whether it is even happening?

Algal blooms are produced by a combination of temperature, sunlight and nutrients allowing aquatic microorganisms to multiply at exceptional rates. But, as Renfrey Clarke reports, the current catastrophe is unprecedented.

The looming Combat Antisemitism Movement summit on the Gold Coast is backed by an assortment of human rights advocates, astroturfers, property developers and Zionist agitators, as Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon explain. 

World

Trump and Venezuela

Green Left’s Kerry Smith speaks to Federico Fuentes, a regular GL writer on Venezuela and long-time solidarity activist, about the significance of US President Donald Trump’s deployment of warships throughout the Caribbean — and why it must be opposed.

woman cheers on protesters in Indonesia

Responding to the mass protests in Indonesia and the state’s heavy-handed repression, more than 250 local and international organisations and individuals have signed on to the following demands on the Indonesian government, reports Susan Price.

burning building protesters jolly roger flag

Rebecca Meckelburg looks at the growing discontent that led to mass protests across Indonesia.

Woman on boat with Palestinian flag

The Global Sumud Flotilla — the largest maritime mission to Gaza since Israel’s illegal siege began 18 years ago — officially set sail from Barcelona, Catalonia, reports Susan Price.

Indonesian security forces opened fire on a peaceful protest in Sorong, West Papua, killing one person and injuring several others, reports Susan Price.

A disintegrated left establishment, worsening economic crisis and resurgent right wing marked the first round of Bolivia’s elections, which spelt the end of the Movement Towards Socialism’s 20 years in power, reports Ben Radford.

Rojava revolutionary leading figure Salih Muslim told Green Left’s Peter Boyle that Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Syrian Transitional Government, under pressure from Turkey, was retreating from a previously agreed process to unify the country.

Erdogan against backdrop of Kurdish protesters

It has been six months since imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for the disarmament and dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, giving rise to hopes of a new “peace process”, writes Sarah Glynn. But are the Kurds any closer to seeing a peaceful future in Turkey and beyond?

A crowd of Rohingya refugees protesting genocide

The Rohingya have endured repeated waves of violence, but the August 25, 2017, campaign by the military junta in Myanmar remains the most devastating, writes Noor Sadaque from Cox’s Bazar.

Outdoor stage and large audience

More than 4000 people attended the radical left France Insoumise summer school in the South of France, reports John Mullen.

Rally supporting Mossadegh and the Ayatollah Komeini

For most of the news media, the United States and Israel’s war on Iran has fallen off the agenda, but the story is far from over, and has many prequels, writes Sarah Glynn.

Sudanese child being measured

As the world watches Gaza with outrage and concern, similar tactics are being used by both sides of Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, reports Malaz Emad.

Maduro and queue outside Mercal 2014

Salvador De León is a member of the Autonomous and Independent Workers’ Committee in Venezuela. In the second of our two-part interview, Green Left’s Federico Fuentes speaks to De León about the situation facing Venezuelan workers and trade unions. 

US China flags book cover

In the second part of our interview, Green Left’s Federico Fuentes speaks to author William Jefferies about the growing confrontation between the United States and China.

ambulance in Gaza

Dalia Abu Ramadan asks: Where can we escape, when every corner is pervaded by death?

Bolivarian militia on parade

More than 4.5 million militia members across Venezuela are being activated in response to the United States’ deployment of three Navy guided-missile destroyers and 4000 military personnel to the Caribbean, reports Devin B Martinez.

Maduro, flag, supermarket shelves

Salvador De León — a member of the Autonomous and Independent Workers’ Committee in Venezuela — spoke to Green Left’s Federico Fuentes about the Nicolás Maduro government’s economic policies.

US flag book cover

William Jefferies is Senior Lecturer at SOAS University of London and author of the recently published War and the World Economy: Trade, Tech and Military Conflicts in a De-globalising World. Green Left’s Federico Fuentes spoke to Jefferies about imperialism today and why the period of globalisation is coming to an end.

two flags and FBI jacket

There is widespread opposition in Aotearoa New Zealand to the opening of a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation office in the country’s capital, Pōneke/Wellington, reports Zara Lomas.

Trump National Guard troops

United States President Donald Trump’s troop deployment sets a dangerous precedent and is another step toward authoritarianism, writes Malik Miah.

protesters with flags in Kyiv

Left-wing activists held a solidarity rally in Kyiv with the residents of Gaza suffering from famine, highlighting how Ukrainians also experienced an artificial famine under imperialist oppressors. Andreu Movtxan reports.

Memorial to journalists killed by IDF

About 100 people gathered in central Québec City, Canada, to hold vigil for the journalists murdered by Israel in Gaza and protest the Canadian government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide, reports Ben Radford.

People sitting and talking

Almost one year ago, Helen O'Sullivan was at a peaceful protest in Beita in the occupied West Bank with 26-year-old human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, when an Israeli sniper shot and killed Aysenur.

Indigenous Wampís people on a boat and Galois Flores Pizango

Indigenous Wampís leader Galois Flores Pizango spoke to Green Left’s Ben Radford about the struggle to defend territory and advance a vision of sustainable Indigenous development.

Culture

Voices for the Valley is a powerful documentary about the “small, but mighty”, community of Wollar, on the edge of Mudgee, in New South Wales, which has spent more than 20 years resisting the relentless damage of coal mining, reports Jim McIlroy.

book covers and bookshelf

Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus presents six important books on slavery, capitalist diseases, climate action, scientists resisting, economic planning and techno-fossils.

Protest albums from August 2025

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

4 panel artwork

Markela Panegyres speaks to artist Elaheh Mahdavi about her and her brother Arman’s recent exhibition, The Seasick, in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide, which explores the plight of Iranian refugees who arrived in Australia by boat, and those they left behind.