Is there a surplus or is there not? Does delivering a $1.5 billion surplus in 2012-13 make Wayne Swan a “good economic manager”? Are you a winner and grinner or a loser soon to be driven to the boozer? Blah, blah, blah. Enough, enough already with the budget spins and counterspins.
You want something real to worry about from the budget? Worry about your job if you are lucky enough to still have one, and worry about what will happen to you if you lose it.
Analysis
In a display of non-partisanship, Marrickville Council put the community first by voting unanimously to lock the gate on coal seam gas (CSG) mining on May 8.
Local stop coal seam gas activists urged councillors to prohibit a private waste disposal and recycling company — Alexandria Landfill — from being allowed to sub-contract its site in St Peters to a CSG miner for exploration and pilot drilling.
Green Left columnist Carlos Sands rants, raves, and is literally moved to tears by the arguments of defenders of Israel in his second outing on Green Left TV. And as 19 Palestine solidarity activists face court in Melbourne, he has some choice words for Max Brenner and the Murdoch media.
"We are all Greeks" was the proud solidarity message worn by many at the Sydney May Day march on May 6. This simple message captured the widespread solidarity felt with the working people of Greece — including the unemployed, pensioners, students and small business owners — who are being forced to pay a painful price to bail out the biggest banks in the world.
Allan Rees, spokesperson for the No Aircraft Noise (NAN) party, believes that the site south of Wilton must be assessed as a replacement airport for Sydney. “This is the only way to end the growing noise nightmare for 100,000 people,” he said on May 9.
NAN has campaigned for decades to get the Sydney airport moved out of the city on the grounds of its detrimental health and environmental impacts.
Since WikiLeaks raised the ire of the US government in 2010 through the publication of leaked diplomatic cables, PM Gillard’s conduct towards Australian founder Julian Assange has been reprehensible.
Gillard is yet to apologise for her inflammatory claims that Assange had acted illegally, despite the Australian Federal Police’s subsequent findings that he had broken no laws.
Her remarks were made at a time when she should have been defending Assange from the US politicians calling for his assassination.
Residents of St Peters have been shocked to discover the company that planned to drill for coal seam gas (CSG) in their community never had a formal land access agreement with the owners of the proposed site.
The National Welfare Rights Network released the statement below on May 9.
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“The nation’s budget is now in the black but unfortunately more single parent families are in the red,” said Maree O’Halloran, President of the National Welfare Rights Network today in a preliminary response to the May 8 federal budget.
“There are some small but significant gains in the budget for people made redundant and for those currently looking for work, studying or/and caring for children.
The Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition released the statement below on May 8.
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“Cuts in military spending of up to $5 billion in the budget are a step in the right direction, but the Gillard government has missed an opportunity to enhance Australia’s security and release funds needed for social, infrastructure and environmental projects,” Denis Doherty, national co-ordinator of the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, said in Sydney today.
The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition released the statement below on May 9.
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The peak body for youth affairs in Australia has welcomed last night’s budget measures that support a fair go for young Australians, but continues to call on the Gillard government to ensure that financial assistance is raised to levels that ensure young Australians are not living below the poverty line.
Stop CSG Sydney campaigner Pip Hinman addressed Marrickville Council on May 8 to urge the council to rule out coal seam gas mining in the area.
Louise Steer, public officer for Stop CSG Sydney, made the remarks below at Marrickville Council’s May 8 meeting.
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