In an era of climate change, global warming, high carbon emissions and with renewable energy coming to the fore, it is astounding that a proposal for another “open cut” coal mine is set to reach the NSW planning department.
Analysis
A medical professional from the Sunrise Health Service has attacked the Rudd government for continuing with the NT intervention policy. Instead of closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health outcomes, the intervention has made Aboriginal people less healthy, she says.
On March 26, the NSW Legislative Council passed the motion by Greens NSW MP John Kaye that called on the government to drop its demands that TAFE teacher conditions be slashed to pay for salary increases.
Every week it seems as if a new law in NSW is passed which rolls back civil liberties. This time it is “anti-bikie” gang laws which, despite assurances, can be used against any sort of organisation, including activist or pressure groups. Other states have said they may copy the laws.
On March 31, Western Australian treasurer Troy Buswell announced a cap on wage rises for public sector workers.
On April 16, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute. The day before, CSIRO scientists told a Senate inquiry that the world needs immediate and significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to have any hope of preserving a climate that can support humanity.
On April 16, an explosion on board a small fishing boat, packed with 47 Afghan asylum seekers and two crew, killed five people and injured many more.
The April 2 G20 summit brought together the leaders of some of the world’s most economically significant countries. They were intent on working out a rescue plan for the capitalist system, the very system that is killing the planet and condemning billions of people to poverty and oppression.
“I’m a huge supporter of the civil society and the internet is the Wild West at the moment”, federal communications minister Stephen Conroy told SBS’s Insight on March 31. Conroy and the Labor Party remain determined to fence the internet in, joining a short list of countries that attempt to censor it.
The struggle against the privatisation schemes of the NSW government is beginning to revive. On April 2, an angry demonstration of prison officers besieged parliament house, protesting against prison privatisation plans.
This article is based on a speech given by Jay Nathan, a young Tamil activist, at a rally protesting the Sri Lankan genocide against the people of Tamil Eelam, in Sydney on March 28.
Labor governments at state and federal levels are persisting with two unpopular proposals for education in remote Aboriginal schools — the scrapping of bilingual education and the linking of welfare payments to school attendance — despite opposition from communities and educators.
- Previous page
- Page 532
- Next page