News

  • Forums discuss victims of 'war on terror'

    SYDNEY — Speaking at a public meeting on August 25, Rob Stary (pictured), the defence lawyer for Jack Thomas (who was convicted on terrorism charges, but released on appeal on August 13), argued that the federal government has still not provided

  • Workers strike for union agreement

    Justine Kamprad, Geelong On August 28, the 13 workers employed by Williamstown Sheet Metal Pty Ltd, in the south-west Melbourne suburb of Laverton North, took their first ever industrial action. The workers voted unanimously to refuse the company's

  • Syrian minister calls for justice

    SYDNEY — "The greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East is US policy." That's how Dr Bouthaina Shaaban, Syria's minister for expatriates, framed her lecture to 150 people at the University of Western Sydney's Bankstown campus on September 7.

  • When injustice becomes law

    Ruth Ratcliffe "The High Court of Australia's decision to keep refugee children imprisoned in detention centres makes it crystal clear that injustice has become law in this country", Lisa Macdonald from the Socialist Alliance said on October 6.

  • Heinemann workers demand their wages

    Marcus Greville, Melbourne "Not paying these workers is in fact theft", Electrical Trades Union (ETU) organiser Shaun Leane told Green Left Weekly. He was commenting on the refusal of electrical parts manufacturer Heinemann Electric to pay wages to

  • Call to halve defence budget

    Graham Matthews, Socialist Alliance candidate for Batman, and Tony Iltis campaigning outside Preston Centrelink. Socialist Alliance calls for a halving of the $7 billion annual defence budget and for the savings to be spent on guaranteeing free

  • Fighting for a more democratic CPSU

    Simon Butler, Newcastle After weeks of campaigning to prevent their national officials from abruptly closing the Newcastle office of the Community and Public Sector Union, rank-and-file members of the CPSU in the Hunter have succeeded in forcing a

  • Countering 'law and order populism'

    Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne A coalition of welfare and legal groups launched Operation Smart Justice on September 19. It aims to challenge "law and order populism" in the lead-up to Victoria's November 25 state election. Anthony Kelly from the

  • Ghost of Abu Ghraib haunts Halliburton

    James Caulfield, Canberra The Socialist Alliance launched its election campaign for the seat of Fraser outside the offices of Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root on September 16. The alliance's candidate, James Vassilopoulos, was

  • Civil unions for same-sex couples?

    CANBERRA — One-hundred-and-fifty people demonstrated here on April 8 in support of a bill proposed by ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope that would give same-sex couples access to civil unions. After a noisy march through the city amid a sea of

  • Restaurant picketed for 100 days

    SYDNEY — The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union picket outside Newtown's Safari restaurant continues after almost 100 days. The union is seeking a payment of nearly $1.5 million from Safari owner James Nazmi to former workers at a