News

  • Residents organise against job cuts at Victoria University

    More than 200 people, including local residents, packed a community hall in Footscray on November 6 to protest vice-chancellor (VC) Liz Harman’s announcement that 270 Victoria University (VU) staff will face the chop, most before Christmas.

  • No 'VSU-lite', say students

    The Rudd government, elected to office promising to repeal the Howard government’s unpopular student unionism (VSU) legislation, is planning to introduce a voluntary $250 “student levy” in early 2009.

  • TAFE to be privatised?

    The Rudd government is proposing to make funding for vocational training “contestable”, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed on October 29. The proposal, effectively a privatisation of TAFE colleges, was drafted by state and federal bureaucrats and will be discussed at the November 17 Council of Australian Governments meeting.

  • Dodson uses peace prize speech to slam NT intervention

    Pat Dodson, a Yawuru man from Broome, Western Australia, used his Sydney Peace Prize acceptance speech on November 5 to slam the Northern Territory intervention. He described it as a “crude, racist and poorly considered policy”.

  • US anti-war vote welcomed

    The Sydney Stop the War Coalition has described the US people’s rejection of President George Bush’s war policies and the election of Barack Obama as “historic”.

  • Student concessions to be slashed in NSW

    Student travel concessions have come under attack from the NSW state government. The proposed removal of the subsidy for school students will affect 700,000 students. The $50 back-to-school allowance, initiated by former premier Bob Carr in 2002, is also set to be cut.

  • National outcry at Wotton's sentence

    On November 7, rallies in support of Lex Wotton took place around the country as Wotton was sentenced in Townsville to six years’ prison for “riot with destruction”.

  • Sydney Council targets posters

    Activists have planned a civil disobedience action in response to anti-democratic moves by the City of Sydney to crack down on bill posters. From November 10, putting up posters on street poles could result in fines ranging from $320 to $1500 per poster.

  • 'Women still face great inequality'

    The following article is based on a speech given by Chere Bowman at the Wollongong Reclaim the Night rally on October 23. Bowman spoke as a member of Resistance.

  • Democracy ... US-style

    Having “free” and “fair” multi-party elections is the United States’ main claim to democracy. But just how democratic is US capitalism?