Most Melbourne people wouldn’t know that there is a refugee detention centre, called the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation, in Broadmeadows. It is hidden away behind the Maygar army barracks on Camp Road with no sign to indicate it is there.
The Socialist Alliance organised a protest outside the centre on August 11 to publicise its existence. When the local media was notified about the protest, none of the journalists approached had heard of it.
Youth & students
Last month, thousands of people around the country marched in solidarity with Ark Tribe, the construction worker from Adelaide who faces six months’ jail for refusing to attend an interview with the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).
Adorned with emblems of union pride, rank and file union members, representatives from unions, political parties and the broader community, took to the streets to send a clear message to the government and the big construction bosses that “If Ark goes in, we'll go out''.
From August 9 to 12, high school students will be able to take part in a mock election thanks to the Google Student Voice initiative.
Students aged 15 to 17 will be able to participate in the online poll. Google sent information packs to schools around Australia
The vote will allow students to choose between the candidates standing in their electorates for the federal election. Results of the simulated election will be released on August 15.
Organisers are expecting about 400 people to descend on Adelaide for the Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference over July 4 – 8.
The conference is held annually for students and activists involved in environment and social justice movements. Over the four days, workshops will be held on topics as diverse as climate change, guerrilla gardening, Indigenous rights, campaigning for renewable energy on campus and many more.
SoS gives participants the confidence, practical skills and motivation needed to campaign for a cleaner and healthier Earth.
Queer rights groups are initiating a high school referendum against homophobia and for same-sex marriage rights over August 2-6.
Planned to help build the August 14 National Day of Action for equal marriage rights, the referendum will be a chance for students to discuss homophobia and how to combat it in their school.
There are high levels of homophobia and prejudice in high schools. In Australia, 68% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and inter-sex (LGBTI) people experience homophobia in school.
On May 28, it was reported that the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was considering allowing a certain form of female circumcision, involving “ritual nicks”. RANZCOG later said it was a misrepresentation, and that “anyone suspected of performing such genital mutilation should be reported to authorities”, the Sydney Morning Herald said the same day.
But if we reject all forms of female circumcision, why is it that male circumcision remains so acceptable?
Youth activist and part-time worker Gemma Weedall has been endorsed by the Socialist Alliance to contest the seat of Adelaide in the upcoming federal election.
Weedall recently completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide, where she was a well-known student activist.
She was environment officer on the 2009 Student Representative Council and convened several clubs and collectives. A passionate grassroots climate change activist, Gemma is an active member of the Climate Emergency Action Network (CLEAN)
Wollongong's Students Against War (SAW) collective crashed the university’s ‘fashion week’ on May 6 by holding a ‘die-in’ on the catwalk. Two activists entered the fashion parade and revealed bloodied clothes before they collapsed on the end of the catwalk.
SAW co-convenor Ella Ryan said: ‘The idea behind this stunt, aptly named “Deathly Designs”, was to bring attention to Wollongong university's role in helping design military hardware for arms manufacturers as part of the $85 million "Defence Materials Technology Centre".
Two hundred and seventy people gathered for the Resistance 2010: The World Can't Wait! conference in Thirroul, near Wollongong, over April 24-26. The national conference brought together young activists from all over Australia to discuss a broad range of political issues and to get organised in the face of an uncertain future.
Resistance, socialist youth organisation, held its national conference in the Thirroul Community Centre (Wollongong, NSW) over April 24-26, 2010. Nearly 300 largely young people took part in the event, discussing organising a fight back against racism, war and environmental destruction. The event was filmed by Win TV (regional NSW version of Channel Nine). The news report can be seen below.
The S11 protests against the World Economic Forum were a triumph for the Australian left, writes Susan Price. But it was a tough job to put them together and took enormous efforts of many different people from many different backgrounds.
Fires have been burning for weeks. The level of destruction by flames is unparalleled in recent history. Acres of land burnt, homes and habitats destroyed, countless lives of animals and people lost, the list goes on.
We are coming together to recognize, commemorate, and mourn for everything lost so far, and everything that will be lost in the weeks and years to come. We are feeling the effects of climate change already, and regardless of any action we take now to lower emissions, some of these changes are already irreversible.
Join us as we stand together.
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To everyone who cares about a safe climate future, this is your open invite to join our School Strike 4 Climate on March 15 - students standing up when our politicians won’t.
The organisers of this event acknowledge that this event takes place on stolen Whadjuk Noongar land, more specifically Boorloo. Sovereignty was never ceded.
The fight for climate justice will never be achieved without justice and land rights for first nations people.
On the 21st of May School Strike 4 Climate Australia is having a national day of action to demand that our government scraps their gas lead Covid-19 recovery! We call for the government to #FundOurFutureNotGas!
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