Green Left Weekly

France strikes

French workers fight back against pension attack

In France, three national strikes have occurred in the lead-up to the October 20 Senate debate on pension scheme proposals. Unions estimated the October 12, 16 and 19 national strikes were attended by 3.5 million, 3 million and 3.5 million people respectively. More...

Public sector cuts

You can't trust Rann and Foley

Treasurer Kevin Foley and Rann have been targeted in a campaign by trade unions against the recent state budget. The budget cuts almost 4000 public service jobs and will affect long service leave and leave loading entitlements. More...

Aboriginal rights

Gurindji fight for jobs with justice

The Gurindji people of Kalkarindji — known for their heroic 1966 walk-off from Wave Hill station — are protesting because the government is now forcing Aboriginal people to work 16 hours a week for $115, plus $115 credit on a Basics Card. More...

Afganistan War

Parliamentary ‘debate’ on war a farce

On October 19, at exactly 3.30pm, the Lib-Lab politicians suddenly went from smirk to sombre as the Afghanistan “debate” finally started — nine years too late. It was a farce. More...

THIS WEEK'S SOCIALIST ALLIANCE 'OUR COMMON CAUSE' COLUMN

Socialist Alliance picks its working-class guy

I’m running for parliament to take a stand for local families, to save what’s rightfully ours and build up the future for the next generation to enjoy. Labor has given us second best for too long. We’re a growth area way out of town, full of young families that can’t afford to run two cars. Financial pressures are sending people broke and destroying families. Let’s get things right: look after the planet and give our families a break.

THIS WEEK'S COLUMN BY RESISTANCE!, SOCIALIST YOUTH ORGANISATION

Sex, booze and the need for better education

Despite the fact that more than half of Australian teenagers are getting it on by the time they are 16, there is no national curriculum for sex education in Australia. A 2009 survey by Marie Stopes International found that one in 10 teenagers had not been taught sex education at school.

Australian News

Remembering SIEV X

“We're here to remember what happened nine years ago, with refugees in boats on the high seas attempting to reunite with their families. Others have drowned in recent times off Indonesia, attempting to flee to Australia because they have no alternative ... There is no flood of asylum seekers into Australia. Let's welcome these people into our country, not condemn them."

Gillard attacks workers’ safety

The October 18 Australian said PM Julia Gillard had threatened the NSW government by withholding a $144 million reform incentive if it did not continue with the occupational health and safety harmonisation process. The harmonisation process will water down NSW OH&S; to meet the lower standards of other states.

Further Australian News

International News

Jewish peace activist condemns Israeli crimes

Anna Baltzer is a US activist who lived in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. "Israel pays for people like me, a Jewish woman living a comfortable life in the United States, to move to and live on Palestinians’ land. In one example I documented, a billboard offered Israeli citizens about $25,000 to move into West Bank settlements."

Peru: Corrupt leader assaults protester

Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who last year ordered the brutal massacre of protesting Amazonian tribespeople, has once again resorted to violence — this time in person. Garcia encountered 27-year-old Ricardo Galvez, who shouted “corrupt” at the president. Eyewitnesses say Garcia flew into an uncontrollable rage and forcefully struck the volunteer worker in the face.

Further International News

Comment and Analysis

Public housing: privatised by stealth

Public housing in Victoria is being dismantled and privatised by stealth, without open and genuine public consultation. Generous land packages have been sold. Sometimes the titles of public housing properties have simply been transferred across to private housing associations or providers.

French workers saluted for stand

Socialist Alliance salutes the millions of French workers and students who have taken to the streets in a wave of sustained demonstrations and strikes against the Sarkozy governments’ attack on pensions. Inspiringly, tens of thousands of university and high school students have joined the protests, blockading and shutting their own schools despite violent police repression.

Further Comment and Analysis

Letters

Letters to the editor

Beware! Labour hire Little Jonny Howard's anti-worker IR laws are alive and well and living in a state near you. After asking if we could have a cleaner to look after the lunch sheds and toilets, I was sent an email while on RnR telling me I was no longer required, even though the Gorgon/Chevron gas project is still ramping up workers with my qualifications. North West Labour Solutions, based in Albany, WA, has taken advantage of workers and their good faith by offering employment under the guise of what is essentially an AWA.

Resistance!

Sex, booze and the need for better education

A survey of 8800 Australian teenagers, carried out over 10 years by La Trobe University, has found that the number of young people having sex has risen. The proportion of sexually active year 12 women who reported having had sex with three or more partners in the previous year more than doubled to 27% in the decade to 2008. Meanwhile, the NSW health department said in September that sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly chlamydia, were on the rise.

Cultural Dissent

Radical art from the grassroots

Sydney’s inner-west played host to the inaugural Live Red Art event. The works showed how art can be used to promote activism. Topics explored included anti-war activism, refugee rights, action on climate change, feminism, addiction, sustainability and reuse, Aboriginal rights, communication and censorship, as well as the commodification of resources and people.

The book Tony Blair doesn’t want you to read

Curtis' latest book shows that, far from fighting Islamic terrorism, Britain has nurtured it whenever it has thought it useful to do so. As British colonial power began to ebb in the 20th century, it tried to prop up its interests in the resource-rich region by any means possible. Radical Islamists usually fitted the bill.

Further Cultural Dissent

Just 8% of the world’s population owns 79.3% of the world’s total wealth, a new study by the research wing of the giant Swiss bank, Credit Suisse found, Sam Pizzigati said on the A World of Progress blog on October 18. Further, 35.6% of all wealth is held by just 0.5% of the world’s 4.4 billion adults. On the opposite end of the scale, 68.4% of the world’s adults get to share just 4.2% of global wealth.

Afghan feminist: Why foreign troops should leave

France strikes

French workers fight back against pension attack

Public sector cuts

You can't trust Rann and Foley

Aboriginal rights

Gurindji fight for jobs with justice

Afganistan War

Parliamentary ‘debate’ on war a farce

Socialist Alliance picks its working-class guy

Sex, booze and the need for better education

Australian News

Remembering SIEV X

Gillard attacks workers’ safety

International News

Jewish peace activist condemns Israeli crimes

Peru: Corrupt leader assaults protester

Comment and Analysis

Public housing: privatised by stealth

French workers saluted for stand

Letters

Letters to the editor

Resistance!

Sex, booze and the need for better education

Cultural Dissent

Radical art from the grassroots

The book Tony Blair doesn’t want you to read

Fighting Fund

No peace without justice

FEATURED CONTENT

Greens leader on Afghanistan: Australia should bring its troops home now

Support glw

Links

Get in touch

about GLW - the need for alternative media