Communists gear up for federal election

It’s been a few years since Communists stood as candidates at a federal election. Running in an election is a big commitment of time and money but those aren’t the only obstacles to be overcome. The bureaucratic requirements of the electoral authorities have made the task that much harder. The major parties of capital – the Liberals, Nationals and Labor – have combined in federal and state jurisdictions to make it harder for smaller parties to take their place on the ballot paper.  more ...

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May Day 2016 – Workers’ rights are human rights

In this May Day issue of the Guardian, Anna Pha analyses and exposes the Turnbull’s government’s preparations for an unprecedented attack on organised labour, on the democratic rights of workers to defend hard-won gains, including the most fundamental right of workers: the right to withdraw their labour.  more ...

The ABCC Mark II – Gestapo industrial relations laws

Last week the Senate rejected the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) legislation for a second time as hoped for by the Turnbull government. The government is using it to justify a double dissolution of Parliament and an election campaign centred on “union corruption” and Labor’s links with the trade union movement. Like its predecessor introduced by the Howard Coalition government, the ABCC discriminates against workers in the building and construction industry by applying a different and harsher set of laws to workers and their unions not applied in any other industry.  more ...

Editorial – Greed and deception – bank on it

Opposition leader Bill Shorten stunned the big banks and corporate media when he promised a Royal Commission into the banking sector. The Big Four, the most powerful institutions in Australia, see themselves as not only too big to fail but too big to be touched. Labor’s call follows that of the Australian Greens last year, which Labor had at the time opposed.  more ...

Royal Commission 25 years on – Still waiting for action

Members of the Change the Record (CTR) coalition – which seeks to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison – gathered in Canberra last Friday [April 15] to mark 25 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).  more ...

Lessons from the cutting of Newcastle’s rail line

Last year the rail line into Newcastle was shut down and large sections of the track were ripped up. Trains now terminate at Hamilton, four kilometres from what was Newcastle Station, and buses ferry people into the city. A transport interchange involving trams is supposed to be built nearby in Wickham. There had been a struggle (demonstrations, rallies, court action) since 2012 to keep the line open. However in the end the line was cut, but there are important lessons we can learn from this struggle:  more ...

Attempted coup in Brazil

No-one should underestimate the stakes Dilma Rousseff is battling for in Brazil by her pledge to fight impeachment proceedings “tooth and nail.”  more ...

Taking Issue – Another coup in “Washington’s backyard”

Australia’s ABC news soberly reported the other night that the Brazilian parliament had voted to impeach the President for misusing public funds, and mentioned in passing that the country was in the grip of a corruption crisis. Viewers were effectively invited to draw the conclusion “a bunch of swarthy foreigners had been caught indulging in their typical corrupt practices.”  more ...

Contrasting two systems – CPA Youth in Politics roundtable

Too often in Australia we hear that our youth are apathetic, not interested in political engagement, spending too much time on the internet and not interested in working or looking for work.  more ...

Culture & Life – Buying the Clinton presidency

When Bill Clinton originally ran for the US presidency, his wife Hillary made some progressive speeches on his behalf, attacking his “rightwing” opponents. But speaking and doing are two different things, a fact that was made very clear when she later became Secretary of State, responsible for implementing the USA’s extremely aggressive foreign policy. When the US followed up NATO’s bombing of Libya by organising terrorist groups to attack the Libyan government’s forces, murdering President Muammar Gaddafi and sinking the country into its present state of constant civil warfare, Hillary Clinton was content to cynically quip “We came, we saw, he died”.  more ...