$4 an hour – PaTH to slave labour

“Jobs and growth” is the parrot-like election campaign three word slogan of the Turnbull government. Bereft of meaning when seen in isolation (as it is meant to be) its real meaning when applied to the Coalition policies is $4-an-hour “jobs” and in turn a big “growth” boost for company profits.  more ...

Editorial – Dutton’s desperate race card

The Coalition is feeling the pressure. As the long election campaign drags on, the Turnbull government is looking more and more vulnerable. Police raids called on the office of Labor Senator Stephen Conroy and the home of staffer Andrew Byrne in connection with leaks about the troubled National Broadband Network have the whiff of political motivation. Another sign of desperation was the claim by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton that refugees would simultaneously be dependent on the dole and taking jobs off Australians.  more ...

Adnyamathanha disgust at nuclear waste dump move

Adnyamathanha people are angry about a likely low level nuclear waste dump near South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, saying they don’t want the outback poisoned again. Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg has picked a cattle station near Barndioota, 40 kilometres north of Port Augusta, as the preferred site to store medical and laboratory waste currently held in Sydney.  more ...

A model for action

Politics in the Pub, Perth organised by the Communist Party of Australia, WA branch this month presented the theme on the relevance of the Communist Manifesto in today’s times. Dr Christopher Crouch and Dr Fayeza Khan, the two speakers, briefly introduced the Manifesto before analysing two separate but related aspects of the Manifesto. We present this summary on the 198th birthday of Karl Marx.  more ...

Warrior advocate for Indigenous rights

Rob Riley died on May 1, 1996. He waged a life long battle on behalf of Aboriginal Australians to lift the profile of their struggle in white dominated Australia. In 2004, the inaugural Rob Riley Memorial Lecture was held at which the keynote speaker was indigenous leader Pat Dodson. He recently became a Senator for the Australian Labor Party.  more ...

Fear and loathing in the empire

America is exceptional alright. It is the most frightened nation on Earth, subjected to hysterical propaganda over decades warning about foreign enemies and ideologies. No wonder its supposed democratic freedom is in so appallingly bad shape, when the preponderant population is imprisoned by their rulers in a virtual cage of fear.  more ...

In the land of Palestine

A talk given by Leila Yusaf Chung at the screening of 5 Broken Cameras at the Sydney CPA offices, organised by the Communist Women’s Collective.  more ...

Culture & Life – Not so rich after all

The USA is supposedly the richest country on Earth. That might depend however on how one defines “rich”. A country that cannot – or will not – provide affordable (let alone free) health care for its population is arguably not really rich. Neither is a country that cannot give its people universal, free education, or that cannot guarantee employment for all its citizens. Also fundamental to a definition of a rich country is whether it can provide its people with sufficient to eat and drink. The provision of fresh, clean drinking water is a basic requirement that many people – especially in poor countries – simply do not receive. And not just in poor countries.  more ...