Australian News and Analysis

By Conor Flynn The Turnbull government is set to overhaul the TAFE system. News of the move came from a leaked document, marked “in confidence”, circulated to state governments ahead of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in March. Under the proposal, the federal government would take over TAFE […]

By Dane Letcher Wage growth was at the slowest pace on record for 2015, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Using their Wage Price Index (WPI) the ABS found that hourly rates scarcely rose by 0.5% in the last quarter of 2015. In the September quarter wages rose […]

Text of a Socialist Party leaflet circulated at the April 2 rally to save CSIRO jobs in Melbourne. No more cuts! No more job losses! The CSIRO is a renowned, publicly-owned research institute that has been at the forefront of scientific research for decades. Since the hated 2014 Abbott budget […]

By Ben Convey In recent months the Safe Schools program has come under attack. In coming together to resist these attacks the LGBTIQ rights movement has taken an important step forward. Recent actions have begun to shift discussion away from a narrow focus on gay and lesbian marriage rights towards […]

By Jorden Griggs In late February over 15,000 people rallied in Sydney against late night lockout laws. The laws are supposed to combat alcohol fuelled violence but have had a detrimental impact on many live music and entertainment venues, as well as artistic and cultural spaces. Studies have shown that […]

By Ben Convey Indigenous people’s scepticism towards the government-backed campaign to acknowledge Aboriginal people in the Australian constitution is developing into outright opposition. Recognise has attempted to portray itself as a grassroots ‘people’s movement’ to eradicate racial discrimination from the Australian Constitution, and create a ‘more united nation’. In reality, […]

By Corey Snoek More than 350 scientists are set to be put out of work over the next two years as the Turnbull government continues the Abbott era cuts to the CSIRO’s budget. This recent history of cuts has led to research in many vital areas being scaled back or […]

By Jeremy Trott Despite the widespread media coverage of the 7-Eleven half-pay scam, an ongoing Senate inquiry, and an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman, many 7-Eleven workers are still being underpaid. The systematic underpayment of 7-Eleven workers was first exposed in 2008 by UNITE, the union for fast food […]

By Mick Suter In February over 1000 people protested against the introduction of the Liberal government’s ‘Prevention of Lawful Activity Bill’. Trade unionists, farmers, environmental activists and indigenous people all gathered to show their opposition to this draconian new law. The legislation would allow for peaceful protesters to be jailed […]

By David Elliott The government is proposing cuts to Medicare, along with the privatisation of Medicare payment processing. Cuts to rebates for pathology tests, including blood tests, pap smears, and diagnostic imaging, have been put forward. These cuts will result in fees for medical screening tests that are currently free. […]