A must-read article on the protests in Kalgoorlie today.

"The posts about the broken window are filled with outrage. Who will pay for that? One questioner asks angrily, as the protests start and the violence starts escalating. Its evidence to them that this death was ‘waiting to happen’, and they happily ignore the part they may have played in that tragedy. There’s a closed Facebook group called ‘Name, Shame and Crimes Kalgoorlie’ filled with comments (as recently as a fe...w days ago) about ‘running them over’ and plans for revenge. There’s a joke, casually made, asking how many bodies it would take to fill all the mine shafts. The answer is ‘we’re one theft closer to finding out’.

Latest article from The Platform - Issue 4 is out! 'Living in a Monopoly' compares the game 'Monopoly' to our current living conditions in a capitalist society.

"Just like the outcome of the game, the monopolisation of capital results in the most powerful minorities dividing all the profits whilst the greater part of humanity suffers from ever increasing poverty. The standard of living for the wealthy is based on the extreme oppression of the working class.

... The truth is m...ost of us go around the board year in and year out trying to pass ‘GO’ for our measly wage, hoping we can scrape together enough money to pay our rent and survive. If you can’t pay your rent you don’t get to stop playing, you have to keep rolling your shitty dice, trying to make it back to ‘GO’ or dying in the process.
Meanwhile the minority who monopolise the board don’t ever really begin the game, certain players just pass their piece on, accompanied by their every-growing pile of notes, properties, and little red hotels."

Check out this article from the brand new issue of our publication, The Platform, on reproductive labour and capitalism! We'll be publishing online versions of all of the other articles in the issue over the next week.

"The Wages for Housework campaign also has important lessons for contemporary anti-capitalist organising efforts. Women, and others who perform reproductive work, are usually marginalised within anti-capitalist struggles. The home isn’t seen as a potential site... for workplace organising. Housework, parenting, sex work, elder care, and emotional labour aren’t seen as worker’s issues. As Federici comments, “We are seen as nagging bitches, not workers in struggle” (16). We need to remember how broad and diverse the working class is as a social force. Women of colour are the biggest section within the global working class. Workers labour in the home, in the child care centre, and in nursing homes, as well as in factories. ‘Labour’ is not only about waged labour. By thinking about the role of reproductive labour plays in our societies, we can draw attention to the gendered and racialised dimensions of capitalist exploitation. The idea of reproductive labour also opens up new possibilities for anti-capitalist resistance. We need to think about how we can struggle as unwaged workers – what strategies and tactics we can employ when our ‘boss’ is not a clearly identifiable authority figure, but rather an economic and social system. While this form of action raises challenges, it also raises opportunities for us to spread anti-capitalist workers’ struggle into every home, and all parts of our communities. Only by accepting this challenge will be have any chance of creating the broad, diverse workers’ movements we need to successfully challenge capitalism, patriarchy and white supremacy."

Public meeting at #BendigoSt Occupation

Homeless occupants of occupied #BendigoSt houses are telling their stories, explaining the inadequacy of homelessness services and explaining why they are occupying these vacant government owned houses.

After five months occupation police have served trespass notices on homeless occupants and activists supporting them. Eviction is expected any day.

Stapling up the zines,
Stapling up the zines,
Staple staple staple,
Stapling up the zines!