Communist Party of Australia

March 14, 2018 - click here for index of articles.

Block Adani mine

This week the Federal Court is hearing an application by the Wangan and Jabalingou people of central Queensland against the Indian firm Adani’s proposed construction of one of the world’s biggest coal mines, at Carmichael in Central Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The mine would consume 9.5 billion litres of underground water in the region and 12 billion litres of water from local rivers every year. Combustion of coal mined at full production rate would also result in a huge rise in global carbon emissions. more ...

Editorial – From pit to port

On June 20, 2017 the Construction Forestry Mining Union (CFMEU), the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) lodged an application under section 44 of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to amalgamate following membership ballots. The amalgamation was strongly but unsuccessfully opposed by employer organisations. On Wednesday Deputy President Gostencnik gave the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) go-ahead and set the date for amalgamation at March 27. more ...

Trade as plunder – Rebadged TPP

Secret deals with sneaky corporate intent must surely be the hallmark of international trade deals, especially since the establishment in 1995 of the World Trade Organisation which extended the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to services and intellectual property. Specific to Australia in recent times is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), now to be known as the Comprehensive Progressive TPP. more ...

IWD – The rate for the job

The Guardian has kept the spirit of International Women’s Day (IWD) alive in articles, photographs, greeting cards and meetings to advance the causes of women’s struggle for equality and status. more ...

Timor Leste’s oil and gas – Origins of a dirty dispute

Australia and Timor Leste have signed a treaty at the United Nations defining a new maritime border between the two nations. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called it a “new chapter in Australia–Timor Leste relations”. The treaty settles in part the sea border dispute over the Greater Sunrise gas fields. The share of the lucrative gas field remains unresolved. more ...

Israel’s deepening involvement in the Syrian war

Israel has recently been intensifying air strikes and the arming of anti-government forces in Syria, some of which are close to Al-Qaeda. Professor As’ad AbuKhalil explains how Israel’s activity in Syria is part of a larger pattern of its overall foreign policy engagement around the world. more ...

Venezuela – Communists-Socialists campaign

The Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) held its 14th National Conference on February 17-18 in Caracas. One task of the conference was to select the party’s candidate for the Venezuelan presidency. Elections are set for April 22, 2018. Rather than putting forward its own nominee, the PCV announced its backing of President Nicolas Maduro for re-election. more ...

What Italy’s election results mean for migrants

Hsiao-Hung Pai reports from Sicily, where the far-right victory in yesterday’s general election has led to more fear and uncertainty in migrant and asylum seeker communities. more ...

Culture & Life – Gaza – Making ends meet

One morning in late January, Nabil al-Duhadar, 45, got up before six for dawn prayers and then immediately set to work. Al-Duhadar is a street vendor who sells turmos – a lupin bean snack often sold in market stalls. The snack takes preparation: the beans are soaked over 24 hours before being cooked for a couple of hours and then seasoned with salt and cumin and drizzled with lemon. It’s cheap, healthy and portable and an ideal product for street vendors for whom mobility is important. more ...