En Passant

The Australian and other Murdoch outlets have been running a faux University freedom campaign for years now. As they lose more and more ‘sensible centre’ journalists – how much longer can Peter van Onselen stay there more or less on his own? – they seem to have become more strident in their condemnation of cultural […]

The Israel Folau case worries me. Rugby Australia sacked Folau for his proselytising post that said: WARNING Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolaters HELL AWAITS YOU Repent! Only Jesus Saves. Despite Folau’s claim this is a quote from the Bible, the actual passage from Corinthians 6:9-10 makes no mention of hell. It says […]

Am I living in a police state? On Tuesday the Australian Federal Police raided the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst. On Wednesday it was the turn of journalists in the Sydney offices of the ABC. They were looking for information that they could use to prosecute whistle-blowers who provided the information to journalists. […]

PM Morrison has bowed to public pressure, announcing he will address homophobic legislation but the extent to which he delivers remains uncertain, writes John Passant in Independent Australia. To read the whole article, click here.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Ken Olende in Socialist Worker UK cuts through our rulers’ attempts to spin the Magna Carta as the basis of democratic rights in Britain

McIntyre was telling his version of the truth, a version much closer to reality than the war porn about ANZAC Day the Australian ruling class has force fed us over the last week. Sacking McIntyre explodes the lies of the ruling class that our participation in this imperialist war was about defending freedom and democracy then and now.

Planned changes to anti-terror laws outlined by Tony Abbott and George Brandis on 5 August amount to a staggering new attack on basic civil rights writes Corey Oakley in Red Flag.

Of course the conviction of Peter Greste is a travesty of justice. So too are Aboriginal deaths in custody, imprisoning innocent asylum seekers and their children in concentration camps, criminalising dissent, fining or jailing workers for ‘illegal’ strikes and imprisoning Aboriginal peoples on their own lands.

The fight for justice in Australia is the fight against the same sort of forces imprisoning Peter Greste in Egypt. Our fight against injustice here is the fight against injustice everywhere. Peter Greste’s struggle is our struggle. The best way for Australians to support Greste is to fight for justice and freedom here in Australia.

To make sense of the zeal of George Brandis for certain types of freedoms we need to judge them through the prism of class. Brandis’s freedoms will directly or indirectly assist the ruling class in its ongoing campaign to justify itself and reinforce its barbaric and exploitative rule. His proposed freedom commissars will strengthen the dictatorship of capital.