New documentary film Radical Wollongong, produced by 麻豆传媒 TV, will premiere in Wollongong on May 18, followed by screenings in other cities and regional centres.
The film features activist participants from Wollongong's radical history of strikes and community rallies, from miners鈥 struggles to Aboriginal justice and environmental protection.
Here, co-producer John Rainford describes workers鈥 campaigns in the Illawarra that defeated greedy bosses and saved jobs.
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It is difficult to accept that NSW Premier Barry O鈥橣arrell lost his position over the alleged gift of a $3000 bottle of Grange connected with the push to award lucrative contracts to Australian Water Holdings (AWH).
Conceivably, he could have stonewalled that accusation and ridden out the storm had he enjoyed the backing of cabinet and the Daily Telegraph.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece party SYRIZA and the Party of the European Left's candidate for president of the European Commission, released on May 2 in opposition to the arrest of Gerry Adams, president of the Irish republican party Sinn Fein, on April 30.
麻豆传媒 Weekly's Peter Boyle spoke to Kevin Lin, who is doing research for his PhD at the University of Technology Sydney on the labour movement in China, about the background to a new wave of strikes in the country.
Three years ago the Portuguese government, unable to raise funds on the capital markets, went for help to the infamous troika 鈥 the combination of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Union. In return for their bail-out, the troika imposed punitive conditions that have wrecked livelihoods.
In Portugal last September, the negative impact was expressed for me in one biting comment: 鈥淭hey are draining the life blood from Portugal.鈥
The Commission of Audit report is a declaration of open class war by the corporate ruling class against Australia's working people and the poor.
Released symbolically on May 1, the international workers' day, it is a clear challenge to the labour movement and social organisations.
If its 86 recommendations are implemented, it would be a wholesale destruction of the welfare state, hard fought for over a century or more by working people, and a huge victory for big business in shifting wealth from the poor to the rich.
The United States Supreme Court ruled on April 22 that states can ban affirmative action in admissions to their public universities.
At issue was a constitutional amendment passed in Michigan that banned consideration of race in admissions to the state鈥檚 education institutions.
States that have banned affirmative action in higher education, such as Florida and California, as well as Michigan, have recorded a significant drop in the enrollment of Black and Latino students.
Doctors for the Environment Australia released the statement below on May 2.
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Doctors and medical students are calling climate change a 鈥減ublic health emergency鈥 and will join hundreds of Australians for the National Day of Divestment, organised by 350.org and Market Forces, on May 3.
Across Australia, doctors and medical students will deliver letters to their banks calling on them to divest from fossil fuels, while others will close their accounts.
I am one of the organisers for the March in March and March in May and a social justice advocate.
The leaflet for the Sydney Institute dinner [held on April 28] declares that the honourable Tony Abbott has had a 鈥渓ong and distinguished political career鈥. I disagree with this statement, and from here on will refer to our prime minister as the dishonourable Tony Abbott.
Since taking office in September last year, the dishonourable Tony Abbott and his government have worked hard to undermine the needs and rights of Australians, giving us plenty to get worked up about.
Last year we had the hottest week, hottest day, month and year on record broken in Australia.
Worryingly, the fossil fuel companies already have 2795 gigatonnes of fossil fuels in reserves they planning on burning.
That is five times more than the planet can handle if we want to stay below two degrees of warming their business plans, the planet tanks. We need to rewrite this script and go down a different path.
As we brace for the Coalition government's first budget 鈥 with its foreshadowed cuts to Medicare, education, welfare and public service jobs 鈥 the salt in these wounds was Prime Minister Tony Abbott's announcement that his government plans to buy 58 F35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter war planes for $12.5 billion.
About 2000 people rallied in Tasmania鈥檚 Upper Florentine Valley on April 27 to defend World Heritage listed forests.
The rally was organised by the Bob Brown Foundation to oppose the proposed removal of the Upper Florentine from the World Heritage Area by the federal government.
Organisers say the proposal will exclude some of the world鈥檚 most intact temperate forests and some of the tallest hardwood forests on Earth and would allow them to be opened up to environmentally destructive practices such as logging.
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