The underlying issue of racism in Australia has been a pervasive feature of national political life ever since the invasion of the First Fleet in 1788.
It was used as an ideological justification for the dispossession of indigenous Australians.
In 1975, the Racial Discrimination Act was implemented in order to enable all Australians, regardless of their racial and cultural background, to enjoy equal rights and to prohibit discriminative behaviour based on racial hatred.
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With the betting agencies putting the Greens candidate ahead of Labor in Sydney's inner west seat of Marrickville, Labor is running scared.
But rather than debate the issues, the ALP machine is doing its best to smear the Greens.
At a 120-strong candidates' meeting hosted by the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre on February 23, Greens candidate and Marrickville Mayor Fiona Byrne was asked if she would agree to council 鈥渂oycotting China鈥 if asked to do so by a Tibetan constituent.
In the face of renewed protests in Tunisia's capital, Tunis, Tunisian prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned on February 27.
This was one of the key demands of the popular movement, which has continued to push for democracy in the aftermath of the January 14 toppling of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In another concession to the mass movement, the interim government announced that elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution would be held on July 24, AlJazeera.net said on March 4.
When the Kyoto Protocol was being negotiated in 1997, the European Union opposed the United States鈥 proposal to introduce carbon trading and 鈥渙ffsetting鈥 as a form of compliance with mandated greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Instead, the EU favoured coordinated policies and measures.
But by 2001, when the US unilaterally abandoned climate negotiations, the EU had already reversed its position and enthusiastically supported delivering the fate of climate policy to a speculative market.
Mining company BHP Billiton鈥檚 whopping $10.5 billion profit for the second half of 2010 highlights the shameless greed of those making a fortune out of Australia鈥檚 valuable resources.
Remember the tantrum thrown by BHP, Rio Tinto and Xstrata less than a year ago after then-PM Kevin Rudd proposed the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT)?
The RSPT wasn鈥檛 a radical proposal. Part of the revenue from the modest 40% tax would have been returned to the corporate sector, helping to fund a cut in the already low corporate tax rate and various subsidies to mining.
ASIO has delayed the release of 900 refugees from immigration detention because it had not carried out security checks, a Senate estimate hearing on February 24 revealed.
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Refugees can be held indefinitely after their visa approval until checks on their background, family networks and 鈥渞isk鈥 level are complete.
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Lateline said on March 1 that it took an average of 66 days to process one person. But some refugees have been held for 12 months or longer.
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The released the statement below on February 26.
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The Socialist Alliance extends its full solidarity to the people of Libya now being brutally repressed for demanding an end to the corrupt and unjust regime of dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Their courageous struggle, launched on February 15, for democracy and economic and social justice, has resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of people being killed.
The protests that began on February 14 in Madison, Wisconsin against an anti-union bill have continued to grow. On February 26, an estimated 100,000 people defied sub-zero temperatures to rally against the bill. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker鈥檚 bill would outlaw collective bargaining for public sector workers, as well as slash pay and conditions. However, several events have combined to compound pressure on public sector workers and unions resisting the attacks. It remains to be seen whether this pressure will result in the proposed bill becoming law.
The self-immolation of Tunisian Mohamed Buazizi in December triggered off protests that brought down a 24-year-old dictatorship in that country and inspired similar protests in neighbouring countries.
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at Macquarie University in Sydney took rolling industrial action across four faculties during the first teaching week of semester.
The industrial action was part of a campaign for a new collective agreement for academic staff.
Three hundred staff and students rallied on March 3 to hear about the bargaining impasse. Issues of concern for staff include overcrowded classes, lack of facilities, workloads, budget cuts and job security.
One hundred people, including many from the Latin American community, ex-ALP members, members of the Greens, plus members of Newcastle, Wollongong, and several Sydney branches of Socialist Alliance, helped launch the SA鈥檚 campaign in the NSW state election on February 26 at St Lukes Hall in Enmore.
Hosted by lead SA Legislative Council candidates Peter Boyle and Jess Moore, the night featured music, theatre, political speeches and more.
The night was also about people-powered culture, with performances from the Freedom Fighters and Newcastle-based band GRCO.
Many millions of tonnes of coal have been exported since activists dubbed the Rising Tide Seven temporarily shut down coal loaders in Newcastle in September last year.
They were convicted on January 31 of 鈥渞emaining on enclosed lands鈥. Each was fined $300, plus $79 in court costs.
However, on March 3, they were vindicated when magistrate Elaine Truscott rejected the Port Waratah Coal Services鈥 (PWCS) $525,000 鈥渃ompensation鈥 claim.
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