Former Guantanamo Bay concentration camp detainee David Hicks says if he wins the Queensland Premier's Literary Award he will donate the proceeds to torture victims. 鈥淚f I win this award, every cent will go to victims of torture,鈥 Hicks told Network Ten TV on August 24.
鈥淚 have never been a supporter of terrorism,鈥 Hicks said. 鈥淚 had no choice but to sign a piece of paper to get out of Guantanamo Bay,鈥 the August 25 Courier-Mail reported.
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Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members in several government departments are continuing to campaign against the federal government's policy of limiting pay rises to 3% a year, which is less than the rate of inflation.
CPSU members in the defence department walked off the job for one hour on August 25 to attend protest meetings over stalled pay negotiations. Civilian staff at more than 70 defence bases and offices throughout the country took part.
A convoy of 30 trucks and cars loaded with drilling equipment and workers from energy company Woodside set out from Broome in northern Western Australia at 2.30am on August 26.
Unions have sharply criticised Qantas as the airline announced it had doubled its profits a week after it said it needed to lay off 1000 workers.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce reported a $249 million after-tax profit for 2010-11 鈥 about twice what it earned the previous year. Its before tax profit amounted to more than $550 million, which is a rise of about 50% over the 2009-10 financial year.
On August 16, Qantas announced plans to restructure its business, which would include setting up two new Asian-based airlines and cutting up to 1000 Australian-based jobs.
During the historic High Court challenge to the federal government鈥檚 so-called Malaysia solution, barrister Debbie Mortimer, representing refugees that face expulsion from Australia, said 鈥渇undamental rights were at stake鈥 in the case.
A protest planned for October 28 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit (CHOGM) received wide media attention on August 23. This came after The West Australian ran an article under the inflammatory 鈥淧rotesters vow to break CHOGM security lines鈥.
A was titled 鈥淩ally would be test of new powers鈥.
The issue of marriage equality is steadily gaining traction among the Australia population. Seventy-five percent of Australians expect same-sex marriage to be made legal a 2011 Galaxy Poll found.
The same research said 62% of Australians support marriage equality; the number is as high as 80% among younger people. The poll also said 78% of Australians believe there should be a conscience vote in parliament on the issue.
Antony Loewenstein is an independent journalist and author of My Israel Question and The Blogging Revolution. 麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Simon Butler asked Loewenstein about recent attempts to intimidate supporters of the boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS) campaign against Israel.
鈥淎 White House investigation 鈥 uncovered a culture of complacency, cost-cutting and systemic failures and companies unprepared to deal with accidents and consequences.鈥
That was how ABC News on January 18 summed up the findings of the US inquiry into last year鈥檚 disaster at BP鈥檚 Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
The explosion caused 11 deaths, and unleashed the worst accidental marine oil spill in history. About 4.9 million barrels of oil escaped over nearly three months before the well was capped.
Renowned Marxist economist and ecologist John Bellamy Foster is a feature guest speaker at the , which will take place in Melbourne over September 30 to October 3.
He spoke to 麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Peter Boyle about capitalism鈥檚 growing economic and environmental contradictions.
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About 100 people gathered on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on August 21 to show their support for the student movement in Chile, which is campaigning for free education.
As protests and strikes for free education rock the country, more than two dozen high school students have launched a hunger strike until the Chilean government agrees to make public education free.
A solidarity protest also took place in Brisbane鈥檚 West End on August 20 in support of the hunger strikers.
Ian Angus is a veteran of the socialist and environmental movements in Canada and internationally. He is a featured guest speaker at the , which will take place in Melbourne, from September 30 to October 3.
Angus is the founder and editor of , an online journal that focuses on capitalism, ecology and the ecosocialist alternative.
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