The Country Liberal government of the Northern Territory announced on October 26 it was extending a reservation over Darwin鈥檚 rural area to 鈥減rotect rural and rural-residential areas of the Greater Darwin region .
鈥淲hilst the Country Liberal government is open for business, we know it is not practical to have oil and gas development in the middle of the Greater Darwin Region鈥, said mines and energy minister Willem Westra van Holthe.
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The ANZ announced a full-year cash profit of $6.5 billion on October 29.
Two days later, the NAB posted a profit that was not quite so big. It had only managed $5.94 billion in the year to September.
Banks make their profits in a number of ways. One is a sort of bankers鈥 version of two-up, betting on foreign exchange rates. This is the world鈥檚 largest market.
Reserve Bank of Australia figures for April put the average Australian foreign exchange turnover at US$181.7 billion a day.
Despite a Victorian state moratorium since last year barring the use of 鈥渇racking鈥 (hydraulic fracturing) to extract gas, communities across the state continue to protest against gas drilling and exploration.
Sixty locals protested at a test drilling site in Yarragon in Gippsland, east of Melbourne, on October 19, where Greenpower Natural Gas holds a licence to explore for coal seam gas (CSG). The moratorium on fracking does not prevent exploration works such as drilling and flaring off.
Many residents have been involved in the campaign to stop the East West tunnel in Melbourne, an $8-15 billion tollway project of Denis Napthine鈥檚 Coalition government.
One resident, Keith Fitzgerald, has lived in Collingwood for 70 years.
Fitzgerald told 麻豆传媒 Weekly his grandparents had come over from Richmond in 1898 and settled in Collingwood. His father was born in Collingwood in 1900.
Fitzgerald has lived in the same house for 69 years but has received a letter saying it is likely to be requisitioned,
McDonald鈥檚 Australia has ceased legal action against eight community protesters 鈥 dubbed the 鈥淭ecoma 8鈥 鈥 who were being sued for damages over delays to construction of a McDonald鈥檚 restaurant in Tecoma, in the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The stack of new laws rushed through the Queensland parliament in recent weeks have put the Liberal National Party government on a collision course with the judiciary, the legal fraternity, trade unions and civil liberties activists not seen since the days of Joh Bjelke Petersen.
These new laws 鈥 directed at bikie gangs, G20 protesters, sex offenders and workers compensation 鈥 attack basic freedoms of association, the right to protest peacefully, fair sentencing and the right of workers to sue negligent employers.
Emergency service workers rallied on October 29 to oppose attempts by the Victorian government to introduce sweeping changes to the Transport Accident Act, which would take away emergency workers鈥 common law right to seek injury compensation for psychological injury, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Peter Marshall, Victorian Secretary of the United Firefighter Union, told the rally: 鈥63% of firefighters have moderate post-traumatic stress levels, 17% have full blown post-traumatic stress levels, and that is on the increase.
Secondary Students for Refugee Rights (SSFRR) is a group that was founded by Caitlin Woodland and Lucy Dodd, both students at Princes Hill Secondary College, to advocate for refugees鈥 rights.
It formed during the federal election campaign in response to refugees being demonised by politicians during the campaign.
This statement was released by the Socialist Alliance on October 28
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The passing of the ACT assembly's bill to allow same-sex marriages on October 22 is a significant win and a step towards full, federal marriage equality.
The win is a result of long, hard-fought, grassroots campaigning. The federal government's bid to quash it with a High Court challenge is testimony to its bigotry and hostility to equality. We must defend the bill against the federal government's attack.
Selected people in Australia recently received the following invitation from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 鈥淒ear TPP Stakeholders, As part of the Australian Government鈥檚 ongoing public consultation process on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations, the TPP negotiating team will be visiting Sydney on 30 October 2013 to meet with interested members of the public, and business and civil society stakeholders.
鈥淭he meeting will provide an update on the negotiations and an opportunity for further stakeholder input.鈥
Just what questions can you be asked when you apply for a job? According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on October 12, global energy company Chevron asks some intrusive reproductive health questions of women applicants in its recruitment process. Questions include whether an applicant has been sterilised, their pregnancy history, how many abortions and stillbirths they have had, the number of 鈥渘ormal鈥 children they have and any birth defects their children may have.
Tasmanian Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell said he was grateful for the thoughts behind his Australia Day award nomination but that he 鈥渨ould be a hypocrite to accept it鈥.
Mansell has been outspoken about the offensiveness of Australia鈥檚 national day celebrating the invasion and dispossession of Australia鈥檚 Aboriginal people. He has participated in Invasion Day rallies held by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for many years.
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