Issue 1302

News

Hundreds of people joined a rally on Parliament Lawns in Hobart to call for whistleblower Julian Assange to be freed and support public interest journalism, reports Tristan Sykes.

First Nations organisations have strongly criticised the NT government’s proposals to get “tough” on young people who re-offend, saying it will drive more Aboriginal children into prison, writesPip Hinman.

LGBTI activists and supporters have vowing to continue the campaign for next-of-kin recognition for same-sex couples. Matt Haubrick and Rose Matthews report.

Geelong Trades Hall Council is looking to address the region's lack of jobs by issuinga call for interested parties to start an Environmental Jobs Alliance. Sue Bull reports.

An Aboriginal flag flying at half mast.Photo: Kazadams/Wikimedia Commons

Moreland City Council has voted to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at half-mast each year on January 26 and National Sorry Day on May 26, reports Jacob Andrewartha.

Community and Public Sector Union members working in Parliament House are demanding greater workplace safety and respect, reports Kerry Smith.

Former Builders Labourer's FederationleaderJack Mundey, whopioneered the green ban, was given a rousing state send off at Sydney Town Hall. Rachel Evans reports.

Extinction Rebellion organised a series of civil disobedience actions in Perth, calling for urgent action to stop climate change. Alex Salmon reports.

鶹ý 30th anniversary event March 27 2021

鶹ý is turning 30! Have a read of the manymessages of support we have received from around the world.

Independent Iraqi journalist Abeer Hasan Al Anitold a gathering to mark the invasion of Iraq that thepromises of freedom, democracy and prosperity the Iraqis longed for have never come true. Peter Boyle reports.

The Kurdish community in Australia held a Newroz (Kurdish New Year) celebration in NSW Parliament House, Peter Boyle reports.

Analysis

The end of the JobKeeper program means that up to 500,000 jobs are at risk. Jim McIlroy argues that plenty of secure jobs could be created if there was a mass campaign to redirect public funds to expand the public sector.

NSW Greens MLC Jamie Parker speaks at a rally for democracy in Myanmar, in Sydney.

Why is Australia so soft in its response to the military coup in Myanmar?Jamie Parkerspeaks to鶹ýaboutthis question.

Reporting a male Coalition staffer's bad behaviour as “lewd” downplays the systematic nature of sexism and misogyny, argues Alison Pennington.

Resourcing precariously employed workers to become organised, gain a voice and demand change, means changing the way unions organise, writes Josh Cullinan.

Jackie Kriz writes thatthe #March4Justice movement needs to keepmobilising if it wants itsdemands to be met.

Murrumbidgee River. Photo: Tracey Carpenter

The ongoinginjusticesand dispossession ofFirst Nations peoples can be seen in the devastating impactof stolenwater rights. But, writes Tracey Carpenter, some changes have been won in Victoria.

We are being told by some that the floods devastating NSW and Queenslandare a “once-in-a-hundred year event”. They're not.They are a reminder of the dangers of extreme weather events brought on by climate change, writes Pip Hinman.

Jocelynne Scutt and Kamala Emanuel discuss the meaning, the merits and the limits of the "rule of law",Christian Porter's defamation case against the ABC and how the "justice" system shoulddeal with rape and sexual assault.

World

The Dutch election in mid-March was a shift to the right. One of the great mistakes of the Dutch left in the period leading up to this election was that, while it was already at an all-time low in the polls, it did not prioritise its own narrative, writes Alex De Jong.

John McEvoy and Nathalia Urban discuss vaccine imperialism in Latin America.

Left parties from the Asia-Pacific region have spoken out in solidarity with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party,which isin the process of being bannedin Turkey,reportsPeter Boyle.

Socialists around the world have paid tributeto veteran Canadian Marxist Ernie Tate, writes Alex Bainbridge.

Unidos Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias will head the party'slist in Madrid's regional elections, writes Dick Nichols. But will Madrid's working class mobilise in numbers to support the left and prevent afar-right victory?

Lee Tan speaks to 鶹ýabout Australian rare earth company Lynas' plan tobuild a permanent dump for its toxic waste in a pristine rainforest in Malaysia.

Anti*Capitalist Resistance activists reflect on the police attack on a women’s vigil in South London.

Anti-racist protests took place in cities across the United States following the murder of six Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia in what was a racist hate crime,writes Malik Miah.

United States President Joe Biden administration regards China's economic rise as an "existential threat" to the US Empire, writes Barry Sheppard.

Culture

Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus introduces six new books that are worth reading — and one that isn’t.

Jazz is quintessentially American music. But, asBarry Healy writes, the story of jazz is a harrowing tale of racism and criminal violence stretching through to the present day.