Issue 1359

News

A bill seeking to give the ACT and Northern Territory rights to legislate their own laws, including onĀ voluntary assisted dying,Ā is scheduled to go to the Senate. Suzanne James reports.

The New South Wales Supreme Court is hearing a challengeĀ that aims to overturnĀ NSW Police fines against protesters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jim McIlroy reports.

Thousands of NSW Nurses and Midwives Association members went on strike for the third time this year to push for safe nurse-to-patient ratios and a pay rise. Jim McIlroy reports.

Marking a year since they reoccupied land near Adaniā€™s Carmichael coal mine, theĀ Wangan and Jagalingou people in Queensl²¹²Ō»åĢżheld a Waddananggu. Coral Wynter ²¹²Ō»åĢżSteffi Leedham report.

Nurses strike

New South Wales nurses and midwives took strike action across the state for mandated safe nurse-to-patient ratios and better pay and conditions. Kerry Smith reports.

Charles Sturt University will repay millions in unpaid wages to current and former casual staff, in a life-changing win for casual employees. Susan Price reports.

The NSW local government minister's support for Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council to demerge opens the way for otherĀ councils to deamalgamate. Pip Hinman °ł±š±č“Ē°ł³Ł²õ.Ģż

Fisherfolk and environmentalists say knowingly damaging the oceans for the sake of outdated and unnecessary fossil fuel exploration isĀ wrong.Ā Darrin Saffin reports.

The Medical Board of Australia is trying to censor remote general practitioner and emergency doctor David Berger for his views on how to manage the pandemic.Ā Robert Austin Henry reports.

Analysis

Under a new umbrella ā€” Public Sector Alliance ā€” government workers in Western Australia areĀ determined toĀ break WA Laborā€™s wages cap policy. Janet Parker reports.

While university managements are boastingĀ huge surpluses, they are refusing to make theirĀ largely casualisedĀ staff permanent and award them pay rises. Binoy Kampmark reports.

Senator Jordon Steele-John has accused Labor of failingĀ to draw on the expertise ofĀ the lived experience of disability advocates and fears thatĀ mistakes willĀ be repeated.Ā Nova Sobieralski and Zoe Wing report.

Laborā€™s review of Australiaā€™s defence capability is likely to continue the same big spending on offensive weapons and make the Asia-Pacific an increasingly dangerous place, argues William Briggs.

Early childcare workersĀ are goingĀ on strike forĀ better pay ²¹²Ō»åĢżurgent action on staff shortages, reports Jacob Andrewartha.

Improving and expanding theĀ existing electric vehicle network must not be overlooked in the discussion about solutions to the climate emergency, argues Andrew Chuter.

Julian Assangeā€™s legal team are challenging the BritishĀ court's view that it would not be an abuse of process to extradite him toĀ the United States, on the basisĀ that Assange is being prosecuted for his political opinions.Ā Binoy Kampmark reports.

World

SĆ£o Paulo socialist councillor Luana AlvesĀ talks about the coming elections in Brazil.

Winston Churchill

No other British prime minister is as lionised to the point of deification as Winston Churchill. Rupen Savoulian looks behind the cult of personality.

Lula Da Silva

Former Brazilian President LuĆ­z InĆ”cio ā€œLulaā€ da Silva is now in the in the polls ahead of the first round of Brazilā€™s presidential election to be held on October 2, reports Vijay Prashad.

Latin American leaders

Ahead of Colombian President Gustavo Petroā€™s inauguration, US Republican Senator Ted Cruz railed about the ā€œacute dangers to American national securityā€ posed by leftist governments in Latin America, reports Ana Zorita.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanā€™s government is looking for a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assadā€™s regime to eliminate the Kurds in Rojava. Peter Boyle reports.

Ā鶹“«Ć½'s Alex Bainbridge speaks to Renfrey Clarke about former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and his legacy.

France Insoumise summer camp

Around 5000 people attended the radical left summer school of the France Insoumise (FI), held at the end of August at Valence in the South of France, reports John Mullen.

Pakistan flood

Floods have devastated Pakistan, affecting millions of people and incurring huge economic losses. Farooq Tariq provides a briefing on the disaster and an appeal for funds.

West Papuan human rights activists have condemned the killings of four West Papuans in the Pigapu-Logopon Village in the Mimika Regency on August 22, reports Susan Price.

Daniel Ellsberg, Ed Snowden, Julian Assange

The FBI raid on former United States President Donald Trumpā€™s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has put the spotlight back on the nefarious Espionage Act, reports Barry Sheppard.

Ukraine

UkrainianĀ agricultural expert Mykhailo Amosov talks about the devastating impact of Russia'sĀ invasionĀ on Ukraineā€™s agricultural sector, and the link between the war and the fight against climate change.

Enguerran CarrierĀ talks about his documentary thatĀ focuses on a volunteer battalion comprised of leftists from Ukraine and Belarus who have taken up arms against the Russian invasion.

Culture

Riccardo Scamarcio and Benedetta Porcaroli in the emotionally forceful and intelligent anti-fascist

The Shadow of the Day isĀ a study in miniature of the Italian Fascist eraā€™s stifling atmosphere and the costs of personal survival. Barry Healy reviews.

Book cover

Hans Baer reviews Living Democracy: An ecological manifesto for the end of the world as we know it.

Political albums from August 2022

Mat Ward looks back at August's political news and the best new music that related to it.

Sam Wallman

Unionists gathered to launch Sam Wallman's graphic novel, which uses "art as a tool of class struggle", reports Andrew Chuter.