Brisbane, June 18, 2010 - 鈥淭he only way to find out the truth about the behavior of the Queensland police hierarchy in the cover-ups that followed the November 2004 killing of Mulrunji on Palm Island is to institute an independent commission of inquiry run by a respected interstate figure,鈥 Sam Watson, well-known Murri rights activist and lead Senate candidate for Queensland said today.
鈥淚n the meantime the Queensland Police Service (QPS) hierarchy, beginning with commissioner Robert Atkinson, must be sacked.鈥
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Thousands of people are expected to join the World Refugee Day rallies around Australia between June 19 and June 26. In Melbourne, the rally - to be held on Sunday June 20 - has the theme 鈥淣ot another Tampa election鈥. Patrick McGorry, Australian of the Year will speak at the Museum Square to refugees, asylum seekers, human rights agency staff and volunteers, refugee advocates and activists before the marchers move off to the EMERGE FESTIVAL at Fitzroy Town Hall.
June 15, 2010 - Thousands rallied and marched around Australia in support of Ark Tribe, a construction worker possibly facing jail for simply failing to attend an interrogation by the construction industry police 鈥淪tar Chamber鈥 - the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).
Workers held an overnight vigil outside the ABCC offices in Melbourne, 500 rallied and marched in Sydney and up to 1,500 rallied outside the Adelaide Magistrate's court. Trade unionists from other parts of the country have gone to Adelaide to show their solidarity.
SYDNEY - Such is the groundswell of community anger against the Israeli commando attack on the peace flotilla to Gaza that the Campbelltown branch of the ALP passed a strongly-worded motion on June 7 including calling on the Rudd government to cut ties with Israel.
The motion also condemned the attack and the blockade of Gaza, and called for support for the solidarity protests being organised by the Palestinian community and their supporters.
The Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions has today decided to call a strike for three days at all ports of the world against Israel commercial vessels to or from Israel.
By Rosamund Dallow-Smith and Pip Hinman
SYDNEY 鈥 Conservation and other groups are opposed to the NSW environment minister Frank Sartor鈥檚 National Park development bill, introduced into the NSW parliament on June 2. The plan will shift the focus of National Parks away from conservation toward development. It will also allow tourism to be formally recognised as a purpose of national parks, contravening the long-held principle that national parks were only for nature conservation and visitation.
The following text is from a petition by the World People鈥檚 Movement for Mother Earth, which demands that United Nations climate change negotiations include proposals from the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in April. You can sign the petition . Find out more about the Cochabamba summit, including resolutions passed,
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The Brussels-based European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza said it had already secured funds to support three new aid ships to be sailed to Gaza, the Ma鈥檃n News Agency said on June 2.
The fleet will be called the Freedom 2. Campaign head Arafat Madhi said it would be 鈥渕uch bigger than the first鈥, which included nationals from more than 40 nations and 10,000 tons of aid. The first fleet is now held by Israel after the takeover of six ships in international waters on May 31.
On May 30, big protests were held in most Australian capital cities against recent killings in the Afghan province of Behsud. Fifteen hundred people rallied in Sydney and up to 400 in Melbourne.
Initially, the protest was to demand the Australian government stop deporting Hazara asylum seekers to Afghanistan, because the situation is not safe for the Hazara ethnic minority.
However, when news broke that some Hazara had been massacred by Afghan Pashtun nomads in the province of Behsud, the protest鈥檚 focus shifted to calling for international support for the Hazara.
BRISBANE 鈥 On June 4, a picket of Rio Tinto Coal offices highlighted opposition to the big mining companies' scare campaign about the federal government's proposed tax on mining "super-profits鈥.
Socialist Alliance federal election candidates condemned corporate greed and said mining tax revenue should be used to fund renewable energy programs.
Refugee advocates have launched the 鈥淏ring them home, minister Evans!鈥 campaign in response to the news that 92-year-old Irene Joseph, deported to Sri Lanka with her 68-year-old son on March 5, had collapsed and almost died in the village where they now live.
Joseph is permanent resident of Australia and had lived here since 1979. In 1996, when she re-entered Australia after a holiday, she was mistakenly issued with a temporary visa.
Israel鈥檚 latest atrocity
After yet another terrible massacre by Israel, this time against mostly foreign nationals in international waters, it must be said that several Western countries bear a lot of the responsibility for this and previous Israeli crimes.
These nations, principally the US, Britain and Australia, have constantly tolerated Israel carrying out atrocities without any condemnation or repercussions. In fact they usually make pathetic excuses for Israel鈥檚 actions, and stop criticism of Israel in the UN and other forums, granting Israel impunity.
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