NSW Greens MP John Kaye has slammed the upper house inquiry, chaired by Christian Democrats leader Fred Nile, into the government's planned privatisation of the state's "poles and wires" electricity network. The public was given just seven days to make written submissions into the future of the NSW electricity grid, and will not be able to appear in person before the inquiry.
"By delivering a quick-and-nasty timetable to suit the political convenience of the [Mike] Baird government, Fred Nile has denied his inquiry any credibility," Kaye said on May 11.
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DC Entertainment, Warner Bros Animation, Warner Bros Consumer Products and Mattel - forming a veritable Hollywood marketing Axis of Evil - issued a joint press release on April 22 saying they were releasing a tsunami of marketing targeted at six-to-12 year-old girls.
The product they will be pushing will be 鈥淒C Superhero Girls鈥 - including Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and more - during their formative years.
Joe Hockey may have been hoping that his spin about a "dull" budget would lull the public into a stupor, but the budget is anything but dull if you're a woman, a parent, pregnant, a student, a pensioner, on welfare, need legal aid or are unemployed.
The government faced significant, organised, public opposition to its 2014 budget measures, many of which failed to pass in the Senate. It was forced to back down on a number of policies, however it is under increasing economic pressure to get its neoliberal agenda through.
The Abbott government has coped a lot of flak for breaking promises, but this budget bucks the trend. Abbott always promised a 鈥渘o surprises鈥 approach to government, and with this self-proclaimed 鈥渄ull鈥 budget, his government has finally delivered.
Few may have predicted some of the weirder moments of Abbott's reign, like knighting Prince Philip, threatening to shirtfront Vladimir Putin or making Bronwyn Bishop speaker of the House, but who could honestly say they were surprised by more proposals to hurt the poor and help the rich.
One of my guilty, I won't say pleasures so let's go with habits, is skimming through the Daily Telegraph while waiting for my coffee at the local cafe. It kills time and I can check out the content without giving any money to Murdoch鈥檚 media empire.
New mothers will be pushed to return to work sooner and non-working families will be punished by having childcare subsidies reduced in the government鈥檚 latest budget.
Treasurer Joe Hockey chose Mother's Day on May 10 to announce that almost 80,000 women will have their existing paid parental leave slashed, saving $1 billion.
At the moment the government provides 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the minimum wage of $600 a week.
The Refugee Council of Australia released this statement on May 8.
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The Refugee Council of Australia has met delegates of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to raise serious ongoing concerns regarding the lack of oversight, safety and protection for asylum seekers detained at Australia鈥檚 behest on Nauru.
Melbourne Resistance Centre was packed on May 9 as people gathered to hear First Nations activists and other anti-racism activists talk about fighting racism in Australia today. The seminar began with Wendy Brabham, nationally-respected Aboriginal academic and traditional owner from the Wamba Wamba, Wergaia, Nyeri Nyeri and Dhudhuroa first nations.
An open letter to the Australian government calling for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations is gathering support.
Initiated by the Melbourne-based Australians for Kurdistan campaign committee, the open letter has attracted some notable endorsements. The letter and endorsements can be viewed .
In an atypical move in cases of police killings of unarmed African Americans,鈥 鈥瑂ix police officers in Baltimore have been charged with serious crimes over the鈥 鈥琩eath of鈥 鈥25-year-old African American man Freddie Gray last month.
Baltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby announced the charges on May鈥 鈥1,鈥 鈥瑆hich include second-degree murder against one officer.
Already struggling to cope with the devastation caused by the April 25 earthquake that measured 7.8 on the Moment Magnitude Scale, Nepal was hit on May 12 by a major aftershock with a magnitude of 7.3 MMS. By May 14, there had been 158 aftershocks.
The May 12 aftershock appears to have killed far fewer people than the initial quake, but the combined death toll is more than 9000 and rising. Most casualties have been in Nepal but there have also been deaths in India, Bangladesh and Tibet.
Large numbers of heavily armed federal and Victorian police raided a house in the northern Melbourne suburb of Greenvale on May 8.
A 17-year-old male was arrested and charged with 鈥渢errorism related offences鈥 after appearing in court on May 11.
鈥淏alaclava-clad officers with assault rifles stood guard around a two-storey home while heavily-armoured vehicles blocked off the street,鈥 the ABC reported on May 9.
A 14-year-old boy was questioned after raids in Sydney on the same day. The police have not said whether the raids in Melbourne and Sydney were connected.
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