After Greece voted "no" by a large margin to more brutal austerity, Solidarity4All issued a call for assistance and solidarity on July 7, published below.
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Scandal has erupted in Victoria as GDF Suez, the majority owner of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station, refuses to pay an $18 million bill to the Country Fire Authority. The bill is for the firefighting effort at last year's coalmine fire that blanketed local towns with soot and smoke for 45 days.
Over the weekend of July 4 and 5, West Papuan solidarity activists visited Darwin to work with Aboriginal people to protest and organise against the Australian government鈥檚 complicity in atrocities committed by Indonesian forces against independence activists in West Papua.
The weekend included forums, band nights and a smoking ceremony to commemorate the Biak massacre in 1998. On July 6, the participants set up a protest embassy on the lawns near Northern Territory Parliament House.
A landmark demonstration was held on July 5 in Perth. The crowd of about 5000 people 鈥 in the rain 鈥 made it the biggest protest for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights that has ever happened in Perth. It was also the biggest LGBTI protest across the country so far this year. The rally was organized by GetUp! and Australian Marriage Equality.
A report undertaken by the Department of Education and Training shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students made up 1.1% of the total higher education enrolments across Australia last year. There were a total of 12,730 Aboriginal students, up from 11,684 students, a 9% jump from 2013. According to Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated, the Gunditjmara Languages Program at Heywood and Districts Secondary College has been running for three years now, and received positive feedback from Year 7 and Year 8 students.
More than 80 people braved Ballarat鈥檚 winter weather to demand an end to institutionalised discrimination against LGBTIQ couples. Ballarat鈥檚 Equal Love rally featured several speakers, including Equal Love (Ballarat) convener Koby Bunney.
鈥淟ove is love and it always wins,鈥 he said at the end of a march from Bakery Hill to Ballarat Town Hall.
People were moved to hear from several couples whose relationships are not recognised by Australian law. Many voiced their frustration that while couples in Ireland and the US could now choose to get married, this was not yet the case in Australia.
Activists have welcomed the announcement on July 6 that the NSW Coalition government has decided to buy back a coal seam gas (CSG) petroleum exploration licence from AGL that covers Sydney鈥檚 water catchment.
About sixty Aboriginal activists and supporters protested outside the federal government鈥檚 鈥淩ecognition鈥 meeting at Kirribilli House on July 6.
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