In his September 2 article 鈥淩esponding on Sanders and reforming the Democrats鈥, Barry Sheppard fundamentally mischaracterises the position I outlined in 鈥淪ocialists and Bernie Sanders鈥. I specifically did not argue in favour of the far left in the US trying to 鈥渞eform鈥 the Democratic Party.
1152
In another example of wage theft, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has revealed that employers have failed to pay superannuation for their staff by an average of $2.81 billion every year between 2009 and 2015: a total of $17 billion.
The worst offenders were small and medium businesses in the construction, retail, food and accommodation sectors.
The ATO has been investigating "the superannuation guarantee gap" 鈥 the difference between the 9.5% superannuation guarantee payment required by law and the contributions employers actually make.
Life could become harder for some of Australia's lowest paid workers.
The Australian Industry Group, on behalf of Hair and Beauty Australia, has asked the Fair Work Commission to slash Sunday and public holiday penalty rates in the hairdressing industry.
They want to reduce Sunday penalty rates for hairdressers from 200% to 150% and public holiday rates from 250% to 225%.
The Australian Workers Union said the cut would mean a qualified hairdresser could lose $85 a week for an eight-hour Sunday shift and almost $4500 a year.
Less than a week after federal education minister Simon Birmingham urged universities to follow the example of Murdoch University in West Australia in terminating its enterprise agreement (EA), vice chancellors at another two universities launched actions designed to undermine staff unions and collective bargaining.
September 5 was a big day for Victoria鈥檚 extreme Right.
In the morning, three fascists, United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell, the Party for Freedom鈥檚 Neil Erikson and supporter Christopher Shortis, were all found guilty of inciting serious contempt of Muslims.
In the evening, nine protesters from Party of Freedom, armed with megaphones and clutching signs reading "Love it or leave it", stormed the Yarra Council meeting to oppose its decision to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day and to cease holding any citizenship ceremonies on that day.
狈补迟丑补苍听is a young London-based activist who has joined the British Labour Party as a supporter of the platform of socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn. A student who is part of the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts and a member of , Roberts was recently in Australia for the Radical Ideas conference in Melbourne organised by over August 18-20.
About 100 people attended a community celebration in Port Augusta on September 2 to mark a huge win for the local community: the state government鈥檚 support for Australia鈥檚 first solar thermal power plant with storage in Port Augusta.
This was the culmination of a seven-year campaign and it will have a far-reaching impact on the future of renewable energy in this country. US company SolarReserve will begin construction of the 150MW plant in 2018. It is expected to be completed in 2020.
A rally in support of equal marriage has drawn the biggest LGBTI rights rally in Canberra's history and the biggest crowd Canberra has seen since the rally against the decision to send Australian troops to Iraq in 2003.
More than 3000 supporters of marriage equality filled Garema Place on September 2, before marching through Civic to demand immediate action on marriage equality.
The rally was organised by marriage equality group Equal Love, which organised the Melbourne protest on August 26 that saw more than 20,000 people demand equal marriage rights.
When Australia began forcibly moving people out of Manus Island detention centre to East Lorengau and Port Moresby in August, peaceful protests were launched in the detention centre.
When Australia cut off the power and water, people continued to defiantly protest.
When a detainee, Hamed, was found dead, his body beaten and hung from a tree near the East Lorengau transit centre, a vigil was held for him and the protests continued.
The occupation of West Papua receives little attention in the UK. This is, in no small part, due to Indonesia鈥檚 ban on foreign journalists and its outlawing of West Papuan social movements who try to speak out internationally. However, West Papua has not been forgotten by international corporations, including companies from the UK. For them, Indonesia鈥檚 brutal occupation of West Papua provides lucrative opportunities for profit.
Not only is the controversial WestConnex system of motorways and tunnels a social and environmental disaster, the tolls set to be charged by the NSW Coalition government will rip off ordinary motorists on behalf of the giant private roadway companies.
The latest revelation is that the M5 motorway could be tolled for 40 years after 2026, when the existing toll was due to end.
The Resources Regulator Lee Shearer revealed in a Budget Estimates hearing on September 1 that it is investigating whether Korean mining company KEPCO is fit and proper to hold a mining licence in New South Wales, after serious international fraud and corruption allegations against the company were made.
KEPCO is proposing to develop two open-cut coalmines in the beautiful Bylong Valley, about 55 km north-east of Mudgee in north-western NSW. The mine is expected to produce up to 6.5 million tonnes of coal a year for 25 years, commencing early next year.
- Page 1
- Next page