On June 20, 20 workers, members of the Textiles Clothing and Footwear Union Australia (TCFUA), made their way from Melbourne Town Hall to a boutique called Scanlan and Theodore. The workers were employees of a company called Blossom Road, which made products for the high-end fashion label.
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The Sydney Film Festival, held over June 8-13, featured 161 films from 42 countries. Every one of the eight films I was able to see was packed out, even the beautiful State Theatre which holds more than 2000 people.
Four films I saw are a must-see if they ever get a general release in suburban cinemas.
The first was Sing Your Song, a biography of African-American singer and actor Harry Belafonte.
I was 12 years old when for the first time in my life I became a citizen of a country 鈥 Australia. Before that, I was a stateless Palestinian refugee.
There were two laments my parents always repeated whenever they spoke of their place of origin Palestine: if only we could have stayed and if only we could return.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in 2009 there were more than 10 million refugees around the world in need of assistance.
More than 40 Aboriginal delegates attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to refute the Australian government鈥檚 reporting on its treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Wild International
Art exhibition by Sam Bullock
June 1-July 2
Andrew Baker Gallery
26 Brookes St, Bowen Hills
Brisbane
www.andrew-baker.com
Sam Bullock has a wonderful artistic talent. He is also autistic.
Indigenous rapper Caper says a backlash from his fans caused Facebook to reverse their banning of the video to his song "How Would You Like To Be Me?" (lyrics below). The song, which addresses racism in Australia, has enjoyed extensive radio airplay, becoming one of the most requested songs on Magic FM. The 30-year-old musician, otherwise known as Colin Darcy from Whyalla in South Australia, said in a post on the social networking website: "Whoever reported my new video 'How Would You Like To Be Me' as offensive has actually stopped it from being promoted on facebook.
The June 10 Sydney Morning Herald said that a study released by the National Union of Students (NUS) that day indicated a 鈥渟urprisingly high proportion of female university students have been sexually assaulted, stalked or sexually harassed鈥.
The article mentioned an Australian Defence Force Academy student who, after being raped, had experienced attitudes of 鈥渏ust get over it鈥 from fellow students 鈥 a culture of silence surrounds such attacks.
In a show of anger against the attacks on workers rights by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell, 12,000 public sector workers stopped work and rallied outside NSW parliament on June 15.
The protest was organised in just over a week, and several unions, including the Nurses Federation and the fire fighters took stopwork action on the day.
In spite of constant rain, the rally spread out for more than a block along Macquarie Street and into Martin Place.
I was 12 years old when for the first time in my life I became a citizen of a country 鈥 Australia. Before that, I was a stateless Palestinian refugee.
There were two laments my parents always repeated whenever they spoke of their place of origin Palestine: if only we could have stayed and if only we could return.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in 2009 there were more than 10 million refugees around the world in need of assistance.
The Department of Defence said on June 22 that more than 22,000 Australian and US troops would take part in the annual Talisman Sabre military exercises near Rockhampton, Queensland. In response, activists have called a Peace Convergence.
The following call to action was released on June 22 by Peace Convergence convener and Peacebus.com activist Graeme Dunstan.
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Every two years in July, US-Australia war games take place at Shoalwater Bay, near Rockhampton in Central Queensland.
Unions Tasmania President Roz Madsen gave the speech below at a large June 16 rally outside the Tasmanian parliament 鈥 the day Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings announced a harsh new budget.
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Not so long ago, politicians and political parties were fairly predictable. People entered politics on one side or the other, based on a set of values they held personally and then they pursued outcomes designed to fulfill those values.
Britain鈥檚 public sector unions are set to unleash a wave of strikes starting on June 30 in response to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government鈥檚 attack on workers鈥 pensions.
Unions have called a national day of action for June 30. Nearly 1 million public sector workers will strike for 24 hours.
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