It is often said young people do not care about politics. A survey by the Australia Institute in July found that more than one million young Australians under 25 feel that no political party represents them. On top of that, 45% of respondents also said they were 鈥渄isinterested鈥 or 鈥渘ot really interested鈥 in the upcoming federal election.
It is not hard to imagine why young people might be switching off when neither of the two big parties is dealing with the issues young people are most concerned about.
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About 200 people attended a lunch at Geelong Trades Hall on August 11 to raise money for the hundreds of refugees who have arrived in the community.
Many refugees are not allowed to work as a condition of their visa and are forced to live on less than the unemployment benefit.
This has left some families lacking basic necessities such as adequate clothing and food. A great deal of pressure has been placed on charities to take up the slack.
About 260 people gathered at a mass meeting in Tecoma on August 11 and vowed to continue to fight against a McDonald鈥檚 Restaurant in their town.
Demolition of the site began on August 8 but the meeting reaffirmed their determination to maintain a protest on the site.
Support for the protest continues to grow. The Victorian branch of the Australian Service Union released a statement on August 10.
Energy use in buildings accounts for about 20% of Australia鈥檚 total greenhouse gas emissions. A new report says Australia鈥檚 existing building stock could be made , while saving about $40 billion in energy bills over 30 years.
Before the 2007 federal election, Julia Gillard turned her attention to what the Labor Party needed to do to win back government in a book called Coming to the Party.
She said reforming Labor鈥檚 factional system was high on the agenda because, 鈥渨e are no longer talking about factionalism, we are talking about fractionalism 鈥 a Party in which almost anyone with a pocket full of votes, often procured in dubious circumstances, believes it is their right to demand something from the Party in return.鈥
The Australian environmental movement is under attack by populationist and anti-immigration forces in a calculated attempt to divide the Green Party vote at the federal election.
The Stable Population Party (SPP), the Stop Population Growth Now (SPGN) Party in South Australia and their mother organisation, Sustainable Population Australia, are 鈥済reen washing鈥 their anti-immigration policies to make them more palatable to the electorate.
A fire ripped through Nauru's main hospital on August 14, destroying the pharmacy, medical stores and x-ray facilities.
Joanna Olsson from the Nauru government's information office that the fire ruined a quarter of the building and could entail a 鈥渕edical emergency鈥 for Nauru.
The cause was believed to be electrical. Like many services on the island, Nauru's hospital is rundown and relies on Australian aid for maintenance and repair.
Liberal leader Tony Abbott's statement that marriage equality was a passing 鈥渇ashion of the moment,鈥 has galvanised anger in the lead up to nation-wide marriage equality rallies.
It follows Prime Minister Kevin Rudd鈥檚 promise to introduce a bill for marriage equality within 100 days of being re-elected.
During the August 11 debate between Rudd and Abbott, instead of committing Labor to passing the bill, Rudd said his party would have a conscience vote, and called on the Liberal Party to do the same.
About 350 paramedics surrounded Victorian Health Minister David Davis's Melbourne office on August 12 to protest in support of their year-long campaign for better wages.
Victoria has Australia's most highly trained and lowest paid paramedics. Supporters came from as far away as Gippsland and Shepparton.
鈥淎mbulance Victoria is in serious trouble unless they can become competitive with other states,鈥 said Ambulance Employees Australia organiser Danny Hill.
It took a federal magistrate five minutes to dismiss charges against veteran unionist Bob Carnegie in a Brisbane courtroom on August 16.
Carnegie faced 18 charges related to contempt of court, which were pushed by anti-union building firm Abigroup.
Abigroup had accused Carnegie of defying court orders to avoid the site of a community picket that was campaigning for safety and conditions on behalf of the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union and its workers.
The statement below was released by the national executive of the Australian on August 16.
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Socialist Alliance condemns the massacre of protesters by the Egyptian army during the dispersal on August 14 of sit-ins at Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda Square by supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Most rappers use their publicity photos to show off their bling, but Nathan Bird uses his to show off something a little more challenging - his books.
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