Is the carbon tax the end of dirty coal power?
Labor and the Greens claim the carbon price means the beginning of the end for coal-fired power. But at best we will see a large expansion of gas-fired power,...
Big polluters grab billions in handouts—again
As under the CPRS, the carbon tax contains billions in compensation for business. In total there is $10.3 billion for business over the first three years, with compensation guaranteed...
Claims of billions for renewables are hollow
Labor and The Greens have held up a “massive $13 billion investment in renewable energy” as a key benefit of the carbon tax package. It is one of the...
Go Back: the series that set people talking
SBS TV’s Go Back To Where You Came From has generated a huge amount of public debate about refugees. It was the highest-rating program for SBS so far this...
Say no to Labor’s shameful Malaysia deal
Asylum seekers who arrive by boat after midnight July 25 will be deported to Malaysia, under the deal signed by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Malaysian Home Minister Hishamuddin...
How the refugee movement changed public opinion last time
John Howard’s election in 1996 brought with it Pauline Hanson and a steep rise in efforts to whip up racism—first against Aborigines and Asians but then quickly at Muslim...
What does O’Farrell’s attack on the IRC mean?
Union leaders have denounced the NSW Liberals new public sector law as “worse than WorkChoices”.
Their new law requires the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to enforce any government decisions about...
Out all for massive rally in September against O’Farrell
As Solidarity went to press, NSW Liberal Premier Barry O’Farrell’s assault on public sector workers had hit a minor snag, with the Shooters and Fishers Party joining Fred Nile...
Time to fight pay cap in federal public service
Federal public servants in a number of agencies, including the ATO, Defence, Customs, Immigration and the Bureau of Meteorology have now voted down enterprise agreements. Three out of four...
Aboriginal people stand up to sham Intervention consultations
The federal government is currently in the middle of a six week round of “consultations” with Aboriginal people on the future of the NT Intervention. This process is a...
Malaysian government cracks down on democracy movement
On July 9, up to 50,000 people took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in a mass rally called by the Bersih 2.0 (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections)...
The corrupt heart of Murdoch’s empire
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s motto is “Expand or die”—and it seems to have served him well.
Murdoch is one of the most powerful men in the world. His News Corporation...
Murdoch, politicians, cops: They’re all in it together
The Murdoch crisis has opened a window onto the moral, political and economic corruption that permeates establishment circles. The pundits, police and politicians who preach the rule of law—the...
Demands for end of military rule grow in Egypt
Millions of people continue to radicalise as Egypt’s revolution moves left. Activists occupied Tahrir Square in central Cairo in July and similar public squares across Egypt, pledging to stay...
The last wave of Arab revolt: Iraq’s 1958 revolution
Our of the last wave of Arab revolutions, Iraq developed the most powerful left in the region. Mark Gillepsie examines the lessons of that revolt for today’s upheavalsThis year...
Racism, immigration and border controls
Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott promote the myth that we must ‘secure our borders’ against refugees. James Supple makes the case for open borders—for everyoneBehind the Gillard government’s slide...
Revolution and civil war in spain
Last month marked 75 years since the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Solidarity explores the lessons of the events of 1936.On July 17, 1936 General Franco’s fascist...
Nagasaki bombing: a war crime to boost US power
Nagasaki: the massacre of the innocent and unknowing, by Craig Collie, Allen and Unwin, $32.99Hiroshima Day, August 4, is an established part of the activist’s political calendar. Anti-war and...
Sexism, psychology and pseudo-science
Review: Delusions of Gender By Cordelia Fine, Allen and Unwin, $29.99In Delusions of Gender, neuro-scientist Cordelia Fine takes an axe to the drivel of biological determinism that self-help books...
