Gonski 2.0 shovels cash to private schools at expense of public system
Malcolm Turnbull presented his Gonski 2.0 package as a breakthrough delivering a significant funding boost for schools. This is an enormous con. It locks in significantly higher funding for private schools even than the original Gonski deal.
Greens’ direction at stake in attack on Lee Rhiannon and NSW left
The decision to exclude Lee Rhiannon was a disgraceful attack on her, the NSW Greens, internal party democracy and the left in the party. The compromise announced by Richard Di Natale, to establish a pretentiously named “Balance of Power Subcommittee” involving all the other Greens MPs except Lee, does not resolve anything.
Dutton’s citizenship changes a racist attack on migrants
The Coalition’s citizenship changes are facing defeat in parliament, after Labor’s decision to oppose them. Labor’s move is a welcome shift, after Bill Shorten initially suggested he might accept them, and months of hesitation.
Turning the screws on Manus refugees
PNG Immigration and Australia’s Border Force are relentlessly turning the screws on Manus refugees and asylum seekers to try to force them out of the detention centre.
Victory against casualisation at Sydney Uni
Casuals have had a significant win against outsourcing at Sydney University, as negotiations continue for a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
Mass protests against poverty and repression shake Morocco
Ordinary people in Morocco have again taken to the streets, as the protest movement which started last October spreads. Last month, hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the country’s capital, Rabat, after activists were arrested as part of a crackdown on opposition.
Blockade on Qatar highlights Middle East rivalries
On 5 June this year, Saudi Arabia and its Middle East allies made the shock decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar, cut off transport access and expel Qatari citizens from their territories.
Poverty, terror and martial law in Mindanao
On 23 May, the Philippines’s President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law over the southern island of Mindanao. The declaration came after several hundred fighters in Marawi City in Mindanao clashed with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down
The Handmaid’s Tale is dystopian TV with great timing. A story of women’s oppression and state violence, it presents as a powerful warning—and a call to arms—against political complacency in the Trump era.
Corbyn, austerity and left reformism in Europe
The Corbyn surge shows that left alternatives to the political mainstream can succeed. But left reformism runs the risk of repeating the old parties’ mistakes argues Miro Sandev
Turkey, the Kurds and the war in Syria
Yildiz Önen will visit Australia for Solidarity's Keep Left conference next month. She spoke to Solidarity about Erdogan’s Turkey, the Kurds and the war in Syria
The Bolsheviks and the July Days
By July 1917, workers and soldiers in Petrograd were desperate to seize power. The Bolsheviks’ decision to hold back the uprising averted disaster, explains Sophie Joo
