2018

Kerryn Phelps’ attempt to pass the Urgent Medical Treatment Bill amendments has stalled in the Senate.

Stop Adani, funding for renewables and green jobs now

Thousands joined the school student strike for climate on 30 November. “If you were doing your job properly, we wouldn’t be here,” Deanna Athanosos, a year 10 student, told...

Morrison uses Bourke St attack to spread racism and fear

Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton seized on the Bourke Street attack in Melbourne to scapegoat the Muslim community and try to whip up a new terrorism scare.

Forced adoptions will worsen racist child removals

On 22 November, the NSW Liberal Government passed new laws designed to fast track children from the “out of home care” system into forced adoptions.

Australia ‘steps up’ efforts to counter China in the south Pacific

November’s APEC summit in PNG saw the Australian government increase its efforts to buy influence in the Pacific, with a raft of announcements designed to counter China.

Morrison’s Jerusalem move sparks international blowback

During the Wentworth by-election campaign, amongst growing fears that the government would lose the seat, Scott Morrison raised the possibility of moving Australia’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Crisis for Tories as vote on Brexit looms

A crisis has struck at the heart of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government and the Tories.

China’s Uighur repression exposed

China is currently detaining close to one million mostly Uighur people and subjecting them to “re-education” camps.

A mine worth killing for: Australia’s bloody war in Bougainville

Thirty years on, Tom Orsag looks at how Australia funded the PNG government’s ruthless war to crush resistance to the Panguna mine in Bougainville

Ten years since the financial crisis: Is capitalism headed for another crash?

Ten years on, the world economy has not fully recovered from the 2008 crash, writes Adam Adelpour, and levels of global debt are again at record highs

Calling out the dead end of ‘smug’ identity politics

Jeff Sparrow’s Trigger Warnings argues that the left’s abandonment of mass organising and its commitment to identity politics has allowed the right to gain ground in the US and Australia.

Teachers step up the pressure as hundreds walk off work for refugee rights

A fantastic 200 hundred teachers from more than 50 schools across Victoria, and 150 teachers from 20 schools in Brisbane, walked out to protest against the offshore detention of refugees, yesterday.

Editorial: Win over Nauru kids as Liberals implode—build the movement for change

The refugee movement is on the offensive and Scott Morrison is on the way out.

Victorian Labor set to hold on despite Liberals’ law and order scare

The Victorian election has seen the Liberals resort to the same fear and racism as their federal counterparts Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, in a desperate effort to win votes.

Kids off victory: Now get everyone off Nauru and Manus

There are now less than 20 children left on Nauru. Only six months ago, it took desperately fought legal battles in the Federal Court to get orders forcing the government to bring life-threateningly sick children off Nauru to Australia.

Unionists stop work to Change the Rules—but we can’t rely on Labor

Thousands of unionists walked out of work to join Change the Rules rallies on 23 October in Sydney and Melbourne.

Boom cranes strike into its fourth week

Workers at Boom Logistics cranes in Singleton, Newcastle and Port Kembla were into their fourth week of an indefinite strike as this article was written.

Liberals’ ‘religious freedom’ review backs discrimination against teachers

The Morrison government has refused to commit to ending discrimination against teachers in religious schools, as it struggles to deal with the fallout from the leak of the Liberals’ “Religious Freedoms Review”.

Forced adoptions will rip apart Aboriginal families

The NSW Liberal Government has tabled an outrageous new bill to allow forced adoptions of children in foster care.

Radical solutions needed to save the planet from climate chaos

Climate scientists have warned that global temperature increases must be kept to 1.5 degrees to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Abortion decriminalised in Queensland after 50-year struggle

Queensland has finally decriminalised abortion, after state parliament approved new laws on 17 October. It has taken 50 years of struggle and campaigning.

Backlash against Trump in US elections, but Democrats a dead end

The Democratic Party made big gains in US mid-term elections on 6 November, in what was widely seen as a referendum on Donald Trump.

Brutal murder exposes dictatorship the West backs

The brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has thrown into sharp relief the relationship between the West and the Saudi police state in the Middle East.

Why do the union leaders back Labor?

Union leaders see the Labor Party as a vehicle for their interests in parliament, argues David Glanz, even though Labor ultimately governs in the interests of capitalism

How Russia’s revolution reshaped the Australian left

Adam Adelpour looks at the impact of 1917 on the left and the workers’ movement in Australia

Days of hope: The 1918 German revolution

A revolution in Germany 100 years ago this month rocked Europe’s rulers. Tomáš Tengely-Evans looks at how the revolt put workers power on the agenda across Europe.

Resistance needed as far right president wins power in Brazil

Brazil has a far right president after Jair Bolsonaro won 55 per cent in the final run-off election. His surge in support is a product of Brazil’s economic collapse and disillusionment with the Workers’ Party.

Migrant workers—a proud history of union struggle

The history of migrant workers’ struggles in Australia shows that they are not simply victims of exploitation but potential trade union militants, argues James Supple

Editorial: Headaches mount for Morrison—all out in October to finish him off

Since becoming Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has focused on trying to fix the Liberals’ most glaring electoral problems. But the setbacks for the government just keep coming.

Nauru in meltdown—step up the fight to free them

Australia’s detention regime on Nauru is spiralling out of control. The mental health crisis is accelerating among all age groups. And Nauruan elites and Australian officials are locked into a war of attrition against refugees.

Unions condemn Labor’s backflip on TPP trade deal

Daniel Wallace, secretary of Hunter Workers, the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, resigned from the Labor Party in response to their decision to support the Trans Pacific Partnership-11 trade deal. He spoke to Solidarity.

Victorian delegates meet, but electoral campaign for Labor on the agenda

More than 1700 workers attended Trades Hall’s mass delegates meeting on 25 September, to plan for the next Change The Rules stopwork rally on 23 October—this time branded in Victoria as “Australia Needs a Pay Rise”.

Sydney Uni staff rally against job cuts and deskilling

Over 150 Sydney University workers have held a feisty rally in their bid to stop forced redundancies and deskilling in support services.

Hutchison signals plan for savage attack on workers

Hutchison Ports Australia have submitted a savage log of claims which would decimate conditions of wharfies at its Sydney and Brisbane terminals.

Liberals’ ‘free speech’ crusade is an attack on right to protest

Liberal Education Minister Dan Tehan has launched an anti-protest crusade in the name of “free speech” on campuses.

Cuts and understaffing produce aged care crisis

A Four Corners investigation has unearthed shocking evidence on the state of Australia’s aged care system.

Case of Aboriginal man shows Dutton’s deportation spree out of control

Daniel Love is just one of thousands of Australian Permanent Residents who have been taken into immigration detention centres pending deportation under the draconian section 501 of the Immigration Act, introduced in 2014.

US Senators dismiss sexual assault claims to back Kavanaugh

Donald Trump’s nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has been confirmed to the Supreme Court despite multiple allegations of sexual assault against him.

Idlib’s fate caught up in imperialist power struggle over Syria

A last minute deal struck between Russia and Turkey in September halted plans for a massive military assault on Idlib—Syria’s last rebel-held province.

Deaths in custody: Killed by a racist state

Aboriginal people are being locked up and killed in custody in increasing numbers, as government policies become more brutal and repressive, writes Jasmine Ali

Marx’s most revolutionary idea

Karl Marx’s most important insight was the potential role of the working class to overturn capitalism and build a new kind of society, writes David Glanz

Weak, divided and heading for defeat—Finish the Liberals off

The knifing of Malcolm Turnbull has only further damaged and destabilised the Coalition. Their defeat at the election now looks almost certain.

Scott Morrison moves to keep the right happy

Scott Morrison has lost no time reminding everyone of his conservative credentials.

Thousands join Sydney stopwork against Morrison’s anti-worker laws

Five thousand striking workers took over the streets of Sydney’s CBD on Thursday 6 September, demanding fairer laws for workers, the abolition of anti-union bodies, and the right to strike.

Mental health crisis engulfs Nauru

Nauru is in meltdown with an epidemic of mental illness and medical problems among children.

Alcoa workers out on indefinite strike for job security

Over 1600 workers at Alcoa in WA are continuing an indefinite strike after five weeks.

We need a total NAPLAN ban

The release of the 2018 NAPLAN results should be the death knell of the national testing regime.

Strong showing for the left in NTEU elections

Left activists have won a strong presence in the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at Sydney University, alongside an upset defeat for the incumbent state secretary of the union in Victoria.

NSW crane drivers’ strike banned

Crane drivers in NSW at WGC Cranes and Boom Logistics have been banned from striking by the Fair Work Commission.

Corbyn under attack, but opposing Israel is not anti-semitic

Opponents of Britain’s left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn have mounted a major campaign accusing supporters of the Palestinians, and Corbyn himself, of anti-semitism.

Nazi rampage in Chemnitz a warning from Germany

On Sunday 26 August news agencies around the world broadcast shocking footage of thousands of Nazis rampaging through the streets of Chemnitz in Eastern Germany hunting for “foreigners”.

China cracks down on student labour activism at Jasic factory

In late August Chinese police raided an apartment, arresting 50 student activists supporting workers attempting to unionise their factory.

Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman film is a call to arms for anti-racists

BlacKkKlansman, the new Spike Lee film, couldn’t come at a better time. It is a powerful anti-racist roar to action against the rise of the far right.

Coup culture: Why is Australian politics so unstable?

Malcolm Turnbull has become the latest Prime Minister dumped by his own party. Miro Sandev looks at how the neo-liberal ‘reform agenda’ has brought political instability

Stalin’s imperialism in Eastern Europe

Those who side with Russia against the US today are making the same mistake some on the left did during the Cold War, writes Lachlan Marshall

Lenin’s theory of the party

Lenin’s view on the need for a revolutionary party was a product of the experience of the greatest wave of struggles against capitalism so far in history, writes James Supple

ACTU Congress—union demands far more than Labor will deliver

The ACTU Congress in July spelled out the union movement’s demands for change on industrial relations, targeted at influencing an incoming Labor government.

‘Those campuses that organised got the best outcomes’

Solidarity spoke to Melissa Slee, who is running for Victorian division Secretary in the National Tertiary Education Union elections about what’s at stake for the union

Sudanese youth step up the fight against racist media and politicians

A defiant 500-strong protest led by South Sudanese youth and students stood up to the barrage of government and media racism, rallying on Saturday 28 July against Channel 7.

Turnbull’s power plan won’t cut bills or help the climate

The Turnbull government’s new energy plan, the National Energy Guarantee, is simply an effort to keep coal plants operating as long as possible.

Inside the system

Nation state law exposes Israel as a racist state; The Downer dynasty’s ‘nation building’; Inequality in Australia still increasing; CEO pay highest in 17 years; High end brands destroy millions worth of clothin; NATO plans borderless Europe for tanks

Hamid was killed by Australia: Coroner damns offshore detention

It has taken four years, but the Coronial findings on the death of Hamid Khazaei have delivered a scathing indictment of offshore detention.

Boat turnbacks condemn refugees to poverty and despair in Indonesia

The government’s boat turnback policy is leaving thousands of refugees to rot in Indonesia. They are struggling to survive and have no hope of a future, as next to none will get the chance of resettlement.

Strikes on the rise in New Zealand as workers get sick of waiting for pay rises

Recent months have seen a succession of strikes in New Zealand, following the election of a new Labour government under Jacinda Ardern late last year.

Trump’s European chaos tour will unleash the far right

Focusing on the admittedly bizarre Trump day-to-day can easily lead to underestimating how dangerous he is

Iraq rocked by mass protests over jobs and services

Iraq has been rocked by a wave of angry mass protests. In the last month thousands have protested and stormed government buildings demanding better electricity and water services, jobs, an end to corruption and to the influence of Iran over their politicians.

The Prague Spring of 1968

Russia’s invasion that crushed the mass movement for political reform in Czechoslovakia in 1968 showed the reality of Stalinism in Eastern Europe, argues Miro Sandev

Rape, violence and the fight against the system

Blaming men for sexism and rape obscures the way women’s subordination is structured into capitalism, writes Lucy Honan, and our common interest in fighting it.

Agriculture and the first states

The emergence of agriculture and the first states were among the most dramatic changes in human history. James C. Scott has produced an accessible and thought provoking account of how the first states arose and functioned.

Super Saturday win for Labor: Now step up the fight to get rid of Turnbull

The Super Saturday by-elections were a major blow against Malcolm Turnbull.

Anti-fascist activist David Albrich on resisting racism and fascism in Austria

David Albrich of the Austrian socialist group Linkswende jetzt is visiting Australia to speak at Solidarity’s Keep Left conference in August. He spoke to Solidarity.

Editorial: Fight back the Liberals’ class war for the rich

According to sections of the media, the coming federal election is shaping up as a class war contest. But it is the Liberals who are the class warriors—for corporations and the rich.

Australia wants to keep control as China encroaches in south Pacific

Since the beginning of 2018, the Turnbull government has renewed efforts to assert Australian control and dominance in the Pacific.

Supermarkets profit from end of plastic bags

Inside the system: Pay for Turnbull’s team up 32 per cent; Australia cuts aid to Palestinians after Gaza massacres; Handouts to private schools exposed again; 567 handbags seized from former Malaysian PM’s wife; Single gas plant’s emissions cancel out solar panel savings

Albanese shows he’s not to the left of Shorten

Labor left MP Anthony Albanese has used a major speech to position himself as alternative Labor leader and in the process of doing so, made a point of criticising Bill Shorten from the right.

Dutton pledges no compassion, but Ali gets to Australia

On the same day that Peter Dutton was on the front page of The Australian warning against a “single act of compassion to refugees”, Ali was transferred from Nauru to a Gold Coast hospital.

Left contests union elections at Sydney Uni

Union branch elections at Sydney University are seeing a political contest over strategy, led by the left activist network, Union Action.

Ramsay Centre a new tool for right’s ideological offensive

The Ramsay Centre is a private body wanting to establish “Western Civilisation” degrees at major universities. The people on the Ramsay Centre board alone should make its agenda clear.

Labor promises treaties, but attacks continue on Aboriginal rights

Across the country, the Labor Party is making commitments to negotiate treaties with Aboriginal people.

Tories fall out over Brexit plans

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans continue to unravel amid renewed division in the Tory party.

Trump retreats amid outrage at detention of migrant children

The Trump administration has been forced to partially back down on its “zero tolerance” immigration policy which resulted in the separation of children from their parents at the border. This reversal comes following mass outrage and protests.

Trump’s tariffs an effort to revive US dominance

Ever since his election, Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and blamed “unfair trade deals” for hurting US industries. Now he is starting to act—threatening trade wars and destabilising global capitalism.

Europe further tightens border controls

The European Union is further increasing its efforts to keep out migrants and refugees. European leaders have agreed to ask North African countries to host detention camps for refugees and migrants, in an effort to stop boats arriving in Europe.

Capitalism and the social source of mental distress

Iain Ferguson’s new book is a useful examination of the current worldwide mental health crisis, and a detailed history of the understanding of mental distress from Freud, to the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960s and 1970s, to the psychiatrists’ handbook the DSM-5.

Rosa Luxemburg: Reform or revolution?

Sophie Cotton looks at Rosa Luxemburg’s famous pamphlet Reform or Revolution, first published in 1900

Inequality and the class divide

It’s widely acknowledged that inequality is growing. Behind this is the enormous wealth and power of a tiny minority—the capitalist ruling class, argues Miro Sandev

Stalinism in Russia: the rise of a new ruling class

Some of the left are still nostalgic about Stalin’s Russia, yet it was a brutal capitalist regime locked in competition with the West, writes Tom Orsag

Port workers walk off for the right to strike

Four hundred unionists in Sydney led a boisterous march on the bosses’ court, the Fair Work Commission on 29 May, demanding the right to strike—and pledging to fight for it.

Don’t leave it to Labor to end Turnbull’s rule for the rich

More and more detail showing how far Turnbull's tax plan is loaded in favour of the rich has emerged.

Labor, the unions and the fight to close Manus and Nauru

The move by the Industrial Left group of unions to join with the right-wing AWU to prevent a slew of resolutions (including one on refugees) being debated at the Victorian ALP conference has left many refugee supporters angry and dismayed.

Labor must deliver right to strike, says union leader

Victorian CFMEU Secretary John Setka has called on Bill Shorten and Labor to lift restrictions on the right to strike and union right of entry should they win the next election.

Ark Tribe, unionist who defied the ABCC

Unionists around the country have paid tribute to Ark Tribe, a construction worker and CFMEU member who took on the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). He died unexpectedly in late May.

Inside the system

More evidence of Australian soldiers’ war crimes; Dutton’s department admits migration creates jobs; Rich Liberal electorates clean up from tax cuts; US corporations hand $1 trillion back to shareholders; Over 1000 jobs lost at ABC

Workers not seeing the benefits despite economic pick-up

Is Australia heading back into boom? Treasurer Scott Morrison certainly hopes so, saying new figures showed that, “the Turnbull Government’s plan for a stronger economy is working”. The Coalition’s election pitch relies on it.

Call for amnesty for migrant workers: ‘Our campaign is about dignity’

Solidarity's Chris Breen spoke to Shawfikul Islam, a Rohingya refugee and National Union of Workers organiser in Melbourne, about the union’s organising amongst farm workers and its call for an amnesty for migrant workers in the industry.

Recycling crisis exposes the market’s failure

Recycling across Australia is facing collapse, following China’s move to restrict the import of recyclable materials.

Fighting Casualisation—union power and the right to strike

Casualisation and insecure work is a growing problem. Union organising and industrial action have defeated it before, and can do so again.

Class, Power and Revolution—Anarchism or Marxism?

Anarchists and socialists share a common aim, but anarchism’s rejection of leadership, party organisation and the need for a workers’ state doom it to failure, writes Caitlin Doyle

After the Apology—Aboriginal communities fight back against continuing Stolen Generations

Larissa Behrendt’s film, After the Apology, explores the consequences of intergenerational trauma caused by forced removal and the fightback from Grandmothers Against Removals—women campaigning to get their kids back from the child protection system.

Warning for the left as racist right brought to power in Italy

“The good times for illegals are over. Get ready to pack your bags”, said Italy’s new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the far right League. One of his first moves was to refuse to allow a rescue boat carrying 600 asylum seekers from Africa to land in Italy.

Imperialist power games still in the way of peace in North Korea

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un congratulated themselves after signing their agreement in Singapore. But little was finalised in the talks.

Protests topple Jordan’s Prime Minister

The biggest protests since the Arab Spring in Jordan have toppled a Prime Minister and forced King Abdullah to suspend IMF-mandated tax increases and price hikes.

Editorial: Don’t rely on Labor to Change the Rules—it’s time to flex the unions’ muscles

Turnbull’s budget has once again exposed him as ruling for corporations and the rich.

Inside the system

ASIC, bankers, CEOs—they’re all in it together; Turnbull to spend millions on Cook memorial; Contractors cost double public servants; Liberal says she can live on $40 a day; Blackmail charges against CFMEU officials dropped

120,000 stop work in Melbourne to Change the Rules

Around 120,000 workers took over the streets of Melbourne on 9 May in an awesome display of working class power.

Esso bosses’ tactics show need to break the rules

Workers at Esso in Gippsland, Victoria have been on the picket line for over 320 days.

How much would a Labor government change the rules at work?

The modest scope of changes Labor wants to make to workplace laws is starting to become clear. The party’s official draft platform, released in preparation for its national conference in July, shows what to expect.

Laws against strike action hit MUA at Patrick

Maintenance workers at Port Botany are coming up against the anti-union Fair Work Commission and anti-strike laws in their bargaining campaign.

Turnbull’s budget delivers more handouts to the rich

The Coalition is handing out personal tax cuts in the hope of boosting their popularity. But their plan was quickly exposed as unfair.

Teachers say no to NAPLAN, and no to Gonski’s testing tool

NAPLAN does not have many friends left, but some of its critics just want more relentless testing. But NAPLAN must be replaced with greater time and respect for teachers, and fully funded public schools, rather than with more tests.

Banking Royal Commission: it’s time to put capitalism on trial

The Banking Royal Commission is showing the reality of capitalism. That is why the Turnbull government opposed it for so long.

Liberals work to resuscitate dying coal plant at Liddell

The Turnbull government in so committed to coal power that it wants to extend the life of the decrepit Liddell power station.

Change sweeps Malaysia as Najib swept from power

Against all odds and despite blatant vote-rigging, the Barisan Nasional coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957 was thrashed in the election on 9 May.

Occupations and strikes hit France as students and workers resist Macron

Around 200,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on 1 May as the battle continues against President Emmanuel Macron’s neo-liberal assault.

Lessons of the Paris Commune

In 1871 workers took power in Paris. Their actions taught Karl Marx about the need to dismantle the existing state in order to bring about socialism writes Tom Fiebig

May 1968 in the factories: ‘An unknown world revealed’

Eyewitness accounts of how the factory occupations began at Sud-Aviation, an aircraft factory in Nantes in western France and elsewhere.

May 1968—worker and student revolt that stopped France

May 1968 showed the power of the working class to take control of society—even in the rich countries of the West, argues Miro Sandev

Making a Marx on history—Celebrating 200 years since Karl Marx’s birth

On the anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, Alex Callinicos looks at the lasting legacy of the great revolutionary

US deal farce as refugees blocked from resettlement

Large-scale rejections on Nauru have revealed the US resettlement deal to be a complete farce. Trump is blocking refugees with nationalities that make up around half of all the refugees on Manus and Nauru from resettlement.

Left hangs on in NSW Greens, but fight against the right far from over

Left-Wing Greens MP David Shoebridge win in the latest Greens NSW pre-selection battle is a welcome reprieve for the left of the NSW party, who have suffered a series of pre-selection defeats over the past two years.

The Western Front: How war turned into revolt

As efforts to celebrate the role of Australian troops on the Western Front ramp up, Lachlan Marshall looks at how the horror of war gave rise to mutiny and revolution

White South African farmers—racists on the march

If you want an example of how the respectable racism at the top of society shapes racism more broadly and encourages the far right, look no further than the campaign for white South African farmers being waged by the likes of Peter Dutton, Alan Tudge and WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie.

Editorial: Don’t wait for Labor—we need to break the rules

Malcolm Turnbull is a walking dead man. As Turnbull notched up his 30th Newspoll defeat in a row, the jockeying for the leadership of the Liberal Party after Turnbull goes stepped up a notch.

Victorian union delegates ready to fight—but what about the right to strike?

Two thousand unionists filled Melbourne Town Hall and spilled out onto Swanston Street for the “Change the Rules” delegates meeting on 17 April.

Sydney meeting pushes for right to strike campaign

Just over 100 people packed into the Maritime Union’s Sydney office on 14 April to discuss the right to strike.

Bosses use termination threat to force Oaky North miners back to work

Workers at Glencore’s Oaky North mine have voted 70 per cent in favour of a deal they’d rejected in January by over 90 per cent.

Inside the system

Boat turnback commander promoted to Defence Chief; BP: oil spill would boost economy; Rich Australians have biggest welfare bill; Goldman Sachs asks if curing patients a sustainable business; International students living in library; 1 per cent to own two-thirds of wealth by 2030; $90 billion lost to gas companies

Don’t blame immigration for overcrowding and failing services

Tony Abbott and Peter Dutton have begun campaigning to cut immigration, whipping up a scare about population growth. But the real problem is the way governments and business have refused to pay for the infrastructure to accommodate this growth.

Police violence product of an institution rotten to the core

A series of stories, including CCTV footage, exposing graphic, unprovoked violence by police during arrests in 2016 and 2017 are a window into how violence directed at the poor and oppressed is part of the role of the police.

Di Natale at the press club—which way for The Greens?

The Greens’ latest proposal to legalise adult cannabis use will be widely welcomed. It is a very modest, sensible, and safe proposal. But it can’t hide the fact that The Greens are in deep turmoil.

Palestinian marchers massacred in brutal Israeli assault

Palestinians in Gaza have defied a murderous Israeli assault as they stage protests marking 70 years of dispossession.

Teacher strike spreads to more US states

The teacher rebellion that started in West Virginia has now swept across three more US states. After a decade of effective wage cuts and public school starvation, they are showing that even in the heart of Republican-controlled Trump country, resistance can win.

Strikes hit France as Macron attacks rail workers

Mass strikes and escalating student unrest are creating a crisis for French president Emmanuel Macron’s neo-liberal assault.

The rise of China—a dilemma for Australia’s rulers

China’s rise poses a dilemma for Australia’s rulers, writes David Glanz. The left needs to oppose both imperialist powers, as well as Australia’s own imperialist bullying

New sinews of working class power

American socialist Kim Moody’s important new book on the restructuring of capital in the past four decades argues that the working class, far from disappearing, has renewed potential power, writes Mark L Thomas.

Western attacks on Syria will only bring more horror

The US, Britain and France have launched new airstrikes against targets in Syria. More Western bombing only increases the chances of the war escalating even further.

Defending the union—the war on the waterfront 20 years on

Twenty years ago, Patrick Stevedores sacked its entire workforce in the most serious union-busting effort in decades. Solidarity spoke to Bob Lee, a union delegate at the time, and Glen Woods, then Deputy Branch Secretary of the MUA in Sydney about what happened.

Zelda D’Aprano—a fighter for women workers and equal pay

Zelda D’Aprano, who died last month at the age of 90, became a symbol of the struggle for Equal Pay in Australia in October 1969 when she chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Building in Melbourne.

Editorial: As polls keep falling, Dutton summons the ghost of white Australia

On 2 April, Malcolm Turnbull will equal Tony Abbott’s 30 negative Newspolls with the Coalition far behind Labor. In response the government is stepping up its racism in a desperate effort to find some support.

Greens’ loss in Batman shows Di Natale’s strategy a dead end

The Greens’ Alex Bhathal has lost a very close contest to Labor’s Ged Kearney in the Batman by-election. The vote holds important lessons for The Greens.

Right to strike must be at the centre of union campaign

The push for the right to strike to be at the centre of the ACTU’s “Change the Rules” campaign will have to come from rank-and-file union members and union branches.

Strike action stepped up as termination looms at Port Kembla terminal

Workers at the Port Kembla Coal Terminal have stepped up industrial action as Fair Work prepares its decision on whether to terminate their enterprise agreement.

Eight week strike beats back Australian Paper

Over 90 workers at Melbourne’s Australian Paper factory, members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, have pushed back their boss with a solid eight-week strike.

Inside the system

Sunrise’s new Stolen Generation already a reality; Exxon pay no tax until 2021; 2891 anti-Muslim Murdoch media stories in one year; Billionaires make enough to end extreme poverty seven times; Macquarie bank pushes anti-Corbyn offshoring plot

Resettlement farce on Manus: set the deadline, bring them here

The PNG Immigration Minister’s declaration that the Australian government must get the asylum seekers and refugees out of PNG has made the “Bring Them Here” demand of the refugee movement even more important.

Gender self-identification and trans rights in the UK

The UK is now facing its own moral panic targeting trans people, pushed by the right-wing—but sadly, their anti-trans campaign has been joined by some on the left.

Zuma’s fall a sign of ANC’s failure in South Africa

The demise of President Jacob Zuma has exposed has far the ANC government of South Africa has fallen. His mammoth corruption had been public knowledge for years.

US school shootings a product of a sick system

Nearly a million US students walked out of class to protest gun violence on 14 March. They marched in response to February’s brutal mass shooting at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, where former student Nikolas Cruz gunned down 17 students and staff.

West Virginia teachers’ nine day illegal strike wins through

Thirty thousand teachers and public school employees in the US state of West Virginia have won a guaranteed 5 per cent pay rise after a historic nine day strike.

Racists gain in Italian election as voters give centre left the boot

Racists did well in the Italian elections in early March.

Who were the utopian socialists?

We continue our series on Marxist classics as James Supple looks at Friedrich Engels’ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Fraser wanted to stop the boats

A new book on the origins of Australia’s refugee policies idealises the approach of the Fraser government. But it has plenty of evidence on why it’s no model argues Ian Rintoul

States of exclusion

The nation state with distinct borders is a recent idea, tied up with the development of capitalism. Phil Marfleet, writing from Europe, looks at how the ruling class uses them.

Michael Hyde on 1968: ‘It felt like everything was up for grabs’

Michael Hyde was a student activist at Monash University during 1968. He was one of the anti-war activists charged by university authorities for collecting money to aid the Vietnamese...

It’s right to fight, it’s right to strike

All over the country workers are being locked out, or facing drastic wage cuts and bosses’ threats to terminate agreements. The ACTU has begun talking about the right to strike. But the talk has to be turned into action.

Barnaby and Turnbull: Hypocrites on parade

The furore surrounding Barnaby Joyce has plunged the Turnbull government into yet another crisis. Turnbull’s “bonking ban” is symptomatic of a puritanical government in terminal decline.

Greens challenge Labor from the left in Batman

The Batman by-election in Melbourne on 17 March is a battle between The Greens’ Alex Bhathal and the ALP’s Ged Kearney.

Being black is not a crime, says Melbourne rally

“They are playing political games and it is not right”, the South Sudanese Community Association’s Richard Deng told a protest of 400 people in Melbourne in early February.

March to end the misery on Manus and Nauru

The conditions on Nauru and Manus continue to deteriorate. It is more important than ever that thousands march to demand the closure of Manus and Nauru, an end offshore detention and that all the asylum seekers and refugees are brought to Australia.

Inside the System

Sexism endemic in NSW Police force; Ninety per cent of incarcerated youths have a brain disorder; One in five big companies not paying tax; Amazon patents wristband to track worker movements; Mistake to make marriage equality a small target

Sydney rail worker: ‘We should strike anyway, we should just walk off’

Solidarity spoke to a Sydney rail worker about the ban on strike action and why rail workers deserve a better agreement

Defy the ABCC—Fly union flags, not Eureka

The announcement of “more stringent” guidelines by the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), banning union signs and the Eureka flag from display on building sites has sparked a wave of flag-flying defiance.

Locked out Oaky North miners now facing termination

Workers at the Oaky Creek coal mine in Queensland are the latest to face termination of their enterprise agreement. The 175 workers have been locked out for over 220 days.

Ten years since Rudd’s Apology, more black children are being stolen than ever before

Events on 13 February commemorated ten years since Rudd's Apology. But Aboriginal families broken up by “child protection” agencies have pushed continuing forced removals into the spotlight.

Stockmarket slump sign of capitalism’s ongoing crisis

A sudden tumble on US stockmarkets has sent panic around the world. US stocks had their worst week for two years in February, down at one point by 10 per cent.

Imperialist powers abandon Kurds in Afrin

Once again the Kurds have been abandoned, with imperialist powers including the US and Russia allowing the Turkish military to do as it likes.

Trump steps up racist attack on immigrants

In his year in office, Donald Trump has shown again and again that he’s a racist bigot. Now he’s escalating his attack on immigrants.

1968—The year the world caught fire

Fifty years ago in 1968 the world was shaken by mass revolts in country after country, giving birth to a new radical left, writes Miro Sandev

The Communist Manifesto: Marx’s handbook for revolution

The Communist Manifesto remains among the best introductions to Marx’s analysis of capitalism, and why workers’ struggles hold the key to smashing it, writes Vivian Honan

40 years on—Mardi Gras’ radical history

The first Mardi Gras in 1978 was part of a struggle for gay liberation inspired by the radical politics of the 1970s, writes Geraldine Fela

Sydney’s rail strike banned—time to fight for the right to strike

Sydney's proposed 24-hour rail strike has been ruled illegal in a snap hearing of the “Fair Work Commission”. The decision exposes how far the law is now stacked against strike action.

Editorial: Bad laws deserve to be broken—fight for the right to strike

Malcolm Turnbull managed to hang on in the Bennelong by-election in December, maintaining his slender parliamentary majority. But his political demise is only postponed.

Changing the date won’t give us anything to celebrate

The move to change the date of “Australia Day” is gaining momentum. But no matter what date Australia Day was held, there still would be nothing to celebrate.

Inside the system

World’s richest 500 increased wealth by $1 trillion in 2017; Study slams media racism; Pineapples left to rot in Queensland; Subsidy cut for hormone replacement therapy; Wages crash in new Agreements; Selfishness makes the rich happy

Racist campaign against Sudanese is the real crime

The media panic about “African gangs” went into overdrive in January, as news outlets including Murdoch’s Herald-Sun in Melbourne declared “an explosion of African gang crime”.

Mass picket shuts down Webb Dock—and shows the need to defy the law

For three weeks in the lead up to Christmas a mass picket shut down operations at the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) on Melbourne’s Webb Dock.

Electoralism no road to shifting Greens to the left

Greens members and supporters are understandably enthused at recent electoral successes in Brisbane and Melbourne. As Turnbull falls in the polls, the need for a party to the left of Labor to take up the fight for refugees and to change the laws that shackle the unions is more urgent than ever.

Jim Molan—war criminal, now Senator

There is now a first class war criminal in the Senate, with the Liberals’ Jim Molan taking the seat vacated by the Nationals’ Fiona Nash, due to her dual citizenship.

Dual citizenship—Australia’s rulers still demand MPs’ loyalty

Parliament’s dual citizenship fiasco looks like it might never finish. Nine Senators have now departed and two lower house Coalition MPs, John Alexander and Barnaby Joyce, have survived by-election after all were found to be ineligible to sit in parliament.