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
