Civil Liberties

We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the latest coup d’état staged by Thai military under the leadership of Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The struggle against education cuts has exploded onto the national stage in the lead up to and following the budget announcement by the Abbott Liberal-National Coalition government, a budget set to massively increase student debt.
And so it begins — an offensive, on behalf of the Australian ruling class and corporate interests, to steal the future from the majority of Australians, to dismantle what remains of our social welfare system, in order to carry out, in the words of Treasurer Joe Hockey, "the government's solemn duty ... to build a stronger Australia".
The federal Parliament's joint committee on electoral matters is recommending a number of changes to the federal electoral laws supposedly to address the problem of some small – and mainly right-wing – parties "gaming" preference direction through above-the-line voting for the Senate.
A casino was a fitting venue to host Prime Minister Tony Abbott's keynote address to the 25th anniversary dinner of conservative think tank the Sydney Institute on April 28.

A vast array of research suggests that the best and most humane way to minimise drug harms is through legal regulation.

Let's come out in big numbers to end the war on refugees on April 13 (Palm Sunday).
The March in March protests across Australia over March 15-17 were a resounding success – not just because of their size, focus and breadth.
March 5 marked one year since the death of Venezuelan president and revolutionary Hugo Chavez. An outspoken fighter for the oppressed in Venezuela and Latin America, the loss of Chavez is still felt keenly by socialists and anti-imperialists globally.
The wage gap between women and men is increasing, the number of women in poverty is growing, women’s reproductive rights are under attack, violence against women is on the increase, there is no marriage equality for LGBTIQ people and gender discrimination is rife.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at vigils around Australia over the weekend of February 22 to 23 to protest the brutal killing of asylum seeker Reza Berati inside the Manus Island detention camp in Papua New Guinea.
Over the years, I have heard many left-wing activists say that mass peaceful protests do not achieve anything. Rather, “militant actions” which “take it up to the ruling class” are more important.