Labor and Coalition MPs have shed thousands of crocodile tears claiming that Australia needed to “stop the boats” to “save lives” by making offshore processing of asylum seekers government policy.
Labor backed a private members bill put by independent MP Rob Oakeshott that would allow Australia to expel refugees to any country that was part of the Bali Process, including Malaysia.
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Latest NSW gov't sackings could pass 10,000
A leaked document on the 10,000 public sector jobs flagged for cuts in last month's NSW budget may have been understating the sackings to come.
The June 12 email from a NSW Treasury official said “there is no floor or cap on redundancies”. The government on July 3 conceded the numbers were not capped, and there were no guarantees that more jobs would not be lost.
The 10,000-plus job cuts add to 5000 jobs axed in September.
Socialist Alliance National co-convener Peter Boyle spoke alongside NSW Greens MLC John Kaye at the opening session of Green Left Weekly’s Climate Change Social Change conference in Parramatta on June 30. His speech is below.
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I want to dedicate this little presentation to our Pakistani comrade Baba Jan — who has been imprisoned and tortured since August last year for standing up for the rights of his people from the Hunza Valley after their villages and farmlands were flooded in 2010.
In the early hours of June 29, the Australian Senate passed legislation that is expected to entrench assimilation, disadvantage and racism for another decade in the Northern Territory.
WikiLeaks co-founder Daniel Mathews gave the speech below to a July 1 protest in Melbourne, organised by the WikiLeaks Australian Citizens Alliance.
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Thank you all for coming here today. Being a founding member of WikiLeaks, though not involved for many years now, I want to say something about the background and history of WikiLeaks and where we are today.
Some of you here today may be coming to a rally for the first time. Some of you, maybe for longer; some involved for a long time.
Australian historian Humphrey McQueen gave the speech below at a forum held by Canberra Friends of Wikileaks on June 27.
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Once more, I have the honour of sharing a platform with Christine Assange. Since we were at the Sydney meeting in February, she has come through five tortuous months. Her calm yet loving commitment to keeping us up to date with the legal and extra-judicial proceedings inspires us all.
For the 2.5 million people living and working in Sydney’s western suburbs, the future looks very grim unless serious action on climate change begins immediately.
A Climate Commission report released last month, The Critical Decade, reveals that rising temperatures in western Sydney will impact adversely on many aspects of residents’ lives, from the water supply to mental health and crime levels.
The Brumby’s Bakery chain has apologised after its managing director was caught out telling franchisees to jack up prices and “let the carbon tax take the blame”. Brumby’s parent company distanced itself from the scandal, telling the stock exchange it was just an “isolated incident”.
The Support Assange and WikiLeaks Coalition released the statement below on June 29.
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Julian Assange has sought diplomatic sanctuary and political asylum with Ecuador. Why? Because he has finally given up hope that the Australian government will defend him and WikiLeaks from a relentless US-led campaign of intimidation, including:
The Socialist Alliance released the statement below on July 5.
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The Socialist Alliance extends its unwavering support to the Yolngu Nations and all other clans and nations across the Northern Territory, as they mourn the passing of the Stronger Futures legislation.
Against the repeated wishes of Aboriginal people, the federal Labor government, supported by the Coalition, slipped the legislation through the Senate at 2am on June 29.
Teachers and public servants held a lunchtime protest on July 3, 2012 outside the NSW government offices to protest the O'Farrell Liberal-National government's attacks on public education and on public sector jobs.
The Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project released the statement below on July 5.
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The most significant individuals lost in last week’s furious parliamentary debate were asylum seekers.
As members of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers’ Project, we talk to many asylum seekers, both in immigration detention centres and in the community.
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