Sydney鈥檚 Redfern Block is a colourful place. It鈥檚 houses and flats are covered by political posters and banners, graffiti and dot paintings. But new colours now appear on the doors of residents 鈥 eviction notices.
The Redfern Block is set to be demolished and replaced by the $60 million Pemulwuy housing project. The last 75 residents have until November 19 to leave but will be able to reapply to return in 2013 when the new project is set to be complete.
But those accused of selling drugs will be denied housing.
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Beginning in April, so-called peace talks have taken place between some conservation groups and timber industry stakeholders about the future of the Tasmanian timber industry. Both sides have painted the talks as a once in a lifetime opportunity to 鈥渆nd the forest wars鈥.
Environment Tasmania (ET) director Phill Pullinger told the May 13 Australian: 鈥淲e've had 30 years of worsening trench warfare in Tassie over forests and now is the time and the opportunity to essentially solve the forest conflict 鈥 and solve it properly.鈥
The elegant, seaside town of Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria was once a quiet 鈥渟leepy hollow鈥, according to Chris Johnson, a local resident and public housing tenant for 30 years. But recently the Victorian Office of Housing realised its tenants were sitting on a goldmine. Some tenants have been relocated to shoebox-sized units in less attractive areas. Meanwhile, on October 9, two heritage-listed pilot cottages owned by the department were sold for $1.2 million.
The outcome of a trial against a Cairns couple for procuring an abortion has turned the tables on the Department of Public Prosecutions and the Queensland government.
The Cairns jury swiftly returned a 鈥渘ot guilty鈥 verdict on October 14 and the question now being asked is 鈥渨hat real crimes are exposed by this case?鈥
For many, the real crime is the fact that the anti-abortion laws from 1899 have not been repealed.
I welcome the discussion in 91自拍论坛 Weekly about the burqa and the question of its banning.
I agree wholeheartedly that banning the burqa is not the answer for women. As in all aspects of oppression, the oppressed are the ones who must liberate themselves, with the support and solidarity of others.
It is not up to the state or religious institutions to impose 鈥渓iberation鈥 on them.
While the burqa remains worn by women, I support their right to wear it if they choose, for a variety of different reasons.
The deluge of rain hitting south-east Australia has broken the 10-year drought that brought the Murray Darling Basin and many farming communities to the brink of disaster.
A few months of wet weather have brought the wetlands back to life. The rivers are flowing again, and farmers might even be able to harvest a bumper crop if they can beat the mass locust hatchings.
The following statement was released by the Socialist Alliance on October 8.
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On October 17, 2001, the Liberal/National Coalition government of John Howard deployed Australian troops to Afghanistan, just nine days after the US had begun bombing one of the most poverty-stricken and war-weary nations on Earth.
The then newly-formed Socialist Alliance responded to this attack and its reputed catalyst, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, by noting the US' hypocrisy and pledging to campaign against then president George W. Bush's 鈥渨ar without end鈥.
There are many myths around the issue of asylum seekers in Australia. Yet, when you look at the facts, it鈥檚 obvious that asylum seekers aren鈥檛 a problem. The problem is Australia鈥檚 punitive policies, including mandatory detention of asylum seekers arriving by boat, which contravene international law.
Lack of transparency ensures that human rights are abused daily in Australia鈥檚 detention centres, creating many mental health problems for people who are already traumatised.
The policy of mandatory detention will cost the taxpayers more than $1 billion dollars over the next four years.
The Pacific Solution
By Susan Metcalfe
Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne, 2010
Review by Julian Gormly
The campaign against South Australian Labor treasurer Kevin Foley's latest budget is gathering strength.
The second rally protesting against the wide-ranging budget cuts 鈥 particularly to the public sector 鈥 organised by SA Unions, attracted up to 10,000 people on 14 October. Members of the Legislative Assembly were invited to speak, including independents, the Liberal Party and Family First. The campaign has called on the Upper House MPs to block the legislation.
About 50 people attended politics in the pub at the Queensberry hotel on October 12, to discuss the upcoming November 27 Victorian elections.
Greens candidate for Melbourne, Brian Walters, spoke about the Victorian ALP government鈥檚 record. He said the contract for the proposed desalination plant is secret, but the cost is likely to be about $18 billion.
The plant will use huge amounts of electricity and add to greenhouse pollution.
Immigration minister Chris Bowen visited East Timor on October 11 to push Australia鈥檚 offshore detention centre plan.
He also visited Indonesia and Malaysia over October 12-14. Bowen鈥檚 purpose was to enforce 鈥渟trong cooperation with regional neighbours鈥 on Australia鈥檚 border control.
He said he wanted East Timor to 鈥減lay a role鈥 by allowing the Australian government to build a refugee detention centre there.
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