Tears, Queensland Nickel and the ‘moral hazard’: Analysis – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol

Parliamentary records show how in 2014 the Abbott Government attempted to erode the remuneration component of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee. Queensland Coalition MP Ewan Jones teared up on Friday as he spoke of the hardship facing workers in his electorate of Herbert after the collapse of Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery near Townsville. “This is a tough day,” he […]

Vanuatu, Australia and #CyclonePam: reaping the whirlwind from #climate change by @Takvera

Vanuatu has suffered its worst disaster on record with the impact of Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam, with the President of Vanuatu blaming climate change for extreme weather (Guardian 16Mar2015). Australia has stepped up with an initial $5 million disaster relief package. To put Australia’s monetary response into perspective: during the 2014 budget handed down […]

Climate, Environment Boards, Foreign Aid slashed by Joe Hockey in #MYEFO says @Takvera

The Abbott Government slashing of climate change infrastructure continues in the latest Midyear Economic Forecast by the Treasurer Joe Hockey, where it was announced the Commonwealth deficit has blown out to more than $40 billion and forecast not to return to surplus until 2019-20 at the earliest. Hockey attributed this budget blowout to reduced commodity […]

Anger in #Melbourne at @TurnbullMalcolm’s #OurABC cuts: @Jansant reports

Federation Square Sunday, 2000 to 4000 people turn up to protest against the Abbott Government #OurABC cuts. People of all ages and backgrounds stood in the Melbourne sunshine to send a clear message to the Federal Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm): No ifs, no buts, no ABC cuts. Pre-rally, the crowd was entertained by […]

Two Thousand Attend Perth March in August: Rick Hoyle – Mills @RickHM reports

[View the story “Two Thousand Attend Perth March in August” on Storify]

What #Budget2014 means for Indigenous Australians: @NatalieCromb comments

IN Australia, if the government requires your land and/or home for infrastructure, under the land law it can proceed with a process of resumption whereby the ‘owner’ is compensated for the land. If you own a property in Australia and someone comes and starts living in your home, you are protected by the law to remove them and […]

Selling the Budget, @YaThinkN is here to help #Auspol

Normally when the Federal Budget comes out we punters get rather amused at the excitement we see in the media. We giggle at seeing Kochie from Sunrise get his jollies about being in lock up, but unless there is some blatantly nasty stuff in the budget that will hit our hip pockets, we really don’t […]

DIY learning at Brisbane Free University by @griffithelects

In the week that ended with students across Australia rallying against the Abbott Government’s plan to deregulate University fees, I joined about 40 others at a Brisbane Free University event in a car park off Boundary Street in the West End of Brisbane. The discussion was about refugee rights. It was a refreshing change to […]

Terri Butler three months after #GriffithVotes: interview by @GriffithElects

Following a hard fought by-election campaign, dominated by claims and counter claims about a Medicare Co-payment, Terri Butler was elected Member for Griffith on February 8, 2014. While her Liberal National Party opponent Dr Bill Glasson (thereafter nicknamed, ‘$6Bill’) seemed to initially support the co-payment, he backed away from that position during the course of […]