ANU Young Labor Left

Protest the Illegal Detention of Aung San Suu Kyi

By Ben | May 16, 2009

Rally in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese community.
12pm Monday 18th May
Burmese Embassy, 22 Arkana Street, Yarralumla

(Catch the #2 bus from Civic at 11:30)

Contact Ben on 0404 206 781 or Evan on 0431 251 273 for more information.

http://www.aucampaignforburma.org/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=23414

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=84162523306

Topics: Events, Issues | Comments Off

What’s Left; ANU Labor Left’s Weekly Wrap

By Ben | March 16, 2009

Comrades,
Welcome to the first edition of What’s Left, ANU Labor Left’s weekly wrap of left wing and progressive issues from around the country and the world. This is your update and it can only get better if you contribute! So please email any articles or local events that you think are interesting to yll.convenor@gmail.com and they will appear in the next edition.
Solidarity,
Ben

AUSTRALIA

The Bradley Review of Higher Education has been out since December. It is essential reading for people concerned about the future of Higher Education in Australia.
http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Review/Pages/default.aspx

The debate between emissions trading and a carbon tax has renewed. Iain MacGill and Regina Betz argue the need for a diverse policy response to mee the challenge of Climate Change.
http://inside.org.au/broadening-australias-response-to-climate-change/

University of Queensland economist John Quiggin questions the need for the Rudd Government’s ‘razor gang’
http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2009/03/13/wrong-time-for-the-razor-gang/

The Community and Public Sector Union are currently running a campaign against further Public Service job cuts in the next budget. You can find out more by visiting the CPSU website http://www.cpsu.org.au

WORLD

Fiona Osler writing for the UK’s Red Pepper magazine asks the question Do we still need an International Women’s Day?
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Do-we-still-need-an-International

Robert Kuttner, one of the founders and editors of American Prospect, believes that now is the time to thoroughy remake the US economy. This may influence the way the Rudd government tackles the challenges of the Global Financial Crisis and Climate Chnage here at home.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=time_to_think_big

From In These Times, Christopher Weber discusses the new concept of ‘Green Collar’ jobs and explores whether these new jobs and industries will help to lead to a fairer deal for workers in the United States.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4194/green_jobs_for_whom/

ELECTIONS

Queensland State Election:

Anna4Qld: The official campaign website of the Queensland ALP
http://www.anna4qld.com.au

ABC Election coverage
http://www.abc.net.au/elections

Pineapple Party Time: Crikey’s coverage of the Queensland election
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2009/02/25/pineapple-party-time

South Africa:

South Africa have an election coming up on April 22, to follow the lead up to the election check out some of these sites:

Mail and Guardian Online
http://elections.mg.co.za

The Star
http://www.thestar.co.za

Independent Online
http://www.iol.co.za

El Salvador:

Leftist Funes declares himself El-Salvador’s President-Elect
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/16/2517502.htm

In These Times has a couple of articles discussing the prospects of the left in El Salvador’s elections:

El Salvador’s Left Turn?
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4277/el_salvadors_left_turn

El Salvador’s New Left
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4067/el_salvadors_new_left

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Jon Stewart attacks irresponsible business journalists for their lack of foresight whilst interviewing market forecaster and CNBC host Jim Cramer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWn7_ih9jew

EVENTS

Quarterly Essay 33
Guy Pearse
Quarry Vision: Coal, Climate Change and the End of the Resources Boom

Join Guy Pearse to discuss his Quarterly Essay Quarry Vision

Date: Wednesday 1 April
Time: 6pm-7.30pm
Venue: Coombs Lecture Theatre, Building 8a, Fellows Rd, ANU
Tickets: Free event, all welcome. Please register attendance for this lecture at www.anu.edu.au/climatechange
Crunchtime;
Australia’s Policy Future
A conference of Australia’s leading progressive thinktanks.
April 22 - 23, Trades Hall Auditorium Sydney
http://www.crunchtime.org.au/

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No to vouchers, no to neoliberalism, no to student politicians!

By admin | December 29, 2008

By Newcastle activist Jonathon Moylan

Universities have long been the testing ground for experiments in neoliberal economic ideas. A classic example is the introduction of Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs), which was introduced in universities a year before WorkChoices was introduced. Its intent was to break the influence of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), one of the more progressive organising unions in the country. Although the attempt to break the NTEU failed, the reform seemed successful enough for the government to roll out the Beta-version WorkChoices one year later.

Regional universities like Newcastle are at the highest risk from such reforms. Successive ALP and Coalition governments have aimed to defund regional universities or get them to specialise. The Dawkins reforms, HECS, user-pays, pay-per-student, DUFF and commercialisation all took a heavy toll on the University of Newcastle, which, starved of regional university funding due to government definitions of “regional”, suffered a severe funding crisis in 2005. A quarter of all staff (including both academic and administrative staff, covered by the CPSU) were forced into “voluntary” redundancy packages, and heavy course cuts were made, particularly in the humanities. This funding crisis occurred during the same year as the introduction of the HEWRRS and VSU, which had a severe impact on student unions and led to partially student-controlled services being replaced with corporations.
Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Issues, Campaigns | Comments Off

Their Targets; Our Future

By Ben | December 11, 2008

A message from the youth climate coalition:

“As many of you would have heard on Monday Penny Wong will be releasing her white paper and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition anticipates carbon reduction targets of only 15%. This breaks a key promise of the Rudd Government that got elected in Australia’s first Climate Change election and shows that they are more committed to the next election then they are to the next generation.

“So let’s show them what breaking a promise to Australia’s young people means. Join us on Monday the 15th of December at the National Press Club at 11 am so we can tell Penny Wong and Kevin Rudd that they need to aim higher with their targets because our future is in their hands. So in other words:

Time: 11am
Where: National Press Club
Why: Because we need real action on climate change.

RSVP on Facebook.

Visit the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

For more information please contact sara at sara@youthclimatecoalition.org and call 0423060587 or Jess at jess.willis@youthclimatecoalition.org or 0416 612 025