Democratic rights under attack in Australia
Australia: “Four Corners” program promotes anti-China witch-hunt
By Oscar Grenfell, 17 October 2019
The program underscores the role of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a mouthpiece for the political establishment and the intelligence agencies.
Australian governments trial police-state measures against climate protesters
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 October 2019
The authorities are using the demonstrations as a test case for future repression of the emerging social and political struggles of the working class.
Australian government ministers call for protesters to be cut off welfare
By Mike Head, 11 October 2019
While the remarks referred to “Extinction Rebellion” demonstrators who temporarily blocked some traffic in major cities, they have a wider anti-democratic logic.
Australian cyber conference “disinvites” US whistleblower and Assange supporter
By Oscar Grenfell, 10 October 2019
The cancellation of talks by NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake and Melbourne academic Suelette Dreyfus was a political decision, most likely involving government agencies.
Australia’s prisoner swap with Iran contrasts with persecution of Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 8 October 2019
The deal exposes the denial of basic legal and democratic rights by the Australian, British and US governments in the continued detention and psychological torture of the WikiLeaks founder.
Australian Labor Party courts big business
By Mike Head, 7 October 2019
Labor leaders are “blitzing” corporate boardrooms to win their backing in the wake of Labor’s election debacle.
New industrial “integrity” laws seek to head off working class eruption in Australia
By Terry Cook, 1 October 2019
The Morrison government’s legislation is a pre-emptive move by the corporate establishment which is nervous about rising strike action by workers internationally despite the efforts of the unions to hold them back.
Australian troops accused of war crimes in Afghanistan
By Oscar Grenfell, 25 September 2019
Anonymous soldiers interviewed by “60 Minutes” alleged that Ben Roberts-Smith, who is widely presented as a “war hero,” kicked a handcuffed Afghan civilian off a cliff in 2012.
Australian government seeks arbitrary powers to revoke citizenship
By Mike Head, 25 September 2019
The Citizenship Cessation Bill is another indication of the repressive measures that the ruling class is preparing to deal with rising working-class discontent.
Australian prime minister endorses US trade war and militarism
By James Cogan, 23 September 2019
Morrison conducted himself as the head of a middle-order power that has functioned since World War II as the willing enabler of the predatory policies of its great power ally.
Australian government “balances” budget at expense of disabled
By Mike Head, 23 September 2019
The Morrison government “saved” $4.6 billion by underfunding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and cutting a total of $6.4 billion from social programs.
Student union at Australian university attempts to bar Chinese students from elections
By Eric Ludlow, 17 September 2019
The student union at Monash University’s Caulfield campus in Melbourne was forced, after a public outcry, to repeal the decision preventing international students from running in the elections.
Australian government pushes drug testing for welfare recipients
By Oscar Grenfell, 16 September 2019
The trial, which is aimed at extending “welfare quarantining” measures, would target working class areas hit by job destruction and government budget cuts.
Abortion bill in NSW used to push Australian politics further to the right
By Cheryl Crisp, 16 September 2019
The emotive demagogy over abortion is part of a campaign to mobilise a right-wing Christian base and recruit them into the Liberal Party.
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood visits Assange: “He’s a freedom fighter!”
By Oscar Grenfell, 12 September 2019
Westwood stated that Assange is “an innocent man” who has been “persecuted for nine years for telling the truth.”
Australian establishment demands removal of alleged “pro-China” member of parliament
By James Cogan, 12 September 2019
Gladys Liu has views that are at odds with the propaganda being promoted in Australia to justify the alliance with US imperialism and war preparations against China.
Australian incarceration rate rising despite drop in crime
By Martin Scott, 12 September 2019
Indigenous Australians are now more likely to be imprisoned than African Americans.
Another police-state raid in Australia to protect spy agencies
By Mike Head, 7 September 2019
The Morrison government is stepping-up an offensive on democratic rights at the Trump administration’s behest.
Peter Greste’s panel discussion in Sydney: Support for censorship and throwing Assange to the wolves
By James Cogan, 7 September 2019
Greste advocates the anti-democratic conception that a “responsible journalist” censors information that is deemed too controversial for the population to know.
Stop the deportation of the Biloela refugee family from Australia!
By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 4 September 2019
The fight to defend refugees can only advance through a struggle by the working class against the right-wing nationalist policies of the entire political establishment, including Labor and the Greens.
Australia: Whistleblower trials proceed despite outcry
By Mike Head, 3 September 2019
The Morrison government rejects calls to drop the prosecution of people who exposed the criminal activities of the country’s US-linked spy agencies and armed forces.
Roger Waters holds concert on Monday
Take forward the fight to free Julian Assange!
By Joseph Kishore, 2 September 2019
Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are the victims of a monstrous criminal conspiracy, involving the most powerful governments in the world, the intelligence agencies and the corporate media.
Australian government moves to deport Tamil refugees despite mass opposition
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 September 2019
The family has been transferred to Christmas Island, where they have been placed in substandard accommodation and given expired food.
Australian government seeks to deport Tamil refugee family to Sri Lanka
By Oscar Grenfell, 30 August 2019
The outpouring of support for the family reflects the broad opposition of working people to the bipartisan assault on asylum-seekers.
Australian Labor Party accuses government of “losing control” of borders
By Mike Head, 28 August 2019
Shadow home affairs minister Kristina Keneally condemned the government for allowing asylum seekers to arrive by plane.
Australian PM calls for new internet censorship measures at G7
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 August 2019
Morrison is campaigning for an international crackdown on social media, while his government asserts the right to ban websites and domains domestically.
Anti-China witch-hunt targets Australian universities
By Oscar Grenfell, 26 August 2019
The government and the security agencies convened a meeting with universities, threatening research involving Chinese academics.
Australian state Labor government’s lies about “protest violence” exposed
By Mike Head, 24 August 2019
Labor’s fabricated “booby trap” claims illustrate how governments concoct fear campaigns to attack basic democratic rights.
As Australian government threatens to jail journalists, media chiefs denounce Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 19 August 2019
While claiming to champion the “right to know,” media executives condemned the WikiLeaks founder for exposing the crimes of the US spy and military apparatuses.
Australian government boosts Special Forces despite war crimes charges
By Mike Head, 16 August 2019
The move is part of the preparation for war, as well as for the suppression of domestic dissent.
Australia: Pro-US ideologue brands student groups as China’s “useful idiots”
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 August 2019
Clive Hamilton’s comments are a warning that Australia’s involvement in the US drive to war with China will be accompanied by political repression domestically.
Establishment figures welcome renewed anti-China hysteria in Australia
By James Cogan, 13 August 2019
The ruling elite requires Australia’s incorporation into US war preparations to be accompanied by slandering any public opposition as the product of “Chinese interference.”
Australian actor John Jarratt sues Daily Telegraph after jury throws out rape charge
By Richard Phillips, 13 August 2019
The jury of five men and seven women took just over 15 minutes to unanimously reject the #MeToo-inspired rape allegation against the veteran actor.
Australia: Mentally-ill man shot dead by police at his home
By Martin Scott, 12 August 2019
“If there was no danger to the public, and if he was contained in his own house and not doing anything, one would have to ask ‘why in the hell is he gone?’”
Australian investigative journalist exposes Guardian/New York Times betrayal of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 10 August 2019
Mark Davis made clear that the corporate media cynically exploited WikiLeaks, before ruthlessly turning on its founder Julian Assange and joining the state campaign against him.
Jennifer Robinson, a leading member of Assange’s legal team, speaks with the WSWS
By our reporters, 9 August 2019
“It speaks volumes about Australia’s position in the world that it’s not willing to take a stand against the United States and protect an Australian citizen.”
Australian spy and police chiefs say raids on journalists must continue
By Mike Head, 8 August 2019
In a blunt intervention, Director-General of National Intelligence Nick Warner used the language of war to defend the targeting of journalists.
Protests in Australia continue to break official silence on Julian Assange
By our reporters, 7 August 2019
The sentiments of ordinary people stand in stark contrast to the refusal of all of the official parties to take any action in defence of the WikiLeaks founder.
Despite briefing by Julian Assange’s lawyer, Australian politicians still refuse to defend him
By Mike Head, 3 August 2019
Intensive lobbying in Canberra this week failed to convince any parliamentarian to oppose the Trump administration’s bid to extradite the WikiLeaks founder.
Julian Assange’s lawyer briefs Australian parliamentarians on his persecution
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 August 2019
The event reflected concerns within the ruling elite over popular opposition to the Trump administration’s bid to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder.
Australian government demands police-state powers over protests and exclusions of citizens
By Mike Head, 24 July 2019
The bills would hand governments the most authoritarian powers since the two world wars.
Australian government seeking to prosecute journalists over exposure of war crimes
By Oscar Grenfell, 16 July 2019
The federal police are investigating journalists over the 2017 publication of the “Afghan Files,” which revealed Australian military involvement in extrajudicial killings and other crimes.
Twitter removes account of Assange defence organisation
By Mike Head, 13 July 2019
Unity4J, which campaigns against the persecution of the WikiLeaks founder, was given no reason for the suspension.
Australian police monitoring journalists’ travel and internet data
By Mike Head, 10 July 2019
New reports demonstrate an escalating effort to criminalise exposures about key military and intelligence operations.
Was the Australian army placed on alert during last year’s political crisis?
By Mike Head, 5 July 2019
Whether or not the military was actually activated, Australia was on the brink of a constitutional crisis last August.
Julian Assange’s birthday celebrated at vigils in Australia and New Zealand
By our reporters, 5 July 2019
Linda Tenenbaum, a longstanding leader of the SEP, indicted the Australian government and the political and media establishment for abandoning Assange, an Australia citizen.
Australian workers and youth speak out at vigils for Assange’s birthday
By our reporters, 5 July 2019
“The things he has done have changed the world. The people who hate him are usually the people who are in power.”
Australian filmmaker James Ricketson calls on journalist Peter Greste to defend Assange
4 July 2019
Ricketson’s “Open Letter” debunks Greste’s claim that Assange is not a journalist and therefore not deserving of support, and calls on him to defend the WikiLeaks founder, as he did Ricketson who was wrongly jailed in Cambodia.
Video: Watch the Sydney Free Assange rally
4 July 2019
The demonstration is one of a series of rallies organised by the Socialist Equality Party to defend Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning; the next will be in Brisbane on Saturday followed by Melbourne on Sunday July 14.
Australian workers and youth speak out in defence of Assange at SEP rally
By our reporters, 3 July 2019
“No other political party, none of the human rights groups are acting. Amnesty is doing nothing! Getup is doing nothing!”
Australian media chiefs seek to divert anger over police raids
By Mike Head, 2 July 2019
There was no mention of the violent arrest of Julian Assange, which opened the floodgates for a broader assault on free speech.
Australian PM refused to raise persecution of Assange with Trump
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 July 2019
At the G20 summit Morrison fawned over Trump, who is seeking to imprison the WikiLeaks founder for life, or execute him.
Watch the Sydney rally to free Assange live!
28 June 2019
The SEP rally is among the first events to be held since the WSWS International Editorial Board called for the formation of a Global Defence Committee to demand freedom for Assange and Manning.
Terry Hicks, father of former Guantánamo Bay prisoner David Hicks, demands freedom for Assange and Manning
28 June 2019
“There’s only one word to describe the victimisation and persecution of Assange and Manning, and that word is barbaric.”
Join the Sydney rally this Saturday demanding freedom for Julian Assange!
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 June 2019
The demonstration will insist that the Australian government take immediate action to prevent the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition to the US, where he faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Australian filmmaker James Ricketson to speak at SEP rally in defence of Assange
26 June 2019
“We must do all in our power to prevent Assange’s extradition to the US. Signing petitions is not enough. We must make our presence felt in the streets at vigils and demonstrations.”
Assange legal advisor: Pentagon spearheaded pursuit of WikiLeaks founder
By Oscar Grenfell, 25 June 2019
Geoffrey Robertson’s statement is another demonstration that Assange would not receive anything resembling a fair trial if he were extradited to the US.
Australian Labor Party leader determined to expel building union official
By Mike Head, 21 June 2019
Corporate outlets have declared that John Setka’s removal is the first “test” of Anthony Albanese’s leadership in turning Labor further to the right.
Professor Stuart Rees to speak at SEP rally to defend Julian Assange
20 June 2019
“The rally must increase public awareness of the outrageous injustice if Julian is extradited to the US to face a possible 170 years in prison.”
John Pilger urges participation in SEP (Australia) rallies to defend Assange
19 June 2019
“In my career, there has never been a more important case. If we lose Julian and Chelsea Manning to the dungeons of a rogue America, once-liberal societies will never be the same again; democracies will be in name only.”
Prominent Australian journalist Mary Kostakidis calls for campaign to free Assange
18 June 2019
“We must not wait till it is too late to recognise the broader significance of the persecution of Julian Assange and fail to defend his human rights.”
Two protesters arrested at Melbourne rally in defence of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 17 June 2019
The arrests were aimed at intimidating supporters of WikiLeaks and preventing broader layers from joining the campaign to defend Assange and all democratic rights.
Australia: Another Sydney apartment block evacuated over major structural cracks
By John Wilson, 17 June 2019
The event underlines the escalating crisis in housing and apartment building and the cost-cutting methods used during the past two decades.
WikiLeaks publisher Assange faces US extradition trial next February
By Robert Stevens, 15 June 2019
The UK government has made clear that it will do everything possible to expedite Washington’s vindictive attempt to render the courageous journalist to face imprisonment, torture, and execution in the US.
Activist Lauri Love and others speak out in defence of Assange
By our reporters, 15 June 2019
Members of the Julian Assange Defence Committee and the SEP were joined by people from across London and further afield, including two “Yellow Vest” protestors from France.
Australian Labor Party’s hypocrisy on police media raids exposed
By Mike Head, 12 June 2019
The opposition Labor Party has joined hands with the ruling Coalition to pass legislation handing unprecedented powers to the police and intelligence agencies.
Australian journalist calls on colleagues to defend Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 12 June 2019
Andrew Fowler warned: “If Assange is left to swing in the breeze, it will be an open invitation for any journalist, anywhere in the world, to be extradited to the US.”
US issues formal request for Assange’s extradition
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 June 2019
The Trump administration is pressing ahead with its attempt to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder over his role in the exposure of US war crimes and diplomatic conspiracies.
SEP (Australia) calls rallies demanding freedom for Julian Assange
11 June 2019
The protests will demand that the Australian government take immediate action to prevent the WikiLeaks founder's extradition to the US and secure his complete freedom.
Australian police chief links media raids to US-led “Five Eyes” spy network
By Mike Head, 8 June 2019
Gaughan’s statement points to the targeting of journalists in order to cover up Washington’s preparations for wars and mass political surveillance.
“Is there going to be a future for journalism?”
Australian media workers denounce police raids
By our correspondents, 8 June 2019
ABC workers spoke of their shock and alarm at the arrival of federal police in their building.
The global war on journalism
By Mike Head, 6 June 2019
The arrest of Julian Assange has set a precedent for the state persecution of journalists, triggering police raids in Australia and France against reporters documenting government crimes and corruption.
Australian Federal Police raid journalists over exposures of government spying, war crimes
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 June 2019
The raids, targeting a News Corp journalist and the Sydney offices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, are part of an expanding assault on democratic rights and press freedom.
Australian government forces refugees back to face repression in Sri Lanka
By Max Newman, 5 June 2019
At least 20 more asylum seekers have been detained by the Australian navy and deported to Sri Lanka to face possible torture and imprisonment.
SEP Australia meetings on Labor’s election debacle and the defence of Assange
4 June 2019
The leftward movement of workers and youth can find no means of expression within the present political framework. It must be developed into a conscious political movement, based on a socialist perspective.
Britain and Australia dismiss UN report that Assange has been tortured
By Oscar Grenfell, 3 June 2019
The brazen responses demonstrate the criminality of the US-led vendetta against Assange, which is proceeding in violation of due process and the fundamental tenets of international law.
Sydney Peace Prize recipients demand Australian government defend Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 3 June 2019
The statement was a powerful indictment of the Australian political and media establishment, which has abandoned the WikiLeaks founder or openly participated in his persecution.
Australia: Children detained in adult watch houses in Queensland
By John Harris, 31 May 2019
Children as young as ten have been held in maximum security facilities, where they have been subjected to horrific abuses.
Actor Geoffrey Rush awarded record payout in defamation damages
By Linda Tenenbaum, 25 May 2019
The Oscar-winning actor was granted a total of nearly $2.9 million, in general and special damages, due to the Murdoch media’s defamatory articles.
Speech by Oscar Grenfell
Millions in Australia “view Assange as a hero who is being attacked for revealing the truth.”
By Oscar Grenfell, 17 May 2019
We are publishing here the speech of Oscar Grenfell, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) and national convenor of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, at the May 12 meeting in London in defence of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.
Hunter “Meet the Candidates” Forum exposes major parties
By our reporters, 15 May 2019
SEP candidate Max Boddy said that “the elephant in this election campaign is the deafening silence on the persecution of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.”
Australia: Rally to defend Julian Assange held in Broadmeadows, Melbourne
By our reporters, 14 May 2019
The event drew a small but determined crowd of SEP members and supporters, local workers, and WikiLeaks’ supporters.
Free Assange NZ denounces hypocrisy at World Press Freedom Day event
By Tom Peters, 11 May 2019
Alex Hills from Free Assange New Zealand condemned the British government’s “brazen hypocrisy” and called on the media to “end the smears and lies about an anti-war hero.”
Video: Workers at SEP rally in Parramatta denounce persecution of Julian Assange
By our reporters, 9 May 2019
The Socialist Equality Party won strong support from workers and youth at its rally demanding the immediate release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and US whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
Australian fascist group tried to recruit Christchurch terrorist
By Tom Peters, 8 May 2019
The latest revelation further discredits claims by the Australian and New Zealand governments and police that Tarrant was a lone gunman whose attack could not have been prevented.
Former Australian PM denounces anti-China witch-hunt of intelligence agencies
By Oscar Grenfell: SEP candidate for Parramatta, 8 May 2019
Paul Keating’s outburst highlights the degree to which Australia and its military and security agencies have been integrated into the US war drive against China.
Video: At Sydney rally Assange’s father demands Australian government secure son’s release
7 May 2019
Two days after Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail, protesters rallied in Sydney’s Martin Place.
Austrian government ties welfare payments to German language skills
By Markus Salzmann, 3 May 2019
The targets of the cuts are mainly foreigners and those with large families.
Liberal and Labor compete in stoking anti-refugee scare-mongering
By Mike Head: SEP candidate for Oxley, 1 May 2019
The SEP unequivocally defends right of asylum seekers, immigrant workers and their families to live, study and work in Australia, or anywhere in the world, as full citizens.
On Australian TV, Julian Assange’s father calls for son’s freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 29 April 2019
John Shipton warned that his son’s persecution was “to demonstrate that publishers and whistleblowers will be destroyed.”
UN official visits Julian Assange, investigating Ecuador’s illegal surveillance
By Mike Head, 26 April 2019
Confronted by worldwide protests and petitions, the British government felt compelled to grant the UN access to the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder.
Australian mining magnate renews his fraudulent populist pitch
By Mike Head: SEP candidate for Oxley, 26 April 2019
While feigning sympathy for working people, billionaire Clive Palmer is bankrolling an election blitz by his so-called United Australia Party.
Pennsylvania woman killed in factory meat grinder
By Tom Eley, 25 April 2019
Jill Greninger, 35, was working alone when the accident took place.
Australian rugby player Israel Folau challenges sacking over social media posts
By John Braddock, 25 April 2019
The moves to sack Folau over his social media posts are an attack on the player’s basic rights and on freedom of speech.
The Australian government must act to free Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell: SEP candidate for Parramatta, 25 April 2019
Assange’s brutal arrest and the attempts to extradite him to the US are an attack on the working class.
Formerly-jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste fronts corporate media attack on Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 20 April 2019
Peter Greste, once incarcerated by the US-backed Egyptian junta, is using his reputation as a victim of attacks on press freedom to support the Washington-led efforts to suppress WikiLeaks.
Australian filmmaker James Ricketson demands release of Julian Assange
By Richard Phillips, 19 April 2019
Ricketson was arrested in Cambodia in 2017 and imprisoned for 15 months on bogus claims that he was spying for “foreign states.”
Human rights advocate Professor Stuart Rees denounces attacks on WikiLeaks publisher
By Stuart Rees, 18 April 2019
“This is not a legal controversy. It is a massive political issue. The US culture of revenge has to be exposed and challenged. Grass roots outrage needs to be mobilised.”
Unsealed affidavit demonstrates US seeking to prosecute Assange for his journalism
By Oscar Grenfell, 17 April 2019
The extradition request is a pseudo-legal figleaf for an extraordinary rendition operation.
Australian political establishment rejects calls for defence of Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 16 April 2019
Both the ruling Liberal-National Coalition and opposition Labor Party have doubled down on their support for Washington’s decade-long operation to lock Assange away.
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