The Sound of Solidarity: Recent Episodes
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A podcast series brought to you by Solidarity, a revolutionary socialist group in Australia.
www.solidarity.net.au
Tom Fiebig looks to the anti-uranium movement of the 1970s to see how union action, community organising and direct action came together to block the nuclear agenda. He draws out lessons for the movement for Palestine today.
Read more about the anti-uranium movement.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 13 August 2026.
Dialectics sounds complicated. But David Glanz explains how analysing the world dialectically helps us change it. He explains the development of the concept and gives two examples of how dialectics can help us untangle common problems for the left.
Read more about dialectics (introduction).
Read more about dialectics (advanced).
Find out more about Solidarity.
Phil Griffiths looks at how racism took root in the dispossession of Indigenous people and how our rulers have targeted migrants and refugees since. But he argues that a history of racism is also a history of resistance, which shows the potential to destroy racism once and for all.
Read more about racism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Melbourne meeting of Solidarity on 18 June 2026.
Mike Grewcock looks at the rise of Australian militarism, the connection to AUKUS and Labor's drive to strengthen arms manufacturing.
Read more about AUKUS.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 4 April 2026.
Sophie Cotton (NTEU) and Matt Maher (NSWTF) draw on their experience at the University of Sydney and as a teacher about how to be an effective revolutionary at work.
Read more about union action.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This session was recorded at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 5 April 2026.
Lisa Natividad (Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice) describes the impact of US bases on Guam/Guåhan and tells how the CHamoru people are fighting for independence and an end to militarism. Maeve Larkins (Solidarity) puts that struggle in the broader picture of imperialist rivalry in the Pacific.
Read more about Guam/Guåhan.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This episode was recorded at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 5 April 2026.
Paddy Gibson explains why the strategy of the united front is central to successful resistance to the right and to revolutionaries increasing their influence.
Read more on the united front.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's conference in Sydney on 1 February 2026.
David Glanz discusses the long history of Australian racism behind Pauline Hanson's argument for a monoculture and argues we should look to the proud record of working class unity in struggle across ethnic divides.
Read more about the fight against Hanson.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 2 July 2026.
Ian Rintoul looks at how climate change, increasing droughts and rivalry between nation states intersect and argues that dealing with the crisis will mean overcoming the capitalism system.
Read more about climate change.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 5 April 2026.
Teacher and AEU member Jonathan Sherlock tells how Teachers and School Staff for Palestine was built in Victoria, winning official union backing, mobilising hundreds of teachers on Palestine rallies and laying the basis for a rank-and-file network, Fight the Crisis.
Read more about rank-and-file organising.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 11 June 2026.
Paddy Gibson explains the function of the police in keeping down workers and the oppressed and argues that a fight to abolish the police is part of the fight to overthrow capitalism.
Read more about the police.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney on 26 March 2026.
The fight against genocide in Gaza and the West Bank has brought millions on to the streets. But how can we turn the movement into one that opposes all imperialist wars? Julie Monteiro looks back to the movement against the Vietnam War for inspiration.
Read more opposing war.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity branch meeting in Melbourne on 21 May 2026.
Mililma May (Dangglaba Kulumbringin Tiwi organiser) describes the ongoing crisis of police and state repression against Indigenous people in the Northern Territory. Luke Ottavi (Solidarity) introduces the session.
Read more about Indigenous resistance.
Find out more about Solidarity.
These talks were delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 4 April 2026.
Erima Dall explains the developments in AI and the threats they pose. She argues that workers need to fight to bring AI under our control.
Read more about AI.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 5 April 2026.
Geraldine Fela, author of the award-winning book Critical Care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia's AIDS crisis, talks about the role that health workers and patients play in the battle for bodily autonomy and dignity in the health system.
Read more about the fight for LGBTI+ rights.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 4 April 2026.
Madison Lee outlines how Western imperialism has made continual efforts to control Iran but has been confronted with revolt and revolution, from the constitutional revolution of 1905 to the 1979 revolution and the recent waves of protest against the Islamic regime.
Read more about Iran.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 30 April 2026.
The left internationally has generally supported the right of small nations to national independence. Should that also apply to Taiwan in any conflict with China? Griffin Philips introduces the politics of “One China” and “Taiwanese independence” and discusses their impact on the class struggle in Taiwan and globally.
Read more about Taiwan.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 5 April 2026.
US socialist and long-time campaigner for migrant rights, Victor Fernandez, tells how mass organising has pushed back ICE and laid the basis for a working class fightback against Trump.
Read more about the US.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 4 April 2026.
Professor Clinton Fernandes is in the Future Operations Research Group at UNSW. His latest book is Turbulence: Australian Foreign Policy in the Trump Era. In this episode he discusses the US-Israel war on Iran.
Read more about Iran.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Get a copy of Turbulence: Australian Foreign Policy in the Trump Era.
Judy McVey describes the building of a movement in 1970s Queensland that beat back the banning of street marches by the Joh Bjelke-Petersen government. She draws out the lessons for the Palestine movement today.
Read more about fighting Bjelke-Petersen.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 19 March 2026.
David Glanz looks at why the US and Australia invaded Iraq in 2003, how it blew up in their faces and how anti-war activists responded to the crisis. He draws lessons for opposing war today.
Read more about the Iraq War.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 26 March 2026. The background noise in the first half of the talk was caused by an exceptionally heavy rain burst. Blame global warming.
Liz Grosshans explains how the Stalinist politics of the German communist party -- and the reformism of the German socialist party -- allowed Hitler to come to power over the strongest working class in the world. She draws out lessons for today, including the need to build a united front between revolutionaries and reformists against the far right.
Read more about fighting Hitler.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at a Solidarity branch meeting in Melbourne on 23 October 2025.
Riley Hogan explains Labor's deep commitment to US imperialism and its watchdog in the Middle East, Israel.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given in Melbourne on 19 February 2026.
Liam McMullen explains the imperialist pressures that are driving the US and Israel, backed by countries including Australia, to bomb Iran. He criticises the "campist" idea that to oppose the US we need to back the Tehran regime and argues that revolt from below is the hope for the region.
Read more about Iran.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at the Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 12 March 2026.
Ken Davis, a '78er who took part in the first Sydney Mardi Gras, and Jean Parker from Solidarity discuss the lessons from 1978, when the first Mardi Gras protest march demanding LGBTIQ+ liberation was violently attacked by police with 53 arrests and people severely beaten. Mass defiance not only strengthened the fight against discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people but also triggered a campaign to drop the charges that won legal change and the right to march. As we face new anti-protest laws today, Ken and Jean will explain what happened and the lessons for today. Read more about LGBTIQ+ liberation. Find out more about Solidarity. This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney on 26 February 2026.
Robert Stainsby looks at a world in crisis and outlines the socialist solution in this talk introducing the politics of Solidarity.
Find out more about Solidarity.
David Glanz discusses the resurgence of One Nation today and looks back to the 1990s, when mass protests and campaigning defeated Pauline Hanson and pushed One Nation back.
Read our pamphlet of fighting Hanson from 1996.
Read how One Nation was beaten.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given in Melbourne on 5 February 2026.
Solidarity editor James Supple looks at Labor's continuing shift to the right and what it means for struggles today.
Read more about Labor.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's annual conference on 31 January 2026.
Ian Rintoul looks at how Trump's break with the so-called "rules-based order" is reshaping imperialism today ... and making it ever more dangerous.
Read more about imperialism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's conference on 31 January 2026.
Tom Fiebig explains how Donald Trump's kidnapping of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife was a nakedly imperialist attack to assert US power in Latin America, push back Chinese influence and make the region a playground for US corporations.
Read more about Venezuela.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given in Melbourne on 15 January 2026.
Rouzbeh, an Iranian socialist, explains why mass dissent has erupted in Iran and how the majority on the streets are saying no to the Ayatollah and no to the Shah.
Read more about Iran.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney on 15 January 2026.
Professor Penny Green has recently returned from the West Bank. She describes the horror there.
Penny is a professor at Queen Mary University of London, the Director of the International State Crime Initiative and editor of the State Crime Journal.
Read more about the West Bank.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Find out more about the Gaza Tribunal.
Julie Monteiro explains the unfolding genocide in Sudan. She argues that today's horror is a result of the race by regional powers to grab Sudan's resources following the defeat of the 2019 revolution.
Read more about Sudan.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered in Melbourne on 20 November 2025.
David Glanz, an anti-Zionist Jew and Palestine solidarity activist, argues that the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the crimes of imperialism are root causes of the antisemitic massacre at Bondi beach.
Read more about anti-Zionism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 18 December 2025.
Liam McMullen discusses the failure of the COP30 climate talks despite the mounting evidence of global warming and climate change. He argues that the drive to profit means capitalism can't offer real solutions to the climate crisis.
Read more about fighting for climate action.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting on 4 December 2025.
Tara Burnett, former Greens candidate for Cooper and an AEU member, and Solidarity member Jasmine Ali discuss how Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York has generated hope. But they also warn that, since his election, Mamdani has started to soften some of his positions and draw conclusions for the struggle ahead.
Read more about Mamdani.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered in Melbourne on 27 November 2025.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) has recently released a report on anti-Palestinian racism in Australian schools. Zakaria Saleh, Wasim El-Haj and Chris Breen discuss the issues. Zak was a high school student in 2024 and is now studying at Western Sydney Uni. Wasim and Chris are both teachers. Chris is active in Teachers and School Staff for Palestine and a member of Solidarity.
Read the APAN report.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Phil Griffiths, labour historian and Solidarity member, explains the forces at work behind the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government on 11 November 1975.
He describes how workers immediately walked out on strike, with a push to shut down the country until Whitlam was reinstated, and draws conclusions for our struggle today from the defeat.
Read more about Whitlam.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Buy our pamphlet, written by Phil, on how workers fought the Dismissal.
This meeting was recorded at a Solidarity meeting on 13 November 2025.
Emeritus Professor Judith Brett has spent much of her academic career writing about the Liberal Party. She argues that the Liberals face an existentialist crisis but that Labor is failing to take advantage of the moment.
Judith's books include Robert Menzies’ Forgotten People, published in 1992, and Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, from 2003. Her most recent book, published last year, was on the Australian feminist, Beatrice Faust.
Read more about the Liberals.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Dr Sara Cheikh-Husain discusses her research into Islamophobia in Australia and argues that it cannot be understood separately from the imperialist agenda of the West and the attempt to silence the voices of Palestinians and their supporters.
She is the author of an upcoming book, The politics of anti-Islamophobia in Australia: The case of the Muslim community organisations.
Read Sara's article in Overland.
Find out about her book. Academic books are, unfortunately, very expensive. Ask your library to order it.
Read more about Islamophobia.
Find out more about Solidarity.
David Glanz discusses the fragile nature of the ceasefire and why it brings no respite, let alone peace, for Palestinian people. He looks at why Israel agreed to the ceasefire and how the movement here and overseas should respond.
Read more about the Palestinian struggle.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 30 October 2025.
Lucia Pradella and Fabio Santoro discuss the 3 October general strike in Italy for Palestine. Adam Adelpour gives an introduction to the meeting. The summing up by Lucia and Fabio that followed question time is included. Lucia is an Italian scholar of political economy, Marxist theory and labour movements who helps coordinate University and College Workers for Palestine in Britain. Fabio is with the SI COBAS trade union. This national Solidarity meeting took place on 16 October 2025. Read more about Italy. Find out more about Solidarity.
Casey Forsyth looks at the dynamic driving colonial settlement on this continent and draws lessons for the struggle for Indigenous rights and in solidarity with Palestine.
Read more about colonial settler movements.
Find out about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at the Resist and Rebel conference in Melbourne on 30 August 2025.
Victor Fernandez, an LA-based activist and member of Solidarity's US sister group, Marx21, talks about Trump's racist ICE raids and the growing resistance to them.
Read more about resistance to Trump.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Find out more about Marx21 US.
This talk was given at the Resist and Rebel conference in Sydney on 23 August 2025.
Michael Grewcock, a retired lecturer in criminal law and criminology, speaks on the history of capitalism, settler colonial law and the police in Australia.
Read more about the police.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at Resist and Rebel in Sydney on 23 August 2025.
Socialists from Britain and Greece draw on their experiences of fighting the rise of the far right. Judy Cox is a member of the Socialist Workers Party, which has played a central role in Stand Up to Racism counter-demonstrations against the far right in Britain. Petros Constantinou is a socialist and coordinator of the Movement Against Racism and the Fascist Threat (Keerfa), which helped smash the Nazi party Golden Dawn. Liz Grosshans gives an introduction about the relevance for Australia today. Read more about fighting racism and fascism. Find out more about Solidarity. This Solidarity forum took place in Melbourne on 18 September 2025.
Liz Grosshans introduces the ideas of Alexandra Kollontai, a Russian revolutionary who argued that liberation for women was tied to the fight against capitalism. In a socialist society private domestic drudgery would be replaced by public services for all.
Read more about Kollontai.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at the Resist and Rebel conference in Melbourne on 30 August 2025.
There have been waves of protest against the Prabowo government in Indonesia. Solidarity spoke to Indonesian socialists about the issues. Neysia is from the Socialist Youth Organization and Aldi represents the Perserikatan Sosialis or Socialist Union.
Read more about Indonesia.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This interview was recorded on 10 September 2025.
Chris Breen discusses why Anthony Albanese's recognition of a Palestinian state is a sham, why a "two-state" solution is an illusion and why one Palestinian state based on equality between the river and the sea is an urgent necessity.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney on 28 August 2025.
Julie Monteiro tells how students and workers turned France upside down, with student protests helping trigger a 10 million-strong general strike. She looks at how the ruling class was able to reestablish "order" and discusses the political lessons we can draw today.
Read more about May 68.
Find out more about Solidarity
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Melbourne branch on 31 July 2025.
A Chinese student activist and Griffin Phillips explain how the revolution unfolded and draw lessons for the struggle today. For security reasons, the student's voice has been replaced.
Read more about China.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered on 29 May 2025.
Solidarity editor James Supple looks at the agenda behind Trump's erratic behaviour and argues that to fight him, we need to take on the logic of the system he represents.
Read more about Trump.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 19 April 2025.
A Palestinian student activist from the West Bank and Chris Breen (Teachers & School Staff for Palestine and Solidarity) discuss the way forward for liberation.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
These talks were delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 19 April 2025.
Karina Lester (Yankunytjatjara woman and anti-nuclear activist) is a descendant of Indigenous people who experienced nuclear testing in South Australia. She talks about the horror of that time and its consequences. Caitlin Doyle (Solidarity) argues why nuclear tensions are increasing and how we can resist today.
Apologies that the sound quality of this recording is poor but the content is great -- please stick with it!
Read more about nuclear testing.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Buy Solidarity's anti-nuclear pamphlet, Atomic Ambitions.
These talks were delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
James Connolly was a socialist whose role in the 1916 Easter Uprising in Dublin made him a key figure in Ireland’s national revolution. But he was also a major theorist, one of the few socialists of his day to link working class struggles with the fight for national liberation. Paddy Gibson discusses the importance of a new book about him, The Lost and Early Writings of James Connolly, 1889-1898, by Conor McCabe. Read more about Connolly. Find out more about Solidarity. This talk was delivered at a Solidarity meeting on 1 May 2025.
Phil Griffiths looks back at how the Communist Party rebuilt a fighting union tradition in the 1930s and draws lessons from today, from both their successes and weaknesses.
Read more about the Militant Minority Movement.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
Dr Stephen Gapps has just published Uprising: War in the colony of New South Wales, 1838–1844. Here he is in conversation with Solidarity member Paddy Gibson.
Read more about Aboriginal resistance.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Buy a copy of Uprising.
This talk was recorded at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
Angus Dermody explains why the logic of capitalism is taking us to the brink of disaster and how we can challenge the system to fight back for the planet.
Read more about climate action.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
Stalinism and Maoism continue to attract new supporters. To make sense of this, and to make the case for socialism from below, we talk to David Camfield, the author of a new book, Red Flags: A reckoning with communism for the future of the left.
Find out more about what's wrong with Stalinism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Buy a copy of Red Flags: A reckoning with communism for the future of the left.
Read Hal Draper's The Two Souls of Socialism.
Listen to David's podcast, Victor's Children.
James Supple analyses Israel's onslaught on Iran, how it fits with the aims of imperialism in the region and how mass revolt from below can stop the war.
Read more about Iran.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at a Solidarity meeting on 19 June 2025.
The majority of European Jews looked to socialist ideas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. David Glanz argues Zionism was a fringe movement for decades and can be challenged again.
Read more about anti-Zionism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 19 April 2025.
Paddy Gibson speaks about a new edition of Tom O'Lincoln's book, Into the Mainstream: The Decline of Australian Communism, for which he has written the introduction.
Paddy describes how the book charts the CPA's strengths, but also how its Stalinist politics led to its decline. He draws lessons for revolutionaries today.
Copies of the book are on sale at Solidarity branch meetings or by contacting the publisher, Interventions.
Read more about the CPA.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at a Solidarity meeting in Melbourne on 15 May 2025.
Adam Adelpour looks at the 1905 revolution in Russia and argues that the development of democratic workers' councils, known in Russian as soviets, was critical to the workers' victory over capitalism in October 1917.
Read more about soviets.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
Jordi Pardoel discusses the ideas we need to win the fight against capitalism and argues that Stalinism and Maoism are dead ends for the struggle.
Read more on Trotsky.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 19 April 2025.
Lucy Honan explores the concept of neurodiversity, why capitalism puts people into defined boxes and how we can fight for a world where we live our fullest lives.
Read more about capitalism and disability.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April 2025.
Los Angeles-based socialist Clare Fester talks about the Trump government's racist offensive and the growing movements of opposition.
Read more about the fight against Trump.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 20 April.
Ian Rintoul looks at how the Labor-style SPD has paved the way for the rise of the far right in Germany and draws lessons for the federal election in Australia.
Read more about Germany.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was recorded at the Keep Left conference on 19 April 2025.
Dr Nora Amath, the Executive Director of the Islamophobia Register Australia, reports on the horrific wave of racism affecting Muslims in Australia. She explains how the anti-Palestine agenda of mainstream politicians and the media encourages hatred.
Read the latest Islamophobia Register Australia report.
Read more about fighting Islamophobia.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Liz Grosshans tells how, together with the heroic resistance of the Vietnamese, mass revolt by students, soldiers and workers fragmented the US war machine and opened the way to national liberation for Vietnam and an end to the war.
Read more about the movement against the Vietnam War.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Five hundred years ago, the German-speaking lands of central Europe were gripped by mass revolt. Beginning in 1524 and continuing into 1525, the German Peasants' War involved hundreds of thousands of the poor.
Martin Empson, a member of Solidarity’s sister organisation in Britain, the Socialist Workers Party, has just published a book that brings this story of revolt to life, entitled The Time of the Harvest has Come: Revolution, Reformation and the German Peasants' War. He discusses the lessons for revolution.
Win a signed copy of the book! Answer the following question and go into the draw. "By which term, which was given to a monumental panoramic painting of the Battle of Frankenhausen commissioned by the East German state capitalist regime, did Engels characterise the German Peasants' War?"
Send your answer and your address and phone number to melbourne@solidarity.net.au by midnight, Melbourne time, on Friday 25 April. This offer applies only to Australian-based listeners.
Buy a copy of the book at Solidarity meetings, online or via solidarity@solidarity.net.au.
Find out more about Solidarity.
In February 1965, University of Sydney students held a “freedom ride” through northwestern NSW, exposing rampant racism against Indigenous people and putting Indigenous rights on the agenda.
Hall Greenland (Freedom Ride participant), Paul Silva (Indigenous activist) and Paddy Gibson (Jumbunna Institute and Solidarity) discuss its impact and relevance today.
Read about the Freedom Ride.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Phil Griffiths debunks the idea that tariffs have ever been good for workers, discusses how Trump is using tariffs to remake US imperialism and argues that workers have to look to global solidarity.
Read more about tariffs.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Robert Stainsby outlines the socialist view on elections. He argues that while it is important to vote for Greens and then Labor, real change can come about only through workers' struggle.
Read more about democracy.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Jasmine Ali explains why Donald Trump is ending the US proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. She argues that the Russian invasion and three-year war that followed are products of inter-imperialist rivalry.
This talk was delivered in Melbourne on 6 March 2025.
Read more about Ukraine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Trans rights are under attack. Casey Forsyth explains why our rulers are so keen to promote transphobia and how we can defeat it and win a world of trans liberation.
Read more about the fight against transphobia.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Robodebt saw more than 526,000 people told they had Centrelink debts, even though it simply wasn’t true.
To unpack this piece of bureaucratic bastardry, we talk to journalist Rick Morton, who has written a book about Robodebt called Mean Streak, published by HarperCollins.
Rick is the Saturday Paper’s senior reporter. He won two Walkley Awards for his coverage of the Robodebt royal commission and he is the author of an earlier book, One Hundred Years of Dirt.
Also joining us is Solidarity member Tom Orsag, a victim of the Robodebt scandal.
Read more about welfare attacks.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Buy a copy of Mean Streak.
Solidarity editor James Supple assesses a world in turmoil, the impact of Trump's election and the potential for a fightback against the rise of the right.
Read more about Trump.
Find out more about Solidarity.
John (Janusz) Ebel was a student at La Trobe University in 1970 and active in the movement against the Vietnam War. He burned his draft card, helped lock up a Liberal Minister, was shot at and took part in the Battle of Waterdale Road, when police ambushed and bashed student activists.
Read more about the Vietnam War.
Find out more about Solidarity.
David Glanz discusses Lenin's 1920 pamphlet, Left wing communism: an infantile disorder, its importance then and its relevance today.
Read the pamphlet.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Jonathan Sherlock discusses Trump 2.0 - how Trump won, the threat he poses and the potential for resistance.
Read more about the fight against Trump.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Jean Parker looks at how the debates between reformists and revolutionaries played out in the Second International, the grouping of socialist parties on the eve of the First World War, and their relevance for today.
Read more about the Second International.
Find out more about Solidarity.
In 1992, the then Labor government announced it would cut student support, Austudy, from its already derisory level. Thousands of students took to the streets.
In Melbourne, the police counter-attacked by arresting five socialists. It took more than two years but a significant defence campaign led to all the major charges being dropped.
Among the five were Marcus Banks and Jonathan Sherlock and we’re talking with them today.
View images from the defence campaign.
Read more about student struggles.
Find out more about Solidarity.
David Glanz challenges some common arguments that workers in Australia and the West benefit from the exploitation of the Global South. He argues that workers everywhere have common interests, laying the basis for a common struggle against the system.
Read more about imperialism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Solidarity member Judy McVey took part in organising the campaign for the right to march in Queensland. Judy talks about why the ban on marches was put in place, how the campaign was organised and what debates took place inside it, how victory was won and what this means today.
Read more about struggle in Queensland.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This episode is republished with permission of the People's History of Australia, a podcast covering Australian labour and social movements.
Read the full show notes and find out more about the podcast series.
Luke Ottavi describes the revolutionary process that shook Sudan and gave hope to millions before it faltered and created space for ruling class factions backed by regional powers to fight for power and wealth. He points to the politics needed to ensure that the next mass upsurge ends in victory for workers and the poor.
Read more about Sudan.
Find out about Solidarity.
Solidarity member Paddy Gibson discusses socialist anti-racist theory in the 19th century, its flaws and how it was modified and challenged by the Communist Party of Australia during the 20th century, and the amazing campaigns led by the Communist Party against anti-Aboriginal racism during the 1920s and 1930s.
Read more about Aboriginal resistance.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This episode is republished with permission of the People's History of Australia, a podcast covering Australian labour and social movements.
Read the full show notes and find out more about the podcast series.
Abortion rights are under attack in the US and Australia. Why is the right fixated on controlling women's bodies? How can we fight back? Judy McVey, author of the Solidarity pamphlet, Abortion: The fight that’s still to be won, discusses the issues.
Read more about the fight for abortion rights.
Buy the book, Marxism and Women’s Liberation.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Some say it is the influence of the Zionist lobby in the US that explains America's unwavering support for Israel.
But David Glanz argues that the real reason is that the US sees Israel as an indispensable ally in a region of huge strategic importance.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Julie Monteiro explains how the Democrats paved the way for Trump and how building mass resistance is the key to turning the tide on reaction.
Read more about US politics.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Thirty years ago, in September 1994, students at the Australian National University in Canberra occupied the chancellery building for eight days.
Tom Orsag was working in Canberra at the time and was an active supporter of the occupation. Here he tells the story of the struggle.
Read more about student struggles.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Paddy Gibson looks at the potential for revolt against Israel's genocide and also against the Arab leaders who are helping make it possible.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Resist and Rebel conference in Sydney on 24 August 2024.
On 11 September 2000 (known as S11), 10,000 people surrounded the World Economic Forum in Melbourne and shut it down.
In the wake of the recent action against Land Forces, David Glanz discusses the lessons of S11 for organising effective direct action today.
Read more about direct action.
Find out more about Solidarity.
In this episode, Graham Willett and Geraldine Fela share stories about how the union movement has stood up against homophobia.
Graham Willett is a recovering academic, a socialist and an historian. He has been involved in groups as diverse as the Gay Community News collective, ACTUP and the Australian Queer Archives.
Geraldine Fela is a labour movement historian and author of Critical Care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia's AIDS crisis. She is also a member of Solidarity.
Read more about the fight against homophobia.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was recorded at a forum hosted by the Melbourne branch of Solidarity on 26 September.
Julie Monteiro discusses how oppression can bring people into the struggle for liberation but why organising primarily on the basis of identity can be a dead end.
Read more about the fight against oppression.
Find out more about Solidarity.
This talk was given at the Resist and Rebel conference in Melbourne on 24 August.
Far right and fascist parties are on the rise across Europe, from the National Rally in France to Austria’s Freedom Party and the German AfD, while in the US Donald Trump still has a chance of taking back the Presidency.
Adam Adelpour explains the difference between fascist parties and other forms of far right politics -- and why it matters for how we resist them.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Sydney branch on 5 September.
Read more about fascism. Find out more about Solidarity.
Labor is pushing a rightwing agenda -- attacking the CFMEU, leaving refugees to rot, spending billions on nuclear submarines and the military, and more. Maeve Larkins unpacks why the ALP is putting Australian capitalism first.
Read more about Labor.
Find out more about Solidarity.
David Glanz looks at the dangers posed by the rise of the far right and argues that the left has to avoid the trap of "lesser evilism" and instead build a united front of revolutionaries and reformists to stop our common enemies.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Resist and Rebel conference in Melbourne on 24 August.
Read more about fascism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Cooper Forsyth outlines how imperialism has shaped the Middle East and laid the basis for Israeli war and genocide. He explains how Leon Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution can point a way forward for Palestinian liberation.
This talk was delivered at Solidarity's Resist and Rebel conference in Melbourne on 24 August.
Read more about Trotsky.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out about Solidarity.
Solidarity's Ian Rintoul argues why we need to organise to defend the CFMEU. Midhat Jafri, an activist for Palestine and Solidarity member at UNSW, discusses the way forward to defeat imperialism and gain Palestinian liberation.
Read about the CFMEU.
Read about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Hundreds marched on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office in Sydney in a rally organised by Stop the War on Palestine. Solidarity member Manu brings us the voices of those who spoke up that day.
Read more about Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Labour movement historian Geraldine Fela talks about her new book, which discusses the vital political role nurses played in turning back the spread of AIDS, and of homophobia. Geraldine is a member of Solidarity.
The book, Critical Care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia's AIDS crisis, is published by UNSW Press, $49.99.
Read more about nurses organising.
Find out more about Solidarity.
We talk to journalist and author Nic Maclellan, who has been reporting on New Caledonia/Kanaky for four decades, about the Kanak struggle for independence from French colonialism.
Read more about Kanaky.
Find out about Solidarity.
Tom Orsag, a Solidarity member and retired CFMEU member, argues why we need to unite in defence of the construction workers' union, the CFMEU.
This talk was recorded on 25 July.
Read more about the CFMEU.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Refugees and asylum-seekers in Melbourne are protesting 24 hours a day - first outside the office of Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and then, when she was shuffled out of the role, outside the Department of Home Affairs. We spoke to three Iranian women about why they're fighting back.
The Department of Home Affairs in Melbourne is at 808 Bourke Street, Docklands. Support is welcome at any time of the day or night.
Read more about the fight for refugee justice.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Defenders of Israel cannot justify the slaughter in Gaza so they resort to smearing supporters of the Palestinians as antisemitic. Tami Gadir, a Solidarity member and anti-Zionist Jew, takes apart their arguments and shows how fighting for Palestine and fighting antisemitism go hand in hand.
Read more about Zionism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Erima Dall talks about the waves of revolutionary struggle that have rocked the Middle East and points to the importance of rebuilding the socialist tradition of struggle from below.
This talk was given at Solidarity's Keep Left conference on 30 March.
Read more about imperialism and resistance in the Middle East.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Sophie Cotton explains how growing inequality and racism in the US, together with the failures of the pro-big business, pro-Israel Democrats, is opening the door for another Trump presidency. The response by working class people and students has to be struggle in the workplaces and the streets.
Further reading:
How does Trump survive?
California workers strike for Palestine
US workers begin to flex some industrial muscle
More about Solidarity
Adam Adelpour looks at how inter-imperialist rivalry has turned Ukraine into a bloody quagmire and points a way forward based on workers on both sides rejecting their rulers' war.
Read more on Ukraine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Chris Breen looks at the failure of international talks to halt global warming, why capitalism can't solve the problem it's caused and how ordinary people can organise and win against fossil fuels.
Read more on fighting climate change.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Rosa Luxemburg was one of the giants of the socialist movement at the beginning of the 20th century. She argued for revolution against reformism and celebrated the power of the mass strike. But, as Caitlin Doyle outlines, she failed to understand the need for independent revolutionary organisation, with terrible consequences.
Read about Rosa Luxemburg.
Find out about Solidarity.
The Kanak, the Indigenous people of Kanaky-New Caledonia, have risen up against their French colonial masters. Paddy Gibson explains why we should draw inspiration from their resistance and build solidarity across the Pacific with all struggles for liberation.
Read more about the Kanak struggle.
Find out more about Solidarity.
The Radical Jewish Tradition is an important new book that debunks the claim of Israel and its apologists to represent Jews everywhere.
Solidarity hosted a book launch that heard from the two co-authors, both anti-Zionist Jews: Donny Gluckstein in Scotland and Janey Stone in Melbourne.
Solidarity member and anti-Zionist Jew, Tami Gadir, was the final speaker.
In Australia, the book is available from Interventions, elsewhere from Bookmarks.
Read more on the fight against Zionism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Labor has a shocking record on so many issues. Solidarity editor James Supple looks at why Labor fails and the kind of alternative we need.
Read Solidarity articles on Labor.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Jason Wong looks at the contradictions within capitalism that make war a central feature of the system. He argues that workers have the interest and the power to end the slaughter.
Israel is a pariah state, stripped of legitimacy in the eyes of billions around the world. Anti-Zionist Jews are mobilising in record numbers to say, not in my name. So can Israel survive? David Glanz discusses the issues.
How can ordinary people fight for real change when our rulers seem so powerful? Cooper Forsyth argues that workers everywhere have the power to spread struggles around the world and win.
Read more about revolution.
Read more about Solidarity.
Phil Griffiths challenges the ruling class propaganda about China and argues that it is imperialist rivalry that is making the region less safe and threatening war.
Read Solidarity's articles on China.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Lucy Honan explains what Marxists mean by alienation and how its impact shapes our lives – and how we can retake control through collective struggle.
Lebanese socialist Simon Assaf outlines how the crimes of the Israeli state are fostering anger and resistance across the region, creating a new opportunity for revolutionary change.
Read Solidarity's coverage of the fight for a free Palestine.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Australia is a settler colonial state. Israel is, too. But what does that mean for the struggle for Indigenous rights in Australia and liberation for Palestine? Paddy Gibson unbundles the theory.
Read Solidarity's coverage of the fight against racism.
Find out more about Solidarity.
Sameh Nasser, who escaped Gaza in December and who has lost 16 family members to Israeli terror, addressed Solidarity's Keep Left conference. David Glanz provided an introduction.
Read all Solidarity's coverage of the Palestine crisis here.
Find out more about Solidarity and get involved.
This talk by Paddy Gibson outlines the importance of anti-Aboriginal racism to the ruling class in Australia. Paddy explores the ways that the so-called "Aboriginal problem" has posed challenges for Australian capitalism and the way Aboriginal resistance continues to threaten the system.
Recorded at a Solidarity meeting in April 2016, this podcast is dedicated to the memory of Arrente and Alyawarr Elder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, who famously asserted, "Don't try and suppress me. I am not the problem. I have never left my Country, nor have I ever ceded any part of it."
Teachers and School Staff for Palestine has organised some inspiring actions, despite hostile media coverage and attempts at suppression by Labor state education ministers and their departments. We talk to Lucy Honan, an experienced teacher and long-time member of the Australian Education Union. She’s also a member of Solidarity.
Paddy Gibson gives an introduction to Karl Marx's theory of historical materialism. He includes basic explanations of the concept of alienation, surplus value, the centralisation and concentration of capital and what we mean by workers' power and socialist revolution. This talk was given to a Solidarity student club meeting at Sydney University in August 2014.
This episode is about what is happening in Melbourne for fans of electronic music from the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, and for music fans who want to recognise and act on what is happening in Palestine.
To discuss this, Tami Gadir is joined by MzRizk, a renowned Naarm/Melbourne radio broadcaster (Boogie Beat Suite, PBS) and prolific DJ (winner, “Best DJ” category, Music Victoria Awards 2022). MzRizk talks about her DJing work, Palestinian solidarity and what it means to express political positions through music and the arts.
MzRizk uses genres such as house, jazz, soul, disco, hip-hop, and Arabic music to foster community and cultural connection wherever she plays—from Melbourne to New York to Beirut and beyond. One of the popular club nights she co-organises is Habibi Hafla, which has been among the Palestine solidarity events that have been put on by local organisers since October 2023.
Music credit:
Ṭarabeat - طربيت, "Kazdoura - كزدورة"
https://tarabeat1.bandcamp.com/track/kazdoura
Writing during the First World War, Lenin analysed how capitalism led to imperialism, which in turn led to war between the great powers. A century on, David Glanz argues that Lenin's arguments and his insistence that workers have the power to end war is still vitally relevant today.
In this week’s episode of our Music and Politics miniseries, we talk to Erima Dall about the course of industrial disputes at the Sydney Opera House construction site and what lessons we can take from how they played out.
Erima is a member of Solidarity, a wharfy, and a Maritime Union of Australia member and delegate. In 2023, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Opera House’s completion, Erima wrote an article on this topic in Solidarity magazine and we’re pleased to have her joining us for this episode.
Zionism argues that antisemitism can't be fought and that Jews need a state at the expense of the Palestinians. David Glanz discusses how Zionism has always fostered racism and collaborated with imperialism.
Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, is an authoritarian leader and an Islamophobe. Barry Pavier, author of Hindutva and the Sangh Parivar in Britain, explains the background to his politics and discusses how the Indian left can fight back.
Read Barry's article here.
Israel tries to smear its critics as antisemites. This episode features five anti-Zionist Jews in conversation, rejecting the myth that Israel speaks in their name. Nachshon Amir, Melanie Lazarow and John (Janusz) Ebel talk with Tami Gadir and David Glanz.
Labor played a key role in the partition of Palestine and the establishment of Israel in 1948, despite enacting antisemitic policies at home. Tom Orsag discusses why the ALP has always supported Israel.
Between 1996 and 1998, the Mirarr people in the Northern Territory fought plans for a uranium mine on their land in Kakadu. It included an eight-month blockade of the mine site. Tami Gadir argues that the mine was eventually stopped due to strong grassroots campaign made up of traditional Mirarr owners, Aboriginal activists and tens of thousands of people in Australia, including environmentalists, unionists and students.
We're often told people are too selfish to change the world. David Glanz challenges that argument, looking at the development of human society from the earliest years through to the mass solidarity movement for Palestine today.
Western leaders bleat about the "two-state solution". But as Sarah Thorne explains, it has never offered justice for the Palestinians. The only solution is one state from the river to the sea, where everyone has equal rights, including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
Some musicians are as well known for their politics as they are for their music. Paul Robeson is one such figure. Robeson, born just before the turn of the twentieth century, during his life observed the parallels between the struggles of international workers against their ruling classes and the struggles for Black civil rights at home in the USA. Such sympathies led him to be viciously censored and pursued by the US authorities during the early stages of the Cold War.
What can we learn from Robeson's contributions to radical politics in the twentieth century, and how might those lessons be applied to the present in which politics look very different?
To help answer these questions we talk to writer, editor, broadcaster, and Walkley Award winner Jeff Sparrow about his book, No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson, a finalist in the Best Writing Award in the Melbourne Prize for Literature in 2018. Jeff is known for his public commentary on Australian politics and is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.
Link to the book: https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/no-way-but-this-9781925321852
A performance by Paul Robeson at the Royal Albert Hall in 1958: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9FVaHIMgYw&ab_channel=MartyHermsen
David Glanz outlines the history of Hamas and how its politics have developed. He argues that socialists must support the fight for national liberation today but that freedom for Palestine needs a different strategy.
Phil Griffiths looks back at the struggle of the Black working class in South Africa for inspiration in the fight against Israeli apartheid today.
Israel and the Arab states are tightly connected to US imperialism, argues Lucy Honan. But the many millions of Arab workers have the power that can break their control.
Australian Conservation Foundation's Nuclear Campaigner and long-time environmental activist Dave Sweeney joins us to talk about the numerous pitfalls of nuclear power—from waste to war.
Since this episode was recorded, The Guardian reports that the only company to have a small modular nuclear power plant approved in the US has cancelled its first project due to rising costs.
Salome MC grew up in Iran and currently resides in the USA. She is a music producer, composer and multimedia artist. She is also on the advisory board for Iran in the American anti-war organisation Code Pink.
Most famously she is known as having been Iran's first woman to be a hip hop MC and rapper.
Salome joins Solidarity to discuss her journey into hip hop and self-expression, her ambivalence about how the label "political" has been used to describe her music, and why she has retreated from the public eye (and ear) to focusing on producing music with other rappers' voices.
She also explains her steadfast anti-war and anti-sanctions position, rooted in a fundamental trust of the judgement and self-determination of ordinary people in Iran and worldwide, and in a belief that children's lives are precious—without qualification.*
Music credits:
Javid x Salome MC, "Virij." Seven Climes, Vol. 1. https://salome-mc.bandcamp.com/track/virij.
Iman Tarek x Salome MC, "Ghafes." Seven Climes, Vol. 1. https://salome-mc.bandcamp.com/track/ghafes.
Follow and support Salome on Bandcamp: https://salome-mc.bandcamp.com/.
Article
Salome MC, "Why Antimilitarism is Not a Partisan Position." Pink Tank Blog, https://www.codepink.org/why_antimilitarism_is_not_a_partisan_position.
*This episode was recorded a week after the large-scale siege in Gaza began in October 2023.
Ahmed Abadla (Australian-Palestinian from Gaza) and Jean Parker (Solidarity) discuss why the occupation is the source of the violence and why Palestinians have a right to resist Israel.
All the data indicates that global heating is accelerating. Paddy Gibson argues against despair and for a strategy of resistance that can challenge a capitalist system addicted to fossil fuels.
The graphs he refers to in his talk can be found here.
Erima Dall takes us through the lessons of building anti-war movements, from World War One to opposing AUKUS today, and argues why the politics of the united front is central to winning.
This is a talk by Sophie Cotton about how trans people can fight back against the system. Sophie looks at the different theories of the system and argues that that class struggle is the best avenue to winning trans rights. She also argues that gender and trans experiences are grounded in material fact (contra Kathleen Stock's transphobic feminist book Material Girls). And the talk goes over some of the experiences from the NTEU struggle for gender affirmation leave. Here are some links for further reading Transphobia runs deeper than the anti-trans bigots (Sophie Cotton) There's a wealth of articles on LGBT issues in Australia on the Solidarity website Leslie Feinberg's book Transgender Warriors is a great introduction to theorising transphobia, though there are some minor theoretical issues The brilliant book Transgender Resistance: Socialism and the Fight for Trans Liberation, by Laura Miles, is strongly recommended
And Hannah Dee's The Red in the Rainbow: Sexuality, Socialism and LGBT Liberation is great for the relationship between capitalism and queer oppression
In the wake of the Women's World Cup and the Matildas' success, Lucy Honan looks at how sexism, nationalism and corporate profit distort sport.
Adam Adelpour outlines the key contributions made by Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky to workers' revolution and, after the rise of Stalinism, to keeping alive the flame of revolution from below.
Phil Griffiths challenges the enduring myth that the White Australia policy was the creation of the Australian working class. This talk was delivered as the Brisbane Labour History Society's Alex Macdonald Memorial Lecture 2023.
Footnote from the author: In the lecture itself, and the original version of this text, I failed to acknowledge the important contribution Verity Burgmann made towards understanding the centrality of the ruling class in racial exclusion and creating the White Australia policy.
Ben Abbatangelo is a Gunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk writer and journalist who has written for The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and IndigenousX, and also appeared recently on ABC’s Q&A. He spoke to Paddy Gibson about his thoughts on the Voice to Parliament.
War is grounded in capitalist competition, argues Jason Wong. And it can be stopped through workers' revolution.
Hall Greenland (Greens founder and anti-Vietnam war activist) and Ian Rintoul (anti-Vietnam war activist in Brisbane and Solidarity) discuss how grassroots activism and mass protest helped stop the Vietnam War. The height of the movement in Australia was the mass Moratorium marches, which involved tens of thousands of workers striking to attend on a weekday. Learning from these struggles can help us build a new anti-war movement today against AUKUS and nuclear submarines.
Ian Brown (Gomeroi activist) and Paddy Gibson (Solidarity) discuss why the Voice to Parliament won't bring change and why Indigenous people and anti-racists need to look to mass struggle on the streets.
Jean Parker discusses the weaknesses of the Albanese Labor government and compares it with previous Labor governments, arguing that Labor has always put the interests of business ahead of those of its working class supporters.
As the horrific war in Ukraine grinds on, Adam Adelpour discusses how the left should respond.
Do members of a band need to be politically in harmony? Can heavy metal, hip hop, or house give us hope? How much stock should we put in Woodstock? What are the politics of Oakland, California, the birthplace of the Black Panthers and once-haven for Black people escaping the Jim Crow South, where over 5000 people were recorded as homeless in 2022?
Our guest, Jason Myles, gives us his perspectives on these questions in our third music and politics episode. Jason is the host of This Is Revolution Podcast, columnist for Sublation Magazine and a member of the Oakland-based band Bitter Lake.
Music credits:
Bitter Lake, "Samba Del Diablo"
Bitter Lake, "Duality"
https://bitterlakeoakland.bandcamp.com/music
This is Revolution Podcast (on YouTube):
https://www.youtube.com/@THISISREVOLUTIONpodcast/
Jason's columns in Sublation Magazine:
https://www.sublationmag.com/writers/jason-myles
We are getting closer to climate tipping points, with the danger of global heating becoming a runaway catastrophe. Chris Breen looks at how the crisis is unfolding and argues that solutions cannot be found so long as society is run for profit. He argues that workers' struggle is key to overcoming the stranglehold of fossil fuel capitalism.
David Brophy (author of the book China Panic) and Phil Griffiths (Solidarity) discuss how our rulers are preparing for a possible war with China, why tensions are rising and how workers and students can organise against racism and war.
Workers find themselves fighting the boss with one hand behind their backs, thanks to anti-union laws that restrict the right to strike. Erima Dall (MUA activist) and Sophie Cotton (NTEU branch committee, Sydney Uni) discuss how we find ourselves in this situation and how workers can escape the legal straitjacket.
In the second episode of our "music and politics" miniseries, Tami Gadir talks to John Street, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia (UK), about his AHRC project "Our subversive voice: the history and politics of the English protest song". After discussing this 400-year history, John also addresses to what extent culture has political utility, and whether the cultural turn was a reasonable or reactionary response to the as-yet-unfulfilled promise of revolution.
We talk with Australian writer Antony Lowenstein about his latest book, The Palestine Laboratory, which describes how Israel uses weapons, drones and espionage systems against the Palestinians and then sells them as "battle tested" to reactionary regimes around the world for use on their populations.
Putin is a brutal autocrat whose invasion of Ukraine is to be condemned. We're told he's all-powerful and has the backing of the Russian people. But his rule rests on much shakier foundations and opposition to the war continues to bubble away beneath the surface of Russian society. This talk by David Glanz looks at how Putin came to power, his agenda in Ukraine and the potential for revolt against him and his crony capitalism.
The far right have been campaigning against drag queen story time events, cashing in on anti-trans and homophobic ideas. They have forced events that are valued by children, their parents and others to be cancelled or pushed online. This bigotry has to be stopped. We talk first with Dean Arcuri, a cabaret comedian, entertainer and MC, who also performs as his queerer alter ego, Frock Hudson, including at story times. Our second guest is researcher and Solidarity member, Geraldine Fela.
In the pilot episode of our "music and politics" miniseries, we talk to Dr Tami Gadir, Lecturer in Music Industry in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. We ask Tami about her new book, Dance music: a feminist account of an ordinary culture (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023), and through this discussion, introduce some of the bigger questions about music, politics and society.
Music credit: Mike Callander, "Go Mental." https://www.watartists.com/mike-callander.
Solidarity editor James Supple looks at the growing economic problems facing capitalism in the wake of the COVID pandemic and argues that workers should refuse to pay the price for a system running into crisis.
The Spanish revolution was one of the great working class uprisings. Allied with the poor peasants, the workers had a chance to not just beat back fascism but to overthrow capitalism, too. The anarchists had the support of most workers, especially in the industrial city of Barcelona. But they failed to grasp the opportunity that the crisis offered and the revolution went down to defeat. David Glanz explains why.
A growing number of university staff are arguing for boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, on the campuses – in other words, for an institutional academic boycott of Israel. University of Sydney academic Dr Nick Riemer has just published Boycott Theory and the Struggle for Palestine: Universities, Intellectualism and Liberation, taking apart the arguments of BDS critics. Nick is a senior lecturer in the discipline of English and the branch president of the National Tertiary Education Union.
Matilda Fay discusses the fight for trans rights, LGBTI+ and women's rights today and argues that we face a common enemy in capitalism, a system that fosters oppression to strengthen its rule.
Caitlin Doyle looks at the gap between Labor's rhetoric on climate action and the reality and argues a way forward for rebuilding the climate movement.
The Chinese revolution of 1925-27 held out the possibility of social liberation for Chinese workers and peasants. Its success would also have tipped the balance of forces back in favour of the ailing Russian workers' state. The Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky wrote extensively on the way forward to victory, as Ian Rintoul explains.
The 21st century has seen regimes rocked by revolt and revolution from the Egyptian revolution and the Arab Spring of 2011 to the ongoing revolution in Sudan and new waves of protest in places like Iran. British socialist and academic Anne Alexander speaks on her new book, Revolution is the Choice of the People: Crisis & Revolt in the Middle East & North Africa.
What drives union officials? Can workers afford to leave it all to them? And if not, what do rank-and-file activists need to argue as the way forward? Three experienced socialist union activists discuss the issues: Sophie Cotton (NTEU), Erima Dall (MUA) and Marcus Banks (NTEU).
Feiyi Zhang discusses the potential and limitations of art under capitalism ... and how art can play a role in revolution and be liberated by it. View the artworks mentioned in her talk here: http://bit.ly/3nbnsi5
Israel has its most rightwing government ever, which is stepping up attacks on Palestinians. But it has also provoked outrage within Israeli society by trying to limit the power of the courts. There have been giant protests and many in the military are threatening to withdraw from service. David Glanz discusses why Israel has lurched to the right, whether Israeli protesters can bring about change, and how Palestinian liberation can be achieved.
The introduction of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence threatens many industries with upheaval. Erima Dall looks at why capitalism turns to new technologies, what it means for workers and how we can ensure that technology is used for human need, not profit. Erima is a member of the Maritime Union of Australia and Solidarity.
All Quiet on the Western Front is in line for nine Oscars. David Glanz discusses the latest film version of this classic anti-war story and why it still resonates 100 years after the First World War. He also looks at what the film doesn't cover: the revolutions and mutinies that brought the horror of the war to an end.
Australia is making it clear that in the event of war with China it will line up with the US. This is why one of the first priorities of the Labor government has been a strategic review of the military. That's on top of the AUKUS pact, the agreement between the US, the UK and Australia to deliver eight nuclear powered submarines at the cost of $170 billion. Feiyi Zhang discusses the issues.Join the anti-war movement. Sydney: www.facebook.com/SydAntiAukusCoalition, Melbourne: https://www.facebook.com/noaukusvic/, elsewhere: www.antiaukuscoalition.org.
The island of Guam has been dubbed the US’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”. Its size and strategic location in the west Pacific gives it great value to US war plans. The military owns one third of the land, demolishes sacred sites and pollutes the environment. But Indigenous people are resisting. We talk to Maria Hernandez, an Indigenous Chamoru environmental, women's and cultural rights activist, about the fightback.
Lockdowns affected millions around the country. Melbourne was locked down for 262 days. Was this a necessary step to save lives or authoritarian over-reach? Why did the Victorian government respond so harshly? Who paid the price? Chip Le Grand, whose book Lockdown has been published by Monash University Publishing, discusses the issues. Chip is chief reporter at The Age in Melbourne and a Walkley Book Award winner.
Many Indigenous people are sceptical about the planned Voice to Parliament, seeing it as a distraction that will change little. At a recent Solidarity forum in Sydney, the issues were addressed by four activists. In speaking order, Paddy Gibson (Jumbunna Institute, UTS and Solidarity), Ian Brown (Gomeroi activist with Gamilaraay Next Generation), Ethan Lyons (Wirajduri student and School Strike for Climate) and Elizabeth Jarrett (Bundjalung-Dunghutti-Gumbaynggirr activist).
Solidarity member Judy McVey looks back to the founding of the Communist Party of Australia on 30 October 1920 and both its contribution to working class struggle and its flaws. This talk was recorded in 2020.
Is overpopulation a threat to the planet? Martin Empson argues that the idea of overpopulation is used to deflect attention away from the destructive system of capitalism and the potential for collective struggle for a sustainable world. Martin is the author of Socialism or Extinction: The Meaning of Revolution in a time of Ecological Crisis. This talk was given at Keep Left 2021.
Frank Stilwell, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, and Solidarity member Phil Griffiths discuss the state of the Australian economy and the growing inequality being created by market dynamics. This talk was recorded at Solidarity's conference, Keep Left, in 2021.
This talk by Paddy Gibson explores how the expansionist imperatives of capitalism drove genocidal war across the colonial frontier, with a particular focus on Northern Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is also discussion of the challenge posed to Australian nationalism by Indigenous resistance and why ruling class figures such as John Howard have tried so hard to bury the truth about frontier warfare. Recorded at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney, May 2014.
This talk by Paddy Gibson reflects on the enduring power of Lenin's analysis in the pamphlet What is to be Done, first published in 1902. A main theme of the pamphlet is the relationship between workers' action for better wages and conditions, and broader political struggles and the development of socialist consciousness. Central to this is the question of how socialists should organise. Recorded at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney, September 2012.
In this talk, Paddy Gibson applies the Marxist theory of imperialism to explore the founding of Australia and development of Australian imperialism in the Asia-Pacific region. There is a specific focus on Australian colonial rule in PNG and how this domination operates today, with some concluding comments on the refugee detention regime. Recorded at a Solidarity meeting in August 2013.
Australia's rulers have been working on joining the nuclear club for almost 80 years. Solidarity has published a new pamphlet that traces the history of uranium mining, nuclear testing and bids to buy, borrow or build nuclear weapons. David Glanz highlights some of the lessons. The pamphlet is available from Solidarity branches or by emailing solidarity@solidarity.net.au.
A delegation of 50 union officials and rank-and-file union members visited the Pilliga Forest in NSW to hear from leaders of the Gomeroi traditional owners about their struggle against the Santos Pilliga/Narrabri gas project. Penny McCall-Howard talks about the delegation and its significance. Penny is the national research officer with the Maritime Union of Australia and a member of Solidarity. To support the campaign, visit https://gomeroingaarr.org/
The AUKUS agreement, nuclear-powered submarines and US nuclear-capable B52 bombers in the NT. Is this a simple case of US domination? Clinton Fernandes, whose book Sub-Imperial Power: Australia in the International Arena has just been published, discusses the issues. Clinton is a professor of international and political studies at the University of New South Wales.
This talk, recorded in 2015, provides an historical account of the invasion by British imperialism of Eora and Darug Country, what is now known as Sydney, Australia. Paddy Gibson discusses the dynamics driving the invasion and the war of resistance waged by Aboriginal people defending their homelands. Since this talk, historian Stephen Gapps has published a major book The Sydney Wars which is highly recommended.
Jonathan Sriranganathan, a Greens councillor on Brisbane City Council, talks about why Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe is being hounded by the establishment. He discusses the hypocrisy behind the attacks and why everyone on the left should stand with Lidia Thorpe.
Jono's blog post on the subject can be found here: https://www.jonathansri.com/associatingwithlidia
Up to 14,000 refugees are living in a hellish limbo in Indonesia, unable to build their lives locally and barred from coming to Australia. Margaret Sinclair, a Refugee Action Collective activist in Melbourne, has just returned from a factfinding trip and tells us what she found.
For decades, governments have tried to find places to dump radioactive waste in Australia. The latest proposal focuses on Kimba in South Australia and is being fought by Barngarla Traditional Owners. Dave Sweeney, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Nuclear Campaigner, talks about the dangers of the nuclear industry and the campaign to stop the Kimba dump.
The courageous struggles in Iran right now reflect a long tradition of resistance. David Glanz recaps current events and then looks back to the 1979 revolution against the Shah for inspiration and for lessons we can use today.
Paddy Gibson outlines the anti-colonial politics of the early years of the Communist International (Comintern), formed in the wake of the Russian Revolution in 1919. He explores the way the Comintern theorised the relationship between workers' revolution in imperialist countries and anti-colonial revolts shaking the world, particularly the importance of anti-racism and commitment to the defeat of imperialist forces.
Climate science tells us that the planet is at risk but greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Now a group of scientists have published a call for a moratorium on climate research to highlight the urgent problem. We talk to Professor Tim Smith, a co-author of the appeal. Tim is a human geographer and professor of sustainability at the University of the Sunshine Coast. You can read the full paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17565529.2021.2008855
What's been the impact of the overturning of Roe v Wade? Hear from Virginia Rodino, executive director of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and a member of Solidarity's US sister group, Marx21. Solidarity member Matilda Fay gives an introduction looking at abortion rights in Australia.
Early educators, members of the United Workers Union, joined rallies around the country demanding better pay, lower workloads and respect. "We're educators not babysitters" was one of the chants. Solidarity spoke to early educators and parents at the rally in Naarm or Melbourne.
Does the working class still exist and will it ever rise up? Adam Adelpour answers those questions and more, painting a picture of a system that creates crises and resistance around the world, including in the advanced economies like Australia.
Starting with left debates about the nature of the Korean War, Ian Rintoul describes how British Marxist Tony Cliff defended the centrality of working class power to our understanding of socialism. He talks about how the argument is still vital for dealing with issues raised by war today.
People celebrated when the Nadesalingam family was allowed to go home to Biloela in Queensland. But behind the happy headlines nothing has changed for thousands of others caught up in Operation Sovereign Borders. Ian Rintoul, an activist with the Refugee Action Coalition in Sydney and a Solidarity member, discusses the issues.
Labor won office days before the Wall Street crash of 1929. Elected to defend workers' rights, it responded to economic crisis with savage austerity. In response, many thousands of workers turned to "socialism in our time". David Glanz tells the story and draws conclusions for today.
On 6 August 1945, the US dropped a nuclear weapon on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people. Three days later it dropped a second bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki. Why did the US commit this crime against humanity and what can we do to ensure it never happens again? Phil Griffiths discusses the issues.
Wage theft is everywhere, yet another reason to rebuild fighting unions. We talk to Ben Schneiders, an award-winning journalist with The Age, who has reported on the scandal in hospitality, retail, farming and universities. Ben has just written a book entitled Hard Labour: wage theft in the age of inequality, published by Scribe.
The Black Moratorium marches on 14 July 1972 saw thousands take to the streets in the largest demonstrations in support of Aboriginal rights up to that time. In Sydney, thousands of workers struck to attend. Bob Makinson was involved in organising meetings in Sydney as a high school student. He spoke to Solidarity editor James Supple.
Today, many activists know the term apartheid best in relation to the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel’s brutal control. But the system of apartheid was born in South Africa and involved institutionalised, rigid and vicious racism. Solidarity member Melanie Lazarow, who was born in apartheid South Africa, talks about the waves of resistance that broke white control.
The decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn the ruling known as Roe v Wade is an attack on women everywhere. Judy McVey discusses why abortion rights are under attack and how we can fight back. Judy is a member of Solidarity and the author of the pamphlet Abortion: The fight that’s still to be won.
The Labor government is already crying poor when it comes to health, education, the NDIS or raising JobSeeker. But it's committed to spending at least $170 billion on nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS agreement. We discuss the issues with Professor Richard Tanter, a Senior Research Associate with the Nautilus Institute and an Honorary Professor in the School of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Richard is a former president of the Australian board of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2017.
Lucy Honan looks at the issues around sex, consent, love, marriage, loneliness and more, and how we can achieve liberation. Her talk draws on the writings of the Russian revolutionary, Alexandra Kollontai.
Feiyi Zhang discusses the future classless society, drawing on the inspiration of revolutions from Iran to Russia and beyond. She argues that workers can build a new way of living, based on democracy and equality.
Fahad Ali, one of the organisers of the Sydney Festival boycott campaign and a member of the Palestine Justice Movement Sydney, and Solidarity member Erima Dall discuss the road to liberation.
In the 1990s, Nazis made a series of attempts to build a base in Melbourne. David Glanz explains how the successful campaign to stop them was built, drawing on Leon Trotsky's theory of the united front.
The Communist Manifesto is one of the best-known publications in the world. But what does it say and are its arguments still relevant today? Feiyi Zhang introduces its key ideas.
Read the Manifesto here.
Dani Cotton looks at the weaknesses of privilege theory and argues that while we need to fight racist ideas and policies today, racism can be eradicated as part of a successful challenge to the capitalist system.
Inflation is roaring, workloads are climbing and bosses are still trying to turn the screw harder. Hear from three union activists on the frontline about the fightback we need.
- Damien Davis-Frank (NSW nurses' union branch president)
- Dani Cotton (NTEU branch council member)
- Vivian Honan (NSW teachers' union delegate)
We all know the Coalition has to go. What’s more challenging is how we do it … and what we expect and demand from an Albanese Labor government. Three guests discuss the issues.
- Kosmos Samaras is a former Victorian ALP campaign director who is now a Director at Redbridge Group, a research and consulting organisation.
- Celeste Liddle is an Arrernte woman, a union activist, social commentator and the Greens candidate for the federal seat of Cooper in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
- James Supple is the editor of Solidarity magazine and an activist with the Refugee Action Coalition in Sydney.
Solidarity's Ian Rintoul explains how socialists should respond to imperialist war, outlining the history of NATO and how the US-led alliance is using Ukraine to confront Russia. He argues that Russian troops and NATO should all get out of Ukraine and that we need to focus on fighting the real enemy: the Australian bosses.
Why is Labor running a "no target" election campaign? How does this fit with the experience of the ALP and Labor governments over the past century? Jean Parker, a member of Solidarity and the NTEU, draws the lessons we need to take the fight to Morrison today.
Alexandra Kollontai was a Marxist, a fighter for women's liberation and a government minister after the Russian revolution of October 1917. In 1909 she wrote a pamphlet, The Social Basis of the Woman Question, to challenge the arguments raised by bourgeois feminists. Caitlin Doyle-Markwick talks about her ideas and their relevance today.
Anthony Albanese is doing his best to agree with much of what Scott Morrison is saying. Why does Labor adopt a "small target" approach? Does it help them win elections? What are the alternatives? This talk from a recent Solidarity forum goes over the issues.
The united front is a vital but often misunderstood strategy for revolutionary socialists. Paddy Gibson discusses the history of the strategy and how and why we can apply it in struggles today.
Over the Easter weekend of 2002, about a thousand refugee solidarity protesters gathered at the Woomera detention centre in South Australia. In dramatic scenes, the fences were pushed down by refugees inside – with the help of protesters outside. Some 40 refugees escaped in a huge embarrassment for John Howard’s Liberal government. James Supple was there and tells the story. James is a Solidarity member and an activist with the Refugee Action Coalition in Sydney.
Paddy Gibson gives an overview of historical materialism and alienation, and argues why the working class has the power to fight for a different world.
In February 2016, the refugee movement, backed by the union movement, went into battle to save a baby. Baby Asha was being treated in Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Hospital but faced deportation to Nauru. Hundreds of refugee supporters, backed by the Queensland Council of Unions, organised a vigil and blockade. We talk to Solidarity member Mark Gillespie, a long-term activist with the Refugee Action Collective in Brisbane, who was heavily involved in the successful campaign.
The Pilbara strike of 1946-49 saw Aboriginal people defy the owners of pastoral stations in north-west Western Australia by demanding better wages and conditions. But it was also a fight to win independence from their colonial masters. Paddy Gibson, a Solidarity member and a senior researcher at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS, gave this talk recently.
On 22 August 2016, students began an occupation at the Sydney College of the Arts against savage course closures and job cuts. It lasted 65 days, making it the longest student occupation of an administration building in Australian history. And it forced the university into a significant retreat. Thandi Bethune, Kelton Muir and Adam Adelpour were all involved. Here they talk about the campaign and its lessons.
Jeff Sparrow is a socialist, writer, editor, broadcaster and Walkley award-winning journalist. His new book, Crimes against Nature: Capitalism and Global Heating, rips apart the idea that all humans are responsible for destroying the environment, pins the blame on capitalism and points to ways that society can be organised democratically and sustainably.
COVID has hit lower-paid and migrant workers hardest, according to new research. It's also contributed to an increase in domestic violence. We speak to lead researcher Dr Tom Barnes from the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Australian Catholic University. You can read the report in full here.
On 19 August 1996, about 2000 workers, Indigenous activists and students pushed their way into the entry of Parliament House in Canberra. Thousands more cheered them on. They were angry with the new John Howard Coalition government's attacks on workers’ rights. The government, media and even union leaders denounced the protesters as rioters. This episode marks a new segment for this podcast series. It’s called “I was there” and we’ll be interviewing activists who took part in key moments in the struggle. Today our guest is Solidarity member Tom Orsag, who was part of the protest in 1996. Then, Tom was a teacher. Now he’s a construction worker and a member of the CFMEU. You can read a history of the day here.
The vast majority of people held in this country’s detention centres have lived nearly all their lives in Australia, made homes, held down jobs and had families. Many of these people have been locked up for years under sections 501 or 116 of the Migration Act and have no foreseeable prospect of release or even deportation. This episode looks at the enormous power that the Immigration Minister holds over people’s lives. We talk to Joey Tangaloa Taualii and "John", who are 501 detainees in the MITA detention centre in Melbourne, and to Ian Rintoul, a member of the Refugee Action Coalition in Sydney and of Solidarity. This episode includes mention of suicide. If you need support, the number for Lifeline is 13 11 14.
Karl Marx argued that the beginnings of capitalism were largely made possible by colonialist barbarity. Yet he and his collaborator Frederick Engels had little or nothing to say about the resistance and fate of the Indigenous peoples of North America and Australia. Despite this, their fierce hostility to racism inspired the early Communist Party of Australia, whose members blazed an anti-racist trail in the early 1930s that we can still learn from today. To discuss this history and its contradictions, we talk to Paddy Gibson. Paddy is a member of Solidarity who works at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS, the University of Technology in Sydney.
China has more billionaires than the US but some of its biggest property developers are facing bankruptcy. While western media highlights the appalling treatment of the Uighurs, there’s much less said about the oppressive situation for Chinese workers. We discuss all this and more with Phil Griffiths. Phil is a former lecturer in political economy at the University of Southern Queensland and a member of Solidarity. He has visited China many times, most recently just before the pandemic.
The women’s movement in the late 1960s grew at a time of massive worker militancy and took its place alongside other new social movements: against the war in Vietnam, and for Indigenous rights, for gay and lesbian rights, and for environmental action. Judy McVey is a socialist who’s been involved in fighting for women’s liberation since the 1970s and the author of the recent Solidarity pamphlet, Abortion: The fight that’s still to be won. She looks at the lessons for today.
New Caledonia is less than 1500 kilometres from Brisbane but it's essentially a French colony. France is pushing ahead with a referendum on independence despite a COVID surge, hoping to kill off the drive for Kanak liberation. Nic Maclellan is a journalist who specialises in Pacific affairs. He explains the background to the vote, its links to French domestic politics and France's imperialist interests in the Pacific.
The Coalition government has announced its support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which has been used to mute support for Palestine and muzzle the left overseas. We talk about the issues with Rob Ferguson, a Palestine solidarity activist and SWP member in Britain, who has written about the misuse of the IHRA definition.
Martin Empson and Erima Dall discuss the failure of the COP26 summit and what socialists say needs to be done. Martin is a socialist and climate activist from Britain and the editor of the book System Change not Climate Change: A Revolutionary Response to Environmental Crisis. Erima is a climate activist and a member of the Maritime Union of Australia and Solidarity.
Sarah Thorne destroys the so-called environmental case for nuclear power, arguing that the industry is dangerous, dirty and no alternative to renewables, and that it exists primarily to support the production of nuclear weapons. Sarah is an activist with Workers for Climate Action in Melbourne and a member of Solidarity.
Trans people face high rates of violence, catastrophic suicide rates and frequent exclusion from public life. But trans people and their allies are organising and resisting. We talk about the issues with Dani Cotton, a member of the National Tertiary Education Union, an activist with the NTEU casuals caucus at the University of Sydney, and a member of Solidarity.
Nearly 467,000 people in Australia rely on support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, or NDIS. We talk to two experts about problems with the system and about alternatives. Professor Gemma Carey is the Academic Director of the Centre for Social Impact at the University of New South Wales. And "Jim" works in the NDIS. He’s a workplace delegate with the Australian Services Union.
The new military pact with the US and the UK (AUKUS), which includes the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines, makes a disastrous war with China more likely. Many have described the deal as a surrender of Australian sovereignty and call for an independent foreign policy. But as Phil Griffiths explained at a recent Solidarity forum, Australia's rulers have always been enthusiastic to take part in wars to strengthen their control and profits. Socialists need to reject Australian imperialism and fight for international workers' solidarity.
Solidarity hosted a forum to discuss how to respond to vaccine mandates. The discussion was opened by Geraldine Fela, a member of the NTEU branch committee at the University of Melbourne and a member of Solidarity. Then we heard from Argyri Erotokritou, a doctor in Athens, a health union activist and a member of SEK (the Socialist Workers Party), Solidarity's sister organisation in Greece, who has been on strike against the sacking of unvaccinated colleagues.
NAPLAN testing in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 is supposed to improve school standards. But 13 years after it was introduced, it's obvious that NAPLAN distorts students' education, demoralises teachers and entrenches inequality. We talk to Jonathan Sherlock about the issues. Jono is a teacher at Mount Alexander College in Melbourne, a workplace delegate with the Australian Education Union and a member of Solidarity.
Celeste Liddle is an Arrernte woman, a union activist, social commentator and the Greens candidate for the federal seat of Cooper in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. She has spoken out regularly against the heavy policing of the pandemic. We talk to her about the growth in heavy-handed police tactics, the need to fight for social support for those suffering under lockdown, and why when it comes to vaccination, taking hesitant people on a journey to persuade them is the best response.
On the day that Morrison announced the AUKUS military pact and the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, Solidarity hosted a forum with Clinton Fernandes, Professor of International and Political Studies at the University of NSW in Canberra and author of Island off the coast of Asia: Instruments of statecraft in Australian foreign policy. Ian Rintoul from Solidarity opened the conversation about resisting this new drive to war.
Solidarity recently hosted a forum on the struggle for Palestinian liberation. We were joined by Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist and author of books including After Zionism: One State For Israel And Palestine and My Israel Question. Following Antony's talk, we also heard from Caitlin Doyle, a refugee and climate activist and a member of Solidarity. We publish their presentations here.
Police and soldiers are on the streets in growing numbers, enforcing lockdowns. What are the alternatives? We talk to Vicki Sentas, a senior lecturer in law at the University of NSW who writes on the subject of COVID and policing, and Cooper Forsyth, a casual worker at the Annette Kellerman pool in the Sydney suburb of Enmore, a member of the United Workers Union and of Solidarity, who recently helped organise a car convoy to the Liberal offices in Sydney.
Spurred by the latest round of COVID crisis in Malaysia, resistance is stirring against poverty and repression. Doctors walked off the job on 26 July and activists have rallied on the streets against the government of Prime Minister Mahiaddin Yassin. We talk to Aisyah Huzani, an activist based in Kuala Lumpur, and Jason Wong, a Malaysian student studying in Melbourne and a member of Solidarity, about the beginnings of a fightback.
The struggle for Palestinian liberation continues. We talk to Jamal Nabulsi, a diaspora Palestinian writer and researcher living in Meanjin/Brisbane, about the patterns of resistance, the prospect of a Palestinian state, and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The government is talking about economic recovery but there are still three million Australians living in poverty. We talk to former Centrelink worker and now university researcher Marcus Banks, and to Lachlan McGowan from the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, about poverty in Australia today and how we can abolish it.
We talk to Penny McCall-Howard about the myths behind Morrison's "gas-fuelled recovery". Penny, who is the national research officer with the Maritime Union of Australia and a member of Solidarity, discusses why we need to ditch gas, why the private energy sector cannot manage a transition to renewables, and what a just transition for workers would look like.
The pandemic has hit workers worst of all. In this episode we talk to Kosmos Samaras, a former Victorian ALP campaign director, and Chris Breen, a teacher union activist and Solidarity member, about the impact of the pandemic on workers in Melbourne. Kos grew up in the northern working class suburb of Broadmeadows and Chris works there.
We talk to Joe Carolan, a socialist and union organiser in Aotearoa / New Zealand about politics under the Ardern government, ranging across Maori and union struggles, the Christchurch massacre, and the problems facing migrants and refugees.
We talk to longtime refugee activist Ian Rintoul about the situation for refugees and asylum-seekers, the power of protest and the way forward for the movement.
We talk to Veronica Koman, an Indonesia human rights lawyer exiled in Australia, about the struggle for liberation in West Papua and the rise of solidarity within Indonesia.