The recent news that Serco will be running Western Australia’s Fiona Stanley hospital has resulted in opposition, views largely ignored by governments desperate to privatise everything that moves: More than three quarters of Perth voters in marginal seats are opposed to the Barnett Government privatising services at Fiona Stanley Hospital, with only one in ten…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Asylum seekers have rights, in case we’ve forgotten
This is wonderful news for human rights, refugees and decency: The [Australian] High Court has ruled in favour of two asylum seekers in a move that could undermine the Federal Government’s offshore processing system. The two Sri Lankan Tamils had their refugee claims denied and wanted to challenge that decision in the courts. But they…
Australian BDS is heating up
The following press release appeared on 4 November: From October 29-31 more than 150 Palestine solidarity activists and supporters of human rights gathered in Melbourne for Australia’s first national Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) conference. The conference represents a watershed moment in the Palestinian solidarity movement in Australia with activists across various campaigns coming together…
The English Defence League and Zionism; friends forever?
The increasing ties between the hard-right and Zionism is clear. Israel has few friends in the world and the far-right loves the Jewish state for its abusive treatment of Arabs and Palestinian. Witness the upcoming visit to Israel by Dutch politician Geert Wilders to speak about creating a Palestinian state in Jordan. My friend and…
Don’t tell the major parties but corporate whoring isn’t the only way
It is possible to both sustain and support a successful political party without corporate donations, tobacco companies and lobbyists: For the better part of two decades the Victorian Greens have continued to exist by relying on the financial indulgence of its cashed-up members. Following a strong federal vote in August, it has received about $2…
Don’t forget what Hillary Clinton really represents
Most of the Australian corporate media have fawned over Hillary Clinton’s current visit (an article in the Australian today is headlined, “Then the ladies did lunch”). This photo protest is a necessary exception, reminding us of the rapacious nature of the US state and its killing machine across the Middle East and beyond:
Interview in Indonesia with Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas
During my recent visit to the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali, Indonesia, I interviewed successful Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas. It was a robust conversation and we covered vulgarity, politics, gender relations and offending readers.
Serco says it’s doing a wonderful job
Seriously, Serco has nominated itself for Australia’s Employee of the Year and the Australian government may back it, I hear on the grapevine.
Serco bring in the robots, body and soul
First they privatise hospitals and then they call for cost cutting to increase “efficiency”: Robots, instead of human staff, would provide some essential services at WA’s new Fiona Stanley Hospital under a plan that unions warn could cost hundreds of jobs. Serco the company the WA Government wants to provide privatised services at the hospital…
No transparency in Serco dealings with contractors
My following article, with Paul Farrell, appears today in Crikey: As we reported yesterday, private company Serco contracts out some of its security personnel to MSS Security, a company owned by an Indian security company with links to Lehmann Brothers.… By outsourcing to other companies, it’s possible for Serco to distance itself from criticism and in…