Perth Indymedia

We speak to Pakistani political activist and academic Ammar Ali Jan about the recent escalation in conflict between Pakistan and India, as well as the broader geopolitical forces at play.

Former NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon speaks to Alex Whisson about her experiences making the new MUA-funded documentary film, Palestinians Don't Need SIdewalks.

As a fragile ceasefire finally comes into effect in Gaza, Nasser Mashni, President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, joined Alex Whisson to discuss the politics and logistics of the truce, brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and what might happen at the end of the first phase of the agreement in six weeks' time.

El Gibbs is a writer and deputy ceo of DANA, the Disability Advocacy network Australia. Recently she had a chat with Indymedia's Jack Prendergast to discuss cost blowouts tot he NDIS and possible non-market based alternative's to the scheme.

Alex Whisson analyses what Donald Trump's extraordinary triumph in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election will mean for workers in the United States and around the world.

Tone Wheeler is a Sydney based-architect, the president of the Australian Architechture Association and has extensive knowledge about public housing in Australia. Last week he spoke with Indymedia's Jack Prendergast to discuss public housing's history and the compounding economic effects of not providing housing for all.

Jordan Van Den Lamb, AKA Purplepingers, has been steadfast in his advocacy for a paradigm shift in Australia's housing system. Here he talks with Indymedia's Jack Prendergast about what he hopes for in his bid for the national senate, adverse possession laws and the importance of organising with your friends to fight the power imbalance at the heart of our housing crisis.

Doug Henwood is an author, commentator, contributing editor at The Nation, and host of Behind the News on KPFA Radio, part of the Pacifica Radio Network. As we finally reach the end of what has seemed like the longest campaign in modern political history, he joined Alex Whisson to discuss the perils, pitfalls and possibilities of the American Presidential election.

Since its formation during the early uneasiness of the first lockdowns, the Renters And Housing Union (RAHU) have developed a reputation for their uncompromising defense of tenant's rights. A recent expansion to WA sees Ben Millward (General Secretary) and Sadie Ward (WA delegate) in conversation with Jack Prendergast.

Philip Chilton is a historian at Curtin University and a rank-and-file activist with the National Tertiary Education Union. He has an academic interest in studying various forms of political extremism and it's in that context he joined Alex Whisson to discuss yesterday's Christian Zionist rally on the steps of the State Parliament.

Na Mon from AMSWAG (Asian Migrant Sex Worker Advisory Group) chats to Joni Boyd about a south east Asian trans woman who had her visa cancelled by Border Force and has spent the last ten weeks in male detention at Villawood. There, the woman has been sexually assaulted, isolated, intimidated and denied medical treatment. Na Mon also goes into the profiling of south east Asian women under 30 being disproportionately targeted by border force and AMSWAG's campaign to end profiling, border turn backs and mandatory detention for migrants awaiting visa outcomes.

We speak to Professor Neville Bruce about the WA Grandparents for Climate Action's bike ride from Perth to Canberra, protesting WA's gas expansion.

As Israel's genocidal war against the Palestinian people continues unabated, and as Netanyahu's campaign of terror expands to Lebanon and the wider region, Alex Whisson spoke to Mustafa, chair of the Palestinian Community of WA, to discuss an upcoming charity event, the Run for Palestine.

Richard Hamilton from Victims of Nicheliving joins Alex Whisson once again to discuss the latest twists and turns in the long-running saga.

Lebanese-Australian and education leader for Mums for Palestine, Yasmin Roz, joined Alex Whisson to discuss Israel's ongoing atrocities in Lebanon.

In the midst of Israeli atrocities in Lebanon, and as the genocide in Gaza continues unabated, Alex Whisson spoke to Gamel Kheir, Secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association in NSW.

After the a second death of a child in custody in ten months - Boorloo Justice and the Justice for Cleveland Dodd campaign rallied at Parliament House on Thursday to call on the state government to close Unit 18 and overhaul WA's youth justice system. Indymedia's Joni Boyd reports. Broadcast on 23/09/2024

We speak to one of the organisers from Disrupt Land Forces in Melbourne about the protests, reportage and state repression.

Joni follows up on last week's chat with Disrupt Land Forces about the beginning of the mobilisation against the massive arms expo. She's joined by Louis who gives an update on the truth telling circle that launched the campaign, the disruption of roads into the convention centre and the tank escorted into the venue by a $500,000 police presence.

We speak to Nathalie, an organiser for Disrupt Land Forces, about the upcoming protests in Melbourne in opposition to the Land Forces International Defence Exposition.

After construction company Nicheliving failed to have its building license renewed in July, hundreds of home builders were in line for insurance claims and therefore the possible completion of their homes. Now, however, the State Administative Tribunal has approved a stay on that order, allowing the conpany to continue its operations for the time being, and once again leaving dozens of families in the lurch, with seemingly no one to support them. RIchard Hamilton joined Alex Whisson to discuss the implications of the SAT's ruling, and where matters might proceed from here in this long-running saga.

In another edition of Fieldnotes on the road to global war, Alex Whisson presents a brief summary of the global situation across multiple theatres and potential theatres of war.

The United States has declared Venezuelan right wing opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez the winner of July's Presidential election, with Joe Biden citing "overwhelming evidence" for the claim. Did Nicolas Maduro win the election fairly and squarely? And is there another Washington-led coup attempt underway?

Long suffering home builder Richard Hamilton joined Alex Whisson to discuss the latest chapter in the Nicheliving saga, the construction company which has become a byword for everything wrong with the Western Australian housing industry.

Last week NDIS minister Bill Shorten annouced sex work would be removed from the NDIS. The decision has been widely protested by sex worker rights groups and disability activists. Indymedia's Joni Boyd chatted to Lua; a disabled sex worker from DeCrim WA and Smut Club film festival about the ramifications.

Alex Whisson discusses all the potentially seismic political ramifications of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in rural Pennsylvania.

Professor Salim Vally, the National Research Foundation Chair in Community, Worker and Adult Education at the University of Johannesburg, joined Alex Whisson to discuss the recent South African elections, in which the African National Congress for the first time lost its absolute majority in parliament.

We speak to local film maker Jane Hammond about her latest film in development: Browned Off. A documentary on the developing ecological crisis facing our south-west forests, with over 1000 Km of forest and woodland already dying off as a result of the changing climate. To support the film head to: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/browned-off/

Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, Rawana Arraf, joined Alex Whisson to discuss the jailing of military whistleblower David McBride, and the prospects for justice being served in the war crimes he brought to light.

For this edition of Fieldnotes on the road to global war, Alex Whisson explores the advances in military technology on the battlefields of recent and current wars, with a particular focus on the revolutionary use of weaponised drones in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine.

In a historically unprecedented development, Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israeli targets, in response to the assassination of senior Iranian military officers in Damascus. Alex Whisson discussed the dangers and temptations of viewing this attack as an act of solidarity with anti-imperialist forces.

Nathalie Farah is a writer and advocate from Naarm/Melbourne. She joined Alex Whisson and Joni Boyd to discuss the various mobilisations taking place in response to the call for escalatory, economically disruptive action in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Lockdowns, travel bans, two-week mandatory quarantines. These draconian measures became all too familiar to Australians during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, none of these 'policy levers' were part of the country's long term pandemic response planning. Addressing a collective trauma from which almost none of us have even begun to properly recover, political scientists Tom Chodor and Shahar Hameiri set out to discover just why Australia's response to COVID-19 was so badly bungled at every step, and why the rise and rise of a neoliberal regulatory state came back to haunt us amid the worst public health crisis in a hundred years.

Ahead of Julian Assange's final attempt to appeal his extradition to the United States on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse, Alex Whisson spoke to his father John Shipton.

Jarrod McKenna is a Christian pastor, educator, and peace activist currently involved in organising the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, a project which has expanded to include an astonishing 109 cities in 17 nations. Alex Whisson spoke to Jarrod to discuss the motivations behind the project, and why it is an opportunity to both map the geography of horror unfolding in Gaza, as well as create space for emotional catharsis and spiritual rejuvenation.

One of three Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigners issued a summons to appear in the Supreme Court, in relation to an action last June which led to the evacuation of Woodside's corporate headquarters, Emil Davey joined Alex Whisson to discuss this latest episode of 'lawfare' by the fossil fuel giant hellbent on destroying both ancient Aboriginal rock art and the natural habitat of the Burrup Peninsula.

Alex Whisson: Fieldnotes on the road to global war by Perth Indymedia Collective

Prior to the last election, the Albenese government made a promise for Australia to end live animal exports, divesting itself economically and moving to more humane ways transporting meat internationally, after the industry was found to be was not only declining economically, but as a salient and shameful example of animal cruelty. Brad Pettit, MLC, unpacks why activists are demanding an end now!

Protesters gathered in central Perth yet again on Sunday 28th January to cry out in anguish and anger at the suffering of the Palestinian people. The event was also an opportunity to express solidarity with indigenous people in Australia who themselves continue to battle oppression in a colonial-settler state. Meanwhile, governments throughout the Western world have ignored the International Court of Justice's interim orders relating to Israel's genocidal assault, and instead chosen to cut off funding to the United Nations Relief & Works Agency, one of the few lifelines for a population in Gaza now facing mass starvation.

Argentinian-Australian political commentator, author and analyst, Federico Fuentes, joined Alex Whisson to discuss the recent election of Javier Milei as President of Argentina. Is he a populist? A libertarian? An anarcho-capitalist? Or an out-and-out fascist? And what are the political implications of his election, not only for Argentina, but the Latin Amerian region as a whole?

Joni reports on the 7th January rally for Gaza in the Perth CBD - the 10th march in a row since the IDF's current bombardment of Gaza began.

Indymedia's Joni Boyd chats to newly elected City of Bayswater Councillor Nat Latter about the power of local government, adapting to climate change on a local level and a whole range of other topics like homelessness, accessibility and transparency. Broadcast on 8th Jan 2024 on RTRFM92.1

For the final episode of the year, Alex Whisson surveys the state of the world.

Disrupt Burrup Hub's Gerard Mazza joined Alex Whisson to discuss why an activist with the group, Marek 'Maz' Misiewizc, chose to lock himself on to a barrel in the boot of a 4WD, parked right outside the office of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

Several campaign groups came together on Friday 8th December outside the Perth convention centre, to give their warm season's greetings to a gathering of defence industry bigwigs, including representatives from Babcock and BAE Systems, and featuring special guest speaker, the UK Minister of State for Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. The protest speakers featured are Stop AUKUS - WA campaigner Sam Wainwright, veteran environmentalist & peace campaigner Jo Vallentine, Unionists for Palestine WA's Alex Whisson, Students for Palestine's Ella Marchionda, and Nuclear Free WA activist KA.

Former seafarer, rank-and-file leader of the Great Patrick's Dispute of 1998, and now National Secretary of the CFMMEU, Christy Cain, set a firestorm through both the Australian trade union movement, and the Palestine solidarity campaign, with an impassioned speech at a mass rally for Palestine in the centre of Melbourne on Sunday 3rd December. He joined Alex Whisson to discuss why he gave that speech, which among other things, directly called on other union leaders, and specifically ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, to do more, much more, for the people of Palestine, and why it was so important to him both personally and politically.

The AUKUS agreement, signed in September 2021, is one step of many designed to reinforce, intensify, and scale up a wider network of Western military alliances, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. As the US empire continues its geostrategic shift towards confronting its great rival China, the so-called 'pivot to Asia', Australia is set to play potentially a key role, as Washington's loyal lieutenant, in attempting to extend American global domination well into the 21st century. Sam Wainwright, spokesperson for the campaign group Stop AUKUS - WA, joined Alex Whisson to discuss the nature and purpose of AUKUS, its connections with the local weapons industry, and how all of this business of death and destruction ties in with the unfolding genocide in Gaza.

Alex Whisson provides an update on the current situation in Gaza, after the ceasefire talks mediated by Qatar collapsed and the Israeli slaughter of Palestinian civilians recommenced.

Irish Indymedia contributor Saoirse Nash speak to Joni Boyd about the violent race riots in Dublin last Thursday. Saoirse tells us what happened on the night, speaks on the various responses from authorities, political parties and community groups and contextualises the rise of the anti-immigrant movement in Ireland. Broadcast 27/11/2023 Image from Reuters

Continuing our coverage of the campaign against property developer Niche Living, which has left dozens of families in financial distress as their homes face interminable construction delays, Alex Whisson attended a protest near the company's main office in Northbridge and spoke to some of those caught up in the scandal.

We speak to MUA member and organiser with Unionists For Palestine, Erima Dall, about a recent blockade of Port Botany in NSW that targeted the Israeli ZIM shipping company - highlighting their connection to the Israeli attacks on Gaza.