The Sound of Solidarity

I was there: ANU student occupation 1994

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.
 

Revolution and the Middle East: can Israel survive?

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.

I was there: S11 2000 - lessons for direct action

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.

Unions and the fight against homophobia

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.

Only allies? Marxism, unity and identity politics

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.

What is fascism? Then and now

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.

Why is Labor so rightwing?

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.

Trump and Europe: how can we fight the rise of the far right?

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.

Middle East in revolt: from permanent war to permanent revolution

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. 

Intifada, revolution! Fighting back for the CFMEU and Palestine

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.

Marching on Albanese: speaking out for Palestine

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.

AIDS crisis: nurses on the frontline

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.

Kanaky's struggle for independence

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.

Hands off the CFMEU

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 speak out against Labor's cruel limbo

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.

Why it's not antisemitic to criticise Israel

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.

A history of revolution in the Middle East

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.

Trump, Trumpism and the crisis of US politics

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

Imperialism and Ukraine: has the US lost?

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.

After COP28: fossil fuels and the future for capitalism

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.