Submission to Maribyrnong Council: Footscray Opportunities Paper
*All quotations are from Council documents, unless otherwise noted. Finding Footscray & Defining Liveability Plans for the betterment of Footscray must be anchored in an honest and transparent interrogation of the distinct needs, interests and varying aspirations across the community. The choice of policies and operational levers to effect housing development, employment and commercial patterns, services and other infrastructure, and environmental…
Nothing lukewarm, not football, nor love, nor politics – football is for the people, not the bourgeoisie!
Jorge Jorquera In 2014 we were living in Chile and like most, we were swept up by the joy that can surround a World Cup, despite the nauseating commercialisation of modern sport. In the midst of it, I felt compelled to write this article for a couple of publications. It sadly rings more true today … We need new football heroes…
People, Place and Power
Borderlands Co-op is now running a second radio program, in addition to its Think Again show on 3CR Radio. People Place and Power is a monthly show on Westsider Radio. A show that will bring you conversations on the issues that affect everyday life for people in the Western Suburbs; issues like housing, transport, the place of arts and culture in…
Best Language Festival yet
On Saturday March 14, The Language in Community Festival brought together several hundred people to celebrate language diversity. Fantastic work by ViệtSpeak and Angliss Neighbourhood House, organising this yearly festival for the third time! Fighting for language diversity is vital. Without it, we become numb to the challenges and aspirations of others in our community. Reduced to food and dress-up days…
The resurgent right in Latin America and the challenge for revolutionaries
Jorge Jorquera in Santiago Chile. This article first appeared in Red Flag. SANTIAGO—Only six years ago, the left in Latin America was hailing the estallido social (social explosion) in Chile as a marker of a continental resurgence in the class struggle. Similar developments were occurring in Ecuador. Fast forward to this year, and Ecuador’s leader, Daniel Noboa, was one of three Latin American presidents…
Maribyrnong Council’s new local laws will harm our community
Maribyrnong Council’s new local laws will harm our community. These laws punch down on people experiencing marginalisation and fail to protect dignity, equality and human rights. Councillors paid lip service to Footscray Community Response’s recommendations (which @innermelbcl@policeaccountabilityvic@westjusticeclc endorsed) to distract us from the reality that these laws are socially unjust, discriminatory and dangerous. Write to your councillors. Tell them you oppose their use…