2026-03-09
Here we go again into yet another imperialist war (and who thought the age of imperialism is over?). With its never-ending trail of atrocities, starting from Day 1 on this occasion (see header photo). Although the Australian government is trying to sit on the fence, they are already complicit in various ways – first off the mark in congratulating the US on its actions, inevitably providing targeting intelligence to the US and Israel, having Australians on board a US submarine while sinking an Iranian ship, remaining silent about Israel’s ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine while condemning Iran’s unconfirmed attempts to develop nuclear weapons, etc. Never a more important time for the Greens to stand up and say “this is madness”.
The “Doomsday Clock” has been tentatively predicting such outcomes for 79 years but the accusation is made that in recent years it has been a bit cautious in doing so, an accusation backed up by outbreak of war on 28th February.
Australia has also not shaken off its imperialist past, relating to the conquest of the original inhabitants. The first step in reconciliation is truth telling (of what actually went on) but this has hardly begun. Next steps toward healing and reconciliation require mutual understanding of the cultures involved. This Green Issue includes a guide to understanding First Nations culture through appreciation of Jukurrpa.
AUKUS not only presents us with threats in so many spheres – economic, setting us up as a target, loss of sovereignty to the US, etc. ‒ it also poses environmental threats. Pristine ecologies sit adjacent to HMAS Stirling and are now further endangered. One such is Point Peron.
It is now the penchant of conservative forces in Australia to blame recent migrants for the housing crisis, somehow forgetting that those doing so were inevitably descendants of migrants. The Greens have a more rational explanation of and solutions to the housing crisis.
Despite ongoing government support for fossil fuels and the pushback of conservative forces against renewable energy, households across Australia have done the maths to conclude that they are better off with solar panels on their roofs. Fine when the sun shines but what about when it doesn’t? Well, household batteries, whose prices have plummeted and efficiency increased over the previous decade, now look like providing a reasonable return on investment in the medium term at least. We include an article on how to actually calculate that return on investment.
Although starting off this year even busier than their hectic pace set last year, our parliamentary representatives provide updates of their activities during January and February. In this issue we include reports from our MLCs Brad Pettitt, Sophie McNeill, Tim Clifford and Jess Beckerling.
Header photo: Aftermath of the US airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on 28th February killing more than 170, mostly students Mehr on Wikimedia Commons