Perth Indymedia

The Four Corners report in to institutionalised abuse of children in the Northern Territory, has rightfully caused outrage throughout Australia. It even made headlines in the international press. But how sincere is that outrage when it comes from ‘our’ politicians, the very same people who preside over these systems of injustice? And why do so many non-indigenous Australians react with horror to these very particular forms of abuse, when anyone with their eyes open knows they are reflective of the daily lived experience of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters? Alex Whisson spoke to Walkley award-winning journalist and editor of New Matilda, Chris Graham, to try and make sense of the Don Dale outrage in a broader social context.

We speak with Robert Eggington of the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation on the call for a Royal Commission in the wake of the Don Dale detention centre revelations of abuse in the Northern Territory.

Extended interview with inventor Daniel Connell and open source technology designer says anyone who "can cut paper and hold a drill" can have their own wind turbine using $20-30 worth of easily sourced local recycled materials and basic hand tools. He's got a workshop coming up this weekend in Perth - check out https://www.facebook.com/events/113710892396433/

Following a rally of around 500 people in perth in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Indymedia spoke to Kayande Rashidi from the local Congolese community about the event, racism in Australian society and global awareness of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Black Lives Matter movement continues to cause reverberations throughout the United States, exposing the racist core at the heart of the world’s most powerful nation. But racism is integral to the functioning of capitalism in Australia too, as Aboriginal deaths in custody, Islamophobia, and hatred of refugees continue to leave a dark stain on the body politic. With all that in mind, and with the world in desperate need of a united movement against bigotry in all its forms, one young woman decided a Black Lives Matter rally wouldn’t be amiss in our own sleepy little town. Yasmina Paige spoke to Alex Whisson. #blacklivesmatter #aboriginaldeathsincustody #australianracism #racism #islamophobia #paulinehanson

We speak with Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie, Adjunct Research Fellow with Curtin University’s School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts and founder and creative director at Games We Play about the worldwide phenomenon that is Pokemon Go. A bit of editorial (aka ranting) from some of the Indymedia team who couldn't help but also weigh in on this discussion.

Professor Paul Flatau Director Centre for Social Impact UWA on upcoming Social Impact Festival in Perth. The Social Impact Festival is aiming to connect and celebrate the people, organisations, ideas, networks and collaborations for social change across WA.

Indymedia speaks with ImportantCool associate Allison Petite who was in Dallas shortly before the deadly shootings of police officers in her ongoing coverage of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We hear about her experience, as a black woman, of the racial tension in the United States in these tumultuous times.

The days following the British referendum to leave the EU, the Brexit, have seen political turmoil for both major parties in the UK. Meanwhile reports of racist violence has skyrocketed. Ray Grenfell speaks to historian and activist Cedric Beistatch to get an idea as to what this vote means for the UK and Europe.

Indymedia's Karun Cowper speaks with National Director at New Zealand's Action Station and Enspiral member Marianne Elliott on alternatives to the dominant paradigm in tumultuous times.

Karun Cowper speaks to Claire Vanderplank on The Slow Project - a social change project on Slow Movement that helps people rediscover presence & connection & benefits for individuals. First expressed via Slow Food, ‘Slow’ is popping up in many areas of life (Slow Travel, Slow Thinking, Slow Money, Slow Design, Slow Medicine etc) as a response to the impacts that the false god of speed has on ourselves, others and the planet.

Professor Sohail Inayatullah is Unesco Chair in Futures Studies associated with Tamkang University, Taiwan; University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and Mt Eliza Executive Education, the University of Melbourne. Karun Cowper speaks to Professor Inayatullah about his work assisting local and global organisations and institutions create alternative and preferred futures.

Flood the Campus last week saw students from 7 university divestment campaigns across Australia take escalatory action in order to send a strong message to their uni to stop funding climate change. The fossil free uni groups are asking their uni to divest the millions of dollars they have currently invested in the fossil fuel industry in order to avoid dangerous levels of warming and catastrophic climate change risking their future. It is known that in order to do this 80% of fossil fuels must be kept in the ground, yet here in Australia there are massive new coal mines being approved. It is for this reason that after 3 years of campaigning fossil free uni groups took direct action to flood the campus. This included UNSW occupying their council chambers for 38 hours. Indymedia's Aleesha Hanczakowski spoke to Breana Macpherson-Rice from the UNSW action.

Anzac Day grows more sinister with each passing year. Once a dead letter of a day, ignored by most Australians, it grew spectacularly under the reign of John Winston Howard, and reached its apex of misplaced jingoism and 'national pride' in last year's centenary of the Gallipoli landings. To discuss exactly why the day has become so popular, Indymedia's Alex Whisson was joined by historian and author of In the Shadow of Gallipoli: The hidden history of Australia in World War I, Robert Bollard. #anzacday #war #australiannationalism #johnhoward #gallipoli #iraqwar

French people, mostly students have been rallying for more than a month against labor law reforms recently proposed by Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri. The French protests went under the #NuitDebout (Rise Up At Night)and has been compared to Occupy Wall Street of the United States and the anti-austerity 15-M or Indignados movement of Spain. The movement is centred at Paris's Place de la République, where protestors have held nightly assemblies following the March 31 protest. The movement has spread to dozens of other cities and towns in France and to neighbouring countries in Europe. Karun Cowper spoke to a participant in one of the "digital" commissions, a working group or committee that is working on the technology and digital tools of the movement, Juan Diosdado.

The history of Australia's relationship with Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) is a long and sordid one. Decades of complicity by both Labor and Liberal governments alike in the Indonesian genocide there led to a great material prize - the carve-up of oil and gas in the Timor Sea. Post-independence for the fledging nation, not a lot has changed. Australian companies still take an unfair share of Timor-Leste's resources, and a large percentage of royalties flow to Canberra under the terms of the much-criticised 2006 Treaty between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea. But led by the Movement Against the Occupation of the Timor Sea, the people of Timor-Leste are fighting back against Australian bastardry and venality. Alex Whisson spoke to Tom Clarke from the Melbourne-based Timor Sea Justice Campaign. He began by asking him to explain exactly what made the oil and gas treaty between the two nations so unjust. #timorleste #timorsea #unconvention

Legendary writer and environmentalist Derrick Jensen chats to Ray Grenfell about his new book, 'The Myth of Human Supremacy', breaking identification with the dominant culture and the struggle for survival in the face of an impending global ecocide.

By the government's own admission its draft Perth and Peel Green Growth Plan would reduce the already endangered Carnaby's Cockatoos by a staggering fifty percent. Ray Grenfell chats to Marie Grey from the Urban Bushland Council to dissect the destructive plan and examine possible sustainable alternatives.

As the water crisis in Flint, Michigan continues to demand questions, Perth Indymedia speaks to Dr Adam Quinn, Senior Lecturer in international politics at the University of Birmingham, UK about how it reflects on the US political scene.

Ali Abunimah is a Palestinan-American journalist, a co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, and the author of several important books on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including his latest volume The Battle for Justice in Palestine, published by Haymarket Books. A leading proponent of the one-state solution, Abunimah is currently on a speaking tour of Australia. Alex Whisson spoke to Nick Everett from Friends of Palestine WA to discuss why Abunimah’s visa had been delayed. UPDATE: Abunimah’s visa was granted the day after this interview went to air. He then faced the additional challenge of standing up to the Sydney University Administration, which backed down after initially cancelling his first Australian speaking engagement.