Perth Indymedia

Student-led protests against the military-backed government of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha have been ongoing since July. In recent days, they have increased in scale and intensity, with tens of thousands taking part in a protest on Saturday 19th September, to mark the anniversary of the 2006 military coup d'etat, which lasted into early Sunday morning.

Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a Thai-British academic and activist. He spoke to Alex Whisson from his home in the United Kingdom.

It's been six weeks since a devastating explosion rocked the port of Beirut, killing hundreds and leaving widespread destruction throughout the city.  Caused by the negligent storage of nearly 3000 tons of ammonium nitrate in a portside warehouse, the disaster has dramatically exposed the criminal nature of the Lebanese ruling class.

Alex Whisson spoke to Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

MUA WA State Secretary Christy Cain joined Alex Whisson to discuss the McGowan government's proposal for a new outer harbour to be built at Cockburn Sound by 2032.

The Kurdish people continue to be assailed on multiple fronts by various enemies, with Turkey escalating its attacks on Kurdish communities in northern Iraq, while simultaneously maintaining its occupation of Kurdish areas in the north of Syria.  Ozer Coskun is active with the Kurdish Association of Western Australia, as well as a member of the Kurdish National Congress based in Brussels.

Clinical research in recent years has suggested what therapists, researchers and the hippies knew decades ago - psychedelics like magic mushrooms, ayahuasca and even MDMA can have powerful benefits when used as a controlled therapeutic treatment.

Indymedia's Jesse Noakes spoke to Tania de Jong is founder and director of Mind Medicine Australia, an organisation advocating for this research, and this therapy, to come to Australia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to cling to power despite ongoing legal troubles and multiple elections where he was unable to secure a stable government, is pushing ahead with his plans to formally annex up to 30% of the occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank. Netanyahu had announced several months ago that 1st July would be the deadline for those plans to come into effect, but that date has come and gone, without any further clarity on his plans. To discuss the implications of the planned annexation on Palestinians Indymedia's Raymond Grenfell spoke to Hiba El Farra from Friends of Palestine Western Australia.

Mes56 is a collective of artists who work cooperatively with the community and its network in managing a home that is used as a work studio, study class, playroom and shelter. Formed in 2002 with independent funding, this community rests on the development of photography and contemporary art that intersects with other disciplines critically and contextually for the realization of an open, creative and independent society.

Pas Forgione is the Raise the Rate Community Organiser at the Australian Council of Social Services.

Alex Whisson spoke to him about the findings of the recent 'I Can Finally Eat Fresh Fruit and Vegetables' survey, as well as some of the wider concerns around the ongoing unemployment crisis.

Liz Humphrys is a political economist and sociologist at the University of Technology Sydney, and the author of How Labour Built Neoliberalism: Australia’s Accord, the Labour Movement and the Neoliberal Project.

She joined Alex Whisson to discuss Scott Morrison's announcement of a potential new era in Australian industrial relations, which some commentators have likened to Bob Hawke's Prices and Incomes Accord.

Following a huge collapse in revenue, particularly from international students, Universities across the country find themselves at a historical crossroads. Up to 21 000 jobs may be lost in the coming months. A potential showdown looms between the boards of management and academic staff. Also looming is a possible civil war within the National Tertiary Education Union. The leadership is proposing sacrifices be made, in order to save workers from potentially even greater sacrifices. A Jobs Protection Framework is soon to be voted on by the union membership. It will entail wage cuts of between 5 and 15% but, according to the union, that will mean thousands of jobs will be saved.

Indymedia's Raymond Grenfell spoke to Nick Everett, a member of the Murdoch University NTEU branch committee.