General ASU News

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), with the support of the ASU, has called for the Turnbull Government to combat the rising cost of power by standing up to the excessive corporate power in the privatised energy market. A new report today reveals private energy companies are playing the…

Australian Unions are calling on the Turnbull Government to take urgent steps to plug gaping holes in the national tax framework which are robbing Australia of badly needed funds for schools, hospitals and services. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) Commissioner revealed there are large loopholes in the Government’s flagship anti-corporate…

Tonight the Federal Government handed down a budget that entrenches inequality at the same time as rewarding corporations. The message from Canberra is clear: Don’t be poor. Don’t be unemployed. Don’t be vulnerable. This Budget attacks those in our community who need the most support. The proposed changes to welfare…

Last week, Sally McManus, a unionist from the ranks of the Australian Services Union, officially took on the role of ACTU Secretary and ever since, we’ve barely had a moment to sit back to celebrate the fact. Sally has made a running start to the job of leading the Australian…

How a once-off street party became an iconic annual event Today, everyone acknowledges the iconic status of the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras as both a key Australian cultural and political event, even its opponents admit this. Bitterly. However, few know the origins of the event. Even fewer…

Last week, high level politicians and corporate leaders across the world have been named in yet another series of tax related leaks, this time from the Bahamas, an infamous tax haven. >> Click here to read this on the PSI website Neelie Kroes, former EU Commissioner for Competition, has come…

In a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) finds that there is no evidence that the Turnbull Government’s proposed corporate tax cuts will generate job growth or improve the living standards of Australians to the level the government, or business groups…

Today the Productivity Commission has released its preliminary findings report about what vital Australian human services it wants governments to look at privatising. It does not bring good news for ASU members working at the frontline in grant based family and community services like alcohol and drug services, community based…

The long-standing ASU position on marriage rights for LGBTIQ people is that it’s simply a matter of equality, and therefore we support changes to the relevant laws to ensure the LGBTIQ community has access to marriage on an equal basis with non-LGBTIQ Australians. Today we are adding our opposition to…

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement was finalised back in February, but individual national parliaments all need to vote up the deal before it can take effect, so we still have time to stop the TPP. We have many concerns, most particularly around the undermining of workers' rights and…