Rights, Rorts and Rants

On the 9 August 2024 Rights, Rorts and Rants show Ann-Maree McEwan interviews Natasha Flores, an Industrial Officer for Unions NSW specialising in Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) and Workers Compensation about tougher industrial manslaughter laws recently passed in NSW. The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Act 2024 No 43 was passed on 24 June 2024 to create an offence o...

On BMUC's radio show Rights, Rorts and Rants, BMUC's Peter Lammiman presents his research and analysis of the 2024 EU elections in an interview with Presenter Merran McLaren. Peter's particular focus is the success of the Right in the 2024 EU elections held from 6-9 June 2024. Peter traverses research on the trends evident in the election results in individual European countries and wh...

Blue Mountains Unions & Community (BMUC) member and regular political commentator on Rights, Rorts and Rants, Nick Franklin, has recently returned from the United Kingdom. Nick gives listeners his insights into the upcoming United Kingdom general election, 6 days away on 4 July 2024. Nick also provides an assessment of the state of the United Kingdom, challenges for the new government, the UK...

BMUC member Peter Lammiman's research has uncovered a true story of the lost Palestinian Film Archive. The Film Archive contained over 100 films, including documentaries, made from before 1948 to the 1980's, and was lost during the Israeli bombardment of Beirut in 1982. It remains lost to this day. Peter shares a research article with presenter Merran McLaren and Rights, Rorts and Rants li...

On the 7th June 2024 Rights, Rorts and Rants Presenter Merran McLaren interviewed two special guests from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society ( ConSoc) : President Annette Cam and Land Use Committee member Lyndal Sullivan. The interview arose from ConSoc's open letter to the NSW Premier published in the Blue Mountains Gazette and the Sydney Morning Herald that outlined concerns about the e...

In this interview selected from our Rights, Rorts and Rants show on 23rd May Mike Holland provides an update on the feasibility of the Liberal National Coalition's nuclear energy option following the release of CSIRO's GenCost report. Nick Franklin highlights the political realities of plans to build a nuclear power plant in your electorate. The show was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89....

In this part of the interview on Rights Rorts and Rants on 31 May Fran Dyson discusses with Alana Lentin her views on local reactions to the War in Palestine in Sydney and nationally. Alana raises the decision announced in May 2024 by the Australian Human Rights Commission to lead an anti-racism study into universities with an emphasis on anti-semitism. Listeners are urged to be vigilant about wha...

In this part of Fran Dyson's interview with Alana Lentin, Alana explains the ideology and place of Zionism from its origins to the present. The interview was first broadcast on the Rights, Rorts and Rants show on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1 FM on 31 May 2024 by Blue Mountains Unions & Community and presented by Fran Dyson. Podcast produced by Ann-Maree McEwan  If you'd like to add to the...

In this interview played on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1 FM on Rights, Rorts and Rants, BMUC's Fran Dyson presents an extended interview with Alana Lentin on her analysis of the War in Palestine. Alana Lentin is a scholar of race from Western Sydney University. In this part of the interview Alana Lentin refers to a periodical article by Max Ajl. For listeners who'd like to read the article it was pub...

Advisory : This podcast mentions aboriginal people who have died. In this segment of a Rights, Rorts and Rants show BMUC's Mike Holland explains his visit to the National Gallery of Australia to view Vincent Namatjira's latest exhibition Australia in Colour which charts the career of the artist (& includes a portrait of mining owner Gina Rhinehart as "a very small part of the exhi...

Presenter Merran Maclaren hits the streets and speaks to a Sydney protestor and activist Colin Charlton about university campus protests commencing in 1970.  Merran follows up with an interview with an organiser from the weekly Palestinian Action Group Sydney Gaza support rallies, Josh Lees.   The interviews highlight comparisons, differences and the impact of student campus protests from the 60&#...

Shadiya Sakkouri  started Mountains for Palestine, the local Blue Mountains NSW action group for Palestine. Shadiya is due to travel to the West Bank as the Australian delegate for Know Thy Heritage in June 2024. She is also running the social media based project GoFundGazans. In this podcast of the Rights, Rorts and Rants radio show on 10th May, presenters Fran Dyson and Peter Lammiman discuss wi...

In the show presenter Debra Smith reports on a Women's Health Forum held on 6 Mach 2024 in Katoomba, NSW as part of International Women's Week. She is joined in the discussion by RRR regular Peter Lammiman. The forum was organised by Susan Templeman MP Member for Macquarie with invited guest Ged Kearney MP Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care with participation by a range of women i...

Sue Wildman is interviewed by Merran McLaren and Peter Lammiman about the effects of housing security in the Upper Blue Mountains. Sue Wildman is a psychological therapist who, with others, created a community project resulting in the song Somewhere to Live ( available on YouTube). Sue works with people who are living with homelessness. The show contains Somewhere to Live and audio clips recorded...

A Registered Nurse working in Aged Care, a member of the Australian Nursing and Midwivery Association Jocelyn Hofman shares her insights on what's needed in Aged Care. Jocelyn also provided a witness statement in the Fair Work Commission salary case. In this interview Jocelyn discusses the importance of urgent reform to the Aged Care Act 1997 . Jocelyn spoke with Peter Lammiman live in the Rad...

Two recent industrial examples highlight the absolute importance of being in a union. Mike Holland and Presenter Fran Dyson discuss a significant salary win in the Fair Work Commission on 15 March 2024 by the Health Services Union NSW and members working in Aged Care. HSU Secretary Gerard Hayes said the win came after work by many determined people and persistence by the Union since November 2020....

Mike Holland spoke with RRR Presenter Fran Dyson with his analysis of the Federal Opposition's nuclear energy proposal on Rights, Rorts and Rants. Mike uncovers some of the realities (including disposal of waste, workers' rights and the eye watering cost) behind builds of both small-scale and large-scale nuclear power operations overseas including the UK, USA and United Arab Emirates. The...

Mike Holland shares his research and legal perspective on Julian Assange's February hearing concerning his extradition to the USA, with RRR's presenter Fran Dyson. Mike supplies listeners with a brief chronology from the start of WikiLeaks' publications to the February 2024 hearing to put it all in perspective for listeners. The interview illustrates the personal ordeal for Assange and...

For the Rights, Rorts and Rants International Women's Day show feminist and Blue Mountains Unions & Community member Peter Lammiman chats to Debra Smith about the fascinating origins of IWD. We learn how IWD started in Europe in 1857 and spread to Sydney in 1928 to become an annual celebration of women world-wide. The show was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1 FM on 8 March 2024...

Rights, Rorts and Rants' International Women's Day 2024 show included this interview by Debra Smith with Ged Kearney. Ged is with Susan Templeman after a  Women's Health Forum  held in Katoomba on 6th March which all had attended. Debra Smith asks Ged some questions about Aged Care . Ged is Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, and former President of the ACTU and the first MP t...

A remarkable project created by APOPO has been running in Cambodia to save lives and prevent the loss of limbs from landmines. APOPO is a Belgian NGO and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats to detect landmines. Because of the rats' work in saving lives they are called HeroRATS. BMUC members Susan and Peter Lammiman recently visited APOPO in Siem Reap and tell their story to...

Rights, Rorts and Rants presenter Fran Dyson and BMUC member Bruce Cornwell discuss the alarming ramifications for Australia (and other nations) arising from Australia's membership of the AUKUS tripartite military alliance. In contrast the economic, skills benefits and strategic advantages for the USA, and to a lesser degree the UK, from Australia's membership of the alliance, are discusse...

Nick Franklin interviews Julie Favell from the Lithgow Environment Group. Lithgow is still in the firing line for a waste incinerator (as with many other locations across NSW). Whilst the West Lithgow Precinct map was revoked the designated West Lithgow Precinct - Waste to Energy  still remains for Lithgow.  Listeners can sign the ePetition found on the NSW Legislative Assembly webpage parliament....

Rights, Rorts and Rants Presenter Merran McLaren interviews peace activist, union organiser and BMUC member Pat Donohoe about prolonged Sydney activism against the deadly consequences of the ongoing Israel Gaza conflict. Pat performed two songs about Gaza for listeners live in the studio accompanied by his mandolin. First heard live on Rights, Rorts and Rants on 23 Feb 2024. If you'd like to a...

CONTENT WARNING - Discussion of suicide and troubled families. Support services: https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/healing/support-organisations A worker describes the feedback she is getting from First Nations people from La Perouse to Lithgow - and her fears if a Voice to Parliament is rejected. If you'd like to add to the discussion, you can  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leave an audio comment about our show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...