7:15 AM// Xen spoke with 44 Flats United (44FU), a group of residents, former residents and supporters of public housing, on this week’s episode of Women on the Line. 44FU is organising against the Victorian State Government's decision to demolish the 44 high-rise commission flats and a growing number of walkups across Narrm (Melbourne). Xen interviewed R-Coo Tran, leader of 44 FU and Thi, a Vietnamese woman living in a housing estate in Richmond. In this interview they talked about the major problems with the estate demolition plan, what impact this is having on residents and how 44FU is organising on this campaign. Here is an excerpt from the episode that aired yesterday, 25 August 2025.
7:30 AM// Alexia Fuentes– Secretary General of Bayan Australia- a multi-sectoral alliance of progressive Filipino mass organisations campaigning for peaceful independence, speaking at the Pacific Peace Conference. Speaking on the panel 'Regional War Preparations: Talisman Sabre AUKUS and the Force Posture Agreements', Alexia discussed the rising militarism in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on the Philippines, as well as USA's strategic interests in the region, and the people's resistance against global imperialism.
7:45 AM// Tasnim Sammak is a Palestinian educator, researcher, and organiser gives a speech at a recent event “Radiance in Pain and Resilience: Public Lecture & Panel” organised by the Shifa project. The event brought together a number of Palestinian academics and advocates to celebrate the launch of Dr. Samah Jabr’s new book Radiance in Pain and Resilience. Tasnim’s work explores youth political subjectives and imaginaries through storytelling and community-based research. Her grandparents were displaced during the Nakba and she brings both scholarly and lived experience to her writing and advocacy.
8:00 AM// April Howard, film producer of the upcoming documentary Voices of the Pacific. April has recently attended the Plastics treaty negotiations in Geneva as an observer. She is here on the show to chat about the global threat of plastics in our oceans and the disprortionate impact on Pacific communities. We will also discuss the upcoming documentary and how it aims to spread awareness of plastic pollution in the Pacific.
8:15 AM// An interview by Indigenous Rights Radio, discussing bonded labour, which remains a widespread form of modern slavery in parts of Asia, particularly in countries like India and Bangladesh. The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, observed annually on August 23rd, honors the millions of men, women, and children who were subjected to the brutalities of transoceanic slavery, and commemorates the uprisings and resistance that led to its eventual abolition. It typically occurs when individuals are forced to work to repay a debt under exploitative conditions, often with little or no wages and no clear end to their obligation. Despite legal bans in many countries, weak enforcement and poverty continue to fuel this human rights violation.
