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Michael Slezak

@mikeyslezak.bsky.social
5.1K followers 1.3K following 106 posts

Environment reporter for ABC in Australia, doing a mix of news and investigations. + Co-chair ABC MEAA House Committee + Federal President Media, MEAA Opinions mine. ✍️ www.abc.net.au/news/michael-slezak/… ✊ www.meaa.org/join

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Michael Slezak
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Nearly half a million deaths in the next six months expected from a climate crisis-powered super-El Niño, according to the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab.
reuters.com
'Super' El Niño could cause 451,000 excess deaths, researchers say
Extreme heat caused by this year's "super-El Niño" could result in as many as 451,000 excess deaths across the ​globe in the six months through February 2027, ‌researchers with the University of Chica...
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Stephanie Convery @gingerandhoney.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Alarm bells raised over hospitality gig-work app that sees staff hired as contractors not employees, missing out on super etc www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Hospitality recruitment app Supp calls gig-workers contractors. Some users say it leads to casual work without entitlements
Exclusive: Workers’ rights experts raise ‘alarm bells’ over app requiring ABNs for jobs they say lack worker autonomy
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
✊
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Journalists and media workers across the country are demanding that funding from the News Media Bargaining Incentive goes directly to journalists, support for regional and First Nations media workers. #PayUp Read more - meaa.io/NMBI
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I got a bit mad at my boss in the press. Glad we’re so unionised. 💪
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I got a bit mad at my boss in the press. Glad we’re so unionised. 💪
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Here’s me addressing the striking workers in Ultimo. I was so proud of my colleagues for taking this selfless stand. ❤️💪✊ @withmeaa.bsky.social
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
ABC workers take their role in delivering quality news and content incredibly seriously. We care about our audience and our mission. But we can’t do that without safe and sustainable jobs. That’s what the strike this week was about - securing a strong ABC for the future. @withmeaa.bsky.social
Hundreds of MEAA members striking outside the ABC Ultimo HQ. Photo taken from above.
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gina rushton @ginarush.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Incredible stuff. Never change Sky News
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Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
"For ten years now, the ABC has been led by people whose idea of independence and impartiality amounts to their faces not being in The Australian. Risk aversion has replaced integrity." Hugh Marks' handling of the staff strike, and the issues leading up to it, suggest he is unfit for the MD role.
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 26/03/2026
ABC boss’s ‘utterly offensive’ comments condemned as broadcaster comes back online after strike
theguardian.com
ABC boss’s ‘utterly offensive’ comments condemned as broadcaster comes back online after strike
Staff urge managing director to retract comments after he describes industrial action as ‘playing games’ ABC staff and union representatives have urged managing director Hugh Marks to retract “utterly offensive” comments after he said staff had treated taking industrial action as “a bit of a game”. Marks made the comments just hours before the end of the 24-hour strike that saw more than 2,000 staff members walk off the job on Wednesday. Continue reading...
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Jennifer Mills @jennifermills.net.au · 17/02/2026
“If we don’t stand up for free expression, we will end up with a bland program that politicians think is palatable, which is very dangerous for artists and for democracy.” Good to see Sydney Writers’ Festival defending authors. www.theage.com.au/culture/art-...
theage.com.au
Palestinian-Australian academic to headline Sydney Writers’ Festival
The announcement comes just weeks after the Adelaide Writers’ Week event collapsed following a mass boycott when the Palestinian-Australian academic was dumped from the program.
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Congratulations California on becoming the first US state to ban using AI to replace performers! This is the kind of sensible reforms that protects arts and creativity without blocking the constructive uses of AI. #StopAITheft #PayUp
indy100.com
California first state to claim using AI to replace an actor is now against the law
California has become the first US state to claim that using AI in order to replace a real actor is against the law.With artificial intelligence becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives,…
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keanwong @keanwong.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
good points @mikeyslezak.bsky.social re: press freedom &false equivalences, breaking silence over #Gaza in #auspol newsrooms, targeted killings of journos & newsrooms jobs, power(points) barely scrutinised ... & industry implosion reveals fragmented startups? @withmeaa.bsky.social @MediaDiverseAU
MEAA union prez Michael Slezak at Media Diversity Aust symposium in Parramatta
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
It really was a shit film.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
180 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel in Gaza. @withmeaa.bsky.social members remember them. Stop killing journalists.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
180 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel in Gaza. @withmeaa.bsky.social members remember them. Stop killing journalists.
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Peter Hollo @peterhollo.com · 14/08/2025
This is incredibly hard to watch, as it goes on and on. Please do, watch it all. Hear their names. Stop Killing Journalists www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq8...
youtube.com
Stop Killing Journalists
YouTube video by withMEAA
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
One of the many devastating things about making this video was that we had to update it about three times during the making to account for further killings of journalists, including (you'll see at the end) a special mention of the 6 Al Jazeera journalists targeted by Israel. Please watch to the end.
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Miki Perkins @mikiperkins.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Feel so proud to have contributed to this @withmeaa.bsky.social video with 100+ Australian journalists (all MEAA members) that honours the 180 journalists killed by Israel in Gaza. Watch it and weep. STOP. KILLING. JOURNALISTS
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Paddy Manning @paddymanning.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Stop killing journalists! #ceasefirenowinGaza
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Jane Caro @janecaro.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Stop Killing Journalists. Proud (but deeply saddened) to be part of this video. m.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq8...
m.youtube.com
Stop Killing Journalists
YouTube video by withMEAA
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Marisa Wikramanayake @marisawik.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Proud to stand with my union against what is happening in Gaza. We remember and honour our colleagues who have been showing us the truth of what's happening on the ground. Stop Killing Journalists. #pressfreedom #gaza @withmeaa.bsky.social youtu.be/qMq8OUw95-U?...
youtu.be
Stop Killing Journalists
YouTube video by withMEAA
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
One of the many devastating things about making this video was that we had to update it about three times during the making to account for further killings of journalists, including (you'll see at the end) a special mention of the 6 Al Jazeera journalists targeted by Israel. Please watch to the end.
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Targeting journalists is a war crime. As colleagues, we remember them. meaa.io/45A4vZ5
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
MEAA condemns targeted attacks on Gaza journalists as a war crime as toll nears 200 deaths
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
MEAA supports the right to protest and freedom of expression. We stand up for press freedom across the world, including the almost 200 journalists that have been killed in Gaza since October 2023 — the fact that international media has been blockaded from entering Gaza is a press freedom crisis.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Nearly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza. The rest work under sickness, hunger and fire to report the reality there. Meanwhile the rest of the world’s media is locked out. This is a global press freedom crisis and @withmeaa.bsky.social was proud to join the March for Humanity.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Nearly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza. The rest work under sickness, hunger and fire to report the reality there. Meanwhile the rest of the world’s media is locked out. This is a global press freedom crisis and @withmeaa.bsky.social was proud to join the March for Humanity.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Unions stood up for the right to protest and for humanity and won: the judge has ruled the protest can go ahead, despite the objections of the NSW Police.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Support like this seems to have played an important role in the court’s decision. The judge said: “The evidence indicates there is significant support for the march.”
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Unions stood up for the right to protest and for humanity and won: the judge has ruled the protest can go ahead, despite the objections of the NSW Police.
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MEAA @withmeaa.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
MEAA supports the Palestine Action Group’s bid to March for Humanity across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. meaa.io/4laIpSL
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Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
"Two numbers went up, that's good" - why is The Economist publishing dumb takes from the Trump administration?
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Hey David. If you want the union to do more on the issue, taking part is a good way to help.
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Reposted by Michael Slezak
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 11/07/2025
Australia's antisemitism envoy has praised Elon Musk's X for using AI to "root out hate", days after the company's AI chatbot Grok was taken offline for antisemitism.
crikey.com.au
Antisemitism envoy praises Elon Musk's X for using AI to 'root out hate'
Australia's antisemitism envoy has praised how platforms like Elon Musk's X are using AI to fight hate — days after X's AI bot Grok was taken offline for antisemitic posts.
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Ben Schneiders @benschneiders.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Strong statement from MEAA
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Emma Wynne @emwynne.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack review – this crucial film is the stuff of nightmares. But the world needs to see it’ www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
theguardian.com
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack review – this crucial film is the stuff of nightmares. But the world needs to see it
The film the BBC refused to air shows the targeting, detainment and torture of medics in Gaza. Its relentless timeline of horrors will never leave you
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Josh Bornstein @joshbornstein.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
If you want to understand how the ABC ended up in this god awful cluster fiasco, harming the careers of @antoinettelattouf.bsky.social , Stan Grant, Emma Alberici, Yasmin Abdel Magid, Andrew Probyn, Nick Ross & the many that you don’t hear about, I explain it in my recent book:
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Of course, the MD and Chair of the ABC, directly prior to Anderson/Buttrose left amid very similar circumstances.
bbc.com
ABC boss quits over Australian political interference claims - BBC News
The broadcaster's chair quits amid allegations the government leaned on him to dismiss two journalists.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
MEAA members at the ABC have said staff and the public deserve a full independent inquiry into how, time and time again, there is inappropriate influence on our editorial content. @withmeaa.bsky.social
abc.net.au
The ABC's own goal on Antoinette Lattouf should be a moment of reflection
In a "state of panic" the ABC bowed to pressure from pro-Israel lobbyists and fired radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf to avoid complaints and attention. Ironically the broadcaster earned more scrutin...
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Seems more relevant now than ever. @antoinettelattouf.bsky.social
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Seems more relevant now than ever. @antoinettelattouf.bsky.social
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Rod Campbell @rodcampbell.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Extract from Lattouf judgement "ABC managers...extraordinarily sensitive to the risk of criticism by The Australian." Shocking, as the Murdoch media now has near zero influence on the Aus public, see recent research from @australiainstitute.org.au 1/3 www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Ju...
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casey briggs @caseybriggs.com · 25/06/2025
Judge: "I infer that Mr Oliver-Taylor sought to mitigate the anticipated deluge of complaints [...] In that sense, the decision was made to appease pro-Israel lobbyists who would inevitably escalate the complaints about the ABC." www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
abc.net.au
Live: Antoinette Lattouf wins unlawful termination case against ABC
The Federal Court found the ABC contravened the Fair Work Act by terminating journalist Antoinette Lattouf's employment, for reasons "including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli m...
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Emma Wynne @emwynne.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
"Holding or expressing a political opinion is not, Rangiah found, a valid reason for terminating someone’s employment, even at the national broadcaster." www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-a...
smh.com.au
Antoinette Lattouf has won $70,000, but her case has cost the ABC so much more
Wednesday’s judgment brings an ugly chapter to a close. But for the ABC, the real work is just beginning.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
The ABC sacked our colleague because of her political opinion and to appease a lobby group, the court found. And they spent more than $1 million on ridiculous defences including the she was never sacked and there is no such thing as a Lebanese race. Time for the ABC to rethink how it treats staff.
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Michael Slezak @mikeyslezak.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
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