Action updates

Joy miners joyful

SYDNEY — Two hundred union supporters enjoyed an excellent evening of Latin American and African music at a benefit at the Harbourside Brasserie on July 12 for the workers of Joy Mining.

The evening, organised by the Construction, Forestry Mining and Energy Union, raised funds to support the families of 80 workers at Moss Vale who have been locked out of their jobs for three months.

Mekong dams meeting

BRISBANE — The Mekong River, the lifeblood of millions of people in China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is being threatened by dam construction and other projects, 40 participants in a July 7 Community Aid Abroad seminar were told.

CAA's Laos field officer, Khamloung Keoka, and Oxfam Belgium's Laos project adviser, Bong Munsayaphom, reported that Asian Development Bank-funded dam projects on the Mekong and its tributaries threaten the environment and livelihoods of the peoples of the area. Fish supplies, in particular, are under severe threat.

Australia is the fifth largest contributor to the ADB. Discussion focussed on measures to increase public pressure on both the ADB and the Australian government.

From GLW issue 412