GLW issue 708, published 2007-05-09.

Radio doco series on waterfront struggle

The Workplace has Become a Warzone: Reflecting on the Waterfront Dispute of 1998
The Stick Together Show, 3CR
May 4, 11 & 18, 8.30am (repeated May 6, 13 & 20, 10am)
<http://www.3cr.org.au>

Bastards then, bastards now

Bastard Boys
Sunday May 13 & Monday May 14, 8.30pm
ABC TV

Campaigning for the right to strike

This open letter to the April 27-29 Australian Labor Party national conference protesting against the restrictions on workers’ rights contained in the new ALP industrial relations policy was supported by Socialist Alliance and other militant trade unionists. The letter was distributed to all 400 conference delegates and the media, and was the basis of some sharp media questioning of the ALP leadership. Unfortunately, no amendments to the policy were moved by conference delegates.

Protesters picket Howard speech

BRISBANE Around 50 people picketed the Sofitel Hotel on April 23 to protest a visit by Prime Minister John Howard. Howard was delivering a speech to a hand-picked audience at a $132-a-head luncheon. The protest was organised called for the repeal of

Further

Australian News

Esperance lead scandal worsens

On April 24, the Locals for Esperance Development (LED) residents' group told the WA south coast town’s local council they wanted a complete ban on the shipment through Esperance of lead for nickel to be transported in closed containers, and community consultation about further transportation of heavy metals through the port.

QUT student-staff rally save humanities

On May 2, 200 students and staff rallied at the Carseldine campus of the Queensland University of Technology to demand that vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake’s foreshadowed closure of the QUT humanities and human services school be withdrawn.

Further Australian News

International News

Strong result for Bove in Kanaky

The result for Jose Bove in the April 22 first round of France’s presidential election in the “overseas territory” (the polite term for colony) of New Caledonia, known as Kanaky to its indigenous inhabitants, was interesting. Bove came in fourth with 5.88%. But in the predominantly Kanak provinces of the North and the Loyalty Islands, his scores were respectively 10.89% and 14.55%. The main reason was the active support given to Bove, who has frequently visited the territory, by the Union of Kanak and Exploited Workers (USTKE).

Crunch comes in French presidential election

The first striking thing about the initial round of the French presidential election, held on April 22, was the extraordinarily high turnout — nearly 85%. You have to go back to the 1965 election to find a slightly higher figure. This was a sign of the increasing politicisation of French society in recent years, as was the fact that more than 3 million new electors registered to vote.

Further International News

Comment and Analysis

Prison guard: 'You activists get what you deserve'

A month in Darwin’s Berrimah jail, from March 12 to April 8, sheeted home several truths about democratic rights to former journalist Rob Inder-Smith.

Labor: a party for workers?

“What we are now seeing is a clear choice for voters at the next election”, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Sharan Burrow said on April 17, referring to the industrial relations policy that Labor leader Kevin Rudd received support for at the party’s national conference at the end of April. A slight choice may be a more accurate description.

Further Comment and Analysis

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Carbon rationing David Spratt (Write On, GLW #707) assumes there will be no "overnight revolutionary end to the market" and argues, "Carbon rationing works by an authority independent of government setting an annual carbon emissions budget for the

Resistance!

Venezuela: Socialism from below

The left-wing rebellion sweeping Latin America is one of the most significant events in politics today. It is a blow to US imperialism, which has dominated the region for so long, and it is an inspiring example to the rest of the world. Venezuelans, in particular, are openly debating the question of socialism and they are carrying out the first revolution of the 21st century.

Cultural Dissent

Music for West Papuan freedom

Merdeka: Artists from around the world unit in support of the independence movement in West Papua
Dancing Turtle Records, 2007
Only available from <http://www.dancingturtle.co.uk>

Life and death under Russian capitalism

Men in Contemporary Russia: The Fallen Heroes of Post-Soviet Change?
by Rebecca Kay
Ashgate, 2006
236 pages, $121.50

Further Cultural Dissent

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