Alex Bainbridge

  • Why Australia should open its borders to Afghan refugees

    Few people could admire the morality of deliberately setting fire to someone's house and then locking all the doors and windows to prevent the occupants from escaping to safety. Neither action is justifiable by itself and both

  • Outrage at police spying on anti-war protest

    BY KAMALA EMANUEL& ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — About 250 people attended an October 20 rally to protest the US-led war against Afghanistan and Australia's involvement in the war. That same day the Hobart Mercury editorialised against police

  • Pacifism: not useful in the struggle against war

    The leaflet advertising the well-attended September 30 "Peace Picnic" in Hobart said "a peaceful heart leads to a peaceful person; a peaceful person leads to a peaceful family; a peaceful family leads to a peaceful community; a

  • Socialists Challenge ALP at Tas Uni

    HOBART — ALP member Ted Alexander won the 2001 Tasmania University Union presidential election by a landslide, capturing 59% of the vote. Promising to provide more free beer and improved services Alexander defeated Greens

  • Potato farmers accept pay rise

    HOBART — Potato farmers have accepted an increase of $36 per tonne, over three years, made by potato processor Simplot. The deal was struck on September 3 after negotiations that were, in the words of farmers' leader Richard

  • Tasmania Together sparks forest debate

    HOBART — Benchmark targets for Tasmania Together were released on September 3. Tasmania Together is the state Labor government's consultation program designed to draw up "goals" and "visions" for the state by 2020. There are

  • Potato growers win pay rise

    HOBART — Contracted potato growers have accepted an offer by McCain to pay an extra $22 per tonne this year and another $9 per tonne next year for potatoes. This is an important win even though farmers had originally been

  • Forest protest adds to pressure on Labor

    HOBART — Thousands of people amassed outside the ALP state conference on August 11, calling for an end to logging in old-growth forests. Tasmania currently accounts for more than two-thirds of Australia's total woodchip

  • We can do better than Labor

    HOBART — The state conference of the Australian Labor Party will be held at the prestigious Wrest Point Casino on the weekend of August 11-12. As is typical at these conferences, it will be an opportunity for Labor leaders like

  • Incat workers fight on

    HOBART — The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has called for a 5% pay rise for Incat workers, following the July 24 announcement that Incat has won a contract with the US military. The contract involves chartering

  • "Ah McCain, you've done us again!"

    SMITHTON — On August 1, in the largest farmer protest in Tasmania's history, 500 potato farmers and their supporters converged with tractors, trucks and other farm equipment on the McCain factory in Smithton. The blockade

  • 56-hour weeks on Tasmanian west coast

    HOBART — After months of union and community pressure, tin mining company Renison Bell, located on Tasmania's west coast, finally agreed on July 12 to conduct an assessment of the risks associated with its 56-hour weekly work