Kristian Whittaker

  • Aboriginal Tent Embassy remembered

    CANBERRA - On April 17, about 150 people gathered on the site of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House to mark the site's entry into the Register of the National Estate, Australia's official

  • ACT teachers strike again

    CANBERRA — A teachers' strike on September 6 closed all ACT schools for half a day as 2500 teachers rallied outside the ACT legislative assembly. The action was the latest in a six-month pay and staffing dispute (see accompanying article). Clive

  • Aborigines reject Keating's Mabo Mark 2

    CANBERRA — More than 600 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders arrived at Boomanulla Oval in south Canberra on September 26 for a three-day conference aimed at formulating a national response to the High

  • Peace activist arrested in Canberra

    CANBERRA — "When I used to live in the USA, I was an activist against the war in Vietnam. Now I'm living in Australia, I find myself compelled to be an activist against 'Australia's Vietnam', Bougainville." Barbara

  • Demonstration by Thugs and Terrorists

    Demonstration by Thugs and TerroristsWhen Cameron Muir, Joe Ferguson and Laurie Agar came together late last year to form a new rock-based punk band, they adopted the name Thugs and Terrorists. The name derives

  • The night they shot democracy in China

    Four years ago the Chinese government sent in soldiers to clear Tiananmen Square of students, workers and other citizens who were demanding democratic reform. While the students and citizens sang the "Internationale", the army attacked. Hundreds

  • China's new rich

    For increasing numbers of Chinese, Li Ning, a former Olympic gold medal gymnast and current business entrepreneur, stands as a symbol of China's new "enterprise culture". Together with other select sports stars, pop

  • China People's Congress continues 'reforms'

    The Eighth National People's Congress (NPC) opened on March 15 in Beijing. The NPC is China's constitutional equivalent to a "parliament". The agenda includes the approval of a new government line-up and the passing

  • 'New backbone' offers hope for China

    Last October's Fourteenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party bore testimony to the continuing influence of the retired, unelected but still "paramount" leader Deng Xiaoping. Supporters of his policy of faster and

  • Aboriginal activists to appeal conviction

    CANBERRA — Four Aboriginal activists — Isabel Coe, Harold Williams, Sonya Brown and Ian Williams — were recently convicted but not sentenced on trespassing charges resulting from the 80-strong peaceful occupation of

  • Aboriginal Embassy seeks support

    Aboriginal Embassy seeks supportCANBERRA — Six weeks after the January 26 occupation of the old Parliament House, the Aboriginal Embassy situated on the lawns opposite continues to gather wide support. "We're

  • Aboriginal embassy demands recognition

    CANBERRA — Last month, Aborigines briefly occupied the old Parliament House and issued a Declaration of Aboriginal Sovereignty "invoking our claim to all the lands of the territories of our ancestors".