Sean Martin-Iverson

  • Pangea pushing ahead with dump plan

    Pangea pushing ahead with dump plan By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Despite opposition from all political parties and several local councils, Pangea Resources has not abandoned its plan to build a nuclear waste dump in outback WA. The nuclear

  • Further threat to native title in WA

    Further threat to native title in WA By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Premier Richard Court has proposed a new state-based native title system which will further restrict the common law land rights of Aborigines. The changes would replace native

  • VSU aftermath: the situation in WA

    By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Voluntary student unionism (VSU) was introduced in Western Australia in 1993. As the student movement prepares to fight national VSU legislation, it is useful to examine the impact VSU had in WA and draw conclusions

  • Land rights under further threat in WA

    By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — The WA government is pushing through its native title "reform" package, with the aim of de facto abolition of land rights. The legislation has met considerable protest from Aboriginal and social justice groups, but

  • Native title under attack in WA

    Native title under attack in WA By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — The WA government is hastily preparing new native title legislation. Only three weeks has been allowed for public discussion of the draft legislation. The state legislation flows

  • UWA student elections

    UWA student elections By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — University of Western Australia student guild elections are to be held from September 7-10. Left student activists have united to form a ticket to challenge the entrenched bureaucracy of the

  • Students, teachers angered by school closures

    By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Hundreds of students from City Beach Senior High School walked out on June 25 to protest a government restructuring plan which would result in schools being closed, merged and downgraded to middle schools (Years

  • WA prison reform 'too little, too late'

    WA prison reform 'too little, too late' By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Earlier this month, WA justice minister Peter Foss announced a new suicide prevention strategy, the first acknowledgment by the government that there is a problem in WA's

  • WA prisons in crisis

    By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — WA's prison system is in crisis. There have already been 10 deaths in custody since the beginning of the year. In 1997, 12 died. Deaths are likely to continue to rise as overcrowding intensifies and funding is

  • Fremantle wharfies' picket stays strong

    Fremantle wharfies' picket stays strong By Sean Martin-Iverson FREMANTLE—Protest action continues on the Fremantle docks despite a brutal paramilitary-style attack by police at 2.30am on April 16. The baton-wielding police outnumbered

  • Another death in WA's prison 'hell-holes'

    By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — On January 25, 18-year-old Neil Holt was found hanging in a Canning Vale prison cell where he was being held awaiting trial for traffic and stealing offences. According to prison sources, Holt had been violently

  • New WA anti-graffiti laws

    New WA anti-graffiti laws By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — The state Liberal government has moved to make WA's already draconian anti-graffiti laws even harsher. The existing legislation, which allows for penalties of 200 hours of community