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Action updates

Evans confronted at NGO conference MELBOURNE — More than 50 people gathered outside a Community Aid Abroad Conference on Asia on February 23, at which foreign minister Gareth Evans was giving an opening address, to protest against the Australian

Democratic Socialists: 'building a people's movement for change'

By Bill Mason BRISBANE — "There is no way to achieve social justice and ecological sustainability except through a vast switch in economic priorities. Only the Democratic Socialists are campaigning on a comprehensive platform which links up the key

Coalition warned on public service sackings

By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Queensland State Public Services Federation has warned the new National-Liberal Coalition government that the union will not tolerate mass sackings or large-scale restructuring. SPSFQ secretary Gordon Rennie said the

'Moderates' assist anti-immigration parties

By Pip Hinman Several anti-immigration independents and parties are standing in the federal elections. While they claim not to be racist, Graeme Campbell, Australians Against Further Immigration Party, Reclaim Australia: Reduce Immigration and

Coalition sharpens the knives

By Peter Boyle The fact that the Coalition's February 15 announcement of plans to cut $6.3 billion from government spending (over three years) was met with calls for a tripling of these cuts from the Murdoch and Packer press makes the prospect of a

Too much is too much: Pulp Fiction

By Dave Riley "Tell me this: would you give me a foot massage?" "A what ...!" "I'm asking you — would you give another bloke a foot massage? You reckon you're king in that department, so would ya?" "Stuff you." "That's my point. There's lots more

SA education workers plan industrial action

By Adam Hanieh ADELAIDE — More than 5000 education workers packed Memorial Drive Tennis court on February 23 in the largest education mass meeting ever held in SA. Members of the South Australian Institute of Teachers (SAIT) overwhelmingly endorsed

The Histadrut and Arab labour

The colonisation of Palestine by European Jewish settlers in the l920s usually evokes heroic images in Western eyes. However, there were international concerns then about the potential abuse of Arab labour. Concerns were even expressed by the Zionist

Socialist Alliance formed in Scotland

By Sean Lavis GLASGOW — More than 300 people crammed into City Hall on February 10 for the founding meeting of the Scottish Socialist Alliance, a coalition of left parties, groups and independent activists. Speakers from various left backgrounds

In France they do it on the street

BRENDAN DOYLE arrived in France at the beginning of December and witnessed three weeks of strikes and the biggest demonstrations since May 1968. On one Saturday there were 2 million people on the streets all over France, and millions of others

Different ways of getting under the skin

SkinSydney Theatre CompanyWharf 2, Sydney until March 16Reviewed by Lisa Macdonald Skin incorporates two very different, tenuously linked plays. The first, Somewhere in the Darkness, written by Ray Kelly, draws on the traditions of Aboriginal

Health workers step up campaign

By Kim Linden MELBOURNE — Health workers in the recently formed North Eastern Health Care Network have stepped up their industrial campaign against the Kennett government's redeployment and redundancy packages, which began to be introduced on