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Incompetence as virtue  The traditionally staid Institution of Engineers Australia has identified a trend in government: once you get rid of people with specialist technical skills, you make mistakes which could have been avoided.
Gambling health: don't bet on it By Kerry Ridgway "Governments are addicted to gambling", says Michelle Gunner, a PhD student from the University of Western Sydney, Nepean. Once a nurse therapist treating all manner of addictions, Gunner
By Nabaz I am 16 years old and arrived in Australia from Iraq last February. In Iraq, I had to leave school when I was 11 and get a job to help my family survive. I had to get a labourer's job. The pay and conditions were extremely bad. There were
By Sean Healy Federal Labor leader Kim Beazley has announced that his party will establish a new coastguard to "protect Australia's borders" when it is elected to government. Beazley said the initiative, announced on January 23, was motivated by
By David Wright BRISBANE — The Queensland Labor government's proposed indigenous heritage legislation continues the trend of both Labor and Liberal governments winding back the clock on land rights for Aboriginal people. Premier Peter Beattie's
'Pink capitalism' can't avoid the rules By Daryl Croke Once upon a time, setting up a club for gays and lesbians with a sensible business plan was a licence to print money — but not now. Look around today and you'll see the considerable road
By Neville Spencer Gustavo Noboa was installed as president of Ecuador on January 22. He has promised to continue the economic policies which led to the ousting of President Jamil Mahuad the previous day in a coup which took place on the back of a
A campaign for an open door for all Timorese By Max Lane Jakarta's long war against East Timor may be (officially) over and may now be less of a "foreign policy issue" in formal Australian-Indonesian relations. But justice is still a long way
By Troy Saxby In response to the federal government's attempts to privatise higher education, Resistance has proposed that a national day of action be called for March 29 to demand "Free education, not privatisation!" and "Reverse education funding
Action for workplace safety Workers covered by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union at the Western Australian government's Belltower project walked off the job for seven days from January 25. Black flags were hoisted over the
By Anthony Benbow Since September, a battle has been unfolding in Western Australia's north-west Pilbara region, the outcome of which will affect the conditions and wages of workers throughout Australia. The fight to prevent individual contracts at
Mater Hospital staff rally against privatisation By Alison Dellit NEWCASTLE — On January 4, more than 400 Staff walked off the job and rallied in opposition to plans to privatise the Mater Hospital. The protest was part of a "public awareness