589

In brief

NEW ZEALAND: Maori party scores 92% in by-election Maori Party leader Tariana Turia scored the new party's first election victory on July 10, picking up 6869 of the 7454 votes cast in a by-election in the Maori electorate of Te Tai Hauauru. Turia,

Government must answer for Habib torture

Peter Boyle "The Coalition government must reveal its role in torture of the illegally detained Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib in Egypt and in Guantanamo Bay", Raul Bassi, the Socialist Alliance candidate for the western Sydney seat of Blaxland

Muslim Australians speak out

Sarah Stephen Green Left Weekly asked a number of people active in Sydney's Muslim community to share their views on why anti-Muslim prejudice has developed such roots in recent years, and what can be done to change it. Dr Akbar Khan, president

Aboriginal tent embassy plans corroboree

SYDNEY — The Aboriginal tent embassy at Victoria Park will hold a 'Corroboree for Sovereignty 2004' from July 14. For information visit http://active.org.au/sydney.From Green Left Weekly, July 14, 2004. Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

WA MUA continues to gain

Dave Andrews, Fremantle The Western Australian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia has now experienced 12 months of a new leadership. Last June, Chris Cain and Ian Bray won two of three elected branch full-time positions as representatives

Domestic violence: symptom of a malfunctioning society

Lalitha Chelliah The Coalition government is touting its new media campaign — which includes TV ads and a glossy brochure delivered to all households — as a major response to the problem of domestic violence. The comments by Rodenberry (GLW

2000 attend pro-refugee performance

Tony Iltis, Melbourne On July 8, the Melbourne Town Hall was filled to capacity when at least 2000 people attended a performance put on by Actors for Refugees. Performers at the event included Daniela Farinacci, Helen Morse, Alison Whyte, Pamela

Write on: Letters to the editor

Kids don't vote "Kids don't vote", immigration minister Amanda Vanstone was reported as saying when criticising a children's book on the plight of children in detention. But why shouldn't they? Students are now more interested in politics and their

BOLIVIA: Worker, peasant unions oppose gas referendum

Federico Fuentes Tension is rising in Bolivia, South America's poorest country, as a July 18 referendum on the future of the country's natural gas industry approaches. Nationalisation of the gas reserves was the central demand of the mass

IRAQ: After corporate squander, no cash in the till

Doug Lorimer A top Pentagon official conducted unauthorised investigations of reconstruction contracts in Iraq and used the results to push for lucrative contracts for friends and their business clients, the July 7 Los Angeles Times reported.

Seventy refugees arrive from Nauru

Sarah Stephen On June 29, the first group of 35 Afghan asylum seekers arrived in Australia from Nauru. A second group of 35 Afghans arrived on July 6. The remaining 76 Afghan asylum seekers on Nauru who have been assessed by the immigration

What is the future of public transport?

Green Left Weekly 's Dave Riley interviewed public transport activists and commentators. Answering his questions are Paul Mees, a teacher in transport planning at Melbourne University and a former president of the Public Transport Users Association;