The world that we live in is crumbling around us. Imperialist nations such as the US use fear and violence as a means to an end an end that favours the interests of the rich and the powerful. The Iraq war provides an example: Had Iraq been the worlds biggest producer of, say, potatoes, and not oil, Saddam Hussein would have been left to his misguided, vegetable-driven devices.
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On August 30, footwear workers formerly employed by Michaelis Bayley Holdings Pty Ltd — maker of the Homy Ped shoe brand — staged a protest outside the company’s Footscray offices. According to Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFUA) secretary Michele O'Neil, the company has sought to avoid redundancy provisions contained in the enterprise bargaining agreement it had committed to honour two years ago.
The September 5 student strike against US President George Bushs visit, initiated by Resistance, has triggered a wave of anti-war activism on high schools across Sydney. Students from more than 20 high schools, including Mosman High, Pennant Hills High and North Sydney Girls High, have pledged to walk out of classes to protest Australias involvement in the Iraq war, to call for genuine action against climate change and to defend the right to protest.
Sydney is to be shut down in the lead-up to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit from September 2. US warmonger-in-chief George Bush will be attending amid an unprecedented amount of money and effort being spent on security.
Green Left Weekly is taking a one week break as our staff will be attending the APEC protests. The next issue will be dated September 19. However, coverage of the APEC protests will be posted on our website, http://www.greenleft.org.au.
The Australian Labor Party under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard has ceased to be a party that in any serious way can be said to represent the interests of working people in Australia, Socialist Alliance national coordinator Dick Nichols said on August 28.
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFUA) Victorian secretary Michele O’Neil was so furious when she heard the Labor Party’s reworking of its industrial relations policy that she penned an open letter to Labor leader Kevin Rudd and deputy leader Julia Gillard in protest [see page 8].
Three-metre high security fences, heart-stopping tasers, a bone-smashing water cannon, mobile prison buses and — perhaps most disturbing of all — the threat of automatic incarceration for randomly abducted protesters? Welcome to the growing international phenomenon of “population control”. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is in Sydney, and NSW security chiefs are telling you to follow orders, shut up and stay away. Prison cells are ready and waiting if you fail to heed the warning.
A spirited demonstration outside Toyotas Melbourne headquarters on August 28 highlighted the companys abuse of workers rights in the Philippines.
Established in December 2001, the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) was set up with the stated aim of regulating and promoting the teaching profession in Victoria.
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