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The republic debate: How much should change?

Prime Minister Keating's New Visions for Australia speech at the Evatt Foundation annual dinner on April 28 has been hailed as a historic milestone in Australia's political development. Others say Keating has sucked the content from the so-called

For sale: the right to pollute?

For sale: the right to pollute? By Bronwen Beechey MELBOURNE — Companies may be able to buy and sell the right to pollute the environment in the future, if federal environment minister Ros Kelly has her way. According to the

Middle East talks resume

Middle East talks resume By Miriam Tramer The Middle East Peace talks resumed in Washington on April 27. Green Left Weekly spoke to Israeli commentator Amos Wollin on the possible outcome. Wollin said that, under pressure from the

The theatre of politics

By Ignatius Kim When the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT) was founded in 1981 to inform rural Solomon Islanders about issues relating to resource development, it found that lecture-style meetings aroused little enthusiasm in the

More pressure on PNG's Bougainville policy

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Paias Wingti's handling of the Bougainville crisis has come under heavy fire from his own foreign affairs minister, John Kaputin. The criticisms were contained in a letter Kaputin sent from Brussels, which was

Cuba fights neuritis outbreak

Cuba fights neuritis outbreak HAVANA — The Cuban daily Granma on April 27 lashed out at a foreign media disinformation campaign around the outbreak of optic neuritis on the island. Optic neuritis is a vision-impairing disease. It was

Refugee family denied asylum

Refugee family denied asylum By Catherine Brown A Romany refugee family, denied asylum by the Cologne city council (led by the Social Democrats), is now in hiding to avoid forced deportation to Macedonia. Asylum was denied on the basis

Timorese prepared to continue struggle

MARI ALKATIRI is a senior member of the Fretilin Central Committee in exile. He was interviewed in Sydney for Green Left Weekly by Max Lane. Could you tell us why you are visiting Australia? I have received a mandate from the leadership

Life in the past lane

In a country town, ANN MATHESON finds that little changes — especially the things that should change. After a lifetime of city newsrooms, vying for premium parking spaces, fighting deadlines and jostling for service, I was sure that if I

Victorian law on indefinite imprisonment

Victorian law on indefinite imprisonment By Alex Cooper MELBOURNE — Harsh new sentencing legislation was passed by Victoria's parliament on April 29, a week after its introduction by state attorney general Jan Wade. The law provides for

NSW doctors take on state government

By Anne Casey SYDNEY — The latest talks between the NSW minister for health, Ronald Phillips, and the Australian Medical Association, held on April 27, failed to resolve the dispute which threatens to leave the public health system without

The Kennett-Keating connection

By Peter Boyle MELBOURNE — In the last days of the Kirner Labor government of Victoria, the report of an independent review of the state public sector's finances (the Nicholls Review) was released. While the media made much of its finding