Issue 113

News

Sinking our future By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — When the first of the new Collins class submarines was launched at the Osborne Port Facility on August 28, 40 protesters met the officially invited guests in an attempt to raise
By Janet Parker SYDNEY — The social and environmental impact of cars are well known, yet cars continue to dominate transport decisions and determine our sprawling pattern of land use. Developing an alternative public transport plan was the
Qld toxic waste dump site 'not safe' By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Two recent scientific reports on Queensland's toxic waste dump at Gurulmundi, 390km west of Brisbane, have questioned its location and impact on underground water systems.
Students rally against Groom's education cutbacks By Ben Courtice HOBART — Over 250 students from Hobart's four secondary colleges rallied at Parliament House on August 24 to protest against the Groom Liberal government's cutbacks to
Resistance wins Tas Uni women's officer By Natasha Simons HOBART — Resistance activist Jennifer Crothers was elected to the position of Women's Officer in the Tasmania University Student Union elections held August 25-27.
By Paul Oboohov SYDNEY — Workers at the Tooheys brewing plant at Libcombe set up a picket line on August 18 following moves by the plant's owner, Lion Nathan, to force redundancies on 156 production workers. Maintenance workers were
Police 'beat wars' against gays By Jeremy Smith MELBOURNE — An increase in the number of gay men being arrested by police decoys in Clifton Hill's public places has highlighted what is an ongoing outrage for Melbourne's gay community.
By Norrian Rundle MELBOURNE — The Victorian Directorate of School Education's new staffing formula, recently sent to all primary and secondary schools in the state, has provoked industrial action by teachers. The new formula will cut staff
Kelly leaves way open to Starcke sale By Nick Everett BRISBANE — Federal environment minister Ros Kelly stated, on August 24, that the sale to developers of Starcke, a wilderness area of cultural significance to the Yimidhiuu and
Successful 1993 Queer Collaborations conference By Tom Flanagan SYDNEY — Sydney University was the scene of a very successful Queer Collaborations conference from August 13-15. Three hundred and forty students registered for the
Rigoberta Menchú to visit Australia By Alberto Garcia SYDNEY — Rigoberta Menchú, the Guatemalan human rights leader and the first indigenous woman in the world to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, is to visit Australia. This
Brian Rooney By Chris Spindler ADELAIDE — Former State Secretary of the Socialist Party of Australia, Brian Rooney, died of cancer in Adelaide on August 13. He was 58. Brian was a long term political activist, joining the Communist
South Africa election fund launched By Chris Spindler ADELAIDE — Speakers at the launch of Australians for Democracy In South Africa (ADISA) made an impassioned plea for funds for the ANC election fund and the voter education campaign
Qld high school students walk out over education cuts By Bill Mason BRISBANE — High school students up and down Queensland have walked out, rallied and marched in protest at state government cuts in education funding in recent weeks.
10,000 rally against WA government By Stephen Robson PERTH — Ten thousand unionists rallied here at lunch time on August 19 to protest the Court Liberal government industrial legislation and changes to workers' compensation. The
By Steve Rogers CANBERRA — Public Service Union leaders are running for cover in the wake of the August 17 federal budget. On August 25 the PSU National Executive suspended its enterprise bargaining negotiations with the government.
Rally hits Goss budget cuts By Nathan Laurent BRISBANE — "We are not going to stop fighting until the cuts are stopped, until our education system improves, until students have some rights." This was the message from high school student

World

By Catherine Brown TOKYO — In the 12 months preceding the July 18 election, public confidence in Japan's ruling political elite was shaken by revelations of high-level political corruption. "Money politics", as the corruption scandals have
Greenpeace campaigns against toxic incinerators SPAIN — Four Greenpeace activists blocked the chimney of a toxic waste incinerator in Martorell, Barcelona on August 8 to protest plans by Solvay, a Belgian chemical company, to burn toxic
Japanese left defends 'peace constitution' By Catherine Brown TOKYO — In June 1992 various independent left groups formed a broad alliance against the passage of the PKO (United Nations Peacekeeping Operation) Bill. After much heated
Russian left discusses unity By V. Krasnov MOSCOW — The question of unifying the democratic left in Russia has been under debate now for at least two years. After the attempted coup of August 1991, when the Communist Party of the Soviet
By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — At the end of 1990, when it was announced that trade in Moscow would be privatised, the city authorities promised that within a few months store shelves would be laden with goods. Queues would disappear, and
By Pat Chin NEW YORK — Recent US threats to sabotage the economies of the English-speaking Caribbean are being pelted with criticism by prominent members of the Caribbean community, US House of Representatives member Charles Rangel and
CHICAGO — The scenes of devastation resulting from the Midwest floods have horrified the United States for weeks, but a recently completed survey by Greenpeace indicates that other invisible dangers will remain long after the waters have

Culture

Van Morrison comes full circle Too Long In Exile Van Morrison Polydor Reviewed by Bernie Brian Van Morrison fans do not need reviews to tell them to buy one of his albums since he never fails to produce quality music. But if there
By Zanny Begg "I just love being on stage", Lucky Dube told Green left Weekly as he prepared for his third tour of Australia. "I love what I do for the people and because of the people." Anyone who has been to a Lucky Dube concert before will
By Ignatius Kim "I don't know how it's doing but it's a great relief to have it out. The rest of it is in the hands of the corporate gods", says Neil Murray of his latest album These Hands. As Murray will tell you, when the whims of the
Clannad celebrate 20 years Banba Clannad BMG Reviewed by Ian Jamieson This year marks the 20th anniversary for the Irish band Clannad. To mark the occasion, BMG have released their sixteenth album, Banba. The eleven tracks are

Editorial

Labor's 'Son of Fightback!' The Catholic bishops have accurately described the Keating government's budget as "Son of Fightback!". It introduces indirect taxes that hit low- and medium-income earners the most and lavishes the largest cuts in