By Debra Wirth SYDNEY — About 100 people protested outside the Supreme Court on May 8, the day Arthur Murray and Sonny Bates were sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment by the trial judge in Bathurst after being convicted by an all-white jury.
Issue 12
News
By Steve Painter The record jump in unemployment in April makes nonsense of the Hawke government's boast through the '80s that its Accord with the trade union movement was responsible for creating jobs. If the Accord were to be credited for the
SA anti-abortion bill By Catherine Goff Brady ADELAIDE — A private member's bill to further restrict women's rights to abortion has been passed in the state lower house by 23 votes to 21. Liberal Member for Hayward Mark Brindal's bill is just
By Adriaan Anarco-Troika DARWIN — The federal government should implement the findings of the Resource Assessment Commission and incorporate the conservation zone into Kakadu National Park without delay, says the Northern Territory Environment
Women's collection threatened BRISBANE — The University of Queensland student union executive is threatening to close the union library, which includes one of the largest collections of feminist writing in the country. The threat follows cutbacks
Call for action against WA officers By Leon Harrison PERTH — The Aboriginal Legal Service has called on police commissioner Brian Bull to discipline officers involved in the 1983 arrest of 16-year-old John Pat. ALS legal counsel John Cameron
Women picket Qld Labor By Susan Price BRISBANE — About 50 supporters of the Women's Abortion Campaign picketed the Queensland Labor Women's Conference on May 11. The women were angry at the Goss government's refusal to act on the opinions of
By Janet Parker Around the globe, environmental activists will mark June 5 — the UN-designated World Environment Day — with rallies, marches, festivals, seminars, concerts, bike rides, tree-plantings and a great variety of other events.
By Bob Cummins BALLINA, NSW — Extensive bulldozing of Aboriginal sacred sites on an East Ballina housing estate and river lands has been temporarily halted after years of protests. Bundjalung Aborigines from the Jali and Far North Coast land
Brisbane mall fight By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Retailers have opposed proposals by the Electoral and Administrative Review Committee to amend the infamous Mall Act, which bans all political activity in the Queen Street Mall. The shopkeepers say the
Balmain's toxic school By Rose McCann -1>SYDNEY — Some six months after fears were raised that Balmain High School students were being exposed to toxic chemicals, students have been barred from using the harbour shore sporting area.0> The ban
By Jacqui Kavanagh SYDNEY — Aboriginal representatives have condemned the failure of the final report of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody to recommend the laying of charges against police killers. "The royal commission had
The endorsed Green candidates for the May 25 NSW election are activists from a range of backgrounds. Green Left will profile all the Green candidates over the next three issues. Bulli For long-time women's, peace and environment activist and
Gaps in Qld bias law By Nicholas Ward BRISBANE — The Goss government appears to be hesitating over including sexual preference in its anti-discrimination legislation, announced in March. This is despite submissions from organisations
By Peter Boyle MELBOURNE — The bulk chemical storage facility in Coode Island (in Melbourne's dock lands) is a serious menace to residents in nearby suburbs, to workers and to the environment, according to documents obtained by the Hazardous
WA left unionists organise By Catherine Brown PERTH — In recent months, a number of WA unions have disaffiliated from the ALP. Now, a group has emerged called Left Unionists, united around an anti-Accord perspective. Several unions are
By Dick Nichols SYDNEY — One week into the campaign for the May 25 state elections, boredom, indifference and suspicion with the major parties reign supreme. The latest polls show a small increase in Liberal/National support (up to 35%) with
Latin Americans unite for May Day By Lolo Madariaga SYDNEY — Nine Latin American solidarity and community organisations collaborated in order to celebrate May Day within their own community. More than 700 people gathered at Cabramatta Civic
World
Urgent action needed to save refugees Some 109 refugees from Aceh, the Indonesian province at the northern tip of Sumatra, face imminent deportation from Malaysia back to Indonesia. On May 3, the human rights organisation TAPOL and SIMBA
Indonesian union attacks Hawke government Indonesia's only independent trade union has condemned the Australian government's decision to back Indonesian government minister Cosmas Batubara's candidacy for president of the International Labour
By Mono Badela With the South African Communist Party's 70th anniversary just three months away, the party is building structures throughout the country — in the factories, in the mines, in townships and even [middle class] urban centres such as
By Satendra Prasad SUVA — Fires destroyed a mining shaft and heavy equipment, causing F$800,000 damage, as the strike by more than 850 members of the Fiji Mine Workers Union (FMWU) entered its 10th week. The fires broke out early on May 7,
The forces which eventually overthrew the Stalinist system in Hungary can be traced as far back as the immediate aftermath of the 1956 uprising, which was crushed by Soviet tanks. Last week, LASZLO ANDOR and PETER ANNEAR described the economic
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — An "Action Program of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Leading the Economy out of Crisis" has been placed before the parliament of the Soviet Union. Despite its innovative-sounding title, it is basically a
By Adam Novak and Peter Annear PRAGUE — The reality of Czechoslovakia's privatisation program is proving quite different to the rosy picture painted in the early days of the "Velvet Revolution". Nor is the reform process the uncontrolled rush to
SYDNEY — A vocal picket by members of the Korean community and Australian supporters was held outside the US Consulate on May 10 to protest against recent war threats from the US and South Korean governments. Dr Kim Jin Yeop, a Korean-born
By Peter Boyle Kurdish people are hopeful about the prospects of achieving some form of autonomy within Iraq after current talks between representatives of the Iraqi Kurdistan Front and ministers from the Iraqi government, according to a
Culture
Henry IV Part I By William Shakespeare Staged by Wayne Harrison, Philip Parsons and John Senczuk With Andrew McFarlane, Marcus Graham, Angelo D'Angelo Sydney Theatre Company The Wharf, Pier 4 Reviewed by Angela Matheson In an attempt to
By Kim Spurway Lesbians on the Loose is the biggest and most widely read lesbian magazine in Australia. Circulated free of charge once a month, it emphasises topical issues, with lots of short, information-based articles and a smaller number of
"We have to understand quite clearly why people sought to conquer nature, how frightening they found its seasons, pests, predators and uncertainties. We must sympathise with why human society felt the need for the control that
Footsteps By Pramoedya Ananta Toer Translated by Max Lane Penguin. $14.99. Reviewed by Stephen Robson Like its predecessors, the third volume of this quartet of novels is riveting reading. Through the character of Minke, the narrator of the
The Incredible Exploding Man By John Jiggens Samizdat Press, 1991. 132 pp. $12.95 Reviewed by Graham Lamond Sydney, 1978: the Hilton bombing, an act of horrific violence, leaving three men dead. This was no game. Yet in The Incredible Exploding
Editorial
Editorial: Inquiries and decisions Aboriginal organisations are justifiably angry that the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody did not recommend legal action against state officials responsible for the deaths of 99 people under