Issue 132

News

Adelaide By Melanie Sjoberg Nineteen waterside workers at Port Adelaide were sacked on March 17 after refusing to work "double header shifts" in protest over the sacking of 55 workers in Sydney. Daryl Grey, South Australian branch
By Frank Enright "The company's intention to extend the further utilisation of supplementaries [casuals] at the expense of permanent employees is yet a further example of the confrontationist tactics and policies within the stevedoring industry
Cuba solidarity night By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Cuban people are facing the economic crisis confronting the revolution, known as the "special period", with strength and innovation, Roberto Jorquera, Latin American solidarity activist,
By Steve Rogers CANBERRA — Quarantine and food quality issues have been cast aside in the latest round of cuts to the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. On February 14, management released a proposed structure to staff which chopped
By Tom Kelly A worker using a wooden stick presses plastic bundles into a hopper, where it melts into a grey mass. The plastic is mixed with a colouring agent and tipped into a moulding machine, where it is formed into coat hangers. Nearby,
By Tom Kelly In response to pollution scandals and toxic disasters, in the 1980s the rich industrialised countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) adopted relatively strict regulations governing the disposal
Court government to close schools By Stephen Robson PERTH — Despite the "I'm not Jeff Kennett and this is not Victoria" rhetoric during the 1993 state election campaign from Liberal leader Richard Court, his school closure program has all
Cops mistreat logging protesters By Aneurin Coffey and Lachlan Anderson MELBOURNE — Police use of neck holds to remove protesters from an anti-logging picket on the February 11 has been condemned by medical experts as highly dangerous.
Coalition to save Adelaide Hills face By Ramona Shee ADELAIDE — "The hills face is not protected, but ordinary people think it is", Ben Carslake, secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) told Green Left
Victorian teachers still waiting for award By Elisabeth Thomas MELBOURNE — At a branch delegates meeting on February 12, Victorian teachers voted for a campaign of industrial action in response to a delay in granting an interim federal
Uranium scare in SA By Anthony Thirlwall ADELAIDE — Western Mining Corporation on February 14 revealed a contamination alert at its huge uranium and copper mine, Olympic Dam, in the north-west of the state. The alert was sparked by
Sewage flows into Sydney Harbour By Amy Phillips SYDNEY — Up to 30% of Sydney's sewage will never make it to a treatment plant during rainy weather, according to recent reports. During severe storms, Sydney's ageing pipe system is forced
DSS heats staffing dispute BRISBANE — The Department of Social Service escalated a dispute with the Public Service Union on February 18, by taking the state PSU branch to the Industrial Relations Commission over alleged breaches of dispute

World

PETER CAMEJO is chairperson of Earth Trade, a San Francisco-based import/export company specialising in environmentally sustainable development. He will be a featured guest speaker at the International Green Left Conference from March 31 to April 4
By Malik Miah and Rich Lesnik By mid-year the largest airline in the country, United Airlines, could be "controlled" by its union employees. Leaders of the machinists' and pilots' unions say an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is the best
By Frank Enright Speaking on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report program on February 15, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Paias Wingti turned truth on its head. "Paias Wingti claimed that there was no blockade of Bougainville, that PNG troops
White workers join COSATU More than 1000 white workers in the transport giant Transnet — some of them members of the right-wing Conservative Party — have joined the COSATU [Council of South African Unions] affiliate, the SA Railways and
Today Hanoi, tomorrow Havana? By Pip Hinman According to the February 17 San Francisco Chronicle, many US businesses are keen to open trade relations with Havana. The dollars-and-cents argument is gaining some momentum. In early
By Kate Shannon On February 25 a delegation of five women will depart Australia to observe the Salvadoran elections. "We have been invited by the FMLN to join with other international representatives to observe the March 20 elections", explained
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — "'The Union of Labour' — that is the name chosen by a trade union social and political movement formed in Krasnoyarsk region. The founders include the trade unions of workers in education and science, culture and
By Frank Enright The war against the people of Bougainville has been accepted on the agenda of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) for this year in Geneva. The Bougainville interim government representative to the UN, Mike
By Robyn Marshall Leoncio Sanic Simon is president of the Guatemalan peasant organisation People of Corn, or Achim Ixim. Achim Ixim was founded by Sanic and others in 1990 to help indigenous peasants who have been displaced from their homes by
Ruling against Colombian president BOGOTA — Colombian President Cesar Gaviria may have to stand trial for the unauthorised presence of US troops in Colombian territory. On February 9 Colombia's Council of State unanimously ruled that

Culture

East Timor 1942-1992: A Retrospective Photographic Exhibition Curated by Oliver Strewe and Jenny Groves Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Bondi Beach 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until March 6 Reviewed by Jill Hickson This wonderful display, presented by
By Gyorgy Scrinis and Peter Lyssiotis When the Compact Disc first emerged in the 1980s, it participated in the undermining of one of our most long-held assumptions. With the C.D., the whole distinction between Side A and Side B of the old vinyl
Schindler's List Directed by Steven Spielberg Screenplay by Steven Zaillian Reviewed by Jon Land This film traces the remarkable story of Oskar Schindler and his efforts to save some 1100 Polish Jews from the Nazi Holocaust. Adapted from
The Vibe hits Adelaide By Michael Arnold A highlight of this year's Adelaide Festival will be the presentation of three raves and a number of club nights by new rave travellers the Vibe Tribe. The Vibe Tribe, formed from the
8 Gang with Mao By Stephen Robson PERTH — Over the school holiday period, the Photography Gallery of Western Australia organised an introductory photography course for eight high school students. This led to the exhibition of the
Bertrand Russell By Caroline Moorehead Sinclair Stevenson, 1993. 596 pp. $26.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon Though born in 1872, Bertrand Russell — philosopher and outspoken political dissenter — can still satisfy the sceptical and
Zapata, Dead or Alive SBS TV Friday, March 4, 8.30 p.m. (8 Adelaide) Reviewed by Peter Boyle Even before the surprise Zapatista uprising in Mexico on New Year's Day, there were Mexicans who believed that the legendary revolutionary leader
Needing a few more cuts Fine cut: All out comedy SBS TV Monday, February 28, 11.15 p.m. (10.45 Adelaide) Reviewed by Lou Stanley Being gay doesn't mean that you're happy or for that matter funny. All out comedy is a reminder that
Black River Directed by Kevin Lucas Mercury Cinema, Adelaide Reviewed by Melanie Sjoberg Black River won the 1993 Grand Prix Opera Screen, Paris, and AFI nomination at the London, Hawaii, Melbourne and Brisbane international film
4ZZZ needs a computer BRISBANE — 4ZZZ radio station is trying very hard. A ZZZ reporter was thrown out of PNG Prime Minister Paias Wingti's media conference for asking about Bougainville, and another was arrested over free speech in the Queen
The Boys in the Band Directed by Kevin Jackson New Theatre, Newtown, until March 19. $16/11 Reviewed by Tom Flanagan The Boys in the Band is a play dealing with gay issues that dates from the pre-Stonewall era. First performed in New York

Editorial

Cognac for some, Claytons for others Porsche sales are up: evidence, surely, of the the much eulogised economic recovery. Good news too on profit margins: they are forecast to rise 20% this year. And by year's end unemployment is expected to ...