Issue 151

Protests target Tasmania's anti-gay laws By Tom Flanagan Protests demanding the repeal of Tasmania's anti-gay laws were held in a number of cities on July 14. Rohan Gaiswinkler reports from Hobart that 800 people attended a rally in

Campaign against privatisation By Maurice Sibelle BRISBANE — A July 13 meeting of activists from trade unions and community groups decided to launch a campaign against the federal and state government's plans to privatise parts of the

Socialist youth set goals By Tim Stewart SYDNEY — More than 250 people attended the 23rd Resistance National Conference here from July 8-10. Activists from around Australia, including Darwin, Perth and Launceston discussed the crisis of

Right reinforced in Qld ALP By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The right's stranglehold on the Queensland branch of the Labor Party was strengthened at the party's triennial state conference during the week June 27 to July 1. The dominance of

Brown attacks annual leave Dean Brown's Liberal government sided with a local South Australian employer in a failed bid to halve annual leave under an enterprise flexibility agreement. Secretary of the Automotive, Food, Metals and

SA public servants seek pay rise By Anthony Thirlwall and Tully Bates ADELAIDE — The state Liberal government has rejected wage claims by public sector unions, threatening further job losses if wages rise. It has said that departments

By Nick Everett BRISBANE — Fifty people attended a speak out in support of East Timor in the Queen Street Mall on July 15. The protest was called in response to the previous day's violent crackdown by Indonesian troops on a protest in Dili.

National student women's conference By Jen Crothers SYDNEY — Over 400 women gathered at Macquarie University from July 11-15 for the annual Network of Women Students in Australia (NOWSA) conference, the theme of which was "Women working

AWU: A union too far away By Cameron Parker SYDNEY — "What sort of workers movement is it when the 20 superunions in Australia only represent one group in society — the employers?", asked Bob Fuge at a Rank and File Alliance public

Gay businesses push boycott campaign By Kath Gelber The struggle to repeal Tasmania's anti-gay laws has taken on a new edge with the launch of a boycott campaign by gay businesses around Australia and internationally. The campaign aims to

SA's own Dan Quayle By Penny Farrow ADELAIDE — Single women are "going around getting pregnant to rort the system", according to state Liberal backbencher Joe Rossi. He has also been quoted by a suburban newspaper as saying that single

The patterns of Western capitalist investment in the Third World have been changing rapidly. The result is an even greater dependence of underdeveloped countries' governments, writes CHOW WEI CHENG. Mutual funds have taken over much of the

By Lawrence Kilimwiko DAR ES SALAAM — Nine years into the structural adjustment program (SAP), Tanzania's workers, social workers and human rights activists are saying the program disregards basic human rights. They point out that

Attempted coup a diversion In the days following my return from Phnom Penh, dramatic events put Cambodia back on the front pages of the world's press. As I arrived at the airport on July 1 a friend told me: "There's a coup in process — right

United Left makes gains in Spain By Jaime Pastor MADRID — The United Left (UL), based on the former Communist Party but which includes a wide spectrum of the left, scored a major success in the June 12 European elections with 13.4% of the

By Helen Jarvis PHNOM PENH — The gloves are coming off in Cambodia in the struggle against the Khmer Rouge. It is now one year since the United Nations ushered in a coalition government of the previously governing Cambodia People's Party and

Haitian president opposes US invasion In a June 25 interview with Scott Simon of National Public Radio, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide emphatically rejected proposals for the US to restore the elected government by means of a military

By Phil Clarke LONDON — Britain's railways came to a near halt on June 16 and June 23 as signal workers struck in support of an 11% pay claim. The signal workers are demanding a large pay increase to compensate for greater workloads and the

Tommy Emmanuel live By Peter Riedlinger GYMPIE — Joseph Furphy once said of his great novel Such is Life that it had "temper democratic, bias offensively Australian". In the case of the Tommy Emmanuel concert here on June 16, I would

Henry V The Australian Theatre for Young People will open their major production for the year, Henry V by William Shakespeare, from July 18 at the Eveleigh Street Railway Yards in Redfern. The production involves a cast of 40 young performers

A moving portrayal of refugees By Tamara Desiatov and Gillian Hector PERTH — Refugee Week, sponsored by Austcare and the Refugee Council of Australia, ended with the multi-media production In Search of Peace at the Artists Club on June