Voluntary redundancy is the soft option for employers, but not for workers. In a work-based society, people even younger than 45 years are being placed on the scrap heap. The difference from past sackings is that workers are paid to sack themselves.
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When people speak of the role of youth in the struggle against oppression, they usually think of university students. High school students are seen by many as children, too young to be politicised, too young to have their own
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 4-7pm. Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31,
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and ain't i a woman: Jobs for the girls Living Generously: Women Mentoring Women, edited by Jocelynne Scutt, is a new book in which "mentoring" is said to have replaced "networking" as a means of getting ahead. Mentoring is where women who have
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In moves to penalise people who are not able to find work, the federal government announced plans to save $100 million by introducing a "dole diary" and set up a "dob in a dole bludger" hot line for employers to report job seekers
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The NSW Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) is the biggest provider of English classes to newly arrived migrants and refugees. Until 1993, most of its classes were directly funded by the Department of Immigration and
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The need to forgive"We are not taking about a few months of indiscriminate law breaking. Slavery in America involved centuries of every manner of murder, rape, torture and evil one can imagine — being foisted up an
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On July 8, Howard announced plans to cut funding provided by the previous government to universities in Victoria, WA and Tasmania when Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation is introduced by state Liberal governments. There
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Young women and the media SYDNEY — Newtown Neighbourhood Centre is running an arts project for young women on how the mass media (mis)represents them, affecting body image and cultural expectations. Participants will explore realistic and
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Claude is one of the many thousands of Telecom workers who took separation packages in 1993 as the telecommunications giant downsized. He says it was a voluntary choice in a way, "But if you don't jump, they push you". Management decided how many
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The luck of the Irish I see that the Troubles have broken out again in Northern Ireland. Protestant and Catholic are still at each other's throats. Why is that, do you think? Oh, it's the Irish way. They're all a bunch of religious nutters. Do
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The illusions of many environmentalists, including some key leaders of the peak environment groups, that the Liberal and National parties' pre-election rhetoric indicated a greener, environmentally more conscious and responsive
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BARRY HART was one of the victims of the "deep sleep" treatment inflicted on patients at Chelmsford Private Hospital in the 1970s. The article printed here is excerpted from a speech he gave in Port Macquarie in April. Although it is your health,
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IPRA conference BRISBANE — Seven hundred people attended the International Peace Research Association's 16th general conference. East Timorese Leila Cabarina spoke about the 20 year war on East Timor and the role of youth in the struggle. She
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The Coalition is still pushing its line that environmental repair requires the selling of our national publicly owned telecommunications company, Telstra. This pretense of environmental concern is wearing thin, however, with the raft of other
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The atmosphere inside the room is tense. One candle throws a hazy glow upon the walls and the faces of three standing men, a woman sitting on a chair and four children sitting in front of me. The men are visibly nervous, speaking
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On August 10, the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance in Brisbane will hold their annual Green Left Weekly dinner. This year, however, it will be bigger and better than usual, for it will mark 10 years since the opening of the new Resistance
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At its July 23 round of mass meetings, called to consider a motion for a 24-hour strike on July 25, CPSU members will face a crucial choice: are they to develop a genuine campaign against the Howard government's cuts, or are they to
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A South Australian study of voluntary redundancies warns about its damaging impact and calls for further research into its hidden costs. More than 30% of redundant workers who take separation packages regret it. Even those who said
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WOLLONGONG — Resistance activists from Wollongong have returned from the Resistance national conference, held in Melbourne July 5-7, with renewed energy and enthusiasm for building campaigns against the Howard government's
News
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SYDNEY — Only weeks after signing an enterprise agreement, employees at SBS Radio and Television were told last week that 10% of staff (about 68 people) would shortly be given involuntary redundancy notices. SBS news and current
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Several student organisations have come behind the campaign to build the August 25 national day of solidarity with East Timor. Protest actions against the Australian government's lone international recognition of Jakarta's illegal and brutal
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CANBERRA — ACT activists in the Community and Public Sector Union have formed a new group, Public Sector Fightback (CPSU). While supporting the CPSU national executive-proposed 24-hour strike on July 25, Fightback's members are
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BRISBANE — Queensland Premier Rob Borbidge has attacked Century Zinc and its parent corporation RTZ-CRA, after the company reversed its support for state and federal legislation to override native title in order to secure land for
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BRISBANE — In a statement of support for the Artists for East Timor exhibition, at the Metro Arts, independent film maker and author John Pilger called the struggle of the East Timorese one of the most extraordinary and bravest of the 20th century.
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SYDNEY — Staff from every department of ABC TV and Radio held stop-work meetings here on July 17, after planned budget cuts were announced by the federal communications minister, Senator Richard Alston. The
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Sincerity rules OK "[Bill] Clinton is the first president in American history who has perfected the art of crying out of one eye." — Haley Barbour, US Republican Party chairperson, lamenting the fact that Clinton is a better actor than Ronald
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MELBOURNE — Fifty angry supporters of the campaign against cuts to apprentice and trainee wages picketed Peter Reith's luncheon with big business at the Grand Hyatt on July 18. The picket, initiated by Resistance,
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Anti-social restructuring The cold-blooded planned closure of 26 CES offices (to begin with, that is) by the dominant elites within the Liberal Party and our senior public servants must surely serve as a final indicator to the one-and-a-half
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On July 17 a national day of solidarity with East Timor, called for and organised by the Australian Coalition for a Free East Timor, mobilised about 200 people nationally. The protest marked the 20th anniversary of the
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FREMANTLE — Residents opposed to massive sand dredging operations and groyne extensions at South Beach have formed Friends of South Beach, a community action group to combat the $3.6 million development plan. The prevailing
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MELBOURNE — On July 14, members of Save Albert Park held a demonstration to highlight the lies and broken promises of the Victorian government and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) over the extent of
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BRISBANE — The Queensland government faces a possible $1 billion loss in anticipated income from a bank merger deal aimed at creating a large Queensland-based private bank, according to state financial sources. The new bank would
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On July 5, Michael Anthony Blackman was found hanging in the hospital ward at Lotus Glen Prison in Mareeba, Queensland. He was 26 years old. Blackman's death mirrors the circumstances surrounding the death by hanging two days
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Mass meetings of Telstra workers around the country on July 17 sent a message to the Howard government that they oppose the part privatisation of Telstra and are prepared to take further industrial action to fight for their jobs. From Brisbane, Karen
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PERTH — The Queer Collaborations (QC) Conference was held at the University of WA July 1-5. More than 200 local and interstate individuals attended. Seven plenary sessions ranged over subjects from Aboriginality and sexuality to
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HOBART — On July 8, industrial action by the Australian Education Union over a 6.86% pay claim affected around 10% of schools here. The campaign aims to maintain the quality of education and a decent standard of living for
World
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Since the early 1970s, the world capitalist system has been in a long economic downturn, a period of decelerating economic growth tending toward stagnation. Since 1975, in contrast to the preceding 30 years, the downturns in the
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Villagers downstream from Porgera gold mine in PNG are to seek compensation for environmental damage and loss of life caused by the dumping of mine tailings into the Strickland River. The villagers, members of the Kulini Strickland
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MUANG MUANG THAN, a student in 1988, joined a million other Burmese in the pro-democracy uprisings that year which were drowned in blood by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Than then joined 10,000 other students to form a student
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As the international gathering "against neo-liberalism and for humanity" called by the Zapatistas (EZLN) convenes in Chiapas, the primary issue of land distribution remains as the unresolved focal point of resistance to Mexico's
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There are about 630 different "active ingredients" in pesticides worldwide. In real-world use, these main ingredients are combined with other chemicals (called "inert ingredients") to make several thousand toxic formulations —
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"South Africa will emerge more vigorously as an investment destination with a promising return. We are open for business", declared South African deputy president Thabo Mbeki at a meeting of European business leaders in Cannes on June
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The PNG government has endorsed a defence policy paper — written with the assistance of ANU Professor Paul Dibb, author of the 1987 defence white paper for the Australian government — which argues that the main threat to PNG's
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July 26 is the 43rd anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks by a small group of badly armed young Cuban revolutionaries, an attack which failed in its immediate aim but which is considered the day that launched the
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Sharp debate at left conventionSharp political differences emerged at the second national convention of the Committees of Correspondence (CoC), held in New York over the July 12-14 weekend. The CoC was formed in 1992 by
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On July 8, the Indonesian military violently dispersed two assemblies of 10,000 workers each in Surabaya, Indonesia's second biggest city. Scores of workers were injured and almost 30 detained overnight. The workers were on
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Nader ballot progress WASHINGT0N, DC — Supporters of Ralph Nader for US president have now secured his place on the November ballot in nine states. Conventions in California and Washington state plus Utah's completion of the statutory petition
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Police fired tear gas and several rounds of live ammunition at protesting students in Port Moresby on June 29. Several students were injured when hit by buckshot or tear-gas canisters or trampled in the ensuing panic as police
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Following the South African government's June 14 economic policy statement, a key component of which was the call for "wage moderation", ANC labour minister Tito Mboweni has endorsed a proposal for an "Accord for Employment and
Culture
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Desperadoes FlamingoBy Joseph O'ConnorHarper-Collins, 1995, 426 pp., $14.95Reviewed by Tony Smith An indisputable sign of special talent in a writer is the ability to juggle several complex themes simultaneously. On those grounds alone, Desperadoes
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Towards Restoring Village LifeTold by Meas Nee with Joan Healy as listener and scribe$10 from Overseas Services Bureau, 71 Argyle St, Fitzroy Vic 3065Reviewed by Peter Arfanis Krom Akphiwat Phum (the Group to Develop the Village) is a Cambodian
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In Defence of PornographyBy Paul WilsonUNSW Press Ltd, 1995. $5Reviewed by Patricia Brien In Defence of Pornography deals with the issues surrounding censorship in relation to pornography. Paul Wilson discusses the difficulties inherent in defining
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'... they would hold their little hands through the wire ...' "... they would hold their little hands through the wire and tell them who they were, who their mothers were, where they'd come from ..." bin ends of a language dusty resting
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Hemp, the Illicit MusicalDispensary Cafe, Enmore (Sydney)Uuntil August 10Reviewed by Brendan Doyle The Dispensary Cafe is one of those rare venues in Sydney where you can sit at a table with friends, imbibe a wine and enjoy a range of entertainment,
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She says she's at peace with the world — with everything in its place, everything as it should be. What if she gets kicked around. That's the normal state of things. Besides, she can do the same to others — and that's normal too. In
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Birzeit University web site (http://www.birzeit.edu/) — Birzeit University, in the West Bank, has a long history of involvement with struggle of the Palestinian people. Birzeit University is known worldwide for its commitment to the principles of
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FifaAngélique KidjoProduced Jean HebrailMango Records through PolygramReviewed by Pip Hinman Fifa, Angélique Kidjo's latest album, was produced, she says, "in a very special way". Kidjo went back to the land of her birth and much of her
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DARWIN — In April, the Warumpi Band played one Friday night at the Driveway Hotel. A big crowd of black and white fans were singing and shouting all of the lyrics to songs like "Fitzroy Crossing", "Black Fella White Fella"
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A Lie of the MindBy Sam ShepardDirected by Peter EvansCast: Olivia Brown, Barry Donnelly, Jeff Gane, Bernadette Millar, Avril Peters, George Samuel, Katya Tarnawski and Anthony ThomasNew Theatre, NewtownUntil August 24Reviewed by Allen Myers The New
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Solitary AnimalsBy Elaine AcworthSydney Theatre Company, Wharf 2Reviewed by Tony Smith This new, very Australian, play is powerful and confronting, sometimes dense with emotion and occasionally overstretched. It is daring theatre, risking a great
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Cantata Santa Maria de Iquique and Somos FuertesDirected by Mark DunbarPresented by Bemac Space Yungabar, Brisbane, July 5-14Reviewed by Lynda Hansen After the success of the 1995 epic production of Canto General, musical director Mark Dunbar has