Issue 252

By Marina Cameron Figures published on October 22 reveal that one in three year 9 students do not have basic literacy skills. They also show that literacy problems have increased in Australia since 1975, and that literacy among disadvantaged

By Bruce Marlowe On October 30, workers in the Department of Social Security, and the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs will be asked to vote for a campaign of lightning bans. The Howard government has rejected the

By James Vassilopoulos SYDNEY — In early October, Telstra management announced, first to the media and later to staff, that the Telstra Shops and Mobile Sales and Service Centres are to be sold to an "affiliated dealership, leading to the loss of

Criminal treatment The Social Security Legislation Amendment Bill, to be considered by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee in late October, will throw unemployed people off the dole for six weeks for a first offence and 13 weeks for

By Dave Wright PENRITH — The victory of Liberal candidate Jackie Kelly in the Lindsay by-election on October 19 reveals that people in this predominantly working-class, outer-western Sydney seat have not forgiven Labor for 13 years of austerity.

By Adam Leeman MELBOURNE — On October 24, 200 students rallied at the Preston campus of Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE to build support for the restoration of funding, cut by management, to the Student Union. In an attempt to undermine

By Marina Cameron On October 21, federal National Party leader Tim Fischer announced the lifting of an eight-year "ban" on Australian uranium sales to France. Greens Senator Dee Margetts responded on October 22, that, in fact, "Australia provided

By Sue Brooke MELBOURNE — "Our people fought for the right to land, for the Land Rights Act. We don't want to be managers for any more destruction on our land. We will not agree to this mine and we'll take whatever action is necessary to stop

By Jennifer Thompson SYDNEY — Two Palestinians visiting from the Ma'an Development Centre based in Ramallah in the West Bank spoke at a public meeting organised by the ACTU overseas aid organisation, APHEDA, on October 15. Among other community

This month is the 40th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution, a crucial event in the development of the crisis of international Stalinism. PHIL HEARSE explains. At dawn on November 4, Russian tanks, which had withdrawn from Budapest after the first

Russian coal miners call strike An national strike has been called for November 5 by the Russian miners' union ROSUGLEPROF. At issue is the growing wage debt owed to Russia's miners. Already massive, the debt has soared by 89% since January.

By Norm Dixon Witnesses have linked the murderer of Bougainville Transitional Government Premier Theodore Miriung to the pro-PNG "Resistance" groups. Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) commander Sam Kauona has also named the person he believes

Last week, Green Left Weekly's KATRINA DEAN spoke to LIZ O'BRIEN, manager of Community Radio 2XX in Canberra, about the station's 20th anniversary this year. In 1975, the Council of Social Services, Council of Cultural Societies, the Sports Council,

Rats in the RanksA film by Bob Connolly and Robin AndersonScreening at the Valhalla in Glebe and other cinemas in Sydney until mid-NovemberReviewed by Bruce Threlfo Many people would be surprised that the usually mundane event of a mayoral election

Music for our Mother OceanVarious artistsSurfdog RecordsReviewed by Marcus Greville Recorded through the combined efforts of the Surfrider Foundation and Surfdog Records, Music for our Mother Ocean brings together a huge diversity of artists on this

SociobeastFlipside PerformanceDispensary Cafe84 Enmore Road, Newtown, SydneyNovember 1-4 and 6Previewed by Nick Fredman Sociobeast examines the evolving and contradictory relationship between humanity, society and technology. In a collage of images