Issue 257

Ban on homosexual foster parents By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Ian Dearden has accused the state Coalition government of breaching the state's own anti-discrimination legislation by proposing to ban

By Sarah Peart SYDNEY — The National Union of Students NSW state conference at the University of Sydney on November 23 heard reports from the outgoing elected office bearers, elect new officers for 1997 and amended the NUS State Policy and

By Marina Cameron Following a report by the Senate's employment, education and training committee, a bill which will drastically affect funding to public schools was passed by the Senate on November 29 with the support of the ALP. The bill received

By Lisa Macdonald Last year, 22 Aboriginal people died in custody — one and a half times the number reported in the previous year and the highest number since 1987. At least another 16 people have died so far this year. Over the last seven years,

By Max Watts SYDNEY — "Whoever expects politicians to be honest?", said one of the participants during a meeting of psychiatric patients, doctors and carers at Strathfield Town Hall on November 28. The meeting was organised by a new group, Mental

By Bob Fuge YOUNG — The far-right organisation National Action has brought the race debate to local government in rural NSW. At a special meeting on November 6, Young Shire Council voted to extend a $20,000 loan to its Rotary Club for the purpose

Leadership change in SA Liberals By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — John Olsen has become the new SA premier following weeks of rumour and unrest in the state Liberal Party. A significant slide in the ratings appears to have prompted the final coup

Following five consecutive years of the worst honeybee declines in US history, experts predict that pollinator scarcity could seriously limit crop yields in the US for such foods as pumpkins, apples, cranberries, almonds and squash. Insects must

On November 8, thugs from the ruling National Front parties in Malaysia physically broke up the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor II (APCET II). Police later arrived and, instead of arresting the thugs, arrested all the conference participants.

Anger over CIA and crack trade By Barry Sheppard A few months ago, the San Jose, California, Mercury News ran a series of articles documenting how the Nicaraguan contras pushed crack cocaine in the United States as a way to fund their war

By Dick Nichols The first three meetings of the leaders of the countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation held in Bogor (Indonesia), Osaka (Japan) and Vancouver (Canada) all went off with hardly any protest. But after last weeks meeting in

The World Bank is backtracking on earlier commitments to reduce pesticide use in agricultural projects, according to more than 100 environmental, consumer and development organisations from around the world. The bank recently issued a new operational

IMF/World Bank/WTO: The Free Market FiascoEdited by Eric Toussaint and Peter DruckerNotebooks for Study and Research No. 24/25International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE)1995. 116 pp., US$8.75Reviewed by Eva Cheng The Free Market Fiasco

Risk versus risk: Tradeoffs in protecting health and the environmentEdited by John D. Graham and Jonathan Baert WienerHarvard University Press, 1996. 337 pp., US$39.95Reviewed by Dot Tumney Risk management refuses to fit into neat boxes. Those making

EquaProduced by Sadia and Stephen TaylerMercury through PolygramReviewed by Norm Dixon When the promo material recommended Equa with: "If you liked Deep Forest you'll love this", alarm bells rang. You remember the formula: stitch together tunes,