Gay and Lesbian Pride march
HOBART — A small but lively group attended the annual Gay and Lesbian Pride march to Parliament House Lawns on March 21. Speakers addressed the issues of visibility and of being out and proud in Tasmanian. The
Issue 269
News
Frontline in trouble?
By Sue Bolton
MELBOURNE — The non-appearance of progressive newspaper Frontline for four months has been accompanied by rumours in union and left circles that the paper has collapsed. Frontline was a free newspaper
By John Nebauer
MELBOURNE — On March 14, the Minister for the Environment Senator Robert Hill announced a decision to proceed with the excision of Point Lillias from Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands in Port Phillip Bay to facilitate the
WorkCover fight continues
By Michael Bull
Melbourne — A campaign of constant harassment by construction workers is beginning to fluster the Victorian premier, Jeff Kennett. For the past fortnight, 100 building workers have gathered
Punished for being homeless
By Bill Day
DARWIN — A woman who spoke at a rally of homeless Aboriginal people here on March 17 has been fined $1060 for taking two blankets and a bedspread from a city motel. Her partner was fined $540 for
By Karen Fredericks
BRISBANE — Less than a month after its opening, 200 to 300 high- and medium-security prisoners have "trashed" Queensland's newest prison, Woodford Correctional Centre, in protest over insufficient and poor quality food,
By Justin Randell
PERTH — University of Western Australia students will vote in a referendum on April 14-16 to decide whether the Student Guild will stay affiliated to the National Union of Students. The Liberals have inundated the campus with
By Ben Reid
MELBOURNE — Controversy has erupted over the current round of enterprise bargaining negotiations at Melbourne University. A branch meeting of the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union (NTEU) on March 26 voted to defer
By Ruth Ratcliffe
BRISBANE — Around 60 people gathered at Dunwich on Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) on March 26 to protest against sand mining on land of great environmental and cultural significance. The group marched to one of the mines at
By Sean Moysey
CANBERRA — A photo exhibition in Parliament House on East Timor's World War II experience was censored just hours before it was to open on March 24. A second exhibition, which included the banned material, had to be organised.
By Kerryn Williams
YOUNG — Gold was first found in 1860 at Burragong Creek on Lambing Flat — now the town of Young. Many of the 22,000 miners working the fields were Chinese. The Europeans, resentful of the Chinese miners, and pressured the
By Sarah Stephen
HOBART — Around 700 people joined a march and rally against racism on March 22 which was organised by Labor MP John White and the United Nations Association on behalf of Tasmanians Against Racism (TAR). Participants were asked
By Margaret Allan.
Supporters of Green Left Weekly have given generously to the paper's fighting fund so far this year. During last month alone, donations and fundraising totalled $13,229.
Those who support the paper financially understand
By Matt Wilson
ADELAIDE — As part of the government-sponsored TakeOver '97 Australian Festival for Young People, the Capital City Congress was held over three days to involve young people in a discussion on the future of Australian society.
By Max Lane
Support for a boycott of the May 29 general elections in Indonesia is growing as the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-Struggle) increase their level of protest. On March 30, almost
By Francesca Davidson
SYDNEY — More than 70 people attended a meeting organised by AID/WATCH on March 25 to discuss the ramifications of the recent fiasco around mercenaries hired by the PNG government to intervene in Bougainville. Speakers
Labour Hire employees win union protection
By Sue Bolton
MELBOURNE — The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's (AMWU) Victorian branch has won a major breakthrough by getting the Labour Hire group of companies to sign an agreement
By Tim E Stewart
DARWIN — A screening on March 27 of the new documentary There is Only One Word — Resist! ended a week-long visit by Nico Warouw, international representative of the People's Democratic Party (PRD). The film, shown at the NT
Library under threat
By Alex Bainbridge
NEWCASTLE — Students are organising to prevent the closure of the Huxley Library at Newcastle University. A public forum and a protest march are planned for April 8 and 9 respectively. The Huxley
By Michael Bramwell
PERTH — "The Court government's attempt to rush through a 'third wave' of attacks on industrial relations before they lose control of the upper house on May 22 shows its complete contempt for WA workers. They have no
RMIT O-week handbook attacked
By Peter Barker and Claire Newman
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) orientation handbook, a student-produced publication, has been attacked for supposedly advocating illegal ways for students
By Lisa Macdonald
The outgoing chairperson of the national State of the Environment Advisory Committee, Ian Lowe, has warned that any strengthening of pastoral leases in response to the National Farmers Federation's anti-Wik campaign would
World
By Mary Nielson
PERTH — The Australia Cuba Friendship Society presented a video documentary, Inside Castro's Cuba, on February 22 at Cafe Folklorico in North Perth. The presentation was attended by approximately 25 people, including Dean
Education needed to combat AIDS
By Marina Cameron
Recent reports from Brazil indicate that lack of education is a significant factor in the growth of AIDS, particularly amongst women. Of the first AIDS cases registered in Brazil in 1983,
By Neil Sullivan
From Comoro airport to Dili, it seems there are more police than public; they are more obvious. Two or three at every intersection and at points in between. This sets the atmosphere for my visit to the island, an atmosphere of
Scandal widens over Gulf War illnesses
By Barry Sheppard
In late 1991, the year of the Gulf slaughter, returning US soldiers began to complain of symptoms like chronic fatigue, pains in the joints, digestive problems and headaches.
By James Balowski
Indonesia's general elections on May 29 will be conducted under some of the most restrictive campaign rules to date. But what make these elections unusual is that, for the first time, large sections of the population did want
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, led by Laurent Kabila, is leading the armed struggle sweeping Zaire. In France, the Coalition of Democratic Organisations of the Zairean Diaspora (CODEZAD) represents the alliance.
By Zanny Begg
DUNLOY — When you drive across the border from the south of Ireland into the north, the marks of political conquest and struggle are obvious. The road signs revert from bilingual Gaelic and English to English, heavily armed and
By Adam Hanieh
Large demonstrations across the West Bank have protested against Israeli settlement and the continuing violation of Palestinian rights. More than 400 Palestinians have been injured by tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with
Global pesticide market grows in 1996
According to a recently released report, global agrochemical sales grew by 5.5%, to US$30,560 million at the end-user level in 1996. Growth in real terms is estimated to be approximately 2.2%. This is the
By Norm Dixon
The decision by PNG prime minister Julius Chan, his deputy Chris Haiveta and defence minister Mathias Ijape to stand aside pending an inquiry into the hiring of the Sandline/Executive Outcomes mercenaries was made because
Culture
MongrelsBy Nick EnrightDirected by Adam CookSydney Theatre CompanyThe Wharf, Sydney Review by Brendan Doyle
Yet again we go back to the good old '70s, when there were real issues, real people and real passionate playwrights! Or were there? A
By Miguel Heatwole
SYDNEY — The Solidarity Choir will be celebrating its 10th anniversary and launching a new CD on Sunday, April 13, with a benefit concert for Tranby Aboriginal Training College. The event, at Redfern Town Hall from 2pm to
Third World BluesBy David WilliamsonDirected by David BertholdDrama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Review by Brendan Doyle
Williamson wrote the first draft of this play in 1972, he says, "in a white heat of rage about the Vietnam War and the
The Meagre Harvest: The Australian Women's Movement 1950s-1990sBy Gisela KaplanAllen and Unwin, 1996. 242 pp., $29.95 Reviewed by Jo Brown
The Meagre Harvest surveys the experiences, successes and failures of the Australian women's movement over
Love from a male perspective
MenlovePerformed by the Didi Koi Dance CompanyTheatreworks, St Kilda, MelbourneUntil April 20$20/$14Bookings 9534 3388 Review by Bronwen Beechey
Menlove is about love and relationships from a male viewpoint. Tim
When We Were KingsDirected by Leon GastWith Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, Mobutu Sese Seko, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Spike Lee and B.B. KingOpens in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth on April 10,