Issue 276

News

TAFE students organise against restructuring By Jenny Forward HOBART — Students opposed to restructuring recommended in a recent education review have called for the resignation of the state education and vocational training minister.
SRC sabotages Tas Uni picket By Mathew Munro HOBART — Tasmania University students picketed a meeting of the university council on May 23 to protest against university cutbacks. Unfortunately, the ALP-dominated students representative
Release Mordechai Vanunu! By Linda Kaucher The Australian Campaign to Free Vanunu, part of an international campaign for the freedom of Israeli anti-nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, has proposed an international monthly faxing
Latin American solidarity BRISBANE — More than 50 people attended a forum titled "What Alternative for Latin America?" at the Resistance Centre on May 17. Keynote speaker Stephen O'Brien, who has recently returned from four years working with
Fire blight scare spreads By Jon Lamb ADELAIDE — The SA government announced on May 22 that it would quarantine the Adelaide Botanic Gardens after it was confirmed that specimens taken from trees were infected with the fire blight
Correction Due to an editing error, the article titled "Internet industry jitters over government bill" printed in GLW #271 mistakenly reported that legislation passed in the senate in late March exempts businesses from time-charged local data
Motorway protest in Sydney By Gus Gulson SYDNEY — On May 18 about 60 people from Freeway Busters and the Coalition of Transport Action Groups staged a demonstration at the community open day of the M2 motorway. The open day was held to
Transport unions unite By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Transport unions in Queensland have formed an alliance to launch an industrial campaign to fight anticipated tougher workplace laws in the state. Transport Workers Union state secretary
Pro-diversity festival in Manly By Becky Ellis SYDNEY — A 2000-strong Pro-Diversity Cultural Festival, organised by Residents Defending Diversity, was held at the Manly Amphitheatre on May 18. The festival was a response to the setting up
By Bronwen Beechey MELBOURNE — On May 7, two fire emergency vehicles raced through rain and peak hour traffic to the inner suburb of Carnegie, where a semi-trailer had reportedly overturned, trapping its driver. Finding nothing, the crews
Aborigines occupy Lee Point By Bill Day DARWIN — On May 12, homeless Aboriginal people here reoccupied Lee Point, a camp site in Darwin's northern suburbs. The group erected a large sign saying: "We need shelter, water, not games —
By James Vassilopoulos A bonus for racists contained in the recent federal budget is the savaging of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, which will lose 40% of its funding over two years. The commission has been a strong
CRA hunts for uranium By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Mining giant CRA is prospecting near the Century Zinc deposit in north-west Queensland, opening the possibility of the first uranium mine in the state since the closure of the Mary Kathleen
Teachers demand new pay offer By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Around 120 angry teachers marched on the Broadbeach office of Queensland education minister Bob Quinn on May 21, as thousands of Gold Coast teachers held a 24-hour stoppage to demand
Second anti-Hanson protest in Geelong By Emma Murphy and Susan Price GEELONG One hundred protesters gathered to show their opposition to the second attempt to set up a branch of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party on May 19. Hanson
ERA pushes uranium mine The chief executive of uranium mining company Energy Resources of Australia said last week that the company will push ahead with plans for a mine at Jabiluka in the Kakadu region despite traditional owners' opposition.
Construction bosses renege on agreements By Michael Bull MELBOURNE — A mass meeting of all CFMEU construction workers on May 20 discussed the Master Builders' Association's (MBA) reneging on a deal struck between unions and employers more
By Anthony Benbow PERTH — Anyone driving down Harvest Terrace past WA's parliament lately has been greeted by a blaze of light and colour. Day and night there is movement and activity, music, people talking, a welcoming fire against the cold
By Chris Latham PERTH The first public meeting of the anti-racist national Justice Tour by Yaluritja (Clarrie Isaacs) and Reihana Mohideen was held here on May 22. The meeting was attended by more than 60 people, who reacted warmly to the

World

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — For most of the world's people, arms manufacturers excepted, the end of the Cold War came as a relief. But for the Reverend Moon Sun Myung, the leader of a Korea-based religious sect, it was a disaster. Citizens of
Iraq regime executes political prisoners According to the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq (WCPI), the ruling Ba'ath regime of Iraq has started mass executions of political prisoners. More than 260 political prisoners — most of them in Abu
By Theresa Kanari PORT MORESBY — Police who raided non-governmental organisations on May 5, 6 and 12 targeted a Pacific-wide communications network and sensitive electronic mail files, say activists. The files dealt with issues such as the
By Jennifer Moorehead As Israeli bulldozers began destroying the wooded hillside of Abu Ghneim mountain, east of Jerusalem, in mid-March to make room for a new Jewish settlement, the Oslo agreements between the Palestine Liberation Organisation
Support for 'Mega-Star-People Coalition' grows By Melanie Sjoberg JAKARTA — The final week of official campaigning for the May 29 Indonesian election has been marked by open defiance of government orders for an end to mass
By Oupa Lehulere On one of many recent trips to the United States, South African deputy president Thabo Mbeki made it known that his government would welcome Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko if he wanted to spend the last days of his life in
Disney Company rips-off Haitian workers PORT-AU-PRINCE — Fourteen factories in Haiti produce garments and toys under for various Disney labels. Workers are paid just half of the minimum living wage in Haiti. Salaries range from US$0.28c to
Kurdish rebels hit back at Turkey Kurdish fighters were reported on May 19 to have struck back against Turkey's military assault on Kurds in Iraq. The Kurdish rebels struck in south-east Turkey, blocking a highway and attacking government
The following are excerpts from a statement issued by the People's Democratic Party (PRD) after General Syawn Hamid accused it of masterminding rioting during the election campaign. The call for the Mega-Star-People Coalition represents the
By Steve Bloom While Mumia Abu-Jamal sits on death row, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering his application for a new trial. His defence team is turning up more and more evidence that Mumia's original conviction for the 1981 murder of
By François Vercammen In June, European leaders will meet in Amsterdam to amend the Maastricht Treaty, reform the institutions of the European Union, fix the details of east European membership in the EU and approve steps towards common

Culture

Poem: The Fool When I was youngI had a young man's dreams.And they were good dreams,dreams to warm the heartand guide the brain.Now I am no longer youngthose dreams still seem so fine to me.They do not dim,they deepen.They make more sense,take
Empty ShellsBy Ramez TabitDirected by Patricia CorneliusStarring Nicholas Cassim, Nadia Coreno, Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Senol Mat, Ramez TabitForward Theatre at the Universal Theatre, Melbourne, until June 7 Review by Bronwen Beechey
Metal of DishonorEdited by John CatalinottoPublished by Depleted Uranium Education Project $19.95 Review by David Muller A new generation of weapons is in place. These weapons contain a very dense material, depleted uranium. DU weapons give the
By Stuart Munckton PERTH — More than 600 people turned up at the Ozone Bar on May 16 to a "Rock against Racism" band night organised by Green Left Weekly. The gig featured some of Perth's best bands. The large and diverse crowd helped refute
The price of a dream The Story of the Grameen Bank and the Idea That Is Helping the Poor to Change Their LivesUniversity Press Ltd, 1966 Review by Doug Everingham Economics Professor Mohammad Yunus met a Bangladeshi village woman making
By Phil Hearse BRUSSELS — Two hundred European parliamentarians, journalists, academics and human rights activists gathered here May 17 at the studios of Med-TV, the Kurdish satellite TV station, to celebrate its second anniversary. Med-TV
TartuffeBy MoliereTranslated by Christopher HamptonDirected by Barrie KoskyThe Sydney Theatre Company with Louise Fox and Jacek KomanDrama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Review by Brendan Doyle When Moliere's Tartuffe or The Hypocrite was first
Jump the GunDirected by Les BlairWith Michele Burgers, Baby Cele, Lionel Newton, Thalani Nyembe, Rapulana Seiphemo and Danny KeoghScreening at the 44th Sydney Film Festival, June 2-20 Review by Norm Dixon For the past century or so, Johannesburg
Poem: The keys to God The keys to God I walked along the linoWhere the little children trod,I knelt before the statuesThat had found the keys to God,And the statues never answeredBut they looked so cool and wise,And a vacant kind of
GossamerWritten by John MistoDirected by Crispin TaylorWith Paul Goddard, Betty Lucas, Vic Rooney, William Zappa, Beth Armstrong and Beth DalyEnsemble Theatre, Sydney Review by Mark Stoyich These days, the word "fairy" has lost its original

Editorial

Justice means compensation @box text intro = The Howard government's response to the final report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families is further evidence, if any was