Issue 283

Tax management aims to cut conditions By Chris Slee Australian Taxation Office (ATO) management has begun an attack on both the working conditions of its employees and their right to union representation. Management's approach to a new

Students fight cuts to TAFE By Sam Wainwright BRISBANE — Queensland TAFE students and workers have won a small victory in their struggle to stop huge cuts to the system by the Borbidge government. In response to community outrage, the

National uranium action day By Peter Boyle SYDNEY — About 50 environmental activists picketed the head office of uranium mining company Energy Resources of Australia on July 25 as part of a national day of action in solidarity with the

Work injuries increase By James Vassilopoulos Work injury rates are beginning to rise, according to a recently released publication by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. The federal government last year cut the budget

Protect Kimberley, say Aborigines, conservationists By Susan Laszlo Aborigines are opposed to the WA state government's plans to dam the Fitzroy River, said Kimberley Land Council (KLC) director Peter Yu on July 18. Speaking after a forum

Another fatal shooting by Victorian police By Sean Lennon MELBOURNE — Yet another person has been shot dead by Victorian police, after they were called to a domestic dispute on July 17 and the victim allegedly attacked police with a

'Don't privatise electricity' By Alex Bainbridge NEWCASTLE — One hundred people heard Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Leigh Hubbard address an open meeting of the Newcastle Trades Hall on July 24. He argued that the privatisation

'Fairwear' campaign active in Adelaide By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — Shoppers in Adelaide's Rundle Mall on July 20 were exposed to the appalling working conditions of outworkers providing garments for the fashion industry as part of a

By Helen Cunningham and Marina Cameron Immigration minister Philip Ruddock cancelled the visa of US Black Panther activist Lorenzo Kom'Boa Ervin on July 25. Ervin was arrested in Brisbane and held in solitary confinement earlier this month after

By Norm Dixon There is widespread disbelief and concern in Papua New Guinea over the return to government of the parties responsible for hiring apartheid-linked mercenaries. Surprisingly, the People's Progress Party of defeated prime minister

By Oupa Lehulere JOHANNESBURG — At the end of its executive committee meeting in June, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) announced a series of regional and national strikes as part of its campaign to have its demands around

By Adam Hanieh The official ideology of Israel, Zionism, has always portrayed itself as a liberation movement for all Jews. But although Zionism claims to offer a home for all Jews, that home has never been offered equally. The question of Arab

By Anthony Brown In October 1995, Brisbane indigenous health worker Noritta Morseu-Diop went to Tahiti, the chief island of French Polynesia, along with five other Aboriginal people. They went to protest at the resumption of French nuclear

Toxic PVC fire in Canada HAMILTON, ONTARIO — A Greenpeace team began sampling for dioxin around Hamilton and its vicinity on July 12 as firefighters assessed the clean-up required following a fire at a PVC plastic (vinyl) plant located in the

The following is excerpted from a speech by Sinn Féin president GERRY ADAMS on the eve of the republican cease-fire announcement. The British government damaged itself badly in the eyes of many who expected better of it when the Orange march

Vita and VirginiaWritten by Eileen Atkins, directed by Richard CottrellWith Ruth Cracknell and Jennifer HaganSydney Theatre CompanyThe Playhouse, Sydney Opera House from July 26 Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, two of England's most intriguing

The John Wayne PrincipleWritten by Tony McNamaraDirected by David BertholdSydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1, from July 23and Melbourne from September 8 Review by Mark Stoyich There are currently two portrayals of fucked-up masculinity showing in

Secret Power: New Zealand's Role in the International Spy NetworkBy Nicky HagerNelson, New Zealand: Craig Potton, 1996. 299 pp., NZ$34.95 Review by Brian Martin Spying thrives on secrecy; this is nowhere more true than in the world of signals

Review by Lynda Hansen BRISBANE — Women in Voice was instigated in 1993 by Annie Deller-Peterson. This performance, Women in Voice 7, on July 20, featured Barb Fordham, Jeannie Lewis, Leah Cotterell, Bronwyn Calcutt, Katrina Alberts and Alison