Issue 28

News

MELBOURNE — A spirited group of 500-700 Aborigines and supporters marched on Parliament House on September 6. The rally commemorated National Aboriginal and Islander Day and welcomed recent moves by the Victorian government to consider land rights
Action against dumps By Mark Cronin BRISBANE — The Southside Action Group, formed to fight the Rochedale Dump, is organising a "People's Rights Day", with a protest outside the Queensland parliament on Wednesday, October 9. Opponents of the
By Dick Nichols SYDNEY — The long-running campaign by the Australian Chamber of Manufactures to turn the dispute at the Vista Paper Products plant in outer Sydney into a precedent-setting smashing of working conditions is beginning to run out of
By Bruce Marlowe SYDNEY — Staff, patients and supporters of two of Sydney's oldest hospitals — Sydney and Marrickville — are going into battle to prevent them being either closed (Marrickville) or downgraded to an accident and emergency
Campaign against sexual violence begins By Melanie Sjoberg MELBOURNE — Action on the issue of sexual violence against women on campuses has stepped up here with demonstrations being held on several campuses on September 12. A cross-campus
Students hex the HECS By Philippa Stanford BRISBANE — About 200 students attended a "Hex The HECS" (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) rally on Black Friday, September 13. The rally was held in the city's Roma St Forum and was for students
By Jane Beckmann and Stephen O'Brien NEWCASTLE — The head of the Green ticket, John Sutton, appears almost certain to have won a seat in voting for the Newcastle City Council on September 14. The Greens and progressive independent candidates
By Steve Painter SYDNEY — In a dry run for a federal Liberal government's approach to industrial relations, the Greiner government has prepared the most sweeping attack on union rights in recent Australian history. The 333-page NSW Industrial
SYDNEY — In an event organised by Students Against War in Croatia, 1500 people rallied on September 11 and marched to Parliament House, where speakers called for an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of the Yugoslav People's Army and Australian
MELBOURNE — The "Jobs for Justice" rally organised by the Victorian Trades Hall Council and the Victorian Council for Social Service on September 10 attracted only about 1000 people, perhaps because it was raining. Union efforts to build the rally
UTS students protest By Carolyn Minchin SYDNEY — About 300 students at Sydney's University of Technology stormed and occupied the vice-chancellor's office on September 9 to protest against the allocation of $2 million of university funds for a
By Peter Boyle MELBOURNE — The flashy venue (the World Trade Centre), the grossly blown-up images of speakers on a large video screen on the stage and the immaculate attention to appearance rather than substance said much about an ACTU congress
By Rohan Gaiswinkler and Teresa Dowding HOBART — The first meeting for action to preserve the Tarkine took place here on September 9. Located in the rugged north west of Tasmania, the Tarkine encompasses several national estate areas
WA Greens meet By Frank Noakes PERTH — About 30 members and supporters of the Greens (WA) met at the scenic Lake Leschenaultia Tea Rooms, near Perth, on September 8 to discuss the recent national green party meeting held in Sydney. Differing
By Bernie Brian WOLLONGONG — Wollongong Out of Workers Union (WOWU) convener Nick Southall believes that after 10 years of consistently high unemployment, a renewed spirit of anger is emerging in the community. WOWU was formed in 1982, when
Men protest against rape By Jason Cheng Photo by Kate Butler MELBOURNE — A rally and march against sexual assaults against women was held here on August 31. Organised as part of a national day of action by Men Against Sexual Assault (MASA),

World

Forced labour While people are being transmigrated to East Timor, several hundred young East Timorese workers have been brought to Java with promises of training and good jobs, but found themselves working in factories under appalling conditions.
By Norm Dixon Many South Africans are convinced that the massacre of 23 Inkatha supporters on September 8 was carried out by covert elements of the South African Defence Forces. They believe the aim was to reignite violence within the black
Reward for murder By Robert Graham A talk given earlier this year by Noam Chomsky explains how the US government was able to feign outrage at the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in November 1989, while continuing to fund the
By Peter Annear PRAGUE — The Czech-based Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) has come under extreme pressure as a result of the attempted Soviet coup. Divisions within the party, and within the 24-member federal council it forms with
By Sally Low Capitalist restoration in Poland is demonstrating an inability to coexist with even the formalities of parliamentary democracy. This is the explanation of the struggle between parliament and the executive power in the person of
By Norm Dixon The Republic of Bougainville was accepted as a new members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) at its recent meeting in The Hague. The decision represents a small but important precedent in Bougainville's
By David Robie AUCKLAND — Fijian and New Zealand protest groups plan a direct action campaign to halt or disrupt a visit by military coup leader Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka. Rabuka plans to address the annual conference of the Pacific
Caravan for peace By Milan Nikolic BELGRADE — A peace movement is finally emerging in Serbia. Several groups have formed in the past two months, including: Citizens for Peace Actions, the Centre for Anti-War Activities, the Helsinki Citizens
Frank Gollan On a visit to Indonesia, FRANK GOLLAN found widespread stirrings of opposition. "We are paid 1000 rupiah [less than 70 cents] a day", said a community leader in a village whose land had been flooded by the Kedung Ombo dam in
Dutch workers defend social security By Robert Went AMSTERDAM — At least a million workers are expected to strike and demonstrate for several hours on September 17, when the government presents its program in the queen's speech from the throne.
By Irina Glushchenko MOSCOW — Until a few years ago, you could still read about it in the Soviet press: families in the USSR received small but comfortable state or municipal apartments on an egalitarian basis for some of the lowest rents in the

Culture

Funny work from feminists Melbourne can enjoy an exhibition by feminist cartoonists until September 22. The "Out of Line" exhibitors include Hermoine the Modern Girl's creator Kaz Cooke, and others. (Why not mention them all? Jane Carafella, Trudy
By Vanessa Hearman A lot doing on the fringe By Vannessa Hearman Photo by Bronwen Beechey MELBOURNE — The Fringe Arts Festival opened here on September 7 and runs until September 28. Fringe started in 1982, intended as a huge forum for
Trading in death and destruction "Australians Trading in Death and Destruction" is the slogan used by the Renegade Activists in their campaign against the military equipment exhibition AIDEX 91. This arms bazaar is to be held in Canberra in
By Leon Harrison Milestone for Aboriginal theatre Munjong By Richard Walley State Theatre Company The Hole in The Wall Theatre Subiaco, Perth Reviewed by Leon Harrison Like the Jimmy Chi musical Bran Nue Dae, Munjong is a milestone for
By Norm Dixon It amazes and frustrates me how commercial radio play lists and record sales charts have for decades been dominated by legions of mediocre, cardboard cut-out "rock" bands and "superstars" while little credit and fewer rewards find
Medical services slammed By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has criticised medical services for Aboriginal communities in north Queensland as "inadequate and culturally inappropriate", in a report tabled
The seven day song cycle Two: Sheila em = By Tony Smith Sheila, eyes yellowed from grief, looked into mine, glassy with shame "I love you", she said "I love you, you know." Her uncle squatting propped against the tree beside her smiled his
By Norm Dixon Audiences in three states will have the opportunity to see and hear South Africa's number one reggae and recording star, Lucky Dube, and his 13-piece band, when they tour in late September and early October. Lucky's performances
A million miles from commerce A million miles from commerce By Monesque BRISBANE — From out of the bush, or probably more accurately, out from the alternative set of Brisbane and neighbouring regions from Maleny to Nimbin, come two
Phil Shannon The Gulf Between Us: The Gulf War And Beyond Edited by Victoria Brittain London: Virago. 1991. 186 pp., $17.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon The English Guardian is the voice of liberal politics, that blend of "responsible"
High tech lays Kevin low Because of a printer cartridge with a mind of its own, Kevin Healy was unable to send The Week That Was this week. The weekly Week That Was will return next week (technology permitting).
By Roderic Pitty Soviet Foreign Policy Today: Gorbachev and the new political thinking By Robert F. Miller Allen & Unwin. 1991. 210 pp. $24.95 (hc), $17.95 (pb) Reviewed by Roderic Pitty This is a superficial book by one of the many
By Debra Wirth The Modern Girls are Strong Diary, 1992 (with Hermoine the Modern Girl) By Kaz Cooke Allen & Unwin. $19.95 Reviewed by Debra Wirth Do you get to January or February (even March) of a new year, then go frantically searching

Editorial

The Nile bill [We asked Dr Jean Edwards, a member of the Doctors Reform Society, to prepare a short article on Fred Nile's bill to restrict abortion rights in NSW, and where, if successful, it will lead. It summed up the issue so well that we