Issue 293

News

• Ericsson's Burma connection

  Ericsson's Burma connection By Nicola Lester and Mary O'Kane Supporters of democracy in Burma will be demonstrating in Melbourne on October 13 as part of an international campaign against Ericsson, the Swedish-based multinational
• Loose cannons

  Under the bed "I understand the old Comm trick of staggering 20 people among 800 to cause a distraction." — NSW Premier Bob Carr, on being booed and heckled at the ALP state conference when he advocated privatisation of the electricity
• CPSU members debate Centrelink agreement

  BRISBANE — The campaign by Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members in Centrelink, the federal government's new "one-stop shop" services delivery agency, for improvements in a draft agency agreement, is coming to a
• Native title rally

  Native title rally SYDNEY — Up to 5000 unionists marched on October 1 to protest against the Liberal government's attacks on trade union rights. Thousands of CFMEU building workers walked off sites across Sydney, and a large contingent of coal
• People's Declaration on Global Warming

  People's Declaration on Global WarmingThe Australian Greens have recently launched the Australian People's Declaration on Global Warming, a petition opposing the Howard government's arrogant refusal to adopt binding
• Telstra dismisses union delegate

  Telstra dismisses union delegateIn a test case against unlawful dismissal, union militant Mervyn Vogt is appealing to the Federal Court against Telstra's sacking of him for producing a rank and file newsletter. Vogt, a
• Rallies protest Jabiluka go-ahead

  DARWIN — The federal government decision to give the green light to uranium mining at Jabiluka was met with a 150-strong protest in Darwin on October 9. Called at short notice by the Coalition Against Uranium Mining, the
• Opposition to Honeymoon uranium plan

  Opposition to Honeymoon uranium plan The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Friends of the Earth (FoE) will oppose the federal government's plans to push ahead with a new uranium mine at Honeymoon in South Australia. The proposal is a
• Telstra workers to strike

  By Tim E. Stewart At stop-work meetings on October 8, more than 3000 Telstra members of the Community and Public Sector Union voted overwhelmingly in favour of a national 24-hour strike on October 17. The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing
• Rallies for native title

  Rallies for native title Australians for Native Title held a "Rally for coexistence and for native title" in Perth on September 28. More than 60 people heard a range of speakers address the implications of Howard's 10-point plan and what people
• SKA TV Activist Awards

  SKA TV Activist AwardsMELBOURNE — The 1997 Access News/SKA TV Activist Awards were held on October 9 at RMIT. The night symbolised the number and diversity of actions held in Melbourne over the last year and brought
• ANU staff keep up the fight

  ANU staff keep up the fightCANBERRA — National Tertiary Education and Industry Union members in the Faculty of Arts at the Australian National University held a stop-work meeting on October 8 and voted unanimously to
• Reclaiming the night

  Reclaiming the nightMELBOURNE — Supporters of the Reclaim the Night collective here packed out Cinema Nova to watch Career Girls on October 2. The screening, attended by 220 people, raised much-needed funds and publicised
• Sydney student elections go to the right

  SYDNEY — The election of right-wing candidate Adair Durie as the new president of the University of Sydney Student Representative Council two weeks ago ended 10 years of left-wing presidents. Adair "the Bear" Durie ran on a ticket
• Action updates

  Migrant services slashed PERTH — In reaction to government cuts to migrant services, around 200 people attended a public meeting on October 7 at the North Perth Town Hall organised by the Coalition for Multicultural Interests. The
• Police violence at Hanson meeting

  BRISBANE — Around 1000 people rallied against the Pauline Hanson One Nation party's "Prosper Australia" meeting in Festival Hall on October 4. The protesters were peaceful. The same cannot be said for the
• Tax office campaign falters

  Tax office campaign faltersMELBOURNE — The Community and Public Sector Union's Tax Section has stepped back from its campaign against staff sackings in Victoria. While the CPSU has promised to strike the moment any member
• NSW 'street safety' bill

  SYDNEY — The Children (Protection and Parental Responsibility) Act 1997 passed in NSW in August gives police extra powers to take young people from public spaces. The law, which contravenes international human rights conventions,
• Green politics in 'grey times'

  Green politics in 'grey times'MELBOURNE — About 150 people attended the 11th Eco-Politics conference held at the University of Melbourne on October 4 and 5. Scholars and activists presented a range of papers and workshops on
• Hanson protest planned in Adelaide

  Hanson protest planned in Adelaide ADELAIDE — The "secret venue" of Pauline Hanson's next appearance here on October 18 has been leaked to Campaign Against Racism. The One National fundraising dinner will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, on
• NSW ALP conference votes down power sell-off

  SYDNEY — Amid unprecedented scenes of booing and heckling of a premier, delegates at the NSW ALP annual conference in Sydney on October 4 gave the thumbs down to the plan of Bob Carr and treasurer Michael Egan to sell off
• Rally for Hinchinbrook

  On October 5, 250 people marched along the Cardwell foreshore to protest the destruction caused by the Port Hinchinbrook development in north Queensland. At a similar protest on September 14, protesters were assaulted by
• Solidarity with striking Gordonstone miners

  EMERALD — Miners have entered their second week of picketing the giant underground Gordonstone coalmine in central Queensland. US mining company ARCO has closed the mine and issued dismissal notices to 312 mining and
• Large turnout for vote on fees

  MELBOURNE — Activists are celebrating an encouraging turnout of students and staff for the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) referendum on up-front fees. More than 10,000 students and staff voted on whether they
• Howard attracts protesters in Hobart

  Howard attracts protesters in HobartHOBART — The signing of Tasmania's Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) was delayed yet again after unresolved discussions between PM John Howard and Premier Tony Rundle in Launceston on
• Bureaucrats win at University of Tasmania

  HOBART — Almost 1300 out of 9000 students voted in student elections at the University of Tasmania two weeks ago. Most of the positions were won by members of two tickets — Zest and Impact. Zest included a number of current
• Too small for an IMF bail-out

  Just when it seemed that a bail-out by the International Monetary Fund was becoming the fashionable thing to do in the Asia-Pacific region, we at Green Left Weekly came to a startling realisation. We realised that we are not in a position to
• Trade in poisons

  Trade in poisonsAccording to the United Nations, 98% of the worlds toxic waste is generated by the 24 countries of the OECD. These rich countries are running out of ways to deal with this waste, and disposal costs are
• Asian solidarity conference planned

  SYDNEY — Political activists and leaders from progressive and socialist parties from the Asia and Pacific will meet at a regional solidarity conference here April 9-13. "This is going to be one of the most exciting and
• Rio Tinto attacks the right to picket

  Coal & Allied, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, has begun its attempt before the NSW Supreme Court to severely limit the right to picket in the strike against the Hunter Valley No 1 mine. The case began in the courts on