Issue 307

News

Sacked miners robbed by company By Wendy Robertson SYDNEY — On February 10, 40 copper workers from the Cobar mine in western NSW, organised by the Rural Workers Union, occupied John Howard's Sydney office. The workers were demanding to know why
By Bridget Riggs MELBOURNE — About 600 people attended a Defenders of Native Title (DONT) public meeting on February 15 in the Melbourne Town Hall. Speakers included former Democrat senator Sid Spindler of the DONT coordinating committee, singer
Ambassadors for peace PEACE ACTIVIST Dean Jeffries took part in an international peace camp with activists from 15 countries on the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in early 1991. He is coordinating a new initiative for a brigade of
Native title movement makes gains in Illawarra By Simon Frew WOLLONGONG — Native title has become one of the most important issues since the Wik decision. Illawarra Residents for Native Title (IRNT) was formed last year to combat Howard's
Actions around Australia condemn violence in Mexico By Neville Spencer In response to the escalation of violence in Mexico, activists in Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney organised protest actions on February 16 to condemn the Mexican government's
Hollow decision for Mount Thorley miners By Alison Dellit NEWCASTLE — The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has vowed to maintain pickets at Rio Tinto's Mount Thorley mine following a favourable, but toothless, decision in the
Justice for women On March 7, thousands of women in Australia, and many more around the world, will march to celebrate International Women's Day. Many of these women will be marching for the first time. Some will have marched regularly for
On February 16, members of the Maritime Union of Australia ended their 18-day strike at Webb Dock, Port Melbourne, following an Australian Industrial Relations Commission order to return to work. At the same meeting, it was decided to launch a
Mt Vickery mine to close By Alison Dellit NEWCASTLE — On February 17, Rio Tinto announced the closure of the Mt Vickery coal mine, outside Gunnedah. The company claimed the closure is due to a fall in the price of coal. Despite huge coal
Olsen reneges on privatisation promise By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — Prior to the December 1996 state election, Liberal leader John Olsen declared that he would not sell off public assets. He specifically promised that ETSA, the state
Protest against Hanson's One Nation By Justin Randell WOLLONGONG — Pauline Hanson has been in the news again. Not content with her racist rhetoric, she is revealing more of her reactionary agenda by arguing that young people should be kept off
Protests demand 'No more blood for oil!' More than 1000 people marched from Defence Plaza to the US consulate in Sydney on February 21 to protest against the US plans to bomb Iraq. The protesters demanded that the US get out of the gulf, that the
Mock funeral warns against Badgerys Creek airport By Gail Lord SYDNEY — On February 15 a mock funeral cavalcade left the proposed Badgerys Creek airport site and proceeded to Warragamba Dam, to dramatise the dangers of noise and water
By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The fate of the Queensland Coalition government hangs in the balance in the aftermath of "Black Friday", February 13, when three senior National Party ministers were sacked or resigned because of allegations of rorting of
IWD live to air on 2SER-FM SYDNEY — As women take to the streets of Sydney on Saturday, March 7 — International Women's Day — community radio 2SER-FM (107.3) will take to the airwaves between 11am and 5pm to present a unique day of
M2 charges dropped SYDNEY — On February 20, the remaining charges relating to the M2 motorway protests in Sydney were withdrawn by the police. Other charges were withdrawn in December. Freeway Busters spokesperson Gus Gulson said, "This is a

World

Protests continue as PA bans demonstrations Adam Hanieh RAMALLAH — More than 50 people gathered outside the US consulate in East Jerusalem on February 16 to protest against US policy on Iraq. The demonstration, which united Palestinians and
Hong Kong democracy activist fined By Eva Cheng Veteran pro-democracy activist Leung Kwok-Hung was fined by a Hong Kong magistrate on February 17 and given a "good behaviour" order for six months for protesting last July 16 against the
By Adam Hanieh RAMALLAH — The sanctions against Iraq are supposed to stop Saddam Hussein from arming himself with chemical and biological weapons, but a cursory glance at the list of items under embargo reveals this claim as ridiculous. Many of
Oppose the bombing of Iraq "Liverpool dockers call on fellow trade unionists to oppose the drive towards a new war in the Gulf, being orchestrated by the US and British governments despite widespread opposition in the Arab world and
By Max Lane Attacks on government offices, police stations and shops by groups of poor people in the cities and countryside have become a feature of social and political life in Indonesia since February 1996. It is an irregular but important
Anti-war anger in the heartland By Barry Sheppard "One, two, three four! We don't want your racist war!", was the shout that greeted US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as she took the podium to defend Washington's policy before what was
By Dave Riley While all attention is focused on Sinn Féin's battle to remain in the northern Ireland peace talks, one vital factor is being overlooked. No progress is being made. Only one item has been on the agenda: Sinn Féin's
By Sue Bolton KATHMANDU — The deep level of mass support for the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) was reflected by the size of the opening rally for its sixth congress on January 25. More than 100,000 gathered in Nepalgunj, in
By James Vassilopoulos On January 26, Jimmy Nolan, the chairperson of the Merseyside Port Shop Stewards Committee, notified supporters that the Liverpool dockers had decided to end their two-and-a-half-year dispute. After a herculean and heroic
By Allen Myers "We have worked for 30 or 40 years to develop our countries to this level, but along comes a man with a few billion dollars and who, in a period of just two weeks, has undone most of the work we have done", Malaysian Prime Minister

Culture

The Way The Wind Blew: A History of the Weather UndergroundBy Ron JacobsVerso, 1997. 216 pp., $27.95 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon The '60s produced some inspirational politics and music of protest in the USA. But one of the less glorious products of
Sexuality in the suburbs Ma Vie En RoseStarring Georges Du FresneDirected by Alain BerlinerScreening nationally from February 19 Review by Tamie Meem and Conrad Barrett Ludo just wants to grow up, get married and live in a big pink house with her
Art is for the rest of us ART IS NOT A COMMODITY OR A PLAYTHING OF CORPORATE POWER . ART IS FOR THE REST OF US . art for the rest of us TRANSFORMS THE WORLD . art for the rest of us CAN BE MADE BY "NON ARTISTS" . art for the rest of us IS POLITICAL
The Activist Cookbook: Creative Actions for a Fair EconomyBy Andrew Boyd96 pp.Send US$16 to United for a Fair Economy, 37 Temple Place Boston, MAQ 02111 Review by Dave Riley In my time trying to pilot coalitions hither and thither so that we'd win
Rory McLeod: Left-wing troubadour By Alex Bainbridge Rory McLeod is in Australia until April 20. If he's playing somewhere near you, make the effort to see him. Rory is hard to pigeonhole. His bio says he's an "ex-circus clown and fire eater —

Editorial

Editorial: Taxation: reform or reaction? The Coalition government has relaunched its bid to introduce a consumption tax after the next election. The government and big business won't give up on their plans for a GST. Having learned that it is best