By Tony Iltis
HOBART — Tasmania's parliament voted last week to cut the size of the lower house from 35 to 25, by reducing the number of members elected by each electorate from 7 to 5. This will make it harder for minor parties and independents
Issue 326
News
Davids strike: 'They want to do as they please'
A strike at Davids Limited by about 300 members of the National Union of Workers has lasted for more than three weeks. The company wants to reduce workers' conditions through casualisation, increasing
Correction
In the last issue of GLW, an editing error in "Ireland: peace agreement in flames" resulted in the Catholic population of Portadown being stated as 600, rather than 6000.
Not an advertisement
Fair go!
How would YOU like to pay income tax of $30,000 or $40,000 a year?
You wouldn't put up with it. Yet many Australians who make a million dollars a year and are taxed at 3 or 4 per cent, pay income tax of at least
By Alex Bainbridge
HOBART — The Democratic Socialists will stand Jenny Forward and Mathew Munro as candidates in the seat of Denison in the coming state election. They are running on the slogan of building a "real opposition" to economic
By Sue Bull
CANBERRA — Father S.J. Emmanuel, a Tamil Catholic priest from Sri Lanka, called on the Sri Lankan government to end its "War for peace" at a public meeting here on July 21. The meeting, called by Friends for Peace in Sri Lanka and
Cycle Against the Nuclear Cycle
LATE ON July 23, 17 bicyclists from Cycle Against the Nuclear Cycle ended the second leg of their mammoth trek to the blockade against the Jabiluka uranium mine, when they arrived in Alice Springs. The cyclists have
Latin America fiesta benefits health in Cuba
By Lynda Hansen
BRISBANE — More than 200 people attended the Committee in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean's (CISLAC) annual fiesta fundraiser on July 18. The funds raised on the
Poisoning Kakadu
By Grusha
If its gets to mine uranium at Jabiluka, Energy Resources of Australia plans to leave 10,770,000 cubic metres — that's 100m X 100m X 1km — of radioactive waste (tailings), and more than that again in non-radioactive
By Regan Davis and Tim E. Stewart
BRISBANE — "Anti-racists on your feet! Join the march on Boundary Street". This was the call of Democratic Socialists as they marched through cosmopolitan West End here on June 25.
Chants of "Hanson, Howard,
A campaign for all left activists
MELBOURNE — MAURICE SIBELLE, Victorian TAFE Students and Apprentices Network coordinator, will be the Democratic Socialist candidate for the state seat of Northcote in a by-election on August 15. Green Left
Protest over CityLink gains pace
By Maree Roberts
MELBOURNE — One hundred people braved a cold Sunday morning on July 19 to protest outside Parliament House about the treatment of northern and western suburbs' residents over the CityLink
Solidarity helps Zapatistas rebuild
By Lynda Hansen
BRISBANE — Tucson-based author and solidarity activist Martin Taylor addressed a meeting here on July 16 after touring refugee camps and autonomous communities of Chiapas state in southern
East Timor independence rally
By Adrian Gibbs
CANBERRA — About 300 East Timorese and their supporters marched under the unity flag from Parliament House to the Indonesian embassy on July 19. The event marked the anniversary of East Timor's
By John McGill and Maureen Baker
ADELAIDE — On July 4, about 150 people joined a "Rally for democracy". Chanting "Save our beaches", "Listen to the people" and "Shame Olsen, shame", they marched on the state parliament building. Speakers from
Editorial: Green Left Weekly — proudly outspoken Whether this is your first copy of Green Left Weekly or your 150th, you'll notice this newspaper is rather different from the rest. We're proudly anti-racist, proudly pro-environment, proudly
Burma solidarity conference demands democracy
By Trish Corcoran
MELBOURNE — Up to 100 people attended the Activist Conference for a Free Burma on July 18 and 19 to discuss the political situation in Burma and the prospects for democratisation.
CPSU members reject leadership's funding cut
By Michelle Armstrong
CANBERRA — On July 20, the ACT branch members of the Community and Public Sector Union told the union's joint national secretary, Wendy Caird, that they did not want their
By Melanie Sjoberg
ADELAIDE — A cloud has hung over the former Liberal deputy premier, Graham Ingerson, since he was accused of misleading parliament in May. The air was cleared last week by some stunning political manoeuvring. Ingerson was
VCA students and staff reject up-front fees
By Sue Boland
MELBOURNE — At separate meetings on July 23, Victorian College of the Arts students and staff unanimously rejected the college council's attempt to introduce up-front fees for
Jabiluka activists protest prison conditions
By Rebecca Meckelburg
Activists from Darwin and the Jabiluka uranium mine site blockade held a vigil outside Berrimah Prison on July 21. More than 60 people stood outside the prison's gates demanding
By Rebecca Meckelburg
Resistance and the "No Jabiluka Mine" media collective issued a joint statement on July 7 condemning the Northern Territory University's decision to confiscate a bus hired by the Resistance Club at NTU for club activities,
World
A short history of Maori struggle
The following is abridged from a talk given to the Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference in Sydney at Easter by Maori activist HONE HARAWIRA. The Maori population was about 1 million when the Europeans came. We had a
APEC '99: trading in hype
ON JULY 13, the Aotearoa/New Zealand APEC Monitoring Group announced details of its campaign against the NZ government for hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in 1999 and to educate New Zealanders
Spreading protests undermine Indonesian military
By Max Lane
Eight weeks after the forced resignation of President Suharto, a strong campaign by human rights groups has forced the Habibie-Wiranto regime to admit that the elite commando corps,
By Lisa Macdonald
A report released this month by Te Puni Kokiri — New Zealand's Ministry of Maori Development — shows that in employment, wealth, health and other areas, the gap between Maori and non-Maori has widened since the late 1980s.
The following is abridged from a statement calling for a referendum on self-determination and independence for East Timor issued by JOSE RAMOS HORTA on behalf of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) on July 21. The national political
Washington interferes in Cambodia's election
By Helen Jarvis
The Cambodian election campaign concluded on July 24; voting is to be held on Sunday, July 26. The Joint International Observer Group of government representatives — including
Pesticides may impair children's brain function
Dramatic deficits in brain function are seen in rural children with long-term exposure to pesticides compared with children not similarly exposed, according to a recent study in the US publication
By Jon Land
During the visit of foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer to Indonesia on July 9-11, the federal government's reluctance to make any significant change of policy on East Timor became clearer. Against the trend of other governments
By Renfrey Clarke
MOSCOW — According to Kemerovo province governor Aman Tuleyev in a broadcast on July 14, everyone in the city of Yurga condemned the local workers who were blocking the tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Furthermore, Tuleyev
By James Balowski
According to the leaders of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in Indonesia, two PRD prisoners, Coen Pontoh and Mohammad Sholeh, were released on July 25. Along with Dita Sari, chairperson of the independent trade union, the
By Eva Cheng
On July 23, thousands of workers of South Korea's largest vehicle producer, Hyundai Motors, continued to block production at the company's key plant at Ulsan despite the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions earlier that morning calling
Puerto Rican telephone strike
The Puerto Rican telephone workers' strike against the sale of the company is at a critical stage. After a victorious general strike on July 7 and 8, and after getting strong support from the people, workers'
Culture
WastelandDirected by Andrei SchwaetzGadjo DiloDirected by Tony GatlifSydney International Film Festival Reviewed by Becky Ellis
Two films screened at the Sydney International Film Festival in June focused on experiences faced by the Romany (or
By Saffron Howden
In News of a Kidnapping, Colombian novelist and journalist Gabriel García Márquez described journalism as "fortunately, power without the throne". Such a view presents a myriad of problems, not the least of which is
Mighty anti-racist tones
By Jody Betzien
BRISBANE — On July 18, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones played at the Arena, heading a line-up of ska- and rockabilly-influenced bands, including US band the Amazing Royal Crowns. With the revival of ska, the
By Allen Myers
Anybody inclined to believe the federal government's complaints about the ABC being "left wing" would have been quickly brought back to reality by tuning in to the first part of the Against Nature series, screened on July 21. The
'Expertise'
The following were some of the main on-camera "experts" in Against Nature:
Professor Wilfred Beckerman, identified as "a former member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution" (in 1970-73).
Nowhere was it indicated that
A short story by Craig Cormick
Port Phillip — 1842
"You sorry fellows", says George Augustus Robinson, staring down at the empty graves. Waiting patiently for the bodies to arrive. He is glad he has not attended the hanging. He has seen too
What's That I Hear?: The Songs of Phil OchsVarious artistsSliced Bread RecordsPO Box 606, Blue Bell, PA 19422, USA
Review by Barry Healy
This two-CD compilation of tracks by a bevy of performers, including Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Yarrow,