The Kumarangk Legal Defence Fund has announced its formation, and the establishment of a new web site with information on the campaign to save Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island), and its sites of significance to people of the Aboriginal Ngarrindjeri
Issue 329
News
Pathfinder Bookshop attacked
SYDNEY — The Pathfinder Bookshop, which shares its office with the Communist League, was vandalised on August 9 by an organisation called White Aryan Resistance.
The front of the shop was scrawled with the slogan:
Uranium mining method far from 'benign'
By Gavin Mudd
The mining technique of in situ leaching (ISL), often referred to
as solution mining, is becoming an increasingly favoured method for the
extraction of uranium across the world.
Socialists to field Senate tickets in all states
The Democratic Socialists, who recently obtained federal electoral registration, will field Senate tickets in all states in the coming federal elections. Democratic Socialists will also contest
"In East Timor they torture us physically; in Australia they do it mentally." — Henrique Lay, East Timorese asylum seeker A network of more than 10,000 Australians stands ready to defy federal law on behalf of East Timorese asylum seekers, but more
By Francesca Davis
On August 9, the Australian Greens announced their national Senate team. Greens Senator Bob Brown predicted the party would win extra seats in the eastern states and retain the seat held by Dee Margetts from the WA Greens. In
By Chris Spindler
MELBOURNE — Preliminary results of the Northcote by-election on August 15 show a good result for left candidates. The election was won by ALP candidate Mary Delahunty. The Liberals did not stand a candidate, but asked their
By Leo Wellin
Thousands of Telstra workers covered by the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) attended stop-work meetings around the country on August 13 to hear the latest offer for a new two-year enterprise agreement. The other
Anti-uranium campaigning on NSW North Coast
By Nick Fredman
LISMORE — Bolstered by the return of activists from the Jabiluka mine blockade, the campaign against the mine and all uranium mining has been stepped up here. Successful activities
By Karen Fredericks
BRISBANE — Recent moves to abolish parole for prisoners serving more than five years and to deprive all prisoners of the right to vote are indicative of the extent to which One Nation has been able to influence the agenda
By Susan Price
MELBOURNE — More than 50 protesters held a speak-out at the State Library on August 8 calling for the repeal of abortion laws in Australia. The action, organised by the Pro-Choice Coalition, was part of a national day of action on
Steelworker candidate: 'Nationalise BHP'
By Stephen Marks
NEWCASTLE — Geoff Payne, a rigger at the BHP steelworks, is standing as the Democratic Socialist candidate for the federal seat of Newcastle. Payne will "challenge the racists who are
World
While in Indonesia last month, Green Left Weekly's JULIA PERKINS spoke with BELA, a 20-year-old women who works at one of Sungai Buaigrup's biscuit factories in Tangerang. Question: Tell us about the industrial action that has been taking place at
"We don't work for consumers in Argentina or Africa, and we don't care about public health issues there." That was how the US deputy assistant trade representative for intellectual property responded two years ago to a suggestion that the US trade representative (USTR) should approach pharmaceutical patent policies as a public health issue rather than as a trade issue.
Peter Montague
In 1985, cows in Britain began to die of a mysterious ailment that no-one had ever seen before. The cows staggered and drooled, their ears twitching. Then they began to show signs of fear, grinding their teeth, acting aggressively
By Zanny Begg
Auckland — In an attempt to silence student opposition to government cuts, the New Zealand government passed legislation on August 5 that will undermine universal student membership of student unions. The legislation requires all
NZ Alliance discusses coalition with Labour
By Zanny Begg
AUCKLAND — More than 350 people gathered at Massey University in Albany on August 8-9 for the Alliance national conference. The Alliance groups three parties: NewLabour, Mana Motuhake
Dangerous pesticide use in Nigeria
More than 600,000 farming households in Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria may be exposed to pesticide hazards due to poor handling conditions, according to a recent study based on interviews with 180 households in
Skate, Kabui at odds over Bougainville independence
By Norm Dixon
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Bill Skate stated bluntly on August 4 that he will not permit Bougainville to become independent. His statement has called into question the peace
By George J. Aditjondro
The popular demands to investigate the billions of dollars pillaged by former President Suharto from the Indonesian people and state coffers seem to have dwindled. One of the main stumbling blocks is the unwillingness of
Dita Sari: 'Habibie is Suhartoism without Suharto'
JAKARTA — Green Left Weekly's JULIA PERKINS recently spoke to DITA SARI, People's Democratic Party (PRD) leader and chairperson of the Centre for Indonesian Labour Struggle, in Tangerang women's
By Dennis Grammenos
The neo-liberal agenda is being imposed on Colombian workers through the union-busting overhaul of the country's labour code and the unrelenting terror of death squads. The anti-union onslaught has taken its toll on Colombia's
According to a recently released report, results from four human pesticide experiments have been submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency since 1992, and EPA regulators believe that more are under way in Britain. The growing use of human
By Eva Cheng
The last time — in January 1995 — that Beijing endeavoured to shake the vested interests of the military, a harmless "temporary regulation on economic accountability" was issued for "leading army cadres" in the name of the
By Renfrey Clarke
MOSCOW — After pledging US$22.6 billion to save Russia from economic meltdown, international lenders are being called upon to extend a further US$18 billion. Not, this time, to avoid metaphorical meltdowns, but to help set the
Culture
Not an advertisement
Fair go!
One of the many reasons we need tax reform is that taxes are too complicated.
Because taxes are so complicated, millionaires have to hire expensive tax lawyers to reduce their taxes to the level you pay. Is that
Poem: I can't abide (Tune: Abide with me)
I can't abide (Tune: Abide with me)
I can't abide the government's front bench, send them away to the Germans or the FrenchI can't abide Costello's shallow sneer — won't someone make the bastard
QuitoNewtown Theatre, August 6 Review by Rebecca Conroy
Quito is a music drama concerned with schizophrenia and the plight of the East Timorese. Composed by Martin Wesley-Smith with lyrics by his brother Peter, it is a moving exploration of the
www.ophelia/hamlet.auBy PACT Youtheatre and University of NSWDirected by Christopher RyanPACT Theatre107 Railway Parade, ErskinevilleUntil August 29 Review by Brendan Doyle
The audience, perched on hard benches, sits facing each other across an
Tell MeBy Stephen Ewart Review by Michael Cooke
Surfing the radio stations these days, one is assaulted with a bland and bewildering potpourri of golden oldies: hip hop, migraine-inducing dance music, pastiches of 70s "classics", pretty boy/girl
Poem: Ad-junked
Ad-junked
Selling dreams, selling schemesSelling creams for your face and your stomachCars, computers, insurance, blue jeans and dessertsShares, holidays, property, alcohol and soapWith a little bit of glamour they're peddling
Editorial
Compromising with racism
When Senator Brian Harradine caved in and agreed to passage of the government's Native Title Act amendments through the Senate, he argued that this was necessary to avoid a "race-based election". The Labor Party, in