Issue 333

News

ACT to privatise public transport By Francis Geraldson CANBERRA — On August 8, a mass meeting of ACTION bus drivers, called by the Transport Workers Union, rejected an enterprise agreement that would reduce conditions and introduce three split
By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — Senator Bob Brown spoke to around 100 people on September 12 at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel to launch the SA Greens' federal election campaign. The meeting also marked the third anniversary of the formation of the
Launch of Origlass biography By Shane Bentley SYDNEY — More than 150 people attended the launch of Red Hot, Hall Greenland's biography of Nick Origlass, at Balmain Town Hall on September 6. Origlass was one of Australia's original Trotskyists,
Undemocratic rules force change of candidate By Dave Wright SYDNEY — The Democratic Socialists have been forced to name a new candidate for the western Sydney seat of Reid because its original candidate is a federal public servant. Under the
A week of action in Kakadu JABILUKA — Traditional owners of the Jabiluka mineral lease, the Mirrar, are inviting people to the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park between September 26 and October 3 to form a strong, united presence to
Tasmanian Labor wins a rigged race By Alex Bainbridgeand Tony Iltis HOBART — Tasmania has a Labor government, it was announced on September 12. The election was the first since Labor and Liberal "reformed" the Tasmanian parliament. The new
By Rebecca Meckelburg DARWIN — According to the media collective at the Jabiluka uranium mine blockade, at midnight on September 9 there was an unprovoked attack on the blockade camp. A 24-wheel semi-trailer towing heavy machinery broke through
By Lachlan Malloch SYDNEY — "The Democratic Socialists' campaign is different — it's out in the streets. Our fundamental conviction is that society can be changed for the better by people power", declared Sam Wainwright at the launch of the
GLW annual dinner SYDNEY — The annual Green Left Weekly fundraising dinner, with the theme "Struggle, solidarity, socialism", was held in Leichhardt Town Hall on September 5. Around 180 people enjoyed a three-course Indonesian meal, music from
Incumbents complacent in UQ elections By Ruth Ratcliffe BRISBANE — Some left activists have expressed concern that Zest, the broad left ticket in the University of Queensland student union election, is running an apolitical campaign. The last
By Ben Reid MELBOURNE — A round-table of non-major party candidates in the federal election was broadcast by independent radio station 3CR on September 11. Charmaine Clark (Greens), Jim Downey (Australian Democrats) and Maurice Sibelle
A film is being made about Kamal Bamadhaj, the only foreigner murdered in the 1991 massacre of more than 200 East Timorese protesters by the Indonesian military at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. At that time, 20-year-old Kamal had been studying in
SYDNEY — On September 9, Resistance members PAUL BENEDEK and RYAN LIDDELL ventured into PM John Howard's Sydney electorate of Bennelong to protest at a One Nation meeting which featured Pauline Hanson's chief adviser David Oldfield. Below is Paul's
Vigil in support of Chinese Indonesians By Orie Nakagawa SYDNEY — "Even though I'm Chinese Australian now, I have a lot of sympathy with you", Thiam Ang, a Malaysian doctor who experienced the 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur, told a crowd of 700
By Kerryn Williams MELBOURNE — More than 100 people gathered at the Mount Waverley Community Centre on September 9 to hear Professor Chandrakanthan speak about the war against Tamils by the Sri Lankan military. Chandrakanthan is based at
Richmond anti-racism march MELBOURNE — Local residents protested against the racist policies of One Nation in Richmond on September 12. The rally was one of a series of anti-racism protests in local communities since the Queensland election.
Rally supports Telstra workers By Tim E. Stewart BRISBANE — Following a stop-work meeting of Community and Public Sector Union members working at Telstra on September 7, a lunchtime rally attended by 100 people supported the striking Telstra
TAFE Crusaders By Jo Williams MELBOURNE — Student union elections are taking place on the university and TAFE campuses of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. On the TAFE campus, two tickets are running, the TAFE Crusaders and the TAFE
By Peter Johnston DARWIN — The Democratic Socialists' candidate for the house of representatives seat of Northern Territory, Natalie Zirngast, has hit the headlines here. Her candidacy was the subject of an article in the NT News headlined

World

By Peter Gellert MEXICO CITY — While the Asian and Russian disasters have contributed to Mexico's current economic crisis, domestic issues also play a central role. The inability of the Mexican government and the Congress to resolve the
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — "If we don't have any money, the price of the dollar can go up 10 times and it won't make any difference to us!", declares Lyudmila Tyulenko, sitting by a makeshift hut outside Moscow's main federal government office
By David Bacon SALINAS, California — Twenty-eight years ago, at the end of the great Salinas lettuce strike of 1970, virtually all of the valley's largest vegetable growers signed contracts with the United Farm Workers (UFW). Among them was the
By Norm Dixon The fate of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) president Laurent Kabila's government and the oppressed Banyarwanda and Banyamulenge people in eastern Congo now rests in the hands of the DRC's neighbours. Contrary to the loud claims
Searching for truth and justice By Natalie Santoro SANTIAGO, Chile — In a country which still celebrates the anniversary of the military coup which ousted the democratically-elected Salvador Allende government in 1973 with a public holiday, it
By Jon Land At least 24 East Timorese inmates at Becora Prison in Dili are on hunger strike demanding the release of imprisoned resistance leader Xanana Gusmao. According to prison officials, more inmates are expected join those already protesting.
NY cops 'came ready for war' By Barry Sheppard In a flagrant denial of freedom of speech and assembly, New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani unleashed his racist police force to harass, then brutally attack, a rally of African Americans in Harlem
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels slammed the government for prolonging the country's ethnic conflict and offered to resume peace talks through third-party mediation, in remarks published on September 6. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's
International news briefs Muhammad Ali calls for end to Cuban blockade Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, in Havana on September 11, called for the lifting of the US blockade of the island. Lonnie Ali said her husband's
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — A few days ago, my friend Rod came around unexpectedly to visit. He brought a bottle of vodka, but he wasn't feeling festive. Quite the reverse. An Englishman who has spent much of the 1990s in Moscow, Rod had just lost
By Corporate Europe Observatory The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is cultivating a "partnership" with the United Nations. It is pushing for the implementation of a "framework of global rules" that it plans to help draft. The ICC
By Peter Montague Starting in the 1950s, awareness of environmental destruction developed slowly in the US. Various events slowly shook the public awake: atomic fallout from weapons testing in 1956-1963; a nationwide pesticide scare in 1959; birth
Detained-disappeared in Chile Year of disappearance by number of disappeared 1973 632 1974 279 1975 85 1976 136 1977 35 1978 11 1979 1 1980 2 1981 5 1983 2 1984 3 1985 1 1987 5 1989 1 Total 1198 (1125 men, 73 women, 75

Culture

Mary Bryant — A musicalBy Nick Enright and David KingDirected by Crispin TaylorEnsemble Theatre, SydneyUntil October 10 Review by Brendan Doyle Try to imagine the movie Titanic redone as a musical, set in a longboat on a tiny theatre stage,
Series glosses over the real Mosley MosleyA Channel Four productionWith Jonathan Cake and Jemma RedgraveABC TVSundays beginning September 20, 8.30pm The screening of this four-part drama series on the life of British fascist Oswald Mosley spawned
Stock market tigers There's a rouble in the rubbleBut the trouble with the bubbleis it's burst. I said to Renie Rivkinit's time to put the boot in,the Hang Seng grown flakyand the Nikkei looking shakytime to sell right nowbefore the Dow turns
The GST A song by Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis Little Johnny has a brand new fiscal plan,To bring prosperity to this land,It's dressed up like the Christmas turkey,Juicy, plump and fat.But when you strip away the skin,Underneath you'll find an
Ecology of FearBy Mike DavisMetropolitan Books, 1998342 pp., $55 Review by Ben Reid Natural disasters are generally viewed as independent of human control. However, their impact is inextricably linked to the social structures of particular
Circus Oz supports indigenous Australians MELBOURNE — On Thursday, September 24, at the Melbourne Town Hall, Circus Oz will be joined by Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Linda Gibson, Milton White and Aboriginal dancers for a performance to raise funds
By Richard Buchhorn Last November, Channel Nine screened the documentary Cape of Dreams in a number of cities. In it, the Aboriginal people of Cape York, the Merkins, were described as cannibals: "There were hundreds of cases of miners being killed
Labour: A Party Fit For ImperialismBy Robert CloughLarkin Publications1992 Review by Ben Courtice The famous Russian communist V.I. Lenin would have shuddered if he had foreseen how his characterisation of the British Labour Party (BLP) as a
GST: the Winners and LosersBy Austin DonnellyWrightbooks, 1998129pp., $?? Review by Sue Boland GST: the Winners and Losers is Austin Donnelly's second book about a goods and services tax. The first, The GST and Fightback Package — a Nightmare
A play for our century Mother Courage and Her ChildrenBy Bertolt BrechtDirected by David RitchieNew Theatre, Newtown, SydneyUntil October 24 Review by Brendan Doyle Fifty years ago, Bertolt Brecht was in Stockholm, exiled from his native Germany

Editorial

Either John Howard and Peter Costello believe that they have supernatural powers, or they are desperately lying in order to win the federal election and implement their plan to cut taxes for the rich and increase them for everyone else. Since the