Issue 368

News

World Heritage Committee caves in on Kakadu By Jim Green At a July 12 meeting in Paris, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (WHC) voted not to put Kakadu National Park on the "world heritage in danger" list despite the impact on natural and
By Vannessa Hearman MELBOURNE — Fairwear, which campaigns for clothing outworkers' rights, held an action-planning workshop on July 10. Annie Delaney, a Textile Clothing Footwear Union of Australia organiser, said the TCFUA National Outwork
By Chris Slee MELBOURNE — A July 7 Victorian Trades Hall Council-organised meeting of about 1000 union delegates passed a resolution calling for a "sustained campaign" against the federal government's "second wave" industrial relations
 400 attend Pilger-Horta meeting By Jenny Long SYDNEY — On July 16, 400 people attended a public meeting to hear John Pilger and Jose Ramos Horta speak on the situation in East Timor. The meeting was organised by the National
Visy workers keep fighting By Federico Fuentes and Tom Flanagan SYDNEY — Seventy students, along with union and community activists, joined striking workers on the picket lines at Visy Board factories at Smithfield and Warwick Farm on July 15.
Dodson praises 'people's reconciliation movement' By Jenny Long SYDNEY — Around 300 people gathered on a cold and rainy night on July 14 in Sydney's eastern suburbs to hear Pat Dodson speak about the meaning and process of reconciliation. The
Palestinian woman speaks By Penny Gillard MELBOURNE — On July 7, Hanan Ashrawi, formerly a Palestinian national authority minister for higher education, spoke at the World Trade Centre on a number of issues facing the Palestinian national
Wins and losses in public transport campaign By Jenny Long SYDNEY — The campaign against the M5 East motorway and its gigantic emissions stack planned for Turella has suffered a setback with the loss of a Supreme Court appeal against a Land and
Solidarity with Cuba SYDNEY — A very successful concert on July 8, organised by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's Peter Davey and Kelly Livingstone, raised money for APHEDA's Cuban Children's Fund. The high energy
By Nick Fredman LISMORE — Around 150 staff members of Southern Cross University (SCU) rallied on July 15 during a two-hour stoppage to demand a better offer from SCU management in enterprise bargaining negotiations. Union members were visibly
Construction workers rally against workplace deaths By Michael Bull MELBOURNE — Seven work-related deaths on construction sites within three weeks sparked a 7000-strong workers' rally in the city centre on July 14. The rally, which began at
$5000 fine for protesting HOBART — Environmental activist Sara Bayne is refusing to pay a fine of more than $5000 for participating in a forest protest last year, even though this means she is likely to go to jail. Bayne was one of hundreds
By Leslie Williams Abortion access in the ACT is again under threat. Anti-abortion Legislative Assembly members have started a political row over information to be provided to women seeking terminations. A new abortion law — which began as a
By Vannessa Hearman MELBOURNE — Industrial lawyer Adam Bandt from Slater & Gordon was interviewed by Jorge Jorquera on community radio 3CR on July 16 about the impact of the federal government's proposed "second wave" industrial relations

World

Rent striker evicted By Russel Norman AUCKLAND — Police have evicted rent striker Len Parker from his house in Auckland. Parker had been barricaded in for 45 days after refusing to pay more than 25% of his income in rent. He was supported by
The 'Vietnam syndrome' is alive and well By Barry Sheppard The end of the air war against Yugoslavia was met by a subdued response from the US people. There was no feeling of celebration as there was when the 1991 Gulf War ended. The Gulf War was
South Africa's railways to shed 27,000 jobs By Norm Dixon Spoornet, South Africa's state-owned railways corporation, announced on July 8 that 27,000 workers' jobs would be eliminated over the next three years. Shocked trade unions, which
SPP founding congress By Reihana Mohideen MANILA — The founding congress of the Sosyalistang Partido ng Paggawa (Socialist Party of Labour — SPP) was held on June 18-20. The congress opened with a rally and march, throughout which the SPP
By Danny Milson LONDON — No police officer will face serious disciplinary action after the bungled murder investigation of a black teenager in East London. Stephen Lawrence was still at high school when he was murdered in 1993 by a gang of racist
By Marta Russell Disabled one day, next day you're not — that appears to be the outcome of a recent US Supreme Court ruling which has all but defined away "disabled". The judges decided to deny a group of disabled workers access to the US federal
PRD activists still in hospital By Emily Citkowski JAKARTA — On July 1, 36 activists were hospitalised after a peaceful demonstration outside the office of the electoral commission (KPU) organised by the People's Democratic Party (PRD) was
'Let those who persecute be ashamed!' MEXICO — The following is an abridged version of a statement issued by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation's (EZLN) Subcomandante Marcos on the eve of Mexico City's 21st Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
By John Meehan DUBLIN — On July 15, the British government triggered a gadget (the D'Hondt mechanism) for electing a devolved Stormont government in Belfast — and the Irish "peace process" sank into farce that would not have not been out of
IMF calling the shots in Indonesia By James Balowski An article in the June 24 Far Eastern Economic Review stated: “Ask the average Indonesian who he'd like as his next president and he'll tell you Megawati Sukarnoputri. Ask him why,

Culture

By Lynda Hansen BRISBANE — Brisbane's Committee in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean (CISLAC) will celebrate 20 years of solidarity with the Latin American people's struggle for justice on Saturday, July 24, with a big Latin Dance
At least one too many Henry Lawsons Henry Lawson: A LifeBy Colin RoderickAngus & Robertson, 1999. 447 pp., $35 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon Until his great rival, A. B. "Banjo" Paterson, deposed him when it went plastic, Henry Lawson adorned
ExilioCanto Coro Order by phoning (07) 38485208 or e-mail <jfences@powerup.com.au>Cost is $15, including postage Review by Mark Cronin A CD recording of part of the latest performance in Brisbane by Canto Coro, a program of choral works
Jeffrey! — the musical, and other satirical delights By Terry Clinton SYDNEY — Obviously, Jeff Kennett was born to sing and what better way to pick a new president for the Republic of Australia than with an eisteddfod? At least
Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm and Saturday, 10.30pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —

Editorial

Neither 'free' trade nor protection US President Bill Clinton announced on July 8 that Australia's quota of lamb exports to the United States would be subject to a 9% tariff, with extra shipments facing a 40% tariff. In subsequent talk-back radio

Resistance!

Resistance conference a huge success By Chris Atkinson MELBOURNE — More than 250 young activists came together from around Australia for the 28th national conference of Resistance, held here from July 8 to 11. Conference delegates discussed,
By Rupen Savoulian For the last two weeks, in the largest demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, students in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and other major cities have demanded the resignation of the police chief and greater democratic
By Zanny Begg SYDNEY — During the Students and Sustainability Conference, held at Hawkesbury campus of the University of Western Sydney, July 12-16, there was debate over the decision by some men to form a "pro-feminist" men-only space at the
By Lisa Lines and Stuart Munckton On the morning of July 5, Dita Sari, Indonesia's longest serving female political prisoner and a leading member of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), was released from prison. Dita, who was jailed for organising
By Maria Voukelatos Last week, the United Nations released a report stating that global inequalities in income and living standards had widened to grotesque proportions, with the richest 20% of the world own 86% of the world's gross domestic
Sarah, Melbourne Question: Why did you decide to join Resistance? I joined Resistance because it campaigned around a range of issues I am interested in. It explained the nature of these issues, how they relate to the entire system and the need
By Sean Healy Resistance recently had direct experience of Australia's discriminatory immigration laws. We invited Farooq Sulheria, a leader of the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), to our national conference in Melbourne earlier this month. Farooq