Issue 409

BY SHANE BENTLEY SYDNEY — The New South Wales branch of the National Union of Workers has severed its ties with the NSW Labor Party in protest against the ALP state government's refusal to help the union in its legal battle with Davids Holdings.

Salmat strike ends SYDNEY — Ninety members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's printing division, employed at Salmat Laser Printing Services in Chester Hill, returned to work on June 5 after nine days on strike. The

Honeymoon mine assessment begins BY JIM GREEN Canadian company Southern Cross Resources has released its environment impact statement for the proposed Honeymoon uranium mine in north-east South Australia. The operation involves

BY CAROLYNE BANADOS SYDNEY — Rallying under the banner “Quality service deserves quality pay”, community and social workers will strike and rally on June 23, closing down welfare services and agencies, most of them recipients of state

BY ANTHONY BENBOW PERTH — “Kierath says our existence is a 'planning mistake'. We've been here at Wattleup four decades, Hope Valley a century — that's long before the heavy industry at Kwinana. So which one is the 'planning mistake'?”

Abandoned Kakadu mines are still radioactive BY BRIAN TUPP A memo from the Office of the Supervising Scientist, leaked to environmentalists on June 6, has confirmed that abandoned South Alligator uranium mines are posing a radiation

Teachers strike, plan more action BY ALEX ROBINSON BRISBANE — Queensland's teachers struck for 24 hours on June 14 in support of demands by the Queensland Teachers Union for an 8% per year pay rise, decreased class sizes and more resources for

Tax staff reject pay offer BY CHRIS SLEE Australian Tax Office staff have narrowly rejected a new agency agreement proposed by management. Their union described the offer as inadequate and paltry. ATO management offered a pay rise

Western Mining present eviction notice to Arabunna BY JOHN NEBAUER ADELAIDE — Western Mining Corporation has handed an eviction notice to Arabunna traditional landowners camped near Lake Eyre in protest at the company's uranium mining

BY MELANIE GILLBANK The Peoples' Forum 2000 and the mass protests which followed, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in early May, were born of suffering, anger and betrayal. Twelve hundred people attended the forum to share their stories of hardship and

UNITED STATES: Left internet site censored Since 1993, the Burn! internet site has been an important source of solidarity for militant liberation movements. Burn! hosts the web sites of groups in the front line of struggles in Chiapas

Fikile Majola, general secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), on June 7 called on university workers and students around the world to offer urgent solidarity to the workers of the University of the

SEOUL — The May 31 to June 4 general strike by South Korean workers has deepened differences between the reformist Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and militants seeking to build a counter-offensive against President Kim Dae Jung's neo-liberal

On June 13, the general strike that began a week earlier forced the Nigerian federal government to all but reverse fuel price increases it had announced earlier. On June 1, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo had announced a surprise

SERBIA: Students lead anti-Milosevic protests Isolation, skyrocketing poverty, unemployment rates of almost 70% and an infrastructure devastated by NATO's bombing last year has left Serbia in a worse state than its notoriously poor neighbour

WINDSOR, Ontario — On June 4, 3000 people demonstrated against a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Windsor, Ontario.  The OAS, which is based in Washington, involves the heads of state of all countries in the

HANOVER, Germany — Scientists have found evidence that genes used to modify crops can jump the species barrier and cause bacteria and even fungi to mutate. One aim of Expo 2000 in Hanover last month was to popularise GM (genetic

Springsteen upsets cops with Diallo song By Norm Dixon "Standing on the stage at Madison Square Garden momentarily shrouded in darkness, Bruce Springsteen sang the words '41 shots' nine times last night. The words begin his new song deploring the

Kumarangk 'Karaoke and Kake' ADELAIDE — Once upon a time, a large number of people who spoke out against a proposed bridge to Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) were sued by the developers of a marina on the island. Defamation Magic turned them

By Sibylle Kaczorek DARWIN — On June 2, artist Dadang Christanto's exhibition titled “Reconciliation” was opened with a powerful performance and installation. Christanto, who was born in Indonesia in the late 1950s, uses simple