Welfare 'reform': attack the poor
The final report of the government's Welfare Reform Reference Group gave the Coalition government what it wanted. It proposes the extension of "mutual obligation" requirements to all social security recipients of
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and ain't i a woman?: 'Where's the freedom?' OAKLAND, US - I'm a seamstress in a factory with 12 other people. We sew children's clothes - shirts and dresses. I've worked in the garment industry [in the United States] for 12 years, and at the
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What the Olympics really celebrateThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) has spent $230 million on a series of advertisements around the theme "celebrate humanity". This exercise in "global branding" is supposed to encourage us
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'Waste Minchin, not SA!'ADELAIDE — About 4000 people protested against the federal Coalition government's plan to dump radioactive waste in northern South Australia at a rally on the steps of Parliament House here on August 16.
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In most parliamentary democracies, issues considered highly morally charged are sometimes exempted from being voted upon along party lines. In these cases, voting parliamentarians are allowed to vote "according to their
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The excitement is building. The torch has passed from West Wybelong to East Woop Woop. Only 700 hours to go. Australian athletes are in training. Aussie Aussie Aussie. In Sydney, an emergency public transport system is under
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The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national conference in August adopted a strategy the union hopes will stop the decline in manufacturing industry jobs, reduce job insecurity and strengthen the union. National secretary
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Come out united and fighting The following is abridged from the opening address to the Network of Women Students Australia 2000 conference held in Adelaide, July 10-15, presented by veteran Adelaide feminist and socialist CONNIE FRAZER. Well, it's
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Anti-racism protests at Olympics plannedSYDNEY — Amidst a media fear campaign about supposed terrorists' plans to violently disrupt the September Olympic Games, an alliance of groups is gathering in Sydney to plan peaceful
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Justice Michael Kirby wearily told the Young Lawyers' Forum on "Community participation in genetics and law" that he'd seen it all before. The controversy surrounding the mapping of the human genome and all the subsequent
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Every home should have one I wonder if I could have a few moments of your time? I feel that it is my responsibility sometimes to remind the reading public that a society such as ours goes about its everyday business often with strict regard to
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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 Sunday, 9-11pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News — Melbourne community TV,
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Networker: Finding more workers A few months ago this column (GLW #402) raised the question of where information technology workers were going to come from to feed the soaring demands of the advanced capitalist world. Cuts in many areas of public
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Grateful I am so grateful to the young woman who gave me a back-issue of Green Left in the Queen Street Mall just now. I would have bought the most recent copy, but I only have $1.65 so far until "pay-day" next Wednesday. I went into the Hilton
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Why we'll be protesting at the Olympics BY SIMON BUTLER The 400,000-strong reconciliation march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on May 28 demonstrated to the federal Coalition government that a healthy anti-racism sentiment still
News
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Books of Fidel's speeches launchedSYDNEY — Cuba's consul general in Australia, Maria Luisa Fernandez, on August 9 spoke to a full Resistance Centre in Parramatta when she launched two new books containing recent speeches by Cuba's
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Imposing whose will? "If they [the protesters] go ahead with threats to shut the forum down then we will take appropriate steps to ensure people can go about their business without intimidation by a group of people seeking to impose their will on
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Join the Democratic Socialist PartyFour months after the Seattle protests, representatives of Third World governments met in Cuba for the G77 South Summit Conference. Cuban President Fidel Castro's address to that gathering
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As the fifth largest shareholder in the Asian Development Bank, Australia is a significant imperialist force in this region. The Australian government lends money for a range of projects. Many of the so-called aid projects,
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'Solidarity' is the cryWOLLONGONG — "Solidarity!" was the cry at two functions here. On August 11, a Broad Left forum attended by 50 people heard Tim Anderson, Sharon Beder and Max Lane discuss globalisation. On August 17,
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March on detention centre plannedSYDNEY — Migrants, refugees, anti-racists, students and all supporters of human rights are being encouraged to join a huge protest for refugees' rights planned for August 26. The demonstration
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Students oppose restructureSYDNEY — Students at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur in Bankstown rallied on August 15 to protest university management's planned end-of-year restructuring, which will amalgamate UWS
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Plans announced for three-day blockade BY ANNE O'CASEY MELBOURNE — The S11 Alliance has announced its plans for the three-day non-violent mass blockade of the Crown Casino, the site of the World Economic Forum's Asia-Pacific Economic Summit,
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Howard's IVF discrimination opposedBRISBANE — More than 100 people rallied here on August 15 to oppose the federal government's plan to alter the federal anti-discrimination act to exclude lesbians and single mothers from
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Activists target ShellSYDNEY — Oil multinational Shell was accused of involvement in murder and gross human rights violations in Nigeria on August 18, when 40 activists staged an action against the company outside the city
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Destroying native forests for 'renewable' energyFriends of the Earth and the Alternative Technology Association have slammed the Australian Labor Party for supporting federal Coalition government legislation which will allow the
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SYDNEY — Several hundred people gathered to hear deposed Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry speak at the Marrickville Town Hall on August 12. Also speaking were Fiji Trades Union Congress general secretary Felix Anthony and
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New push for up-front uni feesSYDNEY — University entry requirements in New South Wales will be lowered from next year, to allow those able to pay up-front tuition fees easier access to courses. The announcement has sparked
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Women to march for world justiceHOBART — Groups in at least 157 countries and territories will be part of the World March of Women against poverty and violence against women on October 17, the United Nations' day for the
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Join the resistance! The wealth of the world's richest 200 people increased from US$440 billion to more than $1 trillion between 1994-98. Compare this to the Third World, where 800 million people are suffering from chronic hunger, 840 million
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Selleys workers 'sticking to the union'SYDNEY — Workers at the Selleys plant in Padstow here have taken strong action against what they see as an attempt to break their union. The 130 members of the Australian Liquor,
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SYDNEY — Citing noise complaints, damage to the park and disruption to park users, but denying accusations of racism or Olympics-inspired paranoia, the mayor of South Sydney John Fowler has sought and received a court injunction
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The World Economic Forum's (WEF) Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Melbourne, September 11-13, will bring together 800 representatives of the world's largest transnational corporations and some of the region's most senior capitalist politicians for
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Strike at Edith Cowan UniversityPERTH — All four campuses of Edith Cowan University were reduced to ghost towns here on August 16 and 17, thanks to militant union picketers, some of whom were forced to join the picket lines
Analysis
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CANBERRA — While momentum for the September 11 protest in Melbourne against the World Economic Forum snowballs, the S11 movement has much to work out: including whether it can unite on anything other than the protest itself. A
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MELBOURNE — Trade unions in Victoria are on the horns of a dilemma: do they support the planned protests at the World Economic Forum's Asia-Pacific Economic Summit here on September 11-13 and strike a blow for global justice, or
World
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The current session of Indonesia's parliament, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), began with much criticism of President Abdurrahman Wahid by politicians and threats that he would be deposed, forced to appoint a prime minister or made to
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Haider, Austria and resistance VIENNA — On August 10, 3000 people gathered outside Government House to take part in the usual Thursday demonstration against the coalition government of the conservative Austrian People's Party (VP)and the extreme
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SOUTH AFRICA: Who is bringing the SACP's name into disrepute? The chairperson of the Johannesburg Central branch of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Dale McKinley, was officially notified of his expulsion from the party on August 16. He
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MALAYSIA: Penans appeal for international help More than a hundred Penan people, from various settlements in the interior of Sarawak, have gathered at Long Kevok to stage a non-violent protest against sustained logging activities in their communal
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Rethinking in Ireland Red BannerPO Box 6587, Dublin 6, IrelandEmail <red_banner@yahoo.com>Subscriptions A$22 Fourthwrite<http://rwg.phoblacht.net> REVIEW BY DAVE RILEY The fallout from the Sinn Fein-sponsored peace process has
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US democracy goes online "In the current election system, the voter is a product to be sold to the corporations. But they're being sold through this convoluted method of advertising, consultants, [and] travelling. Voteauction is making a more
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It is difficult to imagine a more political person, and at the same time a more passionate and caring person, than our departed comrade Joseph Flexer. Socialist Action has lost more than a central leader, more than a brilliant writer, educator and
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Major donors to the Democratic convention Organisation Total to convention Total soft money, PAC & individual contributions Dems Repubs American International Group $2,000,000 $774,362 $315,162 $456,700 BP Amoco Corp $1,000,000 $1,008,070
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GERMANY: Authorities' hypocrisy on racist violence KIEL — After years of racist crimes perpetrated against immigrants and refugees, Germany's establishment is giving the impression that it is finally willing to act to stop it. This follows a bomb
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MALAYSIA: Police beat labour rights advocate KUALA LUMPUR — Well-known labour rights advocate Tian Chua said that two of his vertebrae were fractured after he was kicked heavily in his back by a police officer while being detained at the Jalan
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EAST TIMOR: Jose Ramos Horta: 'CNRT will cease to exist' EAST TIMOR: Jose Ramos Horta: 'CNRT will cease to exist' DILI — Speaking at a meeting of the just weeks-old East Timor Press Club on August 12, Jose Ramos Horta, vice-president of the
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ASIA: Economy recovers, bound and gagged East Asia used to be the Fred Astaire of the world economy until, on a dark night in 1997, it was mugged by the combined crunch of Wall Street currency speculators and the International Monetary Fund. Now,
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Major donors to the Republican convention Organisation Total to convention Total soft money, PAC & individual contributions Dems Repubs General Motors $1,000,000 $469,665 $126,550 $338,215 Microsoft Corp $1,000,000 $2,282,868 $1,143,014
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LOS ANGELES — On the night of August 14, cops showed off their months of anti-protest training for the Democratic National Convention. Police shot high-pressure water and pepper spray pellets at protesters on a peaceful, festive march through
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SAN FRANCISCO — It does happen. Not often enough, but it does take place: a defeat for racial bias and white supremacy. On August 2, in a San Francisco Superior Court room, a jury punished the country's largest wholesale baker with a staggering
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Who's driving, where? The theme of the World Economic Forum's Melbourne summit, September 11-13, is "Leveraging the New Drivers for Growth". Its focus is on which mix of economic policies will make the region the most desirable for Western
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PHILADELPHIA — The following report on events around the Republic Party convention in Philadelphia by a member of the US socialist group Solidarity was posted on the internet on August 10. It is slightly abridged. What's going on in Philadelphia
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Philadelphia protesters still in jail PHILADELPHIA — At least 20 of the anti-corporate protesters arrested by Philadelphia police during the week of the Republican National Convention remain in jail as of August 15. Hundreds more face trials in
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The names that didn't appear centre stage at the Democratic Party convention in Los Angeles are the ones that will actually pay for the event — names like General Motors, British Petroleum, Microsoft and AT&T. These corporations are
Culture
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Blood and roses A Beautiful LifeBy Matrix TheatreAt Brisbane Powerhouse, BrisbaneAugust 22-27 REVIEW BY BRENDAN DOYLE Every so often there is a theatrical performance that is not only exciting and totally absorbing, but also intricately connected
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Guevara says: Cancel Third World debt! Guevara says: Cancel Third World debt! REVIEW BY FEDERICO FUENTES Hailing from Fairfield, in the heart of working-class Sydney, Guevara is a rebel rock band refusing to write for a commercial market. The
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A truly free voice Johnny Cash at San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert)Johnny CashColumbia/Legacy REVIEW BY BILL NEVINS Prison sucks, and Johnny Cash makes no bones about that. In this defiant 1969 prison concert, he pulls fire, freedom and
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The best and worst of the union movement Waterfront — the battle that changed AustraliaBy Helen Trinca and Anne DaviesDoubleday, Sydney, 2000$29.60, 317pp. REVIEW BY BOB CARNEGIE Writers and journalists play an enormous role in creating public
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Global Action Radio goes national BY ANNE O'CASEY MELBOURNE — People around Australia can now find out about the latest debates and news in the lead up to the September 11 protests against the World Economic Forum here. The Global Action Radio