Duck slaughter By Margaret El-Chami GRIFFITH, NSW — Only 250 shooters attended the opening of the NSW duck hunting season at Barrenbox Swamp near here on March 21, many fewer than in previous years. Celia Jarvis, a voluntary duck rescuer
Issue 50
News
By Dave Holmes MELBOURNE — Some 5000 supporters of Croatian independence gathered here on March 22. Footscray Park on a wonderfully sunny Sunday afternoon was the scene for the very relaxed and successful picnic-rally. The event was
By Melanie Sjoberg MELBOURNE — After much fanfare, Premier Joan Kirner delivered the state Labor government's economic statement on jobs on March 25. The statement was distinguished by the embellishment of its language: ignoring such
New Aidex push SYDNEY — Armaments merchants have begun preparations for an Aidex-type arms bazaar next year. Following a decision by the ACT government not to cooperate with Aidex in future, the promoters are having discussions with
By Peter Chiltern LAUNCESTON — Federal Police and Taxation Department officials raided the Unemployed Workers Union here on March 19. Police seized hundreds of documents and about $17,000 worth of computer equipment from the UWU's offices and
Journalist jailed for protecting source By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Former Courier-Mail journalist Joe Budd was released from Boggo Road Prison on March 26. He had served a week of a 14-day sentence for "contempt of court" after refusing to
By Tracy Sorensen SYDNEY — A press photographer employed by Rupert Murdoch's Cumberland Press has been forced to leave his job at the Manly Daily after a documentary film in which he was the central character was aired on ABC television on
Police The following letter, signed by the Reverend Ted Kennedy, Shirley Smith ("Mum Shirl") and 119 other parishioners of St Vincent's Catholic Church in Redfern, was sent to the Sydney Morning Herald. It was not printed. Let us not mistake
On March 26, thousands of students participated in a national day of action called by the National Union of Students in protest against federal government proposals to replace Austudy with a loans scheme, and against the Higher Education
Affirmative action A discussion paper on the Affirmative Action Act recommends reducing exemptions to the act, extending coverage to group training schemes and making companies which fail to comply with the act ineligible to receive government
Secret freeway deal? SYDNEY — "Has a secret deal been struck between the Roads and Traffic Authority and StateWide Roads Ltd or any other company?", asked NSW Democrat MP Richard Jones here on March 24. Jones had obtained a leaked copy of a
Talking union ADELAIDE — A mass meeting of 1300 bus drivers on March 24 overwhelmingly rejected a deal between the state government and their union (ATMOEA). The deal came out of negotiations on government threats of savage cutbacks to
Rainbow Warrior crew deported French authorities have deported the crew of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior to their countries of origin following the seizure of the ship at Moruroa atoll last week. The ship was seized by French commandos after
Women discuss trade unions By Leslie Warne WOLLONGONG — Women are still under-represented in trade unions, though the situation has improved because of affirmative action programs, Victorian Trades Hall Council representative Martina
Timber bill threatens wilderness SYDNEY — An estimated 50,000 hectares of native forest will be logged without any environmental impact statement as a result of the NSW government's new Timber Industry Protection Bill, says Jeff Angel of the
Ecopolitics VI Planning is under way for the sixth ecopolitics conference, to be held in Melbourne on September 25-27. The aims of Ecopolitics VI are to promote interaction between participants from a range of community groups, discuss research
WA Aboriginal sites threatened By Leon Harrison PERTH — Aboriginal sacred sites are threatened with destruction at Yakabindie, where the state government has given Dominion Mining the go-ahead to mine for nickel. The advisory Aboriginal
World
Whoops! Computers are supposed to make life easier, but a mix-up of files last week resulted in us reprinting an old article by John Hallam on ALP uranium policy. Our apologies to John and to any readers who were misled. On this page is the
By Sally Low and Peter Annear PRAGUE — "I don't want to speculate, but I think you have to ask who is going to profit", Vaclav Bervida, foreign editor of Rude Pravo, commented on the March 16 arrest and imprisonment for four days of that
By John R. Hallam Opposition to nuclear power in India is growing and starting to move far beyond the circles of an educated elite. The operating record of Indian nuclear power plants ranges from uninspiring to downright terrifying, with
By Jack Heyman In his three years back at the helm in Jamaica, Prime Minister Michael Manley has become a "born again" free-marketeer. As Jamaica's leader for most of the 1970s, Manley distinguished himself as a progressive Third World
By Steve Painter Trouble is brewing over a government ban on national collective employment contracts in the New Zealand health service. National Party Labour Minister Bill Birch outlined the ban in a March 26 address to area health board
By David Jagger Antoinette Panajatov and Hristo Stefanov fled Bulgaria last June and thought they'd reached the free world. But in the cellar room in Frankfurt they have shared for five months with 12 other adults and five children, they can't
New law to exile Indonesian critics By Norm Dixon The Indonesian parliament has unanimously passed a new law that will allow the military-dominated government to revoke the right to return home of Indonesians overseas it considers
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — "The brazen red-brown hordes, intoxicated by their impunity, have decided to openly proclaim their main goals ... Before us is an attempt by the apparatus of the Communist Party to return to power ... We are
A quick turnover for eastern politicians By Bryan R. Thomas BONN — One by one the politicians from the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) have been ousted. The majority of them had been elected as representatives of the five new
By Poul Funder Larsen MOSCOW — Conservative communist forces convened the biggest anti-Yeltsin demonstration so far on the Manezh Square in central Moscow on March 17. According to the Russian press, between 40,000 and 70,000 people were
Culture
Three friends in a different suburbia On the Waves of the Adriatic Directed by Brian McKenzie Special screening at AFI cinema, Paddington, Sydney April 11, 3 p.m. Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen Brian McKenzie's award-winning documentary, On
Aunt Julia and the scriptwriter Music by Wynton Marsalis Screenplay by William Boyd, based on a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa Directed by Jon Amiel Starring Peter Falk, Barbara Hershey, Keanu Reeves Reviewed by Ulrike Erhardt Peter Falk has
Timely memories of apartheid My Black Heart — Memories of Apartheid Performed by Barbara Abrahams Directed by Coral Haddock Produced by John L. Simpson Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney, until April 12 Reviewed by Norm Dixon Some may
Why Hawke got away with it Business mates: The power and politics of the Hawke era. By Doug McEachern Prentice Hall Australia, 1991. 168 pp. $16.50 Reviewed by Jeff Richards This an examination of the relationships between big business,
A continuing tragedy Ines de Castro: A Portuguese tragedyBy John Clifford Directed by Diana Denley Newtown Actors' Group Studio Theatre, Newtown, until April 19. Reviewed by Emlyn Jones The Newtown Actors' Group was founded a year ago by
By Angela Matheson SYDNEY — What kind of a choir do you get when the singers have as much say in musical arrangement as the director, and when the repertoire is exclusively about liberation struggles, feminism and ecology? The simple
Logozo Angelique Kidjo Mango records through Polygram Available on CD and cassette Reviewed by Deb Sorensen I must admit I'd never heard of Angelique Kidjo until I switched my clock-radio over to JJJ. Then I started hearing this really
The Good Woman of Bangkok By Dennis O'Rourke Reviewed by Helen Jarvis Having spent the last few months in South-east Asia, I was unaware of the debate that preceded the opening of the commercial season for this film. Looking through the
WOW — Women on women SYDNEY — More than 20 short films by some of Australia's up and coming film makers will be shown at the AFI cinema in Paddington soon. Titles that have been seen only once will mix with classics that have drawn
Editorial
Protection and the free market The free market is a myth, as the peoples of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are discovering to their cost. The market, which was supposed to bring prosperity and political freedom, is actually