SYDNEY — The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union picket outside Newtown's Safari restaurant continues after almost 100 days. The union is seeking a payment of nearly $1.5 million from Safari owner James Nazmi to former workers at a
Issue 586
News
SYDNEY — Residents on Howard Avenue in Dee Why and Howard Street in Lindfield have shown their support for asylum seekers by displaying hearts in the windows of their homes.
From Green Left Weekly, June 23, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly
Kylie Moon, Sydney
On June 18, 20 people took to the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registrar to protest the passing of the Marriage Amendment Act. The day before, the bill, which outlaws same-sex marriage, was passed in federal parliament.
The
DARWIN — Participants in a June 7 protest against the Australian government's theft of East Timor's oil and gas resources. The protest was organised to coincide with the annual South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference.
Photo by Kathy
SYDNEY — On June 10, refugee-rights group ChilOut marked the passing of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's deadline for children and their parents to be released from immigration detention.
In Sydney, 500 people rallied and
MELBOURNE — More than 10,000 people rallied on June 5 in a World Environment Day protest in defence of Tasmania's old-growth forests. In Brisbane, supporters of the Tasmanian forest campaign packed the Ithaca Hall at City Hall on June 4 for a
Lynda Hansen, Brisbane
Participants in the annual Pride rally at King George Square on June 12 had plenty to be angry about. The event followed the announcement of the federal government's intention to exclude same-sex couples from the definition
Tamara Pearson, Sydney
SYDNEY - Frequent, long power cuts; dirty water that is often turned off; people queuing for petrol for seven hours in 45°C heat and soldiers aiming guns at them when they get to the petrol station.
This is the Iraq
SYDNEY — Three-thousand people rallied for World Refugee Day in Hyde Park on June 20. They called for the abolition of temporary protection visas and an to end mandatory detention, including the closure of off-shore refugee camps. Among the many
Paul Oboohov, Canberra
Sixty members and supporters of Save the Ridge blockaded tree-clearing machinery to prevent it leaving a fenced compound on the Bruce/O'Connor Ridge on June 18. They aimed to stop tree-clearing for the Gungahlin Drive
PearsonFlotillas of Hope , Nauru, refugees, Lynda Smith">
#1
Islamic Association opposes 'anti-terror' laws
SYDNEY — Two-hundred people, mostly from the Muslim community, attended a meeting on June 12 condemning the "anti-terror" laws and
SYDNEY — NSW Premier Bob Carr introduced — and had passed within 48 hours — new laws which make it nearly impossible for "terrorist suspects" to receive bail. The laws took effect on June 3.
This move followed the granting of bail to Bilal
Kathy Newnam, Darwin
Following discussions on June 5 between defence minister Robert Hill and US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the plan for a joint US-Australia military facility in northern Australia has been officially placed on the agenda
By John Gauci& Jenny Long, Sydney
On June 25, NSW public school and TAFE teachers will stop work for two hours to plan industrial action in response to the state Labor government's failure to adequately fund public education through the state
Iggy Kim, Sydney
On June 10, more than 100 delegates to the NSW Trades and Labor Council unanimously passed a motion of support for the June 30 "Bring the troops home now" protest in Sydney, organised by the Stop the War Coalition.
The motion was
World
Roberto Jorquera
On June 12, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that there would be a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez on August 15.
Voters will be asked: "Do you agree to leave without effect for the current
The corporate media have filled the airwaves with days on end of nauseating tributes to Ronald Reagan. Here, Alan Maass and Lee Sustar from the US Socialist Worker tell the truth about this disgusting bigot.
It was natural that US President George
John Anderson
The Sunbeam Corporation factory in Palmerston North is closing after more than 20 years production there. The seasonal staff will finish their season on June 25, and the plant will close shortly after, costing 122 workers their jobs,
Monica Hill, New York
Radicals representing divergent opinions and various tendencies and groups crowded into Freedom Hall in Harlem on June 2 to take part in a forum entitled "Is it time for a US socialist alliance?"
The 70 people present
Norman Brewer, Auckland
In elections on May 9 in New Caledonia (Kanaky) and on May 23 in French Polynesia (Te Ao Maohi, also known by the name of its main island, Tahiti), both pro-French ruling parties unexpectedly found themselves unseated. In
Pablo Stefanoni, La Paz
Government officials and planners have long seen El Alto as a "problem city" — a hotbed of political protest, indigenous people's resistance and autonomous grassroots organisation.
El Alto — located 4000 metres above
In the June European Parliament elections, the progressive unity coalition Respect, running former Labour MP George Galloway as its lead candidate, obtained an average of 1.7% of the vote across England and Wales. This modest result, however,
Up to 10,000 people, including veterans carrying photos of US soldiers killed in Iraq, march in San Francisco on June 5 to demand an end to the occupations of Iraq, Palestine and Haiti. Simultaneous anti-occupation marches attracted up to 7000
Rohan Pearce
The exposure of the brutal policy of torture carried out by the US occupiers in Iraq is just the latest political debacle for the governments of the US-British-Australian invasion coalition. Just like the scandal over Iraq's
Alex Miller
In the June 10 election for the European Parliament, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) polled 61,356 votes, which represented 5.2% of all votes cast in Scotland.
Because of the expansion of the EU, Scotland elected seven members of
Lou Plummer, Fayetteville, North Carolina
In January, Jeremy Hinzman, a paratrooper from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division loaded his wife, son and a few possessions into their small car and drove from Fort Bragg to Toronto, Canada. In a journey
Doug Lorimer
On June 16, Reuters reported that rebel Iraqi Shiite Muslim leader Sayed Moqtada al Sadr had issued a statement calling on his Mahdi Army militia fighters in Najaf to abide by the terms of a frequently broken June 4 ceasefire agreement
Kali Mercier
"The government has cut off everything that enables us to survive, but we won't move because we were born here."
Two years after Botswana's government evicted hundreds of Gana and Gwi "Bushmen" from their ancestral land, the
Chris Slee
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have accused the Sri Lankan army of using paramilitary groups to create violence in eastern Sri Lanka, as part of a strategy to expand the army's area of control.
LTTE officials claim that
Alex Miller
Ninety-nine days after it started, the all-out strike by childcare workers (nursery nurses) came to an end on June 2, when childcare workers employed by Glasgow City Council voted by 542 votes to 98 to accept the council's offer of
Doug Lorimer
On June 8, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to recognise the sovereignty of the gang of collaborators selected by Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) head Paul Bremer to be Iraq's "interim government".
On May 31, the members
Culture
Water: The Drop Of Life — Examines the impact of social, economic, cultural, strategic and agricultural factors on drinking water. SBS, Friday, June 25, 1pm.
Organ Farm: Man Made Pigs — Looks at the highly secret, multibillion dollar industry
US Forces give the nod,it's a setback for your countryUS Forces let them in,it'll be good for the countryBombs and trenches all in rows,bombs and threats still ask for morePine Gap will stay open,I'll be there asking for more
Divided world the
REVIEW BY FRANK NICKLASON
The One Tree ProjectDirected by Helen Cameron
Tasmanian filmmaker Helen Cameron's documentary The One Tree Project is a fine work that deserves to become a cult film. Its power is that it is not a polemical piece.
The
SARAH STEPHEN
Franciszek Kulon was born in Sanok, Poland, and developed his painting skills by studying with masters such as Bronislaw Naczas, Edward Kiferling, Marian Kruczek and Michal Bylina.
Today, Kulon lives in the Catskills, not far from
Give East Timor its due,In the Timor Sea blue.Well, we all knowWhat's a fair go — We must cut it in two.
What's unfair makes us boil,So for fairness we'll toil. Oz is greedy Yes, indeedyHands off East Timor's oil!
[Sung to the tune of "Happy
Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on IraqEdited by David MillerPluto Press, 2004320 pages,
A$38.95 pb, or US$13.97 from <http://www.amazon.com>.
REVIEW BY PAUL DE ROOIJ
The 2003 US war on Iraq was