By Julia Perkins SYDNEY — More than 100 women and men demonstrated outside the offices of Kerry Packer's Australian Consolidated Press in Park Street on May 26 to protest against the sexist portrayal of women in the media. The rally was
Issue 58
News
SYDNEY — More than 230 people attended Green Left's "Big Night Out" on May 23. Entertainment was provided by Liberty Street (pictured) and Bicycle Thieves. Film maker Gil Scrine took up the issue of censorship and alternative media, and touring
By Ian Jamieson BURNIE — At the end of an eventful week, the Liberal Tasmanian government and the Labor federal government indicated they were losing patience with Associated Pulp and Paper over its failure to resolve the dispute at its mill
The federal Industrial Relations Commission last week delivered its ruling on the ACTU-employer requested streamlining of union coverage at universities and tertiary colleges. Unions representing workers in the area will be reduced from 40 to
NSW teachers in 24-hour strike By Rose McCann SYDNEY — NSW school teachers voted overwhelmingly at meetings around the state on May 28 to strike for 24 hours on June 3. A mass meeting will be held at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on that day.
By Steve Painter SYDNEY — Amid a poisonous hail of racial slurs, union-bashing, unsubstantiated allegations and red-baiting, the Royal Commission Into Productivity in the Building Industry in NSW issued its final report on May 26. The
By Steve Painter SYDNEY — The federal Liberal Party's health policy is "at best a throwback to the private health insurance system of the '60s", says Dr Con Costa, vice-president of the Doctor's Reform Society. In this, John Hewson is
By Sue Bull SYDNEY — "The Australian government's attempts to eject 37 Cambodian boat people applying for refugee status is racist, heartless and uncaring", says Rosanna Barbero, a member of the Action Committee for Refugees in Australia.
Indonesian activist tours Brisbane By Maurice Sibelle BRISBANE — Indonesian human rights activists Helmi Fauzi completed his tour of Brisbane at meeting of 50 at the University of Queensland. The meeting, one of seven, was organised by the
International speakers at July conference By Sean Malloy A range of international guest speakers will be a feature of the 21st national conference of Resistance, to be held in Melbourne July 4-6. Speaking from the Indonesian National Youth
Students take to the streets By Anthony Thirlwall MELBOURNE — Around 750 students participated in the second National Day of Action on May 27, organised by the National Union of Students in response to the continuing attacks on education
WA meatworkers locked out By Glenn Ferguson and Geoff Spencer PERTH — Workers at Preston River abattoir at Dardanup in south-west WA have been locked out in a dispute over unfair contracts. The lockout followed the union's (AMIEU) decision
Launch of new paper An addition to the alternative media is due to appear this week with the first issue of a new paper, Broadside Weekly. Described as "an independent, broadly based left and progressive weekly", Broadside will be formally
Analysis
In July 1 the Keating government hopes to have in place a law to make superannuation obligatory for all workers. Employers will have to set aside for superannuation each year a minimum of 3-5% of wages or pay the equivalent as a levy to the
When women have demanded change, there has always been a backlash. Two thousand years ago angry women stormed the Roman Forum demanding equal rights, and the counter- assault from law-makers was swift — the troublesome sex
World
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — Four days after the Sosnovy Bor nuclear power plant near St Petersburg released a cloud of radioactive steam on March 24, Yegor Gaidar, first vice-premier in the Yeltsin government, signed plans for a massive
Indonesian students charged SEMARANG — Two students are facing serious criminal charges following a meeting critical of the lack of democracy in Indonesian elections. About 30 students, organised in the Semarang Students Forum, held a
Stepped-up repression in West Bank, Gaza By Sean Malloy Under cover of the Middle East peace conference, Israel's government is increasing repression of Palestinians in the occupied territories and the bombing of south Lebanon. In the
Moves to close US civil rights centre By Andy Lang WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time since the McCarthy era, the federal government may attempt to seize the property of a civil rights organisation. Officials of other public-interest
NEW YORK — The United States on May 21 failed to respond to Cuban accusations that it had been promoting terrorism against the island. The two faced off in a United Nations Security Council meeting, held at Cuba's request. Havana's UN
Dutch government lets refugee die By Russell Riebelt AMSTERDAM — Unlike Germany, France and Belgium, the Netherlands has no racist political parties winning high votes and no fascists marching in the streets. However, problems in Dutch
By Sally Low and Peter Annear PRAGUE — A split in the Czechoslovak republic is more likely after an exchange in early May between Vladimir Meciar, leader of the popular Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), and Czechoslovak President
By Miriam Tramer in Israel Amos Wollin, an Israeli citizen since 1939 and a foreign correspondent for Danish and German newspapers, talked to Green Left about the June 23 Israeli elections. He pointed out, however, that although his name is
Tropical timber protest in Austria STOCKERAU, Austria — Greenpeace activists and about 20 Indians from Central and South America blockaded one of Austria's largest tropical timber importers on May 11. A huge model of a saw prevented trucks
Plutonium threat to southern Africa By Norm Dixon According to environmentalists in southern Africa, a tanker carrying deadly plutonium may have travelled from France and England to Japan via the Cape of Good Hope on a "trial run" to test the
By Norm Dixon Despite their picket lines being raided by armed riot police and strikers being jailed, evicted from their company-owned houses and physically attacked by company thugs, 700 workers at the Vatukoula gold mine in Fiji remain on
By Debbie Stothard Supporters of democracy in Burma from throughout the world are calling on their governments to eject the illegitimate rulers of Burma from the seat they hold in the United Nations General Assembly. The call marks the second
Timorese jailed in Dili and Jakarta By Norm Dixon While Indonesian authorities have yet to charge any military officer or soldier for their role in the massacre in Dili on November 12, several East Timorese who survived the killings or
The media weren't happy with the second convention of the German Greens, held in eastern Berlin May 15-17. "Beer and sausage are preferable to sharp discussion", was the comment of one local journalist.
Greenpeace closes incinerator AMSTERDAM — Greenpeace activists closed down the largest household waste incinerator in Europe on May 12. They blocked the waste bunker and climbed into the transportation cranes of the AVR plant at Rotterdam.
Culture
Hidden Things worth looking for Hidden Things Paul Kelly and the Messengers Mushroom through Festival RecordsAvailable on CD and Cassette Reviewed by Deb Sorensen If you're a Paul Kelly devotee and have most of his albums, you would have
Budgies, Icarus and disintegration Reef Windows By Duncan Richardson 36pp, $5 pb (+ $1 postage) Available from PO Box 274, Corinda, Brisbane 4075 Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen Like his Siberian tigers, Duncan Richardson's poetry prowls
A Thesaurus of LA Burning em = By Nicole Matthews So you've just purchased your own pushcart? How long did you think you could push down and put upon the put-upon before becoming their quarry? A burning rag in quart bottle is just quid pro quo
Labour history in song and yarn A cassette of folk songs and yarns celebrating the shearers' strike of 1891 is one of a series of eight cassettes available from ABC Radio Tapes. A spin-off from the weekly program Songs and stories of
A World Without Pity (Un Monde sans Pitie) Writer/director Eric Rochard Starring Hippolyte Girarot, Mireille Perrier Reviewed by Pat Brewer "Hippo doesn't believe in God, nor in a bright future, nor in the European Market. He has no dreams,
Zentropa Directed by Lars Von Trier Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Ernst-Hugo Jaregard Reviewed by Mario Giorgetti Lars Von Trier's deeply reflective trilogy, begun with Element of Crime in 1984 and followed by Epidemic
Lively new paper from EYA By Felicity King The latest edition of EYA news is a special Earth Summit edition, with a feature article by the Environmental Youth Alliance delegate to the Costa Rican Youth Summit, part of the lead-up to the UN
Dancing or dreaming Inma Juju (Dance Music) Coloured Stone BMG Records Available on CD and Cassette Reviewed by Sean Malloy I first saw Coloured Stone at a semi-trendy, close to seedy, underground tavern in Sydney. I was into ska music at
By Allen Myers [A Sydney rape victim last week had her application for compensation rejected by the Victims' Compensation Tribunal, which made comments including "applicant encouraged actions" and "she must be responsible for her own actions".]
Editorial
Democracy and trade unions Around the country, trade union rights are under attack. The APPM dispute in Burnie and the Greiner government's union-bashing in NSW are only the more prominent examples of a widespread offensive against the