Owen Richards
Australia is in the grip of a water shortage crisis. In NSW and Victoria, water usage restrictions were introduced to combat the crisis in October and November of 2002.
The NSW mandatory restrictions, for example, which replaced the
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[The following is a statement by the national conveners of the Socialist Alliance issued on September 11.] The September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in the United States made it much easier for the Bush administration to
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John Pilger In 1983, the principal media in the Western world, which dominate much of the media in the rest of the world, were owned by 50 corporations. In 2002, this had fallen to nine transnational companies. Rampant deregulation has ended even a
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Amy McDonell, 21 (Socialist Alliance Senate candidate in South Australia) "While I was growing up in rural New South Wales, I spent a lot of time yelling at the television. I was angry at the way billions of people had to suffer because of the
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Argentina Allow me to forward you a message of militant solidarity with Green Left Weekly on behalf of Herramienta, Journal of Marxist Debate and Critique. Francisco T. SobrinoEditorial staffHerramientaBuenos AiresArgentina Brazil Greetings
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"Howard has been a disaster for working people. $43 million is spent on the military every day. This money should be spent on health, education and social services. We need solidarity, not attacks on Muslims, refugees and our civil liberties." —
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Paul Benedek, Sydney On September 24, 50 people attended the first street action here to protest the jailing of former Victorian secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Craig Johnston. "Johnston stood up for 29 sacked workers,
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Illawarra Mercury I am outraged by the Illawarra Mercury's refusal to cover the campaign against homophobia at the University of Wollongong. Bouts of rampant homophobia, including death threats, have plagued the University of Wollongong over the
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Rohan Pearce Investors certainly know what to make of the findings of the NSW commission of inquiry into James Hardie Industries, released on September 21. After the report was released, the killer corporation's share price rose 4.8% — its first
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"John Howard must answer for lying to the Australian people about asylum seekers, Iraq, Timor's oil and climate change. He must be held accountable not only at the ballot box, but in the parliament of the streets. Howard should vacate the Lodge to
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In a September 16 media release, the National Association of Community Based Children's Services (NACBCS) listed its demands in the October 9 election, calling on all political parties to commit to retaining and developing community-owned,
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Kylie Moon is 26 years old and is the Socialist Alliance's number one Senate candidate in NSW. She was the national coordinator of the "Books not bombs" student strikes in 2003 and is an activist in Sydney's Community Action Against Homophobia.
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Sue Bolton, Melbourne A petition seeking the release of jailed trade union leader Craig Johnston was launched at a 250-strong public meeting of unionists from Melbourne and Geelong on September 23. It is envisaged that thousands of people from
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Australia's social security payments are lower, and fewer people receive them, than in other comparable countries. A survey of 16 OECD nations revealed that Australia spends less on social security payments in proportion to Gross Domestic Product
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Michael Organ was the first Green MP elected to the House of Representatives in the Cunningham by-election in 2002. Green Left Weekly's Nicole Hilder spoke to both Organ and Chris Williams, the Socialist Alliance candidate for Cunningham. There
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Green Left Weekly asked some of our recent contributors to explain why they supported the paper. "Green Left Weekly is a vital part of Australia's independent media. Both in print and on line, it is globally influential — and always worth reading
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The following letter was sent by imprisoned union militant Craig Johnston to "Bagman" (AKA Denis Evans) 3CR Community Radio's Stick Together Show. Please thank all your listeners for their support. I am doing extremely well and in high spirits. All
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Raffaele Fantasia Finally taking a stance against the poor political process in this country was a huge factor for me in joining the Socialist Alliance. The one thing that appealed to me about the alliance was its discreet but sizeable presence in
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Nick Everett, Canberra On September 20, 70 people demonstrated outside the foreign affairs department to demand the Australian government stop trying to steal East Timor's oil and gas resources. The protest coincided with the resumption of
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"Workers, pensioners, students and unemployed people are being screwed by the capitalist politicians in the Labor and Liberal parties and we desperately need a working-class alternative." — Kamala Emanuel, Socialist Alliance candidate for Denison.
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"For the past twenty years, working people have suffered under economic rationalist policies. While billions of dollars have ended up in the hands of the rich, we have suffered neglected schools, run-down hospitals and a dilapidated welfare system.
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Michael Organ The following is an edited version of remarks made in the House of Representatives by Greens MP Michael Organ on August 12. I rise today to speak in memory of my dear friend Bill Whiley, who passed away last Thursday evening, August
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Doug Lorimer Socialist Alliance candidates have condemned Prime Minister John Howard's "anti-terrorist" pre-emptive strike policy as morally bankrupt and racist. In a September 23 media release, Lisa Macdonald, a national co-convener of the
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David Glanz Why do politicians lie? For many people the answer would be "because they breathe". If I had a dollar for everyone who told me as I go doorknocking that politicians are two-faced I'd be spending the last two weeks of the campaign with
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Alison Thorne In this federal election, the Citizens Electoral Council (CEC) is standing candidates for the Senate and in many lower-house seats across the country. The CEC aims to tap into popular concerns and has recently been campaigning against
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Amanda Zivcic High school students in Wollongong launched a "pre-emptive strike" against the Coalition government, holding mock federal election ballots on several schools. The ballots, organised by high school members of Resistance and the
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"Dumping Howard on October 9 will send a clear message of our opposition to his government's unjust and illegal war on the people of Iraq. We have to repeat the lesson the Spanish people dished out to their warmongers and vote out a government that
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Rohan Pearce If there was any justice in the world, 2004 should have been the year the corporate media died. Over a year after Iraq was occupied by the "coalition of the willing" under the false pretext of disarming "weapons of mass destruction"
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Owen Richards Providing a graphic analogy of the party's plummeting fortunes, Australian Democrats leader Senator Andrew Bartlett went for a bungy jump at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast on September 15. The attention-seeking election stunt was
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More individuals, unions and organisations have joined the fight to free Craig Johnston. A statement calling for his release now has signatories from 15 different countries, and a number of white collar unions have passed motions of support. Those
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Activists, campaign groups and prominent individuals across Australia have come behind the national "End the lies" demonstrations scheduled for October 2-3. Below are messages of support for the protests. Jenny Leong, Greens candidate for Sydney
News
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#2 Sydney Social Forum a success SYDNEY — More than 300 people attended the third Sydney Social Forum on September 17 19 at the University of Technology, Sydney. The forum was launched with a public forum titled "Keeping it common", which
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Marcus Pabian, Melbourne On September 22, the Socialist Alliance held an election launch at the Trades Hall for its nine Victorian federal election candidates. "Is Australia a free democracy? Not while Craig Johnston remains a political
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#3 NTEU strikes at two universities MELBOURNE — Members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) held 24-hour strikes at RMIT and the Victoria University of Technology on September 23. Staff at both universities are in the midst of
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Dale Mills The Queensland Labor government has dismissed recommendations that adult survivors of child abuse be financially compensated. At the moment there is a legal limitation period, meaning that someone cannot normally bring an action beyond
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Alex Bainbridge, Hobart On September 18, 50 people rallied on the Parliament Lawns to launch the Socialist Alliance's election campaigns for the federal seats of Denison and Franklin. Denison candidate Kamala Emanuel said that "socialism
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Greg McFarlane, Sydney More than 100 people attended a colourful rally outside Tony Abbott's Manly office on September 25 to express their anger at the dishonesty of the Howard government. Representatives of the Socialist Alliance, the Stop the
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Jim McIlroy, Brisbane "Let's have regime change here in Australia, for ourselves as well as the people of Iraq", Donna Mulhearn, peace activist and former human shield in Iraq, told a rally of up to 1000 people on September 26. The protest took
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Nicole Hilder, Wollongong On September 24, 200 people attended a feisty meet-the-candidates forum on "family values", held in the Wollongong mall. Referred to by its critics as "the big day out for homophobes", the event was organised by Jeff
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#1 Socialist candidates protest Kodak closure MELBOURNE — On September 21, two Socialist Alliance candidates in the October 9 federal election — David Glanz (standing in Wills) and Sue Bolton (standing for the Senate) — participated in a
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Kerryn Williams, Sydney On September 24, Redfern police Aboriginal liaison officer Paul Wilkinson told the NSW parliamentary inquiry into Redfern that the young Aboriginal man who died after he was impaled on a fence in Waterloo on February 14, had
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Paul Oboohov, Canberra On September 23, candidates for the October 9 federal election addressed a forum at the Australian National University organised by the National Tertiary Education Union. The Liberal candidate for the seat of Fraser, Adam
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Kath O'Driscoll, Lismore On September 23, 100 people attended a "Karaoke against the cuts" protest against the NSW Labor government's "reforms" to disability services. The action was part of a state-wide protest, which included rallies on September
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Tent embassy burnt down Nicole Hilder, Wollongong In pre-dawn hours of September 19 the Sandon Point Aboriginal Tent Embassy (SPATE) was destroyed by fire while five occupants were asleep inside. The tent embassy had stood on the site for more
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Dave Munroe, Wollongong On September 18, a meet-the-candidates public forum on lowering the voting age to 16 was organised by Resistance and the Socialist Alliance. Candidates for the seat of Cunningham addressed the meeting, including Chris
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The all-volunteer army I "Soldiers from a Fort Carson combat unit say they have been issued an ultimatum — re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq. Hundreds of soldiers from the [US Army's] 3rd
Analysis
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On October 9, it's time to go Johnny. After more than eight years of neoliberal attacks against working people and the poor; after sending Australian troops to fight unjust wars; after locking up thousands of refugees who came here seeking asylum;
World
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Doug Lorimer "Almost every day, in campaign speeches, [US President George] Bush speaks with bravado about how he is 'winning' in Iraq... But, according to the US military's leading strategists and prominent retired generals, Bush's war is already
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Max Lane Former Suharto-era general Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono and former Golkar official Yusuf Kalla have been elected as president and vice-president in the second round of Indonesia's first direct presidential election. Yudhoyono won 61% of the
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David Bacon, Oakland, California If you listen to President George Bush, the only way Mexicans can avoid the deadly and illegal trip across the US border is to come as "guest" workers — temporary contract labourers for US industry and
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Holiday, EducateHoliday, Liberate While you're on your holidayTake some time to educateOccupation is no lifeThere are no basic human rights Everybody plays a partWhat you see is under occupationThe ghettos and the wallA fascist situation Check
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Kim Bullimore, West Bank As you pass through the West Bank, you can't help but notice the illegal Israeli settlements dotted high up on the hills. They are easily identifiable: red tiled roofs, Western-style houses, barbed wire, checkpoints and
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UNITED STATES: Bush lifts Libya trade sanctions US President George Bush lifted his country's trade embargo on Libya on September 20. Most of the sanctions were suspended in April, following Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi's December
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Kim Bullimore, Tel Aviv As Israeli and international peace activists gathered outside of the David Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday night, the tune of Madonna's hit Holiday blared from the speakers, only the words had been changed. "Holiday,
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Roj Shuhe, Toronto During the last year, the larger protests against the war in Iraq here have featured sizeable and militant contingents from the Kurdish community. At the time of the invasion, the Kurdish population was deeply and evenly divided
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Leading Italian revolutionary socialist Livio Maitan died in Rome on September 16, at the age of 81. Livio was born in Venice on April 1, 1923. He graduated in classics from the University of Padua. He became politically active in the socialist
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A debate is raging in British trade unions about what sort of relationship they should have with the Labour Party. Key figures took up the debate at a September 15 fringe meeting held during the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress
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Doug Lorimer With blatant disregard for Iran's legal rights under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the board of governors of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unanimously adopted a resolution on September 18 demanding
Culture
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Ngara is an Eora Indigenous word meaning "listening". At Ngara: the Fourth Australian Poetry Festival on September 3-5, 450 people collectively listened to readings, workshops and performances. The 500-member-strong Poets Union,
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John Howard's Lament Won't you come back MS Tampa,won't you come back to our shore.Bring us the old and the hungry,your crippled and troubled what's more. Won't you come back MS Tampa,won't you come back to our shore.Bring us the old and the
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To the 5 BurroughsBeastie BoysCapitol Records$29.95 REVIEW BY NICK FREDMAN The Beastie Boys, three weedy-looking Jewish guys with whining voices, were never the most obvious candidates for hip hop superstardom. However for over two decades
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A group of filmmakers attending the Melbourne International Film Festival earlier this year found themselves lamenting the absence of Australian documentaries comparable with Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. With the forthcoming federal election in
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Letters to AliDirected by Clara LawWritten by Eddie L.C. Fong and Clara LawNow showing at the Palace in Sydney and the Nova in Melbourne REVIEWED BY LACHLAN MALLOCH & SARAH STEPHEN Letters to Ali is a sensitively made, restrained yet powerful,
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Former Rio Rancho High School humanities and poetry teacher/coach Bill Nevins of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was given a 2004 Courageous Resister Award by the Artists Network of Refuse and Resist, a national organisation, in a