By Dave Riley BRISBANE — Within an hour of bringing down the state budget, Premier Wayne Goss dissolved parliament and called an election for September 19. The surprise short campaign was calculated to throw both parliamentary and community
Issue 69
News
Democratic Socialists stand in Brisbane By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The day after Queensland Premier Wayne Goss called the September 19 poll, abortion rights activist Susan Price announced her campaign for the Democratic Socialists in the seat
By Peter Boyle MELBOURNE — The Liberal-National industrial relations policy for the Victorian elections, released on August 23, is similar to the system brought in by the National government of New Zealand. The award system is to be replaced
Bannon's 'bail-out budget' By Liam Mitchell ADELAIDE — The South Australian budget, brought down by Premier John Bannon on August 27, has been described as the "bail-out budget". Massive amounts of money will be poured into failed
PERTH — Backed by Perth's daily West Australian, the Lawrence government has launched a concerted campaign to marginalise opposition to the controversial development of the old Swan Brewery site. In fact, opposition to the development is widespread, as even the press have been forced to admit.
Coode Island commemoration By Ray Fulcher MELBOURNE — "Coode Island is an accident waiting to happen" state MP Joan Coxsedge told a vigil on the banks of the Maribyrnong river a year after the infamous toxic blaze at the inner-city
Queer Collaborations Conference By Louisa Foley Sydney — "People are hungry for a forum like this", said Nic Connolly, one of the organising collective for the Queer Collaborations Conference, held in Sydney over the weekend of August
Brisbane abortion rally cheers pro-choice candidate By Tyrion Perkins BRISBANE — More than 250 people rallied and marched for women's abortion rights on August 29. A rally organised by the Women's Abortion Campaign heard speakers including
By Barry Healy Public Sector Union national secretary Peter Robson has failed to push through the ACTU/ALP agenda for enterprise bargaining in the Australian public service. An overwhelming vote by members on a wages log of claims, completed
Abortion debated in Wollongong By Leslie Warne WOLLONGONG — A debate on abortion was held at Wollongong University on August 20 as part of Blue Stocking Week. Jill Hickson from the Wollongong Abortion Rights Campaign and state
By Alex Cooper MELBOURNE — Many years ago Shannon Ewart was assaulted by police in Queensland, and since then has heard stories from many people who have suffered the same. One night in April, "on impulse", she did a "spray job" on the South
Call for inquiry into attack on Kurds By Karen Fletcher SYDNEY — At a rally in Town Hall Square on August 29, the Committee of Solidarity with Kurdish People called upon the Australian government to investigate an unprovoked attack by the
Analysis
A century of union gains threatened Industrial relations law in New Zealand has become an issue in Australia, with both Victorian and federal Liberal parties intending to introduce similar policies here.
World
NZ pulp and paper workers fight back By Ian Powell WELLINGTON — Although there have been pockets of determined resistance since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act in May 1991, in general workers have been on the back foot,
By Miriam Tramer BETHLEHEM — I recently had the opportunity to visit a Palestinian refugee camp near here. There I spoke with Fatima and her son, Khalid, about the conditions in the camp. Just half an hour before my visit, there had been a
Libya: sanctions' toll Hundreds of Libyans have died as a result of the air embargo imposed on the country by the UN Security Council. The fatalities include 150 adults and children, as well as 100 infants who required medical treatment not
Burn the book By Frank Noakes LONDON — The scent of a scandal is wafting from the walnut-walled boardrooms of the British financial centre, known as the City. Some big companies have had their books in the oven, and Terry Smith has
Tory crackdown on travellers By Catherine Brown LONDON — The British government on August 18 announced that camping without permission is to become a criminal offence. Caravans of trespassers will be liable to confiscation. The
By Norm Dixon "You cannot keep a people under detention for four years and expect the world to turn a blind eye. What Papua New Guinea and Australia have been doing to Bougainville is no longer a secret. The word is out!", exclaimed Mike
By Catherine Brown The German Constitutional High Court has blocked the Bundestag's liberalisation of abortion laws. An alliance of the Catholic Church, the staunchly conservative Bavarian government and 241 members of parliament, including
By Sri Kandi PHNOM PENH — Cambodia is tense and uncertain. The present impasse cannot go on much longer, with the Khmer Rouge continuing to flout all the conditions laid down in the Paris peace agreement signed last October, and the UNTAC
By Catherine Brown Irish women denied access to abortion in their own country are still being denied information about abortion services in Britain. Fourteen students have been threatened with criminal prosecution defying a court injunction
By Allen Jennings MANAGUA — "It was an unforgettable afternoon. The sound of fireworks and cries came from outside. The university rectors looked like children dressed up as old men as they raised their arms and jumped from their seats with
The British Labour Party is looking for a new way of presenting itself to an electorate that has rejected it at the last four general elections. Major changes are needed if the party is to find success at the polls five years hence; the battle
Indonesian death threat Arief Budiman, an outspoken intellectual and sociologist from the Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, central Java, has complained to local security authorities after receiving anonymous death threats.
By Clarence Lusane Demanding more trees, an end to welfare and teacher merit tests, one well-thought-out proposal to rebuild Los Angeles has been virtually ignored by the local and national media. The proposal emanates from the city's infamous
Women to wait longer for pensions By Frank Noakes LONDON — A committee set up by the government has recommended that women wait five years longer to receive their state pensions. The Social Security Advisory Committee proposes that the
Culture
Off the white beaches The Indonesia Kit By Elaine Brière and Susan Gage Available for $10 plus $2 postage and handling from Stephen Langford, 25 Comber St, Paddington NSW 2011 Reviewed by Michael Tardif Topical and current, The
Tu Galala. Social Change in the Pacific Edited by David Robie Bridget Williams Books/Pluto Press 233 pp. $24.95 Reviewed by Norm Dixon Tu Galala — the title derived from a Fijian phrase meaning "sovereignty, freedom and
Women's Radio Network By Bronwen Beechey MELBOURNE — "Betty Blacktown" is how one Sydney news director of a commercial radio station described his audience. "She's not too bright and listens to the radio from home where she's looking after
Giving cities back to people Winning back the cities By Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy Pluto Press and the Australian Consumers' Association, 1992 Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen With colour photographs on almost every page and information
Images of the Kimberley By Jon Lamb Fremantle — Home Country is an exhibition of paintings and photographic prints of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It brings together works by Aboriginal artists and a European Australian
Riff Raff Directed by Ken Loach Written by Bill Jesse Starring Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt, Ricky Tomlinson At the Kino, Melbourne, from late September Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey Ken Loach has been responsible for some widely acclaimed
Greenhouse strategies in the north The Greenhouse Effect: Science and Policy in the Northern Territory By Ian Moffat North Australia Research Unit, 1992 95 pp. $15 pb Reviewed by Yvonne Sorensen According to Ian Moffat, the key aim of
No condom no start By Karen Fletcher SYDNEY — Building workers on 30 building sites around Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle will be thinking about sex, specifically safe sex, in their morning and lunch breaks from August 25 to September
Editorial
Police raids on the Democrats Federal police raids on the Sydney headquarters of the NSW Democrats and the home of at least one senior Democrat raise some serious questions. What was the purpose of the excessive show of state force against