A Hewson victory at the federal election would be a health hazard. Fightback would abolish bulk billing for all except pensioners and other health care card holders. Constraints on doctors' fees would be lifted, and a
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We're no bunnies The board of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has refused by a two-thirds majority, on grounds of sexism, a $33,000 sponsorship deal which rested on approval for the Playboy bunny trademark to adorn Mardi Gras flags the
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Bougainville's struggle for independence will continue despite the occupation of parts of the embattled island's capital, Arawa, by Papua New Guinea Defence Force troops last week, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army has
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Jane Beckman, from Newcastle, heads the NSW Green Alliance Senate ticket in the federal election. Beckman has been active in the women's movement for well over a decade, particularly around working women's issues. She was a
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SYDNEY — Pursuing a technological fetish that has overtaken urban planners and university administrators worldwide, three universities here are planning an "advanced technology park" (ATP) for Redfern. Funded from the
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On Clinton In response to Alan Kazlav (Write On, GLW #87): It is not news that elections, especially in the USA, are largely a ritual. Election programs are hardly more than a device to capture votes and the candidates adjust their messages
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[This article is a reply to Angela Matheson's "and ain't i a woman" column in the January 27 Green Left Weekly.] Matheson's position seems to be that the leaders have been co-opted. In their heady rise to power, women in
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Nick Tucker Government by council? Queensland currently faces one of its most serious challenges to civil liberty in over three years. A local council is trying to make laws preventing free speech and peaceful assembly. Brisbane
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ADELAIDE — Three rallies have so far been organised by the Anti-Racism Alliance in response to National Action's public display of racist propaganda in Old Parliament House. The display at the
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Aboriginal people face highly disproportionate levels of imprisonment and are more vulnerable to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment within the justice system. These are just some of the criticisms raised in the recent
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MELBOURNE — Secondary school teachers from the Victorian Secondary Teachers Association and the Federated Teachers Union of Victoria on February 10 took part in the first "illegal" 24-hour stop-work under the Kennett
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SYDNEY — The ombudsman's report into the Angus Rigg affair has highlighted the neglect shown by police officers towards young prisoners. Rigg suffered severe brain damage in an apparent suicide attempt in jail.
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Wilderness Society rejects Liberal And Labour SYDNEY — The Wilderness Society has called for voters concerned about the environment, and native forests in particular, to vote for the Democrats, Greens and progressive independents in the
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The week of the great debate, full of excitement and political relevance and ... stretch ... yawn ... snore. Actually, I was sitting there only half asleep, and a friend said, "Look at that worm on the telly", and I said,
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ADELAIDE — A United Trades and Labor Council rally at Morphettville Racecourse on February 10 set the tone for the union officialdom's intervention in the election. The turnout of around 500 was probably a little
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NSW Water Board changes studiedPENRITH — A public seminar organised by the Government Pricing Tribunal of NSW was held here on February 12 as part of the state government's plans for privatising the water supply. Other
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While the media have made much of federal Labor's child-care cash rebate proposal, child-care workers are not as eager to embrace what they regard as anything but a fairer system. "To start with, the 30% rebate is not
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In his "maiden" speech in federal parliament, in 1970, Paul Keating expressed grave concern at the number of women entering the work force. They should be at home, making babies, he said, because an
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Lucas Heights meetingSYDNEY — A public meeting in Sutherland on February 18 heard debate on the proposed new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights. The meeting was attended by only about 30 local residents, which reflected
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A 'P-plate' curfew?The Victorian chair of the Road Trauma Committee has called for curfews on "P-plate" drivers. Associate Professor Frank McDermott, writing in the Medical Journal of Australia, calls for a night-time
News
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Liberals stall on brewery PERTH — The new Liberal state government has already refused to act over the redevelopment of the old Swan Brewery site. Aboriginal affairs minister Kevin Minson said last week that, while the Liberal Party was
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"The Labor Party and the Liberals promote policies that are working against the interests of young people", says Zanny Begg, Democratic Socialist national spokesperson on youth affairs. Begg is also a leading member of the
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MELBOURNE — Community action groups are trying to keep up the momentum of the campaign against the Kennett government through numerous demonstrations and protest meetings, but the government is beginning to
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Greens contest most marginal seat SYDNEY — The Greens in Lowe announced last week that they will be standing a candidate in NSW's most marginal seat in the federal elections. Bruce Threlfo, the Greens candidate in two previous
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No GST on Tomatoes! say TasmaniansHOBART — When Liberal leader John Hewson visited Salamanca Markets on Saturday, February 20, he didn't expect to be pelted with fruit and vegetables. Hewson was
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MELBOURNE — About 350 people attended the Rainbow Alliance's election campaign launch here on February 17. Speakers included Rainbow candidates Nigel D'Souza, standing in Batman; Christine Craik, standing in Melbourne Ports;
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Bill Hathaway MELBOURNE — Prominent AIDS activist Bill Hathaway died on February 6, aged 27. He had been living with HIV since 1989. Hathaway worked as HIV education officer with the Victorian AIDS Council and was an activist in
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Socialist environment policy launchedBRISBANE — "For over 200 years, capitalism has inflicted serious damage on Australia's natural and fragile environment", Dr Coral Wynter told a meeting here on February 17, launching
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Expelled ALP member to stand against Baldwin SYDNEY — A former Labor Party member is the Democratic Socialist candidate in the inner city seat of Sydney, currently held by Peter Baldwin for the ALP. Margaret Gleeson, a community housing
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Alternative media setbacks The publishers of Modern Times, which ceased publication last September, have written to subscribers confirming the demise of the magazine. First published as Australian Society, the magazine had been in
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Left unions publish new paperMELBOURNE — A number of Victorian unions under left-wing leadership and some community groups have produced the first issue of a new monthly newspaper called FrontLine. Their aim is to "help
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NSW rejections riseSYDNEY — The number of rejected NSW applicants for tertiary education increased again in 1993. Those refused access this year numbered 45,000. This was an increase of 3000 on last year's figures.
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Democratic Socialist candidate in Sydney's west SYDNEY — The Democratic Socialist Electoral League has announced that it is contesting the western suburbs electorate of Prospect. The Democratic Socialists will be fielding 36-year-old youth
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Democracy — 1 "Regardless of who wins on March 13, the pace of economic and social change is unlikely to slow." — Introduction to a Time article on the federal elections. Democracy — 2 "The real issue of the election ... is
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Brisbane mall protests continueBRISBANE — Brisbane City Council and police adopted a low-key approach at a rally in Brisbane's Queen St Mall on February 19. The rally was the third such action to protest against the
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ADELAIDE — In a cynical election gimmick, the federal government has made the South Australian state Labor government an offer of financial assistance if the state government sells off part of the debt-ridden State Bank.
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Green Party candidates Murray Matson (Kingsford Smith) and Mark Berriman (Sydney) sorted rubbish or "non-recovered material" at Eastgarden shopping centre on February 18 to call attention to the need for greater recycling. According to Matson, a
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Woodchip protest at BunburyBUNBURY, W.A. — Thirty protesters were arrested at the Bunbury woodchip export facility here on Sunday, February 14. The arrests took place at the base of the massive pile of woodchips which
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BRISBANE — Queensland voters in the federal election will have some 205 candidates in the lower house and 42 candidates in the upper house to choose from. There are 25 lower house seats and six senate positions to be
Analysis
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Accord Mark VII In the seventh manifestation of the misnamed Prices and Incomes Accord between the federal Labor government and the ACTU, the peak union body has agreed to forgo national wage claims for three years, or even longer if high
World
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LONDON — During a short visit to her native Somalia recently, Rakiya Omaar was stunned to discover that she could not gain access to foreign relief offices. "It was a very painful experience", she recalled, "to see the
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New Zealand's Telecom Corporation, sold by the government to two United States companies in late 1990, has announced plans to cut its work force by 5200 over the next four years. The cuts were announced as the company
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'Mitterrand approved Greenpeace bombing' It has been alleged that French President Francois Mitterrand approved the bombing of the environmental organisation Greenpeace's ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour in 1985. Two French agents
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Long-simmering tensions between President Suharto and the Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) high command have been brought into the open. On February 16, the military seemingly laid down the gauntlet to the president a
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MOSCOW — As set forward recently by labour minister Gennady Melikyan, the Russian government's "solution" to unemployment is a familiar line from the West — "Women back into the home!" More than 70% of Russia's
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Death penalty in the PhilippinesAfter six years of bitter debate and opposition, the death penalty has been reintroduced in the Philippines. The House of Representatives Committee on Justice, headed by Pablo Garcia,
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MOSCOW — Ask any Muscovite what there are most of in the city, and he or she will probably answer, "Commercial street kiosks". These are ugly structures, often with steel bars on the windows, which trade in a
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International actions against Sarawak logging Rainforest campaigner Bruno Manser will begin a fast in March in solidarity with the Penan people of Sarawak state in Malaysia. Manser and others in Switzerland and Austria plan the fast as part of
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Child victims of Israeli terror Twenty-five Palestinian children, between four and 16 years old, have been killed by the Israeli military since Yitzhak Rabin took office as prime minister, claims the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre.
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West backs down on deportationsThe United Nations, the European Community and the United States have tacitly supported Israel's deportation of Palestinians to Lebanon by accepting a "compromise" proposal to return 100 of
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A strike by Johannesburg taxi drivers, which crippled the city for three days in the second week of February, has been settled with an agreement of intent. Signatories include the major taxi union, political parties,
Culture
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Cabaret in popular usage generally conjures up visions of strip joints, sleazy bars or nightclubs where the meagre stage fare hardly compensates for the high drink prices. To these images the film Cabaret added the grim aura of
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Work by lesbian artistsSYDNEY — Among the multitude of offerings for this year's Mardi Gras festival — everything from the annual parade and party to a "shop till you drop" fundraiser and forums — the "inside out
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Indonesian Politics Under Suharto: Order, Development and Pressure for Change By Michael R.J. Vatikiotis Routledge, 1993. 220pp. $39.95 Reviewed by Max Lane This is the first book for many years aimed at the general public and
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South African township jive — mbaqanga — has become popular throughout the world largely because of the phenomenal talents and energies of Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens and their often overlooked but equally
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Unforgiven Written by David Webb Peoples Directed by Clint Eastwood With Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris Showing at Village, Greater Union and Hoyts Cinemas Reviewed by Max Lane Unforgiven is a very
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Beyond the white jumpsuit Elvis Herselvis Wheatsheaf Hotel, Hobart,February 10 Reviewed by Rose Matthews Three years ago Leigh Crow impersonated Elvis, on a dare, at a gay and lesbian nightclub in San Francisco. Although Crow was at
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Bob-bob-bobbin' along Bob Roberts (M) Written and directed by Tim Robbins Reviewed by Mario Giorgetti Meeting halls across Pennsylvania ring to the cheering and the clapping and the stamping that characterises the hysteria of
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Utungan PercussionThey were clad in purple, baggy clothes and top hats with streamers, drums around their necks and shells around their ankles — full body groovin'! This is Utungan Percussion. This Sydney-based