Naarm/Melbourne

Lawyers acting for 12 of the “Melbourne 13”, a group of Muslim men who have been held in Barwon’s Maximum Security Prison for more than a year, argued on March 20 that the possibility of a fair trial had been jeopardised and applied for a stay in proceedings.

The most important elections for many years in the Victorian branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) are set for mid-April. This election will be a showdown between the incumbent unified Victorian branch leadership and the conservative vehicle division of the union and its supporters.

Palestinian community leader and activist Shaher Hussein El-Mashni (Abu Nasser) died on March 1 in Melbourne. His memorial service, on March 18, was attended by more than 200 people, including representatives of Australian Palestinian groups and the Palestinian head of delegation to Australia, Izzat Abdul Hadi, who gave condolences on behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Workers, students and families will take to the Yarra River on March 24-25 to raise funds for, and create greater awareness about the situation faced by, refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.

Workers, students and families will take to the Yarra River on March 24-25 to raise funds for and create greater awareness about the situation faced by refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.

More than 30 workers at the Preston Motors plant in Campbellfield went on strike at 6am on March 13 over the company’s continued refusal to negotiate a meaningful wage increase. The National Union of Workers (NUW) members have been attempting to conclude a new union collective agreement with the company after the previous agreement expired in September 2006.

A spirited demonstration of 200 people marched to state parliament on March 9 to protest the poisoning of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is imprisoned in Turkey. Waving Kurdish and Australian flags and holding pictures of Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the protesters chanted “Freedom for Ocalan, long live Kurdistan” and called for an end to the war in Kurdistan.

The construction division of the Victorian branch of the Construction, Foresty, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has condemned as a “callous” act the sacking from a building site of occupational safety representative Leigh Scott, the sole provider for and father of five children.

In an out-of-court settlement, which became public on March 4, Victorian Labor Premier Steve Bracks’ government agreed to pay compensation to 47 protesters injured at the “S11" blockade of the World Economic Forum in Melbourne in September 2000. The settlement awards $700,000 in compensation, although $600,000 will go to legal fees.

The Islamic Girls and Women’s Group will make its office in Ross House on Flinders Lane available for use by Muslim Legal Services Victoria to provide free legal services for Muslims.

The Melbourne City Council is taking steps to introduce a partnership scheme that will allow Victorian same-sex couples to have their civil unions recognised by the council.

This year’s annual International Women’s Day rally in Melbourne is being organised by the Victorian Trades Hall Council. To be held at the GPO at noon on March 8, the rally will focus on protesting against PM John Howard’s legislative attacks on the wages and working conditions of women workers.