A national survey conducted by Roy Morgan Research last August found that 25% of Australians do not believe their local hospital would provide them with adequate treatment if they had an accident. If a quarter of the population
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Alex Bainbridge, Hobart The progressive movement lost one of its truest stalwarts on December 25 when George Shenman passed away after a long illness. George had a tremendous respect for fellow human beings and devoted much of his energy to helping
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Kerryn Williams When federal parliament resumes sitting in February, the government's Medicare Plus bill will be put to the Senate. Health minister Tony Abbott has declared himself unwilling to respond to the "wish lists" of those opposing the
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Journalist John Pilger will be speaking at a public meeting in Sydney on February 15, the anniversary of the biggest ever global protests against war. Pip Hinman spoke to Pilger about the truth and lies in the "war on terror". What do you make of
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On January 30, Will Saunders and Dave Burgess will face their second sentencing hearing at the Sydney District Court. These anti-war activists are charged with "malicious damage" for painting "No War" in five-metre-high
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On December 26, the city of Bam in south-eastern Iran was hit by a massive earthquake, destroying around 80% of the city's buildings. By January 2, Iranian authorities had estimated that the quake had claimed the lives of 26,500 people — a quarter
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On December 4, defence minister Robert Hill announced that the Australian government will participate in making US President George Bush's trillion-dollar National Missile Defence (NMD) shield — better known as "Son of Star Wars" — a reality.
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Ian Macfarlane, the head of the Reserve Bank, must be really pleased with the work of his Australian Council of Trade Unions office. With unemployment falling to 5.6% and construction booming, the ACTU has submitted to the Australian Industrial
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After having contributed several thousand troops to assist the criminal US-led invasion of Iraq and then rapidly scaling down the number of Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard's government now is considering
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The federal Coalition government's $1 billion plan to "save" Medicare has been widely exposed as a wolf in sheep's clothing — a set of changes that would radically change Medicare from providing universal health care to little more than a safety
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Since the end of July, 24-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker Aladdin Sisalem has been the only prisoner in the Australian government's Lombrum detention centre on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea. He has very little human contact,
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"Crean joins PM in plans to hobble the Senate", read the Australian Financial Review's headline on October 9. The Labor Party's rapid cave-in on the federal Coalition's plans to nobble Australia's more representative federal house of parliament is a