News

Workers First wins, result put on hold

BY CHRIS SPINDLER MELBOURNE — Refusing to accept the outcome in an election for Victorian state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the backers of defeated incumbent Julius Roe have obtained a court injunction preventing the

Loose cannons

The Indonesian people do? "The West might not understand our determination to make national reconciliation a priority." — Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, pledging to pardon former president Suharto if he is convicted of corruption. Or

NT minister in denial

NT minister in denial BY ANDY GOUGH AND DAVE MURPHY DARWIN — Country Liberal Party MP Chris Lugg labelled the stolen generations "a fraud contrived by Aboriginal activists and their supporters and legal advisors" for the purpose of "obtaining

University workers demonstrate against council

University workers demonstrate against council BY NICK FREDMAN LISMORE — All but three members of the Southern Cross University council slunk in the back door rather than face the 100 angry campus workers demonstrating outside for a better

NSW Labor pleases private sector — again

BY LACHLAN MALLOCH SYDNEY — The NSW Labor government has once again received warm ruling-class approval for its annual budget, announced by treasurer Michael Egan on May 23. A projected budget surplus of $659 million in 2000-2001, an earlier than

Unionists face fines, jail

Unionists face fines, jail BY CHRIS SLEE MELBOURNE — Five hundred union delegates rallied outside the Federal Court on May 22 in support of three union officials found guilty of contempt of court for organising union meetings. Electrical Trades

University colludes in illegal oil exploration

BY SEAN HEALY MELBOURNE — Friends of the Earth Australia and the Melbourne University Student Union have condemned the involvement of a corporate wing of the University of Melbourne in illegal oil and gas exploration in Pakistan's Kirthar

Protest hits Rio Tinto AGM

Protest hits Rio Tinto AGM BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside the annual general meeting of the mining giant Rio Tinto here on May 24, accusing the company of human rights breaches and destructive

Ruddock: 'Refugee policy not racist'

BY GRAINNE DWYER PERTH — Federal immigration minister Philip Ruddock and his state counterpart Rob Johnson defended Australia's harsh treatment of refugees at a public meeting here on May 12, claiming the policy was not racist. "Australia of

Burmese target Canberra embassy

Burmese target Canberra embassy BY MARCUS PABIAN CANBERRA — Fifty federal police were unable to prevent 200 Burmese pro-democracy demonstrators, chanting "Eliminate dictatorship", from staging a sit-in outside the Burmese government's embassy

Union centre teaches organising skills

Union centre teaches organising skills BY MERRILYN TREASURE SYDNEY — A new union centre in Indonesia, established with Australian trade union funds, has begun training workers in the textile, banking, hotel, tourism and teaching sectors in

Thousands protest against racism on Sorry Day

Thousands of people around the country turned "Sorry Day", May 26, into a day of protest against the federal government's policies on indigenous rights, in particular its attempt to deny the suffering inflicted on the generations of Aboriginal