News

Thiess loses bribery appealBRISBANE — Prominent developer Sir Leslie Thiess could face a legal bill of more than $2 million after the Full Court upheld a jury's findings that he bribed former Queensland Premier Sir Joh

Ambitious goal "We have set ourselves the goal, which we consider attainable, of shifting from the current nose-dive to a gentle fall and then stabilisation by the end of the year." — Yegor Gaidar, Russian deputy prime minister. Spaceman

Talking union ADELAIDE — Mitsubishi workers at two plants walked off the job here last week. About 1000 stopped work at the Lonsdale iron foundry in response to management attempts to cut penalty rates and change work patterns. About 200 trim

SYDNEY — Three gay men have been forced to leave an inner-city high school because of death threats, verbal abuse and anti-gay messages left on blackboards. The three were followed home by gangs and were physically abused and

Women discuss trade unionsWOLLONGONG — Women are still under-represented in trade unions, though the situation has improved because of affirmative action programs, Victorian Trades Hall Council representative Martina

Secret freeway deal? SYDNEY — "Has a secret deal been struck between the Roads and Traffic Authority and StateWide Roads Ltd or any other company?", asked NSW Democrat MP Richard Jones here on March 24. Jones had obtained a leaked copy of a

MELBOURNE — After much fanfare, Premier Joan Kirner delivered the state Labor government's economic statement on jobs on March 25. The statement was distinguished by the embellishment of its language: ignoring such

On March 26, thousands of students participated in a national day of action called by the National Union of Students in protest against federal government proposals to replace Austudy with a loans scheme, and against the Higher Education

LAUNCESTON — Federal Police and Taxation Department officials raided the Unemployed Workers Union here on March 19. Police seized hundreds of documents and about $17,000 worth of computer equipment from the UWU's offices and

Rainbow Warrior crew deported French authorities have deported the crew of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior to their countries of origin following the seizure of the ship at Moruroa atoll last week. The ship was seized by French commandos after

Journalist jailed for protecting sourceBRISBANE — Former Courier-Mail journalist Joe Budd was released from Boggo Road Prison on March 26. He had served a week of a 14-day sentence for "contempt of court" after refusing to

Timber bill threatens wilderness SYDNEY — An estimated 50,000 hectares of native forest will be logged without any environmental impact statement as a result of the NSW government's new Timber Industry Protection Bill, says Jeff Angel of the