News

  • Hundreds gather against family law changes

    Lynda Hansen, Brisbane Participants in the annual Pride rally at King George Square on June 12 had plenty to be angry about. The event followed the announcement of the federal government's intention to exclude same-sex couples from the definition

  • Women, not politicians, should decide

    Greens MLC Sylvia Hale and feminist doctor Kamala Emanuel were among speakers at a February 6 action in Sydney to protest against politicians denying women their right to choose to use the abortion drug RU486. On February 9, the Senate passed a

  • Paramedics reject ambulance services offer

    Tony Iltis, Melbourne A mass meeting on September 8 of about 400 members of the Victorian branch of the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) voted to reject offers put forward by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service and Rural Ambulance Victoria

  • Government refuses to rule out coastal bushland development

    Fabian Loschiavo & Bea Brear, Sydney The waves crash onto the base of sheer cliffs on the ocean side. In the bay they are more gentle. The coloured sandstone — golden, purple and orange — shows itself among the native heath and shrubs. Old

  • Victory for postal workers' union

    James Vassilopoulos, Melbourne The Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) and the community group Union Solidarity have achieved a victory against Australia Post management, which is now seeking mediation in the union's case to

  • News briefs

    BRISBANE — The Brisbane Timor Leste Goodwill Coalition for Justice in the Timor Sea has launched "A Fair Go for Timor Leste" campaign, with plans to distribute a brochure over the period September 4-14 outlining the case for East Timor.

  • License given for new reactor

    Kerry Smith, Sydney On July 14, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) announced that Lucas Heights would be given an operating licence for its new reactor. The decision will allow the Australian Nuclear Science

  • Free Aceh protest

    Despite its decision to lift martial law in Aceh, Jakarta refuses to withdraw any of its 40,000 troops from the province, to lift the ban on protests or to allow international observers in. A protest in Sydney will coincide with the two-year

  • Warship farewelled

    BRISBANE — Acting on information received the night before, a small group of anti-war kayakers headed off to Luggage Point at Pinkenba early on January 27 to 'see off' the visiting USS Ronald Reagan. The kayakers were stopped by police, who

  • Googling Green Left Weekly

    As the Green Left Weekly website continues to be the number 1 political website in Australia, we're discovering its prominence on the search engine Google. A friend of one of our Canberra GLW distributors wanted to catch up with the latest gossip

  • Loose Cannons

    Reconstruction I "We are passing through a phase marked by unprecedented chaos and corruption in government ranks." — Iraqi planning minister Ali Khalib Baban, quoted in the June 20 Baghdad Azzaman daily. Reconstruction II "RAMADI, Iraq, July

  • Johnston faces political trial

    Sue Bolton, Melbourne When Craig Johnson, the former Victorian branch secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), walked into the Melbourne County Court on May 10, he was expecting to face trial on four charges relating to an