News

  • Tarkine campaign steps up

    Tarkine campaign gathers strengthBy Ben Courtice HOBART An extraordinary meeting of the state Liberal government's house committee looks set to ban protests from the grounds of Parliament House. This follows a vigil and rally to save the Tarkine

  • TB case points to prison negligence

    By Ben Alterman CASTLEMAINE — Inmates and staff at Victoria's Loddon and Pentridge prisons were informed on October 6, by the head of the Department of Health and Community Services Dr Graham-Rouch, that a recently released inmate had been

  • DEET workers fight for jobs (7K)

    DEET workers fight for job By Frances Berney Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) in the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) have been involved in an ongoing dispute with DEET since they took strike action in

  • Action needed on youth unemployment

    By Jennifer Thompson The release of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures on October 12 showing an increase in unemployment (for the second month in a row) to 8.5% is bad news for federal Labor confronting an electorate which polls indicate

  • Loose cannons

    Bureaucracy lives! "Anyone who manufactures, tests, launches or drops a nuclear bomb within the City of Toronto is violating official policy." — Toronto City Council announcement in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Question ... "Essentially, a number of

  • Fighting sexual assault

    By Lucy Svejk According to Campaign Against Sexual Assault (CASA), early this year a woman was raped and another student sexually harassed by a lecturer at an Australian National University honours students camp. This lecturer remains the coordinator

  • Students, science and sustainability

    By Emma Webb ADELAIDE The annual Students, Science and Sustainability (SS&S) conference was held at Flinders University on September 27-30 with the theme, "Think Globally, Act Locally, Start Tertiary". Around 150 tertiary students attended, with 50

  • Victorian workers rally against Kennett

    By Geoff Spencer MELBOURNE — October 3 marked the third anniversary of the election of the Kennett government. To mark the occasion, the Victorian Trades Hall Council called a poorly-publicised "Cut Kennett Down to Size" rally which was attended by

  • Campaign grows against 'Brown's inquisition'

    By Carla Gorton ADELAIDE — The state Liberal government's Hindmarsh Island Bridge Royal Commission, more accurately described as "Brown's Inquisition", has cost SA taxpayers more than $1.8 million. Recently the commission, now more exposed as a

  • Ambulance dispute widens

    By Sean Healy MELBOURNE — The dispute between the Victorian government and the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) has escalated over the last week with the former threatening to use its emergency powers legislation and privatise the service if

  • CityLink project on hold

    By Karl Miller MELBOURNE — The $1.7 billion CityLink project, a road privatisation scheme to connect several existing traffic-logged roads with electronic tollways, is on hold. Transurban won the contract some months ago. However, last week the

  • WA week of union action

    By Anthony Benbow PERTH — The WA union movement's campaign against the Liberal government's anti-union laws moved up another notch on October 15 with the launch of a "week of discontent". The week will involve union action both here and interstate.