News

Polls indicate that Labor and Liberals are running neck and neck in the New South Wales election on March 25. Minor party preferences could decide the outcome, in particular in key marginal seats and the upper house. For this

Criticism of Pasminco expansion inquiryNEWCASTLE — A commission of inquiry, into a proposed $47 million upgrade of the Boolaroo Pasminco smelter, heard criticism on March 16 of a blood-lead survey

Fight continues over agency bargainingCANBERRA — Community and Public Sector Union delegates and members in the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health (HSH) in the ACT are opposing certification of the

A teachers' campaign targets minister ADELAIDE — As the SA public school system fights to protect its future, the South Australian Institute of Teachers has called upon education minister Rob Lucas to remember his pre-election promise.

A closed meeting of government officials and invitees will shortly make policy decisions to introduce herbicide-tolerant crops, pastures and trees into Australia. Critics and the public are excluded. The decision will follow a March 15-16

Indonesian activist speaksPERTH — Dita Sari, general secretary of the Indonesian Centre for Working Class Struggle (PPBI) was here last week as a guest of the International Women's Day Collective. "Women of the

Journalists arrested in Jakarta Ahmad Taufik, chairperson of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), another member, Liston P. Siregar, and the outspokenly critical member of parliament, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, were arrested during a

ADELAIDE — An amendment to the Metal Trades Federation of Unions' (MTFU) national executive recommendation, which would have set a minimum of 15% for wage increases sought in enterprise agreements, was narrowly defeated at

CANBERRA — Following elections which gave a parliamentary majority to neither major party, ACT Liberal leader Kate Carnell has formed a minority government. The Liberals won seven of the 17 seats in the ACT Legislative

UNSW staff vote to support student strikeThe academic staff union at UNSW has voted to support the National Day of Action on March 23, by cancelling classes and holding a stop-work meeting. A well-attended meeting of

ACT Greens in federal by-electionCANBERRA — The ACT Greens are standing James Warden, environmentalist, historian of politics and writer, as their candidate in the March 25 by-election for the seat of Canberra, formerly

Dear Santa ... "The enduring values and beliefs my parents instilled in me as a child are what sustain me today." — NSW Premier John Fahey. Bulldoze 'em! "There is nothing valuable on that peninsula ... It is substandard, inhabited by