News

  • 'Free Izhar now!'

    Stuart Munckton, Sydney Waving placards declaring "Free Izhar now!", "ASIO — Australia's System of Injustice and Oppression" and "Guilty until proven innocent!", supporters of University of New South Wales medical student Izhar Ul Haque gathered

  • Support grows for 'End the lies' rallies

    Iggy Kim, Sydney "Truth" and "lies" (and "rodents") are fast becoming hackneyed election buzz words. But the national "End the lies" rallies being held on the weekend before the elections will put back some of the real content. Since the election

  • Catholic school teachers launch pay campaign

    Nick Everett, Canberra On March 28, 100 teachers from the ACT's 27 Catholic schools, meeting at the Manuka Oval, voted unanimously to strike. The ACT's 780 Catholic school teachers are seeking a pay increase of 13% over three years after their most

  • Support grows for peace statement

    Pip Hinman, Sydney A "Statement for Peace" which calls for Australian troops to leave Iraq and the occupation to end, has already gained some well-known signatories and financial support, especially among union ranks. The statement was produced by

  • Howard has worked to 'dehumanise asylum seekers'

    Graham Matthews, Melbourne Prime Minister John Howard's Coalition government has "worked to dehumanise asylum seekers, to use them as a tool in wedge politics", David Ristrom, the lead Victorian Senate candidate for the Australian Greens, told an

  • Low turnout in Vic Park

    Chris Latham, Perth The ALP retained the WA state seat of Victoria Park in a by-election held on March 11, with its candidate Ben Wyatt polling 61% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. The by-election was prompted by the surprise resignation

  • Don't add insult to injury!

    Chris Latham, Perth On May 13, chanting, "What do we want? — Workers' comp!", more than 2500 workers marched on the Western Australian parliament. The rally was organised by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the

  • Loose cannons

    Had the royal touch "He came across very arrogant, like a total pompous git." — Comment made about Richard Butler, the recently resigned Queen's representative in Tasmania, quoted in the August 11 Sydney Daily Telegraph. Selfless "I was

  • May Day rallies oppose Iraq occupation

    Adam Leeman, Sydney May Day rallies took place around Australia on the May 1-2 weekend. In Sydney, 1000 people marched, including contingents from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous

  • Cameron uses AMWU conference to attack militants

    Sue Bolton The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) held its biennial conference in Sydney on July 26-30. Delegates to the conference report that it was quite different to the previous conference with a lot of guest speakers and not a lot

  • WA agricultural workers still seeking justice

    Chris Latham, Perth A herbicide used in the highly toxic chemical mixture Agent Orange — widely used during the US war in Vietnam — was still being used in Australia as late as 1985. A group of workers, employed by the Western Australian

  • Deeper thinking on same-sex marriage rights

    Jonathan Strauss, Sydney Discussion at the Marrickville Socialist Alliance's July 25 Politics in the Pub probed the significance of the demand for same-sex marriage rights. Rodney Croome, a spokesperson for the Equal Rights Network, and Bernard