News

  • WA Unions debate June 28 actions

    Peter Short, Perth On March 21, the monthly Unions WA council meeting looked set to decide against organising an ACTU-proposed June 28 protest rally against the new federal industrial relations laws. However, several unions intervened to get

  • News briefs

    SYDNEY — NSW Police has had to introduce new methods to control their officers during high-speed car chases, according to the November 11 Sydney Morning Herald. An investigation by the newspaper found that 62 people have died since 1994 as a

  • Andrews attacks SA industrial bill

    Alex Tighe, Adelaide Federal workplace relations minister Kevin Andrews visited South Australia earlier this months to publicly declare that the state Labor government "must abandon the Fair Work Bill" because, he claimed, if passed into law it

  • Two-thirds favour Iraq troop pull-out

    Doug Lorimer Almost two-thirds of Australians want all Australian troops to be withdrawn from Iraq immediately or no later than May, a telephone poll of 500 randomly selected Australians conducted from March 10-13 found. Australia was one the

  • Weekend of protest

    Anti-war and civil rights activists rallied around the country on November 5-6 to give expression to public opposition to the occupation of Iraq and the federal government's new "anti-terror" laws. In Brisbane, the November 5 rally marched to

  • Melbourne anti-racist group supports the Redfern Block

    The following letter was sent by the Western Suburbs Community Campaign Against Racism (to the residents of the Redfern Block in mid-February. Dear friends, We wish to express our condolences to the family and friends of Thomas "TJ" Hickey. This

  • Centrelink staff to stop work on November 15

    Andrew Hall, Canberra Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) working in Centrelink are set to stop work nationally for several hours on November 15 to attend the ACTU's national SkyChannel broadcast and protest rallies against the

  • Ranks retaking control of WA MUA branch

    Ian Jamieson, Fremantle For the first time, the Western Australian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has allowed rank-and-file members to express their opinions at a state conference of the union. Held over the February 14-15

  • Opposition grows to NT nuke dump

    Jon Lamb, Darwin The announcement on October 13 by the federal government that it will pass special legislation to override Northern Territory laws that may obstruct the location of a nuclear waste dump in the NT has hardened local opposition to

  • UC endorses Nelson Review fee hikes

    James Caulfield, Canberra The University of Canberra became the first institution to endorse implementing domestic full fees since the Nelson Review "reforms" were passed in parliament last year, after a motion put by vice-chancellor Roger Dean was

  • Tax workers demand union agreement

    MELBOURNE — As of October 18, 11,475 employees of the Australian Taxation Office, 53% of all ATO staff, have signed a petition calling on management to negotiate a new agency agreement with the Community and Public Sector Union when the current

  • Students confront Howard

    Kiraz Janicke, Perth Around 40 students ambushed Prime Minister John Howard on February 3, chanting "Howard, come off it, education is not for profit" as he entered the 6PR radio station. The following day, another crowd gathered outside Liberal