News

  • Talking union

    MELBOURNE — Job cuts promised by the Victorian Labor government in its coming budget have already begun. The western regional office of the Ministry of Education has written to all school principals directing them to offer voluntary redundancies to

  • US subsidy grabs another wheat market

    The offer by the United States to sell 300,000 tonnes of subsidised wheat to Yemen has sparked outrage from trade minister Neil Blewett. The nation that claims to be the home of free trade had elbowed its loyal partner Australia out

  • Conference on Sydney problems

    SYDNEY — Around 230 people attended the Living in Sydney conference, held on August 3-4. Initiated by the New Left Party, the gathering attracted a range of activists and people working in various fields of urban and social

  • 'Don't tax recycled paper'

    'Don't tax recycled paper' SYDNEY — The Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace last week called on the federal government to retain the sales tax exemption on 100% recycled paper. Their call was supported by

  • Loose cannons

    Or any other "We all lived in this century; I didn't live in this century." — US Vice President Dan Quayle] How much? "I wouldn't leave this country if you paid me." — Patriotic businessman Lenny McPherson, asked to undertake not to leave

  • Sarawak tribes step up forest struggle

    Tribespeople in the mountainous rainforests of Sarawak have been battling logging companies with a network of blockades for four years. Australian and other international activists recently participated in the protests, and

  • 'Winners and losers' of Gulf War

    ADELAIDE — Israel, Syria, Turkey and Iran were the big winners in the Middle East as a result of the Gulf War, Dr Robert Springborg told a 200-strong public meeting here on August 5. The meeting was organised by the Gulf Peace

  • Sand mining blockade predicted

    Sand mining blockade predictedBRISBANE — Queensland conservationists have warned of a Franklin Dam-style campaign against the Goss Labor government's decision to approve mineral sand mining in the Byfield national park region

  • Medicare fee means 'lower health standards'

    At present, if a person visits a doctor who bulk bills, Medicare covers the full cost, and the patient pays nothing directly (though they do through the taxation system). The Hawke government's proposal to impose a fee (probably

  • International protesters jailed

    International protesters jailedBRISBANE — Nancy Rolfe from Perth is among six international protesters serving 70-day jail sentences in Sarawak following anti-logging protests in early July. The convictions were the first in

  • Jobless figures: economy still on the ropes

    The unemployment rate jumped from 9.3% to 9.8% in July, dampening weeks of media speculation that an end to the recession was in sight. Some 83,000 more jobs were lost, bringing the total number lost in the last year to 305,000.

  • Public servants angry over pay deal

    Public Servants are facing massive attacks on their working conditions, extraordinary leaked documents have revealed. The papers are the offers put to the government on July 28 by officials of the Public Sector Union in wages