News

Pie workers get the union of their choiceGEELONG — It took four days of lost pay for Beaumonts Pies and Cakes workers to get their union recognised by the boss. But they all reckon it was worth it. The workers had joined the food

Greed "The blame mostly lies with a greedy Australian electorate." — Right-wing think tank Access Economics lamenting the reduced federal budget surplus because "the punters demanded that 'everyone be no worse off'" after the introduction of a

PERTH — After months of campaigning by students and staff at Murdoch University here, including a nine-day occupation in May, the university's Senate has backed off from plans to cut courses, imposed in a management drive to

Globalisation's myths revealedCANBERRA — The real "globalisation" battle was not to defend the rights of the nation-state against international institutions but to defend peoples' rights against neo-liberal governments and

SYDNEY — Over the objections of many farmers present and despite the urging of environmental activists, the NSW Farmers Association voted at its July 18 annual general meeting to support the release of genetically engineered

S11 Alliance pickets DownerBRISBANE — Armed with a leaflet declaring "Picket Downer! Shut Down the WEF!", 25 students braved the early morning to picket a function attended by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The function,

Asylum seekers threaten hunger strikeSYDNEY — Infuriated by the conditions under which they're held and new repressive measures imposed by the department of immigration, asylum seekers at the Villawood Detention Centre here have

Darwin council cracks down on free speechDARWIN — Darwin City Council has cracked down on free speech on the city's streets, fining Resistance activist Jo Ellis $50 for distributing Green Left Weekly in a public place without

Workers protest student association mergerGEELONG — Staff at the Geelong Association of Students struck for three days, from July 18-20, in protest at the refusal of the association's board to discuss the impact of a planned

Mayor defends Townsville homophobiaTOWNSVILLE — Responding to televised accusations of rampant homophobia in his city, Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney has dug himself in further by blaming the messenger, claiming to be "outraged"

Prisons 'out of bounds' for mediaBRISBANE — Queensland police have charged three women prisoners and a journalist with criminal offences after an article appeared in the Townsville Bulletin alleging abusive treatment in the

HOBART — While it poses as the heroic opponent of federal government support for genetically modified organisms, the Tasmanian Labor government is yet to take any concrete measures against it, or even against controversial