News

MELBOURNE — Around 40,000 workers gathered on November 12 for the second Victorian Trades Hall Council-organised rally against the state government's proposed changes to the WorkCover scheme. The crowd marched to Parliament

Cancer inquiry presents findingsNEWCASTLE — Fifty people attended a public meeting here on November 8 called to discuss cancer and industrial pollution. Findings were presented from the Workers' Inquiry into Wollongong

HOBART — On November 14, as tenders closed for the privatisation of the vehicular ferry that provides the only link between Bruny Island and mainland Tasmania, a strike and picket by ferry workers ended its seventh day. Nine

Death in custody in private prison MELBOURNE — George Drinken, a 28-year-old remand prisoner, was found hanged in his cell at Port Philip Prison in the early evening of October 30. The Port Phillip Prison, a 600-cell maximum security and

Politics the easiest way Do you want to keep receiving Green Left Weekly for your alternative world view, but have no time to resubscribe? Are you disturbed by the fact that you can't find your renewal slip even though one has been sent out

CPSU members rally to defend conditionsCANBERRA — A majority of Community and Public Sector Union members in the ACT last week voted for lunchtime rallies on November 28 to oppose the Howard government's attacks on public

Debate on post-Kernot politics BRISBANE — Thirty people gathered at the Resistance Centre on October 29 to hear a discussion about how to build a progressive alternative to the two-party system in the wake of Cheryl Kernot's defection to the

Recognising the unpopularity of further moves towards "user pays", the government has ruled out two major proposals contained in the discussion paper of the review of higher education being conducted by Roderick West. The paper

Dili massacre commemorated around Australia The sixth anniversary of the Indonesian military's massacre of mourners at Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery on November 12, 1991, was commemorated in many parts of the country. From Brisbane, report Roberto

Bon appétit "It will not work. There is too much greed on the part of manufacturers and others." — Bob Beale, former chief executive of Edgell, on self-regulation in the food industry. Cross our hearts "I don't give [Chinese

Twelve-hour shifts are increasingly being put into new enterprise agreements. Also increasingly common are cuts to penalty rates and the averaging of working hours over a month instead of a week. The five-day, 40-hour

Protesters condemn Shell During Sydney-wide protests against the Shell oil company on November 10, environmentalists in the Lane Cove River Valley joined Friends of the Earth to picket the Shell service station on Epping Road, in John Howard's