News

  • Loose cannons

    On the bright side "There are no specific allegations against me of either corruption or illegality and I look forward to carrying on with the job." — Terry Metherell after the announcement of an Independent Commission Against Corruption

  • Legal centres rally

    BRISBANE - State legal centres held a stop-work meeting on the steps of the government executive building on April 23 following notification to legal centres of cuts of $500,000 to funding statewide. Despite a Labor Party

  • Students arrested over March 26 protest

    MELBOURNE - Police were out in force with batons and riot gear for the second Student Day of Action on April 15, after having arrested a number of activists in early morning raids the day before. Five members of the

  • SA to make drivers pay for savings

    ADELAIDE - The state government, faced with growing resentment over its plan to reduce public transport in order to save money, has been forced to back down. But its latest proposal aims at making the drivers pay for retaining

  • Picket of the offices of uranium miner ERA

    SYDNEY — Friends of the Earth and the Movement Against Uranium Mining organised a picket of the offices of uranium miner ERA on April 26, the sixth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster (see page 18). Photograph by Jenny Long.

  • WA teachers' executive 'shames unionism'

    PERTH - On April 15 internal struggles within the WA State School Teachers' Union (SSTU) took another poor turn when the state executive sacked general secretary Peter Quinn. The sacking came without warning while Quinn was on

  • Queensland TWU officials pay themselves $500,000

    BRISBANE - Outgoing officials of the Queensland Transport Workers Union awarded themselves pay-outs totalling more than $500,000 just a week before a newly elected administration took control. Some estimates put the amount at

  • Victory for war tax resister

    Melbourne war tax resister Robert Burrowes has had an unusual win in his long campaign against military spending. The Federal Court found him guilty of contempt of court on April 22 - but the judge assessed no penalty against

  • Tasmanian pulp workers dig in

    BURNIE - Vicious and intimidatory moves by Tasmania's largest employer, Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM), have set the stage for what looks like a long and bitter struggle for union rights and workers' dignity. APPM is

  • Fears after oil fire

    ADELAIDE - Fears have been raised that a fire at the Port Stanvac oil refinery in southern Adelaide on April 10 may have emitted toxic gases, polluting surrounding suburbs and residential areas. The Noarlunga City Council,

  • Secret plan to hit free speech in Brisbane

    BRISBANE - "Cameras perched on poles monitor the movement of thousands of passers-by. "Speaking your mind here can cost you dearly, as much as a week's wage. "Only the select few can express themselves here, with the

  • Striking clerks to lead South Coast May Day march

    WOLLONGONG - Striking clerks from the offices of the engine drivers and building workers unions (FEDFA and BWIU) have been asked to lead the South Coast May Day march. Local unionists are outraged at the treatment of the clerks,