News

  • Haneef victory over government smear campaign

    The federal government’s political campaign against Dr Mohamed Haneef took a further blow on August 19, when Federal Court judge Jeffrey Spender ruled that immigration minister Kevin Andrews had unlawfully cancelled Haneef’s work visa on character grounds.

  • 'We will not be intimidated'

    Radio show hosts, politicians and government bureaucrats have been competing to be the most vehement to condemn the September 5 student walkout against US President George Bush’s visit to Australia.

  • Activist harassed by customs

    Anti-war activist Anna Samson was given the third degree by customs when she arrived back in Australia on August 22 following a work-related visit to Malaysia. This stands in contrast to APEC officials who are being escorted through customs without having to even pass through quarantine.

  • Laywers to video police during APEC protests

    A group of 30 lawyers and law students have established a group to film police behaviour during protests against the September Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to ensure that the police do not use unnecessary violence or break the law.

  • Deportation, suicide threat at Villawood

    On August 15 at 9.30pm, Wang, a Chinese man in the maximum security building at the Villawood immigration detention centre, climbed onto the roof and threatened to kill himself. Wang, normally a happy man in a terrible environment, was driven to take this action after the immigration department refused to let him visit his wife in hospital where she had gone after an accident.

  • H-Day rally condemns nuclear industry

    Hiroshima Day “is not just a day for commemoration, but a day for action”, Nic Maclellan from the Nuclear Free Independent Pacific told a rally of around 200 people on August 5.

  • South Australia defenceless

    Hundreds of people in South Australia could soon be left without defence lawyers, part of a nationwide crisis in the under-funding of essential legal services.

  • Customs targets activist

    An Australian citizen passing through airport customs on August 6 came under invasive scrutiny because she wrote “activist” as her occupation on the landing card. Jessica Markham, who works for the Californian-based East Bay Local Clean Energy Alliance, was returning to Australia for three weeks to visit her mother.

  • Foster's refuses union agreement

    Around 30 workers and supporters rallied outside Foster’s Queensland marketing headquarters in Fortitude Valley on August 9. Foster’s is still refusing to accept a union-backed collective agreement despite it being the choice of the majority of workers at the Yatala Brewery.

  • Esselte workers speak out

    Warren Small and Norman Ham, striking workers from Esselte — a stationery company in Sydney’s south-west — spoke at the August 13 Parramatta Your Rights at Work meeting on their struggle against individual contracts (AWAs).

  • Crossroads meeting draws 1000

    On August 8, 1000 people packed into the Brisbane City Hall for a public forum on “Australia at the Crossroads: A New Direction”. Organised by the Just Peace and the Just Rights groups, the forum was sponsored by a wide variety of peace, environment, social justice and political organisations.

  • Get your Stop Bush Bag!

    On August 17, activists organising the September 5 national student walkout against US President George Bush’s visit to Sydney launched a “Stop Bush Bag” containing items to help publicise the student strike.