News

Tony Iltis, Melbourne At a reception for Queen Elizabeth II on March 15, held at the Royal Exhibition Building and hosted by PM John Howard, Australian flags and Union Jacks were well outnumbered by Aboriginal flags. Royal well-wishers were also

HOBART — On March 16, 3000 people attended a rally organised by the Wilderness Society to protest against forestry practices in Tasmania. The theme of the rally was "Our state, not Gunns!", referring to the Gunns corporation's political

SYDNEY — On March 7, 33 people met at the Gaelic Club to hear two left-wing activists — Tim Anderson and Rachel Evans — recount what they had seen in Venezuela. Both participated in the sixth World Social Forum (WSF) held in Caracas in January.

WA Liberal opposition leader Matt Birney has backed state police commissioner Karl O'Callaghan's call for mandatory jail sentences for people who assault police. O'Callaghan advocated the measure after two police officers were bashed during a riot

Ian Jamieson, Perth The return to work of 430 construction workers on the multi-billion-dollar Perth to Mandurah rail project has not eased threats from their employer, Leighton Kumagai, or from the Australian Building Construction Commission

NEWCASTLE — Venezuelan revolutionary Carolus Wimmer wound up his national speaking tour here on March 5 when he addressed 35 people at the Resistance Centre. Wimmer, a member of the Latin American parliament, explained the need for international

Stuart Martin, Melbourne The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) held the first of a series of national delegates' meetings at Storey Hall on March 8. The meeting updated delegates and union activists about the campaign against the

Dale Mills A complaint by prisoners' pressure group Sisters Inside led to a 20-month inquiry that found that in a four-year period, 41,728 strip searches were performed on women in Queensland's prisons. Only two searches found "significant

Ben Courtice, Melbourne Qantas Airways, Australia's major airline, announced on March 9 that it will close its Sydney Airport heavy maintenance base for its fleet of Boeing 747s, sack 480 workers, and transfer 140 of the positions to Brisbane and

The following is abridged from an open letter from the construction workers building the city end of the Perth to Mandurah rail link. You have every right to know the reasons why we stopped work [on February 24] on the Metrorail project and why

Paul Benedek, Brisbane "The history we are so often shown would have Australians believe that the ANZACs defended us against the Japanese in New Guinea", Marxist historian Humphrey McQueen told a meeting of 50 people at the Brisbane Activist Centre

CANBERRA — The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union's campaign for Filipino guest workers hit the streets on March 10 to expose a Canberra restaurant found guilty by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations of more than $5000