News

  • Building union legislation to be retrospective

    Sue Bolton, Melbourne When it introduced the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill 2005 on March 9, the federal government picked out building industry workers for special laws that will restrict their industrial rights even more than

  • Dare to Struggle film night

    BRISBANE — "What [federal industrial relations minister] Kevin Andrews is going to do to union rights after July 1 will make what [Joh] Bjelke-Petersen did to us in Queensland 20 years ago pale into insignificance", Bernie Neville, a leader of the

  • Disability workers protest lack of resources

    HOBART — Disability workers stopped work for two hours to protest in Franklin Square on March 11 at the state government's refusal to take action over the lack of resources and consequent excessive workloads for workers in the sector. Government

  • Activists protest trespass charges

    Protesters gathered outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 9 in defence of three activists facing trespass charges. The charges relate to a protest at the Australia Defence Industries factory in Benalla, which highlighted the damage

  • Staff strikes at Victoria University

    James Vassilopoulos, Melbourne On March 8, staff at Victoria University (VU) went on strike in support of their demands for a new enterprise agreement. A picket line was established to persuade scabs and students not to enter the university. The

  • Support grows for CPSU plebiscite

    CANBERRA — Opposition continues to grow in the lead-up to the Community and Public Sector Union's national council meeting on March 18-20 over plans by the current leadership to rush through a restructure of the union that would concentrate even

  • Exhumation ordered in Douglas Scott case

    DARWIN — Letty Scott has won the fight for a court order to exhume the body of her husband, Douglas Scott, whom she believes was murdered in Berrimah jail on July 5, 1985. Later this month, Brazilian forensic expert Professor Vanrell will travel

  • Students Against War win victory against ANZ

    Kiraz Janicke, Sydney During the University of Sydney's orientation week, Students Against War, which has been running a campaign against Australian companies profiting from the occupation of Iraq, planned to picket the ANZ bank's stall. ANZ is

  • 15-year-old deported to Thailand

    Nicole Hilder, Melbourne A popular 15-year-old year student at Thornbury Darebin Secondary College, Nak Assavatheptavee, was forcibly deported by immigration officials to Thailand on February 25. Assavatheptavee has lived in Australia for the

  • International Women's Day: 'Control of our lives'

    Robyn Marshall, Brisbane An International Women's Day rally and march on March 5, attended by 400 people, called for the decriminalisation of abortion. Long-time abortion rights campaigner Katrina Barben condemned the state Labor government for

  • NTEU supports anti-war protest

    SYDNEY — Activists in the Sydney anti-war movement received good news over the past week when the University of NSW branch of the National Tertiary Education Union and the NTEU NSW division both passed motions of support for the March 20

  • 'Australian troops out of Iraq!'

    Jim McIlroy, Brisbane Opposition to Prime Minister John Howard's decision to send an additional 450 troops to Iraq was the main theme of a speak-out sponsored by the Stop the War Collective (STWC) on the steps of King George Square on March 4.