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Nurses head to arbitration

BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — Queensland nurses were threatened with disciplinary action only hours after industrial bans were lifted, according to the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU). The bans were lifted following a July 24 arbitration commission

Loose cannons

100-0 rule? "We don't have a 60-40 rule operating at any of the state conferences of the Liberal Party. We don't have 10, 20, 30, 40 or any percentage of votes allocated to business interests. But we do, very importantly, we have a broad sympathy

Ruddock's dirty tricks exposed

BY SARAH STEPHEN On July 19, immigration minister Philip Ruddock announced that in April his department had informed Ali Baktiyari, father of two boys who sought asylum on July 18 from a British consulate, that it intended to cancel his visa.

Building workers rally against royal commission

BY CHRIS LATHAM PERTH — Despite driving rain, 1200 construction workers protested on July 24 against the return to Western Australia of the royal commission into the construction industry. Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union organiser

Socialist Alliance seeks Victorian registration

BY GRAHAM MATTHEWS Following successful campaigns to gain electoral registration at the federal level, and in NSW and Tasmania, the Socialist Alliance is now campaigning for electoral registration in Victoria. “To register in

A little (true) story

A senior work colleague,A family friend.A beer gut, a beardand a gold wedding band.A young employee,A confident womanA coffee at workAn unwanted question ..."Will you fuck me?"It slowly sunk inThe "friendly" affectionThe attention from him.She felt

Civilising the building industry

BY SUE BOLTON & SAM WAINWRIGHT On July 24, the day after the Australian Industrial Relations Commission rejected the Australian Council of Trade Unions' petition to compensate workers for excessive overtime, Construction, Forestry, Mining and

'Women can do anything!'

REVIEW BY KATRINA CHANNELLS& JIM MCILROY Bend It Like BeckhamDirected by Gurinder ChadhaStarring Parminder Nagra and Keira KnightleyScreening at major cinemas This film is excellent because it encourages young women to play soccer! It is a

PALESTINE: 700,000 people under house arrest

BY ADAM HANIEH RAMALLAH — The Israeli F-16 airstrike early on July 23 that killed Hamas leader Salah Shehada and 15 Palestinian civilians in a crowded Gaza neighbourhood suddenly put the roiling Israeli-Palestinian conflict back in the Western

NICARAGUA: Sandinistas back to red and black

BY STEPHEN MARKS MANAGUA — The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) returned to its anti-imperialist symbols and messages at the celebration of the 1979 revolution here on July 19. Pink and yellow, which had been the FSLN's colours in

Attack on Workers First is an attack on the left

The attacks launched against the militant leadership of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's Victorian branch by the union's national leadership are more than an internal faction fight. They are an attack on the left. The vicious campaign

UNITED STATES: Laser beam may blind people

BY NORM DIXON According to a report published in the July 27 New Scientist, US defence contractors are developing a laser weapon for fighter aircraft that may be powerful enough to blind people on the ground, even if they are relatively far from