Alison Dellit

  • Ruddock signals further attacks on Indigenous people

    The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's inaugural policy conference, held March 25-26 in Canberra, should have been a chance to reflect on a decade of struggle by Australia's Indigenous people. Instead, the federal

  • Solidarity to be banned

    One of the eight "anti-terrorism" bills currently before the Senate — the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002 — will, if passed, enable the federal attorney-general to "ban" organisations. Membership of,

  • Airport sale means more noise, higher prices

    The federal Coalition government does not let itself be deterred from carrying through a policy just because it is disastrous. Just a few weeks after aviation privatisation claimed as its victims the jobs of 14,000 Ansett workers,

  • Thousands protest for refugees

    In the biggest show of solidarity with asylum seekers yet seen in Australia, more than 45,000 people attended Palm Sunday marches around the country on March 24, calling for freedom and justice for refugees. More than

  • Homophobia and child abuse

    It would be easy to think, watching Channel 10's ever-so-hip coverage of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, that homophobia in Australia was in retreat. But the March 12 attack, under parliamentary privilege, by cabinet

  • Anti-terrorism law attacks civil liberties

    BY RUSSELL PICKERING& ALISON DELLIT The Australian government is attempting to introduce legislation giving secret police agencies more powers, and enabling state persecution of dissidents. The legislation includes granting the attorney-general the

  • How the 'free market' ruined the airline industry

    A decade after a federal ALP government began the process of deregulating domestic air travel and privatising government-owned airlines, safety standards have fallen, services to regional areas are in crisis, airline workers who

  • Selling the future

    During the 1990s, successive Australian federal and state governments sold public assets worth a total of $85 billion — equal to the combined size of the Western Australian and Queensland economies. Australia's privatisation

  • How the 'children overboard' lie developed

    On October 7, a fishing boat overloaded with desperate asylum seekers encountered the HMAS Adelaide north of Christmas Island. The warship fired warning shots to stop the boat from moving into Australian waters. Frightened by the

  • Howard must go!

    "You have sought to excuse your failure to check the accuracy of the reference ... on the grounds that you were merely retelling what a third person had said and not yourself making the claim. With respect, this excuse is

  • Hollingworth has no credibility

    The rapid unravelling of Governor General Peter Hollingworth's credibility highlights the problems inherent in having an appointed head of state. By February 22, media monitor Rehame estimated, based on talkback radio responses,

  • Tampa spying business as usual for spy agency

    The February 12 revelation that communications between Australian residents and the MV Tampa were spied upon has focused attention on the role of Australia's secret police agencies. Many people are uneasy at the thought that