A regional trade union conference of delegates from Pacific Island nations, New Zealand and Australia was held in Brisbane on July 16, hosted by a subsidiary of the ACTU, the South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions.
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NAIDOC march @9point = ADELAIDE — More than 1000 Aboriginal people and supporters rallied for the annual National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) here on July 14. Despite torrential rain, a spirited crowd marched through
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@9point = Actively Radical TV — Community television's progressive current affairs program tackles the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Friday, 10.30pm. @9point = Archaeology: the Apaches —
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Soul writing (8:01am)It is only what is written upon the soul of man that will survive the wreck of time. — Francis J. Grimke (1850-1937) People often ask, "What is a day on death row like?" Knowing that the
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Corporatisation in CanberraHere we go, here we go, here we go again. A Liberal government is elected because people are angry with Labor. The Liberals cut the public sector, corporatise or cut health and slash education. The
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Model motion As noted in the accompanying article, many unions have passed motions against the planned nuclear tests. We think the following text would be a clear statement to be moved at meetings. "We oppose the French government's
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Queensland elections Thank you to the people of Queensland for giving Labor a timely kick up the arse. Special thanks to the electors of the electorates in the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor who put the rights of Nature above yet another
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Guess what? They didn't mean it!@column = Even Labor Party women are starting to criticise their party for not taking seriously the goal of filling 35% of winnable seats with women candidates by the year 2000. The ALP
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Farmers were among the prime targets of the propaganda of economic rationalism. Many were persuaded of the view that tariffs imposed onerous burdens on the agricultural sector, and that the adoption of economic rationalism (and
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"There were real massacres. We knew that this could happen. The Serbs have done this many times. That which is going on is genocide." These words, by Dutch economic development minister Pronk, were reported by Frankfurther
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Was World War II the continuation of World War I, i.e. an imperialist war that the international working class should have opposed? Or was World War II an anti-fascist war that everybody in the Allied countries should have
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The Greens (WA) believe that there are a number of problems with the federal government's compulsory employee contribution superannuation scheme, announced in the latest budget, to be implemented from 1998-99. The following is an abridged version of
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Party preferred@column = They've gone and done something they're not supposed to do. They were warned. They knew the consequences. But the people of Queensland got carried away and have protesteth too much. @column =
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Economics are very much the starting point for understanding Australian politics in 1995. The international pattern of growth without prosperity or a large decline in unemployment very much describes the Australian economy
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President Chirac's decision to resume nuclear testing in the Pacific sparked an immediate ground swell of opposition. People from all walks of life canvassed the how to force a back-down on radio talk back shows, in the print media
News
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Perth Hiroshima DayPerth — The proposed French nuclear tests have multiplied interest in plans for the Hiroshima Day demonstration here. The theme for the rally and march on August 6 at Russell Square will be "Nuclear Tests
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NEWCASTLE — BHP appears confident of little opposition to its plans to eliminate 2000 jobs from its steelworks here before 2002. This will leave only 1000 people employed by BHP in Newcastle, compared with approximately
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Melbourne Hospital workers strikeMELBOURNE — Around 300 health workers struck here on July 19 in protest against the government's proposals to slash jobs and health services at the newly amalgamated Austin and Repatriation
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The Richard Court government has introduced a Industrial Legislation (Amendment and Repeal) Bill which launches a new attack on workers' right to organise in defence of wages, working conditions and social rights. A
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SYDNEY — A restructure of one of Australia's largest unions threatens to gut democratic functioning and centralise control over the finances and staffing. Voting on the proposed restructure of the PSU Group within the
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ADELAIDE — The SA government announced on March 21 that it would begin the construction in December of the Southern Expressway, a 21-kilometre freeway from Darlington to Old Noarlunga south of here. Local residents report that
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AIDS memorial SYDNEY — The third Sydney HIV/AIDS tree planting day was held in St Peters Sydney Park on June 25. Kendall Lovett, one of the organisers, reports that around 70 people planted 300 young trees in memory of a lover, friend or
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MELBOURNE — The existence of yet another basic community service is being threatened by the Victorian government. The latest target for privatisation is public libraries. The Kennett government has abolished local
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SYDNEY —Fifty waterside workers picketed the French ship Renoir at Darling Harbour on July 20. The peaceful picket was called by the Maritime Workers Union to protest against the French government's decision to resume nuclear
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BRISBANE — Third party candidates, especially the Greens, had an unprecedented impact in the recent state election. Yet the bitter controversy over preferences threatens to split the environment movement in a very damaging way.
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SA prison officers, police in wage claimsThe two industrial disputes currently making headlines in South Australia are actions of the police and prison officers. On July 20 the government was ordered by a compulsory
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BRISBANE — Counting in doubtful seats proceeded at a snail's pace after the July 15 state election, however the ALP appears likely to fall over the line by a seat or two. As of July 22, the Labor Party had 43 seats, the
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MELBOURNE — About 30 members of the Timorese community gathered at Tullamarine Airport on July 20 to welcome 11 of the 18 Timorese boat people who arrived in Darwin on May 30.
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Non-joker @lctext = "You ask people here, and they'll tell you I never tell jokes." — Brendan Nelson, Liberal candidate for the safe federal seat of Bradfield, after a dirty joke at a Liberal fundraising dinner fell flat. Trotskyist view
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No Fees Campaign plans conference, day of actionADELAIDE — The South Australian Education Network (SAEN) will be coordinating the second National No Fees For Degrees Conference, to be held at Adelaide University on September
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From September 26 to 30, hundreds of tertiary students from all over Australia will be meeting in Adelaide to develop practical strategies for the ecologically sustainable reconstruction of our communities, economy, industry and
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Ernest Mandel, a world-renowned Marxist scholar and revolutionary, died in Belgium on July 20, at the age of 72. Mandel is best known for his numerous contributions to the Marxist understanding of economics. He was one of at
Analysis
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Greens and parliament The Queensland Greens' decision to direct preferences to the Coalition parties in the recent state election has generated a lot of debate among environment and left activists. While it is sickening to watch the mass media
World
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The following statement marking Cuba's national day was issued by the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance. Revolutionary congratulations and international solidarity are due to the Cuban people and government on July 26, their national
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For the second time in two consecutive days, on July 19, thousands of striking workers from a garment factory, PT Great River Industries (GRI), rallied at the regional parliament in Bogor, West Java, for better wages and
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An international appeal has been launched to free three Chinese activists arrested last year for attempting to form an independent union. A July 16 press release from the Hong Kong solidarity group April 5th Action reveals that
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Ships, planes from US invade Cuban waters In a statement released on July 14, the Cuban government reported that on the previous afternoon, "around 11 ships, six aircraft and two helicopters from the United States penetrated into the waters and
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OSCAR TEMARU is leader of Tavini Huiraatira (Polynesian Liberation Front), the main pro-independence party in French-colonised Tahiti. He has led the Tahitian opposition to the French government's decision to resume nuclear testing. 91̳
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"When shots were fired outside the bus, people inside started to scream and cry. The bus stopped to let the BSP [Border Security Force] aboard. They yelled at the passengers as they searched them, guns pointed in their faces.
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Cuba holds municipal elections According to official figures, 97.1% of Cubans turned out on July 9 to elect delegates to 169 municipal assemblies. According to the official statistics, 7,568,548 Cubans cast ballots out of a total 7,795,623
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KENT — Protesters are occupying a piece of woodland as part of a campaign against a new road. The 50 protesters managed to stop bulldozers clearing the last two hectares of a four-hectare area of trees by erecting a hut
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Whatever the reason for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, we can be sure that it was not the sudden realisation by the Burmese junta that it had been wrong all these years in denying its people democracy. When it comes to
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At 1:30 in the morning of July 12, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) finally began releasing results from the June 25 legislative and municipal elections, the first held since a US-led military occupation began last September.
Culture
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Born in Soweto Directed by James Ricketson SBS, Friday, July 28, 8.30pm (8 in Adelaide) Previewed by Norm Dixon This Australian-made documentary, made soon after Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president,
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Beijing conference compromiseAs the Fourth World Conference on Women, due to be held in Beijing in September draws closer, a compromise has been reached on the controversial issue of a site for the NGO forum. Initially
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Augusto Boal is a major figure in world theatre. Any contemporary discussion about taking theatre to the people, of popularising it and renewing its relevance, cannot proceed without reference to him. Enthusiastic exponents of his
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Rosa Luxemburg: A Life, By Elzbieta Ettinger Pandora, 1995. 325 pp., $22.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon It is a frustrating feature of the later films of the Marx Brothers that the Marxist funny business keeps getting interrupted by the
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Melbourne MUDfest 1995MELBOURNE — Melbourne University has been an artistic springboard for many performers, from Barry Humphries to the D Generation. Since 1990, the Melbourne University Drama Festival — MUDfest —
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Stanley Road Paul Weller Go! Discs Reviewed by Stuart Loasby Although he is best known for his achievements in the Jam and the Style Council through the '70s and '80s, Paul Weller's solo career, which began in 1992, has proved very
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DARWIN — During April and May, East Timor activist JOSE GUSMAO visited Portugal to take part in discussions with the East Timorese independence movement. On his return, Gusmao, who is the representative of CNRM (National Council for Maubere
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China for Women: Travel and Culture Spinifex Press, 1995. 357 pp., $24.95 (pb) Reviewed by Eva Cheng China for Women is a useful introduction to women's issues in China. It is handy for non-Chinese speakers, carrying enough in one collection
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Ideas for winning indigenous rights A good idea waiting to happen: regional agreements in Australia Proceedings from the Cairns workshop, July 1994 $15 from Colleen Burfitt, Cape York Land Council, PO Box 2496, Cairns Qld 4870 Reviewed by
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One year after Cairo In a statement issued by the International Planned Parenthood Federation on World Population Day, July 11, secretary general Halfdan Mahler decried the gap between promises made at the Cairo International Conference on
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The music of wandering Latcho Drom: a journey into the soul of Gypsy culture Available through Larrikin records Reviewed by Sujatha Fernandes Latcho Drom is the soundtrack of the film of the same name currently screening around