According to a paper published by Dr Allan Brown from the Griffith University school of economics, Australia spends just 0.16% of gross national product on public broadcasting (the same as Canada) compared to Britain, which spends 0.32%. Not
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 7pm. Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31,
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Until the mid-1940s, apprentices were forced to undertake their training at night and unpaid, often after long shifts of work. The Melbourne Apprentices Committee was set up to campaign for the paid, daytime, training of apprentices. GEORGE CRAWFORD
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A Law for Women: Women and Debt — What should women consider before signing financial documents? This program gives hints on how to beat the sexist financial system. 2SER Sydney (107.3 FM), Wednesday, July 31, 9.30pm, and Friday, August 2, 9am.
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Tree planting memorial SYDNEY — The next tree planting in the HIV/AIDS Memorial Groves in Sydney Park, St Peters, will take place on Sunday, August 18, from 10.30am to 4pm. Friends, lovers and families are invited to plant native seedlings in
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Australia was one of only a handful of countries to oppose the relatively weak ministerial declaration which concluded the two-week climate change conference in Geneva. Environment minister Senator Robert Hill lined up with his counterparts in New
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The princess and the rest Now that Princess Diana is divorced she will have to struggle along as best she can on a settlement of $30 million, no doubt she will be greatly consoled by having been involved in such a nice little earner. Anyone who
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By Jill Maclean, Marina Cameron and Alison Dellit The Coalition's cuts to higher education are likely to be the most severe in over a decade. The process of moving towards a user-pays system was begun under Labor, and now the Howard government is
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Heatwaves and the spread of infectious diseases are likely to result from a business-as-usual approach to greenhouse gas emissions, a report by the world's leading health and climate experts has warned. "Climate Change and Human
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The government is taking an axe to too popular an institution in its attacks on the ABC. PM Howard and Senator Richard Alston's announcement of an "independent review", to be headed by Bob Mansfield, former chief executive of the
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Big business and government in Atlanta are using the Olympic Games as cover to rid the city of the poor and remodel it as a convention/sports mecca, safe for well-off tourists. The US government's many law-enforcement and security
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BRISBANE — When the ALP lost office in Queensland in the aftermath of the Mundingburra by-election, many local activists were stunned. The Queensland Greens copped the blame. An early accuser was the West End Neighbourhood News,
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For Diane's sake Abigail Van Buren, whose real name is Pauline Friedman Phillips, is a full-time homemaker, mother and grandmother, author of six best-sellers. Since 1956, I have considered her to be one of the best and most read advice columnists
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The following is abridged from a speech given by first-year apprentice carpenter HILLARI LOGAN to a Youth Wages and Conditions forum organised by the Victorian TAFE Student and Apprentices Network (VTSAN) at Trades Hall in Melbourne on July 18. Under
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SYDNEY — Campaigns to recognise and celebrate contemporary indigenous history have gained new impetus with the launch of the National Aboriginal History and Heritage Council (NAHHC). The NAHHC was established at a forum held
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On July 14, Max Suich, chief executive of the Independent Monthly, announced that the July issue of that magazine would be the last, just seven years after it was launched. Circulation rates had been falling, and Suich cited financial difficulties as
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The "greenhouse effect" is the reason why the earth remains comfortably warm and suitable for life as we know it. But only small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water are necessary to fulfil this vital task. Scientists believe that increases in
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Still second class in the work force A case currently before the courts — involving complaints of unfair dismissal and of race- and sex-based discrimination against 31 migrant women sacked by Katies clothing chain — shows the effects of women's
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The internet is a far more powerful tool for free speech than mass media, since it allows ordinary users to publish information and express opinions as well as to retrieve information and opinion. The NSW attorney general has
News
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WOLLONGONG — Some 500 Port Kembla residents rallied on July 14 in anger over plans to reopen the Southern Copper smelter, chanting "stop the stack — we don't want it back!". Dan Meehan, spokesperson for the
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Investigations by Greenpeace and Indian environmental group Srishti have revealed that, in the last two years, Australia has exported 9034 tonnes of toxic waste to India. This makes Australia the second highest exporter of toxic zinc
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ADELAIDE — On July 16, a meeting of young people concerned about Howard's attacks on apprentices and trainees decided to form a new campaign group, Industrial Relations Action Team (IRATe). The meeting heard reports from Young
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ROCKHAMPTON — A rally opposing federal and state budget cuts drew 300 workers here on July 19. Speakers included local MLA Robert Schwarten, Gordon Rennie, general secretary of the State Public Service Federation (Queensland),
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The July 23 confrontation between striking unionists, who are picketing CRA-owned Novacoal's Vickery mine, and the mine's management was deliberately provoked according to CFMEU members. Workers have been on strike for more
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BRISBANE — The Queensland government has been forced to reconsider controversial changes to juvenile justice laws, after widespread protest. The changes were criticised by Criminal Justice Commissioner Frank Clair as "seriously
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NEWCASTLE — Nico Wahid from the Indonesian People's Democratic Party (PRD) and dissident Indonesian researcher George Aditjondro spoke at a July 25 workshop attended by 30 people. The workshop discussed the links of oppression
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MELBOURNE — More than 400 people attended a meeting organised by Justice for Indigenous Australians at the Assembly Hall on July 23. The meeting was called to highlight the increasingly racist climate allowed and encouraged under
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FREMANTLE — July 26 marked the fifth anniversary of the Kirkis shipping disaster. The Kirkis, an unseaworthy ship not inspected by unions, broke up off the WA coast, spilling 20,000 tonnes of oil into the Indian Ocean. To mark
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BRISBANE — Tasmanian Greens Senator Bob Brown, speaking at a meeting on July 20, said that the Coalition government had "boxed itself into a corner" on the sale of Telstra, whereas those opposing privatisation had a clear
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According to a leaked memorandum obtained by 91̳ Weekly, Qantas Airways is developing "an industrial disruption labour plan", or scabbing plan, to be implemented in an industrial dispute with unions. The memo by Bob
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The Community and Public Sector Union held stop-work meetings on July 23 to vote on a National Executive (NE) motion to strike on July 25. Motions calling for an ongoing service-wide campaign against the cuts, and for the ACTU to call a strike to
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WOLLONGONG — In the latest sequence of undemocratic moves initiated by the vice-chancellor, the last meeting of the university council decided to decrease student representation on the Board of Management by half. The
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Australian National workers face serious doubts about their future following moves by the federal government to investigate the performance of the government-owned enterprise. A letter from AN's chairperson, Jack Smorgen, to federal
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A key plank of the Howard government's attacks on the public sector is its proposed partial privatisation of Telstra. In preparation, the job cuts are rumoured to be around 24,000 within 18 months. In South Australia the Keep Telstra Public Alliance,
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Democratic process "I didn't think that people should be disqualified from appointment to important boards or commissions just because they'd supported [me]. That seemed to me to be just the reverse of how the democratic process ought to work."
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HOBART — The long-running wages campaign by Tasmanias non-nursing health workers has taken a bitter turn. On July 17, the state Liberal government announced a 5.5% pay rise for 20,000 public servants, but not for members of the
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Pickets were held last week to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, considered the day that launched the Cuban revolution. Lara Pullin reports from Canberra that around 20 people gathered outside the United States
Analysis
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The August 20 federal budget should not be allowed to pass the Senate. The jobs, education, health and welfare of literally millions of people are at stake. Even without the support of Tasmanian independent Brian Harradine, the ALP, Democrat and
World
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The Cuban Freedom and Democratic Solidarity Act, better known as the Helms-Burton Act, is causing a major rift between the US and governments all over the world. On July 16 President Bill Clinton was forced to delay implementation
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Dita Sari, Coen Hussein Ponto and student activist Sholeh were detained by the East Java military on July 8 during a workers' rally in Surabaya. They were held incommunicado for almost two weeks, but are able to be visited by legal representatives
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Bill Gaffey's work is finished. He died suddenly of a heart attack at age 71 on October 6, 1995, in St Louis. As a result, his libel lawsuit against Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly, and its editor, Peter Montague, has been
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The Indonesian military has increased its propaganda attacks against jailed union leader Dita Sari and her political party, the People's Democratic Party (PRD). Dita Sari (26) was detained on July 8 following the PRD's 20,000-worker
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MOSCOW — Ukrainian coal miners began returning to work on July 17 after 14 days of strikes and other protest actions that paralysed the country's coal-producing regions. The miners' key demand was that the government make money
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Detroit strike a test for unionsJuly 13 was the first anniversary of the Detroit newspaper strike, which is the most important labour struggle taking place in the United States today. This war of attrition pits 2000 workers
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CHARLESTON, Illinois, USA — Union members locked out for five months at Trailmobile Corporation here have ratified a new contract which turns back all company demands for concessions and makes gains in wages and other improvements. Members of
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By Jean-Jacques Boislaroussie The German model of "a socialised market economy" has long been considered a benchmark in Europe. Strong points of this model were high productive output and a partnership between a well-implanted union movement
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At least six people were killed on July 27, when soldiers attacked the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). The headquarters, a house in a central Jakarta suburb, had been the focus of daily "democracy forums" over
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The Prison Activist Resource Centre and the Institute of Global Communication on July 4 released information concerning the plight of 25 activists in six Chinese provinces or cities. Three workers — Chen Gang, Peng Shi and Liu
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On July 11, a 500-strong armed squad of the Ranvir Sena descended on Barki Kharaon, a village in the Bhojpur district of Bihar, in a four-hour attack that left 22 people dead and 52 injured. Ten huts were also burned
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The British government back down on a Unionist march has led to an outpouring of anger by the Catholic community in Northern Ireland and threatened to destroy the talks process in the North. The march in Portadown, County Armagh, was
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By Anne O'Callaghan AUCKLAND — Twenty-seven parties are competing for parliamentary seats in the October 12 elections, the first to be held under the new MMP (mixed member proportionate) system. According to national director of the Alliance Matt
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LUCKNOW — Late on the night of July 3, the Indian government introduced a 25-30% hike in the prices of petroleum products. Although kerosene was exempted, the decision resulted in an increase in the price of all goods by 50
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It was in 1991 that the stories of the so-called "comfort women" began to attract international attention. In 1991 a former "comfort woman" from Korea, Kim Hak Sun, broke her 40-year silence. She took the Japanese government to
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MOSCOW — On July 9 Russian forces launched a huge new offensive in the republic of Chechnya, putting an end to a shaky six-week cease-fire. With lulls due to bad flying weather, the Russian military has continued pouring bombs
Culture
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The Follies of PolliesCD by John DengateReviewed by Alex Bainbridge I first saw John Dengate perform live in 1987 at the National Folk Festival in Alice Springs. He presented a workshop titled: "No matter how you stir the dunny can, the shit always
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Sex and Anarchy: The Life and Death of the Sydney PushBy Anne CoombsViking, 1996, 340 pp., $29.95 (pb)Reviewed by Phil Shannon The Sydney Push is a conspicuous, if ill-defined, part of Australian social folklore. From the late 1940s to the early
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Biting PavlovBy Philip DeanDirected by David Peachey and Ken StockPandemonium Theatre ProductionsWarren Street Theatre, BrisbaneReviewed by Lynda Hansen This production, performed in a beautiful old church in Spring Hill by amateur theatre group
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Challenging myths about women Lip ServiceBy Kate FillionHarper Collins. $16.95Reviewed by Trish Corcoran As the cover of Lip Service reads, it is about "the myth of female virtue in love, sex and friendship". Canadian feminist author Kate Fillion
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The independent Youth Club of Tuzla is trying to set up its own self-managed radio station, as a step toward overcoming the misery facing Bosnian young people and returning to their enjoyment of Western music. One of the things they need is music,
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Rough JusticeBy Terence FrisbyDirected by Maeliosa StaffordEnsemble Theatre, Milsons Point (Sydney)Reviewed by Tony Smith Why would any man — anyone — claim to have killed his infant son when he had not? Terence Frisby's courtroom drama poses
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The Olympic spirit With time on my hands and the decks clear for a fortnight, the 26th Olympiad was something I thought I must see. It took a bit of wrangling to get a seat but I am only 2.365 metres from all of the action (I measured it
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Leading WomenBy Eva CoxRandom House, Australia, 1996. 326 pp., $19.95Reviewed by Melanie Sjoberg Society has changed considerably in the 25 years since Eva Cox became involved in the women's liberation movement. The strong activity of the second wave
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Subject: Melbourne Sympathy Orchestra The unit attended a performance of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, and observed the following: 1. For considerable periods, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number should be reduced and their work