Women, work and Howard's agenda
Melanie Sjoberg
Each time we turn on the TV we are confronted with images reminding us that life as a woman is extremely complex. But dominant amongst these images is that of the tireless mother and homemaker —
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TweedleKim and TweedleJohnny By Geoff Francis & Peter Hicks You can choose anybody you want — as long as it's Johnny or Kim.You can have any prime minister you want — as long as it's him or him.Politics Australian style is a very
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Figures I often must step outside my everyday existence and project my concerns from an astral plain — there the better to observe the goings on down below. This week, while at my stellar post, I was joined by that highly esteemed commentator
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Socialists, Democrats debate youth policy WENDY ROBERTSON and PAUL BENEDEK spoke to NATASHA STOTT DESPOJA, deputy leader of the Australian Democrats, and MARINA CARMAN, the Democratic Socialists' NSW Senate candidate and a leader of the socialist
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... and ain't i a woman?: A feminist vote Okay, you're concerned about the status of women today, and you don't buy the line that women have achieved equality. You know that the situation of all but a small layer of female high fliers is getting
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Why socialism is back on the agenda"The United Nations annual Human Development Report confirms, yet again, that capitalism has failed the majority of the world's people", said Max Lane, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the
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Filthy Rich According to the recently released United Nations Development Program report on global inequality, the filthy rich continue to own and control most of the world's wealth. The Human Development Report calls for urgent action to improve
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Things you should never ever swallow Synopsis, being a summary of what has gone before, for the benefit of new readers: AUSTRALIA, a dry brown land mass 10 degrees south of the equator, is having an election. Purpose of election: To chose by
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Mounting controversy over immigration policies and native title in the last few years have left many people asking if there has been a corresponding increase in acts of racism. There are numerous barriers to measuring whether racism
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Xanana: 'A solution for East Timor' The following is abridged from a paper written by XANANA GUSMAO and presented by Virgilio Guterres da Silva to the "Indonesia after Suharto" conference, organised by the New Zealand Asia Institute of the
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Health — a universal rightI was struck by a series of letters in the Sydney Morning Herald recently about the virtues or otherwise of sending new mothers home immediately after giving birth. Why should they be taking up
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Advertisement Big business pays for its parties but who pays for a socialist campaign? Labor and Liberal can afford expensive advertisements in the mass media mainly because they are given millions of dollars by big business. Last year the Libs
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Write on: Letters to the editor Capitalist advertising Whilst agreeing with Margaret Allum's article in GLW #333 "Women's Right to Work", I cannot agree entirely with her interpretation of the commercial in question. Nor can I agree with the
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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, 10pm and Saturday, 7pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
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Zheng Chaolin, a veteran of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a Chinese Trotskyist, died on August 1 in Shanghai. He devoted his entire life to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese workers and peasants. He was at once a
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HOBART — A letter of thanks from the Officer-in-Charge of USS John C. Stennis, published in the August 11 Mercury, concludes that Tasmanians "have one of the best liberty ports that [the US Navy] visits". Oh
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Racism — 'the burning issue' BRISBANE — A benefit gig titled "Racism — the burning issue" was held at Che's Lounge, Fortitude Valley, on September 18, to raise funds for repairs to the Resistance Centre. On August 24, the centre was
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Since the introduction by the McMahon Liberal government of the Child Care Act in 1972, government grants for child-care have become an election "carrot" used by both major parties. Over the last 25 years, child-care service
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BRISBANE — The prospect of Queensland becoming the first Australian state using citizen initiated referenda (CIR) is sending tremors through the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations, according to the August 20 issue of Brother Sister.
News
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PERTH — On September 14, Resistance was tipped off that Pauline Hanson and her media circus was about to make a staged appearance in the busy Hay Street Mall. We raced out of the Resistance Centre, down to
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MELBOURNE — After a long campaign, the Electrical Trades Union has won an agreement with Kilpatrick Green on the Docklands site for a 36-hour work week with an increase in pay. The 38-hour week formally remains, with one day off
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PERTH — Guild elections were held at the University of WA, September 7-10. The broad left ticket, Activate, won the positions of women's officer and environment officer. Most positions, including guild president, were won by the
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Youth poverty increasingCANBERRA — "The impact of the Coalition government's attacks on youth incomes has had a devastating effect", Democratic Socialist candidate for Canberra, Nikki Ulasowski, told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly. Ulasowski
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Apology In the article "NUS ties itself to Labor" by Marcus Greville and Wendy Robertson (GLW #333), the authors did not intend to suggest that Van Badham and the International Socialist Organisation oppose the demands and objectives of the
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Semaphore community rally against racism ADELAIDE — The serenity of the suburb of Semaphore was interrupted on September 19 by more than 100 activists rallying against the racism of Howard and Hanson. The rally, organised by the Democratic
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How to vote for the Democratic Socialists on October 3 Advertisement How to vote for the Democratic Socialists on October 3 ACT Canberra: Nikki Ulasowski Fraser: Sue Bull NSW Cunningham: Margaret Perrott Grayndler: Michael Karadjis
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Democratic Socialists reach outMELBOURNE — The Democratic Socialists, who are standing for the Senate and the seat of Melbourne in Victoria, are taking their politics to the streets. Teams have been established in eight
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Nurses fight for better health careCANBERRA — Over the past several weeks, patients at Canberra Hospital have inundated the ACT Liberal government with complaints about cancelled operations and long delays due to a shortage of
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SYDNEY — With disillusionment with Liberal and Labor increasing, more and more people are planning to cast their federal election vote for alternative political parties and independents. In addition to the better known
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Anti-racism protesters take to the suburbs againSYDNEY — On September 19, as noon drew near on a glorious spring day in inner-city Glebe, more than 100 anti-racist protesters gathered to take their message to the community.
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Workers rally for award conditionsMELBOURNE — On September 16, more than 1000 workers rallied outside the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to protest the challenge by industrial relations minister Peter Reith to
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About 140 Community and Public Sector Union members stopped work on September 15 to support the union's campaign to reverse a $240 million-dollar funding cut to Centrelink, the federal government's service delivery agency. After
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SYDNEY — More than 300 people attended the "harmony afternoon of reconciliation" at the University of Technology on September 12. Organised by Black, White and Pink, the forum addressed the need for gays and lesbians to take
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Brambles breaks guaranteeSYDNEY — Casual workers employed by the security firm Brambles have been threatened with the sack and workers at the Beaconsfield, Smithfield and Lane Cove depots have gone on strike in protest. A
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Nowra reconciliation meetingNOWRA — More than 80 people attended a "meet the candidates" night organised by the Berry Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee. The meeting, held at the Nowra Aboriginal Cultural Centre on
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BRISBANE — The Peter Beattie Labor state government on September 15 announced a budget which funds the biggest ever expansion of prisons in Australia's history. The budget allocation for corrective services capital expansion
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Alternative parties discuss jobs, union rightsMELBOURNE — "On the Election Trail" is a recent addition to 3CR's Friday breakfast show. On a recent broadcast, David Risterem from the Greens, Vannessa Hearman from the Democratic
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More arrests at Jabiluka The Jabiluka campaign continues to intensify as 12 people were arrested on September 19 at the proposed uranium mine site in Kakadu National Park. Ten people locked themselves to a metal sculpture of a frill-necked lizard
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CANBERRA — The ACT Trades and Labor Council completed its Politics in the Pub seminars on September 16 with a discussion about "globalisation" and its impact on working people. More than 80 people heard Doug Cameron, national
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Burma democracy activists rally By Shosheena Stoneand Nikki Ulasowski CANBERRA — Last week, the Burmese National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, announced the formation of a provisional government in Rangoon. Since
Analysis
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Balance of power In a cynical vote-catching ploy, the Australian Democrats have adopted a new slogan for the federal election: "Vote Democrat to stop One Nation dividing Australia". The Australian Democrats' battle with One Nation for the
World
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MIRPUR, Azad Kashmir — Kashmir is a nation in torment — partitioned, brutally repressed, its people the victims of a vicious proxy war between India and Pakistan. The Kashmiri people want an independent, free Kashmir, beholden to
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Kidnap victims protestRelatives and friends of 14 missing political activists held a demonstration on September 16, demanding to know the whereabouts of their sons and friends. Among the protesters was the mother of the Bima
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'Hands off Assata!'Her name is Assata Shakur. Assata "She who Struggles" Shakur "the Thankful". They call her JoAnne Chesimard, and they want her as an accomplice to murder. I met Assata last New Year's Eve in Havana. She is a
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Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's claim that his regime's military expedition into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is motivated by a selfless need to turn back "foreign aggressors" has not been enthusiastically accepted at
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Students protest 'dual role' of militaryOn September 14, student militants organised protest actions in eight Indonesian cities calling for the end to dwifungsi ABRI (the dual role of the armed forces). The dwifungsi doctrine, which
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On September 11, the National Security Archive, a Washington-based non-profit research group, posted declassified US government documents on its web site which detail US attempts from 1970 to 1973 to prevent the Socialist Party's Salvador Allende
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CANADA — Abortion providers in Canada and Québec are facing a new threat. A systematic and well-organised campaign now under way aims to identify and expose abortion providers, increasing the risk of terrorist attacks
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On September 23, Germans will vote in the country's general elections. The following background information is abridged from a paper presented to the conferences of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and The American Council on
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Cuba updates Women in Cuba Cuba received praise earlier this month from the United Nations for the great advances made by Cuban women since the triumph of the revolution in 1959. Angela King, undersecretary general for the UN, has been in Cuba
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Chile: coup anniversary brings heavy repression On September 11, Chileans commemorated the 25th anniversary of the bloody 1973 coup d'etat that overthrew democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende Gossens. The coup was led by
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In a clear warning to Afghanistan's Taliban leadership, Iran has staged the largest military exercises since the 1979 Islamic revolution along the border with Afghanistan. Seventy thousand of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary
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On August 29-30, the council of the Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) met in Jakarta to discuss the post-Suharto situation for Indonesia and East Timor, and the future activities of APCET. APCET is a coalition of
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IN A REPORT released in Geneva on September 9, the Center for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, a component of the International Commission of Jurists, called for the prosecution of armed forces, police and local militia personnel who, it says,
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Anti-choice terrorism CANADA — Since February 1998, there has been a campaign of intimidation against abortion providers in British Columbia (BC). Local health care workers have received letters asking them to identify physicians who provide
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"I think it is absolutely critical, not only for Asia but for the rest of the world, that Japan [its economy] get back on track", warned US Treasury secretary Robert Rubin on September 4, the day before he met Japanese finance minister
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International news briefs Ogoni activists freed Twenty Ogoni activists, held without trial by the Nigerian dictatorship since 1994 on trumped up murder charges, were ordered released from Port Harcourt prison in Rivers State on September 8 by the
Culture
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Dark nights in the valley In the Winter DarkDirected by James BogleWith Brenda Blethyn, Ray Barrett, Miranda Otto and Richard RoxburghAt major cinemas Review by Margaret Allanand Francesca Davis Something sinister is out there. It mutilates
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Bradbury's Loggerheads on ABC TV Controversial environmental film-maker David Bradbury explores the forest debate in his latest film, Loggerheads, screening on Tuesday, September 29, 8.30pm, on ABC TV. Bradbury highlights the distinction between
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Inside CowleyBy Alan ThornettPorcupine Press, London, 1998408pp (pb), £17.45 Review by James Vassilopoulos Inside Cowley contains a thousand lessons for trade union militants. It explains how British PM Margaret Thatcher got away with taming