It was a week in which the world's greatest worst ex-treasurer Paul, with a simple hypnotic gesture of his statistical grab bag, totally erased youth unemployment. "It is ludicrous", Paul said, "to suggest 46% of Aussie youth
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SYDNEY — Phyllis May, who police say was found dead, hanged by her pantihose in a Macquarie Fields police station in the early hours of June 10, would still be alive if the recommendations of the royal commission into black
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When a rare frog is threatened by the destruction of tropical rainforest to make way for a resort hotel, the extinction of species due to human activity is clear. Less obvious, perhaps, is the threat to biodiversity in the
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The August federal budget will most likely put an end to Austudy as a grant scheme. The most likely outcome is the introduction of an optional loans scheme attached to the Austudy grants system. The loans "option"
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The proposed Biodiversity Convention was one of the big casualties at the Earth Summit, held in Rio in the first two weeks of June. Negotiations on the convention were concluded on May 20 in Nairobi. Since most of the
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Workers at Associated Pulp and Paper's Burnie mill have returned to work after their bitterly fought three-week strike. The strikers maintained their seven-day, round-the-clock picket line under constant pressure from the company, hired thugs, the
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Double load Have you ever heard of ILO 156? If not, it might be worth getting some more information — used properly, it could save millions of women from hours of housework. No, it's not a washing machine that picks clothes up off the
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Human being (patent pending) A chilling example of the madness of the push for private profit emerged when the Greens in the European Parliament found an application at the European Patent Office to patent an entire human being. The April
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If we lost the long-footed potoroo, mallee fowl and bilby, it would be very sad, but life would surely go on. If there are between 10 million and 30 million species on this planet, the loss of these and a few others, give or
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Threatened species bill up for voteA private member's bill to protect the biodiversity of the Australian continent is to be debated in the Senate this month. Democrat Senator John Coulter's Commonwealth Threatened Species
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Worth discussing The question most worth discussing now and in coming years is whether the fall of communist structures from Tirana to Vladivostok implies that "worker and peasant governments" cannot be created and operated effectively by
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The pink triangle is the symbol of gay and lesbian pride, chosen by the new wave of gay liberation following the June '69 Stonewalll riots in New York City. The riots marked a new wave of radical gay liberation politics, but
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Fidel Castro Tomorrow will be too late [The following is the complete text of Cuban President Fidel Castro's speech at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on June 12. The text comes from Radio Havana via Pegasus.] An important biological
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Queensland police 'grab for power'BRISBANE — The Queensland Police Service and police union had cynically manipulated public fears on crime in a "grab for power", Terry O'Gorman, president of the Council for Civil Liberties,
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With strikes, marches and rallies on June 16, black South Africans answered the call of the African National Congress for mass actions against the white minority government's blocking of the transition to democracy. But the
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Tax-pack not as bad as it appearsA glance at page three of "Tax Pack 92" reveals that it was printed on paper "from managed plantation and native forests, 100% Australian content". This would seem rather alarming. How many
News
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Safety concerns at Robe River KARRATHA, WA — Workers at Robe River Iron Associates are concerned about safety following a series of dangerous accidents. WA Trades and Labor Council organiser Dave McLane says Robe's accident rate appears to be
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Open door for nuclear waste CANBERRA — The Senate has passed a bill which will allow Australia to become an international nuclear waste dump, says Greenpeace. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Bill, supported on June 18 by the
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Things to come "The diplomats may be talking peace, but the generals are preparing for war." — A western ambassador in the Middle East, as US companies conclude arms deals worth $13 billion with regional governments, making the US the biggest
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According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, unemployment in May reached a postwar record of 10.6%. Yet Australia is "technically" well out of recession because, by the end of March, the economy had grown for three quarters
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Victoria to trial 'training' schemeMELBOURNE — In response to a 46% youth unemployment rate, the state Labor government has announced that it will pilot a controversial youth training scheme. Critics say it will
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SYDNEY — Despite declarations that he will fight it out, NSW Premier Nick Greiner will probably fall as a result of an Independent Commission Against Corruption finding that he acted corruptly. The finding concerned
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Telecom workers are preparing for a prolonged struggle over the organisation's plans to cut its workforce by about 15%. Telecom (AOTC) management has already announced a cut of 4400 jobs over the next year, about 6% of the
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Studded belts now 'weapons'MELBOURNE — A decision to charge a receptionist with possession of a regulated weapon by Magistrate Peter Couzens has outraged and amazed the gay and lesbian community, among others. The "weapon"
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Melbourne privatisation protestMELBOURNE — Passers-by the Regent Hotel early on June 15 were confronted by the spectacle of "Premier Kirner" cosying up to a rambunctious "John Elliott" in a double bed. Clicking her
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MELBOURNE — About 50 tramway workers and supporters protested outside the Age building on June 19 over a story in the June 14 Sunday Age headlined, "If you drink and drive, you're a bloody tram driver". An accompanying photo purported to show a
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Liberals' BWIU ban illegalSYDNEY — In another blow to the accident-prone Greiner government, some aspects of its ban on government departments dealing with the Building Workers Industrial Union have been ruled illegal by
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Rally for abortion rights in ACTCANBERRA — "No cop-outs, no committees, we've waited long enough" was the chant from the crowd as Wayne Berry, minister for health, introduced the Termination of Pregnancy (Repeal) Bill in the
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Indonesian campaigner to attendProminent Indonesian political activist Helmi Fauzi will attend the Resistance national conference in Melbourne. Fauzi is in Australia as a guest of Resistance, the Environmental Youth
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Jet-cats not accessible SYDNEY — A demonstration at Circular Quay on June 14 called attention to the fact that the new multimillion-dollar jet-cats and river-cats are inaccessible to people with any type of mobility impairment. The
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Young people face growing povertyYouth unemployment has reached a rate of 34.1%. Paul Keating argues that it is really only 10% while he organises a hasty unemployment summit to be held next month. Keating argued that the
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"Resistance takes an active stand on issues important to young people. This year's Resistance conference will reflect the diversity and dynamism of our activities this year and our plans for the future", says Jorge Jorquera,
Analysis
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Justice for refugees Federal court judge Marcus Einfeld made some telling points in his June 17 speech to the National Press Club, launching National Refugee Week. He rightly castigated the federal government's treatment of Cambodian boat
World
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Protests in Belgrade indicate a growing opposition to President Slobodan Milosevic's attempts to create a Greater Serbia at the expense of Serbia's neighbours. The day after a church-organised procession calling for peace,
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MOSCOW — On June 5 Gavriil Popov announced his resignation as mayor of Moscow. He was a little short of 12 months into a five-year term. In statements to reporters, Popov indicated that he was quitting in order to
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The Urals region is one of the main industrial centres of Russia. However, its social infrastructure lags behind that of cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg, while such industrial centres of the region as Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk),
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PRAGUE — British Prime Minister John Major's tour of central Europe in May served not only to improve the electoral chances of the Czech-based Civic Democratic Party. It also drew attention to economic and political
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Anger over delay to PNG forest act LAE, PNG — Tribal landowners, community organisations and members of the government have reacted angrily to delays in gazetting Papua New Guinea's new Forestry Act, says Sasa Kokino, director of the PNG
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Australian military surveillance is helping the Papua New Guinea Defence Force to blockade Bougainville by providing information on boats attempting to get through the blockade, according to a Bougainville provisional government representative in
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CRA accused of cyanide pollutionThe Environmental Youth Alliance is planning to confront the Australian company CRA over charges that it is polluting the Indonesian environment. CRA is the majority shareholder (67.95%) in
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Nuclear cuts reflect changing US strategyThe latest US-Russian nuclear arms cuts, announced by presidents Bush and Yeltsin in Washington on June 16, reflect a continuing move by the US towards armaments more suitable to its
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SYDNEY — "Human life is very cheap in India. Democracy has been reduced to a farce", according to K.G. Kannabiran, president of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee. Speaking to about 50 people at
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Privatisation from within SERGEI POROSHIN works at the Lenin Metallurgical Plant in Perm. He is a member of the trade union committee, and also of the Rabochy group. Has the issue arisen of privatising the Lenin plant? The factory has been
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British Greens in crisis LONDON — The British Green Party is in financial crisis as its membership plummets under the control of the Green 2000 group, which swept the party's executive positions in elections last year. The party now has 8000
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PRAGUE — Leading Czech and Slovak politicians agreed on a formula that will divide the Czechoslovak federation into two independent republics, during discussions that culminated on June 17. The agreement is the result of
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Film maker killed in PNG A Swedish documentary film maker and journalist, Per-Ove Carlsson, has been murdered in Papua New Guinea. The murder took place at the end of April, while he was working on a film about the liberation movement in West
Culture
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Abortion: Desperate Choices 39th Sydney Film Festival A film by Susan Froemke and Deborah Dickson From "American Undercover" Series by Maysles Films Inc (USA) Reviewed by Kath Tucker The current battles in the USA to retain women's access
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Just for fun Strictly Ballroom Directed by Baz Luhrman Starring Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter Reviewed by Lin Wolfe Baz Luhrman's debut feature, despite a few rough edges, deserves to be picked up for wide commercial release. The
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At the Melbourne Film FestivalEvents Leading up to my Death, from Canada, is an inspired and satiric insight into family life. The death in question is that of the dog; he becomes the first victim of this supposedly happy
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Traitors By Stephen Sewell Directed by Colin Kenny New Theatre, Sydney Reviewed by Stephen Robson Bringing the poignant political issues of the Soviet Union in the 1920s into stark reality, Traitors focuses on the United Opposition and its
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Uneven work from the vanguard rappers Apocalypse '91 ... The Enemy Strikes Black Public Enemy Reviewed by James Basle Apocalypse '91 is good, but not brilliant. You tap your feet to the beat, but the beat never really grabs you. In many
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Long journey An unusual and ambitious film deserving greater exposure is The Journey, a massive 14.5J243>155DJ0>/.5>255D> hour project lurking in the bowels of the National Library in Canberra. Produced and directed by Peter Watkins, best
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Swoon Written and directed by Tom Kalin Starring Daniel Sclachet, Craig Chester Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy and precociously brilliant Jewish teenagers, kidnapped and murdered an
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The politics of musicPERTH — On June 12, the Court Hotel in Northbridge hosted a forum on the Politics of Music. The evening, part of the monthly Politics in the Pub series, featured speakers from different sectors of
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Rogernomics come home to roost Feral City By Rosie Scott William Heinemann. $19.95 Reviewed by Dave Riley There is a future. Today's comfort becomes tomorrow's memory. Rosie Scott's new work is a novel, not of fantasy, but of extrapolation