The following information about the preference allocations and recommendations of the "progressive" parties and candidates contesting the federal election, while still incomplete (in many seats these decisions have yet to be made or announced), gives
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By John Baker The 1980s were a time of change and a reaching out for unity on the Australian Left. This often led to strange and tortured alliances and inevitably acrimonious separations, but it also held out great hopes for a resurgence. The period
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The Australian Women's Party (AWP) formed last year around the central aim of increasing women's parliamentary representation. Recently, it released its industrial policy about which һƷ̽ Weekly's JENNIFER THOMPSON spoke to JENI EASTWOOD.
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Comment by Peter Boyle The Australian Democrats' revival of founder and ex-Liberal Don Chipp's slogan "Keep the bastards honest" at their February 11 campaign launch confirms their precarious niche in the Australian political establishment. They want
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Young people speak out ADELAIDE — Members of the socialist youth organisation Resistance took over part of Rundle mall to hold a speak out on February 16. The action was part of Resistance's campaign in support of the Democratic Socialists and a
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MARGIE FRIEL, director of the Aboriginal Youth Law Centre at the Northern Territory University, is the architect of the Australian Greens' Aboriginal affairs policy, released in February. Standing in the federal election as the Greens' number one
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I have never seen my great-granddaughter, Jasmine. She will be three years old on March 1. The combination of our individual circumstances suggests that we may never see each other. Many are the times that I imagine a casual conversation with her as
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Citizen Initiated Referendums In your February 7th cover story (GLW #218), Pip Hinman outlines the problems with our political system, but for a solution simply says, "We have to create new institutions of democracy that involve a majority of
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By Kath Gelber In 1984 Big Brother was watching. In 1996, Big Brother controls what we watch, read and hear. Censorship is a fact of life. It ranges from formal, legal limitations, restrictions and categorisations imposed on publications, films and
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Street theatre of youth poverty By Jamie Meurant BRISBANE — A crowd gathered in the Queen Street Mall on February 23 for a youth rights speak out and street theatre of youth poverty. These actions were organised by Resistance to highlight what
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Evans confronted at NGO conference MELBOURNE — More than 50 people gathered outside a Community Aid Abroad Conference on Asia on February 23, at which foreign minister Gareth Evans was giving an opening address, to protest against the Australian
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By Eric Earley I wish to reinforce the statements made by Barbara Wright in her article "Cancer treatment and informed consent", in the Oct-Dec '95 issue of the Medical Consumers Association of NSW newsletter [reprinted in GLW #216]. In November '94
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Karen Fletcher and Max Lane Move the airport out of Sydney Residents of Sydney's inner south-west are rightly angry about the horrendous levels of noise and air pollution which have accompanied the opening of the third runway at Kingsford Smith
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By Pip Hinman Several anti-immigration independents and parties are standing in the federal elections. While they claim not to be racist, Graeme Campbell, Australians Against Further Immigration Party, Reclaim Australia: Reduce Immigration and
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Jim at 50 Back then, when our daddies and mummies came together in prodigious numbers, we were born. And golly, there were lots of us. To be born after the war made us a lucky bunch of so and sos. Times were good. There were more jobs going than you
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By Allen Myers "Crikeys", said Max, lowering his schooner with a thump. "I'm gonna have to change me religion". That was a bit of a shock. Through all the years I've known him, until last week, Max never had a religion. Now, after seven days or so as
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By Dave Riley "Tell me this: would you give me a foot massage?" "A what ...!" "I'm asking you — would you give another bloke a foot massage? You reckon you're king in that department, so would ya?" "Stuff you." "That's my point. There's lots more
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Mardi Gras: from politics to business By Pip Hinman As the month of gay and lesbian Mardi Gras cultural, sporting and community festivities comes to a close, and the big parade night and party draw near, hundreds of thousands of people have been
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The building where һƷ̽ Weekly is produced is badly in need of repair. We desperately need help to repair the exterior and interior of part of the building where the brickwork is crumbling away, allowing Sydney's weather to wreak havoc on the
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By Peter Boyle The fact that the Coalition's February 15 announcement of plans to cut $6.3 billion from government spending (over three years) was met with calls for a tripling of these cuts from the Murdoch and Packer press makes the prospect of a
News
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By Adam Hanieh ADELAIDE — More than 5000 education workers packed Memorial Drive Tennis court on February 23 in the largest education mass meeting ever held in SA. Members of the South Australian Institute of Teachers (SAIT) overwhelmingly endorsed
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By Jorge Jorquera The Democratic Socialist candidate for the seat of Perth, Anthony Benbow, is a union militant with the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union. He is currently on the executive of the CEPU Electrical Division WA. Benbow was
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By Norm Dixon and Max Watts A radio operator in the blockaded island of Bougainville has reported a gruesome massacre of unarmed civilians by members of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and pro-PNG "resistance" groups. The killings took place early
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By Vaarunika Dharmapala PERTH — Negotiations the claim of the Australian Nurses Federation (ANF) for a wage increase of 10% for all general public sector nurses, and other demands, have ended. The proposals went to state cabinet on February 19.
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By Jonathan Strauss SYDNEY — A February 21 public meeting of more than 250 at the Parramatta Town Hall, called by western Sydney anti-airport noise groups, showed the growing opposition to the proposed construction of a major airport at Badgerys
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By Iggy Kim HOBART — The Tasmanian Greens launched their federal election campaign here on February 15 to a packed auditorium of more than 200 people. For the House of Representatives, the Greens' candidates are Karen Weldrick for Denison, John
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By Kim Linden MELBOURNE — Health workers in the recently formed North Eastern Health Care Network have stepped up their industrial campaign against the Kennett government's redeployment and redundancy packages, which began to be introduced on
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By Bill Mason BRISBANE — "There is no way to achieve social justice and ecological sustainability except through a vast switch in economic priorities. Only the Democratic Socialists are campaigning on a comprehensive platform which links up the key
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By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Queensland State Public Services Federation has warned the new National-Liberal Coalition government that the union will not tolerate mass sackings or large-scale restructuring. SPSFQ secretary Gordon Rennie said the
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By Coral Wynter and Kerry Vernon BRISBANE — Fifty people attended the opening of the Bayside Residents Against Toxic Site (Brats) information office at Pinkenba on February 17. Bayside residents have been campaigning for over 12 months against the
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By Paul Jones BRISBANE — Staff at Royal Brisbane Hospital report that old mercurial thermometers were replaced last week in many wards with digital equipment. This is the first real change in the management's attitude since mercury spillage and
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By Chris Slee Tax Office workers have voted to accept a new agency agreement, replacing the 1990 Modernisation Agreement and the 1994 Agency Agreement. Community and Public Sector Union officials admitted that the new agreement is not a good one, but
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Measles "It's as if she's got the measles or something." — A Fremantle Labor voter, quoted in the Bulletin, puzzling over why Carmen Lawrence has not been more prominent in the Labor election campaign. Less majesty "The proportion of people [in
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By Sue Bull CANBERRA — In their first major display of unity, some 2000 ACT government workers crowded into Civic Square on February 21 to campaign for a 9% fully funded wage increase. They chanted slogans calling for the 9%, abused independent MLA
Analysis
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Politics after elections The ACTU leadership launched into its usual pre-election bluster last week. Addressing an ALP union rally at Melbourne Town Hall on February 21, ACTU secretary Bill Kelty threatened "industrial warfare" and wage claims of
World
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On February 20, five of the East Timorese seeking refuge inside the Australian embassy in Jakarta were escorted to a nearby hospital. Sometime later, their embassy escorts left the hospital. The next morning the five East Timorese, three of them
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By Sean Lavis GLASGOW — More than 300 people crammed into City Hall on February 10 for the founding meeting of the Scottish Socialist Alliance, a coalition of left parties, groups and independent activists. Speakers from various left backgrounds
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The colonisation of Palestine by European Jewish settlers in the l920s usually evokes heroic images in Western eyes. However, there were international concerns then about the potential abuse of Arab labour. Concerns were even expressed by the Zionist
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BRENDAN DOYLE arrived in France at the beginning of December and witnessed three weeks of strikes and the biggest demonstrations since May 1968. On one Saturday there were 2 million people on the streets all over France, and millions of others
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By Norm Dixon The International Monetary Fund is standing over the impoverished, war-shattered southern African country of Mozambique because the government has had the temerity to announce measures to try to improve the lives of its people.
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[The following is the editorial from the February 15 issue of An Phoblacht/Republican News.] What we hoped would be unthinkable when the IRA's historic and generous cessation was announced in August 1994, has come to pass. It took over 17 months of
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Support is growing for the call by East Timorese resistance organisations and several Australian supporters for a national day of solidarity with East Timor to demand withdrawal of Australia's de jure recognition of Indonesia's illegal takeover of
Culture
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To Die ForDirected by Gus Van SantStarring Nicole KidmanReviewed by Natasha Simons Despite the huge amount of advertising and media hype around To Die For, starring "our Aussie girl" Nicole Kidman, I decided to see the film anyway. What piqued my
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Bodgie Dada and the Cult of CoolBy John Clare (aka Gail Brennan)UNSW Press, 1995. 218 pp., $39.95 (hb)Companion 2-CD compilation available on ABC Music through EMIReviewed by Norm Dixon Gail Brennan — as writer John Clare is best-known these days
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The Poverty of Dialectical MaterialismBy Eric PetersonSummer Hill NSW: Red DoorReviewed by Rurik Davidson. Not all philosophers are wankers. There have been people who have been genuinely concerned with the big problems for a reason — to use
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SkinSydney Theatre CompanyWharf 2, Sydney until March 16Reviewed by Lisa Macdonald Skin incorporates two very different, tenuously linked plays. The first, Somewhere in the Darkness, written by Ray Kelly, draws on the traditions of Aboriginal
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The Greens, economics and fairytales The GreensBy Bob Brown and Peter SingerThe Text Publishing Company, 1996. 198 pp., $14.95Reviewed by Lisa Macdonald This book by Green Senate candidates Bob Brown and Peter Singer is the first attempt to
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Enough Blue SkyBy Mona BrandTawny Pit Press, 283 pp.Reviewed by Dave Riley Australia's New Theatre Movement was born in Sydney during the Great Depression and soon spread to other capitals. Instigated by members of the Communist Party, it was
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Lotus WarBy Julie JansonOn Soundstage, ABC FM February 20Reviewed by Brendan Doyle The stage version of this outstanding radio play will open shortly at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and hopefully will move on from there to other capitals. It is a
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Figments of a MurderBy Gillian HanscombeSpinifex Press, 1995, 264 pp., $16.95 (pb)Reviewed by Kath Gelber Hanscombe has a delightful way of combining conventional narrative with lyrical prose, evident in earlier works including Sybil: The Glide of
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Weipa: Where Australian unions drew their 'line in the sand' with CRABy Patrick GormanWeipa Industrial Site Committee through CFMEU Mining Division69pp., $5Reviewed by Jennifer Thompson This book by Paddy Gorman, editor of the CFMEU Mining Division's