Issue 387

News

Rally in defence of refugees By Douglas Hawthorne SYDNEY — Evening shoppers in Parramatta's Church Street Mall on November 25 were greeted by a rally of 40 people protesting against the new anti-refugee law. Organised by Resistance, the
ACT Members First wins three branch positions. By Stuart Martin CANBERRA — Results were close in the ACT branch elections of the Community and Public Sector Union, the rank and file group Members First winning three of six positions. Penny
Doomadgee crisis a product of racist system By Bill Mason BRISBANE — On November 21, 12 nurses and doctors withdrew their services from a hospital in the Doomadgee Aboriginal community, in the Gulf region of north Queensland. The incident is a
Ngarrindjeri flag raised over Hindmarsh Island By John Nebauer ADELAIDE — Two hundred people, led by Moogie Sumner and traditional Ngarrindjeri dancers, made their way through Goolwa's main street on November 21 to purify the place of evil
Victimised unionist garners support By Melanie Sjoberg SYDNEY — Organising Works trainee John Gauci has received messages of support since Green Left Weekly revealed a decision by his union to suspend its sponsorship of him. The NSW branch of
Pangea pushing ahead with dump plan By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — Despite opposition from all political parties and several local councils, Pangea Resources has not abandoned its plan to build a nuclear waste dump in outback WA. The nuclear
Nuclear fuel secretly shipped from Sydney By Jim Green SYDNEY — On November 25, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation trucked 308 spent fuel rods from its Lucas Heights reactor plant to Port Botany. The fuel rods are being
Members First wins good hearing in CPSU elections By Jim McIlroy BRISBANE — Members First, a rank-and-file team making its first foray into Community and Public Sector Union elections, has performed well in contests in the Centrelink section
To add your name to the following petition, or obtain copies for wider distribution, please phone (02) 9690 1230, fax (02) 9690 1381, or e-mail <glw@greenleft.org.au>. In 1997 Australia became infamous because of the rapid rise of the
By John Burke DARWIN — This year's major review of indigenous education in the Northern Territory by former NT senator Bob Collins reiterated that the problems facing indigenous people are systemic, bridging justice, health, housing and education
Forest legislation stumped The Senate voted to uphold amendments to the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) Bill on November 24, setting a double dissolution trigger if the bill is again altered by the Senate next March. The Senate insisted that RFAs
People's inquiry builds momentum Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor's People's Inquiry into Australian governments' "special relationship" with Indonesia and complicity in the East Timor genocide is attracting a lot of interest in
By Vinicio Molina PERTH — The 17th Southern Cross brigade to Cuba has been finalised; 31 brigadistas from all over Australia and New Zealand will leave for Cuba on December 26. A number of unions Australia-wide have sponsored delegates to
Timorese condemn Ruddock's 'hampering' of inquiry By Karen Fredericks BRISBANE — The spokesperson for the Brisbane East Timorese community has hit out at the refusal by federal immigration minister Philip Ruddock to grant the International
By Sue Boland Corporate profits are booming at record levels. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published on November 18, company profits before tax increased by 6.5% over the last three months (17.3% over the last 12 months) to
Seafarers stop Adsteam tugs By Robert Darcy SYDNEY — Seafarers on Adsteam tugs struck on November 26 to oppose company attempts to cut crew numbers. Tugs operate with two deckhands, a master and an engineer; Adsteam wants the tug engineer to do
Senate rejects support for West Papua By Leigh Hughes CANBERRA — The Coalition and Labor have both voted against a Senate motion, put by Greens Senator Bob Brown on November 23, which would have recognised the overwhelming support for
By Robert Darcy Forty inspectors from the International Transport Workers Federation of Australia will inspect foreign ships entering Australian ports next week. The blitz is part of an ITF Asia Pacific week of action against the exploitation of

World

Ireland's part in Fortress Europe By Sinead Corcoran The Irish government has joined the ranks of those taking harsh action against refugees, enforcing draconian laws and planning to deport thousands of asylum seekers. Immigration became an issue
Korean union wins legal recognition SEOUL — On November 23, South Korea's Ministry of Labour finally accepted the "notification of the establishment of a trade union" submitted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. This follows four
By Linda Kaucher LONDON — In Britain, many huge estates have been in the hands of the same privileged families for centuries, and because registering land ownership is not compulsory until there's an ownership transaction, it is difficult even to

Following a fact-finding tour to East Timor, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has announced it will subpoena senior Indonesian generals, including General Wiranto, minister-coordinator for political and security affairs, to explain their involvement in the violence and human rights abuses in East Timor since January.

By Max Lane A formal administration of East Timor by the United Nations was established on November 27 when the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) issued its first regulation. The regulation claimed "all legislative and executive
By Norm Dixon At least 43 people in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger delta region have been killed in the opening hours of an invasion by federal troops. The people of the delta have long demanded an end to the environmental and social vandalism caused by
By Jorge Jorquera QUITO — On November 23, thousands of Amazonians marched and rode on horseback into Ecuador's capital, as part of a nationwide march "against being forgotten". Their principal demand was that US$2 from every barrel of oil
Scottish Socialists make big gains in first year By Pamela Currie and Lisa Young GLASGOW — The phenomenal rise of the Scottish Socialist Party since its launch in October 1998 is an inspiration to socialists. A working example of socialist
Sri Lankan left unites for election The following is abridged from a statement issued Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) of Sri Lanka on November 15. EEThe presidential election will be held on December 21. After severe defeats in the war against the
Mbeki calls for 'black capitalist class' By Norm Dixon South African President Thabo Mbeki told the annual conference of the Black Management Forum on November 20, "Because racism lives, the struggle continues. As part of the aim to eradicate
By Eva Cheng Headed by the US, the rich countries will increase their plundering of the rest of the world if they have their way in the coming round of world trade haggling likely to take place in the next three years under the auspices of the
By Michael Karadjis According to the New York Times of November 14, "Serbia proper begins at the heavily guarded bridge ... in Kosovska Mitrovica, some 30 miles south of Kosovo's actual border with Serbia". The term "Serbia proper" means Serbia

Culture

New Realism, New Barbarism: Socialist Theory in the Era of GlobalizationBy Boris KagarlitskyTranslated by Renfrey ClarkePluto Press, 1999166 pp., $38.95 Review by Allen Myers This is the first of an intended three volumes aiming "to provide a
Speech's arrested development HooplaSpeechTVT Records through Mushroom Review by Norm Dixon In the early 1990s, an unpretentious and very political hip hop band briefly achieved worldwide popularity. Arrested Development starkly contradicted the
Stone dulls anti-war message SaviorDirected by Peter AntonijevicProduced by Oliver Stone and Janet YangIn cinemas from December 2 By Jonathan Singer Savior, the new Oliver Stone film, depicts the spiritual death and moral self-discovery of a US
PushkinBy Elaine FeinsteinPhoenix, 1999309 pp., $24.95 (pb) By Phil Shannon In February 1937, as Stalin's regime was engaged in extravagant celebrations of the centenary of the death of Russia's most famous poet, Alexander Pushkin, many victims of
Feeling SexyWritten and Directed by Davina AllenProduced by Glenys RoweOpens nationally December 23 Review by Melanie Sjoberg This film offers a promising journey into the passionate world of fantasy and young love intruded upon by the harsh
The MountainSteve Earle and the Del McCoury BandE-Squared RecordsOrder from <http://www.e2records.com/index2.html> Review by Bill Nevins "To listen to the radio, you'd think that all was well,/ But you and me and Cisco know, it's goin'

Editorial

Wrong people, wrong purpose Just about everyone is supporting John Howard's new "Timor tax" to fund the Australian Defence Force commitment there. Labor leader Kim Beazley immediately supported it, as did the Democrats' Meg Lees. The Australian

Resistance!

By Bernie Wunsch LISMORE — The September elections for the Lismore (Southern Cross University) student representative council (SRC) resulted in a clean sweep for the broad left ticket. For the first time in years, the SRC is made up of committed
By Kerryn Williams SYDNEY — The Marxism 2000 Asia Pacific Solidarity and Education Conference initiated by Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party will be a major forum for discussing youth and student issues and campaigns. Along with the
By Andy Gianniotis A proposal by the NSW government to fine people or organisations that engage in street advertising has been shelved. The proposed amendment was part of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 1999. Had it been
By Zanny Begg In Green Left Weekly issue #384, Resistance magazine carried an article, by me, which looked at some of the key ideas of "autonomist Marxism". The piece focused on the ideas of US theorist Harry Cleaver, an enthusiastic proponent of
By Simon Butler Most students, and much of the wider community, recognise that there is a crisis in tertiary education funding. The Howard government promotes the introduction of increased student fees and university privatisation as the only
By Zanny Begg On November 23, staff from the Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander STUDIES (FATSIS) received letters from the Northern Territory University stating that their jobs had been "disestablished". These redundancies are a
By Natalie Zirngast "The car has made the big city uninhabitable ... Thus, since cars have killed the city, we need faster cars to escape on superhighways to suburbs that are even farther away. What an impeccable circular argument: give us more