Unionists protest Reith
CANBERRA — The ACT Trades and Labor Council organised a symbolic demonstration here on October 25, outside the offices of minister Peter Reith's Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.
Reith's greatest crime has not been the telecard scandal, rally organisers reminded those present, but the attacks upon the working conditions of ordinary Australians. TLC Secretary Jeremy Pyner, surrounded by telephones, dogs on leashes and unionists wearing balaclavas, reminded people of Reith's vicious 1998 campaign against the wharfies.
S11 video sparks interest
CANBERRA — The S11 blockade of the World Economic Forum's Melbourne summit, September 11-13, is still generating interest and discussion, even amongst those who weren't even there.
Union members at ScreenSound Australia viewed the documentary S11: This Is What Democracy Stands For at a lunchtime screening on October 24, sparking a lively discussion about how different the mainstream media's hysterical coverage of the protest was compared to what was shown in the documentary.
There will be another screening at ScreenSound and the video will also be shown at a fundraising barbecue for the public sector's rank-and-file Members First team on November 12. To organise a screening at your workplace, contact your local Resistance Centre.
Protesters confront Hayden
HOBART — A band of pro-East Timorese protesters confronted former Labor minister for foreign affairs Bill Hayden at a meeting at the University of Tasmania on October 24.
Hayden defended Australian support for Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and claimed that recently released documents revealing the depth of collusion before the 1975 invasion were lies. The protesters accused Hayden of a version of "holocaust denial".
Left takes Newcastle Uni
NEWCASTLE — Left-wing activists have increased their hold on the Newcastle University Student Association (NUSA) in recent elections, winning several positions, including the presidency, from the Labor student faction.
The two left-wing tickets, Keep Left, initiated by Resistance, and the Newcastle Freedom Fighters (NFF), initiated by several activists in campus collectives, won three of the five National Union of Students delegate positions, an increase from one last year. The NFF candidate also won the NUSA presidency.
"This election campaign shows the need for a united left next year", said Resistance activist Troy Saxby, who was elected as an NUS observer. "As long as Labor students put negotiations with the university administration before student action, there is a need for genuine activists to contest these elections."
Union militants to challenge
CANBERRA — The rank-and-file Members First team in the ACT Community and Public Sector Union has declared that it will challenge the incumbent pro-ALP branch leadership for the position of deputy president.
Candidate Deb Lally says she will focus on the need for the union to more vigorously defend jobs threatened by outsourcing.
Members First meets regularly. For more details email <membersfirst@bigpond.com>.