NTEU campaign against homophobia
BALLARAT — After the University of Ballarat endorsed a student contingent at the 2002 Pride March, two public emails were sent by staff members condemning "sexual perversion".
Although the NTEU responded with a public email condemning homophobia, the campus administration's response was inadequate. Five weeks later, another email attacked the activities of queer staff and students and condemned university research into suicide among gays and lesbians. A March 14 response from the acting vice-chancellor was too little, too late.
An April 17 meeting began to plan a union campaign against homophobia. Messages of support can be sent to the committee via <nteu@ballarat.edu.au>.
Protest against 'anti-terrorist' laws
MELBOURNE — Fifty people met outside the Melbourne Convention Centre on April 17 to protest against the federal government's proposed "anti-terrorist" laws. A Senate committee was receiving submissions on the legislation.
The rally was addressed by Alison Thorne from the Socialist Alliance and Damian Lawson from the Western Suburbs Legal Centre, who condemned the legislation as an attack on civil rights.
First women UTLC secretary
ADELAIDE — On April 19, Janet Giles, former South Australian state secretary of the Australian Education Union, was elected unopposed as the first female secretary of the SA United Trades and Labor Council. Her election follows a decision to reduce the number of paid officials to one in the wake of the departure of two large affiliates, the Transport Workers Union and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
Union win on overwork
BRISBANE — On April 17, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) allowed the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) to take individual aged care employers to the industrial court to prevent them from imposing unreasonable workloads which would jeopardise nurses' health and safety.
QNU secretary Gay Hawkesworth said the QIRC had found that workloads for aged-care nurses had increased in recent years.
"We believe it has extended a clear invitation to the QNU to bring individual employers, one at a time, into the commission for scrutiny."
Meeting slams nuclear plant
BRISBANE — On April 19, 100 people attended a public meeting to condemn the nuclear irradiation plant planned by the Steritech company for the Narangba area.
Opposition to the plant centres both on its use of radioactive cobalt 60, and the company's application to extend the technology to food irradiation.
The meeting discussed a series of actions to protest against the plant, beginning with an April 28 meeting at the Deception Bay Hall at 2pm.
On April 17, Queensland Police told various "stakeholders" that work on the plant would commence within four to six weeks. Steritech general manager George West is reported to have given police a list of "troublemakers' who have been active in opposing the plant.
However, Queensland Health has said that no application for an operating licence for the plant has been received.
From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.
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