Privatisation comes unstuck
SYDNEY — Plans by the Carr Labor government to corporatise, then privatise, the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme have been defeated in the NSW upper house. Peter Wright of the Australian Conservation Foundation said, "The bill failed because it would have privatised the Snowy River, not just the hydro scheme".
The government's plans did not guarantee the Snowy a minimum of 28% of its original flow, the level irrigators in the Snowy River Alliance and the Greens say is necessary for the river to survive. Both groups estimate that the flow of the Snowy is presently 1% of capacity.
GLW sellers harassed
ADELAIDE — Green Left Weekly sellers were subjected to verbal harassment by the neo-Nazi group National Action while distributing papers at Adelaide railway station on June 27, during a Resistance action against the Liberal government's work for the dole scheme.
NA members arrived with a megaphone and started calling the sellers "dirty lesbians". When the sellers did not move, NA called the police and told them that the sellers were harassing them and that GLW had "taken our spot". The sellers stood their ground, receiving many favourable responses from commuters.
In recent weeks, NA has hassled sellers in the Central Markets and Rundle Mall. Supporters of GLW are encouraged to continue to demonstrate their support for the paper.
University of Adelaide adopts fees
ADELAIDE — The University of Adelaide Council voted on June 13 to introduce up-front fees for undergraduates in 1998. The vote, tied at eight to eight, was decided by the chancellor's casting vote. A student protest of 50 organised by the students association marched from the Barr Smith Lawns to sit in on the council meeting.
Government stops Arafat visit
The head of the general Palestinian delegation to Australia and ambassador of Palestine to Vanuatu, Ali Kazak, said he cannot understand the government's change of mind on the invitation issued to President Arafat by the deputy prime minister, Tim Fischer, during a meeting in Bethlehem on March 13.
Kazak said this was undignified, contradictory, unprofessional and unfriendly. It reflects badly on the Australian government and further confirms Australia's biased and one-sided Middle East policy.
"Unfortunately, this decision does not help the peace process. It gives encouragement and comfort to the extremist government of Netanyahu, which ... has brought the peace process to a dead end and the situation to an explosive point. It also further damages Australia's international credibility, reputation and relations."
Maternity leave lost
Maternity leave for women working at Telstra's White Pages will be lost following the contracting out of their jobs.
The White Pages workers, mainly women, will be offered positions with Pacific Access, a subsidiary 50% owned by Telstra. Currently workers within Telstra are entitled to three months' paid maternity leave and a further 12 months unpaid maternity leave. Workers at Pacific Access receive no paid maternity leave.
As part of Telstra's push to reduce its work force by one third — 25,000 workers — many jobs will be outsourced. Outsourcing is designed to reduce labour costs and cut conditions by imposing private sector conditions.
Boost for women's rights campaigns
PERTH — The appointment of feminist activist Angela Luvera as the new Edith Cowan women's officer will be a timely boost for campaigns around women's rights.
Luvera, a member of the socialist youth organisation Resistance, said that she will use her position to build a range of campaigns and pointed to the pressures of education and welfare cuts on women, which have intensified under the Liberal government.
"It will largely be up to women who get involved, but I would like to see a major focus on a reproductive rights, Blue Stocking Week in August and Reclaim the Night. There are also moves to relaunch the International Women's Day Collective."