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loose cannons

loose cannons Please explain "We're going through hard times but like a piece of steel when you temper it, every time you heat it up and hammer it, it becomes harder." — One Nation Senator Len Harris quoted in Time magazine, May 1. Sounds

Why the government won't solve the rural crisis

Why the government won't solve the rural crisis BY SUE BOLAND There are two rural crises in Australia. One is an economic and social crisis: the majority of people in rural and regional areas face decreasing living standards. The other is a

SRI LANKA: Army faces serious defeat

SRI LANKA: Army faces serious defeat In the wake of a string of dramatic military victories by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan government has appealed for foreign military assistance. Some 35,000 Sri Lankan troops have

WA Labor's industrial policy full of holes

COMMENT BY ROGER RAVEN PERTH — An election in Western Australia is certain within the next 12 months, maybe even within the next three, and another Labor loss seems likely. The release of Labor's state industrial relations policy won't delay the

Incat workers denies pay rise despite huge profit

Incat workers denies pay rise despite huge profit BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — Shipbuilding company Incat made a $53 million after-tax profit in 1998-99 — $17 million more than the previous year — yet Incat boss Craig Clifford is denying a

May 1 'carnival against capitalism'

May 1 'carnival against capitalism' BY CHRIS WILLIAMS Aiming to take May Day, the annual workers' day, back to its militant roots, hundreds of mainly young radicals around the country demonstrated, marched, waved flags and chanted on May 1. In

Public sector needs an industry-wide campaign

Public sector needs an industry-wide campaign COMMENT BY CHRIS SLEE Members First, the rank-and-file group within the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), fully supports the struggle by Australian Taxation Office workers for better pay and

What's wrong with the WTO, IMF and World Bank?

Capitalist economists, media magnates, business people and politicians tell us that we are moving towards a "globalised" world economy in which capital and investment can move around freely and the Third World can compete in a "free" international

MAY DAY around the world

May Day around the world A different sort of May Day May 1, the annual day of action to mark working-class struggle and internationalism was celebrated in many countries this year with greater enthusiasm and broader participation than has been

Welfare rights need political defence

Welfare rights need political defence COMMENT BY JONATHAN SINGER In its forthcoming budget, the federal Coalition government plans to announce more programs trialing extended "mutual obligation" provisions for all unemployed people, sole parents

NORWAY: Largest strike for 14 years

Largest strike in Norway for 14 years BY MARGARET ALLUM The largest strike in Norway for 14 years began on May 3, when almost 85,000 private sector workers rejected a new contract. Two-thirds of the union's rank-and-file membership voted against

EAST TIMOR: Xanana: 'I will not be president'

BY MARTIN ILTIS MELBOURNE — "In the new period, new struggles, we need new heroes", East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao told those attending the launch of his autobiography here on May 4. He was explaining why he did not think he