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A conversation with Gough

BY PAUL BENEDEK SYDNEY — The last person you would expect to launch a book on East Timor would be Gough Whitlam, who was, in 1975, the Australian prime minister who allowed Indonesia's occupation of that country. So I was surprised to find

Unwarranted praise

Unwarranted Praise Greens Senator Bob Brown, in a June 14 press release, congratulated federal Labor leader Simon Crean for having “taken a large step in moving Labor from the 'me-tooism' on asylum seekers it proffered during the [2001

Spanners in Beattie's dirty work

Spanners in Beattie's dirty works BY ANDREW PHILLIPS BRISBANE — Workers at QBuild, the state government agency responsible for building all Queensland government buildings, schools and offices, are fighting for justice after being

Definitely not bubblegum pop

Definitely not bubblegum pop BY NICOLE HOYE  BRISBANE — With the empty lyrics of bubblegum pop music artists like Britney Spears and NSync hogging the mainstream music charts and airwaves, selling millions of albums worldwide,

BELGIUM: War criminal escapes prosecution

BELGIUM: War criminal escapes prosecution BY ROHAN PEARCE The Brussels Court of Appeals ruled on June 26 that a case against Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for war crimes cannot be tried under Belgian law. The case was brought by

News Briefs

News Briefs 'Youth for Refugees' hunger strike CANBERRA — Pro-refugee high school and campus students and young workers took part in a 24-hour solidarity hunger strike on June 28. The hunger strike, organised by Resistance, was in

SCOTLAND: Socialists ready to shock the establishment

SCOTLAND Socialists ready to shock the establishment BY FRANCIS CURRAN  With less than one year until the Scottish Parliament elections, due in May 2003, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) faces its biggest challenge yet.

Fortress Europe takes steps to bar refugees, migrants

BY SARAH STEPHEN The European Union faces an ironic contradiction in coming decades. As birth rates continue to decline, many countries face negative population growth. The EU needs more immigration. Yet the European Council's June 21-22 meeting in

CMG workers return to work

CMG workers return to work BY TERRICA STRUDWICK ROCKHAMPTON — Meatworkers at the Packer-family-owned Consolidated Meat Group's Lakes Creek abbatoir returned to work on June 20 after spending two weeks on strike and another week locked

Afghan refugee pleads: Don't send us back!

Afghan refugee pleads: Don't send us back! NOORIA WAZIFADOST is a 16-year-old Afghan refugee now living in Sydney. She arrived in Darwin with her family in 2000, and spent 40 days in the Curtin detention centre before being released on

SOUTH AFRICA: Sacrificing AIDS victims for corporate profits

SOUTH AFRICA: Sacrificing AIDS victims for corporate profits BY PATRICK BOND  JOHANNESBURG — During the last few days of June, at the same time as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Congress of South African Trade Unions

Woomera detainees: 'Freedom for all!'

BY PIP HINMAN& SARAH STEPHEN On June 23, the same day that 13,000 people took to the streets across Australia to oppose the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, detainees at the Woomera detention centre began a hunger strike. By June 24, 180-190