ALICE SPRINGS — Aboriginal women, friends and supporters will gather on October 27 to celebrate the survival of Aboriginal women's law and culture. The celebrations will be hosted by the Alukura Council, which has designed, planned and developed the first Aboriginal women's community health and birthing centre, which will be officially opened in a public ceremony at Percy Court, South Stuart Highway, Alice Springs, from 11:30am. All other aspects of the celebrations will be women-only events.
BRISBANE — Workers at the Treasury Casino site here struck from October 12 after asbestos was found in window frames and elsewhere. More than 700 building workers voted on October 18 not to return to work, defying an Industrial Relations Commission order, until the company agrees to pay wages for lost time.
- Around 1200 Mt Isa Mines workers struck for 24 hours on October 19 in protest at an Industrial Commission ruling that the number of unions at the mine be reduced from seven to two, one being the giant, right-wing-controlled Australian Workers Union. The strikers authorised their own union officials to pursue "all legal, political and industrial avenues" to overturn the ruling, which gives the AWU almost total control of the MIM Mt Isa work force. Union officials said the issue was the democratic right of workers to remain in the union of their choice.
MELBOURNE — Around 200 people set up a barricade on October 16 as part of the campaign against the widening of Alexandra Parade. The protest, organised by the Coalition Against Freeway Extensions (CAFE), featured bands as well. On October 19 the barricade was set alight by arsonists. An agreement was then struck between CAFE and VicRoads which allowed the remains of the barricade to be removed. Photo by Dave Wright.
- Seventy people protested outside the annual general meeting of the Victorian Council of Social Services on October 20 because VCOSS had recently adopted a position of support for partial privatisation of government services. VCOSS also invited Premier Jeff Kennett as keynote speaker. Protesters said that the Victorian government has adopted a slash and burn approach to government services, and that VCOSS should be opposing the Kennett government.
PARRAMATTA — A concert and information day was held last week to launch an environmental hot line, the first of its kind in Sydney's western suburbs. The hot line has been organised by the newly formed West Sydney Environment Centre, which hopes that it will provide a means of collecting and sharing information about and organising community responses to many of the numerous environmental problems of Sydney's west. It can be contacted Monday to Friday on (02) 890 6969.
PERTH — A mass meeting of 700 teachers on October 8 voted unanimously to impose bans as part of an industrial campaign against the state Liberal government's attacks on education. The bans include non-participation in school committee meetings, after-school sports and all voluntary, lunchtime and out of school work. Teachers want an end to individual contracts, currently being used with principals at two new schools, and school-based appointments of teachers. Both these steps are viewed as undermining working conditions.