News briefs

September 24, 1997
Issue 

Racist violence

ADELAIDE — Racist violence rocked Rundle Mall on September 19 as six National Action members intimidated and ridiculed Asian passers-by. Using a megaphone, NA führer Michael Brander abused Asians as "Hepatitis-B carriers", "gooks" and "prostitutes".

A large and hostile crowd, including many Asian youth, gathered. When an NA member struck a protester with a flag pole, he was disarmed by the crowd. When he kicked another person, a section of the crowd moved on the neo-Nazi thugs. Police separated the opposing sides with batons.

After the racists fled the mall, police forced Asian young people from the public seating. While the police took details from the person assaulted by NA, they threatened the victim's waiting friends with arrest for "loitering".

UWA elections

PERTH — The conservative STAR ticket won the student guild elections at the University of Western Australia last week. STAR directed preferences to the Young Nationals' successful senate candidate, Chris Tylich.

The Labor right ticket, United Students, came nowhere near defeating STAR after its failure to act in the interests of students while it controlled the guild this year. The Left Action ticket was even less successful and the RAGE ticket, run by Resistance on a platform of campaign activism and democracy in the student guild, won none of the positions it contested.

The Liberals' "NUS destruction ticket" was unimpressive following their unsuccessful attempt earlier this year to disaffiliate UWA from the National Union of Students.

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