E D I T O R I A L

Chickens Come Home
For anyone who believes in karma, the events of the summer show how bad Australia's is right now.

F E A T U R E S

Unions: Winning the Heartland
John Robertson unveils new research on attitudes to refugees and argues it's time for unions to mount their own propaganda war.

Interview: Swan's Song
Federal ALP front-bencher Wayne Swan expands on his ideas for rebuilding the Party in the wake of the Tampa election.

Corporate: Lessons from Enron
Jim Marr looks at the shock-waves the collapse of a US corporate heavy-weight are having around the globe.

Politics: What We Did Last Summer
We look back over a summer when it all went pear-shaped. Some events, at home and abroad, look set to have ongoing ramifications.

History: Solidarity in Song
Mark Gregory looks back on the annals of labour songs and offers some hints for those planning a tilt at the Labor Council's worker anthem comp.

International: A Tale of Two Cities
New York and Port Alegre are poles apart – but they both played host to important conferences on the future of globalisation over the summer.

Poetry: Nobody Told Me
Labour academic David Peetz commits the Prime Minister's current woes to verse.

Review: Labor and the Rings
Tolkien’s epic tale provides a timely reminder that that there are forces of good and evil in the world – and that they are not necessarily where we expect to find them, writes Michael Gadiel.

Satire: Rafter Named Bermudan Of The Year For Tax Purposes
Australian of the Year Pat Rafter was last night also named Bermudan of the Year, in a simple ceremony held in Bermuda's Parliament.

N E W S

Unions' Commit to Battle for Hearts

Carr on Notice - Expectations Up

Mad Monk Sides With Angels … Briefly

Maritime Union Acts on Spy Scandal

May Day Play-Off for Workers' Anthem

Burmese Links Shroud Winter Olympics

New Phone Venture One.Tel In Drag

Two Million Face Rights Downgrade

Enron Collapse Hits Share-Owner Agenda

Corrrigan Snaps Up Rail Bargain

Kinko Clowns With Workers' Rights

MPs Face Security Checks

Telstra's Tragic Delays Of Its Own Making

Burrow Puts Case to World Economic Forum

Shangri La Protests Hit Melbourne

Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Chinks in the Armour
The ACTU's Michael Crosby argues that Mark Latham's attack on the Labor for Refugees movement is the betrayal of Party values.

The Locker Room
Off-side in Korea?
With the World Cup set to kick off in a matter of months, South Korea's treatment of unions is under the microscope.

Week in Review
Cloak and Dagger
In the first of what will be a regular column, we place the week's labour news into a nutshell.

L E T T E R S

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Rafter Named Bermudan Of The Year For Tax Purposes

Extracted from The Chaser

	The Chaser

Rafter said he's always felt very close to Bermuda, because of the country's enlightened approach to public policy, particularly in the area of income tax rates.

Rafter said the award was flattering because of his great love for Bermuda and its people, but would also have the additional benefit of clarifying his residency status with the Australian Taxation Office.

"Some cynical people in the ATO might think that just because I'm being honoured as a pre-eminent Australian and will spend most of the year travelling around the country to preside at various official ceremonies, I've somehow become an Australian resident for tax purposes." Rafter clarified that his "close emotional ties" with his adopted homeland of Bermuda make that impossible.

As Bermudan of the Year, Rafter says he is planning to spend "at least" the 30 days on the island required to qualify as a resident for taxation purposes under Bermudan law. Though some critics have described Rafter's Bermudan residency as a "tax dodge", Rafter insists it is based on a strong desire to contribute to Bermudan society.

"Tax is how individuals contribute to the society they live in, and it's a means of contributing to the common good. My fellow Bermudans and I have chosen, for ethical reasons, to contribute to a progressive society that has opted to abolish income tax." he explained.

Rafter will also continue his role with the phone company 1800-REVERSE despite attracting heavy criticism from the Australia Day Council for his insistence on reversing the charges when calling to accept the Australian of the Year award. This year, Rafter will also be launching his own phone service, 1800 TAX-AVERSE.

Bermuda's Premier, Jennifer Smith, says that Australians who have criticised Rafter's motives in living in Bermuda don't know their own luck. "You should appreciate Rafter as much as we do," she said. "Do you have any idea how much we would have liked him to play for our Davis Cup team?"

Smith says she is extremely gratified that he continues to reside in Bermuda despite being made Australian of the Year. "We're very proud of Pat. So proud, in fact, that we were only too happy to name him Bermudan of the Year when he asked."

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005