The Country Conference move would set the scene for a showdown at ALP State Conference in October if the Carr Government refuses to regulate labour hire firms, contractors and sub-contractors.
The action follows media comments by the Premier before last week's Industrial Relations Consultative Committee dampening the prospect of second wave industrial reform and setting a benchmark of no impact of state investment.
Labor Council secretary Michael Costa told the weekly Council meeting that while he believed the reform proposals would pass the Premier's investment test, his intervention had been "quite inappropriate".
"These are sensible and balanced proposals focussed on the changing nature of work," Costa said. "They are not an attempt to turn back the clock, they are directed at ensuring the system retains its relevance to a changing workforce."
Labor Council will seek urgent talks with the Premier and Minister for Industrial Relations and has urged unions affiliated with the ALP to seek endorsement at Country conference, to be held in Goulburn in the last weekend in June.
CFMEU organiser Doug Heath said he had faced difficulties explaining to his members why they should support the ALP before the last state election and issues like the spread of body hire firms had been a key area of dissatisfaction.
"Workers are already cynical and sceptical about the Labor Government and things like this only undermine that confidence further."
The NSW Teachers Federation said that the Premier's intervention had "emboldened" Garry Brack from the Employers Federation to veto all suggestions for change when the IRCC met last week.
"The election of a Labor Government with a large majority and a progressive Minister for Industrial Relations offers an opportunity for some constructive and worthwhile implementation of change," Teachers general secretary John Hennessy said in correspondence to the Council.
"This change, which is fundamental and in the interests of the workers of NSW and which may do something to reduce the imbalance which currently exists in our society."
A meeting of all affiliates to discuss the issue has been called for this week.
by Bernadette Moloney
About 300 CFMEU members today picketed and occupied Woolworths' main city store after 30 joinery shop workers employed by Metro Shoplifting Group were sacked earlier this month.
CFMEU state secretary Andrew Ferguson warned that if the dismissals were not reversed, thousands of building workers would be back next week.
While the workers were told the company had decided it was no longer going to do this type of work, within a week Metro had employed 20 new casual workers through an employment agency. They also placed a security guard on the door to keep out the sacked workers and their representatives.
The sackings would be illegal under reforms proposed by the NSW Labor Council to tie labour hire companies to enterprise agreements that cover the site where the casual workers are placed.
CFMEU Eyes Body Hire Clauses in Next Pay Round
Revelations of the sackings came as building workers tackle the increasing use of labour hire in their industry by pushing for much more restrictive clauses governing its use in the next round of Enterprise Agreements.
CFMEU Construction Division National Secretary John Sutton said that Labour Hire had become so common in the building industry, that "if we don't do something soon there will be hardly anyone left in direct employment in the industry in five years' time".
"What began as temporary 'top up' labour is now becoming the norm. And the trend is growing so that big builders and many subcontractors are shedding direct labour crews in favour of body hire," Mr Sutton said.
The drivers are both costs and the managerial prerogative.
"There is substantial evidence that even the more reputable Labour Hire companies are able to manipulate the system to provide labour at rates about 20 per cent cheaper than direct employment - with little or no risk to themselves," said Mr Sutton.
Those who breach awards and hire workers as 'permanent casuals' or under an all-in PPS rate can undercut costs even more.
But in the age of downsizing, the managerial advantages of a totally 'flexible' workforce is probably an even greater incentive for construction contractors.
Employers are relieved of their legal responsibilities to provide adequate supervision and regular employment for workers and protection against unfair dismissal.
"And workers are condemned to a day-to-day existence -- waiting by the phone to discover if they will have work the next day, week or month. If conditions are bad or they are underpaid, they dare not complain for fear they will never get work again," said Mr Sutton.
"Body hire merchants don't produce anything. They don't train workers. They don't take responsibility for safety on building sites.
"If the trend to use more and more body hire merchants in the construction industry continues, it will wreck the industry.
"The CFMEU will not allow this to happen. We will be taking the issue of body hire to our members over the next few weeks with a view to developing a strong campaign to combat this cancer in the construction industry."
Reith's Hypocrisy
The CFMEU also challenges the hypocrisy of Peter Reith's latest plans to legislate against patter bargaining in the construction.
Mr Sutton said such a move would not get through the Senate and would probably breach the government's own Workplace Relations Act which emphasises freedom to bargain.
"At the same time as Peter Reith is planning to intervene in this industry with new laws to restrict site and industry agreements, his Employment Advocate Jonathan Hamberger is moving to introduce pattern AWAs.
"Peter Reith finds it perfectly reasonable for workers in a hotel in Wagga and workers in a hotel in Bega to have identical AWAs. But it is not acceptable for building industry employers to use industry agreements, so they can get maintain the same level of labour costs as their competitors and not waste precious time negotiating the minutiae of enterprise agreements.
"Peter Reith's position shows how little he understands the construction industry. Here's a Government Minister who says he doesn't want third part intervention, but increasingly he is coming in and saying you shall bargain according to the way I tell you," said Mr Sutton.
The union clinched a deal with Poptel, a co-operative Internet provider, that will be offered to UNISON's 1.3 million members.
The advance, coming as the ACTU explores a computer deal with businessman Steve Vizard, and sets a new benchmark for collective Internet access.
Labor Council secretary Michael Costa, a critic of the lack of detail in the ACTU proposal welcomed the UK as evidence of how fast this market was developing and cautioned the ACTU not to lock the trade union movement into a deal which could be world best practise.
"Hardware and Internet access are not the key; a good portal to generate useful material and e-commerce opportunities on the union movement's terms, is the strategic issue which any deal must address,
Speaking of the UK deal, UNISON general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe says it's important for unions to stay ahead of the game by harnessing advances in communications technology for the benefit of its members.
"We are using this technology to improve the way we communicate and organise our members," Bickerstaffe says.
"The use of the web and e-mail offers trade unions and other voluntary organisations a whole new way of dealing with members."
The deal coincides with the launch of UNISON's portal, to give members a home with informative, entertaining and useful information.
Poptel founder Shaun Fenson says the deal was part of his company's commitment to helping the labour movement and non-profit sectors to take advantage of the emerging technologies.
The workers, members of the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance and the CPSU, fear for their personal safety in getting public transport late at night in Sydney and Melbourne.
Earlier this year SBS auditors, Deloite Touche Tohmatsu, carried out an audit of the Sydney Radio Cost Centre and found that the current taxi policy was not being fully implemented and recommended that the practice of issuing cab charge dockets for travel to and from work for late night and early shifts cease forthwith.
With no regard to a number of individual staff members concerns about their safety SBS General Manager, Nigel Milan supported the auditors recommendations and workers at SBS are now left to their own devices to try to get to and from work as best they can, often without even the option of public transport.
When a 23year old female journalist registered her concerns about starting a newly devised 5am shift in Sydney and no way to get to work, Head of Radio told her that it was not SBS's responsibility and that if she was injured or attacked that was what workers compensation was for.
Stop work meetings are being held at SBS in Sydney at 2.15pm on Friday 21 May and NSW Secretary of the MEAA Michel Hryce has demanded that Nigel Milan meet to ensure that SBS adopts industry standards which ensure employee safety.
The unions are also moving to overturn the current taxi policy which was devised by the finance department of SBS and does not concentrate on the safety of staff.
Changes Afoot For SBS Late Night Bulletin.
Meanwhile, Alliance members and SBS News Editor Phillip Martin are locked in negotiations over proposed changes to the timing of broadcasting the late night bulletin.
Martin is calling for 10 hour shifts and other work changes which shall result in major restructuring of how the effected journalists undertake their work. The issue of adequate breaks, finical compensation and of course the topical safe transport home issue need to be sorted out before a trial might go ahead.
In hearings in Newcastle this week, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission was asked to allow the safety net pay rises of $12 per week for workers earning under $510 and $10 for those earning more than that. The rises are restricted to those who have not received a wage rise through enterprise bargaining in the past 12 months.
Labor Council senior industrial officer Chris Christodolou says the claims were accepted on the basis that the NSW economy could sustain a small increase in wages level.
"Apart from Gary Brack's ritualistic opposition to any wage increase, there was broad acceptance that the federal decision should flow through," he says.
There was also broad support for a new model anti-discrimination and harassment clause to be inserted in all awards designed to educate employers and employees about their obligations under the Anti-Discrimination Act.
The Labor Council has sought an urgent meeting with the head of the Premiers Deportment, Col Gellately, after he advised them he couldn't guarantee that exemptions for FOI claims that may endanger the life or physical safety of any person would always be applied.
Gellately said that, as the FOI requests were processed by individual government agencies, they may not have access to all relevant information about third parties who may be effected by the request.
Labor Council has sought clarification on the laws at the request of the NSW Nurses Association following an incident in Victoria where a convicted murderer was granted access to information about nurses who were involved in his trial.
With that information the man was able to contact and intimidate some nurses who had worked on a particular shift.
Labor Council secretary Michael Costa said it appeared there was a need to tighten up the FOI provisions to give greater protection to public servants.
The proposal, in a submission the Enmore Branch of the ALP sent to all Labor members before the summit began, argues coffee-shops selling cannabis should provide the funding base for harm minimisation programs for abuse of harder drugs.
"We should look at the Amsterdam cafes where cannabis is sold under license," the submission argues.
"By setting up such cafes under strict licence the links between organised crime and cannabis would be further broken and users would know what they are getting in terms of THC content."
"Money raised by the sale of cannabis in the cafes would then be channelled into running the proposed special health clinics and carrying out heroin trials."
The submission also argues that cannabis should be allowed to be grown under strict license, overseen by the State Government.
"This will also provide employment to the depressed rural sector," the proposal argues, "beside the leaves and seeds of the cannabis sold to the cafes, the left overs can be used for the hemp industry."
by Noel Hester
The last year has also seen 100 jobs go in the revenue protection unit despite State Rail losing $50 million from fare evasion.
ASU Assistant Secretary George Panigiris says State Rail CEO Simon Lane is insulting the intelligence of State Rail's customers with his justifications for the sackings.
'Simon Lane says there is no contradiction between cutting staff numbers and pushing for significant fare rises. In the next breathe he says the restructure will lead to improved customer service,' said George Panigiris.
'What a joke. What self-delusion. Fewer staff means more assaults, more graffiti and more vandalism. Is this really Simon Lane's idea of better customer service?'
George Panigiris says there should be more staff not less staffing Sydney's stations and the cuts could lead to more station closures.
'If there were more staff State Rail would be able to deliver better service to its customers and it would increase its revenue by reducing fare evasion.'
George Panigiris says State Rail's decision is completely antagonistic to the goals set by the Carr Government at the last election.
'The Carr Government set itself a target of reducing unemployment in New South Wales to 4 per cent and has a policy of no forced redundancies.'
'Transport Minister Scully claims his highest priorities are passenger security on trains and stations and a world class transport system for the Olympics.'
'Yet we still have State Rail slashing and burning staff numbers. This announcement suggests the Minister has lost control over management. Simon Lane obviously doesn't take Scully seriously.'
The ASU says yesterday's announcement breaches an agreement by Minister Scully that there would be full consultation with the union
by Zoe Reynolds
Able seamen Ricky Lumio was one of six crew working down number 2 hold on the Pamananian flag of convenience Halo Cygnus on the afternoon of March 8 when the second ship hit: "I heard a big crash and water cascaded in, then I looked starboard and saw the bow of a ship come through the hold. I ran for my life. We were all shouting. I got to the ladder and climbed up with the water wrapping itself around me, chasing me all the way up. I was soaked through."
The two bulk carriers, Halo Cygnus and the Las Sierras, both flying the Panama flag of convenience, were on route to Australia, 600 nautical miles southwest of Guam when the collision took place. It was a fine still day in the tropics just north of the equator. US Coast Guard, Guam reports the seas were flat. Visibility was excellent.
According to crew reports the second mate and radio operator were on watch on the deck of the Halo Cygnus shortly before the collision. The Las Sierras was just a dot on the horizon. The second mate later told the surviving crew that he got a call to change course and went to the bridge.
The ship had been heading for the northeast coast of Australia. It was redirected to the west coast. The radio operator had seen the Las Sierras in the distance by telescope. He then went back to his radio portside.
Minutes later the giant bow of the Las Sierras hit starboard, smashing through the side of their ship. Six of Ricky's workmates were trapped down the flooded hold, two of them tangled in ropes they were using to wench themselves up the side they were cleaning. The impact of the water spun the ropes around them like a web, dismembering one man's hand.
It was a terrifying two hours after impact before the call came to abandon ship. All surviving crew were moved on board the Las Sieras. But within 48 hours ship management ordered them back on the sinking bulk carrier to pump out ballast water and keep the now badly listing Halo Cygnus afloat.
Chief engineer Godofredo Hermoso was first back on board. "We worked each day, staying on the rescue boat at night. It took six days before divers from Guam reached the vessel and retrieved the bodies. All this time we worked the ship while our dead crew mates decomposed down the hold. Thesmell was terrible. All we could do was tie handkerchiefs around our noses. Each day I worked I had the same strange experience. Around 3 or 4 each afternoon, around the time of the accident, I heard voices calling for help. I could not understand what they were saying. Their words were drowned out. I just heard their screams. They were my friends and workmates. The evening before the collision we had a karoki party in theTV room. We were all singing. All but one of the dead had wives and youngchildren. The eldest was only 38 years of age. The youngest was only 22.
By the time they recovered the bodies their faces were so decomposed they had to get my friend Ricky to identify each of the dead by their clothing. The corpses were then put on the tug with the surviving crew and transported back to Guam
"Yes, I had to identify the bodies. I cannot say what it was like. I was sorry for them,"said Ricky.
Not only did Godofredo have to work with other surviving crew among the dead on the sinking ship, he was also asked to join a skeleton crew on board while it was towed to Japan. "Four crew stayed with the ship., but I decided it was unseaworthy. When the company proposed I sail with it, I refused."
Only for intervention from the International Transport Workers' Federation, Godofredo may have had no choice. The ITF voiced concern for the welfare of the survivors and alerted its Philippines office which contacted crew.
An inquiry into the ship collision will now be left to Panama were both ships were registered so as to avoid scrutiny of safety and crew conditions in the fist place. "It will be a whitewash," said ITF Australia Co-ordinator Trevor Charles. "These ships get away with murder. "
Only this February the ITF head office in London released a damning report on the state of the Pamananian FOC registry. The report brands Panama 'Number One' deficient flag state in the world. It catalogues an "appalling record of maritime casualties, port state control detentions, ships abandoned and seafarers cheated out of their wages, among other serious deficiencies."
The ITF estimates that Panama earns around US$20 million a year for selling its flag, but takes none of its responsibilities as a flag state seriously. With its open registry Panama supports a system which exploits seafarers and undermines the shipping industry," said ITF Assistant General Secretary
Mark Dickinson. "It creates an environment for crooks to make profit at the expense of seafarers and to operate in total secrecy. For the sake of a few dollars Panama shames itself in the world of shipping. It sells the lives and rights of thousands of workers ."
Nearly half the 6188 Pamananian registered ships (over 100 GT) are owned in Japan and all but a minority of seafarers are supplied through 'manning agents' from labour hire countries.
In 1997 alone, Panama lost more ships and more tonnage than any other flag state. It also boasts the highest number of port detentions, the highest deficiencies in certification, safety, navigation, pollution and operations of all flag states.
"Yet the Australian Federal Government is encouraging them to take over our trade," said Trevor Charles. "They are putting Australian ships and Australian seafarers out of business. They are making the abolition of cabotage a prerequisite for funding. Both Las Sierras and Halo Cygnus were Australian bound when they collided. The collision could have happened here, off our coast. It could have been an environmental disaster as well as a human tragedy."
Godofredo, is just one of the many victims of the Pamananian flag of shame - a broken man. Speaking from his home town in Cebu, he is still haunted by the cries of his dead shipmates and unsure he can ever return to sea: "I have a problem. I feel as if I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. The day after the accident I could not sleep at night. I saw a doctor in Guam. He gave me some pills, but I still could not sleep. I am seeing another doctor in Manila."
by Dermott Browne
A recent joint effort by the CPSU and CARE in the ACT raised more than $19,000. The money will provide much needed food, shelter, clothing and medical supplies for the hundreds of thousands of refugees in camps around Yugoslavia.
The union's campaign was successful because of the organising efforts of key individuals like CPSU delegate Dierk von Behrens from the Immigration Department.
Like many Europeans of his generation, Dierk has experienced the horrors of war first hand and knows how vital aid efforts like this are.
Dierk explained "I was a young child living in southern Germany after the war. My father was a P.O.W. and my mother, brother sister and I were starving. We were trying to grow our own food, living off dandelions, stinging nettles and wild mushroom - which often resulted in poisoning.
"As a result of infection, cold, undernourishment, and having no shoes for years, I developed hilus gland tuberculosis.
"It was then that we received the CARE packages. I still remember, with tears even now, our delight at opening those parcels. Chocolate, condensed milk, tins of corn, dried potatoes and even some clothing from acquaintances in Australia!
"No words could express how grateful we were, and still are."
Encouraging others to organise workplace collections, Dierk said "They are human beings like us and they are suffering cold, misery and starvation. You do not know them, but, for their sake, please act."
Care Australia's spokesman Brian Doolan said, "The money raised by the CPSU will make a real difference. Trade unions have traditionally taken a global view and it is great see to the CPSU take advantage off its unique position to mobilise large numbers of workers in support of people in desperate need.
"There are many committed trade unionists among our staff in Macedonia and their spirits were greatly lifted when they heard about the CPSU campaign." said Mr Doolan.
If you would like to make a contribution contact CARE on 1800 020 046 or send a cheque to:
Care Australia
Locked Bag 8400
Canberra ACT 2601
Sorry Day, Wednesday, 26 May
The pair of message sticks that left Uluru on May 5 bound for NSW with a message of healing (see last week's Workers Online) made an appearance at the weekly Trades Hall meeting last night.
Jason Field, Chairperson of the NSW Stolen Generations Memorial Foundation, showed delegates the sticks which will play a central part in Sorry Day/Journey of Healing festivities next Wednesday, 26 May. One of the pair depicts a range of symbols, from feet walking, to represent the beginning of a journey, to a boomerang, map of Australia and shackles showing the need to recognise our history. The other is painted with 54 dots, being the 54 recommendations in the Bringing them home report.
Jason, who was part of the team working on the Bringing them home report, thanked unions for their support towards reconciliation so far, and urged delegates to attend, with banners, a non-religious service at St Stephen's Uniting Church, 197 Macquarie Street (opposite Parliament House) on the day at 9.45am.
After the service, union members are urged to march with banners to the Botanic Gardens for a ceremony at 11am, where the message sticks will be handed over in NSW by a member of the stolen generation to a non-indigenous Australian.
Unions who are taking part in the festivities include the CFMEU, MUA, Teachers' Federation and CPSU.
Day of Solidarity for East Timor, Thursday, 27 May
Australians are being called on to show solidarity with the people of East Timor on Thursday May 27
Rallies and activities throughout Australia will give the opportunity for concerned Australians to demand an immediate end to the militia violence and to support the right of the East Timorese people to a free vote on their future.
In Sydney, a rally will be held at 1pm in Martin Place, between Macquarie and Phillip Streets.
Labor Council is organise fliers for the rally to be handed out at CBD railway stations on Thursday morning between 7.30am and 9.00am. If you want to help, contact Chris Christodolou on 9264 1691
For further details visit APHEDA http://www.apheda.org.au
Dear Editor
Both the contributions from Michael Costa and Adam Searle on reforming the rules of the ALP are timely and welcome. However, their reform suggestions both seem to suffer from the same weakness - an underlying framework of old industrial structures and technology.
The ALP culture, participation and rules can be massively reformed using the innovative technologies now in place. The availability of the internet and digital technologies provides the scope to completely re-define what is meant by meeting, conferencing and participation. Virtual meetings, deliberative and direct on line voting are available as means to widen participation and policy debate. Policy committees and conferences can be relayed out to the whole ALP membership by the availability of the new technologies. ALP policy forums have the potential to be conducted on line and at any time.
The ALP orginated and grew out of the industrial age. It is not surprising that much of its rules - such as local branches and participation, fixed meeting schedules, centralised conferencing, etc - are by products of this age.
If the ALP is to make the shift to the knowledge and information age, then as a first step, it needs to align its culture and rules to the age. Taking advantage of the technologies to transform participation and access is a valuable start.
Yours sincerely
Alex Sanchez
Dear Editor
I assume Andrew Landeryou's intemperate attack (letters may 14)on the "looney left" (a classic conservative response) and comrades who want "a commissar" rather than a president (another load of conservative nonsense)was aimed at me and my arguments (30 April) against Neville Wran's republic of the rich.
I'll leave aside Andrew's hero worship of rich man Wran (although he appears to share the same unthinking sycophancy as the monarchists do. The only difference is the object of his sycophancy.)
Let me just ask a couple of what appear to me to be simple questions.
What's wrong with democracy? And why are the rich republicans and rich monarchists both opposed to an elected president?
Maybe the republic is a tenth order issue. But since,like all other things in our society, it reflects the class divide (and Wran ruled for their side, comrade)it is a fair enough topic for comment, even for "looney lefties" like me.
Yours for an intelligent discussion of all issues,
John Passant
Dear Editor,
Could all those people currently advocating for that fashionable cause - East Timorese Independance - please take a look at the map?
Sure, Djarkarta has handled the province with exemplary brutality and incompetance (or so it seems. But that's a matter to be addressed and a problem to be solved, rather than a reason for instituting what can only be a fiction.
East Timor is a territory about half as big again as Tasmania, completely embedded in the chain of islands that comprise Indonesia. It is separated from West Timor by one of those silly colonial-era lines on a map. And, evidently, independence is not the desire of a substantial proportion of the people who live there. What sort of independence could they possibly achieve? Will they have their own army? Sign a military pact with China, perhaps?
Or is it possible that the whole push for East Timorese independence is being powered by some part of the international oil cartel, seeking to abscond with a significant part of Indonesia's oil resources?
Let's advocate for what is possible - a measure of regional autonomy, and assistance for the institution of good regional government within an Indonesian democracy.
Simon Hasleton
Top Marks Zanga!
I can't top Peter Zangari's effort on finding the top 10 songs for the Revolution in the last edition of Worker's Online. It was contemporary and well justified. Best of all, there wasn't a single mention of bloody Billy Bragg.
Roland Stephens
A Cry For Help
For the sake of an older generation:
Can someone print the words of a few of these Songs to Revolution to make them clear? It's really frustrating to hear the sound and miss the message!
An occasional "translation" might break down existing generational walls.
Thanks for a useful website, anyway.
Anon
by Peter Lewis
Do Presidents of the Legislative Council come to the job with an agenda?
Well I did! I want to change the position from the mysterious, archaic way it has been carried out in the past to one that is transparent, modern and relevant. It shouldn't be any different than being Speaker or President of the Senate; it's just that most previous occupants have been a bit old fashioned king's men. Really it's about chairing the Parliament and administering the building and doing the protocol stuff. In the running of the building there needs to be more transparency, because I think that's good industrial practice. I'm going to continue to make statements on issues I feel strongly about. I want to use my staff and resources in a constructive way. I never wanted to be a Minister, but I do want to play a meaningful political role.
You made your name as protester challenging authority; now you're in a position of huge authority. What have you do done wrong?
It's very funny and most ironic. I sat there today at the 175th anniversary of the Supreme Court; and I saw Jim Spigelman in front of me and Lance Wright beside me, both of whom were radicals in the 60s; one's now the President of the Industrial Relations Commission and the other the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Does this mean you've all stopped being radicals?
I think it shows that the system has moved. The positions are more attainable. You can still be radical though. I will continue to attend demonstrations and promote the things I believe in.
Do you intend playing a role in the Republican debate?
I've always played a role. I'm going to a Republican lunch next week. I think I will be treading a thin line between my personal views and my official role. However, my official role is no different to that of the Speaker who is also a Republican. It's not like I'm the Governor, who is the Queen's representative. The point about the Queens portrait (which was removed), was that it was up there staring at me in my office and I objected to it. There are other paintings of the Queen in the Parliament that I would approach in a more sensitive way.
What I am planning to do is institute an acknowledgment that this parliament is on Eora land before the Council sits each day. I'm going to start that on National Sorry Day and then do it every day after that.
What will you say to the Queen if you get to meet her when she comes out to Australia?
The official answer is: it's hypothetical, but I'd have a problem with it.
What about having to deal as an impartial person with some of the people in the House whose views are violently opposed to yours?
I've promised that I'll deal with everyone in the House impartially; and I will. That includes Fred -- mind you I taught Fred...
Taught him?
Yes, at Macquarie University...
What did you teach him?
Not very much!
The abolition of the Legislative Council is on the political agenda; usually when you see it mentioned in the media it's about someone who's drunk or on a junket. Are you an abolitionist; and if you're not, what are you going to do to change the public perception of it?
I've never been an abolitionist; I've always believed in a house of review for several reasons. First, I think it does serve a role in preventing rampant tyranny like we saw in Queensland under Bjielke-Petersen which wouldn't have happened with a house of review. But more importantly, I think that single member constituency voting does not eliminate minority groups and if you actually look at who's represented in Upper Houses around Australia, it gives a voice to minority political viewpoints which are legitimate and do need to have a stake in the system. Upper Houses with their proportional representative system also deliver for women and ethnic minorities -- that's a good thing for democracy.
In terms of image. yes, there was the unfortunate incident involving a former President; but my view on that is that drunkenness in both Houses occurs because of the stupid sitting hours. I've never seen anyone drunk in the chamber before five o'clock and if we sat from nine to five the problem would be solved. And it's not just a problem for the Upper House.
I did a survey of the Upper House a couple of years ago and found that Upper House members were quite significantly younger than Lower House members and better qualified. if you look at the upper House now, I think we've got two QCs. three doctors, a couple of PhDs. it actually is a young, well-qualified House. Some of the media have just not caught up with the fact that it's not crusty old men and party hacks. Both sides are putting their operators in.
Given that talent, what contribution can it make?
I think the committee system works pretty well. I think the Standing Committee on Social Issues under Ann Symonds did wonderful work. State Development does good work; Law and Justice have done some good reports. If you look at it, three of the five senior ministers are in the Upper House - we have the Attorney General, the Treasurer and Della Bosca who runs everything. It's amazing when you think of it that Carr's in there with the second eleven in the Lower House and his heavy hitters are in the Upper House. That's to do with the way the Upper House is elected. You can have talent that hasn't had to go out to whoop-whoop to stack branches. I mean, would Jeff Shaw have gone to Jonesville and stacked branches??
For someone who came through Labor Council at a time when the factions were strong, you've been seeing from a distance the defactionalisation of Level Ten of Sussex Street. How do you see it from where you sit? And do you see any chance of it filtering down to Level Nine and even Macquarie Street?
If defactionalisation means stopping vicious behaviour to minority groups, then I'm totally in favour of it. If it means having one set of rules which is applied to everyone, I support that. In a way I think that's what Michael Costa is talking about, he is actually talking about stopping the everyday terrible press we get about somebody rorting the system. But if it means there being one view within the Labor Party which everyone has to agree with or they're regarded as troublemakers, then I think it's crazy. I think Michael's view of defactionalisation is that those in the Left he can get to agree with him are part of one big happy faction and those of the Left that he can't get to agree with him aren't.
But where are the points of agreement and disagreement?
I think there's general agreement that some of the worst excesses of branch stacking and bad behaviour in the various committees of the ALP. But agreement on policy issues will never occur; because we are, thank god, the party of ideology and argument and principle. the day we stop being that is the day people like me will leave.
But where are the fault-lines of policy at the moment?
Privatisation, economic rationalism, civil liberties, drug reform.
Isn't there a sense that the alignments on those issues are shifting so that people need not be locked into the one position on all issues all the time?
I think that's a bigger problem for the Right, funnily enough. When you're in here you realise that on policy issues the right is more fragmented than the left is. The left supports drug law reform, it totally opposes economic rationalism, it's pretty united on law and order stuff.
But there were a few Left Ministers who realised what they could do with some of that power privatisation money...
The Left Ministers came out with a formal objection to privatisation. Quite frankly, Michael Costa is playing merry hell with the Right and the Left is sitting back and agreeing with him when it suits us. I mean, I totally agree with a lot of what Costa is saying, but that's not me becoming one faction, it's him supporting the Left in some of our traditonal issues.
Michael won't like this, but he's really making Labor Council operate more like the way the ACTU did. When I was first a delegate to ACTU Congress I couldn't believe it; people put up resolutions and we debated them and voted on them. You won some and lost some. In 13 years of Labor Council, the Left put up resolutions every week and every week the right opposed them. I don't know if the ACTU still operates like that, but when I was involved it did. In those days the Labor Council was extraordinary -- whenever I have a bad day here I still say it was nowhere near as bad as Labor Council under Ducker and others. I actually stood against Peter Sams for assistant secretary once. I was overseas lecturing and they sent me a postcard saying: "Sams has fallen under a bus. You are assistant secretary". For a second I actually thought it was true and I was horrified!
Finally, you have a four year term in government. Waht would you like to see achieved?
Sensible drug reform. that is the critical issue.
And what will the test be for that?
The test will be kids not dying. I keep quoting the woman who started the safe houses in America, who said "we can't stop them being silly, but we can stop them from being dead". We have to accpet that prohibition has not worked and we have to look at other ways of deakling with it.
And are you confident this will do that?
I am hopeful.
by Max Ogden
With about 1.7 million employees on their books, the US company Manpower which operates in 40 countries, believe they are now the worlds largest private employer. Adecco a Swiss/French company claim they are not far behind in size with a turnover worldwide last year of about $16 billion.
Labour hire now reaches into areas previously untouched. Teaches, nurses, engineers, information technologists, find themselves on the books of these companies.
We need to clarify terminology describing the various types of labour hire/contracting so we understand what we are talking about. There have been various forms of contracting and labour hire that have been around for sometime, and are reasonably under control. Electrical contracting where employees will often work for the same company over a number of years is an acceptable and appropriate method for that industry, and the union has been able to organise, and maintain wage and skill standards.
Labour hire when it is about limited term, supplementary labour e.g. in maintenance for major breakdowns, new installations, construction, etc., has largely been contained by the unions, and agreements such as the Victorian Labour Hire Agreement, and agreements in the building industry have maintained decent wages and conditions. Similarly contract office cleaning outside normal working hours made sense, and while the union had to be vigilant, could keep it under control with appropriate awards. The system was fairly limited and the flexibility attracted some people who liked working that way.
The big change, often stemming from government privatising and contracting out, has been to use such forms of work for cutting wages and conditions, and achieving management's aim of numerical flexibility by engaging and releasing staff sometimes on an hours notice. Many people are forced into this form of work whether they like it or not.
An interesting new feature, although it has been in the mining sector for sometime, is that of contracting out the whole management and employment function of a company. The larger companies such as Manpower, Adecco, etc., operate virtually everything while the host company is nothing more than a board, and a few executives. The argument for these arrangements is that it gives the host company greater flexibility without the responsibility of direct employment, employment instability enables the contractor to keep wages and conditions lower, and the contractor claims that they achieve higher productivity through their human relations management expertise, which is basically all they do.
This is particularly prevalent in the information technology industry. I.T. companies will contract out their whole manufacturing operation. Sometimes the manufacturer will produce hardware for a number of I.T. companies thus providing greater volume. This approach is not necessarily a problem providing the employment, wages, conditions, union rights, and training are protected.
Some experts argue that this form of managing and employment will continue to grow because markets are now so volatile, and products and services change so rapidly, that companies need a mechanism to change direction very quickly, and contracting out employment and management provides that facility. This maybe true, if the sole competitive factor for a company is labour cost.
However the method a company chooses to manage and employ its workforce is more complex and is dependent on other factors both external and internal. These are, the market it is in, the climate created by government, whether or not there are pressures for short term share price gains from the stock market, the strategic objectives of the board, the competence of management, strength of the unions, etc..
Different companies in the same market will do things differently. For example some have opted for skilled employees, working in flexible systems such as work teams, with fewer management layers and devolved decision making, with the emphasis on employment security, constant learning, innovation, commitment, and competence. A recent example of a company doing things different to their competitors is how Coles/Myer opted for more permanent employees, minimising casuals with a view to more commitment and trust. Theft and security because of the casual workforce was a reason for the change of policy. There is no doubt which system the unions should prefer.
A bad effect of the core/peripheral employment strategy is the virtual collapse of training. Very few labour hire companies have any margin for training, and some of their contracts even preclude it, and few employers will train casuals. At the very time when we require a highly skilled, innovative, committed workforce to take the high value added, high road economy, we are heading in precisely the opposite direction.
The Response From the Union Movement
Virtually all surveys conducted by unions recently demonstrate an overwhelming concern by the members about work stress, long hours, and job insecurity. As a result the ACTU and most unions have determined that the core issues for the next few years to combat the employer/government agenda are working hours/working life, job insecurity, casualisation, excessive hours, and labour hire/contracting out. The main focus in campaigns and agreements is aimed at the host companies to get greater permanence of employment, and minimise casuals using the following approaches:
1. Negotiate agreements that give unions some say or even control over contracting out, or the use of supplementary labour, preferably starting right at the tendering process. All unions are currently discussing and implementing a standard negotiating clause developed through the ACTU to achieve these objectives.
2. Minimise casualisation through various means, e.g. a maximum ratio of casuals to permanents, a maximum period for employment of casual employees before they have to be made permanent e.g. 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 3months, depending on the circumstances, rights to negotiate before casuals are engaged. A standard clause has been developed for this purpose.
3. Negotiate agreements with the contracting companies that maintain wages, conditions, union rights, and training at no less than the level currently operating in the host company. A national framework agreement is in existence with Manpower, and one is about to be conclude with Adecco. These set out broad principles, but like most agreements require vigilance by the unions to ensure the standards are met. These agreements are not earth shattering, but those unions with less industrial muscle can get a foot in the door.
4. Unions wherever possible to demonstrate that contracting out/labour hire, casuals etc., is very often inefficient and does not deliver a quality product or service. There are examples of companies changing their approach because core/periphal employment policy was uncompetitive.
5. In the longer term for the unions to work with the ALP and the broader community to pursue a high value added, high road, high knowledge industry policy\economy which will be helpful in delivering the core union objectives.
by Dr Beverly Simons
When the Curtin Labor Government assumed office in October 1941, one of its immediate tasks was how to resolve the problem of women workers being employed on men's jobs in industry during the war, on much lower wage rates than the men they were replacing. The trade union movement was greatly concerned that the employment of cheap female labour as a wartime necessity, could seriously threaten male jobs and wage standards in the long term.
The ACTU and key unions in the munitions and metal industries demanded that women workers doing men's work must receive equal pay for the duration of the war. They pressured the Government to use its wartime regulation powers to ensure that this group of women were paid 100% of the total male rate including margins, for the classifications in which they worked.
Most of the Cabinet were opposed to this course, however, because of likely adverse inflationary effects, probable 'flow-on' demands from the mass of lower-paid female workers employed in women's industries, and the certainty of strong opposition from employers to such a significant change from the traditional wage-fixation formula.
Rather, the Government chose a compromise solution: it established a special wage-fixation tribunal, the Women's Employment Board (WEB), and empowered it to award pay rates between 60-100% of the male rate, assessed on the basis of the female workers' relative efficiency and productivity. This unique wage-fixing method was a radical departure from the entrenched 'family wage' basis long followed by the Commonwealth Arbitration Court under which female wage rates were set at around 54% of the minimum male rate.
During the WEB's turbulent two-and-a-half years' existence, it awarded substantially higher pay rates than women workers classified as unskilled had ever before received in Australia. Some 80,000 women benefited from its determinations, representing about 9% of the total female workforce at its wartime peak. The great majority of these women, working in the munitions, metal and aircraft industries, received 90% of the total male rate. Equal pay was awarded to only a relatively small number of women in a diverse range of occupations, such as tram conductresses, Federal Public Service clerks and telegraphists.
Employers' Opposition:
Even before the WEB was instituted, major employer organisations and United Australia Party (UAP) politicians had flagged their trenchant opposition to Labor's intention to bypass normal wage-fixation channels by allowing a special tribunal to operate outside the Arbitration Court's jurisdiction. The concerted campaign waged against the WEB was spearheaded by the Associated Chambers of Manufactures and the Metal Trades Employers' Association, backed up by conservative parliamentarians and judges. Two historians later described it as a 'systematic counter-offensive' using 'all available political and judicial means'.
The conservative attack had two major aims: to discredit and challenge the validity of the WEB, its governing regulations and its wage determinations; and to withhold payment of the WEB rates to its female employees. The campaign was partly successful. The regulations establishing the WEB were twice disallowed by the Senate; and six separate High Court challenges were mounted, the major case resulting in the Board being inoperative for seven months during 1943. In addition, many metal industry employers strenuously resisted paying the 90% WEB rate as long as possible, causing widespread discontent and industrial action among affected women workers around the country, as well as much time, expense and effort by their unions to enforce the payments.
Whilst employers' resistance to paying higher female wages in the short- term was certainly an important motivation for the campaign, a major driving force was their opposition to the transfer of wage-fixing responsibility from the Commonwealth Arbitration Court. The basis of their hostility to the WEB lay in their determination to restore the Court's traditional practice of fixing female rates as a percentage (a little over half) of the needs basic wage. Raising women's wages on the basis of assessing their comparable efficiency and productivity, threatened to jeopardise post-war continuation of the 'family wage' system which ensured cheap female labour.
The employers' major concern was that once traditional wage-fixing formulas were breached, it may not be possible to revert to the status quo belief that 'women's work' was inherently of lower value than that performed by men. They were looking to post-war expansion of manufacturing industry increasingly based on automation, deskilling and process-line production, where cheaper female labour could be employed on a wider range of jobs. In their opposition to the 'socialist' Labor government and the WEB, there was much more at stake than the short- term issue of higher wages for a section of women.
Dr Beverley Symons is the President of the Sydney Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History.
This article is based on the author's Ph.D thesis, 'Challenging and Maintaining the Traditional Gender Order: Labour Movement Responses to Women Workers in the Metal Industry, and to Equal Pay, during World War II', University of Wollongong, 1997, which can be perused at the University's Library, or obtained through Inter-Library Loan
LABOUR REVIEW NO 17
Dial Tone: call centre workers
Bucking the Trend of Declining Unionisation: NSW Nurses
Trade Unions in Crisis
New Paths in Working-Time Policies in Europe
Working Families Working Futures 1999
Dial Tone: call centre workers
The call centre industry is growing at 25% per year. One quarter of all Optus staff are employed to take phone enquiries. The conditions of work of the people at the end of the line when we make those phone inquiries is often not good and an area of growing concern for unions. For example, a contract at one Melbourne telemarketing firm states that responding to a client 'in a negative manner at any time' is a dismissable offence.
Increased monitoring of employees, and increasing breakdown of jobs into the smallest measurable components are other features of these expanding workplaces. Pat Woods from the Victorian telecom branch of the CEPU, talks about how mistrustful workers have become and how there is no carrot sand stick any more, just the stick for workers. She talks also about trying to organise the workers with mixed success because of intimidation, insecurity and that some employees do hassle but often move on to better work as soon as they can so an initial organising burst can be lost.
(Eureka St, vol. 9, no.3, April 1999)
Union decline in Australia: the role of human resource management practices and the union-hostile workplace.
Stephen Deery and Janet Walsh examine the character and dimensions of union membership decline, using data generated through the 1995 AWIRS survey. Here economic and political explanations of membership loss are looked at, before the authors move to discussing the effects of union structure and employer hostility. Unlike US employers, in Australia where human resources management practices are put in place, a stable or expanding level of unionisation is usually the result.
Characteristics of hostile non-union workplaces included use of individual contracts, performance related pay, individualistic management philosophy, and were likely to be in the areas of wholesale and retail trade, property and business services and in the manufacturing sector. Other features likely to be seen in hostile non union workplaces include little formal consultative procedures (fewer meetings, no newsletters, fewer HRM people). Also were unlikely to have family friendly work practices, EEO or sexual harassment procedures. These hostile workplaces tended to be hospitality, cafes and restaurants.
(Australian Journal of Labour Law; vol. 12, no. 1, April 1999)
Bucking the Trend of Declining Unionisation: NSW Nurses
The NSW Nurses are continuing to grow and consolidate, in an era where overall unionisation rates in most industries are declining. This article shows that this is a fluke as they have put a lot of work into getting and retaining members, and being out there ready to take up issues for members. The union provides education programmes on legal issues for nurses, complementary therapies, self-assertiveness, budget management industrial law and nurse management. They have increased the concentration on servicing members varied needs. This is particularly the case in the private sector where more part time and casual work is the norm, so the Association has stepped up its campaigning and visiting in this less regulated area of nursing.
(Workplace Change, issue 37, March/April 1999)
Trade Unions in Crisis
This issue of Labour & Industry contains papers given at a conference held at the National Key Centre in Industrial Relations at Monash University in July 1998. Peter Gahan and Simon Bell look at various strategies and their impact on recruitment and retention. The data they use does not show that "traditional" strategies such as strikes and political action have become less effective, and also the data does nor show that the innovative service based strategies have been more effective. Rank and file support for either approach is the key factor.
The article by Griffin and Svensen looks at why people join unions in the first place and how different reasons for joining lead to differences in levels of satisfaction with the performance of unions.
Ray Fells looks at the trend for increasingly adversarial industrial relations in Australia, with much more workplace based negotiations and a move away from the award system. This provides a challenge for unions to gain entry to non unionised workplaces and establish themselves as good negotiators at the workplace level. Disputes will arise about union recognition. Fells looks at how British unions have faced this situation. He concludes with the view that the increased management union negotiation at the workplace and the task of gaining recognition highlighted the unions role and made it more visible to employees.
(Labour & Industry; vol. 9, no. 3, April 1999)
New Paths in Working-Time Policies in Europe
The Difficult Challenge of Reconciling Employers' and employees' need for flexibility/ Giuseppe Fajertag
Defines three possible models under which the various national patterns of reduction of working hours in Europe can be grouped - via collective agreement, legislation or negotiated individual flexibility. Collective agreement models are discussed with Dutch and German examples. Reduction in working time through legislation is discussed through the French example, while individual flexibility is associated with Scandinavian countries. Based on a paper given at the ACTU Work, Time, Life Conference in Melbourne, November 19-20, 1998)
(Labour & Industry; vol. 9, no. 3, April 1999)
Working Families Working Futures 1999
This is the third report on the NSW Government Work and family strategy. The state government sees government's role as being to encourage and enhance the capacity of parents with work responsibilities to meet the needs of their children. This report is organised on objective by objective basis with discussion and reporting of initiatives under each work and family objective. The objectives are:
� attitudinal and behavioural change;
� workplace reform,
� fairness and equity in employment
� equitable access to education and training systems
� flexible, responsive and accessible community services
� co-operation across public, private and community sectors
(NSW Work and Family Strategy: Working Families Working Futures/ Women's Equity Bureau, DIR, 1999)
by Lydia Bell
"He was a patriarchal figure in my life whose approval I sought and whose disapproval I feared", he explains. "I couldn't write the book until after his death as there are critical points in it, and Nick didn't like criticism."
Greenland's book, Red Hot: The Life and Times of Nick Origlass 1908-1996 is shortlisted for the 1999 NSW Premier's Literary Awards.
Origlass was a champion of working-class rights whose political activism spanned 60 years, ending in 1995 with retirement from Leichhardt Council. He was one of Australia's original Trotskyists, best known for leading a
remarkable six-week strike on the Balmain docks in 1945 against the Stalinist leadership of the Ironworker's Union, and for implementing the "open council" policy as Leichhardt's mayor in 1971.
Surprised that the book he has been contemplating for 25 years has been shortlisted for such a prestigious award, Greenland says: "Apparently the reviewers found it less mind-numbingly boring than they expected. It's not for the diehard political historian; in fact Trotsky purists would probably find it superficial. It's written in a racy, colloquial, journalistic style."
Greenland met Origlass in 1965 when Origlass, then 58, had been expelled from the Trotskyists. "I was 21, and quickly became acolyte, campaign organiser, billy-warmer and chief bottle-washer for Nick," he says.
Research for the book was absorbed by osmosis over his years with Origlass. In the final writing of the book, he had access to Origlass's personal files, and the archives of Izzy Wyner, Origlass's long-standing comrade.
"I was part of the family. I knew his wife, I knew his mistress," says Greenland.
Greenland insists the book should not be seen as a history of the Australian Trotskyist movement, but as a pure biography of a fascinating character.
"Nick and Izzy (Wyner) were utopian revolutionaries right to the very end, real romantics...they were consistently principled, uncompromising, uncorruptable and dogged in their pursuit of a goal," he says.
"However, they were rational, critical and pragmatic also. They didn't let what they did day-to-day contradict their romantic vision," he adds.
Greenland has inherited a rich political legacy from his former mentor. At Origlass's funeral Izzy Wyner evoked Maxim Gorky's adage that capitalism reaps "mountains of gold out of seas of human blood", and recalled Origlass's hope for "a society that knows no bounds in human endeavour and achievement". Greenland is adamant that he will follow in Origlass's footsteps. "I already do. I approach local issues in the same way that Nick and Izzy would have," he says.
Still politically active in the Leichhardt municipality, Greenland is planning to run as an independent in the next local council elections. He has also been approached to write a biography of Jim McLelland, the Trotskyist-turned-liberal contemporary of Origlass who died in January.
by Rico Aditjondro
"Australia dragged East Timor into the war, and close to 60,000 of them died for us," said John "Paddy" Kenneally.
Paddy was one of the speakers at Remember East Timor Rally in Sydney held in conjunction with ANZAC day, on April 26. He spoke from experience.
Paddy was working on the Pyrmont wharves when his foreman told him that the Japanese Air Force had just bombed Pearl Harbour. It was December 7, 1941.
"I got up, dropped my tool belt and started to leave," said Paddy. "The foreman asked where I was going and I said I was going to join the army."
Six weeks later, on January 21, 1942, Paddy landed in East Timor (then Portuguese Timor) with the 2nd Independent Company, known as the 2/2 Commandos. He now realises, they should never have gone there.
"East Timor was a neutral country," said Paddy. "It wasn't at war. Us being there was an act of aggression. Even the Portuguese didn't want Australian troops there."
The Japanese army arrived in East Timor a month after the 2/2 Commandos. By that time, 80 per cent of the 300 diggers were already sick with malaria.
The Australian troops headed for the mountains for cover, and Paddy recalled how the Timorese took care of them right from the beginning of hostilities in East Timor.
"The very first day the Japanese arrived, the Timorese saved the first Australian," he said.
The 2/2 Commandos stayed in East Timor for another 10 months and fought a guerrilla campaign - something they could not have done without the support of the Timorese people. "That's the key of a guerrilla war," said Paddy.
During the 11 months of warfare, the 2/2 Commandos lost less than 40 soldiers, while the Timorese lost an estimated 2500 lives. For the whole war (1942-1945), the number of East Timorese who died because of their involvement with Australia was 60,000.
They were either killed in battle, tortured or died of disease caused by malnutrition.
After the war, RAAF planes flew over East Timor dropping flyers saying "Your friends will not forget you." However, aside from the oil in the Timor Sea, the Australian Government did forget.
But Paddy and many other maritime workers did not forget. When Portugal was busy taking care of their own backyard during the 1974 April Revolution, East Timor was left abandoned.
Both East Timor and Australia experienced a political vacuum. East Timor had no Portuguese Government to rule and Australia was going through the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis after the sacking of the Whitlam Government.
But news about Indonesia's intelligence activity in East Timor was reaching Darwin. Wharfie Brian Manning left the debris of cyclone torn Darwin and flew to Dili to forge new friendships.
"It was an exciting time," he said. "Fretilin had incredible support among the people."
While the populist pro-independence party, Fretilin, won the village elections, the other two main parties- Apodeti, advocating integration with Indonesia and UDT, supporting continued Portuguese rule did not accept the result.
With active Indonesian backing, civil war broke out in August 1975. Fretilin all but won the war, but Indonesia then used 'political instability' in the fledgling republic as an excuse to invade.
A meeting of maritime unions held under the auspices of the Australian Council of Trades Union met in Melbourne on November 26, 1975 and passed the following resolution on the Timorese crisis: "This ACTU executive declares support for the claim of the people of East Timor to political and economic independence and the right to determine their own form of government free of outside interference."
The next day, waterfront unions resolved to ban Indonesian registered vessels and war materials supplied to Indonesia.
Back in Darwin, Brian Manning was already setting up radio contact with the independence fighters in the hills of Maubere.
"The reception was brilliant from Darwin," said Brian. "It was not unusual to hear the strafing in the background. We complained about the cocks crowing and they had trouble hearing us over the parakeets screeching in the gums."
At first, the radio transmission was done legally. But, before long the Australian Government cancelled their license. So Manning and his comrades kept the radio hidden in safe houses. Two groups went on each mission - one lot to transmit, another to pick up the equipment and take it back to town.
Indonesian intelligence, however, was more efficient. With the help of the sophisticated Palapa satellite system, the Indonesian military was able to pinpoint Fretilin radio bases. The transmissions stopped.
The atrocities that followed Indonesian occupation are well documented. "At least a quarter of East Timor's 690,000 population has been killed since 1975," writes John Taylor in his book Indonesia's Forgotten War. The killings continue to this day.
ACTU overseas aid agency Apheda hosted two meetings in April involving Timorese activists and unionists. One of the Timorese was Maria Maia, a representative of the Popular Organisation of Timorese Women (OPMT)- an organisation formed by Fretilin to defend the rights and dignity of the Timorese women.
Maria said she became a victim of psychological and physical abuse which contributed to the genocide of her people. Maria witnessed the death and imprisonment of her sons, husband, families and friends.
But the rapes, tortures and killings did not break her spirit. In fact, it made her more determined to participate in the fight for her freedom and that of her people - a struggle that has the full support of the Maritime Union.
Maria said the Timorese people have been fighting for 23 years, and she had to pass all the obstacles facing her. Many times she was incarcerated, tortured and condemned, but she never hesitated to fight on.
Another Timorese woman, Isabella Gajos, said the Indonesian Government also used its family planning campaign as a way to "wipe out" her people.
"When I was in high school, we had doctors who came to our school to give the kids injections," said Gallos. "They said it was a tetanus shot, but later I found out that it was an anti pregnancy shot."
The doctors injected depoprovera, an American long term contraceptive drug with severe side effects. It has been used all over Indonesia to control its rapid population rise. But in East Timor it was just another name for genocide.
"The Indonesian Government was trying to wipe us out of East Timor," said Gallos.
Tales of torture, executions and political repression slowly filtered out despite an Indonesian military imposed media blockade of the region. But it was not until November 12, 1991 when a freelance cameraman caught Indonesian troops opening fire on a peaceful funeral assembly in Santa Cruz cemetery, that Timor was again under the world spotlight.
The funeral was for Sebastiao Gomes - shot dead by the military a few days earlier. The troops fired into a crowd of at least 5,000 mourners, killing at least 271 people.
Many victims lived to tell the world. Images of terrified faces fleeing gun fire entered living rooms around the world.
Maritime workers were again quick to show their solidarity for the people of East Timor. In 1992, Darwin wharfies arranged free docking of the solidarity ship, Lusitania Express when it arrived at their port. The Lusitania was carrying 120 students, journalists and dignitaries representing 21 nations.
They had sailed from Lisbon to Darwin, before heading for Dili. Their mission was to lay wreaths at the Santa Cruz cemetery to honour the victims of the November massacre.
The ship took on board an Australian contingent before leaving. Among them were trades and labour delegate and the then Seamen's Union state secretary Wally Pritchard. Also on board was widow of Channel 7 reporter Greg Shackleton, Shirley. Indonesian military killed Greg Shackleton and four other news reporters during the invasion in 1975.
The Lusitania headed for East Timor. However, the Indonesian Navy had other plans. "It got pretty hot out there," said Wally Pritchard. "At one time the Indonesians had machine guns pointing at us. One of them manned the gun as we approached the 12 mile limit."
Two Indonesian frigates had closely followed the Lusitania through international waters. Military helicopters buzzed overhead. Before reaching the sea border, they moved in front of the vessel.
"They told us to go back. The second time they threatened they would 'do something to make us leave'," said Wally. "We turned, then stopped and caste a wreath off the stern."
Now, again, East Timor is making the headlines and Darwin wharfies recently donated their labour to the loading of urgent medical and food supplies. Brian Manning, Branch Secretary for the Maritime Union in Darwin voiced union support for East Timorese independence: "We understand their suffering and we do everything we can to alleviate it."
Maritime workers have also joined local community and students from the University of Newcastle in a support group called Friends of East Timor. On April 30, the group held its first vigil night for the victims of the pro-Indonesian armed militias. Special guest at the rally was East Timor resistance spokesperson, Mahudu.
He said he was touched by the support from the Australian people. Mahudu said the Falintil independence fighters were on "stand by" refusing to be provoked by the marauding pro-Indonesian para military gangs. Resistance leader Xanana Gusmao could, if he wanted to, order the guerrillas in the mountains to come down to Dili and fight the militias.
However, that would only feed the Indonesian propaganda machine and give them what they wanted-a civil war. And like the civil war in 1975, this one would also be an Indonesia instigated war.
Fretilin NSW Organiser Harold Moucho said many East Timorese had gone up to the mountains to seek refuge. "Most of them were pro-independence men, as they were the prime targets,"said Moucho. "Some even had to leave their wives and children behind, but, there have been instances where the whole family would pack up as much as they could and join the resistance in the mountain."
Escalating violence and anarchy, deprivation and disease are taking their toll on the health of the Timorese. Dr Sergio Lobo - one of the only 16 Timorese doctors and the country's only surgeon was in Australia in April to speak about the health crisis and the need for aid from Australia.
At an Apheda sponsored luncheon in Sydney on April 20, Dr Lobo said the shortage of Timorese doctors was critical due to an exodus of Indonesian doctors.
"We can't do anything because the system is still in Indonesian Government hands," he said.
To make matters worse, the militias are preventing doctors from treating the wounded. "Every move is considered a political move by our pro-integration brothers," Dr Lobo said.
Treating the wounded could very well led to imprisonment or even death. Dr Lobo said the most effective way to run a health service at the moment was through the Catholic church network. His team located nurses in each parish as they were still the safest places in East Timor.
Although very grateful for the aid shipments from Australia, Dr Lobo said the most effective way to get medicine into East Timor was to buy it in Indonesia and ship it in by domestic routes, so avoiding the corrupt Indonesian custom officers.
Apheda is launching an East Timor appeal this May, calling on unions, their members and the general public to donate money for medical supplies. MUA members are urged to donate. It is the least we can do.
As old time wharfie and digger Paddy says, "Many of the diggers expected to die in Timor. But thanks to the Timorese, most of us survived. We owe them our lives."
NSW unionists will rally in supprt of the East Timorese this Thursday. Full details in the News Section
by Ryan Heath
Sydney, Wednesday: Students gathered at Town Hall to protest the attempted introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism in one of the largest student protests for several years.
Between 3 and 4,000 students from metropolitan, Newcastle, and Bathurst campuses turned out as part of a Nationwide series of student strikes called by the National Union of Students.
Voluntary Student (Anti-Student) Unionism (VSU) Legislation is an attempt by Education, Training and Youth Affairs Minister David Kemp to silence student dissent against the Liberal Government's policies particularly on Higher Education.
It is presented on the basis that by removing the current system of automatic membership of student organisations students will be given 'choice' and the freedom not to pay for services and representation they do not want.
The campaign slogan is response to this thinly veiled arguement by Kemp is "VSU: It's not about choice, it's about silence". VSU already exists in Western Australia and Victoria where the Court and Kennett governments introduced it upon coming to power.
Wednesday's protest was extremely successful on a number of fronts, but was marred by media beat-ups of events particularly on the commercial television networks.
The rally was due to begin at 1pm following a performance by the Solidarity Choir in the Town Hall courtyard. The rally began late as marshals struggled to fit the enormous turn-out into the area.
Following a stirring address by NUS NSW President Amanda Tattersall who outlined all the organisations which had been silenced by Howard and the Liberals before us (e.g. pensioners over nursing homes, the ABC, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Australian Youth Policy and Action Coalition etc), and urged students to remain united, Natasha Stott-Despoja spoke.
Stott-Despoja's address was crucial because it locked the Democrats into defeating the legislation in the Senate, without condition.
Doug Cameron of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, and Assistant Secretary of the ACTU then spoke before the excited throng moved off onto George Street.
The impact of the rally was incredible, due to the both the enthusiasm of the students and the sheer colours and numbers of banners which has been produced for the occasion.
Leading the march was a street-wide "VSU = Silence banner", while a fifteen metre long banner was held above protesters head for office-workers to read: "Stop the Liberals crushing dissent".
The rally's next high-point was the spontaneous action of students to run into Pitt Street mall and stage a sit-down.
Following the initial charge, marshals were able to quickly arrange students to slow their pace until eventually stopping outside the new Grace Bros to chant "The students- united- will never be defeated" and "1-2-3-4 VSU out the door. 5-6-7-8 David Kemp's the one we hate".
The police having been so easily outmanoeuvred, were outraged, and spread the word that the key organisers were to be arrested if they didn't stop organising. Students then left the mall and returned to the planned route.
Next stop was John Howard's office in Phillip Street before a festival of student culture in First Fleet Park, Circular Quay.
Drawing on the overwhelming crowd support from the many who stopped their shopping or left their offices to see what the fuss was about, students kept up an intense chanting that has rarely been matched in student protesting.
However, problems with the police began upon arriving at John Howard's office.
Employing a traditional and visually spectacluar rally tactic of 'runs'- students 'ran' the last 100m to Howard's office where a stage had been put in place for speakers.
To their surprise their was no police guard whatsoever outside Howard's office.
As the crowd of 3,000 moved in around the stage, some of the protesters took the opportunity to get as close as they could to Howard's staff to ram the massage home. At this point police grossly overreacted and called a 'Code 1'- which mean 'Officer down'.
The response was to send between 10 and fifteen police rode into the tightly packed crowd on horseback and brought in other riot police on foot.
As I was successfully calling students attention back ot the stage the police began inflaming the students further by pushing the horses line forward and getting out their batons.
I repeated my call "If the police would get out of the crowd and stop attacking students we will be able to get on with the rally - can everyone please come back to the stage"- but to no avail. Further riot police and the tactical response squad was called in.
I continued the rally regardless in the hope that the police would wake up to their senses and realised no occupation and been planned, and that none was going to occur.
They had obviously decided otherwise- as speakers from the NTEU, Council of Post-Graduate Associations and students spoke to the crowd - Commissioner Peter Ryan was making statements to the media about events he knew nothing about and had not witnessed.
"It got ugly down there today". he was widely reported as saying.
What he and the media forgot to point out was that it was the over response of the police which incited the minority o f students get angry.Indeed, one of the two injured police officers was kicked by one of the force's own horses!
As the unprovoked brawl died down full attention was returned to the stage and the rally continued to place pressure on the government to back down from its anti-union, anti-students agenda.
The march then moved on peacefully to Circular Quay for performances by indigenous Australian bands and other speakers.
On Wednesday night's news, most stations covered the rally as their first item and were generally unfavourable.
They chose to focus on the ten minutes of police brawling and immediately took the side of police. The ABC was particularly sensationalist relative to the balanced coverage of events it usually provides.
The rally however, was a definite success. We succeeded in politicising more than 3,000 student if they weren't already political.
We delivered our message loud and clear to the 200,000 in the CBD at the time and we demonstrated again that the students- united- will never be defeated.
Postscript: On Thursday Senator Mal Colston effectively killed off VSU by indicating he would oppose it in the Senate.
When the Asian crisis erupted last year, Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohommad identifies Hedge Funds - huge pools of capital - as one of the causes of the turmoil. He argued that hedge funds had invested billions of dollars in Asia, and then, at the first sign of trouble, ripped the money back out - devestating local economies.
Mahathir was roundly condemned by the west and it's economic mouthpiece, the IMF... after all, hedge funds were seen as the ultimate vehicles of capitalism: big bucks, big risk, big rewards. To criticise them was to criticise the very embodiment of the global financial system.
Long Term Problems
That all changed when the Long Term Capital Management hedge fund proved to be anything but long term. LTCM was run by one of Wall Street's best and brightest, John Meriwether, and had two Nobel Laureates on Staff.
But that counted for little.
In September, LTCM stunned Wall Street by announcing that it's bets on the the global finanical turmoil gone bad - the hedge fund had lost $4 billion. The collapse had massive ramifications: America's biggest banks had invested huge sums with LTCM. If it went under, so could they.
Suddenly, Wall Street realised that it wasn't just millions of faceless Asians who stood to lose from the economic crisis: the West was vulnerable too.
There's nothing like self-interest to change people's minds, and that's exactly what happened here. Wall Street bailed LTCM out and disaster was averted - but at a greater cost than anyone anticipated. The reputation of hedge funds was dealt a serious blow. There's now a recognition that the funds were operating in an irresponsible, reckless and ultimately destructive way. Mahathir was right.
That recognition brought with it an even greater realisation: the global financial system that nurtured and encouraged hedge funds was itself flawed. Even George Soros - who has made billions from hedge funds - now believes that, "instead of acting like a pendulum, financial markets have acted like a wrecking ball, knocking over one economy after another."
There's no doubt a great many factors contributed to the Asian crisis, but now the IMF, the US Treasury and even the Australian government seem to realise that hedge funds played a part: naked capitalism can be ugly capitalism.
Sand in the Wheels
Behind closed doors, the architects of the global financial system are now trying to decide how to prevent a repeat of the Asian crisis. One proposal that's received almost universal support is that hedge funds be regulated.
Some people want to go further: they argue the global financial system itself should be regulated. One suggestion that's now receiving serious attention is that global capital flows be slowed down. As respected international economist, David Hale, points out, the cost of a long distance 'phone call between New York and London in 1930 cost around $800 in today's money. These days, the cost of moving money is less than one cent.
As Hale argues, "even Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, is asking whether we have a global financial system now that has a propensity to instability simply because the cost of moving money has fallen so dramatically on the back of new developments in computer and communications technology."
A few years ago, Nobel prize winning economist, James Tobin, suggested that all the money sloshing around the financial system is inherently destabilizing. He argued that a tax should be imposed on foreign exchange transactions. "The lession of the Asian crisis is that we've gone too far, we need to slow things down, put some sand in the wheels so that capital flows don't go so fast", he told me recently.
"It could be a very small tax but it would make people think twice before moving funds very rapidly between countries because every time they moved them they'd have to pay tax."
When Professor Tobin first proposed his tax, he was roundly ridiculed. Now, like the critics of hedge funds, his ideas are gaining wider acceptance. They're being considered at the highest levels.
For the West, the legacy of the Asian crisis is a realisation that the global financial system is badly flawed and needs to be changed. Any changes will come too late for Asia. For millions of people there, the legacy of the crisis will be unemployment, poverty and social dislocation.
Filfthy Luca is a prominent Sydney finance journalist. He will write an irregular column on economic matters for Workers Online
by Terry O'Brien
If I may be excused for mixing my scientific metaphors, this is an equal and opposite reaction. This passion turns normally placid, sane citizens into raving lunatics. To see the dedicated fan after a day supporting their pride and joy is to see a physically and emotionally drained individual.
In my last column I described the teams a Swans supporter hates. The fact that it is all the others is no coincidence. The antipathy directed towards opposition sides is built up over a lifetime individually, and generations collectively. For some it seems would seem to be genetic. In the home town of D. H. Lawrence there was a motion put through the local council which supported the erection of a statue to the honour locally born scribe. The town rejected the proposal because his grandfather was a scab. The same innate memories exist in the footy world.
Hating players is a slightly different exercise. Players come and go. For the most part teams don't. There are several categories of players to vent one's spleen upon. Generally speaking, due to the cleaning up (some call it sanitization) of the game the thugs, minders, colourful characters - call them what you will - have virtually been eliminated. Therefore the level of dislike of players is usually proportional to their ability. There's also the dirty players and the show ponies.
Then there's the ones that have left your club for greener pastures. Even those delisted by their club can expect the wrath from their formerly faithful fans. Personally I resist the temptation to bag these players because I reckon they need no more inspiration from the sidelines to do well against their former allies.
Greg Williams left the Swans to play for Carlton because, apparently, he needed to play in a premiership side to fulfil his personal ambitions. Once he left it was OK to admit that he was something of a dirty player. He got the premiership he coveted. In the process he picked up a second Brownlow Medal. The thing with Diesel was that he always had a lousy game against the Swans. It was as though they (Carlton) were playing a man down. I loved it.
Interestingly, Williams was one of the people the SCG security guards challenged after Plugger kicked that famous point which launched the Swans into their Grand Final appearance in 1996. Several stalwarts were discovered out on the cricket pitch singing "Cheer, Cheer, The Red and the White ." Maybe if Williams had stayed we might have won the big one in '96. Perhaps, in his heart, he never really left the Swans.
Then there's the reverse situation. When we heard Tony Lockett was coming to Sydney there was much gnashing of teeth and talk of slitting of wrists. The memories of him rearranging Peter Caven's face were in the forefront of people's minds. As he began kicking goals and the Swans started to win that thug became our thug. Now the only thing that stops him walking on water is his immense bulk.
What follows, due to a lack of time and space, is not a comprehensive list of players to hate. But you should get the idea. As I said, generally speaking the better the player the greater the hate. Sneaking admiration for the ability of mongrels is only permitted in the deep privacy of your own mind. Any weakness shown in front of your fellow supporters will only be seen as a lack of faith in your own team.
In later years you will be allowed to remember how good they were, for instance if you are picking a team of the century, but only if you recall the injustices they inflicted on your team. Also, you should remember that the hatred you feel for these players will change from week to week. When you're out at the game and you see them taking your team apart, or watching it on the box, or if a crisis - such as a funeral - means you have to read about it in Monday's paper, the emphasis changes. The freshest memories are usually the strongest.
First on my list is Wayne Carey. The Evil One. Probably his greatest sin is that he is the League's "Blue-Eyed Boy." King Carey, some insist on calling him. Second is that he plays for North Melbourne. They beat us in the Grand Final in '96. Just in case you've forgotten. Next, he should have been picked up by the Swans. In the days when the Swans had first pick of the local lads they let him slip through the net. If we had managed to get him, let alone keep him, he wouldn't be The Evil One. Another thing with Carey is that you think he's being held all day, then in ten minutes turns a game off his own boot.
James Hird (Essendon). Another would be Swan. Another "Golden Boy." He's something of a media personality. Good looking, or so I'm told. Mind you, Andrew Dunkley tried to mar his features with a swift upper cut below the eye in the lead up to the '96 Final. Funny how I keep remembering that. Hird has one redeeming feature. He keeps on getting injured.
Others, in no particular order include: Robert Harvey (St Kilda). Two times Brownlow Medallist. He can cut your side to pieces in minutes. The trouble is the he seems to do it for one hundred minutes. He gives the statisticians RSI. Darren Jarman (Adelaide). Another who can turn a game in a few minutes with an outstanding performance. Gary Hocking (Geelong). A physical player, probably the closest to the tough guy in this list. Goes all day, never gives up. Peter Matera (West Coast Eagles). When he's playing well he's unstoppable.
There's also Mathew Lloyd (Essendon). Anybody who kicks thirteen goals against you deserves to be loathed. Jeff Farmer (Melbourne). He's skilful, he's fast, and is capable of taking a great mark. He knows how to kick goals. Tony Liberatore (Western Bulldogs) is a another small player. Another Brownlow Medallist. He revamped himself and resurrected his career. His tagging tactics have earned the ire of opponents. This may be overstated but he deserves his place on the list. I could go on.
If you can't bring yourself to hate the opposition players, remember that there's always the White Maggots, the Blind Mongrels. Umpires - if you insist.
Berkman, a law graduate and one of the candidates, took the Department on in a federal sex discrimination lawsuit that challenged the test and, five years later, saw the test change and women accepted into the service.
But the problem wasn't all with the Department. This week in Sydney, Berkman told a group of unionists that after the Dept realised they were fighting a lost cause with pointless tests like carrying 150-pound sandbags up stairs ("I don't know what you think, but in my experience firefighters never run up stairs - up is where the bad stuff is!" she said), the union took up the case against the women.
While New York firefighters proudly refer to themselves as "the bravest", and are looked up to by the community, Berkman said things are different within. One of the most insular fire services, unlike its more diverse counterparts in cities like San Diego which embraced women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds and African-Americans, New York's service was run by only two groups - Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans.
Before the sex discrimination case, the entry test was either pass or fail. When women applied, the test suddenly became ranked. Berkman and others also questioned the application of other tests - things like a standing broadjump ("which I've never used in 18 years as a firefighter"). The tests were not job-related, and once passed, didn't have to be maintained annually. And yet they were standards. Berkman told of the fire service asking West Point Military Academy, which had already gone through entry tests for women, for advice, then ignoring it. Or strange reviews like the running test which was changed when one man said, "My daughter could run that distance in that time".
Helped by a Wall Street firm, who took the case on pro bono, Berkman won, but it had terrible effects on those around her. Her father-in-law, who had worked as a lawyer for the service for 30 years, lost his job. The judge in the case, who was initially unsympathetic but became "educated" throughout to the extent that he later asked to attend the first promotion of a woman firefighter, had his courts picketed by male firefighters, his sons threatened and family followed. And, when the women finally joined the service, they were ostracised and endangered - common incidents included carbon monoxide poisoning and faulty equipment.
In another case, a woman firefighter was attempting to scrape an insulting article off the staffroom wall, when a drunken male colleague lurched for the knife and cut her hand. When the Department laid him off work for a year, the union took him on. As Berkman said, although there is greater acceptance for women in her union, "We haven't hit the glass ceiling yet, because we haven't got off the dirt floor!"
Berkman further angered male firefighters by forming a women's group, similar to the Labor Council women's committee to offer support. At first, Berkman said, male firefighters' reaction was "pah - what can 38 women do, when there are 12,000 of us". But when the women's group become a national one, the reaction changed, with male firefighters fearing the women would become an alternative bargaining force, as African-Americans had formed. While this was never the intention, it increased the difficulties.
So the women were split, spread out to a ratio of one women per battalion (six fire stations), the union thus isolating them deliberately. Despite that, "These organisations really saved my career, and my life. They're not all as bad as New York City. I realised if I could help others to not repeat my experiences, that would be worth something." Meanwhile, the national [male] union continues to ignore the women firefighters, leaving them off the new standards committee despite their representations to be included.
Berkman told the meeting perceptions were widespread in society as well, with parents bringing their children to fire stations and only encouraging their sons to climb the rigs, while the daughters stood by (possibly playing with their Firefighter Barbies!). She and fellow officers often put on Ron Howard's movie Backdraft for a laugh. Although at the time the film was made there were 50 women firefighters in Chicago, the woman's role in the film was not a firefighter, but someone who "got into bed for a sex scene with one of the main protagonists". She said the education system had also been at fault in her day, with girls allowed to do only home economics, while the boys were allowed to study woodwork and so on.
Berkman, in Australia for the Women in Uniform conference in Canberra, stressed that the issue was just as problematic for women in all areas of non-traditional employment, and all over the world. Although there are still fewer than 1% women in the fire service, it is no better in the police or military, because of strong stereotypes that letting women on the job meant lowering standards. She urged the Sydney union delegates to work internationally.
"The aim isn't to get 10 women in the fire department, or 100 African-American men in the police department. It's about letting all people go where their abilities lie," Berkman said.
While she said she was very impressed with efforts in NSW to look at standards, training and gender-neutrality, requirements like a trades certificate before being eligibly for the service were a "double hurdle". And she added that the biggest indicator for female success was a strong, capable middle-manager. While those people often got harassed themselves, if they stood their ground others would follow.
Deirdre Mahoney is the Labor Council's Special Projects Officer
Anyone who wanted to test the sad/bad dichotomy on attitudes to drug use and abuse propounded by Workers Online last week need have looked no further than this week's Tele.
Amidst all the talk of meaningful solutions the Tele decided to make Annie Madden the symbol of their Summit coverage. Annie Madden is a drug addict. She is also an advocate for drug reform. She also had the temerity to talk about her ongoing addiction to a drug summit loaded with politicians and boffins.
In a moving intervention, Madden talked of her 13 years of heroin use in order to illustrate that not all addicts are down in the gutter, that addicts were not the enemy in this debate. Which is exactly the sort of image the Tele is instrumental in spreading. After all, far easier to dismiss a dirty junkie than look at them as part of the community.
First out of the blocks came former Rugby league writer "Gay" Chesterton, who writes colour for the Tele on the big stories of the day. Gay earned his nickname a few years ago when he wrote a story about League player Ian Roberts declaring his homosexuality. Ray wrote a glowing piece on the big fella, marred only by his inability to mention the words "gay" or "homosexual" once in his 500 words, instead reverting to increasingly desperate euphemisms such as "the choice of where to point his personal compass".
Anyway, "Gay" decided to launch into Annie in a dismissive piece titled "Annie's sick, erudite - and pathetic". His thesis, as far as one existed, was to argue that to accept the fact that heroin use existed "fell somewhere between repugnant and repulsive".
He attacked her for stating the truth: that some people lead productive lives on drugs and for not condemning drug use. Of course, this is the whole problem. Drug use is inevitable; it is the impact of drug use, particularly in the context of a black market, which is the real social problem.
But rather than engaging with the issue, Gay plays the woman: "She demands society pay for addicts' lack of self-control and indulgence by demanding heroin trials and legalised shooting galleries." Better to punish them?
It's a problem endemic in the Telegraph. In an effort to be populist, the paper creates caricatures. And when a real-life contradiction comes along: like a well-spoken addict or a tough-boy homosexual, it has nowhere to go.
Not to be outdone, Piers jumped onto Annie the next day. After all, he wasn't about to let Gay tread all over his turf of intolerance.
Before penning his piece, Piers made his presence felt at Madden's press conference, asking tasteful questions about whether her emotional speech could be attributed to her drug use. In his signature loud and overbearing way, Piers barked out his boorish questions, embarrassing other journalists who genuinely wanted to understand the issue.
Then he launched into print: "It's not the discrimination that's killing the drug addicts of Sydney," he pronounced, "it's the fact that they like to use drugs which have the capacity to kill."
In fact, they're more likely to die because the prohibition model fails. They die because the heroin they buy on the black market is dirty or too strong. They die because their needles are infected with deadly viruses. They die because the black market forces prices up to the point where they must take dangerous jobs like prostitution and thieving to earn the money to feed their addiction.
Preaching prohibition and zero tolerance is about as much use as preaching peace on earth and goodwill to all. It looks lovely on paper, until reality swallows it up.
Footnote:
Piers also mounted a spirited defence to disclosures on Mediawatch this week that 10 of 17 paragraphs in a recent piece on drugs were directly lifted from a press release from the Prime Minister's office.
His defence was basically that "the source of the data in no way altered the facts". If the facts are right, who cares where they come from.
This theory must excite the bean-counters at Holt Street who pay Piers' a princely sum for his words of wisdom. If a media release is, as Piers argues, just as acceptable in print as a genuine piece of journalism, surely our toadly target could become surplus to requirements. Food for thought when editorial budgets are next reviewed ....
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/14/print_index.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |