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Looking for the Light
As Labor searches for its Light on the Hill at last a senior Labor figure has come out and said it: the main game for the ALP should not be about shedding union involvement but making the movement � and that involvement - stronger.
Interview: Packing a Punch
Former Hawke and Keating Minister Gary Punch injects some sanity into the debate over unions and the ALP
Bad Boss: Basher Takes Back Passage
A new contender for our Bad Boss has emerged as 140 Stegbar workers confront a boofhead with bad attitude, writes Jim Marr
Unions: Five Star Shafting
What is twenty three years of unbroken, fulltime service worth? Eight weeks, according to Tony Abbott, the Federal Government and the cheapskates who run Sydney�s posh Hilton Hotel.
Economics: TINA � Rest In Peace
Sydney University�s Frank Stilwell argues that the �There is No Alternative� school of economics should be consigned to the dustbin of history
International: Against Bush's "War on Terrorism"
Washington has become the first State Labor Council in the U.S. to call on the AFL-CIO to seek repeal of the USA Patriot Act and oppose the Bush Administration, reports Fred Hyde.
Environment: Saving the World
After a ten-day talkfest, are we any closer to saving the world, asks Nick Lucchinelli
History: A Radical Scribe
John Shields loks at the life of Lloyd Ross' brother, Edgar, and his work as a journalist and activist in Broken Hill
Poetry: With A Little Help From My Friend
Even oil giant BP Australasia came out and supported the Kyoto Protocol - but that was not enough for our beloved Prime Minister.
Satire: Colonel Gaddafi Promotes Himself to General
After years of ribbing by his Axis of Evil peers, General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran and General Than Shwe of Burma, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi has finally promoted himself to General.
Review: Workplace Dictatorship
Award-winning journalist Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover in low-wage America to see how people live on six bucks an hour. And what did she find? They can�t.
 Cole Comfort: I�m Not Biased
Grassroots Drives Safety Campaign
Deloittes Curry Favour on Sub-Continent
Ansett Workers Short-Changed
Rail Workers Buck Individual Contract Wage Bribe
Carr to Drive Hilton Deal?
Bush Regenerators Weed Out Dodgy Deal
Insurers in Redfern Rort
Hairdresser Wins Fight For Wage Justice
Cabin Crews Argue for �Safety in Numbers�
�Slave Labour� In Insurance Industry
Westie Fires Up Over Durries
Beattie Plods into Risky Territory
Sydney to Host Social Forum
Activists Notebook
The Soapbox
Ian West on Suncorp Metway
NSW MLC Ian West lifts the lid on moves to impose 'start before you start' clauses in the insurance industry The Locker Room
Terrible Terry and the Nice Guy from Fitzroy
As the debate over the new coach hots up, Phil Doyle believes that all is not as it seems on the good ship Swan. Week in Review
War on Terror
Next Wednesday, September 11, marks the anniversary of one of the most brutal acts of terrorism in modern history. Jim Marr�s picking it will pass by virtually un-noticed Bosswatch
Broken Trust
The corporate world is holding back the waves of accountability with a crackdown on trusts rubbished and resistance to a new plan to increase corporate disclosure. Women
All In the Family?
Labor Council�s Alison Peters went looking for a family friendly workplace and got caught in a cheesy smokescreen.
Collex Decision is Terrible
Charity Begins At Home
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Editorial
Looking for the Light
As Labor searches for its Light on the Hill at last a senior Labor figure has come out and said it: the main game for the ALP should not be about shedding union involvement but making the movement � and that involvement - stronger.
Former Hawke and Keating Minister Gary Punch's contribution to the reform debate this week should have been unremarkable: unions are the vital link between the ALP and the shopfloor and that it is in the political wing's long-term interest. To ensure the movement thrives.
That it seems so original says much about the attitude of Labor's political class. To them 'attitudes to the union movement' is just a line item in the opinion polling that these days passes as ideology.
As Punch points out, the task for Labor MPs should be twofold: helping set a climate for unions to organise and resisting the Tories' attempts to monster the movement.
One of the saddest factors of the Royal Commission into the Building Industry has been the almost uniform silence from Labor MPs in the wake of the remarkable political attack on its industrial wing.
It's as if ALP members accept the underlying premise of the Commission rather than view it as a set of loaded dice. With the limited exception of Robert McClelland, the silence has been deafening; we cannot recall a single MP even taking the time to view the proceedings for themselves.
It's like Tampa with a Hard Hat: political timidity means that now the tables are turning and real issues of bias are being raised in the courts, Labor is in no position to take the political opportunity on offer.
It's the perennial risk of white bread politics - don't stand for anything and then watch the issues of principle sail by. While there are obvious short-term benefits in this risk-free strategy; there are also obvious long-term risks.
Which is really what Punch is talking about. If Labor doesn't keep a strong tie to the shop floor - both traditional and emerging - what does it stand for? And if it doesn't have the unions as this link, what is there except opinion polls and focus groups to guide them.
The point about Labor's Light on the Hill was not that it was a campfire that could be used, then packed up and lit somewhere else more convenient; it was a beacon to give labour politics a direction and sense of integrity.
If the accepted wisdom is that Labor has lost its way the question should not be - where do we go now? - but - how do we get back on track?
Peter Lewis
Editor
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Issue 151 contents
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