E D I T O R I A L

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.

F E A T U R E S

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.

N E W S

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

C O L U M N S

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.

L E T T E R S

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Sydney to Host Social Forum

Inspired by the World Social Forum, held annually in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the Sydney Social Forum aims to be the broadest possible gathering of progressive community organisations, NGOs, unions, activists, artists, thinkers and others to discuss ideas and strategies for progressive local and global social change. It will also be an opportunity for people to learn, network, exchange ideas and form new alliances.

Over the course of the weekend, the SSF will facilitate a variety of meetings, workshops and other activities, such as music and film presentations, and is being billed as an open space for all those who wish to participate.

The rise of an international "anti-capitalist" movement has mobilised a growing number of particularly young activists and helped breath new life into existing and ongoing struggles and campaigns. The Sydney Social Forum is a result of the willingness of a broad range of organisations to meet, share information and tactics, and explore common ground in response to the rise of neo-liberalism and corporate globalisation.

Specifically, the aim of the forum is to allow participants to:

� gain a broader understanding of activism in Sydney, share experiences and form links and networks to help build movements for change;

� share and discuss analyses of the state of the world, visions of an alternative world and strategies to get from one to the other;

� discuss and learn more about the nature and significance of the international Social Forum movement, from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre to the emerging regional and city-based Social Forums.

With the announcement of the upcoming mini-ministerial meeting of the WTO in Sydney, the SSF will also be a forum for discussion and planning for meetings and protest action around November 14 and 15.

Thematic forums will cover alternatives to "globalisation", the War on Terror, organising resistance to racism and nationalism, the environment movement, experiences of activism in Sydney, as well as the World Trade Organisation in the light of the upcoming mini-ministerial meeting.

The workshop programme will feature over 50 discussion topics, from the organising challenges we face as a result of corporate globalisation (held jointly by the CFMEU and AMWU) to refugee rights, the Middle East, the environment, Indigenous struggles, youth issues, privatisation, Latin American resistance to neo-liberalism, and alternative media, to GM foods and animal rights. There will even be a workshop on "meditation for social activists".

The SSF aims to become a regular event which can help all of us to improve our understanding of issues of social justice, globalisation and sustainability, how our communities are affected, and how we can work together for positive change.

Organisers encourage all union activists to attend and be part of this most important gathering of thinkers and concerned citizens.

SYDNEY SOCIAL FORUM

September 21-22

University of Technology, Sydney

Participating organisations include:

AidWatch, Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, Animal Liberation, ATTAC Australia, Australian Catholic Movement for Intellectual & Cultural Affairs, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Brisbane Social Forum, Community Activist Technology, CFMEU, Democratic Socialist Party, Edmund Rice Centre, Greenpeace, Greens NSW, International Socialist Organisation, Mineral Policy Institute, New Internationalist magazine, Now We The People, People for Nuclear Disarmament (NSW), Proutist Universal, Refugee Action Coalition, Research Initiative on International Activism, Socialist Alliance, Student Environment Activist Network, The Wilderness Society, 2SER Community Radio, UTS Students Association, World League for Protection of Animals and more.

For registration and workshop information, programme of thematic forums and keynote speakers, on-line discussion and more, visit the SSF website: http://www.sydneysocialforum.org or email organisers at [email protected].

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