E D I T O R I A L

Wrong Way, Go Back
The weekend machinations over the structure of the ALP are in danger of missing the fundamental point: Labor�s current malaise is caused not be an excess of core values but through a deficit.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: The Wet One
NSW Opposition industrial relations spokesman Michael Gallacher stakes out his relationship with the union movement.

Bad Boss: Like A Bastard
Virgin Mobile is sexy and funky, right? Well, only if those terms have become synonyms for dictatorial or downright mean.

Unions: Demolition Derby
Tony Abbott likens industrial relations to warfare and, like a good general should, he is about to shift his point of attack � from building sites to car plants, reports Jim Marr.

Corporate: The Bush Doctrine
For the powerful, consumerism equals freedom, and is all the freedom we need, writes James Goodman

Politics: American Jihad
Let�s get real. The origins of modern Islamic terrorist groups are in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Langley, Virginia not Baghdad, argues Noel Hester.

Health: Secret Country
Oral history recordings are an inadequate tool in trying to find out what happened to Aboriginal stockmen and their communities on cattle stations in Northern Australia, writes Neale Towart

Review: Walking On Water
On the 20th anniversary of the first AIDS-related death, Tara de Boehmler witnesses the aftermath of losing a loved one to the illness in Walking On Water.

Culture: TCF
Novelist Anthony Macris captures life on the shop floor in this extract from his upcoming novel, Capital Volume II

Poetry: The UQ Stonewall
The University of Queensland has sought to join the ranks of union-busting companies like Rio Tinto in trying to sack the president of the local union - and made the mistake of thinking they were dealing with an array of acquiescent academics.

N E W S

Corrigan Fires Shot in Rail Showdown

Fight Begins For Long Weekends

Experts to Arrest Drug Test Outbreak

Jobs Auction Hitting Bank Workers

Libs Pledge Moderate IR line

Workers Kick Grand Final Goal

NSW Screws Down Lid on Funeral Scams

Hilton Strike Break Plans in Tatters

Detention Centre Workers Demand Safety Search

Religious Teachers Win Legal Coverage

Pressure Builds on Parking Sting

US Docks Lockout Hits Sea Trade

Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
I Walk The Line
American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has weighed into the Hilton Hotel dispute with this special message to the workforce.

Postcard
Mekong Daze
Union Aid Abroad's Phil Hazelton fires off a missive from Laos where he is spending a year working with the community.

Month In Review
Bush Whackers
It was a month where the world teetered on the brink of peace, no thanks to the leader of the free world, writes Jim Marr

The Locker Room
The Laws Of Gravity
Phil Doyle goes looking for the fine line that separates sport from an exercise in time-wasting

Bosswatch
Snouts in the Trough
It�s AGM season in the corporate world, and deal after shady deal is being exposed as highfliers treat company accounts like the proverbial honey-pot.

Wobbly
Songs of Solidarity
There has been a proud history of pro-worker tunes dating back to the early days of the 20th century, which will be continued in a new CD, writes Dan Buhagiar.

L E T T E R S

WHAT YOU CAN DO

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Activists Notebook

ACTU Young Unionist and Community Activist Forum

Building a Future through Action

A two day ACTU Young Unionist and Community Activist Forum will be held in Melbourne on the 10th and 11th October 2002. The ACTU Youth Committee has developed an agenda for the forum, and would encourage the participation of State and Federal Secretaries in this event.

Please find attached a registration forum that includes an overview of the forum, a draft agenda and relevant accommodation and flight booking details.

To ensure the success of this important initiative it is essential that young union members, delegates and activists from a wide variety of unions, participate in the forum.

Would you please ensure that registration forms are received by Friday 27th September to enable the administrative arrangements for the forum to be finalised.

Each affiliate will be responsible for all costs associated with attendance of delegates to the forum. The registration fee is set at $110.00 (including GST) for the entire two day event.

We look forward to your participation and support to further strengthen the involvement and commitment of young members, delegates and activists within the union movement.

For more information please contact Sharon Gibbard, ACTU Events Manager on 03 9664 7320 or [email protected]

CONSUMERISM AND COUNTER-CONSUMERISM

THOMAS FRANK

Public Lecture 6-7pm + Discussion Panel

Wednesday 9 October, 6-9pm

University of Technology Sydney, Broadway Campus, Building 3 (Bon Marche, cnr of Harris + Broadway), Floor 5, Room 510

Disabled Access. Refreshments available. Entry by donation ($10/$5). Enquiries: James Goodman, 95142714.

Panel: Tim Connor (NikeWatch), Peter Lewis (BossWatch), Julia Murray (Fair Wear activist), Vicki Sentas (Midnight Star Social Centre), chair, David McKnight (Research initiative on International Activism)

Thomas Frank is the author of 'One Market under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy' and 'The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism'. He is a founding editor of 'The Baffler', a magazine of cultural criticism (thebaffler.com).

Hosted by the Research Initiative in International Activism (international.activism.uts.edu.au) and the Transforming Cultures Research Group (transforming.cultures.uts.edu.au) with the support of the Australian Centre for Public Communication (acpc.uts.edu.au), Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (acij.uts.edu.au), and the Sydney Social Forum (www.sydneysocialforum.org)

***************************

ASYLUM SEEKERS have the same HUMAN RIGHTS as all of us, to live in PEACE, with JUSTICE and EQUALITY.

A year ago the Australian government began a new phase of its war on refugees using SAS troops to turn away hundreds of Afghan refugees on the MV Tampa.

The government said its border protection policies were to stop terrorists. But this is a lie. Not one refugee in the last two and half years has been rejected for security reasons. Before the elections the government vilified refugees claiming they threw children into the sea.

This was also a lie.

The government says it meets its international obligations to the refugees. This is a lie. The UN has yet again condemned the Australian government's policy of mandatory detention. While the government backs the US threats to wage war on Iraq, a war that will create thousands more refugees in the Middle East, it also threatens to cancel visas and deport refugees to Afghanistan and Iran. The government says that Afghanistan and Iran are safe - that too is a lie.

The government's policies are built on deception and lies. But more and more their lies are being exposed and opposed. As on Palm Sunday, World Refugee Day and Tampa Day, thousands of people will rally across Australia to demand the truth and the humane treatment of refugees.

THE TRUTH IS:

*War and oppression have made millions of refugees in the Middle East;

*There is no 'queue' for refugees from Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan;

*Asylum seekers are not 'illegal'. Claiming asylum is legal under Australian and international law;

*Mandatory detention of children breaches our international treaty obligations.

*Asylum seekers are not criminals and terrorists.

We call on the Government to:

*Stop the lies, misinformation and demonisation of refugees

*End mandatory detention and the "Pacific solution'

*Replace Temporary Protection Visas with full immigration rights

*No deportations - let the refugees stay

Howard's drive for war with Iraq is wrong. THE TRUTH IS: An invasion of Iraq would kill many civilians and create more refugees; the Iraqi people are the only ones who can create a democratic Iraq; Middle Eastern Australians are the victims of racism created by the war hysteria.

Endorsed by Australian Arabic Council, Australian Manufacturing Workers

Union, Catholic Mission, CFMEU, Edmund Rice Centre, Free the Refugees

Campaign, Chilout, Independent Education Union, Jews for Ethnic Tolerance, Coalition for Justice for Refugees, Labor for Refugees, Liquor Hosptiality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, Palm Sunday Committee, Refugee Action Coalition, Wayside Chapel, Labor Council of NSW, Australian Services Union (NSW & ACT), Maritime Union of Australia, Show Mercy, Independent Education Union, CEPU (T&S) NSW Branch, Nurses Association

Contact: Ian 0417 275 713; Tamara 0405 224 070; Amanda 0408 057 779

[email protected]

Amanda Tattersall

[email protected]

0408 05 7779

*****************************

White Bay Power Station Conservation Management Plan

- HISTORY

White Bay Power Station commenced operation in 1917 to supply power to the Sydney railway and tramway system. Extensions to the original structure and new equipment were added over the following decades to meet the demands of the expanding Sydney domestic electricity market.

White Bay Power Station has experienced several phases of demolition and reconstruction culminating in the destruction of the second Boiler House in 1976. This signalled the end of White Bay as a major Sydney Power Station. It was called back into service throughout the early 1980s to help meet peak winter electricity demand and supplement production from the Liddell Power Station. White Bay Power Station was shut down on Christmas Eve 1983 and decommissioned in 1984. It was the longest serving power station in metropolitan Sydney.

Today, White Bay Power Station is seen as an important part of the heritage of the Rozelle/Balmain area. Its powerful industrial aesthetic makes it both an important local landmark and a source of inspiration. Recent uses of the site include filming of the second instalment of the film 'The Matrix.'

- THE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

Design 5-Architects have been commissioned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority to produce a Conservation Management Plan for the White Bay Power Station. As part of this study, Context Pty Ltd are undertaking a Social Significance assessment. This is designed to gain an understanding of the significance the site holds for communities associated with White Bay. Context Pty Ltd are particularly interested in speaking to former employees of the White Bay Power Station.

- INVITATION TO FORMER EMPLOYEES

Context Pty Ltd needs the help of former employees of White Bay Power Station in order to establish the significance of the site to those who worked there. On the weekend of October 26th / 27th 2002 Context Pty Ltd, in association with Design 5-Architects will be hosting a workshop for former employees of White Bay Power Station. Former employees are invited to participate in a focus group to discuss their memories of White Bay and help us to understand the significance it holds for them.

The workshop will commence with a tour of the facility and conclude with a 'Back to White Bay' barbecue. The weekend will coincide with the Electrical Trades Union's centennial celebrations to be hosted at the Sydney Town Hall on the evening of Saturday October 26.

The workshop will provide an opportunity to talk about your memories of White Bay Power Station and catch up with other former employees. If you worked at the White Bay Power Station or know someone who did, we would love to hear from you.

- Contact

Libby Riches at Context Pty Ltd, Ph: (02) 9318 0699

Email: [email protected]

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