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Issue No. 157 18 October 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

End of Ignorance
The tragic events in Bali have touched all Australians, brought the human face of terrorism into our lives and created a few brief moments of political bi-partisanship.

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

 No Night Shift for Sunset Workers

 Workmates Back Kamal�s Right to Pray

 Unions Target Corporate AGMs

 Nurses Short-Changed On Parking

 Abbott Makes Grab for Broken Hill

 Unions Get Ready to Wobble

 Brogden Flags Assault On Injured Workers

 �Build a Life� Gathers Steam

 The West Gets with the Best

 Child Carers Get $18 Living Wage

 Victorian Workers Rally for Kingham

 Woolies in Redundancy Fight

 Unions Call for Peace

 Clown Nearly Shuts Darwin Hospital

 Teachers Eye Historic ATSIC Alliance

 Support Grows for US Waterfront Workers

 Work Stress Kills The Healthy

 Unions Back Sinn Fein Mandate

 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
 Talking Frankly
 Memo to Junior
 Defence Signals
 Pandora's Box on Prayer?
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Letters to the Editor

Talking Frankly


Dear Sir,

While the possibility of Frank Sartor not only aspiring to, but also actually grasping the position of Minister for Local Government in Carr Labor Government, is not without the realms of possibility, one would require an extremely colourful imagination and one more creative than Edgar Alan Poe to contemplate such an achievement being attained through his election to State Parliament.

One can onlyspeculate that a man who has alienated so many, could survive the mudslinging of an election campaign, particularly when one has provided ones enemies with ample ammunition.

It would be more likely, that Frank Sartor would only succeed in this venture, by following the path of others who were also unelectable in their own right, gaining positions through the method of political 'Noblesse Oblige' and as a camp follower, follow the many other part hacks and unelectable into the upper house. This upper house being state equivalent of what Paul Keating referred to the home of unelectable Swill.

Personally, I was disappointed that an asset such as Frank was not, through an N40, endorsed as the candidate for Penrith. This would have offered an opportunity for many, including my own family, to fully participate in this election, through active and effective campaigning returning with interest and satisfaction the debt we owe the Mayor of Casterbridge.

Alas! We will continue to wait at the water hole, for even the highest flying bird must return to drink.

Or as they say in the Illawarra, 'A bird in the Hand is worth two in the Bush'!

Roll on March 2003.

Tom Collins


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