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A Capital Idea?
The trade union�s hierarchy will travel to Melbourne to celebrate the ACTU�s 75th Anniversary next week; a journey that says much about where our peak body has come from and even more about where it should go now.
Interview: Life After Keating
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd looks at the world and wonders what might have been ...
Industrial: That Friday Feeling
Anthony Stavropoulos has been working six days a week for the last eight years and now he wants his weekends back. �Remember that Friday feeling?� he asks. �You just don�t get that anymore.�
Bad Boss: Begging to Work
They may put themselves about as the Saints of the Fourth Estate, but bosses at the Big Issue Magazine have been nominated by their own vendors for this month�s Tony award.
Organising: Project Pilbara
Sydney University�s Bradon Ellem reports on how unions are bouncing back in Rio territory
Unions: Off the Rails
The Federal Government is attempting to turn NSW Railways into a political football with a proposal that threatens the safety of freight and passenger trains in NSW and life in our rail Towns, writes Phil Doyle.
International: Brazil Turns Left
Union stalwarts throughout the American hemisphere are cheering the election of Lula � the peanut seller and shoeshine boy, turned union leader - who has been elected as the first working-class President of Brazil.
Environment: Brown Wash
Stuart Rosewarn argues the Johannesburg Sunmmit was a gripping showcase of Australia�s lack of a strategic vision.
History Special: Learning from the Past
Ray Markey looks at union membership growth in the 1880s & 1900s to argue that today�s unions must engage to grow.
Corporate: Will the Bullying Backfire?
Job insecurity, unemployment, a growing gap between rich and poor, massive global poverty and environmental danger are the big issues for the protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Sydney.
Technology: Danger Lurks For The Passive
If unions fail to exploit opportunities on the web to gain members, other organisations are likely to fill the void and provide services to workers on the internet.
History: In Labour�s Image
Neale Towart looks at a long-overdue initiative to around NSW through the eyes of the workers.
Politics: Without Power Or Glory
South Coast contributor Rowan Cahill gives his take on the Cunningham by-election result.
History Special: A 'Cosy Relationship'
Barbara Webster looks at Rockhampton between 1916 � 1957 to debunk the �dependence� theory of trade union growth.
Culture: Blood Stains the Wattle
Former Queensland Treasurer Keith De Lacey has turned up in print with a rollicking tale of life during the famous Mt Isa strike of the 60s.
Satire: Iraq Pre-empts Pre-emptive Strike
Saddam Hussein has launched a pre-emptive strike on the United States to prevent it from pre-emptively striking Iraq first.
Poetry: The Executive Pay Cut
Executives accepting pay freezes, or even pay cuts? This outrageous proposal has been put on the table by some capitalists themselves, and taken up by our bard.
Review: Time Out
When a family man invents a new life after losing his steady job, Tara de Boehmler watches his charade escalate until there is no turning back.
 Scourers Face Q-Fever Risk
New Vehicle for Entitlements
It�s War on Bullies!
Drivers Pack Down For World Cup
Howard Shrugs off Spanish Shame
Hunted Teacher Tells of Colombian Terror
Cole Bias Appeal Still On Cards
Extra Care To Beat Terrorist Threat
Strains Increase for Aged Care
Trades Hall Welcomes Bracks IR
Rail Campaign Gathers Steam
Workers Win Computer Games
Wine Workers Front Bosses
Regional Job Loss Fear At Unis
Canberra Get In On Outworkers ACT
Hounding of East Timorese �Shameful�
WTO Staff Begin Pay Revolt
Activists Notebook
Month In Review
War and Pieces of Work
The Bali Tragedy dominated the news this month, leaving many questioning the motive and wondering if this is fallout from Australia�s unquestioning support of George Dubya�s �War On Terror�. The Soapbox
Beware of Greeks Bearing Historical Allusions
Roland Stephens argues that the current popular line that the USA is a modern day version of the Roman Empire is flawed. The Locker Room
Over The Fence Is Out
Phil Doyle warms up for another season of hard hitting and fast bowling in the park, making the rules up as he goes along. Indigenous
The Sea of Hands
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation are five years old. Spokeswoman Dameeli Coates addressed labor Council to mark the event. Postcard
Tokyo Youth Call
Tokyo unions are relying on young organisers to infiltrate workplaces as part of a major organising campaign, which focuses on non-unionised companies, reports Mary Yaager. Bosswatch
Still Crazy After All These Years
With new research suggests CEO carry similar personality traits to psycho-paths, the AGM season is proving that there�s little room for logic in our nation�s board rooms.
Big Issue - Begging To Differ
WTO Fallout
Internet Surveillance Research
Offensive Clowns
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News
Cole Bias Appeal Still On Cards
The CFMEU is weighing an appeal against a Federal Court decision it says undermines the credibility of Royal Commissions.
National Construction Division secretary John Sutton says Justice Catherine Branson's rejection of the union's bias application against Building Industry Royal Commissioner Terence Cole is a "blow" to Australians who believe Royal Commissions should be "fair and independent".
The union had sought Cole's dismissal on the grounds of bias, or apprehended bias, after public hearings in which more than 90 percent of time was taken up by anti-union topics. Conversely, only three percent of the Commission's time dealt with subjects reflecting poorly on industry employers, despite evidence dozens of them were involved in phoenixing, tax evasion, undermining safety standards, rorting wages or employing illegal immigrants.
Even the ATO furnished evidence that tax evasion and phoenixing were widespread in the industry.
The union had argued before Justice Branson that Cole's decision to hand down an interim report with recommendations for a taskforce, before hearing union testimony, was premature and evidence he had prejudged the issues.
Sutton said the judge had made it clear in her decision that she was not ruling on the day to day conduct of the Commission or Counsel Assisting, with regard to their fairness or accuracy.
"If it is not the role of the courts to ensure that Royal commissions are fair, then whose role is it?" Sutton asked.
"It should be of concern to all Australians that some Royal Commissions, it seems, are above the ordinary law."
The Building Industry Royal Commission was established by Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott, on the basis of an 11-page report he received from Employment Advocate, Jonathan Hamberger.
Hamberger made a series of allegations against building unions in that document but conceded he didn't have evidence to support them. In the course of 10 months of public hearings, the most outrageous Hamberger allegations were not even addressed by Counsel Assisting the Commission.
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Issue 162 contents
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