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Issue No. 186 11 July 2003  
E D I T O R I A L

Beyond the Possible
For a union movement that is struggling to break through the constraints of time and place, the visit of US union leader Amy Dean this week has been a breath of fresh air.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: As They Say In The Bible ...
One the movement�s great characters, Public Service Association general secretary Maurie O�Sullivan, is calling it a day. He looks back on his career with Workers Online.

Industrial: Just Doing It
Sportswear giant, Nike, is the first company to sign off on an agreement that purports to protect Australian clothing workers, wherever they labour, writes Jim Marr.

Unions: Breaking Into the Boys Club
For a 23-year-old woman who has never worked in the trade, recruiting young construction apprentices into the union has its challenges, reports Carly Knowles.

Activists: Making the Hard Yards
Mal Cochrane came to the smoke as part of an Aboriginal avalanche that redefined the face of Rugby League. Today, he serves his community through the trade union movement.

Bad Boss: In the Pooh
What do you give a boss who makes his workers labour in raw sewage? A nomination for the Tonys.

Unions: National Focus
In the national wrap Noel Hester finds a Victorian Misso delo who is redistributing lucre from Eddie McGuire into workers� theatre, South Australian unions taking that Let�s Get Real stuff seriously, an American unionist fronts up at a distinguished �meeting of the brains� in Adelaide and a look at the line up for ACTU Congress.

Economics: Pop Will Eat Itself
Dick Bryan wonders if we can be insured against pop economists promising financial nirvana as well as financial market instability.

Technology: Dean for President
Paul Smith looks at how the internet is helping one Democrat candidate to the front of the primary pack

International: Rangoon Rumble
Union Aid Abroad's Marj O'Callaghan looks at Australia's weak response to developments in Burma.

Education: Blackboard Jungle
Lifelong learning shouldn�t mean cutting jobs, but that's exactly what the Carr Government is proposing, argues Tony Brown

Review: From Weakness to Strength
Labor Council crime-fighter Chris Christodoulou catches up with his boyhood hero, the Incredible Hulk

Poetry: Downsized
Resident bard David Peetz pens the song the Industrial Relations Commission needed to hear

N E W S

 Stop Thief: Shelf Company Owes Millions

 Axed Workers Take on Max

 Seven Bowls Bouncer at Umpire

 Smokescreen Clouds Morris McMahon Win

 Rail Boss Locked In

 Actors To Be Paid Their Dues

 Ruddock Urged to Block Immigration Scam

 Silicon Workers Seize Their Valley

 Wage Case Swings on Fare Go

 Fire, Pepper Spray all in a Day�s Work

 Taking It Up for Medicare

 Shelved Worker Fights Back

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Cleaning Up
Rabbi Laurie Coskey from San Diego adds her voice to the global campaign for just for cleaners in Westfield malls.

The Locker Room
The Name In The Game
In an age of the sportsperson as celebrity it seems that names are overtaking the games, writes Phil Doyle.

Postcard
The Beach
Southern Thailand�s terrorist activities: facts or fiction asks HT Lee

L E T T E R S
 Union Posters
 Tom's Lessons
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Taking It Up for Medicare


Rugby League fans will be asked to blow the whistle on John Howard�s plan to scrap Medicare at the third State of Origin on Wednesday.

Dozens of Save Medicare activists from PHHAMAQ, the Queensland umbrella group uniting consumers, unions, health care workers and community organisations, will rally outside the refurbished Lang Park, asking footy fans to sign petitions.

PHHAMAQ spokesperson, Beth Mohle, confirmed supporters bearing petitions would be outside and inside the ground.

The move follows overwhelming support from Brisbane rugby league supporters for last year's nurse's wage claim. Prior to 2002's first State of Origin encounter, more than 5000 people added their names to a nurse's petition with, at one point, the state premier's car being held up by people queueing to sign.

PHHAMAQ has identified inadequate public hospital funding, the undermining of bulk billing, co-payments, and increasing out-of-pockets expenses as key planks in the Prime Minister's campaign to undermine Medicare. There is also widespread concern amongst public health supporters about the billions of dollars being sucked out of the system each year by Federal Government's private healthcare rebates.

Mohle called on Queenslanders opposed to US-style health care to contact PHHAMAQ with personal accounts of how they have been disadvantaged by the drive towards user-pays.

The organisation wants Australians to tell their stories to the Senate Inquiry which will be examining the issue in Brisbane next month.


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