
Issue No 19		25 June 1999

News

Firey Country Conference to Fuel Bush Resurgence

Rural unions are approaching this week's ALP Country Conference as a first step in reclaiming the bush with resolutions on a social audit and industrial relations reform to become a rallying point.

Party members and trade union representatives will converge on Goulburn this weekend to debate how the Labor Government is looking after regional NSW.

Both the AWU and the CFMEU have put forwarded a raft of resolutions calling for a more active government presence.

Australian Workers Union secretary Russ Collison says his country members will be sending Macquarie Street a clear message that regional NSW needs to get a better share of government services.

Collison says the proposed social audit is one way of ensuring that coutnry NSW gets its fair share of government resources.

And the CFMEU has propososed a resolution endorsing the social audit which has already been accepted by the Party's Rural Affairs Commitment.

Newcastle Unions Speak Up

Unions from the Hunter region also plan to make their presence felt, the AWU Newcastle Division secretary Kevin Maher foreshadowed a heated deabte on the impact of budget cuts in his region.

Maher told this week's Labor Council meeting that 450 jobs would be lost from his area, a move that would have a dramatic impact on the whole community. He expects jobs to be lost in State Forests, National Parks and Wildlife, the RTA and the Department of Land and Water Conservation.

He says that while unions have been working hard to recruit ALP members in the bush, this week's state budget is likely to lead to some resignations. "I don't know what we should do with this mob," he said

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Issue 19 contents

Interview: Moore for the Battlers
NCOSS director Garry Moore gives the community sector's response to this week's State Budget

Unions: AWU's Bush Blitz
"This is AWU Country". That's the slogan for the Australian Workers Union as it launches its campaign to address the specific needs of workers throughout regional and rural Australia.

Indigenous: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
A United Nations committee slams Australia on indigenous native title rights.

International: Unions Post-War Stand
The world labour group demands KFOR track war-crimes authors and says social dimension central to Balkan reconstruction.

History: How Swede It Was
Swedish seafarers play an important role in South Australia's maritime history.

Review: If He Had Only Listened To Me ...
If Michael Thompson had listened to me the current debate raging in the nation嚙編 opinion pages about his book may not have been as hysterical.

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» Second Wave Means Zero Tolerance

» For Olympic嚙編 Sake Let嚙編 Become Weekend Warriors

» Brassed Off: Birch Not Out of the Woods

» No Ship is an Island

» Firey Country Conference to Fuel Bush Resurgence

» Pay Anniversary Marks New Challenges

» Join the Labor Council Team!