Letters to the Editor

Conference to Heal Rifts in the Labour Movement

The man credited with taking the ALP into the 21st Century, Federal Shadow Minister for Finance, Mr Lindsay Tanner, will open a major labour conference in Wollongong in October.

Mr Tanner has agreed to deliver the keynote address at the 6th National Labour History Conference at Wollongong Town Hall on the Labour Day weekend (October 2 to 4).

Other speakers will include NSW Chief Magistrate and Chancellor of the University of New England, Dr Pat O'Shane, and Professor Eileen Yeo from the University of Sussex.

More than 400 delegates from Australia and overseas are expected to attend the conference organised by the University of Wollongong's Associate Professor (Industrial Relations) Ray Markey.

Professor Markey, the Illawarra branch president of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, which is hosting the event, said organisers were thrilled to have secured Mr Tanner as a speaker.

"He has played a major part in re-thinking the program of the ALP for the 21st Century," Professor Markey said.

"This is consistent with our intentions that the conference should not only celebrate the past, but also contemplate the role of labour and the community beyond 2000".

The conference will be a departure from past events. In keeping with the "community" theme of the weekend, cooperatives, friendly societies, church groups and the business community will be invited to participate along with academics.

"This conference is intended to be a festival - a historic and cultural event in its own right - and we hope that it will be part of a long healing process for the divisions which occur in the labour movement and the community," Professor Markey said.

Planned events include an evening with the Illawarra folk club, performances by labour and union choirs, films, an art exhibition at Wollongong City Gallery, book launches and a workshop on labour heritage and the identification of sites of significance in the region.

The conference has been financed extensively by the University of Wollongong. Other sponsors include the Australian Education Union, Joint Coal Board, NSW Nurses' Association and Croation Democratic Union. The Lord Mayor of Wollongong, David Campbell, also has pledged support.

Media please note: Registration brochures and further details may be obtained by contacting Rob Hood or Julie Chin at UOW's Department of Economics on (02) 4221 4105 or (02) 4221 4156.

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  Issue 21 contents

»	Aussies To Go For Gold in Foreign Uniforms?
»	Howard Warned: Time Ticking On Entitlements
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»	Air Attack - Qantas Telesales Under Fire
»	The Hills Are Alive - With the Sound of Pay Cuts
»	National Trust Places Green(back) Bans on Unions
»	Body Hire Campaign Hots Up
»	Attack of the Killer Skips Rocks City
»	A Holiday With a Social Consience
»	East Timor: Emergency Public Meeting Called

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Conference to Heal Rifts in the Labour Movement
»	Fabians Scour Poll Ashes
»	Holiday Confusion

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