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The Mouse That Roars
A number of campaigns this week show how web campaigning is reaching a level of sophistication that is transforming it from a gee-whiz fad to a potent industrial tool.
Interview: Machine Man
It�s regarded as the most powerful job in the Party, but new NSW ALP general secretary Mark Arbib wants to build a bridge with the union movement.
Unions: Testing Times
Unions are not opposed to drug and alcohol testing, but they do want to see real safety issues addressed, writes Phil Doyle.
Bad Boss: Freespirit Haunts Internet
FreeSpirit forked out a motza for a whiz bang internet presence then disappeared right off the radar � once it was nominated as our Bad Boss for May.
Unions: Badge of Honour
Surry Hills is home to one of the world�s finest displays of union badges thanks to Bill "The Bear" Pirie and a supporting cast headed by Joe Strummer, Mark Knopfler, George Benson, Annie Lennox and other seriously big noises.
National Focus: Noel's World
Shrill bosses bleat over minimum wage rise, union spinmeisters congregate in Melbourne and Tassie�s nurses take the baton from their mob in Victoria reports Noel Hester in this national round up.
Economics: Safe Refuge
A humanitarian approach to refugees and an economically rational one?? I�d like to see that. Frank Stilwell did, when he went to Young in NSW to look into the impact of the Afghan refugees on temporary protection visas who came to work for the local abattoir
International: Global Abuse
Amnesty International have joined the chorus against the violation of trade union rights in the former Soviet republic of Belarus.
History: The Honeypot
To the Honeypot come those individuals anxious to get their hands on instant wealth. So it was in the early days of Broken Hill, wrties Grace Hawes in this homage to the mining town.
Review: Death And The Barbarians
This new take on coming of age films focuses on the coming of death and the dignity and maturity it can inspire among those touched by it - though not always easily in the overcrowded Canadian public health system, writes Tara de Boehmler.
Poetry: Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Resident Bard David Peetz uncovers some of the unfolding mysteries of talk back radio.
Casual Affair Costs Family
Dob a Driver Strikes Out
Crash LAME�s Smoking Gun
Axe To Fall On Skippy
Internet Replaces Crayons
Young Lives Crushed
Feds Move Goal Posts
Telstra Baulks at Two Percent
Crane Death Brings Fine
Worker Breaks Unwritten Law
Private Nurses Short Changed
RailCorp Wrecks Weekend
Thunderbirds Are Stop
Activists What�s On!
The Soapbox
Rethinking Left and Right Part 1
Dr David McKnight, from the University of Technology, Sydney presents a new frame for looking at the competing ideas within Social Democracy. The Soapbox
Rethinking Left and Right Part 2
David McKnight concludes the paper he presented to the �Rethinking Social Democracy� conference, in London, April 15-17, 2004. Sport
Out On A Limb
Phil Doyle becomes the first Australian journalist to state that the Olympics will be called off.
Politics
The Westie Wing
In the latest episode, Ian West explores what Disraeli called "Lies, damn lies and statistics". Postcard
Message from America
Searing snapshots from a landscape of uncertainty have plunged the Bush Administration into deeper crisis, writes WorkingForChange's Bill Berkowitz.
Reprehensible?
Justice For Victims Denied
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Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
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News
Axe To Fall On Skippy
The NSW bush is set to be ravaged by mini-budget cuts, according to Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) Field Officers.
The department has targeted approximately 300 jobs for the axe in the wake of the state government slashing its budget by $20 million.
According to the Australian Workers Union (AWU), which represents the DEC Field Officers, the department is moving to introduce a new award for its staff, which could see wages cut by as much as 35%.
Already staff shortages are seeing feral pests, such as the Lantana weed, overrun the states national parks. Budget cuts are also making it difficult for national parks to manage problems such as feral pigs and dogs.
"When you consider that some time ago the premier allocated a further 1.5 million hectares of National Parks and Reserves, to have the Carr government attempt to reduce the employment levels of DEC is absolutely outrageous," says Russ Collison, state secretary of the AWU.
John Cahill, secretary of the Public Service Association, shared the outrage, pointing out that many regional centres will be hard hit by the cuts.
"The Department's Regional Service Centres at Grafton, Dubbo and Queanbeyan are to close, with all jobs to go," says Cahill. "It is inevitable the effect that these cuts will have on Government's capacity to deliver on environmental protection."
Members of the public who enjoy spending time in the state's parks and reserves will also face a hefty slug, with the department set to raise an additional $14 million in revenue from fees and charges.
The NSW Labor Council is looking to meet with the DEC in order to address the concerns of staff.
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Issue 219 contents
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