E D I T O R I A L

The Passion For Power
Arguably Midnight Oils� greatest ever song �Powderworks� starts off with the apocalyptic warning "there�s a shit storm a-coming."

The Passion for Power
Arguably Midnight Oils� greatest ever song �Powderworks� starts off with the apocalyptic warning "there�s a shit storm a-coming."

F E A T U R E S

Interview: The New Democrat
Canadian activist Judy Rebick explains how she's using lessons from Brazil to rebuild the labour movement.

Bad Boss: The Ugly Australian
Prime Minister John Howard is in California spruiking the "merits" of this month�s Bad Boss nomination �

Unions: Free Spirits and Slaves
International capital demands guest labour � legal or illegal � as a way of beating down wages and conditions and, as Jim Marr discovers, the Australian Government seems happy to oblige.

Industrial: National Focus
Noel Hester reports on another workplace death (we-will-not-RIP NOHSC), heartburn for the Canberra consensus and all the action from around the states in our national wrap.

History: A Class Act
The problem of forgetting the primacy of class in favour of other ideas of community is highlighted in a new book, writes Neale Towart

International: Across the Ditch
NZ Nurses Union leader, Laila Harr�, is in Sydney this week, comparing notes with the Australian Nurses Federation and seeking transTasman support for New Zealand�s highest profile industrial campaign.

Economics: Home Truths
Sydney University's Frank Stilwell argues that tax policy is driving the housing boom.

Review: No Time Like Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is one part Grim Reaper of the environmental movement and two parts fictitious fable dramatically window dressed with extreme special effects, writes Tara de Boehmler.

Poetry: Silent Note
Resident Bard David Peetz uncovers the current public service motto � "Don't tell the Minister!".

N E W S

Making Plans For Nigel

People Importer Wants Indemnity

Desperate Ambos Turn to Copper

Victims Dusted in Asbestos Row

Delos Bang Victory Gong

Teaching 12 Percent Tougher

Now Carr Faces Medical Bill

Officers Hurt in Transit

Support Unit Makes Canberra Debut

Winter Beds Breakthrough

Workers Wait For Bread

HoWARd the A**sLIcKEer

Activists What�s On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
The Pursuit of Happiness Part I
The Australia Institute's Clive Hamilton questions the assumptions underlying a society that defines happiness in dollar terms.

The Soapbox
The Pursuit of Happiness Part II
Clive Hamilton concludes his analysis, looking at how more and more Australians are pulling back from a marketplace that is no longer providing the goods.

The Locker Room
Sack �Em All!
Phil Doyle puts his job on the line, but doesn�t everyone these days?

Politics
The Westie Wing
The NSW Government has an agenda on the table but the test is finding innovative ways to finance it, writes Ian West

L E T T E R S

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Desperate Ambos Turn to Copper

Angry NSW ambulance officers have lashed out at a "chronic" situation that saw one of five ambulances "waiting beds" dispatched from nearby Liverpool Hospital without its trolley to attend the critically injured pedestrian.

A woman died after a police officer was press-ganged into driving an ambulance following a road accident in Liverpool, last week.

Angry NSW ambulance officers have lashed out at a "chronic" situation that saw one of five ambulances "waiting beds" dispatched from nearby Liverpool Hospital without its trolley to attend the critically injured pedestrian.

Officers are threatening industrial action if the situation in the state's emergency departments is not improved.

On the night, one set of officers was forced to leave its patient on a trolley at Liverpool while it rushed to attend the road accident, where the pedestrian was discovered with severe head and chest injuries.

The ambulance officers "did what they could" but had to press gang a police officer to drive their vehicle back to Liverpool as they had no trolley and had to hold an unsecured spinal board on the floor of the ambulance.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead on arrival at Liverpool Hospital.

"The officers weren't in a position to give optimum care," says Health Services Union of Australia (HSUA) state secretary Michael Williamson. "Emergency crews should be able to respond to emergencies instead of 'babysitting' patients while stuck five deep at a hospital emergency department."

"This is a chronic problem that need s a long term solution."

Williamson has called for an improvement to hospital discharge policies to free up more beds and address the 'blockage' in the system.

The union also wants an increase in patient transport officers to free up qualified paramedic staff to attend emergencies.

Ambulance officer delegates will meet this week and have flagged industrial action if there is no move to address their concerns.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005