E D I T O R I A L

Australian Idols
It was a week for the little people as Casey won Australian Idol and Rebecca beat the railways. In entertainment and politics it was a young woman from the burbs who ran rings around the pros.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: The Reich Stuff
Robert Reich has led the debate on the future of work – both as an academic and politician. Now he’s on his way to Australia to help NSW unions push the envelope.

Economics: Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Environment: Beyond The Wedge
Whether the great forestry divide can ever be overcome or whether it is best sidestepped for the sake of unity and sustainability in other areas is up for debate, writes Tara de Boehmler.

International: The End Of The Lucky Country
Linda Weiss, Elizabeth Thurbon and John Mathews show us How To Kill A Country

Safety: Tests Fail Tests
Nick Lewocki from the RTBU lifts the lid on the shonky science behind RailCorp testing

Politics: Labo(u)r Day
John Robertson lets fly at this years Labor Day dinner

Human Rights: Arabian Lights
Tim Brunero reports on how a Sydney sparky took on the Taliban and lived to tell the tale.

History: Labour's Titan
Percy Brookfield was a big man who was at the heart of the trade union struggles that made Broken Hill a quintessential union town writes Neale Towart.

Review: Foxy Fiasco
To find out who is outfoxing who, read Tara de Boehmler's biased review of a subjective documentary about corrupt journalism.

Poetry: Then I Saw The Light
Brothers and sisters! Praise the Lord! Brother George has saved the White House from an invasion by infidels, writes resident bard David Peetz.

N E W S

Helicar Fingers Victims ... Again

Rabbits Sick of Clover

What a Banker

Pack Up and Go Home

Pratt By Name

Horror at the Hacienda

Women Wiped for Bush Jobs

Veteran Fights Bullet

Tunneler Survives Death Trap

Bathurst Three Face Court

Chullora Cuts Struck Out

Bully Breaks Heart

Southern Cross Flies High

Activists What's On!

C O L U M N S

The Locker Room
In Naming Rights Only
Phil Doyle has Gone to Gowings

The Soapbox
Homeland Insecurity
Rowan Cahill tells us how the Howard Government’s appointment of Major-General Duncan Lewis to head up the national security division of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has received little critical comment, until now.

Parliament
The Westie Wing
New proposed legislation in NSW provides a vital window of opportunity for unions to ensure they achieve convictions for workplace deaths, writes Ian West.

L E T T E R S

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Southern Cross Flies High

The defining moment that shaped Australian working class politics will be celebrated with a series of events that are expected to draw large crowds.

The trade union movement has been heavily involved with commemorating the historic occasion when Australians first rallied under the banner of the Southern Cross with a number of activities scheduled over a week of celebrations.

The Eureka stockade was a "significant event in the history of both the trade union movement and the movement for democracy," says Andrea Maksimovic from the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC). "Nearly 150 years ago, a defining moment in Australia's working class history occurred: the Eureka Rebellion.

"Today, the Eureka spirit lives on, inspiring a sense of a 'fair go' in all Australian workers.

"The Eureka Rebellion goes to the core of what trade unionism is about: - the right to be heard; the right to oppose tyranny and oppression; to put all on the line and stand together for what you believe in.

"All members of the community are invited to participate in a range of events to be held between the 22nd of November and the 5th of December."

The lasting symbol from the Eureka rebellion is the distinctive "southern cross" flag the miners fought under.

"The Eureka flag is a potent symbol for such struggles and the reason many unions identify so closely with it," says Maksimovic. "The union movement has no monopoly ownership of the Eureka flag. It is the people's flag, but unionists closely identify with its history and what it represents."

Highlights of events scheduled for the week include:

Monday 29 November 11.00am Haymarket Roundabout (top end of Elizabeth St) Melbourne City Council/ Trade Union hoisting of giant Eureka Flag. 2.00pm Union Commemoration Event Flag raising Federation Square. Simultaneous flag raising at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, Latrobe Valley at 2pm.

Thursday 2nd December - evening 'A Night Under the Southern Cross' at the Eureka Compound, Ballarat.

Friday 3rd December -- Dawn ceremony at Eureka Compound 10.30am Ballarat Building Unions Picnic (brought forward from Monday 6 December) at compound. Band, Jump Castle, BYO.

Sat 4th December - - 2.00pm March the route of the Diggers at Ballarat.

150th Anniversary of Eureka Rebellion 2004

On Sunday 28th November Sydney will celebrate Eureka Stockade with a forum and concert at the NSW Writers' Centre in Rozelle.

The day will start with a morning forum on the significance of Eureka with two guest speakers. One will be Dr Anne Beggs Sunter, Ballarat authority on the history of the Victorian goldfields and the Eureka Stockade. The other is Sydney historian Bob Walshe. Bob was secretary of the 1954 Sydney centenary celebration of Eureka and has been promoting the importance of Eureka in Australian history since that time.

In the afternoon there will be a Eureka150 concert based on historical and contemporary themes of Eureka. It will feature well-known artists including Lyn Collingwood, Alex Hood, Carole Skinner and John Dengate They will be backed by New Theatre and the voices of the Sydney Trade Union Choir.

www.eureka150.net

The $10 charge for the day includes morning tea and a sausage sizzle lunch.

For further information contact

Bob Walshe - 9528 0444; fax 9528 4445

Paula Bloch - 9665 0559; Email [email protected]

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URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/248/news9_cross.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005