E D I T O R I A L

Moral Majority
Unions NSW is currently hosting one of the world’s great thinkers in Robert Reich; academic, commentator and Clinton labour secretary; a man with a mind as big as the dilemmas progressive politics face right now.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Minority Report
New federal ALP industrial relations spokesman Stephen Smith on the hostilities in store for the labour movement.

Industrial: Girl Power
Tim Brunero looks at how women are making their mark in a once-male dominated trade.

Unions: Made in NZ
Jim Marr looks behind the rhetoric to uncover what the Howard Government has in store for Australian workers.

History: Spirit for a Fair Go
Paddy Gorman looks at the importance of Eureka on the Australian political psyche.

Economics: Fool's Gold
Tom Bramble identifies some contradictions in Howard's economic miracle.

Politics: Worth Fighting For
One of the Left's most influential figures of the last 40 years gives his theory of power ...

Health: The Force Behind Medibank
Public health has always been a core activity for the union movement, writes Neale Towart

Legal: Robust Justice
Former ACTU executive member and textile union leader Anna Booth argues that Alternate Dispute Resolution is one way around the looming assault on union rights.

International: After the Revolution
Has China entered a post-revolutionary phase - and where will it take the world, asks James Goodman

Poetry: The Sound of Unions
Ah, the hills are alive, with The Sound of Unions, muses resident bard, David Peetz

Review: Bad Santa
Billy Bob Thornton's newest role puts the 'nick' in Saint Nicholas and reveals the Satan in Santa, writes Tara de Boehmler.

N E W S

Moral Crusade to Save Family

20 Dead – Stockmarket Applauds

Karen Gives Howard a Paint Job

Buckeridge Bill Blocks Entry

Casual Beach Closures

Railworkers Scull Costa

Racism in the Dock

Go Home Alone – And Other Survival Tips

Vet Beats Bullet

Cleaners Clean Up

Weekend Work Wiped

Miners Go to the Movies

Feds Attack Low Paid

Activists What's On!

C O L U M N S

New Matilda
How Labor Lost the Plot
In his contribution to Australia's new political zine 'New Matilda' , Father Michael kelly argues the ALP is in search of a soul.

The Soapbox
Outside the Tent
Labor exile Lindsay Tanner is warning the ALP to be careful who it gets into bed with.

The Locker Room
Sons Of Beaches
Phil Doyle gets the perfect wave, and waves back

Politics
The Westie Wing
150 years since the struggle at Eureka, the fight to achieve social justice, equality and responsible government is just as vital as ever in the neo-conservative Australia, writes Ian West.

Postcard
Postcard from Harare
Ken Davis, from Union Aid Abroad, on how unions are at the forefront in the battle for democracy in Zimbabwe

L E T T E R S

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Buckeridge Bill Blocks Entry

Workplace Relations Minister, Kevin Andrews, confirmed his government would restrict union rights of entry provisions, effectively overturning a federal court ruling against multi-millionaire, Len Buckeridge.

Andrews promised, last August, that a re-elected Coalition Government would trump a decision that AWA employees were entitled to on-the-job access to union advice and assistance.

CFMEU assistant national secretary, Dave Noonan, tagged this week's legislation the "Buckeridge Bill".

"Buckeridge was using AWAs to deny workers rights to union access. What the federal court found was illegal, this government is moving to make legal," Noonan said.

The WA case was sensational because it undermined arguments that AWAs were about freedom of choice. It revealed Buckeridge's company, BGC, bound sub-contractors to employ AWA labour only.

The court heard the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) was registering fraudulent AWAs, and green-lighting others lodged outside the time limit set in law.

In uncontested evidence, industry veteran Alan Kuret, said a non-union AWA had been registered in his name although he had never seen nor signed the document.

He said when he refused to sign a pre-dated AWA, his employment had been terminated.

Justice French rejected Buckeridge's argument that the CFMEU was not entitled to enter Burrup Fertelisers to speak with workers on AWAs.

Buckeridge has become a Hard Right hero for his aggressive moves to deunionise workplaces.

He was awarded the HR Nicholls Society's Charles Copeman Medal for services to industrial reform, after being convicted of assaulting a union activist.

In accepting that award, Buckeridge revealed he had drawn up a "hit list" of trade unionists who had earned his ire.

Andrews announced this week he would move well beyond the construction industry by over-riding state right of entry rules, across the board.

Meanwhile, the CFMEU says the OEA has not taken any action over the fraudulent registering of AWAs.

"This government says it has a no tolerance policy towards law breakers. Clearly, that doesn't apply if you are an employer," Noonan said.

The Queensland Council of Unions has urged all state governments to oppose the Federal Government's proposed "right of entry" laws which would severely curtail the day-to-day work of unions.

QCU General Secretary Grace Grace said the proposed laws were unworkable and unnecessary.

"Right of entry has never been an issue in workplaces and there is simply no need for the government to impose these laws.

"Unions play a vital role when visiting workplaces by ensuring, amongst many things, that employees are being paid correctly and that the workplace is a safe one."

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005