E D I T O R I A L

Polls Apart
The tragic bombings in London may knock industrial relations off the front pages over the next few days, but it is unlikely to end the groundswell of opposition to the Howard Government's mad grab at workers' rights.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Battle Stations
Opposition leader Kim Beazley says he's ready to fight for workers right. But come July 1, he'll have to be fighting by different rules.

Unions: The Workers, United
It was a group of rank and filers who took centre stage when workers rallied in Sydney's Town Hall, writes Jim Marr.

Politics: The Lost Weekend
The ALP had a hot date, they had arranged to meet on the Town Hall steps, and Phil Doyle was there.

Industrial: Truth or Dare
Seventeen ivory towered academics upset those who know what is best for us last week.

History: A Class Act
After reading a new book on class in Australia, Neale Towart is left wondering if it is possible to tie the term down.

Economics: The Numbers Game
Political economist Frank Stilwell offers a beginners guide to understanding budgets

International: Blonde Ambition
Sweden can be an inspiration to labour movements the world over, as it has had community unionism for over 100 years, creating a vibrant caring society, rather than a "productive" lean economy.

Training: The Trade Off
Next time you go looking for a skilled tradesman and can’t find one, blame an economist, writes John Sutton.

Review: Bore of the Worlds
An invincible enemy has people turning against one another as they fight for survival – its not just an eerie view of John Howard’s ideal workplace, writes Nathan Brown.

Poetry: The Beaters Medley
In solidarity with the workers of Australia, Sir Paul McCartney (with inspiration from his old friend John Lennon) has joined the Workers Online resident bard David Peetz to pen some hits about the government's proposed industrial relations revolution.

N E W S

Then There Were Three

Dad's Choice Goes AWAL

OEA Invokes Sgt Schultz

CFMEU Resists Standover Tactics

Tall Tales and Two

Corrine Throws Stones

Cardinal Adds Weight to Concerns

Bosses: Unions Beat AWAs

16 Hours to Recover Worker

Choice Gets Confusing

Attack Derailed In Qld

PM Pulls Rank On Ads

HT Lee Gravely Ill

Activists Whats On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
State of the Union
Unions NSW secretary John Robertson lifts the lid on ‘The Nine Myths of Modern Unionism’

The Locker Room
Wrist Action
Phil Doyle trawls the murky depths of tawdry sleaze, and discovers Rugby is behind it all.

Culture
To Hew The Coal That Lies Below
Phil Doyle reviews Australia's first coal mining novel, Black Diamonds and Dust.

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Our favourite State MP, Ian West, reports from Macquarie Street that the Premier is all the way with a State Commission.

L E T T E R S

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Hits the Mark

Some of what Mark Latham has to say is spot on. Whilst he directed a stream of invective at his former colleagues, let's not forget he made some pithy comments that were right on the mark.

The ALP at a state level is going well. That's a given. One can however be forgiven for thinking that the state branches have been 'running dead' when it comes to federal elections. Factional carve-ups have led to a series of predicably poor candidates and the 'small target' theory simply hasn't worked. If you can't be identified as a clearly alternative government, then you run the risk of appearing as a pale imitation of the current government.

It seems that a number of our federal Labor colleagues don't mix too regularly with people who might have views opposite to their own. Add to this the fact that ALP branch meetings are almost totally devoid of discussion or debate and you can see that there needs to be an injection of something stimulating into the ALP mix.

Latham was an interesting experiment and we should not be too quick in dismissing him as a 'labor rat'. He tried and failed. But it was not his failure alone. We all failed to win the last election and the last couple before that.

The fact that Howard has run an agenda based on fear - economic and international - should not divert us from the task of attempting to sell ourselves as a credible alternative.

So, take a cold shower and digest some of the criticism. Analyse - in the cold light of day - the substance of what has been said, and reflect on ways to get Labor back into government. Then and only then will we begin the march back to regaining our seats on the treasury benches.

Phil Marchionni

(still a true believer)

NSW

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© 1999-2002 Workers Online
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URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/271/letters8_mark.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005