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Issue No. 286 21 October 2005  
E D I T O R I A L

Lord of the Lobster Legs
It was probably only shame that prompted the Prime Minister to drag himself away from a $250 per head fundraiser to meet with a group of emergency workers in Wollongong this week. But, this in itself may be a development.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Under Fire
Michael Crosby outlines his agenda to save the movement � and explains why Australians have nothing to fear from the SEIU.

Politics: And the Winners Are ...
Wal King, Allan Moss, Roger Corbett, Chip Goodyear, Michael Chaney and David Murray have lots in common, writes Jim Marr.

Industrial: Un-Australian
Labour lawyer Clive Thompson argues the changes to IR are fundamentally at odds with the national tradition of consesensus.

Economics: The Common Wealth
As the policy wonks debate the future of our cities, Neale Towart mounts a simple argument: It�s the real people in a society, stupid

History: Walking for Justice
The Eight Hour Day, a very Australian celebration, had its origins in New Zealand it seems, writes Neale Towart.

International: Deja Vu
A group of trade unions have walked away from America's peak council, again. Labourstart's Eric Lee was there.

Legal: The Rights Stuff
Terror laws have sparked a fresh debate on a Bill of Rights - and workers have a bigger stake than ever before, writes Rachael Osman-Chin.

Review: That Cinderella Fella
Russell trades the phone for mitts in an inspiring cinematic slug-fest. Nathan Brown is ringside

Poetry: Is Howard Kidding?
Mel Cheal asks who Howard thinks he is kidding to the tune of the �Dad�s Army� theme song.

N E W S

 Family Grieves an Enterprise Worker

 All Quiet in Dandenong

 Hotline Gets Wires Crossed

 High Flyer Crashes Families

 Bolt Strikes Lecturer

 Good Heavens - Della Plays Santa

 Maori Take Challenge to Canberra

 Drips Fail Water Test

 Hardie Shuts the Door

 Hadgkiss Threatens Protesters

 Army Fires Salvo

 The Munro Doctrine

 IR Sparks Emergency Call

 Tassie Jobs Hit By Truck

 Canberra Coy on Promised Statements

 Inquiry to Speak No Evil

 Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
No Place For A Woman!
Doreen Borrow spoke to the Public Service Association�s women�s conference in September about her experiences of working life that span seven decades.

Postcard
North By Northwest
Phil Doyle returns from up north, where he survived on nothing but goodwill, good people and a great big orange bus.

The Locker Room
Disaster
In which Whatsisname slams the recent poor form of Thingummyjig.

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Our favourite MP, Ian West MLC, gets all casual in his latest missive from the Bear Pit.

L E T T E R S
 Sacking For Dummies
 DIY Tool
 Thus Spake Sydney Uni
 Morgan�s Way
 Vote 1 Dictator
 Howard�s Choice
 Buying peace Of Mind
 Coolies Bullish
 Unfair ads
 Rev Kev Speaks
 Politicians
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Bolt Strikes Lecturer


A uni lecturer targeted by right-wing columnist Andrew Bolt could lose his job while another who says black people have crime in their genes keeps his.

RMIT lecturer Dr Robert Austin, who was criticised in an article by Bolt for his stance against voluntary unionism in August, is fighting to save his position with the university.

Victorian secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, Mathew McGowan, says that while no clear reason for Austin's potential dismissal has been offered by the RMIT, questions over his future with the university were raised after the article was published.

"He has certainly had the Andrew Bolt article waived in front of him by management," says McGowan.

A RMIT spokeswoman says the university is unable to comment on individual cases.

Austin's decision to reschedule his classes to allow student to attend the Students National Day of Action Against Voluntary Unionism on August 10 was described as "bullying" in Bolt's article.

"If the University is moving to sack Austin because of an Andrew Bolt article it indicates an extraordinary crisis in Australian tertiary education," says McGowan.

He also says Austin's treatment has been far harsher than Sydney based academic Associate Professor Andrew Fraser, whose support for the reintroduction of the White Australia policy just before the student protests, while causing him to be banned from teaching students at Macquarie University, has not meant the loss of his job.

"It is an interesting parallel that someone can maintain their employment relationship under [Fraser's] circumstances while someone mentioned in an Andrew Bolt article faces the termination of their employment," says

In July Fraser claimed that "an expanding black population is a sure-fire recipe for increases in crime, violence and a wide range of other social problems" in a letter to a Sydney newspaper. He also wrote that Chinese immigration directly threatened "social, political and economic interests of ordinary Australians and their children" in an email to a Woollahra councillor, David Shoebridge.


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