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Issue No. 288 04 November 2005  
E D I T O R I A L

Terror Laws
It was poetic really, the WorkChoices legislation, all 1,000 plus pages of it, introduced into Federal Parliament this week under the cloak of terror.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Public Defender
The CPSU's Stephen Jones has confronted the Howard Government's IR agenda at close quarters.

Legal: Craig's Story
An inquest in western NSW is a cautionary tale of the use of AWAs, writes Ian Latham

Unions: Wrong Way, Go Back
The WorkChoice legislation sends Australia down the wrong economic road by smashing the instittutions that have made it strong, argues Greg Combet.

Industrial: WhatChoice?
The Howard Government has shown itself to be the master of illusion, writes Dr Anthony Forsyth

Politics: Queue Jumping
The changes to industrial laws, betray a new vision of Australian society, writes James Gallaway.

History: Iron Heel
Conservative governments using laws to take away basic civil rights. It's nothing new, writes Rowan Cahill

Economics: Waging War
When was the last time you heard an Australian politician talk about incomes policy, asks Matt Thistlethwaite

International: Under Pressure
The push for UN intervention in Burma is intensifying, following a report by Vaclav Havel and Bishop Desmond Tutu into slave labour.

Poetry: Billy Negotiates An AWA
More and more people are meeting Billy, the hero of page 15 of the WorkChoices booklet, including our resident bard, David Peetz

Review: A Pertinent Proposition
Nick Cave's "Australian western" touches on some themes still relevant today, Julianne Taverner writes.

N E W S

 D-Day For Political Rights

 Bosses In Sack Race

 �Choice� By Decree

 Howard Barges Into Workplace

 Della Grounds Boeing

 Wal-Mart Sees the Light

 Libs Chicken Out

 Shame Ships Filch Fish

 Multis Line Up to Cheer

 Feds in Dock

 Santoro Waves Red Rag

 Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Men and Women of Australia
What makes a perfect speech? Michael Fullilove has scoured Australian history to find out.

The Locker Room
The Hungry Years
Phil Doyle gets the feeling we�ve been here before

Culture
From Little Things
Paul Kelly's song about the battle for land rights misses one important character, writes Graham Ring

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Ian West takes a look at Public Private Partnerships, and wonders if we should all just drink rum�

L E T T E R S
 We're Next
 Australia, 2005
 Truth in Advertising
 Investment Advice
 What a Woman!
 It's Not Pretty
 Screwed
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Shame Ships Filch Fish


Flag of convenience ships are pillaging Australian fish stocks as part of a billion dollar rort, according to a report jointly sponsored by unions, environmentalists and a federal government agency.

The report says human rights are being thrown overboard, citing the suspicious fire last month aboard the Simiez in the Uruguyuan port of Montevideo, in which 11 Chinese crew members died.

Abuses cited in the report include forced labour and the abandonment of crews in foreign ports.

General Secretary of the International Transport Federation, David Cockroft, said that a clear violation of human rights was taking place on illegal fishing vessels. He said abuse of crews and appalling safety standards were exacerbated by the sometimes harsh and dangerous weather conditions faced by fishing vessels.

"Not only is flag of convenience fishing a threat to fisheries and the marine environment, but there is a deadly human cost," says Cockroft. "In many cases the vessels operate with an unprotected workforce who can be beaten, starved, and worked without pay - all out of sight in one of the world's most dangerous industries."

The report found the illegal fishing business is worth around US$1.2 billion, yet it costs only a few hundred dollars to buy a flag of convenience registration for a vessel.

Approximately 15 per cent of the world's large-scale fishing fleet is either flying flags of convenience or the identity of the flag is unknown.

The federal government has backed flag of convenience shipping, through single voyage permits, as a way of slashing maritime labour costs.

The Changing Nature of High Seas Fishing: How Flags of Convenience provide cover for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing report was sponsored by the Australian Government, the global transport union body, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and WWF, the global conservation organisation.

To view the report go to http://www.itfglobal.or


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