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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

Multis Line Up to Cheer


Some of Australia's richest men have banded together to back John Howard's industrial relations changes.

Adverts paid for by the Business Council of Australia hit television screens, last week, picking up where the federal government's $45 million taxpayer-funded campaign left off.

The Business Council is an aggressive supporter of individual contracts andd stripping back the rights of Australians to contest unfair dismissals.

High profile members of the Council include Wesfarmers boss Michael Chaney, Qantas chief, Geoff Dixon, BHP head Chip Goodyear, Leightons CEO, Wal King, Macquarie Bank's Allan Moss and retiring Commonwealth Bank counterpart, David Murray.

Their latest reported annual incomes were $6.12 million, $3.022 million, $6.4 million, $35 million, $18.5 million and $5.5 million respectively.

While average Australian incomes have risen 26 percent over the past eight years, the BCA elite have helped themselves to 129 percent hikes, over the same period.

The BCA is made of chief executive officers from Australia's 100 "leading" companies.

It led a chorus of big business cheering when Howard introduced his Workchoices legislation, last week. The only reported dissenting voice came from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry's, Peter Hendy, who said the changes didn't go far enough.

The BCA has announced its "Four Steps" tv, radio, newspaper and billboard campaign will run through until early November.

The ads confirm that the Council's next campaign will be a push for slashed corporate and high-income tax rates.


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