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The Great Repression
In a rare outbreak of candour in Federal Parliament this week we have seen the Prime Minister admit the five-day week is going out the door and his leader of business, Tony Abbott, blow kisses across the House.
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.
Nobody Expects the Construction Inquisition
Howard in Redundancy Raid
States Sidestep Wage Hurdle
Catholics Bless Day of Action
PacNat Bids to Railroad Future
Feds Authorise Invasion
Howard Censors Workers
Sol Plays Dumb Card
Boycott Hangs Over Hardie
Directile Dysfunction
Pirates Face Kofi Break
Miners Don�t Dig Safety Levy
Keep the Spirit Alive
Activist's What's On!
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�
Just AWBul
Convict Costello
We're Just Serfin'
Take Warning
Smells Familiar
Howard's Gas
Andrews' Operandi
To the Shredder
Stop Violence
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Evatt Foundation
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Letters to the Editor
Just AWBul
I think it is unfair of federal opposition to accuse the federal government of any wrongdoing where AWB is concerned. (Saddam was always going to be good to make a buck or hundreds of millions out of)
Take Telstra for example, the PM, Treasurer and Communications Minister don't seem to have a clue about how it operates, despite a 51.8% stake in the company, so why would they have any idea about AWB's activities (especially since they no longer have a direct stake in the company).
You've got to admire their love of privatisation and it's free market philosophy - it allows government to step back every time there are kickbacks. See no evil, hear no evil.
Just wait until the IR reforms are passed - the standard Howard Government response to company's behaving badly toward employees will probably be 'we have no control over what companies try to do in their own best interests, they're not perfect and they make mistakes'. Or, 'we can't be held directly responsible for the death of workers because a company decided to cut costs in order to compete, that is just the nature of the market'.
Cynical, I know - but the PM seems to have carved a career out of being artfully vague when circumstances suit.
John McPhilbin, NSW
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Issue 289 contents
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