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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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Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
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Letters to the Editor
Howard's Gas
Once upon a time in the jungle, tigers hunted the herd of deer. The tigers killed a few deer, as other deer took turns to keep watch while most of them grazed. Both the tigers and the deer ate enough to survive and reproduce.
One dark night, a strange noxious gas blew through the jungle. Overnight, the deer lost their herding ability and became solitary animals. Each deer had to look out for tigers, while trying to snatch enough food to survive. The deer lost weight. As the tigers were able to kill more deer, the tigers became wasteful and ate only the tastier parts. Over time, the deer population declined, with the tiger numbers also falling.
The noxious gas will be the Howard Government's proposed changes to industrial relations changes.
Employees will lose the support provided by unions and some employers will exploit them. The social fabric of Australia will be irreversibly damaged. The Howard Government's propaganda asserts that it will not remove current entitlements, but it will certainly provide employers with the weapons to do so.
Mark Witcomb, SA
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Issue 289 contents
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