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Issue No. 323 08 September 2006  
E D I T O R I A L

Double Jeopardy
As more examples of the human misery that is WorkChoices comes to light, the Howard Government is constructing a devious defence strategy that further erodes the independence of the public service.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Australia�s Most Wanted
The ACCC is the latest state agency to turn its guns on the construction union. National official, Dave Noonan, discusses the implications.

Industrial: The Fox and the Contractor
With new laws looming for �independent contractors�, Foxtel subbies have had the carpet pulled from under their feet, writes Nathan Brown.

Unions: Industrial Wasteland
A group of inner-Sydney veterans appear to be working to strip their families of retirement incomes. Jim Marr records their desperation.

International: Two Bob's Worth
German and British workers are participating in business decisions while WorkChoices locks Australians out of the conversation, writes Anthony Forsyth.

Economics: National Interest
John Howard claimed that interest rates would always be lower under a Coalition government than under Labor, Neale Towart crunchess the numbers.

Environment: The Real Dinosaur
Economic ignorance remains at the top and the critics are oblivious says Sol Power

History: Only In Spain?
The experiences of self management during the Civil War have been the one positive factor to come from that tragic event, and the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation thrives today.

Review: Clerk Off
Nathan Brown draws solace from some fellow social misfits.

N E W S

 All Work and No Pay

 Peking Ducks Safety Regs

 MPs Face Super Clean-Out

 Gas Man Won't Say What's Cooking

 Crane Boss Lifts Her Profile

 World Bank Hollers for Marshalls

 Pork Choices

 Medibank Sale Looking Crook

 Radio Rentals Off Air

 Finger Man Gives For Sale Sign

 Libs: Lay Off Our Oppressor

 Cleaners Mop Up a Big One

 15 Percent All Round - Super!

 Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

Legends
Westie Wing
MLC Ian West ventures beyond Macquarie St and into the desert of the eco rats.

The Soapbox
Testing Times
Former RLPA secretary and Newcastle Knights prop, Tony Butterfield, fires up over dawn raids.

Obituary
Dare to Win
The union movement has lost an inspirational leader of working men and women, writes Jeana Vithoulkas

Fiction
Tommy's Apprentice
Chapter Two - Tommy�s Tale.

L E T T E R S
 Wicked Ways
 Catch a Tube
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

MPs Face Super Clean-Out


Federal MPs who want to pocket 'rolled gold' pension benefits should retire at the next federal election or revert to community standard super under a radical plan floated by Unions NSW.

Unions NSW secretary John Robertson says that with community focus on politician's super, after the Prime Minister's decision to renege on his decision to cut benefits, a broader review is now required.

"I am proposing that any MP that wants to enjoy the exorbitant benefits of the old scheme should retire at or before the next federal election," Robertson says.

Under the pan, MPs who decide to stay would have their benefits re-calculated at the PM's new level of 15 per cent - a standard that should then be extended to the entire community.

"Apart from achieving parity with the community it would allow Parliament to clean out the dead wood and time servers who dominate our Parliament," Robertson says.

"Anyone who thinks a package of $120,000 with free petrol and air travel is totally out of touch with reality.

"In my experience it has never been a problem finding people wanting a seat in Parliament - the problem is with the current packages it is such a prize that often the wrong people are motivated to position themselves.

"Arguments about competing with the business community just don't wash - we want community leaders who reflect the morality of our society not high-fliers who are driven by the bottom line.

"If my proposal were adopted we would not only get a fair super scheme for our politicians, we would get an injection of fresh blood into an institution that desperately needs it."


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