
Issue No 44		03 March 2000

Tool Shed

The Mad Monk

Tony Abbott wins his spot in the Tool Shed this week with a classic piece of union bashing.

The seminary trained, far Right bovver boy flexed his muscles as Howard's employment services minister when he heard that the Labor Council had struck a strategic partnership with Job Futures.

With the same finesse that he once used to collapse scrums as a frontrower at the finishing school to elite yobs, Riverview, and now uses to spruik his Work for the Dole final solution for no good layabout pot-smoking bludgers, Abbott came swinging at the deal withthe same fists that won him an Oxford Blue in boxing.

There's no union alliances in my network, he screamed, in kneejerk reaction to revelations the agency would provide job seekers information about trade unions.

He began to look silly when news emerged that the Employment Advocate was paying Job Futures to promote non-unionism. He looked even sillier when employer representatives came out with statements that the deal looked good to them.

But, a little skeleton in the Mad Monk's closet, has consolidated his position as a fully fledged Tool. Back in the late eighties while working as an outspoken hack with an increasingly obscure weekly rag called The Bulletin, Abbott revved up his comrades in the then AJA to walk out on strike in support of a redundancy deal.

In fact, for many years Abbott flaunted his membership of the journalists union as proof of his working class credentials, all the while gravitating towards the centre of the Federal Libs.

How these vows of solidarity sat with his party's orgy of union bashing once it came to power is just one of the mysteries lurking between his cauliflower ears.

So for all these reasons - and many more besides - we present you Tony Abbott, the Mad Monk, to doodle with this week. Give him a dog collar. Give him a facelift. Give him heaps!

Best new look gets a Howard's End T-Shirt.

Go to the Tool Shed.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 44 contents

Interview: The Big Fella
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley speaks about Labor�s evolving relationship with the trade union movement in the post-Accord era.

Unions: An Interactive Resource
The priority for unions in the 21st century is organising and growth. Greg Combet�s unions @work report identified the direction unions should be moving.

Media: Public Hearings
As the big media players look increasingly tarnished, the broadcasting minnows like FBi are seeking their share of the airwaves.

History: Labour History Under Siege
In good labour tradition, the history section of Workers Online begins the year with a call to arms.

Olympics: Games Greed Boosts Homeless Numbers
'Homeless in Sydney' is shaping up to be the theme of the Olympics with many property owners evicting tenants and pushing up rents.

Women: No Time To Be Casual
International Women�s Day is a day to take action. As a shop steward or union delegate why not use IWD as an opportunity to encourage the women in your workplace to join the union?

International: Serbian And Kosovo Unions Meet
The Italian metalworkers has hosted meetings on how to build a different future for the workers in the Balkans.

Labour Review: What's New
Read the latest issue of Labour Review our resource for students, activists and officials.

Review: Rock and a Hard Place
A hippie festival? Alternative? No way...the music festival know as the Big Day Out (BDO) is fast becoming a mainstream youth cultural event, a snapshot of the broader society that unions are struggling to engage.

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» LaborNet A Step Forward in Democracy

» From the Lorry to the Creche, We're Watching

» Penal Provisions Against Teachers Condemned

» Auditor General Moves on TAFE

» Yahoo! Under Fire for Union Censorship

» Unrest Bubbles Over Coke Sackings

» Jennie To Sign Off Online

» Basic Goods Sought for East Timorese

» Western Sydney Added to Campus Tour

» Pay Equity Update

» STOP PRESS: Mac Attack Tuesday