
Issue No 56		02 June 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Time for Real Tax Reform

The reason for the silence of most of the trade union movement is easy to understand: it is because the Australian Labor Party supports the introduction of the GST. While the current ALP leadership have a policy of 'rolling back' the GST's worst excesses, this still leaves the tax in place to be manipulated and increased whenever conservative governments -- either Liberal or Labor -- choose.

The ALP is using it's influence and control within the Australian trade union movement to marginalise opposition to the GST. The ACTU, for example, has NOT called for any public meetings or demonstrations against this ruthless example of corporate greed.

The alternative is a policy for real taxation reform in Ausralia, where companies actually pay some taxes. Naturally, this scares the pants off many ALP ministers and politicians who like the tax-free perks that go with owning companies.

Australia not only needs a new tax system, it also needs a political alternative to the one party state we currently live in, where the ALP and the Liberals alternate in attacking the living standards of working people and the trade union movement. Australia doesn't need a third political party: it needs a second political party.

by grandstanding corporate juggernauts. It is a fight about the bottom line NOT being about squeezing every possible dollar from anything and everything.

John McCusker

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 56 contents

Interview: When the War is Over
Teachers Federation chief Sue Simpson has just come through the industrial dispute of a lifetime. But where to now for her members?

Politics: The Beazley Manifesto
Read the full transcript of Kim Beazley's Fraser Lecture develiered this week, where he unveiled Labor's new industrial relations platform.

Unions: Dudded on the Dock of the Bay
Until a few weeks ago Allan and Beverley Crelley had never ever heard of SERCO the big London multinational that specialises in winning contracts from governments committed to outsourcing their workers.

History: The Long March for Justice
Against the backdrop of the Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge that took place last Sunday, it is worthwhile recognising that trade unionists were actively promoting the issue decades ago.

International: UK Unions Turn the Corner
Union membership is on the rise for the first time in 20 years, indicating an early response to union recognition legislation set to come into effect next month.

Work/Time/Life: Flexible Clerks Save Hours
The Australian Services Union has successfully blocked an attempt by wholesaler Davids Limited to force clerical staff at the company's Blacktown office from flexible working hours to a standard 38 hour week.

Review: Who Really Won the War?
It might be being pulped for a reference to serial-suitor Peter Costello, but 'Waterfront' has sparked some lively debate about our recent industrial history.

Satire: Gosper's New Torch Role
A week after he was excluded from the Olympic torch relay as a result of public criticism, Kevan Gosper has been reinstated by SOCOG President Michael Knight for a special project.

» Long Service Leave Push for Short-Term Workers

» Carr Asked to Act on Fiji Crisis

» Major Blow to Government Outsourcing

» Beazley Blocks Contracts as Reith Hits New Wall

» Carr Makes Formal Offer on Olympics Pay

» Surfing Carnivals Highlights Beach Threat

» Mail Stopped Over Junk Deal

» CBA Staff To Strike Over Queues and Abuse

» Women's Bureau to Stay in DIR

» Joy's Winter of Discontent

» Advocate Pushes Pattern Bargaining

» Nike Versus The Workers

» New Safety Laws A First in Australia

» Workers March for Reconciliation

» Labour Movement Mourns Loss of Neil Marshall (11th June 1943 - 31st May 2000)