
Issue No 68		25 August 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Sticking Up For Family Values

How can you publish an article (IVF Debate) that obnoxiously ridicules the role of males in family life with lines like: "children will miss out on having an absent father who forgets to call on birthdays" and "Who will teach these children how to play football, how to burn sausages and how to get beaten to within an inch of their life if there is no father around."????

And don't go accusing me of having no sense of humour.

Would you publish a satirical article on the demise of the unionised worker that included lines like: "Who will now help the economy by taking twenty minute toilet breaks, taking six weeks holiday a year and striking when there is no cover for the smoko-room pool table" ????? I think not. Some things shouldn't be joked about.

The article was totally offensive to traditional working class values that emphasise the importance of family life. In this age of economic restructing many male workers have been left feeling useless in a world that seems to no longer need their labour, moves to allow IVF for single women can only exacerbate these feelings. I would have thought your editorial staff would be more sensitive to such concerns.

Neglect of the social values of working people and support of the 'individualism is King' social values of the baby-boomer middle class is the main reason the ALP has lost its traditional constituency and it would be a disaster to see this approach spreading to the other branch of the labour movement.

Yours in disappointment,

Ben Thorp.

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Issue 68 contents

Interview: New Unionist
Britain's Trade Union Congress secretary John Monks on life under Blair and why the future of unionism could well rest in Europe.

History: The Victims of Whiggery
George Loveless, the leader of the rural workers who became the Tolpuddle Martyrs, recorded his ideals and experiences in a pamphlet that brings his story to life.

Economics: The Final Station
Corporatisation was first introduced into Australia by the former Greiner Coalition government. What is 'corporatisation' and who should we hold to account under its prescriptions?

International: Massive Union Win in American Telecom
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced on Thursday a settlement with Verizon Communications ending a fifteen day strike by 87,000 telephone workers from Maine to Virginia.

Unions: A Vital Community Service
What keeps the engine of the Australian economy running? Manufacturing productivity, the stock market, exports? Try child care.

Satire: Putin copies Clinton: dead seamen stains reputation
MOSCOW, Tuesday: Russian naval authorities today faced staunch criticism, and the anger of a nation gripped by tragedy, as they conceded that all 118 Russian submariners trapped in the nuclear submarine, the Kursk, had died.

Review: Blow Up The Pokies
Whether it arouses public debate about Gambling is best left to the public but Peter Zangarri thinks Tim Freedman is on a winner with the Whitlam's latest CD.

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