
Issue No 81		08 December 2000

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News

Workers Blow Whistle on Secret Melbourne IT Sell-Off

The University of Melbourne has been accused of breaching its own processes over the float of Melbourne IT, the only outfit authorized to hand out 'dot com' domain names in Australia.

The action moved into the court this week with the National Tertiary Education Union lodging a claim in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal

The Union, which represents staff off Australian universities, argues that the float of Melbourne IT, and the resulting paper profits flowing to members of the University Council, raised a number of serious questions about the ways in which Council decisions are made, and the relationship between university governance and commercial decision-making.

`It's in the public interest that questions about the decision-making processes at the University are resolved, ' NTEU national president Graeme McCulloch says..'

`The University of Melbourne is a public university established under state legislation and receiving over $300 million each year in Commonwealth funding," he says.

"Its considerable assets have been developed primarily through public support. Therefore, the community has a strong stake in how it is governed and how its assets are managed.'

McCulloch says he hopes the case will contribute to greater transparency and accountability in the operations of universities more generally.

"With universities increasingly behaving like corporations and using `commercial-in-confidence' provisions in relation to financial decision-making, it is important that staff and students are able to participate fully in decisions that affect their teaching and learning environment."

"It is also important that the general public is confident that such decisions are being made in the best interests of the public university. We believe this case is important in reinforcing those principles."

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  Issue 81 contents

Interview: Back to Work
After a stretch of unemployment following the 1996 election, former Keating Minister Robert Tickner is now helping others find work.

Media: Reality Check
Aiden White, head of the international journalists' union, argues that online journalism presents a new set of challenges for organising.

Economics: In the Same Boat
In an unprecedented move, a coalition of industry, community and trade union groups have joined forces to address long-trerm unemployment.

International: Nepalese Hotel Workers Ask for Support
Hotel workers in the small Himalayan nation of Nepal have finally decided to vent their anger and call a general strike for Monday - over a 21 year old dispute.

Unions: Speaking in Tongues
Labor Council's Mark Morey outlines the successful campaign by local government workers for a community language allowance.

History: Fighting Words
The anti-conscription campaign of 1914-18 tore the ALP apart; but this was not the first time the labour movement took a militantly anti-war stance.

Politics: A New Socialism
In an extract from his new book, political economist Frank Stilwell argues the need for a new radicalism to counter the Third Way

Satire: Roy Slaven on the Rampage
John Doyle's history of the ABC stretches back to a 1958 evening in Lithgow on which he was "scared shitless" by Blackboard on Mr Squiggle.

Review: Mauled in the Bear Pit
Vengeance may be sweet but it is always made better when you are able to write a book about yourself that also provides the opportunity to dump a bucket load on those who undertook your removal.

» Vale Cliff Dolan: A Lifelong Commitment

» Bussies Buck Up Over Lane Cheats

» Tassie Brings Home the Bacon on Call Centres

» Howard Sinks Merchant Navy

» Rural Line Drawn on Telstra

» Don't Rain on our Family Picnic Day

» ACTU Living Wage Case Begins

» National Action Hits Manufacturing Sector

» TWU Calls For Mayor to be Charged

» Workers Blow Whistle on Secret Melbourne IT Sell-Off

» Help Us Win a Gong!

» Reith Sacked Over Telecard Affair

» 2001: A Tipster's Odyssey