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| Issue No 82 |  |
20 December 2000 |
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NewsMad Monk's Secret Union Past
New workplace relations minister Tony Abbott led strike action against Kerry Packer's Australian Consolidated Press while working as a journalist.
Abbott was one of the ringleaders in the stike action, which took place in the early 1990's over the sacking and failure to pay redundancy to an ACP photographer. This was when Abbott was still a hack on The Bulletin magazine and a paid-up members of the Australian Journalists Association. Our MEAA source tells us that Abbott was vocal at the stop-work meeting and was one of the first out the door when strike action was called. In another celebrated incident Abbott moved a motion to accept a wages deal from ACP against the recommendations of union officials. The rebel-rousing right-winger argued against the unions' criticism that the 1988 deal involved a no extra claims clause for technological change. When the change inevitably came, the ACP staff were left to cop in sweet. By then, Abbott was off fighting other battles, that have led him all the way to Canberra and the job of workplace relations minister. Better than Reith? The intriguing question for the labour movement is whether the change in minister will lead to any percptible change in style. The ACTU is welcoming the exit of Reith and has offered the olive branch to Abbott, saying they want to work contructively with him. But Labor Council of NSW secretary Michael Costa has warned that Abbott, while intelligent is 'immature' and likely to keep fighting Reith's ideological war. ALP IR spokesman Arch Bevis describes the appointment as a massive reward for the right wing of the Liberal Party. "Remember, the Reith agenda was the Howard agenda and Abbott is a Howard acolyte who has tried to make his name as an apprentice head-kicker and looks set to continue his career with the divisive Reith industrial relations agenda," Bevis says.
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   Interview: Being Michael CostaLabor Council�s secretary on the 2KY sell-off, the Olympics and his plans for the future. Unions: Millennial MilestonesIn a year of highs, some trade union stories stuck in the collective consciousness. Here's ten of the best. International: Eric Lee's Year in ReviewThe editor of Labourstart looks back on the global issues that mobilized labour in the past 12 months. Organising: Dispatches from the FieldDespite the 'Botsmanesque' critiques which have been levelled at Organising, it would be hard to deny that the year 2000 has seen more and more unions in NSW latch onto the approach - at least in principle anyway. Economics: Who Gets Gold??At the end of this Olympic year, Sydney Uni's Frank Stilwell charts the winners and losers in the new sport of redistribution of income. Politics: Election 2000: The Winner is GridlockIn the last in his series on the US Federal Election Campaign, Michael Gadiel, our roving reporter, gladly signs off. Satire: Chaser Launches BookIn the great tradition of repackaging old material to cash in on Christmas, the team from The Chaser & Silly 2000 has produced its first book. Review: Cultural WastelandThe spotlight was on Australian culture in 2000. But was it a missed opportunity, asks Peter Zangari.
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