Issue No 86 | 02 March 2001 | |
Letters to the EditorPardons in Perspective
It is not the role of the Australian labour movement to defend Bill Clinton but his dubious pardons should be put into perspective. There is a long-standing American tradition of issuing pardons to those who have supported a President or his party either by their activism or with donations. Take one Robert Wendell Walker Jnr. He was pardoned for bank robbery offences by Republican President Reagan when he left office in 1981 and he had earlier received a pardon from the Oregon Governor in 1977 for state offences. He is now charged with murdering his wife, dismembering her body and burning it in his backyard. American politics has little to commend it, yet we continue to adopt their policies, from private prisons to the selling off of essential public utilities. Noel Baxendell
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Interview: Master of Opposition Over the past five years, John Faulkner has turned the Senates Estimates structure into his own House of Pain. He explains the art of Opposition. Politics: Beazley the Bridge Builder? As the Howard Government flounders, Brett Evans looks at the challenges Kim Beazley faces as his hour of destiny approaches. Unions: Lashing & Loathing at Patricks Three years since one of the Howard Government�s most infamous episodes, the Waterfront War, Zoe Reynolds discovers how casuals are now doing the doing the dirty work on the docks. Legal: Workers Without Rights Mark Morey outlines the legal status and (lack of) rights for foreigners in Australia on working visas. International: Dispatch from the Dispossessed Mahendra Chaudhry, Leader of the People's Coalition and the Fiji Labour Party comments on this week�s court decision. Economics: Business Power and Mobility The US election season makes it patently clear how Big Business is able to transform its financial resources into political power via campaigncontributions. History: The Spoilers and the Split The Movement, Groupers, the DLP and The Doc. All have been blamed in various ways for the ALP split in the 1950s, ensuring the ALP was kept out of federal government until 1972. Can One Nation return the favour? Review: The New Hard Politics Dennis Glover argues that policy has taken over from spin as the political battleground of the new century. Satire: Bradman Latest: Family In Dramatic Court Action The family of the late Sir Donald Bradman yesterday sought a restraining order against Prime Minister John Howard after it became apparent that he wants to be involved in every single detail of the The Don's funeral.
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