Issue No 98 | 01 June 2001 | |
NewsCompo Protest Virtually Ignored
The NSW Parliament has rejected more than 300 statements of protest against the state's workers compensation laws because it refuses to recognise online petitions.
The print outs of the online petition were amongst more than 21,000 petitions tabled in the NSW Legislative Council by Labor MLC Ian West on Tuesday. But when West went to officially present the petitions to the procedural Office of Legislative Council, he was told the Parliament "does not and has never" accepted email-generated petitions. The Labor Council's Michael Costa says it's time the NSW Parliament entered the 21st Century and recognised Internet activism. "Our campaign on workers compensation had a strong focus on online activism and many ordinary workers used the technology to email MPs directly with their concerns and also used the online petition facility," Costa says. "The Federal Parliament already accepts online petitions - the NSW Parliament should follow suit as a matter of urgency if it wants to be a credible forum for public debate. Talks Continue as Workers Keep the Heat On Meanwhile, L:abor Council negotiator have been continuing to talk turkey on the proposed Della Bosca changes to the state's workers compensation system. Labor Council has now put some detailed propositions on their preferred dispute resolution process to Della Bosca this week. A response is expected next week. On Tuesday, the government was sent a reminder of the depths of worker anger, when an estimated 5,000 construction industry workers braved horrendous conditions to march on State Parliament. While a planned statewide strike had been deferred after the Government agreed to refer contentious areas of the Della Bosca package to further consultation, the building industry unions rallied to raise their specific concerns over workplace safety and employer non-compliance.
|
Interview: Balancing the Books Opposition Finance spokesman Lindsay Tanner on bringing a Labor agenda to managing the nation�s finances. Compo: Undampened Spirits Despite atrocious weather, building workers took to the streets this work over the carnage in their workplace. Mark Hebblewhite was there. Unions: Giving Blood Local government workers are mounting a campaign to have leave to give blood donations recognised in their award. Women: A Checklist for Women Voters With a mountain of demands on Australian working women, the biggest question could well be which is the biggest? History: May Day Meditation May Day has been and gone, but we thought Peter Linebaugh�s take on its meaning was worth reading on all the other days too. International: The Weeks of Living Dangerously The now almost inevitable fall of Indonesia�s President Abdurrahman Wahid could have drastic consequences for the increasingly militant working class movement in that country. Economics: No More Mr Nice Guy In his new book, Steven Keen outlines why the public needs to know that economics is intellectually unsound. Satire: NZ to be Disbanded Following the successful disbanding of the armed forces the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, has unveiled a new bold plan to total disband the entire nation. Review: Action in the House Workers Online�s Big Brother Addict argues the time has come for the contestant�s to take some industrial action.
Notice Board View entire latest issue
|
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/98/news12_compo.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |