LL:DDV: Korea report
You are invited to hear the report of the recent Australian unionists visit to Korea At the Australia Asia Worker Links general meeting On Tuesday 7 December, 6pm At 124 Napier Street Fitzroy Other reports: East Timor, Malaysia, PNG All welcome *** Australia Asia Worker Links PO Box 264 Fitzroy Victoria 3065 Australia Tel: 03 9419 5045 Fax: 03 9416 2746 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: what's on the stick together show this week....
The Stick Together Show Week beginning: 30/11/99 Duration: 27' Starts: Theme as per usual Ends: "...see you next week." + Theme as usual -- National community radio's weekly look at issues of industrial workplace justice. The Stick Together Show is produced at the studios of 3CR, with the assistance of the Search Foundation. For details of where you can hear the program, see end of page. Posties concerned over privacy at work At the busiest time of year for mail centres, Australia Post employees are angry that they are being asked to spend their time filling in an extensive survey about which they have grave concerns in relation to privacy and the use to which detailed personal health information gathered will be put by a leading private health insurer. "Jenny" talks to 3CR's Emma Calancini. WTO talks Global resistance to the World Trade Organisation's Ministerial Meeting currently occurring in Seattle is on the increase from a broad range of environment, labour and ngo groups. We speak to: Damian Sullivan - Friends of the Earth Ted Murphy - NTEU For information / with information or to purchase tapes of the program, contact: Meredith Butler [Producer] phone - (03) 9419 8377 fax - (03) 9417 2247 e-mail - [EMAIL PROTECTED] [please mark: "attention: stick together show"] post - STG, c/o 3CR, PO Box 1277, Collingwood 3066. Where you can hear the show...Melbourne, on 3CR 855am, Saturday at 10.30am, repeated Monday at 6am - Gippsland, on 3GCR, Thursdays at 11.30am - Canberra, on 2XX, Tuesdays at 6pm - Katoomba, on 2BLU, Wednesdays at 5.30pm - Omeo, on 3HCR, Tuesdays at 6pm - Adelaide, on 5UV, Wednesdays at 2pm - Sydney, on 2SER. Wednesdays at 8pm - Brisbane, on 4ZZZ, Tuesdays at 1.30pm - Woomera, on 5RRR - Perth, on 6RTR - Alice Springs, on 8CCC -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: ANTI-UNION LEGISLATION PUSHED BACK...BUT...
Anti-union legislation pushed back...but... The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, December 1st, 1999. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "The Guardian": [EMAIL PROTECTED] Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au Subscription rates on request. ** The release last Monday of the report of the Senate inquiry into the Howard Government's "second wave" industrial legislation shows that major aspects of Reith's amendments have been rejected by both the Labor Party and the Democrats. An ACTU press release says the report makes clear that most of the Bill has no hope of passing the Senate and that Reith's "second wave" has suffered a "crushing defeat". The Democrats have rejected all of Reith's "headline" changes including removing further conditions from awards, making it easier for employers to impose AWAs on employees, further restrictions on industrial action, including the requirement of secret pre-strike ballots, and measures which would make it harder for unions to recruit, organise and represent members. Senator Andrew Murray (Democrats) says that "the Democrats cannot support at least two-thirds of the Bill because it reduces essential protection for workers. "Much of the Government's proposals are too harsh and very significant amendments would be needed to deliver fair law. These proposals may yet prove unfixable", said Senator Murray. There are a number of other areas where the Democrats would consider further negotiations with the Minister. ACTU President, Jennie George said that "Mr Reith's agenda has been beaten this time but the ACTU will remain vigilant..." Coinciding with the release of the Senate report, the ACTU organised actions in main capital cities last Monday and launched a TV advertising campaign which aims to alert the community to the job insecurity, casualisation and the reduction of working conditions now being experienced by many workers. Jennie George said that the TV campaign "is only the start of our long term commitment to making the public aware that the problems they feel in their workplaces are being made worse by the Federal Government's attacks on the award system and job security. "Working people need real issues to be addressed by the political parties", she said. "While this setback for the Government's agenda is welcome", CPA General Secretary, Peter Symon told "The Guardian", "the first wave legislation remains with its savage restrictions on trade union action. The penalties for almost any sort of strike action and the limits on the right of unions to represent and service their members make it extremely difficult for trade unions to function freely. "It is to be hoped that the ALP, the Democrats and Green's Senator Bob Brown, will combine to make opportunities to force amendments to the existing legislation next year. The repeal of anti-trade union sections of the Act are essential", he said. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: WHAT'S BEHIND THE MEDICARE LEVY
What's behind the Medicare Levy? The following EDITORIAL was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, December 1st, 1999. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "The Guardian": [EMAIL PROTECTED] Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au Subscription rates on request. ** The Howard Government, riding on the wave of support for military and economic assistance to the East Timorese people, has taken the opportunity to implement policies which would not otherwise be so readily accepted. It is on this background that the Government has imposed a special Medicare levy on those with incomes above $50,000 per annum to help pay for the cost of Australia's military force in East Timor. This is definitely not the way to fund such expenditures. The Medicare levy should be retained solely for health purposes. Once this precedent is established what is to stop Medicare being milked for other "one-off" needs? The Government imposed a "one- off" levy to pay for the gun buy-back -- again using the popular demand that something be done to reduce the number of automatic weapons in the community. The special Medicare levy is being sold as a "fair and reasonable" way to bring in money but this is far from being the truth. Most families with incomes of around $50,000 a year are by no-means well-off. There is no thought by the government of extracting the funding from those corporations and banks now recording obscene, record profits: they will not pay one cent towards helping East Timor. There will also be substantial tax cuts handed out to the wealthy next year when the GST comes into effect. The claw back of a few dollars by way of the special one year Medicare levy is peanuts compared to the extra money high income earners will have in their pockets as a result of those tax cuts. Furthermore, the special levy to pay for the East Timor operation would not have been necessary at all if the Government had not squandered $1.7 billion of taxpayers' money by way of subsidies to entice people to take out private health insurance. This Medicare levy shows all the hallmarks of a Government that is incapable of any long-range political and economic planning except when it comes to finding ways to manipulate the economy for the benefit of its private enterprise mates. Taxes are to be increased for low income earners by way of the GST while allocations for public health, education, housing and other necessary services continue to be pared back. In terms of international relations it means the Government making Australia a deputy sheriff of the United States and adopting an interventionist policy in Asia. All this is now being justified under the umbrella of public sentiment in favour of helping East Timor. There are plans afoot to substantially increase military expenditure and build up Australia's military forces both in manpower and hi-tech weaponry. A Defence White Paper is to be released next year and it is absolutely certain that it will recommend increased military expenditure. The East Timor operation will also be used to justify a policy of intervention in Asia generally. We will be told that Australia has a key role to play in Asia and that because of our "strength" Asia needs Australian intervention to solve its problems. Future problems could well be provoked on the Korean Peninsular, in connection with the reunification of China and Taiwan, or as a result of further political changes in Indonesia. How the independence movements in Aceh, West Papua and other areas of restlessness and revolt develop could be used as justification for Australia to muscle in. It should never be forgotten that both the Liberal Coalition and the Labor Party strenuously backed the Suharto military dictatorship in Indonesia and supported the invasion of East Timor and its annexation by Indonesia. Only when this policy was blown out of the water with the overthrow of Suharto by the Indonesian people, and with the independence struggle of the East Timorese, did the Government change its policy. The leaderships of the Liberal and Labor parties have not changed their fundamental position. They now pose as champions of freedom as they pursue their imperialist and deputy sheriff role, riding the wave of genuine groundswell support for East Timor's independence. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
