The eight-day trial against seven people facing charges relating to a February 2006 protest against Kerry Packer聮s taxpayer-funded state memorial has concluded with the dismissal of one or more charges against each defendant. Four defendants decided to plead guilty to one minor charge each.
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The federal government must take a 聯strong and principled聰 approach to opposing the death penalty whenever and wherever it is applied, former ALP national president Barry Jones told a public forum attended by more than 100 people on April 19. The forum was organised by Australians Against Capital Punishment.
Failed state
"I have told the American people often it is best to defeat them there so we don't have to face them here ... That's one of the major lessons of September the 11th. In that case, there was a safe haven found in a failed state, where
new front in the battle against the Howard government聮s anti-union laws has opened with a push by federal workplace relations minister Joe Hockey for local councils to sign their employees up to the new Work Choices legislation.
A snap candlelight vigil was held on April 20 against PM John Howard聮s proposal to ban refugees and migrants with HIV/AIDS from entering Australia. The protest, attended by around 100 people, was organised by National Union of Students queer officer Peter Johnson and endorsed by the Queer Students Network, Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) Sydney and the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC).
It now appears certain that the ALP鈥檚 national conference, to be held in Sydney from April 27-29, will drop the party鈥檚 鈥渘o new uranium mines鈥 policy, adopted in 1998.
This will satisfy the big mining companies鈥 desire to expand uranium mining. Labor leader Kevin Rudd and his 鈥渓eft-wing鈥 deputy, Julia Gillard, are leading the push to scrap the policy.
Workers at Wangaratta fabric manufacturer Bruck Textiles defeated a second attempt by management to implement a non-union agreement in votes held on April 19 and 20. Bruck tried to entice workers to sign its sub-standard non-union agreement with a 3% annual pay increase that wouldn聮t even keep up with inflation.
Civil rights and anti-war activists rallied around Australia on April 21 to demand immediate freedom for David Hicks and the closure of the US鈥檚 military prison in Guantanamo Bay.
It is 20 years since the release of Australia Reconstructed, a policy report that came out of an Australian unionists聮 tour of Western Europe in 1986. It is also 25 years since Australia On the Rack was published by the metalworkers聮 union (now the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union - AMWU). Back on Track - A Way Forward for Australia is the latest such policy offering.
PERTH 鈥 Woodside Petroleum shareholders were greeted by protesters representing the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Friends of Australian Rock Art at the Perth Convention Centre on April 19. FARA's message to Woodside's annual general
Around 1000 workers rallied in Musgrave Park on April 20 to oppose the Howard government鈥檚 Work Choices legislation, under the theme 鈥淭ime鈥檚 Up鈥.
The federal Coalition government is proposing to bar the entry to Australia of migrants and refugees with HIV, supposedly to contain HIV rates.
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