Editorial

Stop the attacks on ATSIC

Stop the attacks on ATSIC The federal government has been busy preparing the ground for another round of attacks on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), and Aboriginal people in general. Recent new allegations of rorting

Running out of room

Running out of room There are at least two important messages to be drawn from the sharp decline in the Australian dollar, which last week fell to its lowest level ever against the US dollar. One is that the Howard government has been lying

A terrorist state

A terrorist state At 7.15pm on August 20, without warning, a series of massive blasts destroyed the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in the heavily populated northern suburbs of Khartoum, capital of Sudan. The factory's janitor and his family are

Compromising with racism

Compromising with racism When Senator Brian Harradine caved in and agreed to passage of the government's Native Title Act amendments through the Senate, he argued that this was necessary to avoid a "race-based election". The Labor Party, in

Watch out: here comes another 'reform'

Watch out: here comes another 'reform' We've had years of economic "reform" — deregulation and privatisation to benefit big business at the expense of the rest of us. We've had workplace "reform" — restrictions on workers' rights to organise

A GST is not 'reform'

Editorial: A GST is not 'reform' The federal government and big business argue that a goods and services tax is necessary because Australia is suffering a long-term decline in taxation revenue, which needs to be addressed if our health, education

The costs of corporatisation

Editorial: The costs of corporatisation On July 30, nine days after the parasites giardia and cryptosporidium were first detected in Sydney's water supply, all the city's residents were informed that their tap water was unsafe to drink. Despite a

Stop privatisation of Telstra

Editorial: Stop privatisation of Telstra Mal Colston, the ex-ALP senator, with the words “on balance ... at this stage”, derailed the Coalition's first attempt to fully privatise Telstra. Prime Minister John Howard, however, has not given up

A shameful betrayal

Editorial: A shameful betrayal When Prime Minister John Howard and Senator Brian Harradine announced the compromise that will ensure passage of the government's Wik legislation through the Senate, most media commentary focused on which of the two

Unions can't keep ignoring Hanson

Editorial: Unions can't keep ignoring Hanson The large vote for the racist One Nation organisation in the Queensland election, and the outfit's rise in national opinion polls, should be seen as a threat by the entire union movement. The

Hands off Kosovo!

Editorial: Hands off Kosovo! Hands off Kosovo! The events in Kosovo are a reminder that the carnage created by capitalist restoration in Yugoslavia is still far from over. Indeed, it was recent plans drawn up by the Serbian occupation regime of

Free East Timor!

Editorial: Free East Timor! Free East Timor! The ALP foreign affairs spokesperson, Laurie Brereton, on May 24 attacked foreign minister Alexander Downer for his "mealy mouthed failure" to call for the release of East Timorese resistance leader