As supporters of refugees' rights prepared to mark August 26, the anniversary of the rescue of 433 refugees by the MV Tampa, as Tampa Day to shame the federal government, immigration minister Philip Ruddock fought back.
On August 24, Ruddock had
507
BY ROBERT COX
SYDNEY — On August 24-25, just before the anniversary of the Tampa incident on August 26, a conference was held in Sydney titled, "The Tampa: one year on". Pax Christi Australia (NSW) and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship organised an
WOLLONGONG — A refugee solidarity quilt was started earlier this year by the Illawarra Refugee Action Collective. Detained refugees and members of the community continue to contribute 30-centimetre square patches to be added to the quilt, which is
BY NORM DIXON
JOHANNESBURG — The South African government has repeatedly resorted to police repression to stifle protests by critics of the African National Congress' anti-poor, anti-worker, pro-corporate policies during the August 26-September 3
BY BILL MASON
BRISBANE — Queensland nurses are seeking an interim wage rise of
10%, backdated to June 1, while they wait for an Australian Industrial
Relations Commission hearing on their claim for an 18% rise. The AIRC hearing
is set for
BY SAM WAINWRIGHT
SYDNEY — On August 28, 5000 workers, chanting "Stop the bias, stop the lies, hands off the union!", marched down George Street before rallying outside the Family Court in Goulburn Street. High above the spirited rally, on the
BY ROBERT FISK
KABUL — In Afghanistan, it is possible to go from hell to hell. The first circle of hell is the "waiting area", the faeces-encrusted dustbowl in which 60,000 Afghans rot along their frontier with Pakistan at Chaman — a
BY JODY BETZEIN
MELBOURNE
— Three thousand people turned out on August 30 for a rally outside the
State Library organised by the Melbourne Refugee Action Collective (RAC)
to demand freedom for refugees.
The very youthful crowd marched
and aint i a woman: Repeal, don't reform, abortion laws
The August 21 decision by the ACT Legislative Assembly to remove abortion from the Crimes Act has re-drawn attention to the difficulties that Australian women face in accessing abortion.
Indian court upholds Bhopal charges
On August 28, an Indian court rejected the United States government's push to reduce culpable homicide charges against former Union Carbide chairperson, Warren Anderson. In 1984, a gas leak at the US company's
BY JIM GREEN
The Australian government is attracting international condemnation for playing a spoiling role at the United Nations-organised World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
The Australian delegation of 50 people is led by
BY CLAUDIA QUINNELL
Once again, higher education has come under attack, this time through federal education minister Brendan Nelson's "Higher Education at the Crossroads" review. The review claims to take stock of how far the higher education
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