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Their budgets and ours

Dick Nichols Suddenly, with a federal election looming, there's money to burn. There always was, of course, but this time last year Coalition treasurer Peter Costello was lecturing us about the need to pay off government debt and to build the

Postal workers strike for 24 hours

Selena Black, Sydney Postal workers across NSW, Victoria and Queensland went on strike for 24 hours on May 13, following the breakdown of negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) and Australia Post's unwillingness to accept

CYPRUS: Cypriot people work towards a unification solution

Steven Katsineris "Most people want change; really we want change. We really want a solution, we want to go and be a member of the European Union... And we really want to have a real identity, because the Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus have been left

News briefs #5

Howard chased off campus CANBERRA — Prime Minister John Howard's attempt to launch the Coalition's new policy on research and development funding at the CSIRO on May 6 was gatecrashed by 150 angry students and activists from the Australian

SCOTLAND: SSP says 'Don't feed the hand that bites you!'

Alex Miller Low-paid childcare workers in Scotland have been striking since March 1 for better pay and conditions. A Nursery Nurses' Voice bulletin issued by the Scottish Socialist Party on April 29 described as "shameful" the decision by the

Racism on the rise in New Zealand

Bert Brauer, Christchurch NZ National Party leader Don Brash's speech attacking Maori rights just before Waitangi Day (February 6) ignited a racist backlash. Racially motivated verbal and physical attacks, especially on Asian immigrants, have

Come on board the Socialist Alliance

I believe the Socialist Alliance conference was a great success. There was healthy debate around working class policies, which gave an avenue for Socialist Alliance to move forward. It was very clear to see that some major trade union leaders have

IRAQ: Torture - A deliberate tool of imperialist occupation

Rohan Pearce As more and more photographs of abuse and torture inflicted on Iraqi detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison by their US guards have come to public light, US officials have been desperate to claim that they are an "aberration" in

Bertolucci tackles 1968

The DreamersDirected by Bernardo BertolucciWritten by Gilbert AdairWith Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis GarrelShowing nationally. REVIEW BY DANNY FAIRFAX He: the wide-eyed young North American spending a — by now quite clich‚d — year in

IRAQ: Fullujah's victory parade

Doug Lorimer Ironically, the 82nd Airborne Division's brutal suppression in April last year of peaceful Iraqi protests in Fallujah, a city of 250,000 residents 45 kilometres west of Baghdad, sparked the beginning of a mass-based Iraqi armed

Public sector nurses make gains

Alex Bainbridge, Hobart Public sector nurses have won significant improvements in their pay and conditions after a hard-fought dispute with the Tasmanian government. The decision to accept the government's offer was made at mass meetings held

Socialist scores 5.2% in Elwick election

Peter Sypkens, Hobart On May 14, the final tally of votes for the Tasmanian upper house seat of Elwick was declared, with Socialist Alliance candidate Kamala Emanuel receiving 936 votes — 5.21% of the total count. This was the best result for a