About 120 unionists and supporters rallied outside the New Zealand Consulate in Sydney on March 19 in solidarity with 292 Auckland wharfies who were sacked for being members of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.
The rally was organised by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). It called on the NZ government to pressure the Auckland Council, which owns Auckland port, to immediately reinstate the workers.
916
"This is a bittersweet victory for nurses and midwives after an unprecedented industrial marathon with the Baillieu Government to protect patient care and secure a fair pay rise.鈥 鈥 Lisa Fitzpatrick, State Secretary, Australian Nursing Federation (Victoria).
The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) of Victoria has had a good win. At a time when the employers are on the march, the Victorian ANF ran a campaign that involved two periods of industrial action, including bed closures, elective surgery cancellations and four hour rolling stoppages twice a day.
The planned expansion of coalmining in Victoria has led the member for Bass, Liberal MP Ken Smith, to oppose his own party on the issue.
, and to gas extraction associated with coal (unconventional gas), within the shire,鈥 in a resolution on March 21.
The motion asked the government to exempt land within the shire from coal and unconventional gas exploration or mining licences.
The New South Wales Liberal government said on March 11 that it planned to force schools to bear the responsibility for its latest funding cuts.
The government did not consult the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) before releasing the 鈥淟ocal Schools, Local Decisions鈥 and 鈥淓mpowering Local Schools鈥 initiatives, which it claimed would deliver 鈥渁utonomy鈥 to local public schools.
In reality, the move is a smokescreen that forces public school principals to implement the government cuts of $250 million a year.
Healesville-based group, MyEnvironment, has lost a court case it mounted against government body VicForests over the logging of Victoria鈥檚 central highlands areas that include habitat for the endangered Leadbeater鈥檚 Possum.
Justice Robert Osborn handed down his decision in the Supreme Court on March 14. He refused to order a stop to logging in three forest coupes at Toolangi, including in late 2011.
Of all the people infuriated by billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer鈥檚 March 20 claim that the Greens are funded by the CIA, it is not hard to imagine the angriest were heads of the Murdoch media.
Having declared in an Australian editorial in 2010 its intention to 鈥渄estroy the Greens鈥, the Murdoch press has worked hard to relentlessly spin a tale of the political party as far left lunatics 鈥 old-style commies in green T-shirts.
Mental health workers voted to escalate industrial action in two weeks unless Ted Baillieu's Coalition government begins to seriously negotiate with their union.
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) covers psychiatric nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists and support staff. The Australian Nursing Federation covers some mental health nurses as well.
In response to timber industry lobbying, independent MP Rob Oakeshott moved a motion in federal parliament to allow foresters to claim Renewable Energy Certificates for burning native forests for power.
The vote was lost on March 19 on a casting vote from the Speaker of the House Peter Slipper. The Labor Party, Greens, and independent MPs Andrew Wilkie and Tony Windsor voted against the motion. The Coalition voted for it.
After three weeks of action, warehouse workers at the Sigma pharmaceutical Melbourne plant returned to work on March 21. Workers fended off attempts by the company to abolish afternoon and night shift loadings. They also won a 4% pay rise.
The workers, members of the National Union of Workers at the Rowville plant in Melbourne鈥檚 south-eastern suburbs, had rarely been on strike.
On March 9, Gunns Ltd notified the Australian Stock Exchange that potential investor Richard Chandler Corporation pulled out of its bid to buy a 40% stake in the company.
The Singapore-based investment firm of New Zealand millionaire Richard Chandler had planned to invest $150 million in the company. But it dropped the plan after consulting with stakeholders and communities.
The news was welcomed by environmentalists as another big setback for Gunns鈥 plans to get its $2.3 billion Tamar Valley pulp mill started in northern Tasmania.
For many months now, major party politicians and the big business media have sung paeans to the Lucky Country鈥檚 luckiest mining bonanza yet, riding the coat-tails of the rapid industrialisation of China and India.
on March 5: 鈥淎sia鈥檚 enormous appetite for our mineral commodities drives an investment pipeline in the resources sector worth $456 billion.
For more than 100 days, . Dubbed the ObserverTree, it is in Tasmania's logging coupe TN044B, whose steeply forested slopes have been earmarked for cable logging.
The tree is in an area that is being assessed for reserve status under the Tasmania forestry peace deal. From the platform, Gibson can see areas of clearfelled forest around her.
- Previous page
- Page 3
- Next page