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NSW ALP to back anti-Labor candidate?

Geoff Payne, Newcastle The Queen's Birthday weekend conference of the NSW Labor Party rejected a motion, moved by the Newcastle State Electorate Council, supporting the rank-and-file preselection of Bryce Gaudry, the member for Newcastle since

Unionists discuss Beazley's AWA promise

Graham Matthews & Sue Bolton Leading unionists have welcomed federal ALP leader Kim Beazley's pledge on June 11 that the party would abolish Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) if it wins the next federal election. While applauding the pledge,

East Timor asks for UN-led peacekeeping force

Jon Lamb East Timor's foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta formally requested to a special session of the United Nations Security Council on June 14 that the UN Office In East Timor be extended by at least one month to August 22. The Security Council

The courage to condemn a king

The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man who sent Charles I to the ScaffoldBy Geoffrey RobertsonVintage Books, 2006429 pages, $35 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON "You shall be hung by the neck", declaimed the gleeful judge in 1660, "and being

Working class life in the hard times

A Fantastic Dad and His Romantic DaughterBy Mairi McKenzie378 pages, $30Phone (08) 9371 8521 REVIEW BY BARRY HEALY The fantastic dad of this title, Thomas Wignall, was a leading member of the Communist Party in WA from the 1920s onwards. He was

VENEZUELA: 'Socialism is our model'

Aurora Morales, member of the Venezuelan National Assembly and secretary for international relations for the Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR) party, was a guest speaker at an international conference, "Socialism in Latin America: Experiences in

IRAQ: Haditha massacre survivors paid 'hush money'

Doug Lorimer "The investigation of an alleged Marine massacre of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last year has focused on whether cash payments to the families of victims were part of a cover-up", the June 8 New York Daily News reported. The

A socialist's guide to the World Cup

Simon Black As World Cup fever grips the globe, many progressives will be sighing at the prospect of another sporting spectacle distracting the "masses" from the pressing issues of the day — the classic "bread and circuses" argument. There is a

Preordaining the outcome: the PM's nuclear task force

Justin Tutty The nuclear industry would be happy with PM John Howard's June 6 decision to appoint a task force to review uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy in Australia. Defending the composition of his pro-nuclear task force, he said,