Queensland Rail announces job cuts
BRISBANE — Queensland Rail will cut more than 700 jobs from its workforce of 13,500 in the initial stage of a drastic restructure, which follows the loss of a major rail freight contract to private company Pacific National, costing QR about $32 million in lost revenue.
The job cuts, announced by Queensland Rail chief executive officer Bob Scheuber on August 20, are part of a bid by the state-owned rail corporation to become "more competitive" in the national freight market.
Pacific National is part-owned by Patrick Corporation's Chris Corrigan, architect of the infamous maritime dispute of 1998 in which Corrigan, in collusion with the Howard government, tried to smash the Maritime Union of Australia.
Queensland Rail has already commenced talks for "voluntary retrenchment" packages to about 700 staff in Brisbane and northern centres.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Owen Doogan, representing up to 70% of Queensland's railworkers, said on August 22 that he had expected some job losses, but the number was "way over the top" and "more than double" what his union had anticipated.
At least one union covering rail workers, the Electrical Trades Union, is threatening industrial action over the redundancies.
Bill Mason
Emergency vigil for Najaf
SYDNEY — On August 26, the Stop the War Coalition organised an emergency vigil against the US military's siege of Shiite rebels in the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Speakers at the protest vigil included Keysar Trad from the Lebanese Muslim Association, Greens Senator Kerry Nettle, NSW Socialist Alliance Senate candidate John Morris and Stop the War Coalition activists Pip Hinman and Rob Kennedy.
Many passers-by stopped to sign a petition calling for Australian troops to be withdrawn, purchase badges and take away information.
A 300-strong protest against the Najaf siege organised by the local Iraqi community was held in the western Sydney suburb of Auburn on August 15.
For more information about the Stop the War Coalition, visit .
Iggy Kim
Thirroul residents discuss town's future
WOLLONGONG — On August 21, 100 residents of Thirroul attended a a public meeting organised by the No High Rise committee to the discuss to discuss the town's future.
The No High Rise committee was formed to fight a string of development applications passed by Wollongong City Council.
Ideas from those attending the meeting included a two-storey for new buildings, free public transport and an end to the sale of public park land. For more on information on the campaign phone Murray Jones on 0410 424 242.
Nicole Hilder
West Papua solidarity groups meet
SYDNEY — West Papua solidarity groups from around Australia held their first national gathering over the weekend of August 21-22. Thirty representatives from seven state-based Australia-West Papua associations discussed campaigns to highlight the injustices and atrocities occurring in West Papua, annexed by Indonesia after a rigged referendum in 1969.
Also attending the conference were representatives from the Melbourne-based Free West Papua Collective, the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association and Darwin-based Australians for a Free West Papua.
At a recent peaceful demonstration on August 16 in the West Papua capital of Jayapura, 1000 activists from a variety of organisations demanded an end to Indonesian military occupation. The Australia-West Papua Association (AWPA) has been informed that leaders of the protest are now being hunted by the Indonesian police.
A recent claim by the US State Department that the Free Papua Movement (OPM) was responsible for the murder of US citizens at the Freeport mine in West Papua in 2002 conflict with reports from human rights organisations into the incident and highlight the US government's support for the brutal Indonesian military occupation of West Papua.
The AWPA has called on the Australian government to conduct a fact-finding mission into Indonesian atrocities in West Papua, support the right of the West Papuan people to self-determination, end all training and weapons supplies to Indonesian military forces and implore the US and other Australian allies to do the same.
Vikki John
Tampa anniversary marked
BRISBANE — Seventy people protested for refugee rights outside the immigration department's Queensland office on August 26 — the third anniversary of the Tampa affair.
Attending the rally were three of the asylum seekers who were rescued by the Norwegian freighter — Ghulam Amiri, Arfan Hussaini and Meheli Zafar.
The protest, organised by the Refugee Action Collective, was addressed by Greens Senate candidate Drew Hutton, Australian Democrat leader Senator Andrew Bartlett and Coral Wynter, the Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Brisbane. All three condemned the refugee policies of the Howard government.
The Refugee Action Collective is organising a campaign to letter-box marginal Liberal-held seats in the lead-up to the federal election, in an attempt to make refugee-rights a key issue in the coming poll.
Robyn Marshall
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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