April 10th, 2007 by Kris
Last week Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright survived a vote of no-confidence in Parliament. I voted with the Liberal Opposition, though not necessarily for the same reasons. I was condemning the Minister because he had just signalled plans to slaughter the last of the Labor Party’s sacred cows: the welfare of injured workers.
Sure, WorkCover’s unfunded liability last year rose $27 million to $723 million. It’s forecast to pass $1 billion by 2009. The WorkCover Board has recommended how to cut this liability. Many of their recommendations undermine the principles on which WorkCover was established in 1987.
Perhaps most punishing to injured workers is the proposal to reduce income payments to 75 per cent of average weekly payments after 13 weeks, and to cease most income payments after two years.
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March 27th, 2007 by Kris
The distinguished Israeli professor of linguistics Tanya Reinhart, died suddenly in New York last week, aged 63.
Tanya Reinhart was even better known for her prolific writing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, her searing criticism of her own country, and her role as an activist, including her support for an academic boycott of Israel. In October last year, she gave the Edward Said Memorial lecture at Adelaide University.
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Posted in The Big Picture, International Issues, Articles | 1 Comment »
March 22nd, 2007 by Kris
In January I spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine; a trip organised by the Australian Friends of Palestine. I travelled on both sides of the 1967 ceasefire line, which serves as a border between the State of Israel and the Palestinian land occupied by the Israeli military.
In January I spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine; a trip organised by the Australian Friends of Palestine. I travelled on both sides of the 1967 ceasefire line, which serves as a border between the State of Israel and the Palestinian land occupied by the Israeli military.
Perhaps the most potent symbol of Israeli occupation is the Separation Wall - twice as wide as and three times higher than the Berlin Wall - and the checkpoints which range from roadblocks to major installations.
In 2004 the International Court of Justice found that construction of the Wall is ‘contrary to international law’. However, construction continues on the eight-metre-high divider to separate Israel from the West Bank (Palestinian land between Jerusalem and the Jordan River).
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