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al - perth indy radio
Perth Indymedia Radio 28th June 2006
IR RALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
http://perth.indymedia.org/index.php?action=default&featureview=381
US BASES FOR AUSTRALIA - Act of Stealth
http://perth.indymedia.org/?action=newswire&parentview=21413
The ACTU say around 300,000 people have attended rallies and other events across Australia today, sending a strong message to the Howard Government that the Australian public opposes the new IR laws.
In Melbourne, where police estimate 80,000 people rallied. ACTU president Sharan Burrow says the rally was made up of ordinary workers who were concerned the laws would put their rights at risk. The protesters, mostly male, blue-collar workers, filled the length of Swanston and Bourke streets.
Many of the protesters enjoyed a free ride into the city, as transport workers turned a blind eye to those travelling without tickets. Around 6,000 people rallied in Brisbane, where the Opposition treasury spokesman urged Queenslanders to continue to fight the laws.
Unions say more than 30,000 people gathered for the protest rally in Blacktown in Sydney's west. The group heard from a number of speakers and then marched through the centre of Blacktown, waving flags and chanting slogans.
In Launceston, about 2,000 people marched through the streets chanting slogans and carrying banners. The rally was led by past and present Beaconsfield miners, including rescued worker Brant Webb. Adelaide saw some 1500 protesters taking to the streets.
In Perth, several thousand people waving union flags and placards have gathered in Russell Square in Northbridge to voice their concerns about the IR laws.
Construction Union Secretary Kevin Reynolds praised those in attendance for their support and encouraged them to continue lobbying against the laws. In Darwin, about 200 people gathered at Raintree Park.
SEVERAL large businesses sought industrial orders preventing workers from attending today's mass union rallies as employer groups remind bosses of their powers to dock absent workers' wages.
Australia Post and Nestle have obtained orders from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission preventing rostered workers from attending the rally. Australia Post say those who take any unauthorised leave would be docked the minimum four hours' pay required under the Federal Government's new workplace laws. A Nestle spokesman said the company had gained an order stopping about 500 of its factory workers from joining the protest.
Master Builders Association of Victoria executive director Brian Welch said that under building industry laws, employers that failed to dock absent workers could be fined $110,000.
I spoke to Greens Senator Racheal Siewert this afternoon and asked her about the IR Rally today in Perth. We discussed the effects of Howard's policies on workers, as well as the Federal Governments "foisting" a National Nuclear Waste Dump on the Northern Territory - and the alarming moves by Howard to build massive US Military Bases in Australia's North West...
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