Labor, unions unite against nuclear power

Labor has closed ranks to head off a political assault by the Howard Government on the party's shifting stance on nuclear energy, with union leaders backing Kim Beazley and Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson declaring Australia will not embrace nuclear power.

The Opposition Leader and Mr Ferguson issued a joint statement yesterday declaring there would be "no nuclear power in Australia under a Beazley government".

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Nuclear energy has become the latest prime ministerial cause. Suddenly he's saying it is absolutely urgent we have the debate, and making it sound as though Australia stands on the brink of its nuclear power age.

Howard has promised to quickly give "form and structure" to the debate.

It might look as if the PM had an epiphany while he was in North America, where he talked nuclear with US President George Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He was galvanised by high oil prices and extolled the virtues of "cleaner and greener" power.

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Canada: BHP Billiton must respect its workers

By using scabs at its Ekati diamond mine and by refusing to bargain in good faith with its 400 unionized workers, BHP Billiton is showing its contempt for Canadian workers.

According to the National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) John Gordon, “if BHP Billiton wants to stay in Canada and continue to do business, it has to respect Canadian workers.”

Gordon is in Yellowknife today to show his support to the 400 PSAC members at the Ekati diamond mine who have been on strike since April 7. The main issues in dispute are job security, seniority, holiday leave and wages. Despite having made 7.5 billion dollars in profit last year, BHP Billiton refuses to recognize the years of service of its employees and job security, is offering only a 1% wage increase. Furthermore, the company thinks that two weeks of holiday per year for such hard work is enough.

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Esselte launches assault on workers’ rights

A Sydney stationary distribution company has launched an all-out assault on the wages and conditions of their workers.

Management at Esselte Australia, based at Minto in South Western Sydney, has boasted that it will use John Howard’s anti-worker Industrial Relations laws to the “letter of the law”, which translates to an attack on its workers’ pay and conditions.

Esselte Australia, which is owned by the giant US-based J W Childs Corporation and has an annual turnover of US$1.5 billion, has proposed individual contracts (AWAs) to their employees during negotiations for a new union Collective Agreement.

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Federal Government: Smart card?

Science Budget: lowest for 20 years

The Australian government should have spent more of its budget surplus on building the nation's future r&d capacity rather than tax breaks, say commentators in the science community.

The 2006-07 federal budget has delivered A$5.97 billion for science and innovation and $559.6 million to universities, primarily for capital developments.

While the government describes the spending on science and innovation as being at record level, and points to a big boost given to medical research, many say the government's spending priorities are leaving Australia behind in terms of future capacity.

Professor Snow Barlow of the University of Melbourne says the amount spent on science and innovation may be a record in absolute terms, but as a percentage of gross national product it is decreasing.

"It's actually lower than it's been in 20 years," says Barlow, who is a former member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council.

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