Saving Medicare | April 8th Politics in the Pub

Bruce Childs: ex Senator and Save Medicare Alliance
Dr. Con Costa: Doctors Reform Group

2.00 pm Saturday April 8th, 2006

Hotel Gearin 273 Great Western Highway, Katoomba

Call on the Federal Government to use the record budget surplus to restore Medicare to world-class standards.

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To learn more about the save Medicare Alliance call (02) 8595 2134 or email save_medicare_alliance@nswnurses.asn.au

Fund Our ABC petition

Support of the Fund Our ABC campaign has been overwhelming. Over 60,000 people have signed a petition to increase the ABC's funding in the next Federal budget. With your help, can we get to 75,000?

Help us reach 75,000 signatures, so we can demonstrate unmistakable unity on this issue when we present your petition to politicians in Canberra.

You can use this link, or copy the note below.

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/FundOurABC

Thanks for being a part of this,

The GetUp team

March 27: Year Zero begins

Australians trying to protect safety and living standards have been pitched back to “Year Zero” by WorkChoices regulations.

Dozens of disputes, legally pursued under Howard Government laws, will become illegal today (Monday) and go on ice, for at least eight weeks, while affected workers are put through a series of bureaucratic and legal hoops.

One of the first beneficiaries will be Howard Government backer and WorkChoices promoter, Geoff Dixon, whose airline, Qantas, is trying to claw thousands of dollars out of family incomes, and send skilled Aussie jobs offshore.

Angry maintenance workers protested at Melbourne and Sydney airports, last Friday, when they learned they would have to go back to square one to protect themselves and their unions from massive fines.

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HR Nicholls Society: IR laws "centralised power"

The HR Nicholls Society said, the myriad of complex new laws would also create a system where so-called IR professionals would stand to make a lot of money sorting through it,

The society was set up more than 20 years ago to argue for unfettered management of the workplace and as a counter-balance to union influence.

But society president Ray Evans does not like the centralised power being handed to the government under the changes, nor its encroachment on states' rights.

"It's rather like going back to the old Soviet system of command and control, where every economic decision has to go back to some central authority and get ticked off," he told ABC TV.

"There is a lot of that sort of attitude in this legislation and I think it is very unfortunate."

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Alfed Deakin Lectures 2005: Innovation at the Workplace

Australia's economic performance over the last decade has been remarkable. Employment figures are at their best for many years. With the federal government about to embark upon another round of labour reform, the challenges for both unions and business are huge.

How will we rise to the challenge of delivering flexible benefits to an increasingly mobile and decentralised workforce? What kinds of strategic investments will corporations need to make to ensure the long-term viability of Australia's workforce?

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