Radio Democracy Playlist 26/11/08

Ding dong, the witch is dead

With great glee RD this week grappled with the much-anticipated demise of the Howard (mis)government's dumb-arse Workchoices laws. The introduction of the Fair Work Bill is the final nail in the coffin for Workchoices, although more lefty elements of the union movement, the media (and even the ALP) have labelled the new regime as Workchoices Lite. Ha de har har.

I spoke with IR academic Dr Rae Cooper to try and get some sense of what the 613-page document contained, and to see if it delivered on the pre-election Forward with Fairness policy. (Worst. Name. Ever.)

If you can be bothered, the audio is here. (it was recorded over Skype and sounds a little shitty...)

We then heard about local street rag The Independent's campaign against property developer Mirvac's new project and the SHAC gang in Melbourne's potential eviction. Mira la siguiente .

Independent Mirvac campaign

Local community newspaper The Independent is mounting a campaign against property developer Mirvac over their Waterfront development in Newstead.

The Indy has run a number of stories in recent weeks in relation to the proposed development, which would see a section of public access to the river closed.

The Independent says it received a significant number of letters in response to the campaign, which have been presented to Lord Mayor Campbell Newman.

In response, the Lord Mayor has reaffirmed his commitment to providing access to the river for all of Brisbane, but said that any development approved by council could not be changed at council’s demands.

The Independent says anyone with concerns about the development should make a written submission to the Brisbane City Council CEO at GPO Box 1434 Brisbane 4001.

SHAC

Meanwhile Melbourne students occupying a university-owned property are facing eviction this Friday after their proposal to collectively run the house was rejected by the University of Melbourne.

The Student Housing Action Collective says they’re not planning on going anywhere, despite a request from the university to leave voluntarily.

SHAC are calling for community support at a rally on Friday.

For more information go to www.shacmelbourne.blogspot.com

We were then hoping to hear from Dr Helen Caldicott, with the second part of her interview with Bob Alvarez, but technology failed... maybe next time.

Finally, we got the latest from Mumia Abu Jamal.

Music
There's Power in a Union – Billy Bragg
Keep it True - Blue King Brown
John Howard – Victims of Noah
Greed, $, Useless Children - Jay Reatard
Damaged Goods – Gang of Four
Today’s Lesson – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Milkshake – Holy Fuck
Holiday in Baghdad – Tijuana Cartel
Your Attitude is as Fucked as My Dress Sense – Dick Nasty