Builders to walk off in Qld protest

More than 2,000 construction workers are expected to walk off Queensland job sites this morning to protest against workplace laws.

Workers will attend combined union rallies in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast to call for the former federal government's industrial legislation to be quashed.

CFMEU State Secretary Michael Ravbar says many builders feel Kevin Rudd has broken his pre-election promise to get rid of the laws.

"A lot of people voted for Rudd in the election. I mean we've got an industry which is the forth biggest employer over 900,000 construction workers around the country and they're just sick and tired of having different rights," he said.

"They just want a bit of fairness and a bit of equity back and they want to have the same rights as any other worker in this country.

"And unfortunately Rudd has failed to deliver on that."

Mr Ravbar says the laws are draconian and undemocratic.

"You don't have the right to take strike action and if you do you've got potential fines of $28,000 for individuals, $110,000 for unions. We have special laws that if you do things you don't have the right to silence," he said.

"Basically construction workers' civil rights are taken away from them."

Public Meeting - Putting the Terror Laws on Trial

PUBLIC MEETING - PUTTING THE TERROR LAWS ON TRIAL

Presented by Civil Rights Defence and Amnesty International Australia.

Tuesday April 15, 7pm, Kaleide Theatre, RMIT, Swanston St, City.

In the past five years Australia's anti-terrorism laws have been revealed as unjust, unnecessary, expensive and open to abuse. Six months since the botched prosecution of Mohamed Haneef, three months after the dismissal of the trial of Izhar Ul Haque, and weeks into the trial of Melbourne men (arrested over two years ago) charged with comprising "a terrorist organisation", we think it's time to take a look at the laws and how they are being used and abused.

It is time to put the laws on trial.

Come hear the accounts of people who have direct experience of both the laws and some of Australia's most prominent terror cases:

Peter Russo, lawyer for Dr Mohamed Haneef
David McLeod, lawyer for David Hicks
The meeting with begin with an excerpt from the play "Haneef - the interrogation", written by Graham Pitts and directed by Gorkem Acoroglu.

No booking required, entry by donation.
For enquiries, contact 0400 541 046.
www.civilrightsdefence.org
www.amnesty.org.au

Related:

Terror trial halted over prison conditions

The men have been held in the high security Acacia wing of Barwon Prison, near Geelong, since their arrest two years ago. To attend court they must travel for up to two hours to Melbourne each day, and two hours back, shackled and handcuffed, are strip-searched twice, and have little time outside their cells.

The Street review: a review of interoperability between the Australian Federal Police and its national security partners

Laurence Street, Martin Brady and Ken Moroney / Australian Federal Police

This is the report of an internal review, headed by former New South Wales Chief Justice Sir Laurence Street, looking at the way in which the Australian Federal Police works with its partner agencies on counter-terrorism investigations. The committee made recommendations covering the four broad areas of operational decision-making processes, joint taskforce arrangements, information sharing, and training and education.

Available online at:
www.afp.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/71833/The_Street_Review.pdf