dissipating

Australia

Acid's

concern

Australia’s umbrella trade union organisation, the Austra lian Council of Trade Unions, says the federal government’s

Broadcasting Services Bill threatens investigative journalism.

The ACTU president, Martin Ferguson, has written to all members of the Federal Parliamentary Labour Caucus calling on them to amend the proposed legislation. Ferguson says the bill gives the proposed Australian Broadcasting Authority unprecedented power to demand that journalists reveal their sources. In a letter, Ferguson goes on to describe the authority’s powers as draconian and unparalleled. He says he is far from assured by Communications Minister Bob Collins, who has said the authority will take a prudent and reasonable approach in using its powers. □ ***

Indigenous

rights

The descendents of South Sea islanders taken to Australia as indentured labourers last century are taking their grievances to the United Nations. The estimated 20,000 islanders want formal recognition as a black minority.

The islanders’ spokesman, Nasuven Enares, has been invited to speak at July’s session of the United Nations Working Group Dn Indigenous Populations in Geneva. Enares said she would tell the UN the Australian government had ignored her people >ince they were taken there a century ago as virtual slaves.

She said islanders had suffered the same discrimination as the \borigines but without the benefits of recognition as a black ninority. Enares will ask the UN to pressure Australia to iccord islanders the same access to education, housing and velfare. □ ***

El Nino

dissipating

Scientists at Australia’s National Climate Centre say the Irought which has ravaged crops and cost hundreds of millions if dollars in the Asia and South Pacific region appears to be ver. They said it was because the climatic phenomenon known s El Nino was dissipating. The scientists said the world was ow seeing the declining phase of El Nino which has been fleeting global weather patterns since early last year. They aid Australia could expect a quick recovery from drought

onditions. □

democrats’

nove

he Australian Democrats will move to refer an investigation ito the matters arising from the Marshall Islands affair to a •int parliamentary working group on political ethics.

The proposal, approved at a Democrats meeting, would suit in a code of conduct and was likely to meet with the Dproval of the Keating government which is keen to limit rther political damage from the Marshall Islands affair.

Under Democrat leader John Coulter’s proposal the ethics orking group would report on its findings during the first tting of 1993. □