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<P ALIGN=LEFT><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Below are some media reports on the Fremantle, Sydney and Melbourne May Day rallies</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">WA: Mayday rally in Fremantle </FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">221 words<BR>
1 May 2005<BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">English<BR>
(c) 2005 Australian Associated Press Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">MAYDAY PERTH, May 1 AAP - Workers, students and community groups in Fremantle have used the annual</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> rally to call for the protection of workers' rights from the "arrogance and hubris" of Prime Minister John Howard. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">The</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> march through Fremantle was also a chance to celebrate working conditions and remember the workers who helped establish the eight-hour working day more than 100 years ago, Unions WA secretary Dave Robinson said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"Without their selfless efforts on behalf of future generations, we would not have prospered as a country, if they had not prevailed over the opposition of governments and employers of the day, we would not today have a minimum living wage and standards of employment," Mr Robinson said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">The</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> rally was also a chance to defend current working conditions and protest against industrial relations reforms, Mr Robinson said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"On</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> in 2005, we stand together once again to protect our Australian inheritance from the arrogance and hubris of John Howard," Mr Robinson said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"None of us will stand idly by and allow John Howard and a very small handful of silvertail politicians and CEOs to carpet-bomb our proud history, our Australian identity and run roughshod over 100 years of successful social institutions," he said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Planned IR changes bring thousands to May Day rallies </FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">525 words<BR>
1 May 2005<BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">English<BR>
(c) 2005 Australian Associated Press Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">MAY SYDNEY, May 1 AAP - Thousands of workers flocked to</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> rallies across Australia today to protest against the Howard government's planned industrial relations reforms. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">The demonstrations marked International Workers Day and followed in the tradition of the first</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> rally in London in 1890. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">ACTU president Sharan Burrow used her</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> address in Brisbane to warn Australians that many of the basic rights at work they currently take for granted will be threatened if the federal government goes ahead with its plan for reform. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">The federal government intends to use the Senate majority it will gain in July to set up a single national industrial relations system which will override state systems. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">The plan is being opposed by state and territory governments, the federal opposition and unions, who claim it will leave workers worse off. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> is a time to reflect on the great achievements and contribution that working people have made to our nation," Ms Burrow said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"But this year</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> is also a time for Australia to reflect on what we have to lose if the Howard government goes ahead with its plans to Australian workers of many of their basic rights." </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">In Sydney, several thousand unionists massed at Hyde Park for a march through the city's central business district. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Waving union banners and wearing the traditional</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> red, the protestors returned to the park for a rally to show solidarity against the flagged industrial relations changes. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Sydney</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> Committee secretary Warren Smith said the rally sent a clear message to Prime Minister John Howard that working people would not accept the reforms. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"There is no doubt that working people are faced with the greatest assault on their lives, on their families, on their wages and on their conditions in the 150 years that the trade union movement has existed in this county," Mr Smith told the rally. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"And today with the massive turnout we've had here we're sending a message to John Howard that we're not going to cop it, we're going to fight." </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Unions NSW secretary John Roberston said it was up to the union-faithful to get out into the community and talk about the changes. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"It's time for us to take up the challenge, leave here and actually go and have a conversation with people you wouldn't normally have a conversation with this about," Mr Robertson said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"Engage them in the campaign, engage them in the process ... actually tell them how serious this attack is on their working lives." </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">Federal opposition industrial relations spokesman Stephen Smith used</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">May Day</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana"> to call on the federal government to reveal the exact nature of their proposed changes. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"The Howard Costello government refuses to provide further detail of the proposed changes," Mr Smith said. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Verdana">"But whatever detail emerges, Australian employees can be reliably assured that it will be unfair, it will be divisive, it will be extreme, it will create disharmony and it will be an attack on the living standards of Australian employees and their families." </FONT></SPAN></P>
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