Unions 'salivating for Rudd win'

MILITANT unionists like Joe McDonald are salivating at the prospect of running the country if Labor wins the next election, Prime Minister John Howard says. Proceedings to expel Mr McDonald from the Labor Party will begin when Labor's national executive committee meets today in Canberra. The WA Supreme Court yesterday released a video of Mr McDonald at a Perth building site on April 24. In that tape, Mr McDonald abuses a company representative who tells him he can't enter a building site.

Mr Howard today said Mr McDonald's behaviour represented a "pattern of union conduct". "They are salivating at the prospect of a Labor victory," he said on Sky News. "You heard Mr McDonald talking about people working at Hungry Jacks, I mean what he's really saying is 'if Rudd wins, we'll be back in town, we'll be running the country again, and we'll make sure you don't have a job'," Mr Howard said.

While Mr Rudd claimed to have zero tolerance of bad union behaviour, his policy was actually one of "optimum toleration" and expelling Mr McDonald from the party was pointless. "It's a meaningless stunt designed to give the impression that Mr Rudd is getting tough with the union movement," Mr Howard said.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd called the urgent meeting of Labor's national executive today to recommend Mr McDonald be booted out of the Labor party after he viewed the footage yesterday. "Under my leadership, I have made it clear that it is completely unacceptable for any member of the Australian Labor Party to behave in such a manner," Mr Rudd said.

Deputy Leader Julia Gillard said the videotape showed further unacceptable conduct by Mr McDonald. "Kevin and I have made it clear that under our leadership of the Labor Party there will be zero tolerance for unlawful conduct, for thuggery, in Australian workplaces. "Australian workers don't want it, we don't want it. We will crack down on it whenever we can," she said. [Like HOW?]

Ms Gillard said the the committee would not be discussing the matter of two NSW union officials who have been charged with intimidation and assault because it was still before the courts.

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Brick-thick unionists doing their best to undermine Rudd

THE union movement has issued a warning to Kevin Rudd over his handling of a union official caught abusing a company representative on tape. Unions NSW secretary John Robertson today warned Mr Rudd he did not control the union movement as the Labor leader prepared to expel a construction union official from the party over an abusive rant against company representatives which was caught on tape and released by the WA Supreme Court yesterday.

The row has come as a turf war between rival unions in Sydney has left one union official with a broken foot, while another allegedly received a death threat on his mobile phone. Two National Union of Workers officials, organisers Charlie Morgan and Bruno Mendonca, were yesterday charged with assaulting and intimidating a Transport Workers Union official, allegedly stomping on and fracturing his feet and throwing him against a wall.

While Mr Rudd is faced with a new union scandal, Mr Robertson issued a caution over the treatment of the union movement. "Kevin needs to realise he doesn't run the union movement in the same way that the union movement doesn't run the Labor Party," Mr Robertson said this morning. "These are obviously issues of concern if they're actually proved. "That's part of the problem with the debate at the moment, that the (charges) are alleged. Until the courts have actually dealt with them I think it's inappropriate for anybody to take any action."

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GLOBAL COOLING!

Big chill hits Queensland

BONE-chilling winds of up to 75km/h have blasted through southeast Queensland, bringing down trees, powerlines and even a brick wall. The southwesterly winds saw Brisbane record its lowest June temperature on record. A maximum of 13.1C was recorded at the airport but the wind chill factor dragged this down to only 5.6C.

At a Fortitude Valley construction site, a freestanding wall collapsed on to a neighbouring unit block at about 5am, hammering the roof with up to 80 concrete bricks. Builder Ivano Berlese said it was a "freak of nature". "It really must have come through here hard, because the wheelie bins were all blown over and there was a power line down in another street," he said. Five people were evacuated from the top floor of the building at about 5:30am and allowed back in briefly a few hours later, to pick up some belongings.

The wind was also blamed for halting train services on the Cleveland line, after blowing debris on to overhead wires. Queensland Rail said buses were organised to transport passengers between Lindum and Cleveland, during the morning peak. Fallen trees and branches also caused disruption to traffic and power supply. More than 4000 homes and businesses were blacked out across southeast Queensland throughout the day.

The Lockyer Valley, Gatton, Dayboro and the Sunshine Coast fared the worst. Brisbane escaped relatively unscathed from blackouts. The cold snap pushed southeast Queensland electricity usage to its highest this winter as people turned on power-hungry reverse cycle airconditioners and heaters.

Weather bureau statistician Ann Farrell said the previous June record for the airport was 13.9C in 1958 and the coldest overall was 10.6C in August 1954. Toowoomba was worse off, recording a wind chill temperature of -9.3C overnight, with parts of the Darling Downs reporting a blast of early morning sleet and snow. At noon it had risen to -3.8C. All of the Downs and Granite Belt reported extremely cold conditions, with Warwick 1C at 2pm and Applethorpe -1.2C, thanks again to the wind. Overnight Brisbane dipped down to -2.5C, allowing for the wind factor.

Ms Farrell said overcast conditions had caused the temperature to be about 5C lower than predicted. "Once cloud cover comes over and it combines with cold air, the temperatures won't go up," she said. Better conditions are predicted for today although it will remain cold, with clear skies. Moreton Bay was no place to be with gusts recorded to 76km/h at the Inner Beacon, about halfway between the mainland and Moreton Island.

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Teacher training to curb school violence

Wotta lotta ineffectual and irresponsible waffle! The offenders should be prosecuted, jailed and the outcomes publicized

The Education Department has launched a training package for teachers to help them deal with escalating violence in Western Australian schools. State schools have reported 45 incidents of parents or caregivers threatening staff members since July last year. Six involved physical violence.

The package will include strategies on preventing and managing violence in schools and offer information about restraining orders and legal advice.

The Education Minister Mark McGowan says abuse of teachers is not acceptable. "Teachers have been assaulted and teachers have been abused and parents have misbehaved and these sorts of things aren't good enough," he said. "I would encourage parents also to have a look at themselves and accept it when a school tells them their child may not be behaving the best and have a look at ways of improving their child's behaviour rather than blaming the school."

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