This issue of Salient is dedicated to Colin Chin. Garry Mead, Brian Farrington and the workers of Wanganui Newspapers, the unsung heroes of this paper. Colin is the treasurer of the VUWSA Publications Board, and is the man who metes out our wages at the munificent rate of ten cents an hour. He also pays the printers bills, at a somewhat higher rate. Garry is the boss of Wanganui Newspapers and Brian is the production manager. Why did we choose this issue to dedicate to them? Be cause we've had to chop the size down from the usual 20 pages to 16. Colin says so because we've overspent our budgeted page allocation, and Wanganui strongly hints so because of holdups at the paper mill and because of the international paper shortage. Thus while our dedication is largely sincere, as those men (despite their ideological persuasions) do a great job for us, it is also tinged with regret.

As you've probably guessed, there's a political lesson to be gained from the paper shortage. It's all an international monopoly capitalist plot, and we kid you not. The Bowater Corporation has a virtual monopoly on newsprint sales in NZ and they've declared that there will be a shortage of newsprint for at least ten years. If you prefer to believe that they're just waiting for the trees to grow, fair enough, but when we're told that we'll have to pay $50 extra per ton and we've got no choice we get a little bit cynical. If the shortage gets worse and Salient starts appearing printed on dry-cleaned second-hand toilet paper, you'll know that the capitalists have decided to give the chop to us rather than the trees.

As the sparrows twittered gaily in the university graveyard at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning Salient editors Steele and Franks, with their trusty comrade-in-arms Ted Sheehan, were speeding up the island to the New Zealand Insurance Company's AGM in Auckland. In next week's issue you can read the tale of their attempts to subvert NZP's indulgences in South Africa. Behind them they left Neil Pearce, Bruce Robinson, Claire Smith. David Tripe. Stephen Hall, Wong Ahfo, Jonathan Hughes, Helen Pankhurst, Kathy Baxter, Grub, Gordon Clifton. Lloyd Weeber. Tony Ward, Les Atkins and Les Slater putting the final touches on the penultimate issue of Salient.

Next week is your last chance to get your words in print in Salient this year. So send in your letters and articles by the end of the week. We'll print all that fits.