鈥淚n the end, capitalism is the only viable system we have for organising our economy鈥, said Lucy Turnbull, business person, former mayor of Sydney and partner of former Coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull at the iQ2 debate in Sydney on August 10 on the topic 鈥淥nly capitalism can save the planet鈥. Turnbull was the only politician to make the Business Review Weekly's 2010 Rich 200 list this year.
Well, she would think that, wouldn't she?
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Whichever major party wins the August 21 elections, the real job of fighting for progressive change will remain. Not just because Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition have made this election campaign an ugly race to the right, but also because real change never comes simply through a vote. Even an election that registered real victory, such as the defeat of the hated John Howard Coalition government in November 2007, came on the back of sustained political action by millions of ordinary people focused primarily around the campaign against Work Choices.
Recent scenes of roadblocks, strikes and even the dynamiting of a vice-minister鈥檚 home in the Bolivian department (administrative district) of Potosi, reminiscent of the days of previous neoliberal governments, have left many asking themselves what is really going on in the 鈥渘ew鈥 Bolivia of indigenous President Evo Morales.
Since July 29, the city of Potosi, which has 160,000 inhabitants, has ground to a halt. Locals are up in arms over what they perceive to be a lack of support for regional development on the part of the national government.
PERTH 鈥 鈥榃e are running because the Labor and Liberal parties do not represent the interests of ordinary people鈥, said Socialist Alliance candidate for Perth Alex Bainbridge at the launch of SA鈥檚 campaign.
鈥榃e're struggling to build a movement that can more effectively represent the interests of ordinary people on some of the big issues that we face. These issues include climate change, workers鈥 rights, the shameful policies that governments are taking towards refugees and towards Aboriginal people.鈥
Most Melbourne people wouldn鈥檛 know that there is a refugee detention centre, called the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation, in Broadmeadows. It is hidden away behind the Maygar army barracks on Camp Road with no sign to indicate it is there.
The Socialist Alliance organised a protest outside the centre on August 11 to publicise its existence. When the local media was notified about the protest, none of the journalists approached had heard of it.
For many union leaders afraid of a Coalition victory on August 21, campaigning against Tony Abbott in the federal election simply means campaigning for Julia Gillard.
With a conservative win on the cards, unions have escalated their pro-ALP campaigning. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) 鈥 which has filled Labor鈥檚 coffers with more than $340,000 for the election campaign 鈥 has enlisted officials for ring-arounds in marginal seats.
BRISBANE 鈥 Quien Dijo Miedo (鈥淲e are not afraid鈥), an film about the popular resistance to the military coup that took place in June last year in the Central American country of Honduras, was shown at the Queensland Council of Unions building on August 6.
The screening was sponsored by organisations including the Communist Party of Australia, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Socialist Alliance, Guatemalan group URNG-MAIZ Australia, the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network, and the El Salvadoran FMLN.
On August 12, members of the Unite trade union employed at six airports by the privatised British Airports Authority voted to strike by a margin of three to one, rejecting a one percent pay rise offered by BAA. The 6185 Unite members at the six affected airports 鈥 firefighters, security staff, engineers and support staff 鈥 accepted a pay freeze in 2009.
BAA also withdrew a proposed 拢450 bonus for the airport workers and informed all staff that they would lose out on their annual airport incentive payment of 拢700 for 2010.
After a successful strike and picket line on August 8, Victoria University鈥檚 (VU) vice chancellor, Liz Harman, agreed to negotiate on pay and conditions.
Until then, senior management had demanded that promised pay rises this year be in return for abandoning regulation of workloads in the current enterprise bargaining round. The National Tertiary Education Union Branch (NTEU) has now suspended its bans on releasing results. Stood down union members have been reinstated.
BRISBANE 鈥 The annual Hiroshima Day rally and march took place on August 7, commemorating 65 years since the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city, killing about 100,000 people. The event was organised by the Rally for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament with the theme: 鈥淛oin us on the road to nuclear disarmament鈥.
鈥淏usinesses like making profits鈥, said Labor leader Julia Gillard on ABC鈥檚 Q&A on August 9. She was explaining why Labor opposed the Coalition鈥檚 proposal to raise the company tax rate by 1.5%. 鈥淚f they鈥檝e got to pay more tax and that鈥檚 going to cut into their profits, then they鈥檒l think of a way of adding a bit more profit.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the best way of adding a bit more profit in? They put up prices.
鈥淚t, you know, just stands to common sense reason, doesn鈥檛 it?鈥
The Greens lead NSW senate candidate Lee Rhiannon agrees.
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