The Socialist Party had a very successful annual National Conference in Melbourne last weekend. The Friday night featured a debate amongst the left and the theme was ‘Where is Australia Going?’. The crowd was a mix of Socialist Party members, a few Green Party members, trade unionists and ordinary people interested in the views on offer.
By Socialist Party reporters Melbourne

Greens candidate for the seat of Melbourne at the upcoming Federal election, Adam Bandt was followed by Union Solidarity leader, Dave Kerin and SP’s Councillor in the City of Yarra, Stephen Jolly.

The main themes were: the fragile nature of the economic upturn; the fact that big layers of society have missed out on the boom; the collapse of the ALP as a party willing to represent working class people; the low level of class struggle at the moment and the need for a new workers party. We also discussed likely perspectives if Howard was re-elected and if Rudd won. A bucket collection on the night raised over $150 for the fighting fund!

On Saturday morning we discussed international issues. Anthony Main spoke on Iraq, the world economy, China and our region, while Denise Dudley concentrated on Latin American developments and especially on Venezuela from where she has just returned. We explained our support for the reforms undertaken by Chavez but warned of the dangers of counter-revolution there as along as the power of capitalism remained unbroken in Venezuela.

On Saturday afternoon we discussed the plans for building our party for the next 12 months, including youth and student work, electoral work and education. SP members were confident that we will build in the next period. A fighting fund appeal to our members raised over $4,000 in donations!

That night we had a trivia night which was hosted by one of Australia’s most popular comedians, Corrine Grant. Just over 170 people packed in the Trades Hall ballroom for a fantastic night. The event brought together some of Melbourne’s best community campaigners from the Atherton Gardens Residents Association (AGRA), the Save St. Andrews Kindergarten campaign and the Socialist Party.

Speeches were from Brandon Sahnkovich Chair of AGRA, Caterina Stella from the Save St. Andrews Kindergarten campaign and Stephen Jolly. Both Brandon and Caterina pointedly thanked the role SP played in their campaigns and there was an inspiring “Three Cheers for the Socialist Party” from the crowd.

Corinne Grant was brilliant as usual and everyone was impressed with her staying on after the questions finished to talk to so many people. It was marvellous to see public housing residents, trade union and students activists, Kindergarten parents and SP members all mixing in so well. $2635 was raised on the night being split between the three groups.

The following statement on the Australian political situation was adopted by the conference as the main political resolution.

Where is Australia going?

The opinion polls show the ALP in a winning position. However more recent polls have the Coalition cutting into Labor’s lead. The election could still go either way.

This revival of Howard’s fortunes in the polls coincided with the forced resignation of Dean Mighell from the ALP, the suspension of Joe McDonald’s membership to the ALP, the promise to building industry bosses to keep the anti-union Australian Building Construction Commission until 2010 (which denies legal advice and the right of silence and allows indefinite detention for workers), and hints of retreats on the promise to scrap AWAs.

In other words, Labor is retreating from its big vote winner (industrial relations) and this is losing it votes. Howard is also attempting to create a new ‘Tampa’ incident over the horrendous situation facing indigenous people in the Northern Territory.

Virtual martial law, backed up by the army, is being declared in vast chunks of northern Australia. This martial law will be next seen in Sydney in September at the APEC Summit – this is the direction the ruling class is moving in to get its policies implemented. It will only be stopped by the mass action of the working class.

A situation created by dispossession and systematic under funding of health and all other services is being blamed on Aboriginal people themselves. Labor meekly supports the Federal government on this issue, as it does with virtually every attack by the Coalition on ordinary people. Labor is more desperate to show the capitalist class that it would be a safe pair of hands on the levers of power than it is to mobilise working people against the government and big business.

Even before winning the federal election, the ALP is showing that it will be a party for big business.

ALP pre-selection of candidates was long ago taken from the rank and file and given to party headquarters. Now it has been taken from there and handed directly to Rudd’s office. There is no possibility of reclaiming the ALP for socialist ideas.

Any victory for the ALP will be because of dissatisfaction with the Federal government not because of enthusiasm for Rudd and Gillard. It will be despite the policies of Labor not because of them.

Trade Unions

Strike rates are at an all time low. The first three months of this year saw only 33 disputes nationally involving 3,600 workers leading to 6,900 working days lost. These figures are the lowest since records were first kept in 1913!

This is not due to major defeats suffered by workers but because of the near non-existence of unions in new sectors of the economy like IT and call centres and amongst casual workers in retail and fast food. It is also because of the meekness of many of the union leaders in traditional sectors which has meant that this economic boom has not led to a general rise in wages over inflation despite the skills shortage.

No wonder the Financial Review can gloat: “While not particularly welcome news for households trying to make ends meet, the fact that the long period of sustained growth – topped by the resources boom – has not yet triggered a wages breakout is being hailed by those whose job it is to manage the economy.”

While the current level of struggle is an all time low – despite this we have to be prepared for all events. There is no shortage of anger or desire to fight against attacks. What is lacking is a mass alternative giving direction to this frustration.

The vast majority of union leaders have no vision to challenge capitalism and fight for socialism. Therefore they are forced to accept the rules of capitalism. They have no answers to threats of bosses relocating to Asia or the bosses mantra that wage rises will lead to inflation. They have only one ‘strategy’: keep their heads down and hope an ALP government will be ‘a bit better’ than the Coalition.

The current low level of class struggle in no way represents a mood of satisfaction by workers. The bosses’ one-sided assault on wages and conditions and job security is building up a mountain of dissatisfaction and anger.

Political representation

On the ground there is growing opposition to the effects of privatisation; student debt; corporate greed; and price gouging in relation to petrol and food prices. On the issue of Global Warming we can see how the main parties and big business have had to move fast to try to catch up with more progressive public opinion to ensure the debate stays on pro-market, capitalist principles such as carbon trading.

There is no enthusiasm for the major parties amongst any layer of the population. The Greens have partially exploited this feeling, at least in the inner cities. But this is limited by the bad experience of Greens in Council positions and their inability to take up class issues. They will be squeezed a bit in the federal election as some of their voters return to the ALP – but, as long as there is no new mass left workers’ party, they will continue to be a factor.

If Coalition win…

There will be stepped up attacks on workers’ rights, on unions, and on all the gains won in the past in education, health and social services. This will lead to heightened radicalisation and struggles, outside the control of a then demoralised ALP and weakened trade union movement. That’s not to say there will not also be defensive struggles led by unions, and also involving other ‘non-unionised’ layers of workers.

The situation would not be like the post-1985 period in the UK. Then the Conservative Thatcher government waged an assault in the wake of the heavy defeat suffered by the miners – the then vanguard of the British working class.

Here, new attacks by Howard and the employer class would be in the context of a continued economic upswing and with workers not yet suffering a significant defeat. The mood of millions is cynical, confused, stressed – not defeated and demoralised.

We predict the struggles against the government will take an extra-parliamentary road if Howard is re-elected. There will be a general feeling amongst young people in particular that parliamentary politics and official politics get nothing. Struggles would be on the street on issues like the environment, capitalist globalisation etc. Against the background of demoralised ALP, the call for a new workers’ party would gain support.

If Labor win…

There will be next to no honeymoon. They will carry on the fundamentals of the Coalition programme as Rudd and Gillard are spelling out every day now. Changes will be in style at best.

The trade unions will be will be more confident than now and make at least some attempt to regain lost ground. Other layers like students, indigenous people and environmental groups will be placing bills at the table of a Rudd government. When those bills are not paid there will be clashes.

For different reasons than if Howard is re-elected, the call for a new workers’ party will be better received than before and we may need to initiate an active broad campaign to fight for such an initiative.

Balance of power amongst the classes

It is important to remember that despite surface indications, the balance of power lies with the working class. The social weight and the economic power of workers is as strong as ever. There have been no significant defeats or atomisation of workers.

The recent petition by WA miners on individual contracts concerned about unsafe working conditions, shows that even amongst well-paid workers on individual contracts (and probably voting Liberal) there will be a reaction to corporate greed amongst even currently acquiescent workers.

For millions of young people the ‘boom’ means little. The share of national income going to the working class is down from 56% in 2000 to 53.8% now. What type of boom is it that makes workers get less not more?

Millions of young workers are trapped in casual jobs, with no prospect of ever owning a home; and even have great trouble finding affordable rental accommodation. They will have a HECS debt for years if they study. The taking away of caps on HECs places mean that soon only scholarships will enable working class students to get a place at university.

Concerns about issues like global warming, the Iraq war, job insecurity, and the public transport crisis are highest amongst young people. At the moment there is little opportunity for them to express their discontent.

However the seeds are being sown for a big turn around in political consciousness in the period ahead. The growth in socialist ideas in Latin America and the mass strikes in South Africa and Nigeria are the music of the future for the rest of the world.

Economy

The boom was initially based on the stock market; then on property; now on exports to China and India. However it has been a boom for business, not in the main for working people and students.

The working class has either missed out totally on the upturn or only enjoyed the benefits of it through greater levels of exploitation resulting in long hours, stress and insecurity. Unemployment is very low only because millions of workers are under-employed or working in low paid casual jobs under duress from Centrelink.

Despite John Howard’s claims of continuing strong economic growth the future for the Australian economy rests tentatively on the resources boom. This boom is subject to any down turn in commodity prices and we have already seen this start to plateau. The boom is based on attacks on the working class and growth based on housing bubble-backed household debt. An Australian recession would aggravate all the processes we outlined above.

Conclusion

The Socialist Party believes that the main crisis facing working people is the crisis of working class leadership. The leaders of the trade unions and the Labor Party, who claim to represent working people, in general either see no alternative to the anarchy of the capitalist system or worse still support the policies of neo-liberalism. Workers are like lions led by lambs.

Workers have been held back from using their most powerful weapon in the fight against Howard and his big business paymasters – the weapon of withdrawing their labour. If mass strike action was taken we could defeat every piece of anti worker legislation Howard has introduced.

If workers were conscious of their social weight in society and a mass party was present to outline the alternative vision of socialism, we could change the world in a very short period of time. The job of the Socialist Party is to both build such a party and to make workers conscious of their power. We will be greatly assisted by capitalism itself which will continue rob the poor to pay the rich.

There is no fundamental difference between the working class in Latin America and the working class in Australia or any other part of the world. The difference for example in a place like Venezuela is that the masses have been given a taste of the alternative vision of socialism. The types of militant struggle that is taking place in Latin America will not be confined to that continent for ever.

Working class struggle will be back on the agenda in Australia in the not too distant future and the Socialist Party will be at the forefront of that struggle.