“This is not a war on terror, but a war to oppress and terrorise the working class around the world”. Khalid Bhatti introduced the Friday night opening session of Socialism 2008 held in Melbourne on March 14 & 15 with these words.
By Socialist Party reporters Melbourne

Khalid, a visiting Pakistani trade unionist and member of our sister party in Pakistan the Socialist Movement Pakistan, explained that the war on terror has been used to claw back democratic rights and civil liberties. The impact of which has been felt most strongly in the neo-colonial world as US led invasions have assisted the rise and increased support of right wing political Islam.

In particular it is women who have bared the brunt of this. In Iran, 100,000 women have been punished for not ‘dressing properly’, 30,000 women die in childbirth in Afghanistan every year and in most areas of Pakistan education for women is prohibited.

In Afghanistan the Taliban again control significant areas of the country. With their lucrative opium production up and running again, the Taliban are producing around 70% of the opium on the world market netting 63% of Afghanistan’s total GDP! The situation for Afghani’s is extreme- 92% live on less then $2 per day with only 18% having access to power and 70% having no access to clean drinking water.

Khalid spoke of the strong history of struggle and working class movements and the difficulties that exist for the poor and working class currently. He reported on the situation in Pakistan where the working class is continuing the fight although harsh laws prohibit union organisation within work places- 150-200 workers are expelled from their workplaces daily for joining a union.

The Saturday sessions opened with Steve Jolly, SP councilor in the City of Yarra, discussing the current economic situation which is fast leading the US into recession. Steve explained that the last 6 months has opened up a period of uncertainty for the world economy and that the effects of the slow down are beginning to reveal themselves in Australia mainly in the housing and finance sectors.

The discussion of this session focused mainly around a contribution that was made warning SP that socialists were often expecting and anticipating a massive crash of the market and a final crisis for capitalism, but that capitalism had recovered on many occasions during economic instability.

Mick Suter from the Perth Branch of SP explained that while socialists analysed and devised economic perspectives it would not be on the stock market that capitalism would end, but when workers united to overthrow it. He went on to state that the best period for class struggle is not when workers have been dragged down by a recession, but in the periods in between the boom and slump of the market which Marx explained as potential periods of changing conditions for workers.

Dave Kerin from Union Solidarity and Anthony Main from UNITE opened the session on the trade union movement under Rudd. They both exposed the myth that Rudd was actually ‘ripping up’ Work Choices. In reality he is replacing AWAs with another form of individual agreement, maintaining restrictions on right of entry into workplaces for union officials and maintaining most of Howard’s unfair dismissal laws. The draconian Australian Building Construction Commission (ABCC) also stays.

While the majority of workers have illusions in the Rudd Government, the calls for wage restraint coupled with a slowing of the economy and rising inflation will see increasing dissatisfaction from workers, potentially opening up a new period of industrial action. SP members and supporters working as teachers reported the current state of the EBA dispute in Victoria which saw 10,000 take to the streets of Melbourne in March.

Kylie McGregor from the Melbourne Branch of SP introduced the session on the environment. Kylie highlighted the contradictions that existed in the push for individuals to take on responsibilities for stopping climate change, while big business is able to do as it pleases. Personal conservation of resources can only account for 20% of change- this is not nearly enough to effect climate change.

Kylie exposed the failures of so called ‘friendly’ schemes such as carbon taxes and carbon trading which only results in ordinary people footing the bill and creating a commodity of carbon as big business trade their rights to pollute respectively. Everyone at the session agreed that real radical action is needed on climate change now. Kirk from the Melbourne Branch of SP reported on the recently held meeting by SP members and supporters to organise a campaign on this issue.

The final session of the weekend drew together many issues that were raised over the course of discussions. The General Strike of France 1968, introduced by Denise Dudley from the Melbourne branch of SP, highlighted the role of students as the spark of the events that bought France to the brink of revolution.

The absence of a genuine revolutionary party during this period as the main reason the revolution was not bought to fruition was high lighted as were the gains that were made for the working class in France and internationally by the 10 million strong strike. Khalid Bhatti from Pakistan summed up the session by explaining the revolutionary movements throughout the world during this period, including in Pakistan, and the lessons that we must draw from these events for today and the future.

The seemingly unstoppable force of the French working class stemmed from their knowledge that any reforms under capitalism would only be clawed back. They understood that equality could not be achieved under capitalism and that it was only through socialism that society would exist for and be run by the majority, not the minority.

Overall Socialism 2008 was a great success with over 50 people attending throughout the course of the weekend. Sp members from Melbourne, Sydney and Perth were in attendance as well as guests from the Workers Party in New Zealand. The strength of the ideas discussed at the event was confirmed by the money that was raised throughout the weekend. Over $3300 was raised for the Socialist Party fighting fund which was more than enough to pay for our Pakistani guest and cover all costs. We also raised another $1000 for our comrades in the Socialist Movement Pakistan.