With recent news of ALP politicians selling themselves to developers and others via various fundraising methods, earlier reports of official funding of the ALP through company donations take on new meaning.

NSW ALP officially got $1,446,520 from property companies in 2005/2006 $319,574 more than it got from unions. Whilst not properly reported donations from developers are now coming to light, what other such donations may be lurking from power companies and others who will profit from the electricity privatisation?

According to the Australian Electoral Commission 2006-2007 electoral returns report we can see that $75,000 has been donated from Origin Energy and another $33,000 from ERM Power. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Premier Morris Iemma has promised $372 million for consumer and environment protection measures to boost energy rebates for pensioners and low income earners and towards research for clean coal technologies. One of the recommendations from the Unsworth Consultative Committee that Iemma did not accede to was for price regulation to be extended indefinitely.

This is a clear admission that prices will be going up under privatisation and that extra protection is needed for the environment. The fundamental principle is that you cannot control what you do not own. Private companies will use every means at their disposal to ensure they make profits including taking legal action against governments.

Privatisation is bad for everyone except those capitalists who will make money from it. It is bad for consumers because they will end up paying more and get a much more unreliable source of power due to reduced maintenance. It is bad for the environment because private companies are in the business of power production for profit they are not in the business of voluntarily protecting the environment.

It is also bad for NSW residents as a whole as it will mean less income from this industry in the long term and therefore less money to be spent on schools and hospitals. If it wasn’t such a good money generator why would the private profiteers want it? It is especially bad for the workers in the industry because they will have much less job security, less health and safety on the job and less new workers coming into the industry.

The rallies that have taken place so far are a good start, but these should be a launching point for other mass rallies and for industrial action. The Socialist Party calls for a broad based community and trade union campaign to defeat Labor’s plans to privatise the electricity and any other state owned company.

Of the ten who pleaded guilty to charges including riot, affray and assault, five have been sentenced to community-based orders and the other five received jail sentences, which have been fully suspended. Four will also have to pay compensation to the Victoria Police.

Twenty eight people in total had charges laid against them arising from incidents at the G20 protests. These charges came after a Victoria Police Taskforce was set up to investigate the protests and harass and intimidate activists. All of these charges, some of which carry a maximum penalty of up to 25 years jail, are trumped up and politically motivated.

It is clear that some of the protesters who attended the G20 demonstration did dismantle police barricades and cause minor damage to a police brawler van. This however does not equate to a riot or even affray. The damage that occurred on the day was minor and should be treated as such. These charges are clearly political and aimed at cracking down on political dissent.

In march Monash University student Akin Sari was also sentenced to a minimum of 14 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary and theft, two counts of common assault and riot, and three counts of criminal damage.

Four children also face serious charges including riot and affray. Their case is being heard in the Children’s Court. Thirteen others who have refused to plead guilty to these trumped up charges have been sent to trial in the County Court.

Through pursuing these activists the Victorian Labor government is hoping to demoralise sections of the anti-capitalist movement and tie them up in expensive defence campaigns. They also want to lower the threshold for political charges such as riot and affray in order to set a precedent for future protests.

If nothing else this case shows that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor. For example the delegates who attended the G20 summit in 2006 had amongst their ranks some of the world’s biggest war mongers, exploiters and climate change criminals.

Under the current system these people will never even see the inside of the court room for their crimes let alone a jail cell. In fact the Labor Party and the Victoria Police rolled out the red carpet for their big business mates and worked hard to ensure their meeting went ahead.

In contrast when ordinary young people come out to protest the horrors of a world dominated by the interests of the rich and some minor property damage occurs they are forced to meet the full force of the law.

Whilst the Socialist Party did not agree with the tactics used by all of the protesters at the G20 demonstration in 2006, we fully support those arrestees who are standing firm against this intimidation and the attempts to criminalise protest activity. We stand firmly against the Labor Party and their attack on democratic rights.

We demand that all of the charges against all of the G20 arrestees be dropped. We demand that Akin Sari be released from jail and that the community based orders and suspended sentences be withdrawn. No compensation should be given to the Victoria Police. Today it is the G20 protesters tomorrow it could be anyone else who stands against the system.

For more information or to make donations to the defence campaign visit: http://www.afterg20.org

Public meeting in Melbourne

If you are in Melbourne attend the public meeting being held at Trades Hall tonight (Thursday May 8th). It has been organised by OGASN - Ongoing G20 Arrestee Solidarity Network. The speakers will include: Rob Stary, lawyer, A G20 Arrestee and a union representative. 7pm Thursday May 8 @ Trades Hall Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts. All Welcome.

More related charges

The Socialist Party has also been informed that the Victoria Police are still pursuing SP National Organiser, Anthony Main, in relation to events that took place outside one of the hearings of the G20 case in August last year.

Anthony was attending a vigil for the G20 arrestees outside the Melbourne Magistrates court when the police arrested a man for carrying a pair of nail clippers! In an over the top fashion the police officers, who were wielding batons, instigated scuffles in which Anthony was caught up in. Anthony was subsequently hit with a police baton up to eight times on the forearm.

The police have now told Anthony that they will be charging him with obstructing police, hindering police and assaulting police. These charges are clearly trumped up. It was actually Anthony who was assaulted on the day and the footage was played on all of the television news. The Socialist Party has engaged a legal team and we will be defending these charges both legally and politically. More news and information will be published on our website soon.

Join the Socialist Party

If you agree with what you have read in our newsletter or on our website you should consider joining SP. The Socialist Party has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth as well as members and supporters in all other states.

We are involved in trade union work and student work. We also run community, anti-war and environmental campaigns. But most of all we want to build a party that will fight to get rid of the capitalist system. We fight for socialism - a system that will bring an end to wars, poverty and environmental destruction. For more info contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111.

Subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ newspaper!

Become a supporter of SP by subscribing to our monthly newspaper ‘The Socialist’. It only costs $20 per year or $10 concession and you will receive our paper delivered to your door every month. You will also receive our email newsletter every week and you will know that you are supporting an organisation that is at the fore of fighting against the capitalist system. To subscribe phone 03 9639 9111 or email our National Office.

The May edition is out now! Pick it up from one of our street stalls!

Socialist Party regional activity-

Victoria

To find out more about SP in Melbourne contact Anthony on 0396399111.

New South Wales

To find out more about SP in Sydney contact Gary on 0297287727.

To find out more about SP in Newcastle contact Samantha on 0249681545.

Western Australia

To find out more about SP in Perth contact John on 0894020728.

Rest of Australia

To find out more about SP anywhere else in Australia contact our National Office on 0396399111.

News links just a click away –

Britain: Meltdown for Brown – but he won’t change course
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/05/06britaa.html

Northern Ireland: Sacked airport workers six year long battle for justice
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/05/03northa.html

Egypt: Textile strike shows the way forward for Middle East workers
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/05/03egypta.html

Get Active - Join the fight back, Get Militant - Join the Socialist Party.

The Socialist Party is the Australian section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). To contact or join the SP or the CWI anywhere in Australia, or the world, call +61 3 9639 9111 or email our National Office.

‘Workers of the world unite – you’ve got nothing to lose but your chains’

http://www.sp.org.au
http://www.socialistworld.net
http://www.myspace.com/socialistpartyaustralia

The Ombudsman has asked Dave to supply a government agency with all information and documents concerning Union Solidarity, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and individual workers who participated in the strike.

Dave has made it clear that Union Solidarity will not comply with laws and government agencies whose sole purpose is to prevent workers having the ability to strike and organise. It is clear that the Workplace Ombudsman (on behalf of the Federal Government) is pursuing Dave in order to break Union Solidarity, which has played a crutial role in many industrial disputes across Victoria in the past three and a half years.

Above: Dave Kerin speaking at a mass meeting of Boeing workers.

The Socialist Party fully supports Dave and Union Solidarity and we are asking our supporters to also indicate their support.

For updates about this battle click the link below to visit the Union Solidarity website. Please add your name to the sign up form while you are there.

http://www.unionsolidarity.org/irnews/2008/05/defend-dave-kerin.html

Messages of support can be sent to Dave Kerin at defenddave@unionsolidarity.org

For more information contact 03 9639 9111 or email our National Office.

The main theme of the day was opposition to the state Labor government’s plans to privatise the electricity industry. Many people were wore bright yellow ‘stop the power sell off’ t-shirts.

Most of the crowd were either union officials or from the various left political organisations. Some unions had a large presence on the rally but in general the unions could have done a better job of organising for more rank and file members to attend.

The vocal crowd marched around Darling Harbour in front of the ALP Conference venue calling on the delegates to vote down the privatisation proposal which was to be discussed later in the day.

The proposal was subsequently voted down by 702 to 107. Despite this NSW Premier Morris Iemma has pledged to defy the conference decision and go ahead with the privatisation.

If he is successful in convincing the parliamentary caucus, pressure will be back on the unions to step up the campaign and organise more protests and industrial action.

In Melbourne over 500 people attended the rally on Sunday May 4 outside the Victorian Trades Hall. The crowd marched through the city centre and eventually back to Trades Hall to hear several speakers and music.

For the first time a small group of Fascists disguised as Black Bloc ‘National Anarchists’ tried to infiltrate the rally. They were flanked by two mounted police officers at the rear of the march.

SP members warned the police not to support the Fascists and told them to leave the march. Despite the boldness of the Fascists to even attend the march they were visibly frightened and left the rally almost as soon as they were approached.

On a day when we celebrate internationalism and working class unity there is no room for the racist crimes of Fascism. The labour movement needs to ensure that this scum is not allowed to infiltrate our rallies in the future.

May Day rallies and celebrations also took place in several other cities and towns including Adelaide and Perth.

Photos will be available soon.

For reports of May Day celebrations in other parts of the world visit socialistworld.net.

‘The worst result for Labour ever’ is how the newspapers are describing the May 1 local election results in areas of England and Wales. At the time of writing, not all results have been announced but it is clear that New Labour have been punished at the polls, and that the Tory vote has increased significantly.

Against this background initial reports suggest that smaller parties have not had many major successes. St Michaels ward, Coventry, however, was one exception to the trend. Dave Nellist faced a major campaign by the Labour Party to try and unseat him but despite this he increased his vote, winning 1643 to 1336. As the Socialist Party election leaflets explained, “Dave exposes their planned cuts so Labour are desperate to get rid of him”.

Above: Dave Nellist, SP Councillor in Coventry

St Michaels ward has many new residents who don’t know of the Socialist Party’s record in the area. Out of desperation New Labour tried to deceive them, stating that, “only Labour can beat the Tories in St Michaels” ‘ignoring’ the fact that two out of three councillors in the area representing the Socialist Party. New Labour also exerted huge pressure on Bangladeshi and Muslim voters to support the Bangladeshi Labour candidate.

However, none of their tactics worked. Working class voters in St Michaels, from all backgrounds, went out to vote for Dave Nellist. Many Bangladeshi voters were furious about New Labour’s tactics, saying, ‘We don’t agree with voting on the basis of religion’ and ‘Dave Nellist is principled, he really opposed the war in Iraq, not like Labour’ and ‘we always support the socialists’.

In the coming months, the Socialist Party will be capitalising on our success – not least talking to the more than 40 people we met during the campaign who said they were interested in joining our party.

Further analysis of the local councils and London Assembly and mayoral elections will be posted on socialistworld.net over the next few days.

The Socialist Party (CWI Australia) would like send our congratulations to Dave and all of the comrades in our sister organisation in England & Wales. We wish you well in all of your future struggles.

Both sides have had ups and downs in the conflict and no one has emerged victorious. In 2002 the then prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, and the ‘Tigers’ entered into a ceasefire and the war was halted. Though negotiations were started to find a political solution to the problem they broke down amid accusations by both parties of violating the ceasefire. There was no progress towards negotiations to find a political solution to the Tamil national question. The present president, Mahinda Rajapakse, who came to power in November 2005 on a Sinhala nationalist platform, virtually went back on the ceasefire agreement and again started military attacks in late 2006.

The Sri Lankan military was able to capture Tiger-held areas in the East mainly due to the split in the ranks of the Tigers in that province last year. The president formally abrogated the ceasefire agreement in January this year.

Now the government has started a large-scale military offensive in the North to capture the Tiger stronghold in Wanni and Rajapakse has publicly stated that he wants to get Prabhakaran, the elusive leader of Tamil Tigers, “dead or alive”! This points to the thinking of government leaders that they can crush the Tigers by eliminating their leadership.

However, the present offensive which is in its fourth month now has not yielded any significant gains for the government. The president once spoke about a military victory in the North by the Sri Lankan New Year, which was in mid-April, and the military leaders now give deadlines of August and the end of the year, which indicate that the Sri Lankan military is still far away from capturing the Wanni

The government is hell bent on silencing any opposition to its strategy and programmes. Government and military leaders are labelling left party and trade union activists, human rights campaigners, journalists and media organisations and institutions as ‘traitors to the nation’. Physical attacks and threatening calls are carried out to intimidate such people.

Human rights are violated openly and armed groups closely working with the military are abducting people, mainly Tamils, for ransom. Disappearances, abductions and extra-judicial killings are reported almost everyday, however the government or the police have not taken any meaningful steps to alleviate the situation.

At the moment, the government’s main anger is directed towards the journalists who expose corruption involving top government politicians and military leaders. Twelve journalists, the majority of whom are Tamil, have been killed in the last two and a half years and several others physically attacked. The printing press of one newspaper which is critical of the government was set on fire inside a ‘high security zone’, indicating the military involvement therein. People very much suspect that these death squads operate with the connivance of the defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a brother of the president who has vociferously denounced all those who utter even a word against the war or corruption involving the government and military leaders.

Economy

In the mean time, the economy is in dire straits. The war is eating into the state coffers and the government is very very lavish in spending for the war while the ordinary masses are left to fight a loosing battle for their day to day survival. Inflation was around 24% in the last two years and 23.8% in March of this year according to Sri Lanka’s Central Bank. The price of commodities such as rice and milk powder have sky-rocketed during the last six months and the government has not done anything proper to alleviate the suffering of the people.

While the crisis in the world economy and steep rise in the price of oil have contributed to this situation, people are very much angry about it. They blame the rulers as this is mainly due to the inefficiency and mismanagement on the part of the government, comprised of 108 cabinet ministers, probably the biggest in the world. Nevertheless, the main opposition parties and trade union leaders have done nothing against this situation apart from issuing statements. Most of the trade union leaders are allied with the ruling coalition and they do not want to do anything against the government which according to them is engaged in a war to save the country from “terrorism” (of the ‘Tigers’). The working and poor people have been lured to support the war and to believe that the government would make the situation better by ending the war in a very short time.

Bogged down

It is clear, however, that the things are not going to be that easy. At present the government has been able to muster some popular support especially among the majority Sinhalese for its war effort, mainly on the basis of capturing the East and on the promise of the eliminating the Tiger “menace” in the north and the rest of the country within a few months. The Sri Lankan forces seem to be bogged down in a long drawn out war despite their claims of a large number of Tiger casualties. The Air Force has now started bombings in the north even at night. A considerable number of civilians including children have been killed or injured in the past month alone. The LTTE has mounted heavy resistance to the Sri Lankan military offensive in the North and has been almost able to halt the advancing army. While the Tigers undoubtedly have been subjected to heavy attack, causing considerable loss to them, the military is trying in vain to hide the number of casualties among their own ranks, which are not a few by any means.

Unless the government forces are able to gain a significant result within the next two or three months, their support base in the South will begin to evaporate. As the economic burdens get to bear down more and more on them, they will begin to question the wisdom of military leaders hitherto unchallenged by anybody apart from the Left. And people will get war weary. If it were not for the Tigers’ attacks on innocent civilians in the South, such as what seems to have been their work in the bus bombing at Piliyandala on April 25, there would not be much support for the war which is mainly propped up by the ultra-nationalist party of the Buddhist monks (JHU) and the Sinhala nationalist radical petty bourgeois party, the JVP.

Socialist demands

The USP is calling for an immediate end to the war and the beginning of negotiations to find a political solution to the national question of the Tamil people - a vestige left behind by the British colonial rulers. We call upon the government and the Tamil Tigers to respect the human rights of all the people, especially the right to life and the right to freedom of expression. While we cannot have any hope in the Sinhalese ruling class, which is very backward and parasitic, we call for the active involvement of representatives of workers and poor in any negotiations. Only through such participation can the true aspirations of the ordinary masses can be taken into consideration.

United Socialist Party stands in Eastern elections

Elections for the Eastern Provincial Council are to be held on 10 May and the USP is the only left party standing in them. The ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance and the main capitalist opposition United National Party are trying to deceive the people in the East. The Area is comprised of all three communities - Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim – with roughly one third of each. The UPFA is contesting in alliance with the TMVP Tamil People’s L- the split away group from the Tamil Tigers which is still carrying arms and openly acting in collusion with the Army. The UNP is allied with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress party, which has had the support of the majority of the Muslim people there.

The United Socialist Party is fighting on a platform of an end to oppression and discrimination against Tamil-speaking people, the recognition of a Tamil homeland in a merged North and East of the country with adequate safeguards for the Muslim community, a united struggle of all the people against war, poverty and exploitation and a socialist alternative.

Although the possibility for a free and fair election is very slim with the TMVP’s intimidatory power, the USP is providing the only alternative voice to a people hitherto subjugated by the barrel of the gun.

News Release

Just after this article was written, we received the following statement from the United Socialist Party (CWI in Sri Lanka):

Subramanian Nagularaj, leading candidate of the United Socialist Party for the Batticaloa District in the provincial council elections to be held an 10th May was attacked by alleged Pillayan group (TMVP) members in the heart of Batticoloa town at around 9.30 a.m. on Saturday, 26th April 2008.

Nagulraj and his supporters were distributing leaflets at the main city centre when two men who came on a motor bike assaulted him with their hands and snatched the bundle of leaflets from the candidate and rode away.

The Batticaloa Police was at first reluctant even to entertain the complaint of Nagulraj and only after information was given to the Colombo headquarters they recorded it. However no action has yet been taken to apprehend the suspects.

We are demanding a prompt and impartial inqury on this incident. This proves again this election is being conducted in a state of fear and intimidation by armed groups acting in collussion with the government authorities.

The torch relay has been dogged by protests against state repression in China and Tibet on its global relay over five continents. Worldwide an estimated 100,000 security personnel have guarded the torch in recent weeks – almost equivalent to the numbers of US troops in Iraq. What will happen in Hong Kong? We asked Leung Kwok-hung, better known as ’Long Hair’, who is a socialist member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and well-known activist.

chinaworker.info (CW): Will there be protests to coincide with the torch relay in Hong Kong?

LH: Yes, but it will be difficult. The police are very uptight about any protests. They make it very difficult for any alternative or opposition viewpoint to be heard. The torch arrived yesterday and so today [Wednesday 30 April] we had a protest but were stopped and surrounded 100m from where the official ceremony was being held, so it’s very difficult for us to express our opinion. It’s not easy either for the people who just want to see what’s going on, the police are calling out all their manpower. For Friday’s relay, there will be 10,000 supporters of the Beijing regime’s policies mobilised by pro-Beijing parties and organisations, so demonstrators with a critical standpoint will be overwhelmed. Even the Danish artist, Jens Galschiot, has been denied entry to Hong Kong, causing a formal protest by the Danish consul.

[Galschiot, who made the sculpture called ’pillar of shame’ to commemorate the June 4 1989 incident, was planning to attend a peaceful demonstration during the torch relay.]

CW: What is your position towards the Olympics?

LH: We are demanding political reform in China. The lifting of all restrictions: on the right of
assembly, expression, for the release of political prisoners and so on. We call for an international fact-finding mission to be allowed into China to investigate the human rights situation and especially labour rights in the country.

CW: What is your standpoint on Tibet?

LH: My organisation, the League of Social Democrats, has called for an end to the repression in Tibet. The Chinese regime should stop the repression immediately, and they should start negotiations with the Tibetan side. I stand for the right of self-determination for the Tibetan people, there should be a referendum, a vote, so they can choose.

CW: The Chinese regime and its supporters say the Dalai Lama and the exile Tibetan leadership are pro-US and even controlled by US imperialism, what do you say to that?

LH: Firstly, I don’t think the Dalai Lama has much weight politically these days. The young turks are already the ones making the running within the Tibetan exile movement. Yes, this leadership has strong connections to the US, and funding from CIA or US government sources, which of course I don’t support, but my perspective is that the Tibetans will begin to build their own organisations on the ground, once meaningful talks have started. They’ll be politicised and this will be reflected in the building of political organisations.

CW: What is your attitude towards the call for an Olympic boycott?

LH: Well, there’s a lot of hypocrisy on that issue. Basically anyway it’s too late now. A serious boycott campaign has to be organised by the labour movement and should in that case have been started much much sooner. They could have sent a fact-finding mission to China in 2004 to investigate the conditions of workers and human rights violations and linked that to the question of a boycott. The idea of a boycott is really not a sufficient slogan today. But for example if this idea had been taken up earlier and raised among workers in the airline industry, pilots etc., this could have been very effective. People would not have been able to go the Olympics if the airline workers internationally refused to fly there.

CW: What is your view of the protests inside China in favour of the Olympics and targeting Western companies with boycott actions?

LH: Well it’s actually very paradoxical if you look at the real role of the multinational companies in getting the Olympics to China. It is a patriotic movement in support of an authoritarian regime based on a capitalist system. It is supporting them in a fight with other capitalist countries. This is dangerous, it could be the beginnings of some kind of fascist movement in the future, based on petit bourgeois layers and lumpen proletarians around the idea of a ”strong China” and ”social arbitration”. This movement is not progressive at all.

To read other articles on the Olympic protests and Tibet on chinaworker.info:

China cools anti-Western protests and signals talks on Tibet (26 April 2008)

Tibet and the National Question (21 April 2008)

Olympic Games in crisis amid global protests (16 April 2008)

Tibet erupts! (16 March 2008)

Recent polls have shown that the number one issue for Australians is the environment. Most people think environmental problems are getting worse, yet big business companies like BHP Billiton continue to destroy the planet in their quest for more profits.

BHP Billiton is the world’s biggest mining and petroleum company and the biggest company in Australia. Last year it posted a record annual profit of $US 13.42 billion. BHP Billiton produces 50 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution annually. This is equivalent to 10 per cent of Australia’s entire emissions!

This multinational giant has failed to set any targets for gross reductions to its greenhouse emissions. Instead BHP Billiton has set a target to reduce ‘energy intensity’ by 13 per cent by 2010. This would allow the company’s emissions to continue to increase, so long as the company also continues to grow.

BHP Billiton is guilty of some of the world’s biggest environmental crimes. One example is BHP’s Roxby Down mine which is the largest uranium mine in the world. Roxby has been plagued by spills and despite the fact that radioactive waste remains dangerous for thousands of years, BHP has no long-term plans for waste management!

When all the resources have been extracted from the mine the company plans to simply ‘cap’ the tailings dump with soil. Currently BHP’s Roxby mine alone produces 15% of South Australia’s greenhouse gas emmissions and with plans in place to increase production this figure will sky rocket.

Despite his pre election pledge to seriously tackle climate change, Kevin Rudd is set to increase uranium and coal production and continue Howard’s legacy of giving massive handouts to companies who profit from fossil fuels. Currently the fossil fuel industry receives $9 billion in tax payer’s funds. In reality Rudd’s environmental policies are a firm handshake with big business, rather than a serious commitment to reduce emissions.

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need a plan to phase out coal fired power stations and increase investment in renewable energy. We also need massive investment into our public transport system to make it more integrated, frequent and free.

We need governments to legislate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need a 60% reduction by 2020 and a 90% reduction by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). Companies like BHP should be forced by law to follow suit, with compulsory targets to reduce their emissions.

Penalties for companies that break the law should be increased and those that claim they can’t make profits by adhering to the targets to reduce emissions should be nationalised. If you can’t run a company without destroying the planet it should be handed over to the public. We also need greater regulation to ensure safety and protection for our environment, and for those who work in these industries.

Some parties, including the Greens, have sought to imply that society as a whole is responsible for global warming. The Socialist Party rejects this point of view. We lay the blame for the destruction of our planet firmly at the door of big business.

It is big buisness whoes short term drive for profit, regardless of the consequences, has led to a dramatic increase in carbon emissions. We need to challenge big business polluters like BHP who continue to destroy our environment. We also need to challenge the profit driven capitalist system if we are to ever save the planet from destruction.

More actions against BHP Billiton are planned for May 30 and June 27. The actions have been endorsed by the Socialist Party, Nuclear Free Australia, Solidarity and the Latin American Solidarity Network. To endorse the actions or for more information contact 0396399111.

New SP pamphlet out now! Socialism and the Environment

The Socialist Party has just published a new pamphlet called Socialism and the Environment. It is a collation of material written by members of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) in Australia, Britain and the United States.

The pamphlet argues that urgent action needs to be taken to fix the current environmental crisis. It also makes clear that the changes required are totally at odds with the profit driven system of capitalism. Therefore the pamphlet also outlines a democratic socialist alternative.

Copies can be purchased from our National Office or by sending a cheque or money order to PO Box 1015 Collingwood VIC 3066. The cost is only $4 per copy plus $3 postage and handling. For international orders or more information call 0396399111.

Public meeting in Melbourne – The future for Smith Street Collingwood

All residents in the Yarra area are encouraged to attend this important public meeting which has been organised by the Socialist Party. We will be discussing the question of a local law to ban public drinking and asking is it required or is there a better solution?

Speakers on the night will include: Stephen Jolly (Yarra Councillor), Meghan Fitzgerald (Fitzroy Legal Service) & Denise Lovett (Parkies Inc.). The details are: 7pm Wednesday May 7th, 2008 at the Fitzroy Town Hall Reading Room, corner of Napier and Moor Sts, Fitzroy. For more information phone 0396399111.

May Day

Join socialist and trade union comrades on May Day in 2008.

Sydney – Meet on Saturday May 3rd at 9am at Darling Harbour.
Say NO to electricity privatisation! Protest outside the ALP conference.

Melbourne – Meet on Sunday May 4th at 1pm outside Trades Hall on Lygon St in Carlton.
Scrap all anti worker IR laws! Send a message to Rudd.

Join the Socialist Party

If you agree with what you have read in our newsletter or on our website you should consider joining SP. The Socialist Party has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth as well as members and supporters in all other states.

We are involved in trade union work and student work. We also run community, anti-war and environmental campaigns. But most of all we want to build a party that will fight to get rid of the capitalist system. We fight for socialism - a system that will bring an end to wars, poverty and environmental destruction. For more info contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111.

Subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ newspaper!

Become a supporter of SP by subscribing to our monthly newspaper ‘The Socialist’. It only costs $20 per year or $10 concession and you will receive our paper delivered to your door every month. You will also receive our email newsletter every week and you will know that you are supporting an organisation that is at the fore of fighting against the capitalist system. To subscribe phone 03 9639 9111 or email our National Office.

The May edition is out now! Pick it up from one of our street stalls!

Socialist Party regional activity-

Victoria

To find out more about SP in Melbourne contact Anthony on 0396399111.

New South Wales

To find out more about SP in Sydney contact Gary on 0297287727.

To find out more about SP in Newcastle contact Samantha on 0249681545.

Western Australia

To find out more about SP in Perth contact John on 0894020728.

Rest of Australia

To find out more about SP anywhere else in Australia contact our National Office on 0396399111.

News links just a click away –

Scotland: The SNP government, one year in power
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/04/29scotla.html

World Food Crisis: Total Failure of Capitalism
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/04/28worlda.html

China: New child slavery scandal exposed
http://www.chinaworker.info/en/content/news/408/

Get Active - Join the fight back, Get Militant - Join the Socialist Party.

The Socialist Party is the Australian section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). To contact or join the SP or the CWI anywhere in Australia, or the world, call +61 3 9639 9111 or email our National Office.

‘Workers of the world unite – you’ve got nothing to lose but your chains’

http://www.sp.org.au
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Socialists, trade unionists, anti-war campaigners and many others celebrate May Day 2008 against the background of deepening economic crisis. Belatedly many pro-capitalist economists and commentators have confirmed what the CWI has been arguing, namely that today the profit system potentially faces its worst situation since the 1930s Depression. The consequences of the madness of the market economy for many working families in the US and the West is the disaster of ‘credit crunch’, job losses, house repossessions and rocketing food and fuel costs. Rising costs for rice and other basic food stuffs have already this year plunged 100 million people into “extreme poverty” while provoking mass demonstrations and social unrest in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

After the collapse of Stalinism, the defenders of the bosses’ system crowed about the ‘triumph’ of capitalism. Now it is clear for everyone to see that capitalism is an irrational, chaotic and hugely wasteful system. Millions of workers will face slashed wages and unemployment as the bosses make cutbacks to try to keep their enormous profits or simply to try to help their companies survive recession. Working people and youth everywhere are the victims of capitalist crisis and recessions.

The profit-led system means endemic poverty, joblessness, environmental destruction, wars, and the spread of preventable diseases. Imperialist wars and occupation bring untold misery for the masses. It is estimated that the invasion and occupation of Iraq will cost a staggering 3 trillion dollars, as well as hundreds of thousands of lives.

Even during the recent years of global economic growth, 840 million people were chronically undernourished worldwide. Now the world economy stands on the edge of a cliff! Economic recession or even slump will destroy the lives of millions in the West and plunge the poorer countries further into the abyss.

General strikes

However, the working class will not meekly accept new attacks on their living standards, jobs and working conditions. Dockers in California are striking on May Day. Last week, teachers and public sectors workers went on strike in Britain over wages and oil refinery workers struck this week, in Scotland, over pensions. Danish and Swedish health workers are on strike. 2007-2008 has seen, for example, magnificent general strikes in Greece, mass industrial action in Portugal and militant action by German transport and public sector workers. West and East Europe is seeing more industrial action, from France to Romania, in both public and private sectors. For these actions to be successful, workers need their unions to truly represent their class interests - for fighting, democratic and independent unions!

2008 marks importance anniversaries for the workers’ movement; each of which serves to illustrate key aspects of the class struggle, particularly 1968. 1968’s high point was May-June in France, when ten million workers occupied their factories in a month of revolution and challenged the capitalist system. This clearly showed the power and role of the working class, but also the need for a clear programme, strategy and leadership if capitalism is to be overthrown. It is vital the Left and workers and youth learn the lessons of this revolutionary movement, to prepare for future struggles.

Today, Latin America is the most radicalized part of the world. A series of radical populist or left-leaning leaders have been elected to power in Latin America, the latest being Fernando Lugo, in Paraguay. Many of these leaders have spoken of socialism, most recently Morales last week while speaking to the UN in New York. But it is one thing to speak of socialism and another to show concretely what steps are needed to achieve it. Social change does not come simply through individual leaders but from mass action. To successfully overthrow capitalism and landlordism, and establish genuine workers’ and peasants’ democracy, mass parties of the working class, armed with bold socialist policies, are needed. The worldwide crisis of capitalism and the revolt against neo-liberalism in Latin America will put the issue of socialism back on the agenda, notwithstanding the continuing imperialist efforts to restore capitalism in Cuba and defeat the movements in Venezuela, Bolivia and elsewhere.

Socialist policies needed to answer capitalist crisis

Capitalism cannot meet people’s basic needs anywhere in the world. Under the pressure of severe economic crisis and growing class anger, even parties of big business will increasingly advocate state intervention and ‘neo-Keynesianism’ to try to find a way out of the economic turmoil and recession caused by their system. The CWI sections across the world call for the workers’ movement to urgently fight for decisive measures to guarantee jobs, a living wage, decent homes and for free education and health. But only socialist policies can end this crisis in the interests of working people and remove the threat of future crises. This is why the CWI combines fighting for the immediate needs of working people and the poor with arguing for the building of socialist movements that can transform society.

In recent years, new parties of the Left have started to develop in the space left by many old, former workers’ parties being transformed into purely capitalist parties. Unfortunately many of these have failed to seriously champion struggles of the poor and working class or put forward clear socialist policies. A result has been that they have not taken off or have gained some electoral successes only to later crash at the polls. The Prc in Italy is the latest example of the consequences of the leaders of such parties turning to the right and participating in capitalist coalition governments. Yet, this is just at a time when real socialist ideas can gain much wider popularity than they have done in many years!

Despite the deep disappointment felt by many workers and youth at the behaviour of the old parties and setbacks with some of the new left formations, new broad parties of the working class will inevitably arise, at some stage, in country after country, due to capitalist crisis and workers’ mass struggles. But to succeed, and not repeat the mistakes of the past, these new parties must adopt fighting socialist policies and be open and democratic organizations.

In some countries the crisis, and past mistakes of the workers’ movement, have combined to create difficult situations for socialists. In countries like Sri Lanka the CWI campaigns both on the immediate questions and to rebuild the socialist movement. This May Day the USP, the CWI in Sri Lanka, is holding a rally in the teeth of war-mongering and chauvinism, attacks on its election candidates and when the major parties have cancelled their traditional rallies.

The current capitalist crisis means the idea of a planned economy, under democratic workers’ control and management, will increasingly find a wide echo, as working people and youth look for a way out and are forced into titanic struggles. The only way to permanently overcome the present and increasingly acute crisis facing humankind is by abolishing capitalism and landlordism. The task of the socialist transformation of society is to bring the big monopolies, the banks and financial institutions into public ownership and to work out a democratic plan for the production and redistribution of wealth on a national and international scale. A planned economy, run and controlled democratically by working people, will make it possible to develop the productive forces in harmony with the environment. Only a socialist organisation of production and distribution can assure humanity a decent standard of life and end all kind of oppression and violence.

A new International

A new struggle for socialism will unavoidably involve answering the question of what happened to the Russian Revolution, were the establishment of Stalinism and its later collapse back into capitalism inevitable?

These questions will bring activists back to the ideas defended by the great Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. He fought against the rise of the Stalinist dictatorship and then, 70 years ago, helped established the Fourth International because the old internationals had become obstacles to the struggle for socialism. Trotsky described this as his life’s most important work – even more than his historic role in the 1917 Russian Revolution – because he was attempting to pass on the traditions of genuine Marxism and socialism to the new generations, who in turn would struggle to abolish capitalism.

Over the next years, mass consciousness will be violently shaken up due to the crisis of this system and by the realization by millions of workers and young people that they desperately need unions and parties that represent their class interests. Arising from this, the Committee for a Workers’ International, an international socialist organization, with affiliates and co-workers in 40 countries, on all continents, proudly carries on the struggle to help create a powerful mass workers’ International, which can lead the way in the fight to liberate humanity from the chaos and catastrophe of capitalism.