DISCUSSION BULLETIN Volume 3 Number 5 April 2003 $2.50 NB: The deadline for resolutions for Second National Conference is midnight, May 4 2003 DOCUMENTS Letter to DSP National Executive from ISO National Executive 3 By David Glanz, ISO National Executive The ISO’s work in the Socialist Alliance 3 List of signatories for Open Letter (“Developing the common socialist voice”) at 28 April 2003 4 DISCUSSION The Socialist Alliance—building on our strengths: Draft perspectives document for the second national Socialist Alliance conference 5 By David Glanz, national co-convener Going Local 8 By Dave Riley (Brisbane Branch) Central Socialist Alliance: success in elections and beyond 10 By Paul Benedek (Central Sydney branch) RESOLUTIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTIONS FOR THE SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE Preamble to draft statement and resolution from Non-Aligned Caucus to Socialist Alliance National Conference 12 For a common socialist voice: draft statement and resolution from Non-Aligned Caucus to Socialist Alliance National Conference, Melbourne, May 9-11, 2003 12 Constitutional amendments moved by National Executive 14 Conference authorisation for breach of constitution 14 ORGANISATION OF SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE Draft standing orders for presentation to conference 15 Other motions covering organisation of conference 15 1 2 DOCUMENTS Letter to DSP National Executive from ISO National Executive By David Glanz, ISO National Executive April 27, 2003 realignments and regroupment on the left, you yourselves To: DSP national executive have had to draw the line—a line not imposed by some From: ISO national executive sectarian agenda but by developments in the world and Dear comrades, the struggle. We are writing in response to your letter to the As Jim Percy said to your 13th conference in January Socialist Alliance national executive dated March 19. We 1990 regarding fusion talks with the Socialist Party of apologise for not having replied earlier, but the war has Australia (since renamed the Communist Party of obviously been a focus for all of us in recent weeks. Australia): “[W]hatever other problems we encountered Although your letter formally supercedes Dick in the unity process, the positions taken by the SPA on Nichols’ letter of February 18, we would like to take this events this year (sic), and particularly the events of June opportunity to belatedly reply to your request for an 4 and following in Beijing, are unacceptable to our indication of what conditions would be needed for the party.” DSP to become an internal tendency of the Alliance. In other words, you rightly could not fuse with a We are opposed to affiliates becoming internal party which defended the massacre in Tienanmen tendencies of the Alliance. The position of the Square. Some questions cannot be fudged or finessed. International Socialist Organisation is that to discuss this However, we in no way see the building of a public or that condition is to misunderstand the tasks facing us. revolutionary organisation as counterposed to the As we argue more fully in the perspectives document Socialist Alliance project. On the contrary, we see the submitted by David Glanz to the Alliance conference, the Alliance as a place where revolutionaries and non- Alliance is not a product of a timeless strategy of revolutionaries can come together in joint activity around regroupment, but a response to a particular questions of concern to the broad left—not least to those conjuncture—namely the crisis in social democracy. breaking from loyalty to Labor. This means we are hostile to using the Alliance as a To return to our original point, we think an Alliance site of revolutionary regroupment. At the same time, and which gives special attention to contesting elections at all contrary to what may appear common sense, we do not levels can become the home for many of those disgusted think that a shift to a “multi-tendency socialist party” with Labor’s shift to the right but who seek to uphold would broaden the appeal and effectiveness of the socialist and working-class values. Alliance, but rather would narrow it. This does not mean, as some of your members The thousands of erstwhile Labor supporters now continue to allege, that the ISO believes the Alliance looking to left-wing alternatives at the ballot box are less should be passive between elections. On the contrary, we likely to be drawn around or into the Alliance if it is initiated the proposal for a campaign against the Howard recast as yet another small left activist party, even if it is war budget precisely because we understand the need for larger than both of our organisations combined. the Alliance to take up questions like defence of The Alliance must remain open and welcoming to Medicare, education and welfare. We support Alliance reformist workers and students. It must have its own networking and solidarity work in the unions, such as the independent existence and not be a rebadged version of public meetings and seminars in defence of Craig the existing far left. Neither should it be reduced to an Johnson and in opposition to the Cole royal commission. opportunity for affiliates to sell publications. We support the Alliance hosting interesting and The position of the ISO is that, at the same time as accessible public forums. participating in the Alliance, we continue to stand for the We shall be moving resolutions on all these questions building of an independent revolutionary party. Such a at the Alliance conference. party, while inevitably smaller than any “multi-tendency We know there will be a debate at the conference on socialist party” would have the advantage of theoretical the kind of Alliance we need and we welcome this. This clarity and the unity in action which flows from sharing a debate should continue for as long as members find it common political framework. useful or necessary. We shall be arguing for a We are sure you understand this need. While the DSP perspective for building the Alliance in line with this has spent much of the past two decades seeking letter and our document to the Alliance members. ! The ISO’s work in the Socialist Alliance [The following motion was passed by a meeting of the supporters are prepared to vote to the left in defence of ISO National Committee on April 26, 2003.] the values they still hold but Crean and Beazley have abandoned. The crisis in social democracy continues to deepen, The Greens have been the major beneficiary of this underlined by an ALP leadership battle virtually devoid process to date. But the Greens’ weakness on questions of politics. Hundreds of thousands of former Labor 3 relating to class means there remains even now an The immediate priority that flows from this is to important minority open to a socialist, pro-working class continue to build the Alliance campaign against alternative. Howard’s war budget—a clear example of where the This is what makes the Socialist Alliance project of Alliance can strengthen the left by taking up issues continuing relevance. affecting working class people such as health, education The International Socialist Organisation shall and welfare. continue to fight for its conception of the Alliance as a The national committee welcomes the fact that there united front between revolutionaries and reformists. We are now regular national phone caucuses of ISO are opposed to the Alliance being a site of revolutionary members active in the Alliance. The NC agrees to set up regroupment, as the Democratic Socialist Party sees it. a sub-committee from this meeting to work on drafting We also think that a shift to a multi-tendency socialist motions and amendments for the Alliance conference. party would narrow the appeal of the Alliance, cutting it The NC also understands that a substantial number of off from many of those moving away from Labor. non-affiliated members of the Alliance will be agitating A central element of our vision for the Alliance at its conference for a decision in principle to begin project is providing a broad left alternative at elections in shifting the Alliance towards a multi-tendency socialist defence of union rights, public services, free education, party. Medicare, etc, and against imperialist war, scapegoating Our delegates to the conference will put a motion of refugees, etc. expressing our position. In the event that we lose the This position is spelled out in more depth in the debate, this will take us into a new situation, one which perspectives document written under David Glanz’s will need further review by the next NC meeting. ! name for the Alliance conference. List of signatories for Open Letter (“Developing the common socialist voice”) at April 28, 2003 [Names in italics are those added to the list since the Lismore Branch: Andrew Watson, Lyn Stewart; publication of Discussion Bulletin Volume 3, Number 4.] Perry Libeau, Jim Knight, Alan Peattie, Barbara Elliott, Doug Burt, Neville Cain, Eric Watson Adelaide Branch: David Lockwood, David Marrickville Branch: Mitch Bond, John Reynolds Scrimgeour Melbourne North East Branch: Lalitha Chelliah, Bankstown Branch: Jepke Goudsmit, Graham Louise Walker, Robert Cecala Jones, Raul Bassi, Ben Gock, Bernie Rosen, Desar Bassi, Melbourne Western Suburbs Branch: Craig Leigh Howlett Johnston Brisbane District: Dave Riley, David Lafferty, Fay Parramatta Branch: Katrina Heckendorf, Alastair Waddington, Mark Cronin, Bernie Neville, Sam Watson, Dickinson, Allison Maxwell Haeng-Cho Halls, Robert Austin, Peter Riedlinger, Anita Perth Branch: Kiraz Janicke, Chris