DISCUSSION BULLETIN Volume 3 Number 7 May 2003 $2.50

DISCUSSION Justice for the Palestinians 3 By Socialist Democracy Contribution to discussion about prospects for Socialist Alliance 5 By Socialist Democracy Socialist Alliance—a new workers’ party? 7 By David Silcock (Melbourne North East branch) The Fall of the House of Labor? A position paper for the ISO motions on Labor 9 By Tom Orsag (International Socialist Organisation and Melbourne North East branch) Democratic rights in Cuba 10 By Bryan Sketchley, Melbourne Branch Socialist Alliance international policy—a response to Riki Lane 11 By Chris Slee (Wills branch) A story about decisions, commitments and implementation 11 By Janet Burstall (Central Sydney) For a simpler, more democratic method of electing delegates 13 By Karl Miller (Melbourne North East Branch) DOCUMENTS List of signatories for Open Letter (“Developing the common socialist voice”) 15 at May 6, 2003 RESOLUTIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTIONS FOR THE SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE ISO motions for the Second National Conference 16 • The Socialist Alliance – building on our strengths • No to Howard’s war budget – Medicare not missiles • Elections and the Socialist Alliance • Solidarity with the construction unions • Socialist Alliance and the ALP

Motion from Non-Aligned Caucus 18 By John van der Velden (Canberra branch and Non-Aligned Caucus) Addendum to seven-point motion from Non-Aligned Caucus 18 By Workers' Liberty Proposal for treating “Towards a comprehensive platform for the Socialist Alliance” 18 By the National Conveners Towards a comprehensive platform for the Socialist Alliance 18 By the Freedom Socialist Party Proposals for improving ‘Rebuilding democratic, militant unionism—Socialist Alliance and 26 the Trade Unions’ By Sue Bolton (Wills branch) Amended Constitutional Amendments 27 By Mark Lockett (Perth Branch) Draft resolution on the invasion of Iraq 29 By the National Conveners

[Continues over] 1 Draft resolution on Cuba 29 By Dick Nichols Draft resolution on criteria for new affiliations 30 By the National Conveners Draft resolution on West Papua 30 By Michael Reidie and Frances Evans (Melbourne North East branch) Draft resolution on membership dues system 30 By Tim Gooden and John O'Brien (Geelong branch) Draft resolution on Alliance logo 31 By Tim Gooden and John O'Brien (Geelong branch)

2

DISCUSSION Justice for the Palestinians By Socialist Democracy Socialist Alliance should not simply have a re-run of Judaism? This question is posed not only by Palestinian the debate among western Marxist groups about which nationalist members of the Knesset, but also by the artificial formula—two state or one state—best suits our Israeli left and anti-Zionist religious currents. It is not respective theoretical heritages. Particularly not when simply that Judaism is the established religion of the posed as a symmetrical question of the rights of state, as is Christianity or Islam in many other countries, nationalities. it is that civil law, immigration and social and economic Both “solutions” at the moment seem utopian, for rights are codified in relation to Judaism. though USA, European and Australian imperialist Israel, although one of the most formidable military leaders, Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and powers, (and armaments manufacturers) is dependent on Palestinian Authority leadership and the Arab regimes all the USA for its military survival. This is not to say it is say they support a Palestinian state of some sort, some not to varying degrees autonomous, but in the medium time, on some part of the territory of Palestine, events term, it cannot sustain its territorial integrity, nor its since Sharon’s provocation at the Haram as- illegal occupation of Syrian and Palestinian territories, Sharif/Temple Mount on 28 September 2000, have meant without the funds and weapons supplied by the USA. this realisation is further away than ever. Though Israel has manufacturing, agriculture, info- The starting point for discussion should be the current tech and armaments industries, the product both of north dire situation of the Palestinians: American and European investment and subsidies from • 1.2 million are citizens in the state of Israel, Jewish diaspora communities, (and the super-exploitation without equal democratic, social, and national rights, of Palestinian labour and recently hundreds of thousands and facing continuing expropriation of their land. of Asian and African “guest workers” ), without external • 3.3 million are in the occupied territories, in aid, and in particular, aid from the USA, the economy Gaza and the West Bank and East Jerusalem, would collapse. prevented from travel between towns and cities for Further, with over ten million people in an area 40 per work, education or medical care, and since 2001, two- cent the size of Tasmania, environmental sustainability, thirds of whom are living in absolute poverty. particularly in terms of water, is questionable. A • 400,000 are in Lebanon, excluded from most significant and possibly now dominant sector of the employment and services, and from living outside the Israeli political and academic caste is increasingly camps built after their flight from northern Palestine. obsessed with what it calls the “demographic threat” : of • 3.6 million are in neighbouring Arab countries, the 10 million people living within the current borders of usually more integrated than in Lebanon, but many the state of Israel, half are non-Jews. That leaves few still living in camps, and dependent on international options for maintaining a Jewish state on all or most of aid. the land currently occupied: • • 500,000 are in the diaspora in Australia, the Dramatically increase the Jewish population Americas and Europe. through immigration (Sharon called for a million • 3.8 million Palestinians in the occupied Latin American and South African Jews to migrate in territories or in neighbouring Arab countries remain 2001), induce a higher birth rate among the majority registered refugees and beneficiaries of the UN Relief of Jews, and/or liberalise recognition of conversions; • and Works Agency. Unilateral separation from part of the territories, In contrast, the five million Jewish citizens of Israel increased apartheid, increased inequality of rights can travel freely (even on the Israeli-only highways that between Jews and Palestinians; cut through the West Bank and Gaza), and have an • “ Transfer” of Palestinians out of the Gallilee, average standard of living similar to Australia (with East Jerusalem, West Bank and into Jordan or further rapidly deepening inequality). countries of exile, either by force or by sustaining The events of the past two years, and now the pressure to make life unbearable. invasion of Iraq by the Anglo imperialist powers, have increased the Palestinians’ isolation, and their perception Is an independent Palestinian state that while Israel continues its killings, house demolitions, possible? land expropriations, water theft, destruction of national While all Palestinians want an independent state, the institutions and cultural heritage, the rest of the world— reality of the best of the Oslo process offers was a semi- including the Arab regimes—does not care. The new talk state on perhaps 9 per cent of the total territory of 1921 of a “road-map” to peace with a Palestinian entity “with British Mandate Palestine, in at best 7 non-contiguous elements of sovereignty” , predicated on Palestinian cantons, with minimal access to water, no control over surrender and a second restructuring of the Palestinian international borders, no weapons larger than a rifle, a national institutions by the Central Intelligence Agency security force dependent on the Israelis and Americans, a and Israel. capital only in Abu Dis west of al Quds/ Jerusalem, only token concessions to the return of refugees to Palestinian Is a Jewish state sustainable? territories, no control of immigration, customs, or Israel was constituted in 1948, not with a declaration economy, dependency on Israeli energy and of independence, but with the declaration of a Jewish communications infrastructures, no dismantling or state. But can it be both democratic and defined by 3 disarming of the big settlement blocks that cut the Gaza • For Australia to open its borders to people from the strip and the West Bank into small enclaves… Middle East, including Israelis and Palestinians. The staged process now being dictated by Bush requires the Palestinians to give up their defensive Does the Israeli/Hebrew-speaking struggle before any concessions by the Israeli state, and nationality have rights? to allow the USA to determine who should represent or Some on the left, and some Jewish and Israeli participate in the Palestinian Authority and its elected opponents of the occupation, would see the above parliament, and who should run its security services. demands as negating the national rights of what would Any resulting dependent Palestinian mini-state with become a Jewish minority within the existing borders of however many “campuses” will ensure the conflict what is now the state of Israel. Traditionally Zionists continues. In this situation, Socialist Alliance should have asked why should Jews be the only people without a support a range of demands, based not on symmetry of homeland? Apart from the obvious, which is that there national rights, but on justice: are many peoples (such as Kurds) denied national sovereignty, we need to take note of the difference Immediate demands between a homeland and a state (a distinction which was • End the bombings, targeted assassinations, house significant to many historic figures now portrayed as demolitions, collective punishments and destruction of Zionists) and the elastic terminology of “a people” . Palestinian farms by Israeli forces; While Jews were seen in the oppressive ideologies of the • Withdraw the Israeli Defence Force and the settlers first half of the twentieth century and before as a from the occupied territories, east Jerusalem, Golan, the “people” and a “race” , retention of this essentialist Gaza Strip and the West Bank; concept is somewhat dangerous. Jewish communities in • Release of all political prisoners held by Israel most countries are united by religion, by some cultural (including Mordechai Vanunu) and by the Palestinian heritage and practices, and by non-religious community Authority; structures. They may constitute an “ethno-religious” • Pay back the tax revenues owing to the Palestinians; community, but one whose members share other • End the bombings of civilians inside the 1948 nationalities, languages and ethnicities. borders. There was an oppressed multi-class Yiddish-speaking nationality, without its own territory, stretching across Democratic and national demands much of Eastern Europe, largely destroyed by Nazism • Israel to become a state of all its citizens, with equal and later by Stalinism. And for many decades, there has democratic, social, health, welfare, housing, education, indeed been a created multi-class Hebrew-speaking religious and land rights; nationality in Israel, which occupies its territories at the • Hebrew and Arabic to be equal languages; expense of another nationality. At least since 1936 it has • The military and police must be fully integrated; been important for socialists internationally to support • Removal of all religious symbolism from the state; calls for Palestinian self-determination in the face of • Introduction of secular civil and personal law. colonial oppression. The Hebrew-speaking nationality exercised its self-determination and sovereignty only by Transitional demands expulsion and denial of rights of the Palestinians. Since • Implement the right of return of all the refugees to 1948 it is irrelevant to debate “national self- their home areas, restitution of confiscated land and determination” , yet the Hebrew-speaking communities houses to Palestinian owners; compensation and would retain religious, language and national rights reparations for the refugees; within a multi-national, democratic and secular state, • For an egalitarian immigration policy and an end to whether that is unitary, federated or divided into an the Law of Return which grants Israeli citizenship and unequal two: Israel and Palestine. social benefits to Jews from anywhere in the world; • Equitable distribution of water, transport, energy and Is opposition to Israel “anti-semitic”? In the last year in particular the Jewish press and communication infrastructures between communities. conservative ideologues have campaigned to label as Solidarity demands anti-semitic all opposition that questions the Jewish • Aid Palestinian NGOs providing social services and nature of the state of Israel, even that by socialist Jews or advocacy; those religious Jews who see the establishment of a state • End all military and economic aid to Israel by the as a betrayal of Jewish law/ethics. It is essential that USA; political space remain open for demands that go beyond • Reparations from the USA and Israel for an end to hostilities, a limited roll-back of the settlements reconstruction of Palestinian society and infrastructures and the setting up of a dependent semi-state for destroyed in the April 2001 re-invasions; Palestinians. Socialists must defend the justice of the key demands for equality and democratisation, and the right • Support for campaigns in Israel for an end to of return of the refugees. Socialists indeed aim at aggression and occupation, for democratic rights, for transformation of existing states, and oppose all states those refusing to serve in the IDF; established along racial or religious lines. Denial of the • Support the call of Israeli leftists to boycott products right to a state defined by Judaism is no more racist than of Israel and Israeli companies in the occupied territories, denying the “right” of Afrikaners in South Africa to a as well as western companies that fund the illegal Volkstaat. settlements. Isolate the state of Israel in cultural, It may seem strange to raise the issue of anti-Jewish sporting, academic fields; discrimination and vilification, at a time when 4 persecution of Arabs and Muslims is acute in countries class. Equation of Jews with Zionism plays into the such as Australia, yet is precisely at a time like this that it hands of the Zionist organisations that straightjacket the is important for socialists to react against racist attacks Jewish communities in countries like Australia, and on Jews and Jewish communities, to reaffirm that Jews prevents united front alliances with Jews around basic have full rights in Australia, that there is are distinctions demands against the occupation. While most (Jewish) to be maintained between the terms: Zionists, Jews, Israelis benefit from the expropriation of the Palestinians, Israelis, Judaism and the state of Israel. to confuse the vast array of political opinions held by While Israel plays a particular role in relation to US people in Israel, with the actions of the militarised Israeli imperial interests, it is wrong to assume that Jews play a state leaves no space for hope. ! distinctive role in decision-making by the US ruling

Contribution to discussion about prospects for Socialist Alliance By Socialist Democracy 1. As supporters of the Fourth International, mindful voted on by Socialist Alliance, or whether it is the policy of both strengths and weaknesses of regroupment of the affiliate we adhere to. This confusion cannot be processes in other countries, we support in principle the clarified by a rapid but superficial transition to a multi- evolution of the Socialist Alliance into a broad socialist, tendency party with a “Leninist” -party–turned tendency pluralist, democratic, multi-tendency party. Where which is overwhelmingly dominant and remains strictly successful, regroupments have been genuinely broad and disciplined. based on vibrant currents in the mass movements. But 5. The belief remains, among some within and given the fragile and fragmented state of the socialist outside the Alliance, that the DSP’s objective is to split groups in Australia, and our disconnection with the what has recently been its most significant rival, the ISO, labour and social movements, this process requires care, and dissolve, marginalise, co-opt or hegemonise the tiny time, discussion and reflection. Above all, in the context groups. There is a justifiably widespread distrust of the of the global capitalist offensive, and the acute current long history of sectarian and anti-democratic practices challenges posed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq, amongst the left in Australia. In our opinion these an effective Socialist Alliance requires a thorough re- methods stem in the main from Stalinism, but are by no examination of the politics, methods, instincts and means restricted to currents deriving from Stalinism or behaviours that have led socialist groups to be so adapting to Stalinist politics, as the DSP chose to do in marginalised from the wider labour and social the early 1980s. By sectarianism we mean, not factional movements. We do not see Socialist Alliance as building disputes, but the substitution of the immediate needs of a on our strengths so much as being necessitated by our socialist group’s leaders for the real needs of the whole weakness. movement. That is we judge success, not by a real-world 2. The proposal by the Democratic Socialist Party, as victory of the working class, but by whether we have the largest left current in Australia, justifiably proud of recruited, collected donations, or sold papers. Green Left Weekly and its branches and offices in each 6. After thirty years of activity, how is it that the state, to suspend operations as a party and become a socialist groups have so few members in elected tendency within the Socialist Alliance, remains positions in trade unions, so little respect, and so little problematic, since it would further actualise their influence among workers? The solution is not to establish dominance within the Socialist Alliance and narrow its caucuses of those trade union members who support reach. Socialist Alliance, as is alluded to in the trade union 3. The DSP argues that more resources are needed for resolution, but to assess which forces in each union best the Socialist Alliance to build on current opportunities, defend workers rights and which could contribute to and that is obviously so, since the momentum and building a class-struggle militant left in the labour enthusiasm of the early days of the Socialist Alliance has movement, to link with these militants where they exist flagged. Indeed activity levels are falling, and and learn from them. Given the very narrow and membership in the largest affiliates is dropping. But the evanescent support for Socialist Alliance thus far among limitations we face are not simply mechanical, they are militant unionists, it is likely the militants Socialist political. Alliance comrades should work with currently vote 4. It is true that the current situation is confusing for Labor or Green. DSP and non-DSP members of Socialist Alliance. People 7. Where revolutionary socialists have developed who chose not to be members of the DSP, who volunteer strong bases in the labour movement or in social to work for Socialist Alliance at rallies or at election movements, this has been the result of long-term stalls, are asked to distribute Green Left Weekly, as if it commitments, respect for militants of other political were the newspaper of the Alliance. Socialist Alliance persuasions, and learning from both successes and branch meetings are poorly attended, have little vibrant mistakes. Too often socialist groups in Australia have political debate, replicate some of style of the dominant replaced this long-term orientation with factional group, and give the impression that decisions are made discipline, which elevates short-term campaign gains, by DSP cadres beforehand. It is hard for members when attention to external priorities, and recruitment at the we refer to “our position” or “our intervention” to expense of what could result in a real advance in working remember whether we are referring to a policy actually class confidence and power. Comrades successfully 5 winning respect through their ability to communicate done as Socialist Alliance; most was done as with other workers and their political ideas and work independents or as affiliated groups, and the DSP and have been too often moved to new political assignments, Resistance leaders were clearly and publicly named as lest they develop trajectories inconvenient for the the decision-makers of Books not Bombs). socialist organisations’ leaderships. Sectarian practices in 11. Apart from the need for Socialist Alliance to the labour movement are justified by ultra-left theory, supercede all the sectarian methods we have carried from which sees the existing left within the Labor Party and the past into the present, there are key questions that need trade unions the main enemy, the worst betrayers and the to be clarified about the proposed transitioning of the central obstacles to the growth of socialist organisations. DSP from a “Leninist” party to a tendency within 8. Though we often profess how well Socialist Socialist Alliance, without a more thought-out Alliance can work alongside the Greens, too often we comprehensive up-to-date socialist policy base for voice immature sectarian dismissals of what is a complex Socialist Alliance, without thorough educative debate, and dynamic movement. It is not good enough to simply without a tendency-based delegate conference, and cast our weakness as a product of the current (transient?) without clarity about the platform of the DSP as an upsurge of the Greens as inheritors of the space to the left internal tendency of Socialist Alliance—surely not the of Labor. Nor can we credibly cast all currents in the existing program, which is that of a “Leninist” party? Greens as likely to betray the struggle. We simply don’t Nor the basic common platform of Socialist Alliance. have the credibility. What will be the core political stances the DSP will 9. This was evident in the NSW elections, where the recruit to as a tendency within the Socialist Alliance? Socialist Alliance came last out of all the upper house The messages from the DSP leadership are conflicting. If tickets, with approximately 0.14 per cent , beaten not there really are very few relevant political differences only by all the right-wing groups, but even by the Arabic among the socialist groups, why does the DSP leadership communities’ Anti-Privatisation Peoples Party. Energy proclaim that factional, political, organisational and for serious Socialist Alliance campaign work was very financial discipline needs to be tightened for the inconsistent, and very little policy development was transition from party to tendency? Why re-emphasise the done. At all stages the election campaign was education program culminating in Cannon? That doesn’t subordinated to the anti-war movement. Our demands reflect the openness to learning new insights and methods were hard to differentiate from the Greens (against the that would characterise a genuine regroupment process. war, for public education, public health, union rights), The Peter Boyle document, only placed on the DSP particularly since our materials were much less readable website after it was leaked, set off alarms for many in the than theirs, and we had failed to mark ourselves out as a Socialist Alliance. clear working-class or mass action alternative to them. 12. How exactly would the assets of the DSP be Apparently after the NSW elections, the Greens adopted controlled—and not just the real estate? How would they contradictory resolutions: to make special efforts to be deployed for the benefit of Socialist Alliance without increase their support in non-inner city and non-Anglo dependency or conditionality? Socialist Alliance must working class areas, and to reject donations from unions. have a level of financial democracy, transparency and 10. If Socialist Alliance is our big opportunity to accountability unlike those of its affiliates. The DSP break out of increasing isolation, we have to change our must come clean on the so-called “Bronstein Society” — thinking and our approaches. For too long socialist the inner circle which controls the moneys and property, groups have been looking for the big break and for completely outside party control. immediate gains: first there was the anti-Vietnam war 13. But also how would Green Left Weekly be youth radicalisation, then the “turn to the working class” transformed from a party publication (notwithstanding its , to the unemployed workers movement, the Greens, the launch more than a decade back as a broad publication Nuclear Disarmament Party, Communist Party of with non-DSP shareholders) to one that candidly reflects Australia, New Left Party, Socialist Party of Australia, the critical debates we need to have? Which taboos will Progressive Labor Party, the anti-globalisation be broken, and how can a broad editorial team effectively movement, and now Socialist Alliance. We sought the reflect the diversity that should be evident in the Socialist big breaks overseas: from the 1970s guerrillaism in Latin Alliance? America to the Sandinistas, Grenadans and Salvadorans, 14. How would Resistance change from being a from Fidel to Gorbachev, to the Party of Democratic theoretically independent youth group (whose leadership Socialism (Germany), the South African Communist is integrated into that of the DSP) supporting the Alliance Party (South Africa), the People’s Democratic Party into a genuinely broad thoroughly democratic non- (PRD—Indonesia), Socialist Party of Timor (PST—East sectarian socialist youth group? Timor), Socialist League (LS—Philippines) and Labor 15. How can Socialist Alliance develop a genuinely Party of Pakistan. After each bout of optimism, we broad, pluralistic and contemporary education program quietly and quickly moved on, and moved our cadres out for its supporters? Not by retailing the existing training of unproductive campaigns, without publicly analysing courses the larger tendencies use to inculcate their own lessons learned. This short attention span loses any particular heritages to new members. respect we win through hard work, and renders our work 16. How could the DSP’s organisations, such as routinist and somewhat apolitical. Each time we indulged Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) in triumphalism, in unrealistic perspectives, and now we and the Committee in Solidarity with Latin America and overestimate and over-congratulate the role played by the the Caribbean (CISLAC), be transformed into broadly Alliance in the anti-war movement, whose largest based solidarity movements? This would require that key mobilisations would have taken place without our personnel and decisions cease to be subordinated to DSP interventions (not that most of the anti-war work was structures, and that the objectives cease to be to narrowly 6 support the DSP’s international comrades such as the groups to break out of our ghetto is a complete and PST in East Timor and the PRD in Indonesia, or indeed fearless analysis of our weaknesses over the last three the Cuban Communist Party, but more broadly the decades. The risk of continuing on the current trajectory movements of workers and the oppressed in the Pacific, is the alienation of the diverse currents that can give life Latin America and Asia. Socialist Alliance should not to the Socialist Alliance. Socialist Alliance will lose replicate the fraction-based interventions of some of the participation and become a shell, a broader face or label affiliates in various social movements, when immediate for DSP, which will remain isolated from workers, youth recruiting has been the only performance indicator as to and the oppressed. The far-reaching renewal the left whether to commit cadre to medium- or long-term work. needs will be precluded. For the Socialist Alliance to be Work in social movements, (e.g., environment, successful, dynamic and sustainable, we need to evolve indigenous peoples, international solidarity, refugees and an open internal and external political culture of the antiracism, women, lesbians/gay men, disabled, Socialist Alliance, independent of the sectarian and prisoners) even when those movements may be undemocratic political cultures of most of the left groups politically weak, should be based not on exercising in Australia. The Alliance can be the basis of a thorough- leadership, but on respect for the autonomy of the going socialist renewal, but only if the affiliates take a movement and on continuing to learn how these struggles giant leap away from our sectarian methods, ditch our can enrich socialism. Recent experience, where we have caricature Leninist arrogance, and ground ourselves seen the DSP set up its own separate peace and pro- deeply in the existing labour and social movements. If refugee organisations, is certainly not the way forward. Socialist Alliance fails, and constricts into a periphery of 17. The answer is not simply the relocating of dis-empowered supporters of an unreconstructed and Socialist Alliance and it’s non-DSP members into DSP still-isolated DSP, this will be a set-back for the whole premises and organisations; what is required for the left left in Australia for a long time to come. !

Socialist Alliance—a new workers’ party? By David Silcock (Melbourne North East branch) scapegoating election. Their pathetic “me too” appeal Where we have come from was possibly the lowest and most disgusting appeal from At the inaugural conference a motion was put calling the ALP for decades. It also totally backfired as staunch for an investigative body to be established to look at what ALP voters refused to vote for them in disgust placing the Socialist Alliance could develop into. This motion their votes for the Greens in the absence of any other was resoundingly defeated. identified force whilst floating ALP voters went for the Now some 20-odd months later the need for that Liberals as the real racist party. works is as clear as a pikestaff. The lack of it could see the greatest setback to the initiative the Socialist Alliance Where are we going? heralded. The current inappropriateness of the Alliance As an unaligned member in the Alliance I also share constitution, the means through which it organically the frustrations expressed by the many people who have organises itself, is and has been felt increasingly since the signed the unaligned letter and appear to support the Socialist Alliance was established. seven-point resolution. The disgust when a local dispute The Democratic Socialist Party were the first to raised at a Socialist Alliance branch meeting is respond last spring with their decision to fold themselves transformed into a new recruit for one of the affiliates. into the Socialist Alliance organisation, in the process Attending stalls where there is literature for seemingly handing over paper and office resources. A brave and every other organisation under the sun but little for the noble gesture! Socialist Alliance. The lack of clarity as to what exactly The International Socialist Organisation in a fit of the Socialist Alliance is. pique said stop your proposal or we pull out of the The creation of the Socialist Alliance though initiated Socialist Alliance. This was at a time when ISO by the major affiliates was made at a time when broad comrades were standing for election as Socialist Alliance sections of the left in Australia were seeking something candidates in the Victorian election. No consideration more. The experience of S-11 was fresh in everybody’s was given to their position or that of the class who were mind. An event that showed that there were forces ready being asked to support and their threats of leaving the to be organised far bigger than the revolutionary left had Socialist Alliance. thought possible. The sheer scale of the anti-war The DSP pulled back from the immediacy of their demonstrations re-emphasises that point. Though others intention to allow the Socialist Alliance to function much in Socialist Alliance may claim that Socialist Alliance in the same style until this conference. There were members were at the centre of organising against the war discussion meetings organised around the country. it would be a somebody on bad drugs or a liar who said Unfortunately these discussions never really got down to that even the combined forces of the revolutionary left the crucial debate of how do we build a revolutionary were responsible for the sheer numbers who turned out. socialist party in Australia. Since the last conference we have had a few elections It kept bouncing between whether we want an where the policy of the “electoral united front” has been Electoral United Front, “that does things in between applied. elections” to we need a multi tendency organisation with Of more import than that though is the manner in a paper. which the ALP responded to the Liberals refugee

7

The multi-tendency proposal has been taken up by, at recognition of what the combined forces of the Socialist present, an unaffiliated group of 120-plus independents. Alliance currently have in their power. Not only do they want it but also they want it now. As an The Socialist Alliance is the largest grouping of independent I can understand the frustration and the kindred spirits seen on the Australian left for decades that desire “for something to happen” . However, I don’t wants to build a new organisation capable of removing really understand what either the independents or the Capitalism and replacing it with a society based on DSP want from a multi tendency party. peoples needs, socialism. A lot has been said about the Scottish Socialist Party Do we really need to rush into such an activity when as the model for a multi-tendency party but even here it we haven’t really worked out how we are going to get is unclear what exactly this is and how it is structured. there? Can we really afford to make a mistake in this The differences between the tendencies that make up the process because we were too impatient to sit down and SSP have resulted in bitter internal disputes. The issue work out how we were going to achieve it? Nothing on over how to relate to the firefighters’ strike last how we were going to achieve it apart from a tremendous November is an example. individual commitment “we will make it work” . The SSP only allows its paper to be sold publicly the Comrades we need optimism of the will but where are we proposals here in the Socialist Alliance seem to indicate addressing the pessimism of the intellect? any paper could be sold. Why? To what purpose? We can proceed on what has been called for by the Neither the group of independents nor the DSP independents and the DSP, but what really does that give clearly outline how the multi-tendency party should us in a years time? A larger organisation on the left than operate. Yet both are for it immediately! at present, a quantative improvement? Maybe. Given our opportunities in the current political What do we want to achieve? climate to be just the same but bigger would be failure. Despite the arguments of the ISO and the DSP in favour of apparently totally opposite directions, all A new party! groups involved in the Socialist Alliance, and others who The treachery of the ALP is at an all time high— remain outside, seem intent on establishing a socialist refugee election scandal, NSW ALP attacks on trade society in Australia and the world. With little unionists, the ALP’s disgusting stance on the Iraq War. disagreement amongst them they all see the achievement Against this failure we can now raise the need for a new of this demanding the establishment of a mass workers’ party. Now we stand the best chances of being revolutionary party. There has been little put forward by heard, being listened to for a considerable time. the principle protagonists in this debate over how this TO put out this appeal we don’t need to form the party will be achieved. multi-tendency whatever. We need to clarify our goals, Most leftists groups and grouplets around the world, make them appealing and relevant to large groups of apart from the bizarre, do not see themselves as the working and oppressed people. We don’t say we have the nucleus of such a party. Those I include in the bizarre see answer. We say to these larger sections that collectively their organisation as the nucleus of the revolutionary we have the answer—a new workers party. party and the mass party being achieved through a We have to seek to unite all the current strands in the process of individual recruitment. A schema that must Socialist Alliance but also groups outside of the Socialist entail a millennium until the organisation is large enough Alliance we want members from Workers First, to declare: “We are the Party” . Members First, Socialist Party, Socialist Alternative, the The alternative approaches though not clearly anti-capitalist movement, the campaigns in the Northern enunciated see a process of splits and fusions within the Territory against the criminalisation of young and revolutionary and left activist groups and organisations Aborigine peoples, etc. bringing together the key components of the mass This is not a time to contemplate our navels but to revolutionary party. work out how best to position these arguments in the Of the two key proposals being put to the conference, working class. How do we win these larger groups to our the ISO with much the same as today and the position? independents with multi-tendency party today, neither Support the Worker’s Power motion on building a seems to address how the mass party will be built. new Worker’s Party. Neither of the platforms are presenting us with a strategy, The only clear alternative to the disappointment and a tactical manoeuvre to get us out of the current log jam, disillusionment presented by the ISO with their “more of yes, but not a strategy. the same” promise. Or the strategic push from the DSP and the independents that will let us explain what has A way forward happened but fails to give us a guide. Though there is a real expressed desire, especially (The author can be contacted at [email protected].) from the independents, to get things done I call for more time. Not out of any simple desire to prevaricate but in

8

The Fall of the House of Labor? A position paper for the ISO motions on Labor By Tom Orsag (International Socialist Organisation and Melbourne North East branch) After thirteen years in government implementing class life under capitalism. What people cannot dream of “economic rationalism” , Federal Labor lost office in overthrowing, they seek to reform. 1996 and has been in crisis ever since. The winning of partial and temporary gains under It has not shifted to the left to recover some of its lost capitalism creates a partial class-consciousness. Workers vote. Rather it has alternated between rushing headlong do fight and win concessions from the boss. Even if some and drifting to the right. want its overthrow, for the mass of the class, it seems as Federal Labor’s inability to understand why it lost in if there is no need to be so “extreme” . 1996 has laid the basis for the subsequent losses in the Even the Russian Revolution in October 1917 was elections of 1998 and 2001. fought under the “reformist” demands of “Bread, Peace Those losses have exacerbated and deepened its and Land” . It was the defence of the Soviets and its crisis. Beazley’s current challenge to Crean is newspapers that saw the insurrection date set, not an symptomatic of it. offensive by the Soviets. Federal Labor has lost votes to its left—to the Greens Lenin tried to explain Western reformism as the super and, to its right, the Liberals, especially in some key profits of imperialism bribing an upper layer of the working class seats. working class—a labour aristocracy. Socialist Alliance was created in response to this Reformism, it seemed, was a small, thin crust holding turmoil in social democracy, a revival in the struggle— down a seething revolutionary mass. Events have proven most notably the protest at S11 in 2000 against the World him wrong in this analysis. Economic Forum—and a desire for unity on the left Eighty years on, we can see that the living standards outside Labor. of the whole working class rose in the post war boom of However, the desire for unity of the left in the the 50s and 60s. electoral arena should not be confused with the desire for This rise in living standards reinforced reformism in left regroupment. general and Labor particular. The political period Why Labor is ‘special’ Indeed, the starting point should not be the supposed The key element of ruling-class ideology is the common ground for left regroupment but rather the concept of “the nation” —uniting all people within it. bigger picture of the ongoing crisis in social democracy, The key element in the struggle against capitalism is the broader and reformist forces it entails and how to class-consciousness. Labor tries to combine the two relate to it in an open and comradely way. concepts by channeling working class aspirations for The crisis of social democracy takes place in the change into the institution of the nation state— context of a revival in the economic struggle, such as in Parliament. the Victorian Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy The re-emergence of capitalist crisis in the early Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, but 1970s has seen more and more attacks on the working a limited revival. class, leaving Labor less room to manoeuvre between the Therefore people are breaking with the reformism of two poles. Labor on a reformist basis, they are looking for other However, even when the economic roots of reformist alternatives, not revolutionary ones. reformism wither away, reformism will not die by itself. The evidence for this is the “break through” vote of Many an idea lingers on long after the disappearance of the Greens in the Federal and Victorian elections. No-one the material conditions which brought it forth. can argue that the Greens are anything but another Labor, moreover, is a special case in point. Because version of reformism. of workers’ experience under capitalism, reformism and Those militant blue-collar workers that have joined Labor can rejuvenate and regenerate itself. Socialist Alliance in Victoria have done so not as Witness the election/re-election of eight Labor state revolutionaries. and territory governments in the last three years. The While this process is a healthy and positive event, it decay of Labor has not meant a decline past a “rock is only the first step to people consciously thinking they bottom” point, from which there is no return. are revolutionary. It opens up the opportunity for Internationally, witness the election of the most right- revolutionaries, in Lenin’s words, to “patiently explain” wing Labour leader in Britain in 1997, after 17 years of the case for revolution, whilst engaging in joint work. Tory rule. And Blair’s subsequent re-election. Witness Labor’s election in New Zealand after The anatomy of reformism having implemented economic rationalism there in the A person breaking from one party of reformism to 1980s, much like Australian Labor. another is a totally understandable process if you As long as workers fight capitalism but not overthrew understand that Labor is neither the only expression nor it, there will be reformism. The task of Socialist Alliance the only agent of reformism. is to relate to reformism in a period where there is only a Reformism—as a concept rather than an individual limited revival in the struggle, and where the shift left is party—is an expression of material reality of working on reformist basis.

9

Democratic rights in Cuba By Bryan Sketchley, Melbourne Branch Recent events in Cuba have given rise again to ANTI-WAR, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN discussion and debate about the nature of Cuban society. RIGHTS ADVOCATES OPPOSE REPRESSION IN Workers’ Liberty views the recent arrest and detention of CUBA oppositional figures in Cuba as the inevitable “We, the undersigned, strongly protest the current consequence of an anti-pluralist one party state, that has wave of repression in Cuba. We condemn the arrests of nothing in common with our view of socialism, a scores of opponents of the Cuban government for their socialism that allows and encourages wide-ranging nonviolent political activities, and the shockingly long debate and participation in the organisation of a society prison sentences some as high as 28 years—imposed of producers. Indeed, recent events underline the neo- after unfair trials. According to Amnesty International, Stalinist nature of Cuban society. We nonetheless defend the arrestees include journalists, owners of private Cuba’s independence from the USA, and oppose any US libraries and members of illegal opposition parties. We invasion, and the US blockade condemn as well the trial and execution of three alleged Many others on the left internationally have hijackers, both for the lack of due process and because condemned the Castro regime’s suppression of free we oppose capital punishment on principle. speech and have begun circulating a petition “As anti-war, social justice and human rights internationally, “The campaign for Peace and advocates, we condemned the brutal Saddam Hussein Democracy” , a petition to which Workers’ Liberty has regime, and we oppose the United States occupation of signed and is circulating (see below). Workers’ Liberty Iraq. We support civil liberties and democratic rights has also considered moving a motion condemning the everywhere, regardless of the country’s economic, actions of the Castroists, at the national conference of the political or social system. We believe it is imperative to Socialist Alliance. On reflection, we decided against such be consistent in opposing repression wherever it takes a move until the Alliance has had time to discuss the place, whether in Iraq or Saudi Arabia, Israel or Cuba, issues in a full and extensive manner. The events in Cuba Turkey or the United States. do highlight the need for the Alliance to seriously debate “Democratic change in Cuba needs to be achieved by and discuss a range of historical and theoretical issues. the Cuban people themselves. The Cuban government’s First amongst those is how the Alliance defines violations of democratic rights do not justify sanctions or socialism. any other form of intervention by the United States in Cuba. The government of the United States—which Statement by Campaign for Peace and employs the rhetoric of human rights when doing so Democracy promotes its imperial goals, but maintains a discreet You are invited to sign the Campaign for Peace and silence or makes only token protests when US allies are Democracy’s new statement “Anti-War, Social Justice involved, and which fully supports the barbaric practice and Human Rights Advocates Oppose Repression in of capital punishment, routinely inflicted in the US—is Cuba.” hardly in a position to preach democracy and human Initial signers include Michael Albert, Eileen Boris, rights. Noam Chomsky, Joshua Cohen, Manuela Dobos, Ariel “And we recall too the long, criminal record of US Dorfman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Janeane Garofalo, interventions in Latin America. This record has included Barbara Garson, Adam Hochschild, Doug Ireland, Jesse six decades of exploitation and imperial control of Cuba, Lemisch, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Nelson Lichtenstein, followed by an attempted invasion and a campaign of Katha Pollitt, Stephen Shalom, Adam Shatz, Chris international terrorism and economic warfare, that is by Toensing, Naomi Weisstein, Cornel West, Reginald now well-documented. Only a government that Wilson, and Howard Zinn. repudiated this record, renounced any intention of CPD recently produced another statement, “We restoring its economic or political domination over Cuba, Oppose Both Saddam Hussein and the US War on Iraq: either directly or through rightwing Cuban-American A call for a new, democratic US foreign policy” and two proxies, and promised to respect the democratic will of others. We believe that this statement reflects the same the Cuban people themselves would have the moral commitment to peace and democratic rights as the first legitimacy to call for democratic change in Cuba. one. “As the Bush administration, further emboldened by If you would like to sign, go to the CPD website at its military victory in Iraq, threatens to wage www.cpdweb.org Also, please forward this message to “preemptive” wars around the globe we reaffirm our your colleagues and friends, and to listserves with people support for the right of self-determination in Cuba and who might be interested in signing. our strong opposition to the US policy of economic Sincerely, Joanne Landy, Thomas Harrison, Jennifer sanctions that has brought such suffering to the Cuban Scarlott people. Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy “At the same time, we support democracy in Cuba. The imprisonment of people for attempting to exercise their rights of free expression is outrageous and unacceptable. We call on the Castro government to

10 release all political prisoners and let the Cuban people they would not be as likely to accept American aid, and speak, write and organise freely.” the political influence that generally accompanies it, if Cuban citizens, whatever their views, were free to COMMENT FROM THE CAMPAIGN FOR acquire these items themselves, without obstacles. PEACE AND DEMOCRACY Many dissidents (and non-dissidents) in Cuba look to The text below is not part of the statement to be the United States, some because they actually favor an signed, but a comment from the Campaign for Peace and unbridled US-style capitalist system, others because they Democracy on some issues that often arise in discussion sincerely believe that the US is interested in promoting about democracy in Cuba. People who agree with the genuine political and social democracy in Cuba. The statement itself need not agree with this comment in latter are terribly mistaken, because Washington’s order to sign the statement. interest is in reconstructing a society of private wealth All the information available to us indicates that, and privilege and in promoting a conservative, and apart from the individuals accused of hijacking, none of probably repressive, pro-US government in Havana. the prisoners were charged with violent actions; rather, But this is a political problem that in no way justifies they have been accused of collaborating with US repression. Right-wing politics and support for the US in diplomats to undermine the state, and/or receiving Cuba cannot be countered by censorship and American government funds. Many of them, as well as imprisonment. other Cuban dissidents, have met with James Cason, Neither the Cuban government nor any other head of the US Interests Section in Cuba, and some have government has the right to stifle or obstruct the free received duplicating materials, funding or other resources expression of opinions, no matter how repellent or directly from the US government or from NGOs funded misguided we think they might be. by Washington. Instead, progressives should try to influence Cubans One reason dissidents turn to the US for help is that by simultaneously protesting the Castro government’s Cubans are not consistently allowed access to the tools repression and US interventionism, and exposing necessary to disseminate their views to the public: Washington’s reactionary agenda for their country. computers, copying machines, printers, etc. Obviously

Socialist Alliance international policy a response to Riki Lane By Chris Slee (Wills branch) Riki Lane advocates that Socialist Alliance’s mentioned in our platform. What about the “political international policy should include a point saying: Christianity” of George Bush? What about the repression “Solidarity with struggles against repressive regimes and carried out by “secular” regimes such as the Algerian reactionary forces including political Islam” (Discussion military government, or by a series of Turkish Bulletin Volume 3, Number 4). governments both military and civilian, which have I agree that we should defend the victims of banned female government employees from wearing repression by reactionary Islamic governments and Islamic headscarfs at the same time as they banned Kurds movements. But I am not sure that we should single out from using their own language? “political Islam” as the only reactionary ideology to be

A story about decisions, commitments and implementation By Janet Burstall (Sydney Central branch) The NSW State Campaign Committee made a common convictions, which require joint action and decision to that the Socialist Alliance speaker at the thorough discussion at all levels of fundamental issues. Sydney emergency rally the day the war started would Further, the failure to implement a decision of the propose the need to stop work to stop the war. This did State Campaign Committee illustrates just how much not happen. influence is in the hands of the people or person This story is told not to be critical of any individual, executing decisions, rather than in the hands of duly in this case of Sam Wainwright. It is to say that we constituted decision-making bodies. It shows that we cannot take for granted that the membership of the must take care to: share around the responsibility to act Socialist Alliance has necessarily reached the on behalf of the Socialist Alliance; commit ourselves to commitment to pursue a chosen course of action just activities at a level where we can reasonably share because there is a motion, which has been passed. We around the responsibility for implementation, and; ensure cannot afford to make decisions and just hope for the that decision making bodies develop strong mechanisms best. To be an organisation capable of implementing our and practices of accountability if their decisions are to be decisions and arousing the commitment of our meaningful. membership and new supporters, we need to develop

11

15 March 2003 On 27 March 2003 Sam Wainwright wrote to the Dear comrades, [of NSW Socialist Alliance branches] NSW State Campaign Committee: The following motion has been endorsed by the New South Wales State Campaign Committee of the Socialist Comrades, Alliance, and will be put to the Sydney emergency rally Janet Burstall has pointed out that I forgot to mention the day war starts, by Sam Wainwright who is an agreed our “stop work to stop the war proposal” at the demo on speaker. Please lobby for it in advance, adapt it for your Thursday night. Sorry! After running all the way from local conditions, etc. Railway Square to Town Hall because that’s where the buses where stopping and arriving panting for breath and Comradely greetings being told by Phil Davey three times that I only had three Janet Burstall minutes I realised I did not have time to read out our whole proposal and would have to compress it on the We, rallying here today, are committed to ending spot. Well, in the excitement of the moment and with Australian involvement in this war on Iraq as rapidly as Davey prodding me to wind up, that was one of the possible. We: points I forgot to mention. 1. Applaud all unionists and workers who have A missed opportunity I know and I should have dealt stopped work to be here today. with it first. Truth is I would love to have done so. I’ve 2. Pledge full support to all unions and workers who just been through an EBA process in which the MUA are in any way penalised for action, such as stop works leadership have refused at every turn even the proposal to or bans, against this war. take on a token half-day stoppage during the legal 3. Call on unions to join with the CFMEU and sanctioned bargaining period, let alone consider breaking student stoppages on 26 March. the TPA to stop the war. It would have been great to 4. Call on the ACTU, NSW Labor Council, and all remind them how the old WWF held up iron ore to unions in NSW at every level to to convene meetings of Japan, Dutch ships, uranium and so on... delegates and workplaces to give urgent consideration to taking action against the war, including stop work Regards, action, and where applicable implementing bans, aimed Sam at ending Australian involvement in this war. I wrote to Sam and the NSW State Campaign (NOTE: The State Campaign Committee had met the Committee a couple of weeks later, and to date there has previous Thursday 13 March) been no further discussion.

Sam Wainwright spoke at the emergency rally on Friday, 11 April 2003 Thursday 20 March, without referring to the need to stop Re: Stop work to stop the war motion work to stop the war. Dear Sam (and Socialist Alliance comrades), I wrote to the NSW State Campaign Committee that I’ve been giving this incident some thought, as a night. possible illustration of a problem we need to address much more energetically in the Socialist Alliance. Dear comrades, I accept Sam, that you had good intentions to raise Please find attached the pdf of Socialist Alliance anti- our agreed position on the need for union action against war leaflet forwarded by the National Conveners on 19 the war, at the ant-war emergency rally. But I think that it March. It didn’t make it to the Sydney emergency rally is not entirely an accident that you didn’t. You managed this evening, so I’m forwarding it on in case some people to speak about the USA, US imperialism and the attitude have missed out on getting it in time for weekend rallies. that the anti-war movement should have to it. You spoke Also, I’m hoping that we could have some quite clearly and convincingly on this. And I think that explanation of why Sam Wainwright at this evening’s the issue of opposing US imperialism seems to be a much Sydney rally neither proposed the motion that we more core concern for the DSP than renewing a working endorsed, nor spoke to the gist of it (if a motion was class movement and relating to the unions. considered off beam for the rally). Apparently Rosemary So whilst you intended to go on to make the point Gillespie had also briefed Chesterfield Evans to speak for about union action, you expressed the DSP’s priority industrial action at the rally and he didn’t do it either. It first. And ran out of time. (And by the way, the points was somewhat disappointing that there was no speech you made were pretty much made by other speakers too, raising however the gently the need for industrial action, so did not distinguish the Socialist Alliance). especially considering that Stop Work to Stop the War Whereas if someone not from the DSP had been has been a front page slogan of Socialist Worker, speaking (perhaps Michael Thomson, who had been a Workers’ Liberty and Green Left Weekly, and leader of the Sydney Uni walkout against the war that furthermore the topic of last week’s Green Left Weekly very afternoon) their priority may well have been the editorial. point agreed to by the State Campaign Committee on [motion snipped] stopping work to stop the war. This incident illustrates the need for Socialist Comradely greetings Alliance representatives, speakers, leaflet writers, etc to Janet Burstall be very conscientious about what the Socialist Alliance policies are, and to deliberately give those policies

12 priority over their own tendency’s politics. And this in to commit to showing more awareness of this problem, turn will be much easier to do if in the Socialist Alliance and taking care that its comrades should represent we place more emphasis on political discussion that Alliance policies when wearing their Alliance hats. clarifies these issues so that comrades will be clear about what they must pay attention to, to avoid slipping back Comradely greetings into their own party politics. Since the DSP is the largest Janet affiliate, it would be particularly useful if the DSP were

For a simpler, more democratic method of electing conference delegates By Karl Miller (Melbourne North East Branch) By the time we get to the conference, all branches 4 comrades vote: 1. Dhalgren; 2. Barry; 3. Anita will obviously have had experience with the Single- 2 comrades vote: 1. Dhalgren; 2. Anita; 3. Barry Transferable Vote (STV) method we use to elect delegates. It is also known as Hare-Clark, or Instant In this situation the eliminated candidate is Barry. Runoff Vote (IRV), and is used in various parliamentary Since all of those who listed Barry at the top put Anita elections. second, Anita gets 11 votes, passes the quota and is It is fairly easy to find out about different voting elected. methods, and their strengths and weaknesses. Bear in To summarise: in some rare situations, giving a mind that most of the available discussion is about candidate a lower preference will increase their chance reforming the US electoral system, and occurs in an of election. extremely parliamentarist framework. Second example, in less detail. I have two main criticisms of STV. This time there are four candidates (A, B, C, D), and 21 votes looking like this: Complex First, the system is overly complex. Comrades find 7: A, B, C, D the counting process very difficult to understand. This is 6: B, A, C, D a definite failing. 5: C, B, A, D One of the central requirements of a democratic 3: D, C, B, A election system is that the voters should be confident of the effect their vote will have. Applying STV, A is elected. But suppose the three voters who put A last had Unexpected results instead put A first, voting A, D, C, B instead of D, C, B, The second, directly related to the first, is that the A. system can sometimes have results opposite to your Now B is elected. voting intentions (even when you do understand what’s To summarise: in some rare situations, giving a going on). candidate a higher preference will reduce their chance of I’ll give two examples. Obviously these are election. contrived, and the development of similar situations in delegate elections is probably very low. Nevertheless, the General confidence fact that they can occur is a definite strike against STV. In no way should comrades infer that the elections To simplify things, both examples involve the using this system are totally undemocratic and unreliable. election of a single delegate. In the vast majority of situations the effects of the vote Say there are seventeen votes and three candidates: match the intentions of the voter. In particular, I don’t Anita, Barry and Dhalgren. Candidates first need to beat think there is any basis for challenging the election of the quota, which is 8.51 votes. delegates for this SA conference. But there are definitely better systems than STV. 8 comrades vote: 1. Anita; 2. Barry; 3. Dhalgren 5 comrades vote: 1. Barry; 2. Anita; 3. Dhalgren Alternatives 4 comrades vote: 1. Dhalgren; 2. Barry; 3. Anita Obviously, we should endorse proportional representation, and reject all methods that insufficiently No candidate has reached quota, so we exclude the represent ‘minor parties’ i.e. the smaller caucuses, candidate with the fewest first preferences: Dhalgren. All affiliates, tendencies etc within the Alliance. 4 of those votes list Barry as second preference, so Barry Within this broad approach, there are several now has 9 votes, reaches quota and is elected. alternatives to choose from. I propose that the incoming Instead, say 2 of those who put Anita first had instead National Executive appoint a suitable team of comrades put Dhalgren first. to look into them and come up with a recommendation in plenty of time for the next conference. 6 comrades vote: 1. Anita; 2. Barry; 3. Dhalgren Personally I prefer Approval Voting: no numbered 5 comrades vote: 1. Barry; 2. Anita; 3. Dhalgren preferences, simply vote for as many of the candidates as

13 you like (voting for more candidates than there are C: 3 votes (elected) positions reduces the effectiveness of your vote). D: 3 votes (elected) The candidates with the most votes are elected. E: 1 vote As an example, there are six candidates for four F: 3 votes (elected) positions: A, B, C, D, E, and F. There are four votes: If you vote for a candidate, they are more likely to * A, B, C, D win. If you don’t vote for them, they are less likely to * A, E, F win. No systemic domination by the “major parties”. * A, B, C, D, F Simple and democratic. * A, C, D, F But there is no need to decide this immediately. We have until the next conference to work it out. The results are: What to do A: 4 votes (elected) Overall summary: STV sucks. Let’s look for a B: 2 votes replacement.

14

DOCUMENTS List of signatories for Open Letter (“Developing the common socialist voice”) at May 6, 2003 [Names in italics are those added to the list since the Doug Burt, Neville Cain, Eric Watson, Hannah Watson, publication of Discussion Bulletin Volume 3, Number 5.] Jean Jacques Marchall Marrickville Branch: Mitch Bond, John Reynolds Adelaide Branch: David Lockwood, David Melbourne North East Branch: Lalitha Chelliah, Scrimgeour, David Nicks, Tom Bertuleit Louise Walker, Robert Cecala, David Goodall, Michael Bankstown Branch: Jepke Goudsmit, Graham Reidie Jones, Raul Bassi, Ben Gock, Bernie Rosen, Desar Bassi, Melbourne Western Suburbs Branch: Craig Leigh Howlett, Jamal El Abasy, Suzanne Mullins Johnston, Adam Finch, Frank Fairley Brisbane District: Dave Riley, David Lafferty, Fay Newcastle: Niko Leca, Fred D’Silva Waddington, Mark Cronin, Bernie Neville, Sam Watson, Parramatta Branch: Katrina Heckendorf, Alastair Haeng-Cho Halls, Robert Austin, Peter Riedlinger, Anita Dickinson, Allison Maxwell, Luke Whelan Muhlhaus Perth/Fremantle Branch: Kiraz Janicke, Chris Cain, Canberra Branch: Alastair Greig, Lesley Hayes, Edith Leonard, Archie Leonard, Roger Raven, Marcus Paul Kringas, Ian Shepherd, Humphrey McQueen, Bill Whisson, Les Wynne, Annemarie Whisson, Rene Tully, Mick de Lange, Narendra Mohan Kommalpati, Smeets, Stuart Sherlock, Daniel Watson, Margie Svejska, Rob Hurle, Clare Martin, Ben Smith, Jyoti Ida-Dury, Peter Wilkie, Sandy Zawadski-Meredith, Alex Whisson, Sami Omar, Lionel Bopage, Sue McKay, Anne Danny Cusack, Alex Robinson, Michael O'Brien Barrington, John van der Velden Seat of Melbourne Branch: Alejandro Rodriguez, Darwin Branch: Ray Hayes, Robyn Waite, Kathy de Geoff Breen, Naomi Crafti, James Doughney la Rue, Colin de la Rue Sydney Central Branch: Melinda Smith, Jamal Eastern Sydney Branch: Kerry Klinner, Noel Darwand, Rex McLeod, Adrian Wright, Al Westwood, Hazzard, Maureen Frances, Sean Healy, Alana Kerr Austin Witton, Patricia Saddler, Darcy Byrne, Zanny Geelong branch: John Goldman, Coral Johnson, Begg, Marina Prior Greg Krausz, Paul Johnson, John O’Brien Sydney Northside Branch: Juanita Feldbauer, Hobart Branch: Rob White, Peter Baker, Linda Michael Morphett, Graham Moore Seaborn, Bill Wakefield, Bob Elliston, Gai Anderson, Toowoomba (at large): Alan Bradley Glenn Shields, Lorraine Shields, Kate Fletcher Wills: Maureen Murphy, Simon Millar, Lucy Beaton, Illawarra Branch: Len Pickering, Maureen Meryan Tozer Pickering, Joanne King, Sophie Williams, Dane Warren,

Christina Sacco, Joanne King, Mark Hilder, Naomi If any non-aligned comrade wishes to add their name Arrowsmith to this letter, or has any questions about it, please get in Launceston Branch: Alan Hasdell, Barry Hicks, touch with Michael Morphett at (02) 99812349 or John Vicki Walker, Sally Wiltshire, Sue Conway van der Velden at (02) 6247 8813 or Lismore Branch: Andrew Watson, Lyn Stewart; [email protected]. ! Perry Libeau, Jim Knight, Alan Peattie, Barbara Elliott,

15

RESOLUTIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTIONS FOR THE SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE ISO motions for the Second National Conference The Socialist Alliance – building on No to Howard’s war budget – our strengths Medicare not missiles 1. The continuing crisis in social democracy Socialist Alliance branches around the country have means hundreds of thousands of Labor begun to campaign against Howard and Costello’s war supporters are prepared to vote to the left in budget on May 13. The government has already defence of the values they support but Crean announced sickening cuts to Medicare. These cuts are a and Beazley have abandoned. direct attack on working people who rely on Medicare to 2. The Greens have been the major beneficiary of receive basic medical treatment and advice for this process to date. But the Greens’ weakness themselves and their family. on questions relating to class means there Diverting funds away from public education, remains even now an important minority open childcare, health and welfare is old news with the to a socialist, pro-working class alternative. Howard government. Costello has already said, however, 3. This is what makes the Socialist Alliance that this budget will be even tougher than usual because project of continuing importance. they have had to spend so much of our money invading 4. The Alliance is most likely to succeed in Iraq, and will also need more for future military involving erstwhile Labor supporters if it adventures. The Liberals are also committed to operates as a united front—a place where the maintaining a surplus at any social cost. existing revolutionary left and reformists can The conference resolves: work together around common aims and 1. That the Socialist Alliance should continue to objectives. campaign vigorously on the question of the 5. A central element of this project is providing a budget. This provides us with an opportunity to broad socialist alternative at elections in make arguments about government priorities, defence of union rights, public services, free the war on Iraq, military spending more education, Medicare, etc, and against generally, and questions of class—who imperialist war, scapegoating of refugees, etc. benefits and who loses. 6. We have seen that unaffiliated members and 2. Each branch, if it has not already done so, supporters of the Alliance have involved should undertake to host a broad public themselves most at election times. Moves to meeting about the budget. These meetings turn the Alliance into a site of revolutionary should feature unionists, doctors to talk about regroupment, or into another left activist party Medicare, speakers from Greens and Labor, as (i.e., a multi-tendency socialist party), risk appropriate, Council of Social Service speakers cutting us off from our central audience. The etc. Alliance must have its own independent 3. In the event of bodies such as the ACTU or existence and not simply replicate the important state union bodies calling rallies or other work of the existing revolutionary left. protests, Alliance branches are urged to build 7. A focus on elections does not mean passivity in these, with Alliance contingents, banners and between. posters as appropriate. 8. An immediate priority for the Alliance is the 4. To build on the initiatives already taken by campaign against Howard’s war budget—a branches campaigning around the budget, the clear example of where the Alliance can incoming National Executive should provide strengthen the anti-war movement, the working examples of the types of meetings, rallies, stall class and the left by taking up issues affecting etc. already initiated by branches to inform the working class people such as health, education work across the Alliance. and welfare. 9. We also need to build on our demonstrated Elections and the Socialist Alliance strengths in union networking and solidarity, 1. Elections have been the events where the and in providing forums for public discussion Socialist Alliance has had most success in and debate on the big questions facing working mobilising members and supporters to join us in class and student activists. political activity. Moved: David Glanz, national and Victorian co- 2. Elections remain key events for the Socialist convener, ISO Alliance as they are times when the greatest Seconded: Peter Murray, Victorian state executive number of people are most engaged with member, FSP political debate. 3. Success in elections is a legitimate and primarily strategic goal for the Alliance, ensuring we are taken seriously by our biggest audience—left Labor supporters and class

16

conscious trade unionists who are angry and Solidarity with the construction disappointed with Labor. unions 4. Election campaigning is not sufficient to sustain The Liberals’ attack on the CFMEU and other the Alliance and the relationships we build in construction unions through the Cole royal commission election work. We need to participate with those is the cutting edge of their offensive against unionists. supporters in other political campaigns as this is The Socialist Alliance seeks to encourage the widest the primary means we will meet them and form active support within the union movement for the those relationships in the first instance. construction unions. A defeat for militant organisation on 5. However, because these people do consider construction sites would be a defeat for workers elections and parliament to be the primary everywhere. means of political expression, we should not This conference therefore resolves: expect from them the same level of political 1. That the next Alliance broadsheet should be activity as is the norm for committed socialists around the theme of defending the construction and revolutionary organisation members. unions. 6. We should expect the normal level of activity 2. That the Alliance seeks to initiate a broad- for most members and supporters will be: based lobby of the ACTU’s congress in • regular monthly meeting which are Melbourne in August, calling for the union political events rather than business or movement to unite against Tony Abbott and organising meetings; • the Cole recommendations. To build such a some key fundraising events; and lobby, Alliance branches/districts (especially • mobilisation for major rallies or similar in Geelong and Melbourne) should call broad- events in the major campaigns we based organising meetings, inviting union participate in. officials and members, sympathetic Statement in support community groups, and Green and Labor Every branch of the Socialist Alliance now has some representatives. The aim would be to mobilise, experience of elections at local and state level. It is a in particular, rank-and-file delegations, official reasonable generalisation that the Alliance has had union contingents, and ACTU delegates. greatest success in mobilising its members and 3. That the Alliance organises major public supporters in election campaigns. This is evidence that meetings in each city in defence of the our contention that elections are important and are construction unions and to discuss responses to periods when most members of the community are most the Liberals’ attacks. These meetings should be actively engaged with politics is correct. similarly broad-based. This indicates that our broadest audience are still 4. To aid this process, the incoming National convinced that parliament is the way that most changes Executive should prepare a petition to the will come about in our society. The original concept of ACTU setting out the case for solidarity, and a the Socialist Alliance was an alliance of organisations model motion for union, ALP and Greens and individuals to provide a left alternative to the Labor branches, community and student groups. Party. We expected and have found in fact that the Socialist Alliance and the ALP Socialist Alliance is attractive to people angry and Labor’s current leadership crisis highlights the ALP’s disappointed with the ALP. This is a much bigger continuing shift to the right. Kim Beazley was the leader audience than the 100s-1000s who are former members who surrendered to the Liberals’ racism over refugees, of the organisations of the far left or who already identify Simon Crean is the leader who failed the test of war. themselves as socialists. Disaffected Labor supporters are Neither offers an alternative to the pro-market policies not necessarily convinced the Greens are the answer and Labor leaderships have supported for 20 years. small numbers have already identified the Alliance as The result is that even more ALP members will their preferred alternative. resign, and hundreds of thousands more previously Campaigning to build our vote in elections is “rusted on” Labor voters will be prepared to vote to the important but cannot be the only means by which we left of Labor in defence of values Labor has abandoned. engage with that large audience. It is necessary to hold Such people are breaking with the reformism of regular events and to join them in campaigns, especially Labor on a reformist basis—in the overwhelming number with people who are still Labor Party members. This is of cases they are looking for a new electoral home to the opportunity to draw them closer to socialist politics express their working class and socialist values, rather and will also be the basis on which they are most likely than for revolutionary organisation. The evidence for this to vote for us and join us in canvassing on polling is the Greens vote in recent elections. booths. Socialists want to channel this dissatisfaction with But elections remain key events for the Alliance to Labor in an anti-capitalist, pro-working class and campaign in and any suggestion that we should explicitly socialist direction. downgrade our emphasis on the electoral alliance aspect This cannot be done simply by denouncing Labor; we of the organisation would cut us off from our largest, also need to find ways to work alongside those still in natural audience. Labor’s orbit, including many union activists,

community leaders and even those who voted against Labor at recent elections. The Socialist Alliance needs to 17 demonstrate in both electoral terms and in practice lives of working class people. Concretely, this will through campaigns that it can offer a genuine alternative typically mean inviting dissident and/or leftwing ALP to Labor. members to share platforms on questions of common Socialist Alliance will therefore seek to work with concern, like opposing the war budget or defending the Labor leaders and members over issues which affect the CFMEU..

Motion from Non-Aligned Caucus By John van der Velden (Canberra branch and Non-Aligned Caucus) Conference asks that the incoming National preceding resolutions, followed by a conference within Executive provide a written report to the Alliance 12 months with a view to completing implementation. membership within 6 months outlining progress on the

Addendum to seven-point motion from Non-Aligned Caucus By Workers' Liberty 8: “In order to achieve a secure basis political basis 3. What is the ALP and what is our relation to it? for unity, the National Executive will outline a program 4. What is the role of trade unions in the struggle for of discussion aimed at reaching well-considered majority socialism and what is our relation to them? positions at the next national conference on the following 5. How can Socialist Alliance relate to the working questions: class and how can we make sure our practice is 1. What is socialism and how do we get it? democratic? 2. What is Stalinism and what is our relation to it?

Proposal to conference for treating “Towards a comprehensive platform for the Socialist Alliance” By the National Conveners The National Conveners adopted the following resolution ongoing policy development process (see point at their hook-up of May 6. 6 below); That the National Conveners propose to conference that 5. That there be no debate on any section of the the following method of treating “Towards a document; comprehensive platform for the Socialist Alliance”, 6. That where there is no disagreement with any proposed by the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP), be section the content be incorporated into the adopted: present Alliance platform, but with the style and form of presentation to be determined by the 1. That the FSP report on the document to incoming National Executive; conference; 7. That the amended platform along with those 2. That the time allowed for discussion on the FSP sections of the FSP document on which there is proposal be divided among the 18 policy disagreement at conference be submitted for sections of the document and the sections taken discussion at Alliance branches and policy in order; working groups; and 3. That conference delegates be asked by the chair 8. That at the end of this process the National to indicate if they have any disagreement with Executive provisionally adopt a redrafted any of the proposals contained in each section; Alliance platform for presentation to the next 4. That in case of disagreement the relevant National Conference. section be noted and submitted to the Alliance’s

Towards a comprehensive platform for the Socialist Alliance By the Freedom Socialist Party The foundation of the Socialist Alliance in 2001 was Alliance work over the past two years. At the August a bold, historic, step by a large part of the Australian 2001 Founding Conference, FSP and Radical Women Socialist movement, showing that the revolutionary left members put forward a number of specific policies aimed could put sectarianism to one side in order to unite at guiding Socialist Alliance intervention in a number of around issues of common agreement. This resulted in an working class struggles. These were not adopted agreed, if limited platform, which has formed the basis of formally, but placed “on the table” as working drafts.

18

As a united front, the Alliance will benefit by the The current invasion of Iraq by imperialist forces, existence of a coherent, broad set of ideas and demands including Australian troops, means not only mass murder that speak directly to the needs and aspirations of in the Middle East, but increasing attacks on the wages, working people. The current platform is something of a services and living conditions of working people in this “lowest common denominator” document which reflects country. The Socialist Alliance is opposed to the war on the tentative conditional nature of the Alliance in its Iraq and stands with the Iraqi people against the earliest days. The Alliance has since proven to be more occupying force which seeks to rob them of their robust than the founding conference envisaged. The sovereignty and resources. In order to afford their war, debate over the nature of the Alliance has resulted in Australia’s millionaires and their political allies intend to some clarification of differences amongst affiliate make the working majority pay for a conflict with which organisations and individuals. On the other hand, the we profoundly disagree. debate and the demands of joint work under the auspices The tremendous wealth created by our collective of the Alliance have revealed real agreement in many labour should not be squandered by the tiny ruling areas of concrete intervention in working class struggles. minority. The redistribution of their undeserved gains This is a most desirable development, particularly if the would go a long way to alleviating the crises in health, Alliance is to attract the affiliation of unions, to become welfare, education and housing that plague our society. the party of choice for union members, and to become a The reorganisation of industries to permit worker and place where the anti-war movement, the anti- community control and the reversal of privatisation globalisation movement and others come together to would create tens of thousands of jobs. Real democracy fight the domination of big business would unleash the collective creativity of working The Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women people, so necessary to repair the damage to our welcome proposals to establish a framework for ongoing communities and environments caused by decades of policy development. Nevertheless, we strongly consider economic rationalism and the ruthless pursuit of profits. that a more developed platform is vital to the Alliance’s Injustice and capitalism are inextricably linked. electoral interventions in particular, but also to other Nationalism, sexism, racism and homophobia are the work, such as in the union and anti-war movements. preferred tools of the ruling class, used to divide working Most importantly, we believe that the platform should people from each other and so divert us from our speak to the working class in all its diversity. No socialist common struggle against exploitation. The Socialist organisation can ignore the concentrated power of the Alliance is totally opposed to all forms of bigotry and organised union movement. But corporate globalisation will challenge it wherever it appears. For this reason, the and neo-liberalism has engendered a very different Alliance stands with Indigenous people in their centuries- working population to that which existed in the 1950s long struggle to reclaim their land, and with all those and 60s. Perhaps that is stating the obvious. Still, as fleeing persecution and poverty to seek a better life in socialists, we must be mindful that, even in a country as this country. unionised as Australia, most workers are not union The Socialist Alliance seeks to stand candidates in members. Young workers, women workers, unemployed elections at every level of government. We intend to people and most rural workers confront wage offer an alternative to both Labor and the Greens. Having exploitation, service cuts and privatisation as embraced the policies of corporate globalisation, Labor individuals. If socialists are to attract them to our ranks, has long ceased offering traditional Labor voters an we need to speak directly to them, to address their needs alternative to the reactionary program of the Howard and take up their demands regime. And while the Greens go a long way in pointing All the while, of course, intervening in the organised out the injustices and depredations of the current system, union movement to build militancy and to organise the ultimately they seek to reform it, rather than build a unorganised majority. And, not least, seeking to better alternative. differentiate socialism from the radical liberalism of the To Greens voters the Alliance says that real change is Greens not possible without removing the source of By adopting a more extensive program for environmental degradation—the profit system itself. intervention in struggle, the Alliance will be strengthened Sustainability means socialism. as a pole of attraction to working people seeking a world If elected, a Socialist Alliance candidate would reject free of war, poverty, bigotry, and environmental the perks and personal pay-outs of parliamentary office destruction and accept only the average worker’s wage. In We welcome amendments to expand and improve the parliament, Socialist Alliance candidates would use their proposed platform reproduced below. position to give a voice to workers’ struggles and social movements, fight reactionary policies and promote the mass campaigns that can defeat the attacks on jobs and Resolution living standards. Conference amends the platform of the Alliance as Ultimately, parliament is not the forum for lasting follows: social change. For that reason the Socialist Alliance also Platform of the Socialist Alliance seeks to build united front action to the greatest extent Socialist Alliance aims to provide an answer to the possible, in order to promote the only viable future for millions of working people seeking a world free of war, the planet and its people—a worldwide socialist society. poverty, bigotry, and environmental destruction. War and misery are the defining characteristics of capitalism. 19

END THE GULF INVASION AND WAR IN THE arrive by sea in particular has been despicable, leading to MIDDLE EAST misery, mental illness and several hundreds of deaths on One planet under US imperialism—that is reality overloaded, unseaworthy vessels. The current today. Without sustained opposition, the gang of government has demonised desperate people with the warmongers occupying the White House will convert aim of pandering to the Hansonite vote. However the large parts of the “developing” world into piles of rubble basic framework for the racist, inhumane treatment of populated by corpses. The Socialist Alliance actively refugees was enacted by the ALP, which continues to seeks to build links with the tens of millions of people refuse to split from its past policies. across the globe who have taken to the streets to protest • Close all the refugee concentration camps, including against imperialist aggression. As part of the fight against in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and free all detainees the war the Alliance will campaign vigorously against • Abolish the cruel and arbitrary Temporary the Howard government’s militarism and its competition Protection Visa System. Refugees are welcome here for the spoils of war in the Middle East. The Alliance • Overturn all immigration laws which favour will continue to intervene in the anti-war movement with wealthy business migrants the clear message that to end war it is necessary to end • Remove all limits on the admission of working class capitalism. and poor people and migrants from non-English speaking • Imperialism out of the Middle East backgrounds • Recall all Australian troops; end military spending • Treat as refugees all women fleeing sexist violence and redirect all personnel to socially useful projects and persecution • Immediately end the blockade and lift the sanctions • Abolish the pro-business “points” system and the against the Iraqi people requirement for sponsors to pay upfront bonds • For a penalty tax on big business to pay reparations • Abolish all restrictions on social security for new for the invasion of Iraq arrivals • No to Howard’s war budget—block supply to make • End unequal treatment for gay men, lesbians and Howard face the electorate transgendered people in immigration; recognition of • Unions must take a stand: Stop Work to Stop the same-sex relationships Occupation of Iraq • No discriminatory immigration quotas; remove HIV • Israel out of Palestine status from health tests for visas

FIGHT CORPORATE GLOBALISATION AND INDIGENOUS SELF DETERMINATION END PRIVATISATION The territory of Australia was invaded by the British The struggle for profit leads inevitably to war. For in 1788. Since then, European authorities have staged a this reason, the fight against the Iraq war and the fight genocidal campaign against the Indigenous Nations of against corporate globalisation are strongly interlinked. this continent. Socialist Alliance notes that none of the Without access to the wealth of developing countries, the land stolen from its original owners was ever ceded and US military machine could not afford its weapons of considers that there can be no justice in Australia without mass destruction. a just settlement for Indigenous people. Any blow against the global corporate hegemony is a Socialist Alliance unconditionally recognises the strike against war. sovereignty of Indigenous Nations and acknowledges the Socialist Alliance will work to re-energise the anti- racist repression that continues to destroy their corporate movement and work to give it an explicitly communities and denies them basic services. anti-capitalist character. • Recognise Indigenous Nations • Cancel the debt of all developing countries • Compensate the Stolen Generations • Withdraw from the World Trade Organisation and • Repeal the Native Title Act and abolish all racist the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade land laws • No “free trade” agreement with the U.S • Stop racist sentencing, free all Indigenous prisoners. • Trade union rights and a living wage for workers Immediate implementation of the recommendations of throughout the world the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in • Australian imperialism out of the Pacific and Custody Southeast Asia • Access to services for all Indigenous communities • For international solidarity with workers of all equivalent to all other Australians countries • End genocide by neglect—full health care for • End downsizing and mass redundancies—open the Indigenous peoples corporate books to public scrutiny • Defend and extend Indigenous programming on the • Reverse privatisation and nationalise all essential ABC, SBS and community broadcasters; an end to the industries vicious and destructive portrayal of Indigenous people in • Abolish tax concessions for transnational some sections of the media corporations • Full access to all land, waterways and seas for all traditional purposes REMOVE THE BARRIERS TO IMMIGRATION • Indigenous control of all Indigenous affairs Properly managed, Australia has more than enough room for the few thousand people who seek refuge from persecution or poverty. The treatment of people who

20

DEFEND CIVIL LIBERTIES AND DEMOCRACY discrimination protections; full support for gay and The terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and lesbian teachers and childcare and youth workers Bali have provided the ruling class with an alibi for a full • Affirmative Action plans to redress Australia’s frontal attack on the few rights available to Australian outrageously gender- and race-segmented workforce workers. Socialist Alliance will campaign to repeal all • Enact heavy fines for employers who breach Equal anti-democratic laws and to enact legislation providing Opportunity laws; end sexual harassment in the guarantees of basic liberties. workplace • Repeal all “anti-terror” laws • Abolish ASIO and all secret police forces TAX THE RICH • Keep the troops in the barracks—no military The taxation system is actually a system of corporate involvement in civil policing welfare, providing wealthy individuals and corporations • Abolish the monarchy—for a democratic republic with unlimited options to avoid paying any tax at all. • For a bill of rights to protect basic liberties Meanwhile ordinary workers and the poor generally are • Repeal electoral laws designed to make it harder for subject to the onerous burden of PAYE obligations and minor parties to gain registration the GST. The weakness of the tax base is one of the • Instant recall of parliamentarians prime excuses for governments to cut services and attack • Full proportional representation and quotas for working conditions. Socialist Alliance will campaign to oppressed groups reverse the burden of funding vital services, ensuring that the rich few millionaires cease freeloading on the backs DEFEND AND EXTEND WORKERS’ RIGHTS of the millions of us. “Deregulation of the Labour Market” is a mantra of • Abolish the GST and replace it with tax surcharges neo-liberalism, espoused by both major parties and right on profits and a steeply graduated, indexed income tax wing journalists and academics. Like all corporate spin, scale, rated at 0 per cent for pensioners, beneficiaries and it is meant to obscure the huge volume of anti-worker low-paid workers legislation aimed at reinforcing the master-servant • Abolish land tax for primary residences relationship which underpins working life under • Abolish tax on State and Local Government capitalism. Socialist Alliance, building on the historic Services to individuals experience of workers here and overseas, knows that all • Abolish tax on private bank accounts and replace it genuine gains by working people have come through with a steeply graduated levy on business transactions battles on the picket lines and on the streets. Conversely, • Impose a steeply graduated tax scale on business, intervention by capitalist governments—of all political and enforce it views—is aimed at weakening our ability to struggle and • Abolish tax concessions for foreign companies—all snatching back hard-won concessions. The Alliance will businesses to be taxed using the same scale campaign to overturn all anti-union laws and to halt • End the taxpayer subsidy of business expenses— government intervention on the side of employers. On abolish all business deductions for big corporations top of this, the Alliance will campaign for the • Impose a steeply graduated inheritance tax and introduction of constitutional protections of wages and introduce death and gift duties for the rich working conditions. • Impose a 100 per cent penalty tax on speculative • Repeal the Workplace Relations Act and all laws land development to control the price of housing against “secondary boycotts” • Impose a graduated carbon tax for all businesses, • Abolish all regulation of strikes, picket lines, street with rebates for the use of renewable energy marches and rallies • Full legal recognition of unions and union EDUCATION FOR ALL, NOT JUST THE RICH representatives Education is a fundamental right for all people, yet the • Enact a “Workplace Bill of Rights” providing policies of successive governments has been to turn guarantees of conditions, including a living wage for all education into a privilege; with wealth as the main entry workers—employed, unemployed, disabled and retired— qualification. At all levels, the public education system equal pay for work of equal or comparable worth, has been systematically dismantled, while private schools generous maternity and childcare entitlements, protection enjoy billions in taxpayer subsidies. Early childhood of workers’ entitlements and a sliding scale of working education is increasingly out of the reach of most hours to ensure full employment working people, leading to increased pressure on parents, • Abolish all “work for the dole” schemes and so- in particular mothers, to exit the workforce. This is in called “mutual obligation.” fact privatisation by stealth. From the beginning of • Mandatory jail for company directors responsible primary school to the end of secondary school, parents for workplace deaths and injuries are required to pay for what is ostensibly a “free • Full, unlimited, employer-funded injury and sick education system.” Public school buildings are often in pay disrepair, class sizes are too large, and the virtual • Quality, employer-funded childcare and after-school monopoly of text book publishers leads to vastly inflated programs prices for essential education materials. Higher education • Restore all workers’ rights to civil action in the is becoming a lottery where the winning ticket is a wad courts of banknotes. Socialist Alliance will fight to restore • Remove homophobic exemptions which exclude public education at all levels, creating a universal, free, gays and lesbians who work with children from anti- quality secular system open to all those who need and

21 want it. This would preclude the need for taxpayer —to control the working class by defining us as subsidies to private institutions, which would be fully criminals. In particular Indigenous people, young people funded by those who choose to provide and use them. and people from certain ethnic backgrounds are singled • Universal, free access to quality childcare and out and scapegoated. This diverts attention from the real preschool and after-school programs for all; recognise causes of crime: the health effects of substance abuse and the skills of childcare and early education teachers and the brutalisation of many parts of the working class mandated wage parity with other education professionals through poverty and the destruction of basic services. • Free, quality, secular education—No upfront Once caught up in the so-called “justice” system, people university fees; abolish the Higher Education are further brutalised, alienated and subjected to constant Contribution Scheme; abolish all TAFE fees and fees for abuse and violence. Socialist Alliance recognises that the post graduate and overseas students; Stop public schools overwhelming majority of crime victims are working from imposing fees in the form of “voluntary” levies people, but considers that the only meaningful purpose of • A guaranteed independent income for students—a a prison system is rehabilitation and education of those fully indexed, living wage for students set well above the involved in criminal behaviour. A system based on poverty line; abolish the student loans scheme, pay punishment leads only to further anti-social activity, and apprentices at least the base rate for a qualified prison should only be used for those who commit violent tradesperson during their training crimes against people. • Increased funding for public education—fund • The end of police brutality and racist harassment: tertiary and TAFE places for all who qualify; end disarm the police government funding of private training providers and Establish elected, community-controlled, police schools; halt forced amalgamations and school closures; review boards with the power to discipline and fire cops increase corporate taxes to fund education and training who brutalise, harass and murder Indigenous people, • Needs-based, diverse staffing of public education immigrants, women, queers, youth and workers. The from kindergarten to university—improve quality police are the armed agents of the ruling class and are through hiring more permanent teaching staff to reduce incapable of policing themselves teacher workload and class sizes; end the casualisation of • Democratic rights for prisoners: expanded funding employment in all sectors of education; no discrimination for legal aid to provide free, quality legal representation in employment; affirmative action programs to train and to all who need it. Stop racism and sexism in sentencing. hire more Indigenous educators and more women in non- Eliminate all forms of discrimination against prisoners traditional areas; stop the harassment of union activists and ex-prisoners. The right of prisoners to organise on and other dissenters their own behalf without retaliation. Quality health care • Guaranteed access for all—develop, fund and and decent living conditions in prison. Full access to job enforce policies to ensure that women, migrants, training and education while in prison. An end to the use Aboriginal people, gays and lesbians and people with of prisoners as super-exploited labour. Pay prisoners full disabilities have access to an education free from award wages for their work. The right of prisoners to harassment, stereotyping and discrimination; education retain custody of their children. Adequate facilities for in an atmosphere of respect for all viewpoints and for children to stay with parents. The right of prisoners to dissidence and non-conformity. Full funding for literacy unmonitored and unlimited visits from friends, relatives programs: every person has the right to learn to read and and partners, regardless of sexual orientation or marital write. Ensure full funding for English as a Second status. The right of prisoners to be housed close to their Language programs; provide courses in Indigenous and communities. Transgendered inmates to be housed in other community languages; fully fund resources to prisons appropriate to their chosen gender. An end to integrate students with disabilities; expand childcare sexual harassment of all prisoners. Stop strip searches places at universities and TAFE colleges and prison rapes • Curriculum which serves the needs of students— • Immediate and unconditional legalisation of eliminate stereotyping in curriculum materials and prostitution: sex workers must not be subject to any form resources; run courses which explore and teach about the of legal harassment, fines or prosecution history of oppression, including women’s studies, Integration of prostitutes into the working class, with Indigenous studies, ethnic studies, gay and lesbian basic labour safeguards and the right to unionise. End the studies and labour studies; education for life, not just for causes of prostitution: poverty, racism and sexism. work; quality, factual and non-moralistic sex education Provide education and training programs for those who in schools; education programs to counter homophobia choose to leave the sex industry and anti-gay violence in schools • Legalise all drugs under community control, to take • Students, staff and community control of away drug dealers’ profits, lower the cost and, therefore, education—student control of student affairs: reduce crimes committed to finance drug habits. independent student unions; replace business Regulate drug quality. Provide needle exchange representatives on governing councils with elected union, programs, safe injecting facilities and free, quality, student and community representatives voluntary treatment programs for addicts and alcoholics. Establish universal, culturally sensitive education END THE CRIMINALISATION OF WORKING programs to help prevent drug addiction. No forced drug PEOPLE AND THE POOR testing The moral panic concerning an alleged constant • Equalise age of consent for heterosexual and increase in crime is used by governments for one reason homosexual acts; remove all references to homosexuality

22 in the Criminal Codes; remove all references to abortion education, health, the law, the media, family, church and from Criminal Codes; repeal Summary Offences laws state. which allow police to entrap gays and sex workers and to • Enact enforceable anti-discrimination legislation to harass young people and the homeless. Abolish all protect lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, people living with vagrancy and similar laws which criminalise poverty HIV/AIDS and transgendered people. Remove existing exemptions for private schools, insurance industry, tax NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE system, superannuation etc; legislate for the right of WITH DISABILITIES transgendered people to be issued with passports, drivers The major causes of disability are directly linked to licences and other documents specifying the gender of capitalism—war, poverty, unsafe working conditions and their choice a failing health system. Disabled people are scapegoated, • Extend to same-sex relationships equal status with stereotyped and forced into low-paid work, if they can heterosexual defactos in superannuation, immigration, get employment in the face of institutionalised taxation, family law, industrial relations and any other discrimination. Many disabled people are forced to work laws and regulations; for the right of gays and lesbians to for free, or in exchange for housing and food. This is choose to marry if they so wish; independent incomes barbaric. Under the slogan of “de-institutionalisation,” [Newstart, Pensions etc] for all regardless of relationship governments have closed down many facilities for people status. No State-enforced economic dependency with both physical and psychological disabilities. This • For the right of gay men and lesbians to adopt or was not done to integrate people into society. It was done foster children; no discrimination against gay men or to cut costs, in accordance with neo-liberal economic lesbians in child custody cases dogma. Most people removed from health facilities have • Full funding for gay, lesbian, bisexual and little support and live in extreme poverty, except where transgender youth programs, including refuges and family or friends have taken over State responsibilities. housing services, health services, coming out, self- This, again, is privatisation by stealth. The few remaining esteem and suicide prevention programs programs tend to reinforce dependency rather than • Support for Pride Marches, the Sydney Gay and encourage self-sufficiency. This dependency is then Lesbian Mardi Gras, film and video festivals and other reinforced through totally inadequate income support queer community events; defend and extend gay, lesbian from government. and transgender programming on the ABC, SBS and • Complete integration of people with disabilities into community broadcasters; an end to the vicious and society, including full legal rights and protection from destructive portrayal of gay men, lesbians and discrimination. Full funding of all medical and state-of- transgender people in some sections of the media the-art technological aids for people with disabilities • Support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered • Conversion of all public transport, public buildings workers; promotion of strong policies within unions to and all government facilities to make them accessible to defend gay, lesbian and transgendered workers; support people with disabilities. Free access to transport, for the establishment of gay and lesbian caucuses within sporting, cultural and other events for people with trade unions disabilities and their carers/aides • Equal pay for disabled workers; fully accessible DEFEND AND EXTEND WELFARE workplaces and access to non-discriminatory education Socialist Alliance supports universal welfare rights and training. Full availability of integration aides at all for all who are in need. The welfare system was fought levels of education. A living wage for all disability for and won by the working class over generations in pensioners order to protect its members from the unemployment and • An end to the stereotyping and discrimination poverty intrinsic to capitalism. The “old age pension” against people with disabilities which emphasises was introduced in 1908 and, the last big win was the disability and ignores ability introduction of the “supporting mother’s benefit” in 1972. The end of the post war boom saw the start of FULL EQUALITY FOR LESBIANS, GAY MEN, efforts to roll back the welfare state. The ALP introduced BISEXUALS AND TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE the assets test on the age pension, ended non-means We live in a society which attempts to dictate sexual tested family allowances and reduced young people’s preference and gender identity through the promoting of access to payments. This signalled the start of hundreds marriage and the nuclear family as the legitimate of changes, all designed to reduce payments, tighten institution. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and eligibility criteria or impose waiting periods. Welfare transgendered people suffer oppression because their rights are now under renewed attack from the Coalition lives are a direct threat to the nuclear family, which is an Government, which argues that the family is the best economic cornerstone of capitalism. The Socialist provider of welfare. Alliance is opposed to all attempts to shoehorn people Under the guise of “welfare reform” the government into sexual and gender conformity. We believe it is a is imposing “mutual obligation” on older workers, basic democratic right that the self-definition of sexual parents and disabled people, putting pressure on all preference and gender identity should be recognised as a workers’ wages by requiring welfare recipients to matter of individual choice. Heterosexism exists at volunteer or take low-waged jobs. Like governments almost every level in this society, and that discrimination around the world, the Howard Government is attacking on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is the welfare state because this is what the International entrenched in all of the key institutions of society— Monetary Fund and the World Bank requires. Socialist

23

Alliance says welfare payments for all those in need are a breast screening programs for all women; comprehensive right! breast cancer education in schools; free, state-of-the-art • A guaranteed independent income for all at a living comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programs for wages. No to State-enforced dependency—end all breast cancer patients assessments based on relationship status or parental • Stop violence against women; fully funded refuges income for women and children who have been the target of • Abolish work for the dole, immediately pay all sexual, physical or psychological violence; free, quality, Community Development Employment Program workers sympathetic treatment and rehabilitation for victims of an award wage and abolish all mutual obligation sexual assault requirements • End the media imposition upon the public of sick, • Scrap the 104-week waiting period for newly distorted, demeaning and sexually exploitative images arrived migrants which seek to create a skinny, slinky, white, heterosexual • Establish voluntary, well-staffed, quality, public standard of “beauty,” thus perpetuating discrimination programs for those who wish to enter the workforce; against the vast majority of women with other body provide free education and training; tackle child care, types, against women of colour and against lesbians workplace accessibility, discriminatory employment • Increase funding to the ABC, SBS and community policies and other barriers to employment broadcasters to greatly expand programming which • Eliminate unemployment by reducing working allows women to intervene in political and social debate hours with no loss of pay as real people, rather than stereotypes • No further outsourcing of welfare services; keep • Free, safe, accessible abortion on demand. End the Centrelink in public hands; renationalise the job network prohibition on the import of Mifipristone (RU486) • Scrap funding for the war machine—money for • No State interference with a woman’s reproductive welfare not warfare! decisions during pregnancy; • Expand contraceptive choices, free safe birth control FOR WOMEN’S LIBERATION for both women and men to be available for all who Women are the majority of the world’s population. request it, regardless of age; • Equal access to donor They constitute not only an absolute majority, but at least sperm, IVF and reproductive technologies for single and half of every ethnic grouping and every class. lesbian women; • No forced sterilisation, stop the Women are the majority of the old and the young; reproductive genocide against Indigenous people and they are the majority of the poor. They are the doubly people with disabilities; • Stop “population control” oppressed of every oppressed minority, as well as the programs used by imperialism to perpetrate genocide in most economically exploited workers. They are also Third World countries potentially the greatest social and political force in the world because they have the least economic, political and UNIVERSAL, FREE, QUALITY HEALTH CARE social stake in the status quo and the most pressing need Access to healthcare is progressively being removed for real social change. from the poor, and many so-called “high-paid” workers. Under capitalism, women are considered the property The public health system is failing, and many in rural and of men, the Church and the State. Despite the gains of the outer metropolitan areas have limited access to even women’s liberation movement, women’s reproductive basic general practice medicine. Hospital waiting lists are rights are tightly controlled through oppressive laws, overcrowded, with too many nights where emergency particularly the inclusion of abortion in most criminal wards are on ambulance bypass. Meanwhile the private codes. It is an unconditional right of every human being health system benefits from billions of dollars in direct to control their own body. For women to gain control and indirect government subsidies, on top of the semi- over their lives, they must control their minds and bodies. compulsory private health insurance rip-off, where Bearing and nurturing children is only one part of a working people who can “afford” it pay huge premiums woman’s life. for little return. Where the public system, even in its Children should not be women’s private damaged state, is relatively efficient, the private sector is responsibility, but neither should a women be forced into a black hole for money, with little useful health outcome. childbearing by economic or other coercion. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is little more than a • For unconditional equal treatment under law for all welfare scheme for drug companies. On top of this, women, regardless of age, marital status, disability, insurance difficulties have resulted in many specialist health, race, sexual orientation, size and weight, doctors threatening to retire unless governments legislate citizenship status, political ideology, lifestyle or income away the rights of injured patients. level In the face of the health crisis, the Howard • Full, legally guaranteed economic independence for government is cutting funding to public hospitals and all women; equal pay for work of equal or comparable wants to dismantle Medicare. Working people and the value poor have a basic right to universal free, quality • Full, generous employer-funded maternity leave; healthcare. full, generous parental leave for all parents, required to • Abolish all subsidies to private health institutions, care for infants in the post-natal period and during the including the private health insurance rebate illness of a child • Nationalise all unviable private institutions • Fight the breast cancer epidemic through fully- • Extend the Medicare scheme to cover the full cost funded, comprehensive research programs; free quality of all health, medical and ancillary services, including

24 dental, aged care, prosthetics, rehabilitation, alternative • Provide high quality, community-based, supported therapies and preventative services accommodation for people with disabilities or other • Fully fund all public hospitals; re-open closed special needs. Fully fund refuges and other secure facilities in rural and outer metropolitan regions, and emergency accommodation for women and children build new facilities to ensure that rural and remote escaping domestic violence communities receive the same access as those in urban • Establish a publicly owned and controlled housing areas finance corporation to provide low-interest home loans • Fully fund free, quality health education and for those in need screening programs • Legislate to protect the right of access to free, CEASE THE VANDALISM OF THE quality mental health care, without pressure to conform ENVIRONMENT to traditional gender roles or other social stereotypes Capitalist globalisation is destroying the earth. We • Guarantee patients’ control by legislating the right live under the reign of a class willing to jeopardise our of access to all information required for informed lives and those of future generations for quick cash. consent; the right to appoint a legal guardian of a Capitalism destroys habitat and renders species extinct, patient’s choice; the right to choose or refuse medical yet the survival of animal and plant life is essential for treatment; the right to die and the right to assisted suicide human progress and should not be counterposed to so- • Full government indemnity guarantees for all health called “development”. We are bombarded with chemicals professionals who leave private practice and join the in our food, water and air. We are assailed by poisons at public health system work, at home and in our communities. In our hands, • Massive expansion of student positions in tertiary technology will be used for human progress; in the hands health education faculties to overcome the shortage of of capitalists, it is used to plunder our world. The health workers in nursing, aged care and general practice, destruction of the once-mighty Murray-Darling river particularly in rural areas system, the mobilisation of megatonnes of salt which • Construction of State-owned pharmaceutical plants threatens not only agriculture, but many rural towns and to manufacture drugs to end the ongoing rip-offs by the even Western Sydney; the lunacy of open-cut and acid international drug cartel leaching uranium mines; the huge volume of asbestos released from decaying cement sheeting and insulation AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HOUSING IS A —these are disasters which may take centuries to rectify, RIGHT even in a socialist Australia. “Capitalism” and Housing is a basic human right. Currently there are “sustainability” are mutually exclusive concepts. Only thousands of people on waiting lists for public housing socialism is sustainable. But it is necessary to stop the throughout Australia. Many are forced into the private destruction of our world now, as a matter of urgency. rental market where up to 50 per cent of income or more • Commence a comprehensive environmental goes on rent and accommodation is often below a decent restoration and employment program, fully funded by a standard. Across Australia there is an increase in tax on corporate bank transactions; including full training homeless people. and award wages for all workers; preference to be given • Establish a large-scale building program to make to displaced timber and agriculture workers, rural good quality, energy efficient, affordable public housing unemployed, Indigenous communities and displaced available for all who choose it. Stop the privatisation of small farmers. This program to include: • Replanting of public housing forests in dry-land and other salt-affected regions; • • Build creatively designed public housing to suit a Replacement of open irrigation channels with pipes; • wide variety of domestic arrangements, including the Installation of subsidised solar heating and solar power needs of people living communally, in extended families units in all domestic dwellings; • Removal of exotic and in Indigenous communities species such as willow and carp from river systems; • A • All housing developments must include the comprehensive recycling system for all waste materials; • provision of local health, education and other services Reconstruction of salt-damaged infrastructure; • and access to quality public transport Construction of renewable energy generation plants • For community control of public housing through • Clean-up and restoration of contaminated and democratically elected housing boards comprised of degraded industrial sites tenants and housing workers • End logging in old growth forests; end land clearing • Strengthen legislation covering both public and for agriculture—evict pastoral leaseholders found private tenants’ rights illegally clearing and hand the land back to Indigenous • Enact rent control—for a sliding scale of rent for owners low-income people based on earnings. All rents to be • End the confiscation of Indigenous land for mining capped at a maximum of 20 per cent of income and agribusiness • Mandate high standards for private accommodation • No new coal-fired power stations; fund renewable and require landlords to fix problems and maintain energy, not greenhouse gas production private housing stock in good condition • Immediately close all uranium mines and shut down Nationalise and renovate all substandard landlord the Lucas Heights reactor without replacement holdings • Phase out agribusiness farming in the Murray- • Expand funding to housing co-operatives Darling basin; stop all new farming, and commercial development in salt-affected regions

25

• No Genetically Modified Organisms—ban all Freight Transport and Roads While rail freight has importation and production in Australia major benefits to the community as a whole, business is • Reduce water use by steeply increasing prices to big the main beneficiary of large subsidies from taxpayers companies; mandate the use of recycled water for all for the use of an efficient means of transport for large industrial purposes volumes of goods. However, it is preferable to remove as • Mandated strict emission levels for all new vehicles, many highly polluting, dangerous and damaging heavy industrial plants and commercial developments; phase in vehicles from the road network as possible. The general similar standards for existing installations; remove taxes road network, in particular motorways, freeways and on low emission vehicles for private use and fund a buy- major arterial routes, are chiefly of benefit to business. back scheme for old, high-polluting cars • Extend the rail freight network with dedicated • Mandated container deposits at point of sale and freight-only links in order to remove heavy vehicles from institution of penalty taxes on all suppliers of non- local roads. Introduce and enforce penalties to stop recyclable packaging unauthorised heavy vehicle access to local roads • Mandated humane treatment of animals and full • Re-nationalise all privatised tollways and abolish protection of endangered species and habitats tolls for light vehicles and buses • Make business pay for its transport by introducing PUBLICLY-OWNED PUBLIC TRANSPORT electronic tolling for heavy freight vehicles on all major Commuter transport Commuter transport and the roads and freeways, and discounted, volume-based movement of freight require central planning and charges for rail freight community control. The chaos of private ownership in • All new freeways and major arterial roads to be the 19th Century and a century of bureaucratic neglect built according to strict environmental standards has left many areas with inadequate or non-existent commuter transport. The Victorian experience of private BUILD UNITED FRONTS TO STOP THE RIGHT management of a vital public service has shown that WING AND FASCISM artificial fragmentation of what should be a fully The economic crisis of capitalism emboldens the integrated system leads inevitably to chaos. This is true right-wing and fascist organisations. They seek to recruit of all commuter transport and any integrated freight rail followers to their ideology by appealing to those who are network. hurting. They peddle populist solutions, which scapegoat Socialist Alliance stands for public ownership and immigrants, single mothers, Indigenous people, control of all forms of commuter transport and rail independent women, Jews, Muslims or queers in order to freight distract from the real causes of people’s problems. • Re-nationalise all privatised public transport and rail Socialist Alliance is committed to build democratic freight; nationalise all bus routes, and fully fund them united front actions and mobilising union action to stop through a steeply sliding scale of levies on businesses the growth of right wing and fascist organisations. employing more than 20 workers • When running in elections, Socialist Alliance puts • Provide sufficient services to meet current demand right-wing and fascist candidates last and commence an ongoing program of network • No reliance on the police to defend us from fascism expansion to meet future demand • For organised and disciplined mass actions both to • Fully staff the networks—staff on every station and defend targets of the right and to confront and prevent a guard/conductor on every train and tram the growth of right wing organisations • End the unfair impost on island communities by • For ongoing educational campaigns to expose the fully funding passenger and light vehicle ferries, in ultra right agenda of organisations such as the Citizens particular to and from Tasmania; fully fund air transport Electoral Council, One Nation, the Blackshirts, National to remote outback and island communities Action and other reactionaries • Re-open closed rural rail lines where the • Solidarity in action against the right—an injury to infrastructure still exists and provide passenger rail one is an injury to all! services to communities which need them Alternatively provide a replacement bus service to meet community needs

Proposals for improving ‘Rebuilding democratic, militant unionism—Socialist Alliance and the Trade Unions’ By Sue Bolton (Wills branch) I welcome the initial draft of the trade union Socialist Alliance. However, for it to be useful in document “Rebuilding democratic, militant unionism— fulfilling this purpose, Section B “Socialists and unions’’ Socialist Alliance and the Trade Unions’’ (Discussion could be expanded slightly for it to become more Bulletin Volume 3 Number 2)—for adoption at the explanatory and accessible to people who aren’t familiar Socialist Alliance conference. with the Marxist movement. The document could be very useful in winning militant trade unionists to join and/or support the

26

I generally agree with the amendments to the Add the words: “We encourage as many individual document proposed by Alison Thorne in Discussion unionists, including militant union officials, to join and Bulletin Volume 3 Number 4. participate in the Socialist Alliance.’’ In addition to Alison Thorne’s amendments, I wish to Section D. “What Socialist Alliance needs to do in propose several amendments to strengthen the document. unions’’ They are: 1) Second dot point. Section A. “Introduction: the union movement Alter it to read: “Propose campaigns around key today’’ issues such as the shorter working week and propose that Paragraph 8 currently reads “Workers have the unions adopt the method of pattern bargaining instead of chance today to rebuild militant democratic unions. What enterprise bargaining.’’ our class needs is political perspective and Add two extra dot points after the seventh dot point. organisation.’’ Add: “Bosses try to divide workers along race, sex, 1) I propose that we add the words: “Active, skill level and age lines. It is important that Socialist organised and militant trade unions are important in Alliance activists in unions strive for their unions to giving workers a sense of their own power when they are overcome these divisions in order to build a strong union organised collectively.’’ based on solidarity.’’ 2) I propose that we add an extra paragraph at end of Add: “Unions need to have a class approach when Section A, to read: taking up campaigns. Issues such as the wars on Iraq “In Australia today, there are hundreds of militant and Afghanistan, racism, women’s rights, Medicare, unionists scattered through a wide range of unions and workers compensation, unemployment benefits and Work workplaces. If these union militants were organised, they for the Dole schemes are all class issues. These issues could have a big impact transforming more unions into may only directly affect some union members, but more militant organisations. Socialist Alliance, as a indirectly, these issues effect all union members because united left organisation, could play a key role here, they affect the whole of the working class—the family especially as militant unionists have an extremely well- members of unionists, unemployed workers and retired organised, well-resourced and politically conscious workers. Social issues need to be taken up by unions opponent in the ALP, which will stop at nothing to because they are working class issues.’’ attempt to crush militant unionism.’’ At the tenth dot point: Section B. Socialists and unions Add the words at the beginning: “Where useful’’ so 1) Subsection (iii) ``Leaders and ranks’’ Paragraph 2 the tenth dot point should read: “Where useful, establish Add: “Sometimes they have genuine motives but have Socialist Alliance networks in individual unions at local, succumbed to the idea that workers can only safeguard state and national level, open to non-Socialist Alliance their jobs if they help increase their employers’ profits.’’ members and operating as loose collectives based on Section C. “Unions and political representation: consensus.’’ building the working-class political alternative’’ Add one last dot point: 1) Last dot point. “When appropriate, initiate a national conference of union militants.”

Amended Constitutional Amendments By Mark Lockett (Perth Branch) After some consideration I have decided to parliamentarians, motion 4 will cover state conferences restructure my proposed constitutional amendments and and other bits of administravia. make one change. My intent (as per the draft agenda) would be for The change is to propose the election of three motions 1 and 2 to be debated on Saturday morning and unaffiliated members to the National Executive by the Motions 3 and 4 on Sunday morning, if Motion 1 is National Conference. This will bring the numerical make defeated then Motion 2 will be withdrawn and Motion 4 up of the National Executive into line with the motion amended accordingly. passed unanimously by the National Executive in its I have also fixed a couple of typos. meeting of April 24. Note: I do not support directly electing unaffiliated members of the National Executive Motion 1 – Election of the National from the conference floor but in this instance I believe Executive there are more important battles to fight. I have also Add Section 7.1 and renumber accordingly amended the rules regarding the election of National The National Executive shall consist of : Conveners to bring them more into line with decision of Two representatives from each of the larger the April 24 executive meeting. affiliates There are now four distinct motions; this is to allow One representative from each of the smaller for debate on clearly separate issues. Motion 1 will cover affiliates the election of state representatives, motion 2 will cover Three representative of unaffiliated members. the election of the National Conveners, motion 3 will One representative from each State Organisation cover accountability of Socialist Alliance Amend the section 6.5 as follows

27

6.5. The National Executive other than state Motion 3—Socialist Alliance representatives for 2001-2002 shall be elected Parliamentarians according to the following formula: Keep section 4.1 adding reference to local councillors Two representatives from each of the larger affiliates; The Socialist Alliance does not allow its One representative from each of the smaller affiliates; parliamentarians or local councillors to exercise a One member from each state or territory; conscience vote. As they have been elected on the basis Any affiliates joining the Socialist Alliance after the of the Socialist Alliance platform they are required to conference shall be accorded representation on the vote in accordance with that platform and publicly National Executive, at the invitation of the National advocate it. Executive; Remove the old section 4.2 Between conferences, if necessary, proxies to the 4.2. Socialist Alliance parliamentarians shall be National Executive may be (i) appointed by the affiliated accountable to the National Conference of the Socialist group, in the case of a representative of an affiliated Alliance, and in between conferences, parliamentarians group, or (ii), in the case of a representative of a state, shall be accountable to the National Executive. elected by a state-wide meeting or the relevant state co- and replace with ordinating committee. Socialist Alliance parliamentarians, local No person shall be elected to more than one voting councillors and persons employed to work in the position on the National Executive. offices of Socialist Alliance parliamentarians shall be Add a new section 6.6 and renumber accordingly subject to the specific direction of the Branch that State representatives shall be elected by State covers the electorate except that if their electorate is Conferences as described in section 9.4. State covered by more than one branch or their electorate representatives elected at the First Conference of is not covered by any branches they shall be subject Socialist Alliance shall continue in office until July 31 to specific direction by their state organisation. 2003 or until the state they represent holds a State Socialist Alliance parliamentarians, local Conference, whichever occurs first. councillors and persons employed to work in the Motion 2 – Election of National offices of Socialist Alliance parliamentarians shall be Conveners subject to the specific direction of the National Executive which shall override any specific directions Amend the new Section 7.1 given by their local branch or state organisation. The National Executive shall consist of : Socialist Alliance parliamentarians, local Five National Conveners (non-voting) councillors and persons employed to work in the Two representatives from each of the larger affiliates offices of Socialist Alliance parliamentarians shall be One representative from each of the smaller affiliates subject to the specific direction of the National Three representative of unaffiliated members. Conference which shall override any specific One representative from each State Organisation directions given by their local branch or state Delete Sections 6.4 and renumber accordingly. organisation or the National Executive. 6.4. For 2001-2 the National Officeholders shall be Section 4.3 Shall not be changed. three National Conveners. The National Add new Section 4.4 Conveners, to be elected out of the incoming National Socialist Alliance parliamentarians shall be Executive, shall be elected by required to gain the consent of the body they are the same slate method as for the election of the accountable to in Section 4.2.1 to be able to employ National Executive. Proposed slates persons to work in their office(s). for the National Conveners can only be nominated after the election of the incoming Motion 4 – Everything else National Executive. Local Branches Amend the new section 6.4 as follows Amend section 8.3 6.5. The National Executive other than state Branches shall elect office bearers, including a representatives for 2001-2002 shall be elected Convener, Treasurer and Returning Officer, at least according to the following formula: annually. Office bearers can be voted out at any properly Five National Conveners (non-voting) convened branch meeting. Office bearers shall be Two representatives from each of the larger affiliates; subject to the specific direction of the branch. One representative from each of the smaller affiliates; State and District Organisations One member from each state or territory; Amendment the Title of Section 9 Any affiliates joining the Socialist Alliance after the State, District and City-Wide Organising Committees conference shall be accorded representation on the States and Districts National Executive, at the invitation of the National There shall be an Annual State or Territory Executive; Conference in every state or territory where Socialist Between conferences, if necessary, proxies to the Alliance has Branches. National Executive may be appointed by the affiliated All financial members of Socialist Alliance who group, in the case of a representative of an affiliated reside in the relevant state or territory shall have the group. right to vote at a State or Territory conference. No person shall be elected to more than one voting position on the National Executive.

28

The quorum at a properly constituted State required, and shall have control of all campaigns at their conference is 5 members or 10 per cent of the corresponding level. Such committees shall usually be financial membership, whichever is the greater. formed on the basis of one delegate per branch, with State and Territory conferences shall elect their affiliate organisations who are not represented by branch- representative on National Executive on at least an elected delegates also eligible to nominate a annual basis. State or Territory representatives can representative. be removed from office by their State or Territory A Special State or District conference shall be conference at any time. State or Territory called if the State or District executive decides, if at representatives on National Executive shall be subject least one branch in the state or district demands it or to specific direction by their state conference. if 25 per cent of the membership of the state or Between conferences, if necessary, proxies for district petition for a state conference. In the case of a State and Territory representatives to the National conference called for by a branch or petition the Executive shall be elected by a State Conference or conference must be held within 30 days. the relevant state co-ordinating committee. Add a new section 7.7 State and Territory representatives on National Twenty eight days notice shall be provided for all Executive shall be required to provide regular reports National Executive meetings. Agenda for and minutes of on National Executive business to branches in the all National Executive meetings shall be sent to all state they represent. members of the National Executive, to all branches, Two or more branches may decide to form a districts, state organisations and any other member who district. has registered an interest in receiving them. No motions States,or districts or city-wide regions may choose to other than emergency motions shall be discussed by the have organising committees to coordinate campaigns National Executive unless 28 days notice has been given. across branches and to coordinate state electoral A motion is an emergency motion if an absolute majority campaigns. of the National Executive agree it is an emergency States-wide or city-wide conferences and districts motion. shall elect their own executives and office bearers, as

Draft resolution on the invasion of Iraq By the National Conveners At this Second National Conference the Socialist restate our commitment to building the anti-war Alliance recommits itself to the struggle against movement with a view to opposing imperialism’s next imperialist war and against the growing militarism of the aggression from a higher level of awareness and Australian government. preparedness. Socialist Alliance demands: We also commit to contribute in whatever way it can • End the occupation of Iraq; to the rebuilding of the workers’ movement in Iraq. • Troops out now; In this way the Socialist Alliance will make as big a • That the peoples of Iraq, including the Kurds and contribution as it can to making the imperialists pay the other minorities, be free to determine their own highest possible price for their coming wars, to future. strengthening solidarity among the world’s peoples, and As an immediate step against Australian militarism to advancing humanity towards the precious goal of a we call on the Senate opposition parties to block the world without war. military provisions of the 2003 federal budget. We also

Draft resolution on US threats to Cuba By Dick Nichols In the face of rising threats from the US government 3. Demands that the United States immediately lift its against Cuba the Socialist Alliance Second National economic and tourism blockade of Cuba; Conference: 4. Calls on the left and progressive movement in 1. Supports the solidarity call with Cuba made in a Australia to show its opposition to the renewed attacks recent statement by Nobel Laureates and other prominent by the United States towards Cuba and support solidarity intellectuals for “policy makers to uphold the universal actions that oppose U.S imperialism’s attacks on Cuba. principles of national sovereignity, respect of territorial integrity and self-determination, essential to just and Rationale peaceful co-existence among nations” ; Since 1959 the United States has had the aim of 2. Calls upon the United States to cease all operations overthrowing the Cuban revolution. In that time US towards Cuba that encourage and fund the overthrow of imperialism has attacked Cuba through an economic the Cuban government; blockade, military aggression, biological warfare and assassination attempts on the country’s leaders. The aim

29 of these tactics has been and remains the overthrow of flagrant contradiction with its 1996 agreement to provide the Cuban government and its replacement by a puppet 20,000 spaces a year. This, combined with the Cuban regime agreeable to the US and the exile mafia of former Adjustment Act which grants favourable treatment to any Cuban landowners and capitalists. Cuban who manages to reach US soil illegally, has Yet whilst facing aggression from the world’s most provoked a recent wave of hijackings of aircraft. powerful imperialist nation, the Cuban revolution has The goal of this tactic is to provoke a crisis similar to nevertheless been able to provide an example to the the “rafters crisis” of the 1980s. A mass, uncontrolled people of Latin America and the world. It enormous exodus of Cubans worn down by the country’s difficult gains in the field of education and health, far beyond that economic situation and hopeful of a better life in the US of any other underdeveloped nation, have even been could provide the spark for a post-Iraq military recognised by the World Bank. intervention by a US government which has already put US policy towards Cuba has taken an even more Cuba on its list of nations which “sponsor terrorism”. aggressive turn with the arrival of the Bush clique in the It is against this background that the recent long White House. Since September of last year when the US prison sentences given to opponents of the government government appointed James Cason to head the United and the execution of three men guilty of hijacking a States Interests Section (USIS) in Havana, the attacks Havana harbour ferry are to be understood. have increased dramatically. The USIS has played a key These decisions are a matter of controversy and role in organising groups within Cuba through debate within Socialist Alliance, as they are for left, channelling money from USAID and promoting groups progressive and socialist people around the world. that promote “regime change” in Cuba so as to install a However, irrespective of differing positions the Alliance government in Cuba friendly to US interests. is united in its understanding that the main enemy is the At the same time Washington has deliberately and US government and its unrelentingly hostile policies dramatically reduced the number of visas granted to towards the Cuban revolution. Cubans seeking to immigrate to the United States, in

Draft resolution on criteria for new affiliations By the National Conveners 1. Organisations wishing to affiliate to Socialist 3. The criteria to be used in assessing applications are Alliance will submit an application to the National that the organisation applying for affiliation: Conveners. The National Conveners will consider the • Has aims and policies generally compatible with application and make a recommendation to the National those of the Alliance; Executive. The National Executive hall decide on • Agrees to abide by the constitution; affiliation, effective immediately. The next National • Agrees to support, promote and cooperate with Conference will consider all National Executive Socialist Alliance campaigns and election candidates; decisions on affiliations. • Has at least five ten members who are financial 2. Organisations which are eligible for affiliation are Socialist Alliance members or are willing to join and those which generally agree with the aims of the who are not members of other affiliates. Alliance, including: socialist political tendencies; A large affiliate is defined as one with more than 100 working class solidarity and community organisations; members. New affiliates shall have one representative on trade union branches. the NE, or two if they are large affiliates.

Draft resolution on West Papua By Michael Reidie and Frances Evans (Melbourne North East branch We ask the second Socialist Alliance Conference to suppression by the Indonesian Military of independence endorse the two following resolutions: activists. 1. Socialist Alliance supports the struggle of the West 2. Socialist Alliance show solidarity for West Papuan Papuan Independence Movement, and condemn the activists, political prisoners and exiles and commits to Australian Government’s support of the continuing building networks and sponsoring meetings to build occupation by the Indonesian Government and the brutal awareness around West Papua.

Draft resolution on membership dues system By Tim Gooden and John O'Brien (Geelong branch) That membership dues be paid by or on May Day dues upon joining is divided by 12 months and they only each year and that any new member join during the year pay the amount equivalent to the remaining months. pay their dues on a pro rata basis, i.e., that their first

30

Draft resolution on Alliance logo By Tim Gooden and John O'Brien (Geelong branch) That Conference review the Socialist Alliance logo if time does not permit. Final recommendations can be with the view to adopting a new symbol-style logo or voted on by the branches. For the purposes of discussion flag. This may be done through establishing a review it is recommended the Socialist Alliance adopt the committee under the direction of the National Executive Eureka flag style southern cross on a red back ground.

31