Labor Party Commits to Stronger Cabotage and Shipping Policies Contents
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Merged Union: CFMEU Amalgamation Update Vale Former SUA National Secretary Pat Geraghty Turnbull Fails To Heed Election Warning and THE MARITIME WORKERS’ JOURNAL Continues Attacks on SPRING 2016 Unions and Workers Labor Party Commits To Stronger Cabotage and Shipping Policies Contents 4 - 17 National Council MUA leadership discusses key topics including CFMEU merger, Federal Election wash up and opens new training centre 18 - 23 Jobs Embassy Constant presence in Canberra gets under Government’s skin 24 - 32 Federal Election Close election result down to good union campaign 38 Flag-of-Convenience Senate Inquiry Recommendations include a full review of industry policy 41 Partnership Agreements Is this just a taste of things to come? 46 - 47 Wave Hill Strong MUA contingent at 50th anniversary of Wave Hill Walk Off 58 - 59 International Rank-and-file reports from Palestine 62 - 69 Vale Tributes flow in for former SUA National Secretary Pat Geraghty Cover: all of the delegates and guests from the 2016 Quadrennial National Conference EDITOR IN CHIEF Paddy Crumlin COmmuNICaTIONs Director Darrin Barnett Editorial TEam ashleigh Telford DEsIGN magnesium media PRINTER Printcraft maritime Workers’ Journal 365-375 sussex street sydney NsW 2000 Contact: 9267 - 9134 Fax: 9261 - 3481 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.mua.org.au mWJ reserves the right at all times to edit and/or reduce any articles or letters to be published. Publication No: 1235 For all story ideas, letters, obituaries please email [email protected] A selection of photos from the ‘Night of Nights’ the Quadrennial National Conference Dinner. www.mua.org.au www.mua.org.au 1 logging on Paddy Crumlin opens the MUA/ITF Organising Communication Centre Logging On Paddy Crumlin “Effectively, Australia has no Government. In reality, this means we have no ability to manage our national self-interest in a world that preys on the weak and dim-witted and invests in strong, secure and functional planning.” NEW PARLIAMENT, SAME another era of creative and genuine the last 25 years. OLD STORY political and industrial leadership. His In this slow and painful come-uppance Malcolm Turnbull has found his Royal Commission into trade unions for Turnbull’s weak complicit and political place in history as the latest was an identified disgrace. He deceived, compliant Prime Ministership, with the sycophant and brown-nose to corporate dissembled, misled and bullied anyone worst elements of big business like the elitism, by selling out workers’ rights in his way, including the Senate, putting miners and Murdoch, he has resorted to and stripping Australia’s industrial and his mark on our national history, more union bashing as the last favour to his economic sovereign wealth. like a scar. corporate mates. He joins a mighty team dedicated After kicking the hapless Abbott to the Well we’re not going to cop it, because to the debasing of Australia’s direct kerb, Malcolm Turnbull fell over the line we are the working community of this community and democratic needs, values after an extraordinary bout of arrogance country and the international economy. and entitlements. John Howard had in calling a double dissolution - one of Our National Conference and National his war on the waterfront and coast, the greatest acts of political self-harm Council have again determined we are in the mines, in the airlines and the ever observed in the volatile forum of here for the long haul and we will fight construction industry. He expanded that national politics. for our just rights from the front. domestic battleground with a flourish What is the result? Effectively, That includes continuous rebuilding of with his weapons of mass destruction Australia has no Government. In reality, our political and industrial voice in the lie and broadened out his network of this means we have no ability to manage Australian and International community infamy to George W Bush, Dick Cheney, our national self-interest in a world that to deliver the type of political leadership Donald Rumsfeld and the cowardly Tony preys on the weak and dim-witted and to extract us from the disgraceful Blair. What a gang, what a legacy. The invests in strong, secure and functional situation we are now in. refugee flotsam of that dysfunction planning. Having won his lifelong back, organise and campaign in our “This is an exciting and important historical phase of was demonised and sent to off-shore prize, Turnbull has fallen back to the MERGER members’ interest in a larger and better- concentration camps. xenophobic, racist, ultra-nationalistic This means building a union together resourced union. our union comrades, that builds our capacity to protect Then along came Tony Abbott who policies of division, together with the with the CFMEU that loses nothing of Meetings of the joint executives of maritime workers’ rights on the job, while building extended the conservative legacy in union bashing, fear mongering and our proud history but gains everything the MUA and CFMEU resulted in the political leadership with economic demonising of trade unions, particularly in the long struggle before us. Memorandum of Understanding on on and not diminishing the strong, progressive and incompetence through the sabotaging ours and the CFMEU. Our National Conference of the principles and values that would militant history of national and international solidarity, of the Australian car and manufacturing And Hanson is back, thanks for that Members unanimously supported the underpin the merged union. The organising and campaigning.” industry, trying to kill off the Australian Malcolm. Class war against workers is merger on this basis. The Principles Memorandum of Agreement outlines the shipping and shipbuilding industry still the priority via the ABCC and other of Amalgamation resolution from the proposed structure of the new merged and attempting to strangle the steel attempts to diminish the long, proud, conference are in the front of your national union and outlines matters of new rules of the merged union and historical phase of our union comrades, and aluminium industries. He also nationally and internationally recognised resolutions booklet sent out with this joint interest and concern. together with other related matters that builds our capacity to protect had a crack at Australian maritime Australian trade union movement. Maritime Workers’ Journal. Both documents are on the following required by our National Conference of maritime workers’ rights on the job, workers’ right to access jobs in our Unions here are vitally important to the The principles lay out the basis pages comrades and will be put to Members Principles of Amalgamation while building on and not diminishing offshore sector and tried to fiddle community and economic functionality for the merger discussions with the the upcoming AGMS of our union as resolution, the final endorsement of the strong, progressive and militant with industry superannuation funds of our country both historically and CFMEU subsequent to the conference unanimously supported by National the merger would be put to you in a history of national and international - one of the great functional social, today given the international popular determination. This clearly outlines the Council. As part of the National Council plebiscite under our rules in the new solidarity, organising and campaigning. industrial and economic mechanisms rejection of the politics of elitism, retaining of our name in our division report, contingent upon and following year, as also required by the National Let’s flush the Howard, Abbott and for wealth creation and long term division, opportunism and entitlement along with our existing rules while your endorsement the AGM meetings, Conference of Members. Turnbull years of negligence and division sensible retirement policies from indulged in by most Governments over providing for the opportunity to fight the two unions would then finalise the This is an exciting and important down the place they belong. n 2 www.mua.org.au www.mua.org.au 3 NATIONAL COUNCIL MUA National Council 2016 was held from October 10 - 14 in the new MUA/ITF Organising and Communication Centre Deputy National Secretary Will Tracey MUA On Permanent Campaign Footing As It Heads Towards CFMEU Merger Tasmania Assistant National Branch Secretary Secretary Ian Bray Jason Campbell aritime Union of Australia going forward. discussion on the merger later in the week. National Secretary Paddy “Members at National Conference have The MUA Quadrennial Conference Crumlin used his opening determined that the way forward is a merger determined that any merger would be subject Western address at this year’s National with the CFMEU and the type of union we to plebiscite of the entire membership, Australia MCouncil to discuss the structure of the can be in defence of our rights at this time,” keeping the structure of the MUA and the Branch Secretary union’s ongoing campaign work as well as Crumlin said. name, while opening up the opportunity to Christy Cain the planned merger with the CFMEU. “The Conference Resolution (on the build up a stronger and more effective union. Appropriately, National Council was merger) was prescriptive and has conditions. There have been numerous subsequent campaigns around political issues that are held in the new MUA/ITF Organising This is a big merger and we will take it steady meetings with the membership in branches important to workers,” Crumlin said. Communication Centre on the Ground Floor and make it consistent