DISCUSSION BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 7 December 2002 $2.50 DOCUMENTS Motion on Socialist Alliance passed by December 7-8 ISO National Conference 3 Letter to the ISO National Executive from the DSP Political Committee 3 The DSP and the Socialist Alliance 4 By Workers Power Stay in the Socialist Alliance! An open letter to the ISO 5 By Workers’ Liberty Socialist Alliance in review — the long and winding road 7 By Riki Lane INTERVENTIONS War on terrorism, or war on civil liberties? 10 By Lisa Macdonald No War on Iraq! 11 By Vanessa Hearmann DISCUSSION Socialist Alliance is a united front, not a vehicle for revolutionary regroupment 13 By Alison Thorne What next for the Socialist Alliance? 15 By Shane Hopkinson The Socialist Alliance and left regroupment 16 By John Tully Fighting war and racism: How do we build the socialist movement today? 19 By Margarita Windisch Where did Labor’s preferences come from in Cunningham? 21 By Chris Williams Socialist Alliance and the Cunningham by-election: A reply to Riki Lane 23 By Chris Pickering and Chris Williams 333 Implications of change in government policy for the refugee movement 28 By Carlene Wilson Some thoughts on building the Socialist Alliance on the North of Sydney 29 By John Gauci Quick thoughts on the draft perspectives statement 30 By Jonathan Strauss NATIONAL EXECUTIVE RESOLUTIONS Perspectives on Socialist Alliance joint work and discussion 32 Discussion Bulletin policy 32 Recruitment and membership campaign 32 Humphrey McQueen tour 32 Membership and finances 33 Financial requirement for branches to have delegation to May 2003 National Conference 33 Socialist Alliance national newsletter 33 Draft resolution on affiliation to the Socialist Alliance 33 1 2 DOCUMENTS Motion on Socialist Alliance carried by the December 7-8 ISO National Conference Given the division within the organisation about There will be two internal bulletins and a members our continued participation in the Socialist Alliance meeting in each city before the next National Commit- and the lack of clarity and general consensus within the tee meeting after the New South Wales election which group about such a major decision: will review our participation. The organisation will open up a period of discus- sion regarding participation and work in the Socialist Carried Alliance. Letter to the ISO National Executive from the DSP Political Committee 5 December 2002 be achieved when the left acts together. The projec- Dear comrades, tions recently adopted by the Socialist Alliance Na- At this morning’s meeting between a delegation tional Executive—and based on the November 11 ISO representing the ISO National Executive (comrades letter to the DSP—recognise that reality and provide a Brian Webb and Ian Rintoul) and one from the DSP solid basis for expanding the Alliance’s work in the Political Committee (comrades John Percy, Peter unions and the movements. Boyle and Dick Nichols) it was agreed that it would be Thirdly, the decision of the DSP to withdraw the useful—in the light of the forthcoming national confer- proposal to its 20th Congress that it transform itself into ence of the ISO—for the DSP to spell out its perspec- an internal tendency within the Alliance from January tive on building the Socialist Alliance in the coming 2003 means that the Alliance’s own debate can now period. focus on the best way forward for building the Alliance At the outset the DSP wants to make it crystal clear itself. That debate is already under way—with increas- that it views the participation of the ISO in the Socialist ing and important participation from unaffiliated mem- Alliance as critically important. ISO comrades are bers—and will determine how the Alliance can best making an invaluable contribution to building the Alli- move ahead from its May 2003 National Conference. ance. We would therefore view any ISO decision to The DSP leadership is committed to making sure withdraw from the Alliance as seriously damaging to that our party’s collective contribution to the debate the prospect of building left and socialist unity in Aus- focuses upon making as accurate and objective an tralia. We commit ourselves to doing everything in our analysis as possible of the real shifts taking place in power to minimise that possibility. Australian politics and upon how best the openings The success of the Alliance to date has rested in these offer should be grasped by the Alliance. considerable degree, though of course not exclusively, We think this is the best framework within which to on the ability of ISO and DSP comrades to collaborate carry forward the discussion on the outstanding differ- “on the ground”—despite the ongoing differences we ences within the Alliance, including those between the have. We in the DSP are anxious for that collaboration DSP and the ISO, in particular our discussions over to continue—as all other affiliates and the Alliance how the “break from Labor” is taking place and over membership as a whole surely are. Together we really whether collaboration within the Alliance is organi- do make a difference. cally part of or separate from the process of socialist We cannot stress enough that the Alliance is a pre- regroupment. cious gain for the socialist cause in this country and However, we do not see these and other issues be- that it’s the responsibility of each and every one of us ing “settled” by a vote at the May conference, nor does to work at strengthening it. The results obtained in the further advance by the Alliance depend on us all reach- November 30 Victorian state poll are the most recent ing agreement on the questions in dispute, important confirmation of its value as an electoral front of the though the effort to minimise differences always is. socialist movement. They show that the Alliance has Furthermore, while the DSP remains committed to the articulated a definite, though still small, electoral sup- perspective of the Alliance being transformed over port base, but one that is real enough for it to be able to time into a multi-tendency socialist party, this remains exercise a consistent pressure on the Greens from the a perspective. We will seek to convince Alliance mem- left—provided that we all continue to build on the bers that it is the best way forward, but whether it foundation established. The forthcoming New South comes about—if at all—will be determined by the Al- Wales election provides the Alliance with an invalu- liance debate itself. able opportunity to expand its influence. What the DSP will propose to the Alliance confer- Secondly, the work done by the Alliance in other ence (and to the Socialist Alliance National Executive) areas (trade union solidarity, against the impending war in the way of practical steps forward will be condi- on Iraq, for refugee rights) has clearly shown what can tioned by the positions and interventions of the ISO 3 and other affiliates in the Alliance debate—along with bers, and by recruiting new members from the consid- the general evolution of the Alliance’s work and dis- erable pool of support revealed in our election results. cussion. In developing such proposals we will continue The DSP will propose to the next meeting of the So- to act in the spirit with which we have acted to date— cialist Alliance National Executive that the Alliance arguing strongly for our viewpoint but always trying to launch a recruitment campaign in the first months of move ahead on the basis of consensus or the largest 2003. The more successful this is, the more effective possible majority. will be our practical work—especially for the 2003 In particular this means that there will be no auto- NSW poll—and the richer will be the Alliance debate matic, predetermined decision on the part of the incom- and the better the decisions of its May conference, re- ing DSP leadership to recommend to our National flecting as they will a broader range of experience and Committee that the DSP transform itself into an inter- thought. nal tendency within the Alliance after the Alliance’s On such a basis we can seriously advance our May National Conference. Any such decision—like all shared desire to transform the affiliate organisations others we make in relation to the Alliance—will into a small minority within the Alliance at the same emerge only as a result of the Alliance debate, of the time as laying the groundwork for more effective col- decisions of the Alliance’s National Conference and laboration in the future. ! after the broadest possible consultation, with the ISO and all other affiliates. John Percy Our last point is this: the Alliance needs to grow, by National Secretary converting its more passive members into active mem- The DSP and the Socialist Alliance By Workers Power [The following commentary was published in The DSP say this kind of party is desirable so that Workers Power Australia, Issue Number 30, December all the various far left forces in Australia today would 2002.] be able to find a single political home. In early September the Democratic Socialist party They say given most of the left groups in Australia, announced to the rest of the Socialist Alliance its inten- certainly the ones affiliated to the Socialist Alliance, tion to reconstitute itself as a tendency of the Alliance have 95 per cent or 98 per cent agreement, then we from January 2003 and to cease intervening publically should be less worried about the things we do disagree as the DSP. on. In the couple of months since then, the Socialist Al- The assertion is simple—we have worked together liance has been through a period of very open and in- for the last eighteen months and found reasonable tense discussion; some of the most intense in its eight- compromises.