There was an article this morning in the British CP’s Morning Star newspaper called ‘The end of Howard?” by Richard Stone from South Australia. Unfortunately, I don’t have an internet subscription to the paper or access to a scanner, so for the benefit of Australian comrades who may not have noticed the leftward swing in the ALP/ACTU I’ve typed out an extract below:
“Trade unions have sprung into action across Australia, forming groups under the banner Your Rights At Work to lobby decision-makers and campaign at grass roots level. These broad-based groups have had some spectacular successes, holding large demonstrations in all major cities and even reaching isolated outback towns”.
“The ALP, which is led by former diplomat Kevin Rudd, has vowed to repeal the [Workchoices] legislation, returning award rights for the trade union movement. The pledge has strengthened Labour, providing a central focus for campaigning”.
“For decades, the ALP has remained divided into factions … and until recently, it was a relatively weak political body dominated by powerbrokers pursuing spurious agendas.”
“The recent period, by contrast, has seen a reversion to more traditional trade union values”.
“The ALP ‘front bench-in-waiting’ places several former trade union heavyweights well acquainted with industrial issues in line for senior positions”.
Can someone please get this guy a subscription to Green Left Weekly? Over here in the UK, Brown’s cabinet contains a few “former trade union heavyweights” too – people such as Alan Johnson, currently in charge of Brown’s privatisation strategy for the NHS.
