Perth forum discusses left alternative

By Stephen Robson

PERTH -- More than 100 people attended a special Politics in the Pub here on January 22 to discuss prospects for a left alternative. It was chaired by Ian Alexander, the retiring independent MLA for the seat of Perth.

Sponsored by Green Left Weekly, the series at the Court Hotel has become an important venue for badly needed discussions among left and progressive forces.

The opening speaker was Kath Mallot, who resigned from the ALP in August 1992 and is standing as an independent in the seat of Perth.

Mallot confirmed from her own experience in doorknocking the electorate the widespread distrust with the two major parties.

Bill Ethell, the WA Secretary of the Construction, Mining, Energy and Timber Workers Union, told the meeting he saw no sign of the recession ending and that both Labor and the Coalition had an agenda to reduce living standards.

Ethell considered it difficult to propose a strategic alternative until February 7. He thought the trade union movement in the last five or six years had not engendered any confidence.

The '90s would be a time of struggle for labour, and it would be “the politics of the streets” that would dominate.

Scott Calnan, representing the Juvenile Justice action group in Glendalough, the seat held by Premier Carmen Lawrence, said the group sees its primary role in drawing attention to the draconian Juvenile Justice legislation passed in early 1992.

Brenda Roy, a Greens candidate for the upper house, called for a holistic approach toward the problems facing society. She outlined the four principles held by the Greens.

Michelle Hovane, the Democratic Socialist candidate for Perth, began by focusing on the nature of the crisis in the world. Already in 1993 we have had two major oil spills and the US has begun a war against Iraq.

Referring to the rise of the five-party Alliance in New Zealand, Hovane appealed to the left to go beyond simply seeking the balance of power and instead to collaborate to build an effective alternative.

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