It's time to walk, Natasha
By Tegan Hewitt and Ema Corro
Since the May 28 deal done by the Australian Democrats with the federal government to allow the introduction of the goods and service tax (GST), Democrat offices have been flooded by angry phone calls, and newspapers have been inundated with irate letters condemning the sell-out.
On May 31, the National Union of Students (NUS) organised actions against the GST in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. In Adelaide, 20 people demonstrated. In Melbourne, protesters staged a sit-in, which was eventually addressed by Democrat Senator Lynn Allison. In Sydney, 40 people entered the Democrats' national office, and 27 were arrested after being threatened by police with capsicum spray.
On June 3, actions took place in Sydney and Melbourne. The Griffith University education department has called an action outside Senator John Woodley's office on June 8, and more actions are planned in Adelaide. NUS will be participating in a day of action on June 21.
The scale of the Democrats' betrayal is breathtaking. Not only have they supported an inherently regressive tax, but they have also failed in their stated aim of making it “fair”. “Non-basic” food will be taxed, and the Democrats have broken their own promise to exempt rent, all books and public transport from the GST.
While the establishment media have joked about parliament being turned into a supermarket, with politicians debating the prices of pasta, salads and soups, the effects of a GST will be no laughing matter. The GST will hit the poor and working people hardest.
The Democrats' deal endorses company tax cuts, letting off the hook those who can and should pay more tax.
Democrat Senator Natasha Stott Despoja has often been held up by the media as a champion of youth rights. Outspoken on voluntary student unionism, Stott Despoja is interviewed in Juice magazine, supposedly wears Doc Martens and appears regularly on Good News Week. She is promoted as being on “our” side.
Stott Despoja's stance on the GST punctures such illusions. Before the last elections, she told Green Left Weekly: “Am I supporting a GST? Absolutely not. I have never ever said that [the Democrats] are supporting a GST ... The current form of the GST is a regressive tax that gives tax breaks to the rich ... I will never support a GST that unfairly impacts on low income earners and students.”
When the GST went before parliament, Stott Despoja changed her tune, indicating that she would merely oppose a GST on books and newspapers, and would not resign from the party over the issue.
Then, on June 6, the Channel Ten news reported that Stott Despoja had said she would vote against the GST afterall, but there is still no indication she will resign.
In response to student opposition to the GST, Democrats' leader Meg Lees said that students should “forget about a new pair of runners or jeans and go to an op-shop instead ... lots of students buy second-hand clothing, and they won't have to pay a GST.”
Commenting on the effect the GST will have on education, Australian Education Union president Sharon Burrow told the June 2 Daily Telegraph, “The Democrats have always been strong supporters of public education and we expected that they would fight it out. GST costs on books, learning materials, sporting materials, professional development and transport, along with the burden of compliance, will cripple many schools and parent organisations.”
The GST is a regressive tax no matter what spin is put on it: it hits the poor more than the rich. Any minimal concessions the Democrats have won from the government will be quickly eroded. What will remain is an unjust tax system which will be a burden for young people, students and workers.
Young people who are members of the Democrats, or who voted for the Democrats at the last election, should withdraw their support from a party which has sold them out. The Democrats no longer have any credibility as a party which progressive people should support. If Stott Despoja was serious about youth rights, now would be the time to walk.
To defeat the GST, we need to build a strong campaign that is able to mobilise community groups, student groups and trade unions. Even if it does pass through parliament, the fight will not be over. In England and Scotland in the 1980s, the anti-poll tax campaign managed to stop that regressive tax by organising a serious campaign led by unions and community groups.
The deal on the GST has proven that the Democrats are just as dishonest as all the other bastards. It's time to build a real campaign against the GST and a real opposition to the parliamentary game and its sell-outs and betrayals.
