BY JONATHAN STRAUSS
SYDNEY — In NSW in the 2001 federal election the swing against the
ALP was twice the national average. Federal Labor's posture as pro-worker
and a defender of public services such as schools and hospitals could not
hold up against the education and other public sector cutbacks, and the
attack on workers' compensation undertaken by Premier Bob Carr's state
ALP government.
While the Carr government hardly appears under serious threat in the
March 2003 state election — like other Australian governments, NSW Labor's
chief strength is the weakness of its “Opposition” party — Labor will undoubtedly
be punished by voters.
Historically, NSW has led the way when it comes to disillusionment and
electoral breaks with the two-party system. In the 1980s, NSW had the highest
Nuclear Disarmament Party vote. In the 1999 state election, 35% of votes
did not go to the ALP or Coalition parties. Independents currently hold
lower house seats representing Tamworth, Dubbo, the Northern Tablelands,
Sydney's eastern suburbs and Manly. The Greens' NSW vote doubled in the
last federal election.
In the NSW upper house, the Legislative Council, there are 16 ALP, 13
Coalition, and 13 “other” members. The proportional election system requires
less than 5% to obtain a seat in the LC. Its non-major party members are
varied: Christian fundamentalists Fred and Elaine Nile eye off (and sometimes
agree with) two Greens, a couple of Democrats and ex-Democrats co-exist.
Among the others are a Shooters Party representative and a Better Future
for Our Children representative. Usually, enough of them can be cobbled
together to form a majority in support of government legislation.
But even so, the major parties united after the last election to make
it much more difficult for parties to get electoral registration if they
don't already have parliamentarians.
But while this will make it harder for progressive organisations to
contest elections, the NSW ALP's extremely conservative politics will continue
to propel people towards alternatives.
The Carr government's main policy thrust is support for business: reducing
business taxes and charges and shifting the burden onto workers. Carr's
strong support for WorkCover cuts showed this clearly to many unionists.
Public services in NSW have declined, especially the quality of public
education and transport.
The decline of the public transport network has been widely condemned,
particularly since during the 2000 Olympics resources were (briefly) provided
to make it much better. Even the Sydney Morning Herald has had prominent
coverage of proposals to radically upgrade the urban train system.
Carr advocates a very conservative form of “environmentalism”. While
declaring many, mostly small, national parks, the state government has
ensured that most of corporations' hunger for natural resources, such as
forests for woodchips and charcoal, is satisfied.
The most popular part of the government's right-wing agenda, appealing
to fear and racist stereotypes, is its “toughness” on crime and on young
people. Carr backs this up with anti-migrant policies and rhetoric. Like
Howard's attacks on refugees, this appeals to basic xenophobia, setting
up an all-encompassing and unquestionable “us” against a “criminal” or
“foreign” other.
By linking crime to social rebellion, however, Carr puts the ALP in
a position where it cannot win back those who already reject neo-liberal
capitalism. This is similar to ALP Premier Steve Bracks' experience in
Victoria. He could attack, but not co-opt, those who supported the S11
2000 demonstration against the World Economic Forum in Melbourne.
There are early signs of union breaks with Labor. The firefighters'
union disaffiliated from Labor earlier this year. Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union leaders and activists, along with some union leaders
in the Illawarra, are approaching left alliances more favourably. Opposition
to the ALP's anti-refugee policies, which are fully supported by Carr,
will also cause more friction.
While independent social movements are relatively weak in NSW — a result
of the Carr government's systematic drawing of union and community activists
into policy making and implementation — anger at more than seven years
of broken promises, privatisation, racist scapegoating, erosion of civil
liberties and cuts to public services — and Carr literally giving the finger
to workers' rights — will be expressed in the ballot box next March.
From Green Left Weekly, August 14, 2002.
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