BRISBANE — Queensland secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Andrew Dettmer was reelected in a postal ballot on May 19.

Dettmer, who was endorsed by former Qld secretary Dave Harrison and AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron, defeated former AMWU organiser and Workers Unity candidate Brett Cardinal by 3113 votes to 484. Around 28% of AMWU members voted.

Cardinal told Green Left Weekly that “the result is more of an indication of the type of red-scare and slander campaign that the incumbents ran, rather than an overwhelming endorsement of the status quo”. During the campaign Workers Unity was accused of being “outsiders” and “extremists”, while Cardinal was branded a “failed organiser” by the incumbent officials.

“It’s clear that any rank-and-file union members that want to challenge the current leadership and [its] style of trade unionism have an enormous task, given the lengths that the incumbents will go to [in order to] protect their jobs.

“But those who opposed us shouldn’t think that a loss in this election is going to deter us from [building] a rank-and-file movement within our union. The incumbents shouldn’t feel complacent because the response that Workers Unity has had during this campaign has been fantastic, and we’re looking forward to building on that base of support.”

Andrew Martin & Marce Cameron

Wilkie speaks in Blue Mountains

SYDNEY — On May 15, 150 people heard Andrew Wilkie,a former senior intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, speak at a public meeting organised by Blue Mountains People for Peace.

According to Wilkie, behind the war on Iraq was US determination to safeguard and increase its global hegemony.

He described the current situation in Iraq as “a guerilla war fought by nationalists not terrorists”, adding that the possibility of civil war breaking out if troops were pulled out is being “played up by Washington”. He argued that the withdrawal of troops is a pre-condition for ultimate stability in Iraq.

Wilkie said it was “very unwise for John Howard to underestimate the amount of angst in the community” and that the anti-war movement has more credibility now than at any other time in history because it has been proven right.

Philippa Skinner

From Green Left Weekly, May 26, 2004.
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