Who would best represent working class people?

November 17, 1993
Issue 

Sue Bolton, Melbourne

Sixty-five people attended the feature session of the Socialist Party's two-day national summer school on "The great debate — Who would best represent working class people?" at Trades Hall Bar on February 6.

Speakers for the session were ALP state organiser Nathan Murphy, former Senate candidate for the Greens David Risstrom, Geelong Trades Hall Council secretary and Socialist Alliance member Tim Gooden, and Socialist Party national organiser Anthony Main.

Main canned the Labor Party for no longer representing workers. He added that the Greens are "not an alternative", criticising them for being pro-capitalist.

He called for a new workers' party to be "built around common work between left-wing individuals, unions, public housing resident organisations and parties like the Socialist Party". He argued that the Socialist Alliance was "merely an alliance of already established small left-wing parties, and had no mass union or community base".

Gooden responded that workers need an alternative to Labor, but they need a political alternative now. "While there are people within the trade union and other social movements looking for a political voice to the left of Labor, a project to unite those people within a party is essential. The Socialist Alliance is a step in that direction", he said.

Twenty-one people attended the second day of the summer school to hear international guest speaker V. Selvam, a leader of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) and the Malaysian Congress of Trade Unions.

Selvam outlined the history of the struggle against British colonialism and then against the repressive government that was installed by the British when Malaya was granted independence in 1957. The left in Malaysia has been fighting repression ever since. A series of laws banning industrial action and left political activity on university campuses, and the Internal Security Act, have been used repeatedly to attempt to suppress the left.

Other sessions at the summer school discussed the relevance of Marxism, civil liberties issues, Aboriginal struggles in Australia, and picket-line training for militants.

From Green Left Weekly, February 15, 2006.
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