BY ARUN PRADHAN
MELBOURNE — It was pressure from within his own party, rather than the stated logistical difficulties, which forced Victorian Labor Premier Steve Bracks to cancel a planned barbecue to thank police officers for their efforts against S11 protesters, the president of the ALP's Flemington branch, Peter Robertson, told Community Radio 3CR's Friday Breakfast Show.
The ombudsman is now investigating accusations of police brutality against those who blockaded the Crown Casino venue of the World Economic Forum's September 11-13 summit. Bracks, however, has stood by his police force, saying protesters behaved in a "fascist-like" manner and "deserved everything they got".
The comments sparked outrage even within the ALP, according to Robertson, not only at police, who "in Victoria are a law unto themselves", but also at the previously untarnished premier.
On September 18, the Flemington branch passed a motion condemning Bracks' support for the police. Robertson said that the motion was passed without dissent in the branch, "though a few abstained and a few people like [federal ALP MP] Lindsay Tanner left the room before the vote".
Bracks' own Williamstown branch has passed a similar motion.
Robertson was just as critical of his party's welcome to the corporate executives attending the summit. "I'm sure he [Bracks] loved sitting around with the suits and ties, a lot of what he said in there would make my skin crawl", he said. Bracks chaired one summit session which advocated the privatisation of most government functions.
Robertson acknowledged that some people had resigned from the ALP in the last month but said that his membership card remained intact. He hopes to get a delegate at the upcoming state Labor conference to move a motion condemning Bracks, but conceded that it was unlikely that any delegates would oppose the premier publicly.
Anne O'Casey, from the Democratic Socialist Party and the S11 Alliance, welcomed Robertson's comments and said she hopes that other ALP members would join the thousands of people outraged by the state government.
O'Casey told Green Left Weekly that one of the real lessons of S11 was that an alternative to Labor is possible.
"Even before S11 the ALP did everything it could to water down protests — they exerted immense pressure through the media and some unions", O'Casey said. "Despite this a range of groups and individuals managed to pull together a well-organised mass protest against the agenda and actions of both Liberal and Labor".
"Events like S11 mark the beginnings of a real left alternative to the ALP, one that is built from the grassroots up. The ALP knows that they have to watch their 'left flank'. They want 'controlled dissent' within the party, to let off steam and limit the backlash, while they continue to support the same ruthless capitalist agenda espoused by the World Economic Forum."
O'Casey encouraged people to be part of the protest outside the ALP conference, which will begin at the Melbourne Town Hall on October 21 at 9am. Robertson said that he personally thought the protest was a good initiative, so long as it did not turn violent.
[A forum, sponsored by Green Left Weekly, entitled "S11, Labor and Police Violence", is scheduled for October 12. See the Activist Calendar for details.]