David Spratt, an organiser for the Victorian Peace Network, wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald's Webdiary, run by Margo Kingston, on October 21. Describing opposition leader Simon Crean as "dead in the water", he explained that he had resigned from the Labor Party, after 20 years of membership, on October 17. This is his resignation letter:
Simon, I can take it no longer. Iraq lies in ruins, occupied by a superpower whose strategic worldview is full spectrum dominance. The desire and right of the people of Iraq to democratically determine their own affairs is indefinitely denied. War is justified by a lie. The credibility of [US President] George Bush and [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair continue to plummet, and so should that of PM John Howard.
And what are you, the Australian opposition leader worried about? You're worried about offending George Bush!
In February this year, opposition to war on Iraq came from every sector of Australian society, including faith organisations, former prime ministers, most of the military chiefs of Australia's 1991 Gulf War forces, business leaders, aid organisations, intelligence analysts and the entertainment industry. Why was the government not forced to listen and act?
The most significant factor was the weakness of the ALP. In Europe, parties of the left and the right had been swayed by public opinion, but in Australia Labor under your leadership simply went missing. For six months Labor sat on its hands and gave no support to the anti-war movement. You and Kevin Rudd prevaricated and squirmed this way and that, and did not say this war was always going to be wrong, with or without the UN Security Council. There was a roar of silence from the Labor State premiers. And then at the last moment, Simon, you said you were against the war, and became mute. At a Brisbane rally, you were booed from the stage; your opposition's weakness had given John Howard free rein.
And now it's all about cheerleading George Bush. My 20-year membership of the ALP has come to an end.
From Green Left Weekly, November 12, 2003.
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