Lynda Hansen & Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
"We need unity of all the elements of the campaign against Howard's anti-union laws: publicity, community alliances and industrial action", Sue Bolton, the Socialist Alliance's national trade union work coordinator, told a public forum sponsored by SA on July 18.
Scott Wilson, an Electrical Trades Union (ETU) organiser, also stressed the need to build the campaign against the government's new laws on "three legs": industrial, political and community-based.
"It's a great opportunity to get out into the community and make people aware of the threat to our rights and conditions", Wilson said. He outlined how the ETU is "asking members to actively commit to the campaign, financially and in action".
Bolton stressed that the next steps in the union movement's campaign against the laws should involve mass, cross-union delegates' meetings; a national day of action, well before the legislation is actually pushed through federal parliament; an industrial campaign targeting the big employers who are fully backing the government's anti-union agenda; and broad community alliances.
"Howard has absolutely no mandate for these attacks on the unions, which were hardly mentioned during the last election campaign", Bolton argued.
Sam Watson, prominent Murri leader and SA national executive member, talked about a "groundswell of opposition to the Howard government sweeping across the nation".
He stressed the anger building up in Aboriginal communities around the country at unemployment rates of up to 85% in places like Palm Island. "We need to build links between the Aboriginal movement and the working-class movement", Watson said.
"Howard's catch-cry in relation to Aboriginal people is 'accountability'. But he, Bush and Blair have the blood of thousands of Iraqis on their hands. We need to make him accountable for his crimes. We need to send Howard into exile — a long, long way from our island."
From Green Left Weekly, July 27, 2005.
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