Red Report back - Archive
As we struggle day by day against every new evil capitalism throws our way, it's worth taking a step back to see where we've come from. The following Red Report Back, originally published in the first hard copy edition of the Militant Monthly - now Militant Worker, let's us do just that.
Pokies Wreak Havoc on Workers in NSW
Tristan Surtel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
In the gamblers paradise of New South Wales, the issue of poker machines is shaping up to be an important electoral factor. The Greens have gone all out pursuing their Pull the Pin on Pokies campaign, which calls for an end to clubs making political donations, the establishment of a pokie supertax of 60% and the reduction of maximum bets to $1. If implemented, these measures could reduce the social costs of pokies by $87 billion.
Now, the social costs of pokies disproportionately impact the working class. At the same time, pokie profits are of immense interest to the capitalist class that provides these machines. As with most of Australia, the gambling industry and its criminal supporters are trying their utmost to influence politics and maintain its profits at the expense of the wellbeing of the working class.
This is why there has been so much drama over the introduction of the cashless gaming card, which is another half-assed gesture by the gambling industry’s puppets in the Labor and Liberal parties. Once again, they are competing to offer mediocre ‘solutions’ that are destined to fail, and refuse to grapple with the root of the problem.
The Militant Monthly has covered the impact of gambling on hubs of working class culture, the financial and personal ramifications for working class areas and the cultural effects such as the destruction of the Australian live music scene. Additionally, recent studies have shown that the average person in NSW loses around $4,500 annually, more than anywhere else in the globe. On top of this, every dollar lost to the pokies results in $1.20 worth of social harm. As a result, NSW alone loses some $7.6 billion a year and the harms cost $9 billion. Once more, the wellbeing of workers is traded off for the profits and financial benefit of the property-owning class.
To combat this, we have a duty to push for and support reforms that address the pressing issues that overwhelmingly impact working people. In this vein, the Pull the Pin on Pokies campaign has value in that it is adding depth to the discussion around the impacts of pokies and how to address this grave social issue. At the same time, we must call out the weak reforms put forward by the major parties, and highlight their corruption and complacency in performing the bidding of the gambling lobby. And if these don’t work, there is another solution currently absent from the discourse - as the Whitlams so famously put it, blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Voice Debate Heats Up as Invasion Day Nears
Once again, people in towns and cities across Australia are gearing up to hold Invasion Day protests on the 26th of January – a day of mourning for Indigenous people. This year, the dialogue at many of these major events is marked by a key message - Vote No to the Voice. This move comes from the grassroots voices of countless Indigenous activists and communities, standing up against a top-down, bureaucratic sell-out movement championed by the capitalist state and its handpicked lackeys.
At the same time, many naive or moderate folk, ranging from Liberal MP’s to the Greens to constitutional lawyers, are pushing for the Voice to be voted on and enshrined in the constitution before parliament fleshes out the details. The logic behind this is that the entire Australian public must vote on the concept of a Voice, rather than the content of that Voice, and once again make decisions for Indigenous people without listening to their demands.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Liberals and Nationals are pushing for more details about the vague Voice to be released before the referendum. They are also arguing that if a Voice is needed to resolve Indigenous issues, it can simply be legislated, because then it could easily be taken away, as with every tokenistic reform under the capitalist system.
Naturally, the propagandists and reformists pushing for the Voice have played the liberal, identity politics angle to tar any criticism of it as divisive and racist. Noel Pearson has called this a “spoiling game” that threatens to end the chance of reconciliation forever. Similarly, individuals from 14 communities across Australia have written a letter to Albanese and Peter Dutton calling on them to “show leadership” and unite around the voice issue.
How are we to make sense of this shitshow? As communists, we must objectively lay out the facts and pass informed judgement on them. The facts are that the capitalist class have been pushing the concept of the Voice for decades. They plan to stifle dissent that criticises the capitalist state and its colonialist policies, so that they can disguise themselves as progressive and frame those who want more as divisive and extremist. They have pushed this so that they retain control over a powerless institution comprised of their handpicked representatives, who will provide the black faces needed to green light their crimes.
We refuse to endorse another hollow, tokenistic gesture that will negatively impact the struggle of Indigenous peoples for liberation. We refuse to sit idly by and allow these sell-outs to mislead the community on what can come from playing nice with the capitalist class and their colonial project in Australia. We stand on the side of the exploited, Indigenous workers whose message is clear - VOTE NO TO THE VOICE. Liberation, not exploitation. Land rights, not tokenistic gestures. When you’re dealing with an enemy who will stifle any attempt at dissent and change, one must recognise that revolution is the only solution.
AMWU Stand Up to Casualisation
PCU1, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
AMWU members at Callide Power Station took protected action this week against anti-worker employer, Downer DMH operations. The workers were forced to take action in response to systematic union busting efforts by Downer across the workplace that have attempted to force members off the job and bring in scab labour. This has taken the form of bringing in outside, part-time hire workers that are, for now, receiving significantly higher rates of pay to shut union members out. At the same time, the company is telling existing permanent workers and AMWU members that they can’t afford to give their employees a pay rise.
Similarly, 40 workers and members of the AMWU walked off the job at Visy’s Shepparton plant in protest over the company’s latest enterprise bargaining agreement offer that leaves workers with a pay cut as the cost of living soars. The AMWU called out the hypocrisy of Visy in leaving workers worse off when these workers have created annual turnovers exceeding $7 billion for the company, and who have made its executive Anthony Pratt, who is “worth” $14 billion, extremely rich.
The EBA offer put forward by Visy amounts to 2.6% annually, whereas inflation is currently at 7.3% - this means workers would in effect receive a 5% pay cut while the company’s profits boom. As workers are increasingly confronted with these subpar offers, it is paramount that we remember the importance of channelling the needs and voices of the rank and file within our trade unions. We cannot let conditions and safety be watered down for the next generation to suffer. We cannot let our pay go backwards and force us deeper into poverty. We must stand up and educate our fellow workers on why they must fights – and how to win. The best time to start was yesterday. Solidarity with all these workers taking action. We stand with you.