The working people united and powerful in the flood crisis

Vanguard February 2011 p. 1
Bill F.

While the awesome might of nature has brought massive floods to devastate thousands of square kilometres across Australia, from north Queensland through to the southern states, it has also unleashed another powerful force; the power of the working people.

As white settlement expanded in Australia in the 19th Century, many towns and communities were built in valleys or on ancient flood-plains to be near the rivers and creeks that provided water for the populations and for agriculture and small industry. But Australia has always had floods, nature’s recovery mechanism for the flora and fauna following periodic and prolonged years of drought.

In the second half of 2010, La Niña brought a series of heavy rainfalls that signalled the end of the long drought. In a year of record heat, it was also a year of record rainfall and flooding. The climate scientists say that extreme weather events, such as cyclones and heat waves and shifting weather patterns will become more frequent unless carbon emissions are reduced.

Socialist values shine through
When the flood waters spilled into houses, farms and shops, surging over roads and railway lines, cutting off power and isolating whole communities, destroying infrastructure, and taking both lives and livelihoods, the people stood together in heroic resistance.

At a time of crisis they instinctively turned away from the dog-eat-dog values of capitalism and looked to their families, friends and neighbours for mutual support. In every town and city, complete strangers also arrived to help people evacuate or build sand-bag barriers against the rising waters.

Professional and volunteer Emergency Services, police and fire-fighters were often stretched thin, but worked tirelessly to rescue trapped people and to coordinate and bolster the toiling lines of ordinary working people. Many thousands were mobilised and arrived from adjoining towns and suburbs to help their neighbours, bringing food, clothing and all sorts of equipment.

All of a sudden, private ownership, private property didn’t seem important. Everybody’s life and property were important, had to be saved. The spirit of collective effort, of working in a common cause, overcame the selfish, competitive code of capitalism and its cynical contempt for ‘human nature’.

As the waters recede and people begin to return to their flood ravaged homes and farms, the collective spirit still prevails, with all hands helping to clean up, to cart away rubbish, to give practical and emotional support to those hit hardest. Donations continue to pour in. It gives people confidence to know they are not alone and can rely on the support of their communities and the Australian people in general.

Imagine harnessing this spirit to change Australia for the better, creating a new society based on and promoting the relationships between people that have been seen in the floods. It gives confidence that the working people can win our full independence as a nation and march forward to build socialism.