An issue of national sovereignty

Vanguard June 2010 p. 3

The Labor government has taken a progressive stand to increase taxation of multinational mining corporations. In itself, the tax will not change one bit the dominance of imperialism over Australia nor is it a threat to capitalist exploitation.

It does, however assist the development of Australia as one entity and raises the issue of national sovereignty and control of national resources.

The division of the country into fragmented and competing state rivalries benefits international capital in securing the most favourable, and cheapest, conditions for its foreign investments.

At different times in its history the Labor Party has articulated, though timidly, the Australian people’s desire for national sovereignty, including control of national resources and industries. The Labor Party’s attempt at securing even a small degree of economic, political and cultural independence – limited to within capitalism – was strongest in late 1960s to mid-1970s. The 40% tax on mining monopolies reflects these progressive aspects of the Labor Party’s history.

In today’s conditions of imperialist globalisation, the Labor government has no intention of challenging the dominance of foreign monopolies. The tax is actually designed to benefit and strengthen the pro-imperialist ruling class as a whole, through a bigger tax base.

In fact, the Labor government has moved to provide stability and guarantees to the mining monopolies at a time when economies across the western world, in Europe and North America in particular, are in crisis. The frantic backlash by the mining multinationals against the 40% resources super profits tax illustrates their overriding hunger and greed for immediate profits and their own short sightedness.

Australia’s mining resources industry needs to be developed in a nationally planned and controlled way to build an independent national economy for the people. In the short term, profits and taxes from mining should be ploughed into developing a viable and sustainable local manufacturing industry to provide decent jobs and to benefit people and the environment.

Nationalising the resources industry is the obvious answer. There are plenty of examples of countries that have nationalised their major resources and key industries, and have used the resulting wealth to benefit the people, by way of better healthcare and education, improved pensions and building modern infrastructure and public transport systems. Among developed countries Norway and other Scandinavian countries are good examples. Others include China, Cuba and Vietnam, and more recently Venezuela and Bolivia. Even under nationalisation the realisation of these tasks raises the need for an anti-imperialist state power led by the working class and its allies.

Right now, what is needed is a broad united front of workers, unions, Labor Party supporters, environmentalists, business people and all those who want to see Australia’s natural resources benefit the country and the people. It is important to keep pressure on the Rudd government to enforce and extend taxes on these plundering mining monopolies.