“Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich – that is the democracy of the capitalist society.” (V.I. Lenin)
And
this is how it is in Australia today. Big
business, not the working people, really run parliament and all the arms of the
capitalist state - legal, police, army. Federal and State laws and regulations
are designed to protect and facilitate the exploitation of workers and plunder of
the environment, and to suppress any resistance.
Most of
the rights and liberties that working people have enjoyed in this country until
recently have been won through many battles, sacrifices and hardships starting
with the Eureka Stockade rebellion. These
hard won rights have always been under attack by big business and foreign
monopoly capital, but always defended by people’s struggles.
Big
business is now mounting a new wave of intensified exploitation of labour and
austerity on the people – cuts to community services, health, education,
welfare. It demands governments shift
more of public funds to big business, while facilitating cuts in wages,
conditions. It wants all restrictions on
labour be removed, a casualised workforce, no penalty rates, and freedom for
corporations to bring in overseas labour on lower wages and conditions. It directs governments to remove all obstacles
to plunder of the environment. That is
the objective of the Commission of Audit, headed by Tony Shepherd.
Under
the directives of biggest monopolies in Australia – the Business Council of
Australia, construction companies, developers and mining corporations - the
State and Federal governments are adding more oppressive laws to the armoury of
the state to deal with rebellious workers and communities.
The
desperate measures by the capitalist state are a sign of the ruling class own
weakness and fear of mass movements and outbreak of mass struggle.
Following
the draconian anti-bikie club laws of Queensland’s LNP Newman state government,
the Victorian LNP government is preparing to legislate more laws that cut even
deeper into the rights of working people and communities to protest, picket, to
even take ‘legal’ industrial action, to hold rallies and take solidarity
action. The laws give wider powers to police and the courts to order and ban
individuals and organisations from protesting, picketing and attending peaceful
rallies and community assemblies.
These
laws carry heavy financial penalties and gaol for breaches of ‘move on’ orders.
They are aimed to weaken and intimidate workers and unions fight for wages,
conditions and the right to show solidarity with each other’s struggles. They are aimed at communities and
environmental groups opposing destruction of their local neighbourhoods,
livelihoods and the environment by the multinational construction companies and
mining corporations hungry to mine coal seam gas and other profitable minerals.
The
Federal government’s new Building and Construction Industry Bill strengthens
and widens the scope of the Howard government’s original ABCC, giving greater
powers to courts and bigger fines. It captures workers and unions in the transport,
maritime, manufacturing, warehousing, and off shore oil and gas drilling
industries.
The new
Federal ABCC Bill and the Victorian government’s Summary Offences and
Sentencing Bill virtually ban rallies, protests and picketing by workers, even
during the EBA protected periods.
Communities and environmental movements are targeted.
Working
people’s history and experience has shown that the draconian anti-worker and
anti-people laws have only been pushed back in the course of struggle and in
defiance of these laws, to improve workers’ rights and conditions, protect the
environment.
It’s
also in the course of these struggles that the strength and confidence of
working people has grows and ensures that these laws are made unenforceable by
the state.
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