Written by: Nick G. on 28 August 2024
Yesterday’s massive rallies by construction workers took place under conditions of an ALP and ACTU direction that no unions should attend or otherwise show their support.
With the exception of a few defiant unions including the Maritime Union and the Electrical Trades Union, union leaders complied with the directive. Some organisers from other unions did attend, but were forbidden to carry union flags or wear clothing that identified their union.
In their place, a few brave politicians did speak. In a previous article we have referred to SA Upper House member Connie Benaros, the first to speak at the Adelaide rally. Also present was Greens upper house member Tammy Franks, a long-time supporter of progressive issues and union rights.
In Brisbane, the Greens federal MP, Max Chandler-Mather, expressed his support for the CFMEU, and said that Labor’s placing of the union under Administration and sacking of 270 officials and delegates was “an attack on every worker in the country”.
From the ruling class point of view, the Greens MP had broken ranks. He had showed that the allegations of criminals and bikies having infiltrated the union just did not wash. He did not believe that they justified the destruction of the most militant union in the country.
He had to be punished.
Chandler-Mather was interviewed that night by the ABC’s Sarah Ferguson. There was really no pretence at an interview at all. Ferguson was aggressive, spiteful and concerned only to interrogate Chandler-Mather about why he would share a stage with the CFMEU, allowing him only a few seconds to respond before interrupting him and aggressively repeating the same question over and over.
(Ferguson: wrong to stand with Aussie workers, but OK to snuggle up to notorious US far-right fascist Steve Bannon)
Chandler-Mather seemed astounded by the vitriol, but gathered his wits to explain that the Labor government had acted on the basis of unproven allegations that should have been referred to a court of law and not subjected to trial by the media.
He did not apologise for supporting CFMEU members.
But the attack on Chandler-Mather did not stop there.
On this morning’s (Wednesday) AM program on ABC radio, reporter Rachel Mealey returned to Chandler-Mather’s attendance at the Brisbane rally, saying he had accused Labor of “turning its back on all workers by putting the CFMEU into administration”.
She then stated that Workplace Relations minister Murray Watt “says he's appalled the Greens would share a stage with organisers in front of a crowd where nazi symbolism was on display”.
Then we heard Watt saying it was “very, very disturbing that we saw a Green MP, Max Chandler-Mather, decide to share a stage with the construction union in Brisbane yesterday, despite those placards invoking Nazi references, despite the coffins with the Prime Minister’s face…”
To try and discredit Chandler-Mather in this way shows just how desperate the government is to stop any support being expressed for a union they are hell-bent on destroying in the interests of big foreign and local capital.
Readers can see the content of the “Nazi symbolism” and “Nazi references” in the photo above.
Even blind Freddie can see that it is anti-Nazi. It is condemning Albanese for setting out to destroy militant unions just as Adolf Hitler did in Nazi Germany.
There is nothing sympathetic towards, or supportive of Nazism.
In the same photo is a placard depicting ACTU leader Sally McManus as “Sally McThatcher”.
Does that make it an expression of support for the union destroyer Maggie Thatcher?
We applaud Max Chandler-Mather.
As for the placards drawing parallels between Albanese and Hitler, we say the more the better.
As for those gutless union leaders and their leader Sally McThatcher, we remind them to revisit the words of Germany’s Pastor Niemoller, imprisoned by Hitler from 1937 to 1945: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out…”
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