I am writing this letter to anyone who considers themselves as part of the left movement. Excuse my lack of salutation. I was going to address everyone with Dear Comrades; however, that only poses my first problem. I don’t know if comrades is even a fitting greeting anymore. I don’t even know where I fit in anymore.
I am almost 50 years old and since I was a young girl of about 12 years of age, through the words of the great Bob Hawke, I have felt a belonging and an affiliation with the labour movement. Through the greatness of Hawke and many other great Labor leaders, be they Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, Union Leaders, MPs or Senators, I have felt seen and understood by the labour movement. My whole life, regardless of paid membership, I have always identified as a member of Labor. Therefore, I have always considered myself as a member of “The Left”.
Until recent times, the majority of people on the left of politics, shared an affiliation and predominantly that affiliation was the heart felt desire to protect and progress the workers in this great country. Yes, there are variations of ‘the left’ however, the dominant strand of leftism in Australia has always been grounded in Marxist thought. That is, that a worker’s labour has value and progress was centered around the advancement of workers and anyone who could not work for whatever reason. Progressive ideas were and are still centered around egalitarianism and fairness. Progress has always been made for the worker-centric left through democratic socialism and pragmatism.
The reason I am writing this letter is that I see comments all the time that the Labor party has abandoned them. However, I hold a growing fear that people are abandoning the worker centric left. There appears to be an increasing demand that Labor also abandons the worker centric left and focus on major issues from a radical perspective, with no consideration for workers.
A few years ago, I started penning articles regarding the anti-worker approach of the Stop Adani movement. As someone who is very grounded in Marxist thought that labour has value and workers should have agency in the means of their work; I very wrongly assumed that these articles would be well received. I thought that there were more people who were like-minded and they too would raise their voices and insist workers be the focus of this looming urgent change. Sadly, not so.
The opposite of my intent occurred. Instead of being seen as someone standing up for workers in regional Australia, I have been frankly, targeted, abused, ridiculed, you name it for years now, by those on ‘the left.’ The spaces where this has occurred has been on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and also up close and personal. I am not talking about a one off instance, it has been constant for years.
Even today, someone who I don’t engage with that often, randomly tagged me in something about Adani and why there will be no jobs at all in coal. Because you know, I’m obviously the first person some people think of on Twitter when they feel relief that they have found something that really shoves the point back to me that coal workers no longer matter in the whole scheme of things, probably three months after the original discussion.
The sad thing is, this vindication they feel is not being vindicated for a left wing ideal at all. It is something that John Howard would be proud of. To increase profit with no human labour input costs at all. People are literally welcoming and rejoicing in automation that puts workers out of work, because it suits their key political issue of climate change.
At first, these attacks were highly distressing and very, very confusing. Because all my life I found where workers issues were raised, there was camaraderie, support and an engagement of how to ‘win that battle.’ I am writing this letter because in my view, that has died. It no longer exists. If workers are an inconvenience in addressing a challenge, the advocates are fine with workers being the negative consequence of action they demand. I have for about a year now, really tried to clarify that what I interpret is what is meant by really pushing people to clarify on Twitter.
Responses go from anything to the environmental leftists praising Margaret Thatcher for shutting down the mines and insisting that that didn’t cause any problems. Or that coal workers will just have to move to where jobs are. Or the most common, the stance that coal workers need to ‘have the guts’ to give up their jobs for the greater good.
Other comments centre around the ‘greed’ of coal workers for not giving up their jobs, or the laziness of coal workers for not pulling themselves up and thinking ahead and retraining themselves. And then of course the indignant ‘there are no jobs in this dying industry anyway and everything will be automated.’
And for others, the fact that Abbott shut down Car Manufacturing and ‘it didn’t affect anything and we all survived’ is a point made that coal can shut down and ‘coal workers will find other jobs, just like Holden workers did.’
By far the most damaging impact by the left on the left, is their top down authoritarian approach of demanding change. That is, targeting a particular region in Australia and then without any consultation or understanding of what that area is about, demanding that they close down their industry and give up their jobs. This movement is literally denying affected people the agency to be participants of change. Instead they take the approach that ‘they know what is best for them.’ I don’t know about others, but this is new to me. I’ve never known or understood the wider left movement in years gone by to deny affected people the agency to be participants in change. It goes against the grain of democratic socialism. And that is a huge fear and a driver for me writing this letter.
Not only are so many of these beliefs simply so ill informed, it is a very dangerous ideological territory that people are venturing into and embracing.
Every single example above is not a worker-centric left wing narrative. It is the language of John Howard and Tony Abbott. These ideas resonate with the ideology of the Australian Liberal party, that workers are a disposable commodity. It also centres on the Liberals key ideology of Individualism or ‘anti-socialism.’ The key ideology since Menzies, that it is the Individual’s responsibility for himself and the rejection of socialist intervention to assist those who can’t fend for themselves.
The examples above are also anti-community and are far from egalitarian. This movement is not advocating for everyone to do their fair share and abolish a range of practices and industries that may impact on climate change. They are placing the entire burden on regional Australians. When this burden was rejected the environmental left were shocked! Instead of understanding why this burden was rejected, they vilified regional QLDers as bogan, as a disgrace and a demand for a ‘Qexit’. Simply because these people still wanted food on their table, as no tangible, solution they can see, exists.
When there are thousands and thousands of people online everyday and thousands marching in the streets demanding to shut down jobs, this opens up the political opportunism of the right to take over this space. The right wing parties, took over this space and campaigned that they would protect jobs and workers. There is nowhere to go for Labor when that type of opportunity is allowed to occur and is in a context as such that it is believed. At the last election, that is what the left allowed to happen. Including the people with the decision making powers within the Labor party itself.
The key working class issues of the Change the Rules movement, around precarious employment, labour hire, dodgy contracting, unfair wages, penalty rates, protections for workers locked out or mine companies shutting down and opening and hiring more ‘compliant’ staff, and worker safety etc., etc., etc., were suffocated with Stop Adani and the convoy in QLD. These issues simply were not heard and were not given the respect and interest they would have been given in years gone by because they were simply drowned out – by ‘the left’.
In fact, within the Change the Rules movement with the Greens heavily involved, I felt awkward and out of place, listening to people in that movement sprout their hatred for the Labor party. I also felt it strange with not having the inclusiveness of unions and Labor at the booths. This is because it was seen as a ‘separate’ movement to the Labor party – that is separate to the only party who was able to legislate any of these demands being fought for. I’m not sure if this was nationwide, or just in my area of Capricornia, where our Labor candidate was a coal miner and the CFMEU were insisting upon protection of jobs and this made the Greens uncomfortable.
In addition to the above, further divisiveness and moving away from worker centric left, is the demands of radical action, over pragmatism. Also the demands and the ‘wedging’ of Labor on issues, by very vocal champions of the environmental left, that are impossible to act upon in opposition. Issues that require power, pragmatism and democratic leadership, giving affected people actual agency as participants in change.
The purist demands of radical action over pragmatism, are on the increase and fly in the face of how the left has overcome struggle for over a century. Labor has always led the way with great national reforms and have always either achieved progress through incremental change, or through the democratic leadership style of inclusiveness and listening to all voices.
However, in the modern day, affected individuals (i.e. coal workers and people in regional communities) are being increasingly voiced as a problem, rather than hearing or even wanting to hear their voices, because many on ‘the left’ don’t want to confront the ugly truths of what some of their demands mean to real people. These advocates, in abundance are applying great pressure to Labor to do the same.
When Labor finally after the election, came out and said they will stand by coal workers (remembering workers are a traditional ingrained reason for being Labor) this stance has been largely ridiculed online as ‘Right Wing!’ and ‘abandoning the base!”
When people like me who raise concerns about the affect on workers in the midst of great challenges and change are repeatedly attacked by a great number of people, there is a serious issue with the survival of ‘the left’.
When the Labor party stands by workers and this is shunned as being right wing, there is an even greater serious issue with survival of ‘the left’.
I’m not sure who ‘the left’ think the base is now, but the idea that you attack one worker you attack us all, is obviously also dead.
When standing up for workers is seen as ‘shifting to the right and bowing to the right’ I don’t just fear for the death of the left movement, I grieve the loss of our history, our common sense and most of all our compassion.
To me, these are the greatest challenges for the survival of the left of politics in Australia.
The rise of the environmental left is a key concern and a challenge for the left movement as a whole. Climate change is a major challenge for every single country and every individual on this planet. However, it is not the only issue.
People still live out their everyday lives on a daily basis. A challenge as great as climate change is a complex issue and approaches to address climate change, must respect the here and now of individuals and communities. To achieve progress and balance, a worker centric approach to climate change, must be taken. A fair and equal view of everyone sharing the burden, not just a few regional communities, also must be taken.
The current demands of the environmental left, are suffocating the issues of the working class left and every single vulnerable person in society. When workers perceive the choice of no job, or precarious employment, the chants of the union movement against precarious employment are insignificant and ‘the left’ is seen as the enemy.
This is the enabling environment we are currently building for the political opportunism on the right of politics and that means an enabling environment is built for them to win elections and hold power.
In a democracy, people will voice their opinions and we have great platforms now to do so. People will also be very passionate about their key issues. However, in a democracy it is also up to people to voice concerns and challenge others where approaches to change – climate or otherwise – place the worker second, vilify workers, or see workers as an inconvenient consequence and any negative impacts should just be accepted.
The Labor party also has a huge challenge in this democracy. They need to find a way to put forward very strong worker centric arguments and enable workable solutions to change that are acceptable to all. They need to find a way to rise above the purist demands and convince thousands of radical and unhappy voices that incremental change and democratic leadership, and the protection of all workers and is what has built this country in the face of some monumental challenges in the past. They need to find the right words and the right approach that Labor, will continue to do so in the future.
The Labor party are currently reviewing their policies and approach from the last election. I feel very strongly, that we no longer just need to counter the right wing of politics, but there are equal challenges on the left of politics to address. Labor needs to come up with innovative ways to ensure people feel included in decisions about change. The town halls were great, but there is an overwhelming amount of technology that bring people together and these are not being utilized. A new approach using modern technology could be used to make landmark changes to democratic action and progressive policy ideas. I urge Labor to think hard about this.
The result of the the divisiveness of ‘the left’ and pushing the workers secondary, we are living everyday. A paternalistic, degrading regime, with a hatred of unions and workers and a mass dehumanisation of the jobless. The fight against that is why Labor exists and we have three more years to watch this contempt on society by the Liberals from the sidelines.
The left of politics created the enabling environment for this to happen. It is time people looked at themselves and how they engage in politics and seriously ask themselves if their approach is actually helpful or harmful.
So thanks for reading. This is why, at almost 50 years old and a political awakening instigated by Hawke, I no longer know where I fit and I no longer feel a camaraderie with ‘the left.’ I am hoping that people will give me some hope after reading this, rather than reinforce my fears.
Trish.
p.s. Please do not respond with any but, but, buts about a just transition. Thousands of people day in day out targeting regional communities, angry contorted faces all over the internet demanding to shut down industry, gluing themselves to the footpath or chaining themselves to railway tracks, devising ways to ‘birddog’ Labor, creating a campaign that QLD Labor is corrupt, and taking a convoy to a small country town to protest their very existence, announcing a policy in an election to shut down all coal, causing a huge amount of fear in regional communities – is not a just transition. The intent has certainly not been displayed in the behaviour and when people vote, that is what counts.
The Red Window 
Subject thoroughly covered…sympathise…just the old complaint from yours T…that in the political “left” hierarchy, there is now too much white-collar and not enough blue….too much strategising and not enough confrontation…but hey..this IS now the age of “therapeutic mediation”..ie; “I’m ok, you ok?…screw the rest of them!”
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Posted by freefall852 | September 16, 2019, 6:53 amI think we are on the same page here Joe.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 6:54 amYes, yes, yes. What good are those jobs if we all suffer catastrophic climate change. As Barry McGuire sang in “Eve of Destruction”,
“there will be no one to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you boy, its bound to scare you, boy”.
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Posted by Nicholas Triggs | September 16, 2019, 7:14 amYes, yes, yes – what good are all these jobs if the approach of people like you enable death and destruction, by helping to elect a Liberal Government who refuses to do anything about climate change AND attacks the most vulnerable in society. I hope all that smugness feels good, because the less privileged suffering don’t feel very good at all.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 7:18 amI have never voted liberal, and I despise the failure to do anything about climate supported and abetted by the nationals and “the bush”. My question is that why “the bush”, which voted strongly in favour of same sex marriage, warmly welcome migrant communities, and embrace climate change mitigation policies continue to vote for the homophobic, xenophobic climate change denying dinosaurs of the national party? The nationals are bought and sold by big mining and big agriculture, whose interests are diametrically opposed to the welfare of those in rural and regional areas.
I have been on Newstart for the past seven years and I know all about the sharp end so don’t label me as “privileged” thank you very much. But nothing gets up my nose more than being constantly labelled as a latte sipping, chardonnay socialist, elitist by those who seem to relish wallowing in their ignorance.
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Posted by Nicholas Triggs | September 16, 2019, 7:50 amIt makes not one iota of difference if you are on Newstart or not. If you advocate for people to lose their jobs because it doesn’t affect you, it’s a privileged position. I was brought up in housing commission with a disabled parent, but I by default and by behaviour if I choose hold privilege over others. So the I’m not privileged card, does not wash with me. If you don’t understand why LNP increased their vote this election, you haven’t understood the article.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 7:54 amI think I understand the article all to well, that the environment has to take the back seat to jobs. I know Bob Brown and his crew overplayed their hand, delivering seats to the coalition. So how do we square this circle?
i notice you have not addressed my comments about the bush.
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Posted by Nicholas Triggs | September 16, 2019, 8:12 amNo, you haven’t understood my article at all. The environment doesn’t take a back seat to jobs, because an global crisis and putting food on the table, should never be a competition in the progressive movement. The environmental left have made it so. They have made it so, for very selfish political gain. That is why they have attacked the Labor opposition over the environment and targeted a mine in QLD. Are you aware that Stop Adani was created by a Green, who designed the campaign to try to win three inner Brisbane seats at the last state election, to prove he was worth a Senate spot? The Greens bragged and bragged about this during that election and were absolutely beside themselves how it took off. The campaign of stop Adani to oust Labor from power in the last QLD election was the real starting point of this political shift. This carefully designed campaign (that the Greens bragged that Pennings got advice from someone overseas and how they would ‘smash Labor” was to bring in activists from all over the country to derail every single important issue in QLD so it could not be heard.
Do you really agree that this is a great achievement, when the only other alternative is LNP and Pauline Hanson in QLD? Do you really agree that stopping a mine that could not be stopped outside of the realm of the LAW, which the Greens knew and have been decietful about, was worth risking another 25,000 workers sacked, privatisation of assets, punitive police laws and the closure of countless important community services including forcing the frail and elderly from aged care homes and shifted to a new environment away from family and the people they knew. I mean, I could go on forever and ever.
Do you really understand what it means to use one issue to suffocate every other important issue? Do you really understand the enormous harmful cconsequences this brings, when the LEFT enable political opportunism for the right wing, when the LEFT abandon’s workers?
I live in Central QLD. I did address it. I said if you do not understand why these areas voted LNP you do not understand the article. Regional QLD has been under constant attack by the environmental left for a solid four years. When “the left” ie the Greens announce they have a policy they will force Shorten to adopt to close all coal mines, three weeks before an election, in a area of high concentration of coal jobs, what do you think will happen?
With even small changes in workplaces, the biggest fear of workers is the loss of their jobs. This is not unique to the fear created by the Greens and their stupidity.
What is required is the only way Climate Action will be achieved is to approach this from a worker perspective. That means that the Labor party needs to Win government and be able to apply an interventionist approach to take the time to reinvent regions and supply more competition for jobs and work hard at how to manage the massive loss in revenue coal mining brings to Australia, particularly the states and get the message very clearly across that Labor is doing loads of stuff on renewables in QLD and that other countries are still buying our coal and a lot of our coal is coal to make steel, but these workers are attacked just the same.
To achieve anything in this space, the Left have go to stop trying to keep Labor OUT of Office and attack the Government.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 8:29 amThere is a certain irony don’t you think that in people voting LNP to keep their jobs are voting for the same people who are doing their level best to undermine jobs and conditions? The LNP and hanson are no friends of the working man or woman.
PS I agree with you totally about the greens, the biggest act of political bastardry ever was them voting down Kevin Rudd’s ETS.
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Posted by Nicholas Triggs | September 16, 2019, 8:59 amTrish.
It is you that is not getting it.
Job destruction is required. Economic contraction is required. Population reduction is required. GDP reduction is required.
Those that benefit from not doing these things is the top 10% who directly cause, from memory, something like 40-50% of global consumption and pollution and who will have no hesitation in abandoning us when, the SHTF.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 10:08 amYes, well another issue is now playing into the political discourse and that is the perception of who is of and where are the boundaries of class identification…I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to explain the realities of just who is working class and what is meant by middle class…and this to people I would have thought were well educated ..if ill-informed!…The number of tradies who work the classic piece-work method of labour who, because they are considered “self-employed” via their registered business ABN seem to have self-elevated themselves into a “middle-class status”….and many white-collared workers in the service industries like IT, Uber, or piss-weak little start-ups now delude thamselves that they too are part of the “entrepreneurial elite”….just marking time in some shit-fuck-tin-pot job that the LNP claim are one of the “million plus full-time jobs created” until, like the starlet in that Jon English song ;”Hollywood seven rooms to rent”..the “BIG BREAK” comes…and hey…who needs unions when one is just around the corner from “success”!
Nah!…it would appear that there is still the old ..too much to learn and don’t want to learn it..thinking in the community.
Best of luck when this hits the blog pages 🙂 ….I’ll keep an eye out for it…
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Posted by freefall852 | September 16, 2019, 7:16 amAs usual Trish. You have gone right to the crux of the matter.
As i said in the paper a colleague and i wrote for the review of why Labor lost the Election, a lot of people have no idea who the Labor party are. By that I mean the history of the struggle for Social justice. That struggle has been going on forever.
Since in fact the invention of the seed Drill by Jethro Tull in England in 1700. No one cared about what would happen to the workers when they were put out of a job by the farmers who discarded them, no one cared that they lost the ability to grow their own food on the common land which was enclosed by the farmers. These enclosures passed by acts of parliament which they only (as landowners) could be elected to.
No one cared and the landowners hated the dissent they had themselves cause so they passed further acts of the parliament to suppress the combination of workers into Unions. The combination Acts of 1799 and 1800. Still the workers combined and the “Authorities” punished them unmercifully. They reduced their wages and were relentless in their pursuit of so called wrong doing. They basically denied them a living.
There was no “Newstart” and no welfare state.
That is why the unions were formed. basically against Tyranny by the land owning and capitalist classes.
And so we came to a political balance, where unions could bargain and employers didn’t have all the cards.
Now we face another crisis. The crisis of Climate change and the climate deniers. The Liberal and National Parties. The ones who are supposed to support the country folk (The Landowners) who are now suffering from Climate change weather patterns.
For many years we have had the polarisation of the debate. On the one hand the Conservative complete denial that there is anything happening and the other side (The Greens) who think the magic thing would be to shut everything down. Which is just as bad as the Landowners who didn’t care about Jobs when the landowners got their hands on the seed drills.
In the middle stand the sensible and rational Labor party who democratically introduced a policy to transition from Coal to renewable forms of energy, but that wasn’t radical enough for the greens. They destroyed the first attempt under Rudd and then agreed to virtually the same thing under a Minority Gillard government. Not for the Environment but for political posturing.
During those Carbon pricing years, the emissions came down. There was sound policy replacing the silver bullet.
Along came the Abbott wrecking ball and smashed everything.
In the meantime sensible politics and policies had gone out of the window. Smooth transition was blocked by the intransigence of the Coalition on one side and the Greens on the other. The climate wars took over the Media and are still front and centre.
The failure of the press to realise what you have so succinctly put in your article is a major part of the problem. There is no sensible discussion because the press is struggling for it’s own relevance which has also been a casualty of technology and has decoupled it’s own business model form the advertising dollar.
Is it any wonder that sensible change to emerging technology and climate risks and their subsequent effects on once stable industries and ways of life is missing?
I think the problem is Lack of Knowledge, lack of intellect and lack of leadership, across all Political ideologies.
Without the jobs and the money earned in those jobs, there will be no economy, because no one will have any money to buy goods.
So in answer to your question “Who are you?” I can answer it. You are one of the few who actually have informed yourself and you have the intellect to see that transition to a job creating and fairer Australia and the world. Those are the values the Labor party was formed by. Those are the values the union movement fought for.
Those are the values which no longer have a voice.
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Posted by Vince O'Grady | September 16, 2019, 7:32 amThank you Vince. What an informative post! (and thanks for the kind words!)
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 7:39 amA lot use the term “money” when in fact, “currency” is the correct term. Money holds its value. Currencies are eroded by inflation which, is wage theft and the bulk has been convinced that this is just what we need.
Here is something that I hope you and Trish will be interested in.
Hidden secrets of money.
https://goldsilver.com/hidden-secrets/episode-1/
The rest of the series can be found here.
https://goldsilver.com/hidden-secrets/
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 10:20 amGreat thoughts on current affairs comrade
Since the Howard years,the Liberal Media discombobulation of Australian history & the English language has become the “norm” to where the Chris Kenny`s of the press call anything not dictatorial “The Loony Left”
I`ll re-iterate my earlier understanding as I see it Trish
1955 – Vince Gair splits Labor & forms a “Protest Party” over the “Reds Under The Beds” communism scare pressure from “Ming” & religion
Media assist their Liberal by scaring the living shit out of everyone
European immigrants post WW2 were 99.9% Catholic & Bob Santamaria ran an anti Labor program on “OurABC” urging people who were disaffected by the Liberal Party to not “Vote Labor”,but vote DLP instead [which supported Menzie`s policies} of anti-union pleb hating elitism
1977 – Don Chipp {former Liberal MP} forms the “Australian Democrats” for the very same reason of disaffected Liberal voters to not vote Labor but to vote for his Protest Party which was supposed to keep the “Bastards Honest” but in the whole supported Liberal Party policies
1992 – Bob Brown begins the Greens “Protest” political party which to this very day attract ex Liberal voters & members {even some of their MP`s
Conclusion – In all these realities,the protest parties are assisted by the Liberal Party MSM to besmirch Labor
To me,nothing has changed because I was a paper boy on Brisbane CBD streets from 1963 to 1965 & read all Murdoch`s crap along with seeing what was portrayed on TV right from when we first got one in 1960 & hearing it earlier on our radiogram
As I grew older I saw/heard Catholic priests & Fundamentalist preachers,preach to their flock the “evils of Labor”
The “Elite Liberal Party Main Stream Press” have their agenda & that is to keep the worker as a “working poor” & to keep Labor out of power
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 8:05 amI love your fountain of knowledge. I never knew that about the Democrats.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 8:08 amMeg Lees was the culmination of the above fact as Democrats leader voting with the Howard gov on GST introduction which is only a “Tax on the working poor” as they have no means of offsetting it via ABN etc
The rich pay little to no taxes,it`s the workers of Australia who pay for all infrastructure & social benefits
Those not voting Labor are anti-worker
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 8:38 amAs an ALP member and traditional socialist I have also been struggling with what it means to be ‘leftist’ and ‘progressive’ in modern Australia. Previously active and vocal in the Twittersphere, I have been largely absent from that space since the election while I wrangle with some of the issues you have articulated. I live in North Queensland, about 50klms North of Townsville, and I have these type of conversations daily. Climate change is the most pressing problem of our times. The region has not yet recovered from the floods earlier this year and we are facing another summer of record breaking heat. Fires are raging. The climate IS changing.QLD Labor overriding native title in favour of an Indian billionaire has annoyed many Queenslanders, from the perspective of disregarding our First Nations People, environmental destruction of a sensitive area, and the quiet concerns of some that mining rights in the Galilee Basin are more to do with gaining control of the underground aquifers rather than extracting coal. N Qlders want to see some solutions from the ALP addressing a just transition from coal mining to renewables. So getting angry with the Greens and denying their arguments is of no use to the people of NQ, nor can the tradition Leftist argument of workers first at any cost be the ‘correct’ leftist way forward in this modern, overheated world. Unless the Labor Party finds a way to reconcile environmental concerns and the rights of people to work for a living it will lose Queensland to the Greens and LNP for years to come. Change is inevitable, and a modern political party needs to be nimble on its feet and address the concerns of the many, and in my opinion ( and all of my friends, who are all leftist, progressive, science focussed and educated ) climate change needs to be front and centre of ALP policy development. I don’t for a minute see the Greens as having legitimate answers to the problems in Qld, but holding onto traditional Labor values as the correct way forward in a world that is grappling with the biggest existential crisis we have seen, with mining magnates flooding the debate with misinformation and funding the IPA, perhaps the Labor Party, whether willingly or unwillingly needs to address the worst case scenarios – what rights do workers have on a dying planet? The traditional, Marxist Labor Party was perhaps an institution well suited to an earlier century. I lived in the UK when Thatcher closed the mines and still have close ties. Neoliberalism is the political enemy in my opinion, and the Left could perhaps unite and find a united way forward from that starting point.
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Posted by Jaclin | September 16, 2019, 8:06 amI really have trouble reconciling you as a Labor member and traditional socialist. Sorry. For one, you have misrepresented Labor on the Land Rights issue. This is a case of Law. It has been before the courts numerous times and the majority of the mob who voted won. The minority within the mob who keep opposing did not win their case, every time. Labor can only apply the Law. You have represented them as an authoritarian Government who seeks to harm Indigenous people and that is simply not true.
Labor will never lose QLD to the Greens. I cannot even fathom how you can think that. They are the most unpopular party in this state by a mile. They are gaining traction in wealthy seats in Brisbane but where I come from and where you come from – not liked at all. If the Greens keep on their crusade of campaigning against Labor instead of raising the important issues of the damage the LNP will cause, we will lose QLD to Pauline Hanson, not the Greens.
Your argument that what will workers do on a dying planet, is far from a socialist argument. It is an argument that treats workers as ‘disposable anyway – so why should we care?”
A Socialist approach would be strongly lobbying the GOVT to invest in regional communities to diversify them and create job competition. They would champion the good work that Labor is doing to reduce our domestic use of coal, but also balance, the need of other countries still buying from Australia.
Your idea that balancing change with workers needs, is so last century, is a very right wing, free marketeer idea.
That idea is a key reason why I penned this article. There are those on the left who refuse to bother looking through the lens of the worker, because it is either too hard, or it has been made not popular by the environmental left, because “no jobs on a dead planet.” That one slogan brands every single worker as insignificant and too much of an inconvenience to address in times of monumental change.
Perhaps have a chat to some of the older members in your party who have lived through some awful, awful times for the labour movement and workers and hopefully you will gain a new perspective before your stance collectively with others who think like you, hand the state to LNP and PHON on a platter.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 8:40 amI tend to agree with Jaclin’s comment above. The Labor party really don’t know who they are anymore, but that’s not a bad thing as it provides a chance for them to reinvent themselves to suit the global, domestic context we are all living in. However party politics itself is outdated, Liberal, Greens, Nationals, Labor who cares, the general public are sick and tired of all the bullshit, and nothing ever changes no matter what internal direction each party takes.
That’s why people power campaigns like Stop Adani, Getup, Sleeping Giants etc are so powerful as they provide a way for people to have some personal skin the game. Talk to any young person under 30 and ask them what they think about party politics, they have opted out, completely.
I think the thing that annoys me most about the essence of your post is that it assumes the world is the same place it has been for the first 50 years of your life Trish. It’s not, we are facing the biggest environmental, ecological, social, and geopolitical crisis in human history with over population, record refugee numbers, fueled by global warming that is creating unprecedented and catastrophic weather events. Add to all that uncontrolled examples of Kleptocracy like the Panama Papers and a US president who is stark raving mad with his finger on the button to start a war with Iran and/or China at any moment and the internal problems with the direction of the Australian Labor party couldn’t be further from most people’s minds.
So in a way your blog post has articulated my comment. It just shows how out of touch you and the Australian Labor Party are with the problems we are all facing, with no solutions other than to navel gaze.
Sorry to be so harsh, but I have to be to make my point.
PS: Have a listen to what Edward Snowden has to say about what’s needed now.
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Posted by hardenuppete | September 16, 2019, 8:45 amSpoken like the “true Greens” that you really are
YOU are part of the problem,not the fix
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 8:48 amWas the result of the election not clear enough for you, that you have to push the same redundant point that climate was more important than anything else, that you had to make an ageist comment to make it?
I don’t assume the world is the same place, but what is the same is we live in a mixed market society with a broken social security system, with high unemployment in regional areas and placing the entire burden of a global crisis on a few regional communities is certainly not the answer. If you think Labor should shift from a worker platform to one of environmentalism you are the person this letter is about, because you are enabling political opportunism for the right wing to take over the plight of workers and with that, they win power.
I don’t think your plan is working out for us right now.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 8:53 amI voted Labor while following lots of the tweets….
I felt it was so difficult to keep the broad Labor line in the face of all the simplistic, single issue propaganda
I agree with you but the Labor issue at the election and now is to be able to push the
worker(and under-employed)-centric view
– be always ready to respond from this viewpoint whenever challenged
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Posted by davidb98 | September 16, 2019, 2:37 pmYou completely missed the point of my comment. Party politics is the problem. Greens, Labor, Liberals they are all the same at the end of the day. PS: I voted Independent if you must know.
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Posted by hardenuppete | September 16, 2019, 8:52 amNope. They are far from being all the same. There is an extremely stark difference in values of both major parties which as you can see right now, harms the most vulnerable in society and seeks to destroy unions.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 8:54 amBullshit is bullshit Trish. All major parties are full of it.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 10:33 amI think you missed the point of your own comment.
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Posted by Vince O'Grady | September 16, 2019, 9:35 amThe only one missing A point is yourself
Labor & it`s Unions that formed it went into the 2019 election with the greatest progressive policies since Rudd defeated Howard & Whitlam`s win in 1972
Hawke`s accord in 1983 was so brilliant that media couldn`t run a campaign against because unionised workers in Australia were ready to continue rolling strikes & Big Biz was out of containment options
It`s people like you that vote in Independents that in the end only stand with the Tory status quo [re Brian Harridine/Justbyme Lamb}
For you https://www.google.com/search?q=moron+definition&oq=moron+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57.5855j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 11:33 amThis reminds me of the time I challenged John Wren on Twitter about Labor not standing a chance with Bill Shorten as their leader about 14 months out from the election. I got trolled and hassled by the Labor faithful for making the mere suggestion. We all know how that turned out.
PS: If you know the real person behind “John Wren” tell them they owe me an apology.
I am 55 years old Trish so have been around a while and have been a Labor voter all my life til recently. My father was a shearer and strong Labor man and I have met and spoken with Bob Hawke, Neville Wran, Kim Beasley, Tanya Plibersek, Bob Carr, and Lindsay Tanner over the years.
I’m not religious at all but I do like this saying and it seems appropriate to post it here.
” There are none so blind as those that will not see”
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Posted by hardenuppete | September 16, 2019, 9:04 amAt 60 years old, perhaps I AM one of the ‘older people’. When Thatcher closed the coal mines I was at high school in an area that was affected – working class to the core, I know first hand what it was like – the 3 day weeks, the controlled power black outs, the strikes, the fights, the picket lines, the tears and anquish etc etc. But feel free to hang on to your ideas of what you think I am and your text book definition of what it means to be a socialist – it won’t help the Labor Party in a changing world. I don’t really mind if you believe you’re correct and winning the academic argument. I’m sure that Marx would have a modern argument suited to the modern world if he were able to contribute to the debate. In the mean time, the ALP ARE losing support to the Greens (and yes, the right wing parties too ) and non of your arguments are likely to drag them back. (I’m not one of those people joining the Greens by the way- they don’t have my support for many reasons). I have discussions with friends on a daily basis as to why I am hanging in with the Labor Party. I try to convince them not to withdraw their support. I live in hope that the ALP can somehow work out how to solve the ideological conundrum it’s grappling with – that you have articulated in your post. But while you are so darned determined to be right, you are denying the valid arguments of many people on the left, the people passionately joining the climate strikes, and fighting for the truth to be told by the MSM, battling social media misinformation regarding climate change – on a daily basis. These people are educated, intelligent, care about jobs and social issues and find themselves being talked down to by ALP diehards and idealistic Greens both. Perhaps it’s time for a new political party suited to the unique situation we find ourselves in in the 21st century. But perhaps its already too late- because the ‘forces of nature’ are not interested in an ideological debate about what it means to be politically this or that. And unfortunately, the almighty ‘market’ will only capitalise on the destruction and human displacement caused by a rapidly changing climate. I, like so many of my peers, find myself alienated by the Labor Party too, but have no political home amongst the Greens. Neoliberalism is the enemy of all of us. It COULD be where we find common ground and begin to heal the rift. Unless, of course, you also bow down to ‘The Market’?
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Posted by Jaclin | September 16, 2019, 9:23 amReblogged this on sand49.
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Posted by sand49 | September 16, 2019, 9:44 amThere is an anti worker climate globally being encouraged by the ‘Left’ via Greens. This is being pushed by Neoliberal Globalist Cabal who want a Low Wage casualised workforce.
There are massive population movement, due to Imperialist Wars, being encouraged by Globalists who promote an Open Borders policy which is deliberately destabilising the global workforce.
There are many dark forces operating all working together to create a New World Order which is not in the interests of Ordinary people.
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Posted by sand49 | September 16, 2019, 9:44 amTrish, as much as I like you, you are not doing any good. In fact, just the opposite.
Every job consumes resources and causes pollution. Job creation increases both.
I’ve seen a sign on a wall, “Bang head here.” I might as well for all the good that the “left” is doing.
Oh, BTW. About B.H.
“The Hawke government, elected in 1983, made clear from the outset that it was committed to a right wing economic program. Australian capitalism was to be revived by boosting corporate profits at the expense of workers’ wages.”
https://redflag.org.au/node/6746
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 9:53 amYou truly are also a moron
https://www.google.com/search?q=moron+definition&oq=moron+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57.5855j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 11:35 amLike I have told you before, you can call me anything you like. I don’t really care anymore. It does not change the fact that, we are at the beginning of the sixth mass extinction event and humanity is on the list. The fact that we are not doing what is required makes our demise a certainty.
I hope that you have grandkids. They will know, too late, who the real morons were.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 12:50 pmAnd YOUR party the Greens voted against Rudd`s ETS & helped kill off Australia`s middle class by voting with the LNP to cut pensions
**Prediction**
Just watch the Greens vote with the LNP on putting all old aged pensioners on Indue
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 2:48 pmYou need to check your sources. I do not support and do not have anything to do with the Greens.
The middle class has been hollowed out by Central Banks through currency creation aka. quantitative easing (QE), zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) and now, negative interest rate policy (NIRP) which, have all but destroyed global savings, superannuation and pension funds. Here is Oz, we are approaching ZIRP.
These economic absurdities have created the mother of all bubbles which, will pop. Pensioners, along with the rest of us, will get nothing.
What was profitable in resource extraction is now only possible with increasing debt and the consumer is already tapped out.
When the credit cards stop working, everything stops.
https://worlddebtclocks.com/
So what do think the working class is going to do when they realize that, their superannuation was used to fuel an unsustainable economic growth model and has been completely lost?
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 4:19 pmTry https://www.aofm.gov.au/ for facts
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 16, 2019, 9:12 pmResorting to a government website for facts. Either you are desperate or you have a lot of learning to do.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 11:34 pmYour idiocy has no boundaries,the AOFM displays the official current fiscal situation in Australia showing our debt is $556.4 billion on 17/09/2019
Tell me,oh intelligent one,who posts the Debt Clock?
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 17, 2019, 5:07 am$558 billion, what a debt and deficit disaster… _SHAUN NEWMAN_
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Posted by townsvilleblog | September 17, 2019, 7:25 amDima Sokol is the registrant.
There are many debt clocks.
Search criteria: world debt clock
Our GBR is all but dead, agriculture is experiencing drought and fires on an unprecedented scale, 90% of pelagic fish are gone, deadly oceanic hypoxic zones are increasing, massive ice loss is redistributing mass and causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, species loss is affecting the distribution of vital elements, plastic pollution has covered the planet, entered the food chain and we are now eating it. I could go on and on.
That’s just our environment. Add in other stress factors; economic decay, political polarization, social unrest, depleting resources, and supply chain disruptions. All of which appear regularly on the nightly news and all of which, I have not heard one word about from you let alone any solutions except, vote Labor. I have to tell you, a Labor government will not make our problems disappear. Just like the Coalition, they will make our situation worse.
Here I have been for almost 30 years trying to avoid the dangerous situation that we are now in and still, we have the likes of you who have no problem ignoring our not very bright future and instead, will attack those that deliver messages and opinions that you don’t want to hear. This is a tactic that helped Labor lose the last election.
I have to laugh when, one such as yourself, calls me an idiot.
Avagoodwun.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 17, 2019, 8:41 amFor years now, the ALP have strived to emulate the Liberals and shake off the image of a socialist union run rabble. They need to get over the need for image and get back to their roots as a starting point.
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Posted by Martin Hubbard | September 16, 2019, 10:52 amThank you Trish.
I feel that you have just filled the gaping hole or vacuum, that was left by the Labor Party after the election & when you leave such a vacuum someone else will fill it. The Greens were ready and jumped right in. I think Anthony Albanese was caught out & unprepared, if only he had spoken to Labor & the Left as you have now.
Many felt abandoned after the election, let’s hope Labor can get their act together and start bringing the base back together. Please continue writing, it’s great to read someone who is prepared to tell it as it is.
Thanks again, Carole Walker.
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Posted by Carole Walker | September 16, 2019, 12:31 pmYou lost me when you described Hawke as ‘great’. Sure, his social agenda such as Medicare was admirable. But his introduction of neo-liberalism in the form of financial deregulation established a cascade effect of pushing this country to the Right. He betrayed workers by instilling in unions and their members a false sense of security in Consensus, only to have labour deregulation eat at the very power and fabric of a united workforce. He pushed the LNP from being moderates to the far Right, and took this country with them. If anyone was Authoritarian with a top-down approach, it was Hawke and Keating through their economically destructive and irresponsible policies. You have a fair point about the Adani Mine being a wedge on the labour heartland, but if anything has caused people to think in the individualistic “what about me” way as regional QLD did during the election, it was Hawke and Keating’s economic “reforms” by pushing this country so far to the Right that it simply isn’t recognisable as a community anymore. Before Hawke and Keating, the workers of this country may have put climate change ahead of a job, as they did with nuclear disarmament, because the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Hawke = individualism = the what’s in it for me generation.
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Posted by Ken Dobson | September 16, 2019, 6:44 pmI wrote this article for people like you. It’s a pity you are too busy repeating hip Socialist memes and regurgitating out of context falsehoods for it to have any impact.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 16, 2019, 6:57 pmTrish.
I agree with Ken.
Remember what I stated in your previous article?
My first sentence:
“In my opinion, Labor’s loss was due its exclusiveness. It rejects people who disagree, as well as their ideas.”
You said.
“I also disagree Labor rejects anyone who disagrees with them.”
It’s okay for you though and Labor can afford to lose votes. Keep it up. I am sure that the Labor Party will thank you.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 16, 2019, 11:31 pmH now you do sound just like the nasty happy hate club on AIMN.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 17, 2019, 10:27 amYou are confusing hate with disappointment. I thought that you were better than that; especially after our brief discussion on the subject last time.
Why is it that the left side of politics absolutely refuses to learn? Why do you and others, especially at the AIMN, continue to alienate potential supporters? Repeating the same mistakes time after time, It seems like you want Labor to continually lose.
My suggestion is:
Listen more and dictate less.
I note that no issues that I have mentioned which, are at the root of our problems and are of growing concern to the public, are addressed by you or anyone else. If Labor continues with the Coalition’s core ideology of jobs and growth, we will end up in a heap because, there will be no viable alternative for voters. One destructive political party is as good as another.
I hope, one day, that Labor will wake up to our very serious situation and adopt policies that I have mentioned in one of your recent articles. I don’t see this ever happening. Instead, I think it will be continual denial and attack. Something that disappoints me to see you and others of the left doing. Other disappointments include a lot of AIMN contributors. Decent, intelligent people who have no idea whatsoever of what is going on. I weep.
As I have said before, only a socialist mindset has the capacity to implement proper corrective changes. Putting the common good before profits etcetera. Unfortunately, Labor Party socialism is just a light version of neo conservatism and will never produce the goods. Result, billions will die in a world inhospitable to most life on earth. I hope that you and others, after spending considerable time in and effort on denial, will be happy with that.
I don’t like to banging my own drum but, as a STEM graduate, I and most of my peers despise economists and are very disappointed that social commentators, (that includes you and the AIMN) and talking heads prioritize social issues above those that are dragging us into the descending spiral of oblivion. The same spiral that is also causing many of the social issues that are emerging.
If economic externalities, that is pollution and environment, were factored as a business cost, there would hardly be a profitable corporation on the planet. Economic growth has come at a great cost and continuing this absurd ideology will cost us the ultimate price. This is why your prioritization of jobs over our environment is just wrong in so many ways.
I tell it like I see it and I don’t apologize for it.
I still have hope for you Trish but, that is fading and time is running out.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 17, 2019, 1:41 pmH. Just because my opinion is different to yours (which I vehemently disagree with your sustainability degrowth positions) there is absolutely no need for nastiness or to imply I single handedly turn people off Labor. If you don’t like Labor’s platform of social justice and equality don’t vote for it. But Labor isn’t going to change to accommodate the needs of right wing degrowthers who harm the poor and vulnerable.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 17, 2019, 2:46 pmTrish.
There is nothing nasty in any of my statements. They might be terse but, they are not nasty except, maybe towards Bighead a little in retaliation. You are too sensitive and I think, are trying to avoid the difficult questions and admitting that you, along with most others, are wrong.
I didn’t say anything about you alone being responsible. You are part of the set and are an example only. I also mentioned others and there is another example in Bighead.
I don’t vote Labor and haven’t for over 20 years.
Labor won’t harm the poor and vulnerable? That is just what the policies of both parties are doing through the poisoning and destruction of our environment. (Jobs and growth) What’s worse is, both Labor and the Coalition’s policies will eventually kill us all. That’s really helping the poor and vulnerable eh?
There is not a government in the world that is even discussing degrowth when, it should be a priority.
What is it exactly that prohibits you from facing reality? Politicians, journalists and others keep saying that we must listen to the scientists. Well, I am a scientist and there are many other scientists who agree with me and like me, are not being listened to.
I have previously provided links for you. It is obvious that you have not followed them. Another example of refusing to learn because, I think, they go against your indoctrinated perceptions.
My pessimism is warranted.
I will put this one up again for you. It is simple mathematics only. There should be no disagreement between us on the discussed concept. It goes for an hour however, the first 30 minutes will do. The second half applies the maths to resource extraction. Honestly, it is not difficult and is vital that all understand this concept. It has been said and I agree that, it should be required viewing for all politicians. The presenter is a physics professor (RIP). If you disagree with the math then, there is no way that you will ever learn anything and I will give you up as a lost cause along with the rest of humanity.
?ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_VpyoAXpA8
(The last time I posted this video, the image appeared and rather that take up space, I have doctored the URL)
Note: This video was produced around 1995. Compare what was said then to what is happening now.
Please Trish. I am not joking. Our situation is deadly serious. I hope that you will provide me with your thoughts on this video.
Will check back later.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 17, 2019, 4:19 pmTrish I empathize with you. I have been in the Left right out faction for the past 20 years, since the Qld Labor Party privatized the Qld Railways, among a host of other things.
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Posted by townsvilleblog | September 16, 2019, 10:57 pmTrish pre-election the tories had 76 seats out of 150, post-election they have 77 seats of the 151, not a huge win, in my book anyway.
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Posted by townsvilleblog | September 16, 2019, 11:05 pmHi Trish.
Look what I just came across.
“Once confined to the small scientific community of climate researchers and ecological economists, the idea of degrowth is now blazing into the mainstream.”
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/mindless-growth-robust-scientific-case-for-degrowth-is-stronger-every-day-1.4011495
And this. I have always thought that Tim Flannery, author of the next link, is an idiot however, on his sense of failure, I can empathize. We have failed. You can lead a horse to knowledge but, you can’t make them drink it. How do make people want to learn when, their pay packets depend on them not learning? (See quote below.)
“My children, and those of many prominent polluters and climate denialists, will probably live to be part of that grim winnowing – a world that the Alan Joneses and Andrew Bolts of the world have laboured so hard to create.”
https://theconversation.com/the-gloves-are-off-predatory-climate-deniers-are-a-threat-to-our-children-123594
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair
Don’t worry. I am not going to bombard your site with links like I did at theAIMN.
Avagoodwun.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 18, 2019, 8:48 amH. Are you aware that this article is specifically about how the one issue of climate change is suffocating every single other issue and because people have other needs and can’t hear about them they voted for the man in hat who watches footy?
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Posted by trishcorry | September 18, 2019, 10:10 amTrish.
All of the issues that you care about and you have written about plenty, can all be solved by degrowth. If you do not address that issue first, you are wasting your time. I will spare you supporting links which, I have plenty of and hope forlornly that you will take my word for it.
This is what frustrates me so much. The solution is simple (degrowth) but, the elites will not allow it and have you all convinced that growth is essential for jobs and the alleviation of poverty. It is not. It is killing us all.
Shrinking the economy will not hurt those at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale which, includes me. We have nothing to lose except, clean water, breathable air and the ability to grow our food.
Here is another quote from the Irish Times article above and is a suggestion that I have put to you before which you completely ignored. “Share the work.”
“The new generation of ecological economists have thought through this in detail – and the solutions are surprisingly simple. If we reduce working hours we can redistribute necessary labour without any loss of total jobs.”
Please please please watch the video I posted above and give me your thoughts. Email me if you like.
Repeat:
Energy, economy and environment. They are related.
The energy guzzling growth economy is destroying our environment.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 18, 2019, 11:17 amDegrowth is a right wing concept that harms the poorest in society. There is no point pushing that argument here.
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Posted by trishcorry | September 18, 2019, 11:29 amComplete rubbish. You’ve been had by the right. They love you.
The consequences of infinite growth on a finite planet which, are already manifesting, will only worsen along with your anguish.
Science and math are being completely and willfully ignored and the responsibility for the consequences will be on those like yourself who, disbelieve based purely on ideological grounds.
I think there is a President somewhere with this attitude. Do you really want to be in that class?
I have given you a link about degrowth quoting scientists and another explaining the math of growth by a physics professor. Why do you not want to learn from these people? They are not right wing ideologues. They are all genuinely concerned for the common good and our future just like you and I.
I have no problem continuing the growth debate although, I doubt that you do. If you do and I would like that, would you please provide some supporting literature for your statement.
Perhaps it could be the subject for your next article. Debunk me. I dare you. If you want a real challenge, try to debunk Professor Bartlett as well. I can guarantee you that , that will get you many responses.
Please please please watch the video that I posted and then repeat your statement. Then, I will know for sure that you are a lost cause which, would be a real pity and I will then not bother you so much.
“What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?” — Rex Tillerson; Former CEO Exxon Mobil and U.S. Secretary of State
“Conserve what you’ve got, learn to live with less, open your eyes and enjoy the rest of your day.” — Arthur Berman – Former Amoco scientist
Truly hoping that you and others will at least watch the video even if you do not respond.
Cheers.
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Posted by Harquebus | September 18, 2019, 12:38 pmWhy bother putting up with this imbecile Trish- ( HINT ) I`ve blocked it from my blog
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Posted by Bighead1883 | September 18, 2019, 12:45 pmYou’ve got a blog?
That would be interesting, really. Got a URL for that?
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Posted by Harquebus | September 18, 2019, 5:49 pmTrish is the kind of person I would like to talk with more – time permitting. The author puts her case well and sincerely, and she no doubt reflects a body of opinion that should be taken seriously.
The author disses the only solution to the problem faced by workers in regional areas, particularly those who perceive themselves to be dependent upon the fossil fuel industry to some degree. Right at the end she rejects just transitioning, and it is pretty evident that her sympathies line up with those unionists opposing the climate justice movement. The problem at the end of the day is that the author has nothing to say about how unionists can mobilise to respond to the climate crisis and at the same time seek to defend their interests. To not consider this question will simply leave representatives of the capitalist class determine the outcome of the climate crisis.
I am in a small group called Workers 4 Climate Justice. I haven’t done much work in the area. But I think its contribution to the debate touches on the concerns raised by the author. I think she and people like her would probably dismiss a lot of what the group is suggesting. That will change if the politics espoused by W4CJ becomes a more significant force in Qld.
Yes, the Greens and the environmental movement might seem like a hotchpotch of ideas, because it’s true. Some of them would have no idea of the political consequences of Margaret Thatcher’s defeat of the miners’ union, something touched on by the author. But we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Environmental campaigners in Friends of the Earth helped to set up W4CJ. They understand that unions have the potential to play a critical role in coming years. That potential may or may not be recognised. A lot of supporters of the climate justice movement want to see the unions play more of a role. A lot of them understand that the repressive legal regime and anti-union governments have made it more difficult for working people to have an effective voice. These people are allies of the unions and what we say will influence the direction they take. It’s not enough to simply turn our backs on the environmental movement. Socialists and unionists need to be taking part in the debates.
And the Labor Party? They continue to disappoint. At the federal level we desperately need a parliamentary opposition to the LNP’s attacks – that would help those of us on the ground where things seem so difficult. The Federal PLP needs to step up and atm they are MIA. There are lots of sincere members of the ALP. The leadership is taking the party in a conservative direction at both the state and federal levels.
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Posted by Greg Brown | October 26, 2019, 7:29 amLess assumptions, a deeper grasp of comprehension, a developed apprehension of nuance and much less ego and condescending clap trap would aid me to speak further with you.
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Posted by trishcorry | October 26, 2019, 7:34 amYou make a lot of good points, but I’d argue that if we’re all dead, the workers aren’t going to have jobs.
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Posted by butimbeautiful | November 7, 2019, 3:03 pmI argue that we can do both and do not need to push entire region into poverty. The country is big enough to share the burden of emissions reductions across cities and regional areas. Anthony Albanese’s first policy direction speech addresses that.
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Posted by trishcorry | November 7, 2019, 6:05 pmYes, true. I think Australia should invest more in renewables etc because the economic reality is that while we delay, other countries are taking the lead and that can only hurt our workers in the longer term. What I see is a failure by all governments over the last 50 years to prepare blue collar workers for transition from dying industries, because outside elections, noone really cares about the guy in the hi vis. These people are treated like sheep…lied to, encouraged to keep their nose to the grindstone and their minds on the footie, and abandoned when it suits us.
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Posted by butimbeautiful | November 8, 2019, 12:07 pmYou say yes true to Trish but understand nothing by proceeding with you endless babble
Labor is addressing Climate Change & renewables infrastructure & has done since 2007 & openly admitting that transitioning from old industries to new industries is paramount
Just have a look at what is going on in Qld now-no one would really know because Murdoch`s media & chums keep it quiet
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Posted by Bighead1883 | November 8, 2019, 1:11 pm