Socialist Party Australia - SP statement on Federal Government/Media attack on us and Medicare campaign

The assault on the Defend and Extend Medicare Group (DEMG) and the Socialist Party (SP) in particular in the Murdoch media was in many ways humorous in terms of basic errors and rabid bias.

Medicare campaigners were described as "serial protestors" - which makes as much sense as describing John Howard as a serial commentator on political events. Stephen Jolly was described as being a Socialist Party member (correct) as well as "national secretary of the radical Militant organisation". The Militant organisation has long ago changed its name to the Socialist Party.

However there are also serious issues highlighted by the fact that Australia's two most read newspapers (Melbourne Herald Sun and Sydney Daily Telegraph) gave over four pages in total over three days to attack DEMG and SP.

1. The infiltration of the Medicare campaign by officers from a especially established taskforce in the Health Department(!) shows how nervous and vulnerable the Federal Government is on the issue of Medicare. Their attacks are deeply unpopular amongst the electorate so they have lashed out with an aggressive Red Baiting exercise to try and discredit the pro-Medicare forces.

2. The fact that the Federal Government has openly admitted to the media that its infiltrates non-violent political groups shows that in the post-S11 period, and in the absence of a major political alternative to the capitalist system (collapse of the Stalinist block, no Communist Party, rightward shift of ALP), the ruling class can be more brazen than ever. Socialists must use this example to further shatter any illusions in bourgeois democracy amongst workers and youth.

3. The refusal of the ALP and unfortunately also the Greens to put their weight behind a mass mobilisation of ordinary people to defend Medicare has undermined the strength of DEMG. Individual anarchists, community activists and the Socialist Party have been left 'with the baby', staffing the streets stalls, sticking up the posters, organising the meetings, running the web pages etc. However astute workers - even when not themselves actively involved in the campaign - are taking note of what forces in the movement are putting their shoulder to the grindstone on this issue, and which forces are merely commentating.

4. For the SP the publicity around the defence of Medicare (and in Melbourne the media coverage about the UNITE campaign defending the rights of casual workers) is a pleasant change from the usual media coverage of alleged violence on rallies eg Richmond SC, S11, Hanson demonstrations, Woomera, Bush protests etc.