
Howard - Time to Go!
Date: Friday, August 06 @ 21:41:44 CDT
Topic: Australian politics
By Anthony Main
At some stage in the coming months or even weeks we will have our chance to kick out the Coalition government. After a legacy of attacks on working people, Howard’s time may nearly be up.
During the last eight years we have seen privatisations taken to a higher level, the undermining of the Medicare system, increased costs for education, and increased job insecurity. Whilst we have seen some economic growth in this period, it has been carried through on the backs of ordinary working people. With many Australians working longer hours on a casual basis and personal debt levels are going through the roof. Our lives have never before been more stressful.
The Socialist Party is encouraging voters to send Howard into retirement and kick him out at the coming Federal election. We are urging people to vote for Socialist candidates where they can and then to direct their preferences to the Greens. Whilst we understand that the Greens are committed to reforms and not replacing the system, they are still the only party represented in parliament who are opposed to the war in Iraq, against the mandatory detention of refugees and opposed in words at least to the anti union laws.
The Labor Party seems to be almost snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in this election refusing to offer any alternative to the right wing policies of the Liberals. If they do win on the basis of an anti-Howard vote, we predict that a Latham-led ALP government won’t be fundamentally different to that of Howard. Latham does not represent the interests of workers, preferring instead to represent the interests of big business just as the Liberal do.
The best way to advance the interests of workers and youth in this election is to put the Liberals and racists last on the ballot and to join us in fighting against the bosses and against the system.
On top of this, as our editorial inside explains, we need to build a new workers’ party so that we are not left with such a dreadful choice every election.
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