The left in Australia - Where do you think it's heading?

[Ned Kelly]

The GFC should have been a time when the left was able to capitalise, but this never happened. Where to now?

[Adi Shankara]

The GFC should have been a time when the left was able to capitalise, but this never happened. Where to now?

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink: I always thought most of the population was more bigoted and right-wing than Americans, seeing as John Howard was pretty much openly racist and he was the Prime Minister for 11 years.

[Ned Kelly]

That's pretty true. But i still think there is a bit to work with..

[AK]

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink:
Did you not notice me?

Or Bilan, or Comrade Lewis, or AnthArmo, or Nic, or Leaf, or Steve_j...

[Ned Kelly]

Also from 'sunny' Melbourne, I see, AK

[AK]

Also from 'sunny' Melbourne, I see, AK
Indeed. How are you liking the constant rain?

[Ned Kelly]

I don't particularly like the inconvenience of it all. But we sure need it.

[Steve_j]

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink: I always thought most of the population was more bigoted and right-wing than Americans, seeing as John Howard was pretty much openly racist and he was the Prime Minister for 11 years.

Most does not mean all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYJoEf9sZgc&feature=related

An inspiring example.

[AnthArmo]

Most does not mean all

wYJoEf9sZgc

An inspiring example.

That was absolutely incredible. Thanks for posting that

[Steve_j]

Glad you liked, there are 5 parts, tells the story, worth checking out.

[Niccolò Rossi]

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink: I always thought most of the population was more bigoted and right-wing than Americans

Don't you ever get sick of being an idiot?

Nic.

[Ned Kelly]

Nic, are you with the ICC?

[AK]

Don't you ever get sick of being an idiot?

Nic.
...and how could I forget Nic? Yes Sankara, we have a lot of communists here.

[core_1]

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink: I always thought most of the population was more bigoted and right-wing than Americans, seeing as John Howard was pretty much openly racist and he was the Prime Minister for 11 years.
try not to make stupid sweeping statements like this. You sound like a pretentious dickhead

[Ned Kelly]

I don't think we're as bad as the deep south of America, but xenophobia has certainly been enshrined in the Australian psyche for a long long time.

[AK]

And Sankara, as a communist, you of all people should know that Bourgeois politicians are far from representative of the working class.

[Leaf]

Yeah that video was amazing!! I am going to share it round. There is an election coming up in Australia at the moment so it's crazy all round. THere obviously is a left in Australia even if the mainstream view/policies make me want to vomit/leave the country/cry.
It's just the usual 2 party dominated media, an absolute ignorance of socialism that you could imagine.
But woops you're interested in the left.
I'm in Sydney and there are rallies in the CBD quite often (free the refugees etc) but my experience of some groups like socialist alternative tells me many of their cult like tactics would be counter productive. I wouldn't know whether the left is expanding or not. A lot of young people I know are voting Greens but completely unaware of the socialist alliance's similar policies.
Cheerio.

[AnthArmo]

Glad you liked, there are 5 parts, tells the story, worth checking out.

I watchted the rest of it. Inspiring, we need to take more direct action like this.

The two parties are absolutely pathetic. I was watching the leaders debate, it was a matter of

"I can stop 'boat people' better than you"

"Nuh-uh! I can stop 'boat people' better than you!"

And the media just relentlessly supports the government. It deliberately shows constant news feeds of people arriving in boats and crimes commited by refugees. It takes isolated incidents, and then exaggerates them so that people get this mental image of hoardes of "dirty black criminals"

[Niccolò Rossi]

Nic, are you with the ICC?

No, I am not a member of the ICC. I am a correspondant and subscriber to their press. Most recently I attended their Pan-Asian conference held in Delhi.

Currently I am involved with the Internationalist Communist Affiliate Network (ICAN). As a group we are very new. We held our first round of formal discussions a month ago in Sydney. We will be publishing a report shortly. Keep an eye out for it, we will post it on revleft. In the meantime, please see our appeal (http://www.revleft.com/vb/appeal-sympathisers-communist-t133386/index.html?t=133386&highlight=appeal+sympathisers+communist+left).


I don't think we're as bad as the deep south of America, but xenophobia has certainly been enshrined in the Australian psyche for a long long time.

What is the 'Australian psyche'?

The Australian state was built upon white settler colonialism, anti-immigrant racism and the virtual genocide of the aboriginal people. The two are very different.

The notion of a national consciousness is at best false and at worst a class collaborationist betrayl of the principle of internationalism.

Nic.

[Niccolò Rossi]

The two parties are absolutely pathetic. I was watching the leaders debate, it was a matter of

"I can stop 'boat people' better than you"

"Nuh-uh! I can stop 'boat people' better than you!"

Labour may be an anti-worker, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTI, nti-indigenous, anti-environment, pro-war, pro-austerity party but... Keep Abott Out! Give first preference to Labour and the Greens!

:rolleyes:

Nic.

[Steve_j]

How is the green party looking? My brother was saying they were looking relativly strong this year.

[Bilan]

Where's the left going?

Up it's own arsehole, why?

[Bilan]

How is the green party looking? My brother was saying they were looking relativly strong this year.

2 million people are expected to vote for them in the upcoming federal election.

[Niccolò Rossi]

How is the green party looking? My brother was saying they were looking relativly strong this year.

The green party is definitely on the rise, as it has been for many years. I think this process is being accelerated by Labor's increasing shift to the right, leaving the Greens as the only mainstream (despite being a minor party) representative of the left.
Saying that, the greens are still not a major threat in this election, though increasing disillusionment with Labor may change this in the future.


Where's the left going?

Up it's own arsehole, why?

I more or less agree with Bilan here. Fuckrevision rightly noted in the OP that the left in Australia was unable to capitalise on the economic crisis. I think this has alot to do with the fact that Australia was the only nation of the developed world to avoid significantly avoid the brunt of the crisis, leaving the leftists to fall on deaf ears.

Without a more intimate knowledge of the workings of the ostensibly socialist groups, I can't say what kind of affect this has/will have in terms of demoralisation or future course.

Nic.

[Steve_j]

The green party is definitely on the rise, as it has been for many years. I think this process is being accelerated by Labor's increasing shift to the right, leaving the Greens as the only mainstream (despite being a minor party) representative of the left.
Saying that, the greens are still not a major threat in this election, though increasing disillusionment with Labor may change this in the future.


Green/labour coalition as possibility?

[Small Geezer]

Australia has a pretty mighty union movement. And I'd say as a nation :unsure::crying:, it's further to the left than the US.

[Ned Kelly]

Green/labour coalition as possibility?

Unlikely, the Greens will probably only get one lower house seat. But they'll hold the balance of power in the senate.

[Niccolò Rossi]

Green/labour coalition as possibility?

No. Government is formed by the party of majority in the lower house. Because the lower house is elected on the basis of geographical constituents elected on an instant-runoff system the minor parties have little chance of winning seats. The Greens currently do not hold any seats in the lower house and never have. If I'm not wrong, the best prospect I heard was for the Greens to take one seat in a Tasmanian electorate, but don't count me on it.

The Senate (upper house) is elected on a proportional basis making it easier for minor parties to take seats. The Green currently hold five out of seventy six seats in the Senate and will take more in the up coming election.


Australia has a pretty mighty union movement.

In the sense that the most well known and hard-fought struggles were conducted within the bounds of the unions, this is true. To say that the role of the Australian unions is fundamentally different from anywhere else in the world is not.

Nic.

[Ned Kelly]

No. Government is formed by the party of majority in the lower house. Because the lower house is elected on the basis of geographical constituents elected on an instant-runoff system the minor parties have little chance of winning seats. The Greens currently do not hold any seats in the lower house and never have. If I'm not wrong, the best prospect I heard was for the Greens to take one seat in a Tasmanian electorate, but don't count me on it.

The Senate (upper house) is elected on a proportional basis making it easier for minor parties to take seats. The Green currently hold five out of seventy six seats in the Senate and will take more in the up coming election.


Nic.

I'd have them as favourites to take out Melbourne, but I think thats it

[Bilan]

I don't know what's a bigger waste of time: voting for them or giving a shit about who does.

[Inkoherent]

There is a left wing in Australia!?!? :blink: I always thought most of the population was more bigoted and right-wing than Americans, seeing as John Howard was pretty much openly racist and he was the Prime Minister for 11 years.

:huh:.

Yeah, never heard of you know, the majority right-wing decision outweighing the minority left-wing in an election, especially in a *gasp* capitalist nation.
Seems like you've made a very valid conclusion based on strong and in no way faulty premises. Well done champ.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Fuckrevision rightly noted in the OP that the left in Australia was unable to capitalise on the economic crisis. I think this has alot to do with the fact that Australia was the only nation of the developed world to avoid significantly avoid the brunt of the crisis, leaving the leftists to fall on deaf ears.

I thought Canada got the bragging rights on that front. :confused:

[Inkoherent]

And Sankara, as a communist, you of all people should know that Bourgeois politicians are far from representative of the working class.

Especially in our joke of an electoral system. Preferential representation is just pathetic. The Greens received 11% of the votes in the House of Representatives, and secured one seat out of 150. How is that in any way indicative of the people's vote/opinion? It just furthers the perpetual cycle of Labor or Liberal, or as I refer to them, Right wing and Further right wing.

Also of interest is the fact that the Further right's main campaign was "Stop the boats". As a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, asylum seekers headed for Australia have the right to apply for asylum in Australia, and to stay in Australia until their application has been processed and reviewed. But of course, the xenophobia and racism ingrained in many Australians see the stopping of boats headed for Australian shores in a legal and legitimate manner as a positive, and indeed a worthy thing to campaign for. So positive was the reaction across the public that the ALP also pledged to stop the boats.

Wonderful country hey?

[AK]

So positive was the reaction across the public that the ALP also pledged to stop the boats.
That's one election promise I hope they don't keep.

[Inkoherent]

That's one election promise I hope they don't keep.

You and I both buddy.

[Long Dong Silver]

The Left in Australia - Where do you think it's heading?
To the right :laugh:

[progressive_lefty]

You literally can't pick up a newspaper or turn on the tele without being harassed with 'don't vote Greens, because their this and their that, and their extreme'. Maybe that's why the Greens did so well in the election, people are starting to become aware of how right-wing the media is in Australia.

[Chambered Word]

^Even the Greens are shifting gradually to the right, opportunistically changing their tone whenever it suits them.

[Inkoherent]

^Even the Greens are shifting gradually to the right, opportunistically changing their tone whenever it suits them.

Examples? Sources?

[Chambered Word]

Examples? Sources?

Bob Brown acquiescing to the racist rhetoric about immigration and resource usage, the Tasmanian Greens asking for a coalition with the Liberals (hell, I remember hearing that a while back they actually did manage to get into a coalition with them), their general rhetoric as of late - especially about becoming respectable and not wanting to look like radicals.

The Greens are not a mass worker's party so I don't know what else Marxists would expect.

[Delenda Carthago]

The green party is definitely on the rise, as it has been for many years. I think this process is being accelerated by Labor's increasing shift to the right, leaving the Greens as the only mainstream (despite being a minor party) representative of the left.
Saying that, the greens are still not a major threat in this election, though increasing disillusionment with Labor may change this in the future.



I more or less agree with Bilan here. Fuckrevision rightly noted in the OP that the left in Australia was unable to capitalise on the economic crisis. I think this has alot to do with the fact that Australia was the only nation of the developed world to avoid significantly avoid the brunt of the crisis, leaving the leftists to fall on deaf ears.

Without a more intimate knowledge of the workings of the ostensibly socialist groups, I can't say what kind of affect this has/will have in terms of demoralisation or future course.

Nic.
the left was unable to capitalise the crisis worldwide,not just australia.