Freedom Socialist • Vol. 19, No. 3 •October-December 1998
DATELINE AUSTRALIA Progressive Labour Party brightens electoral scene By Ian Storey In Australia, as elsewhere, economic precariousness and government assaults on living standards and job conditions have resulted in a growing "populist" rightwing electoral presence. In our case, the menace of the moment is Pauline Hanson's super-nationalist, xenophobic One Nation Party.
But there's good news, too, as feminists, environmentalists, and the Left - notably the new Progressive Labour Party - take to the hustings to offer alternatives to both upstart Hanson and the anti-worker, pro-big business policies of the established parties, the conservative Liberal/National Coalition and the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
One Nation exploits general discontent. One Nation Party, an anti-immigrant, anti-Aboriginal, anti-women's rights electoral vehicle, feeds on the desperation of the poorest white workers and the prejudices of small-business owners, farmers, and ranchers. Fascist organisations such as National Action and the League of Rights operate within its branches.
By capitalising on fears of job loss and global domination of the economy, One Nation recently gained 12 seats in Queensland, Australia's Deep North. In forays into urban areas with more diverse populations, however, One Nation has not fared so well.
In August they faced a crucial test of support in Northcote, Victoria, a workingclass, multicultural, inner-city suburb of Melbourne. They failed miserably.
Standing for state parliament against the entrenched ALP and several left candidates, One Nation launched an advertising blitz and bused in dozens of canvassers. They had no conservative competition, as the Liberal Party did not run. Nevertheless, they were soundly trounced, taking six percent of the vote.
PLP takes on the right and the status quo. The fledgling Progressive Labour Party made its Victorian debut in this race, and I was happy to be one of its campaigners.
PLP gained a great reception, despite short notice of the race, a lack of cash, and media blackouts of our activities. Candidate Denis Evans won two percent of the vote in an ALP stronghold, and the combined progressive vote outpolled Hanson's challenger.
The PLP is intent on building a socialist electoral party to defend the interests of workers, students, pensioners, and the poor. It enshrines affirmative action principles in its constitution and welcomes caucuses of oppressed groups.
Agitation for socialism has a proud history in Australia, and the PLP is carrying on this tradition. The party attacks the widespread closure of hospitals, schools, and parkland, expressing the demands of the majority for decent services and amenities. It opposes neoliberalism, offers policies to halt unionbusting, and calls for living wages and elevated working conditions.
Crying need for a radical alternative. In so doing, the PLP is setting itself apart from much of the Australian Left, which tends to disdain electoral battles. Their usual argument is that because the parliament is controlled by the ruling elites, working people have no stake in the ballot.
In the present climate, however, some of these abstentionists feel compelled to say something about the elections. Their big idea is to call on the leadership of the main parties to list One Nation last on the ballot!
But reactionary hate-mongering will not be stopped so easily - and not by the major parties. When last in office, the ALP, once allegedly the champion of working people, spent its time attacking the poor and sowing the seeds of the misery that Hansonism profits by today.
What will pull the rug out from under Hanson is a challenge from promoters of an unabashedly socialist program. Polling day provides an excellent opportunity to educate workers about the real causes of the difficulties they face and to offer real solutions.
Time to pull together. The PLP now has the opening to go national with its pro-worker agenda, and it plans to take advantage of it.
Prime Minister John Howard has called for federal elections on October 3, earlier than expected, in the hope of getting the Liberal/National Coalition re-elected before protest against his proposal for a regressive Goods and Services Tax reaches critical mass. He is allowing for only a five-week campaign period - overlapping with football finals, the Commonwealth Games, and school holidays!
Despite Howard's cagy manoeuvring, opposition is gearing up. Two PLP candidates from cities in Victoria will run for parliamentary seats, and the PLP may enter other races as well.
The Australian Women's Party (AWP) is standing 12 candidates around the country, and the Greens, too, are fielding contenders. In Victoria, their leading aspirant for senate is a young Aboriginal woman, Charmaine Clark.
An even more optimistic development is that many of these progressives are discussing forming alliances. In Victoria, the PLP, AWP and Greens have already agreed to support each others' candidates.
Hopefully, this indicates the shape of things to come. Unionists, feminists, queers, leftists, Greens, and Aboriginal and immigrant activists have got to join forces - because Hanson's party, on top of being racist and sexist to the core, offers no real way out to the frightened and frustrated working and middle-class people she is wooing.
But a united anti-capitalist electoral front could offer a sensible and humane way forward. And we must - the sooner the better!
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