Category Archives: Reports

Report: Strike at Woolworth’s liquor warehouse

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A moment on the picket line, workers from another NUW organised warehouse come down to show support.

A moment on the picket line, workers from another NUW organised warehouse come down to show support.

Report from Anarchist Affinity members who were supporting the MLDC (Melbourne Liquor Distribution Centre) strike last week.

Workers at Woolworths MLDC launched unprotected (unlawful) strike action in the early hours of Monday morning last week. Workers were responding to broken promises by management; Woolworths management had announced the week before that all new hires at the Laverton site would be through a labour-hire agency despite promises to the contrary made in EBA negotiations less than a year earlier.

The MLDC strike was called for, planned and hastily executed by rank and file union militants at MLDC. The decision to strike occurred to the genuine surprise of NUW union organisers and officials (the NUW is the workers’ union), and this decision was taken by a workforce who had never previously been on strike together.

The MLDC sits at a critical juncture in Woolworth’s supply chain. The strike shut-down liquor and cigarette supplies to Woolworths, BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores across Victoria.

On day four of the strike, industrial action occurred at two other Woolworth’s distribution centres in Hume and Barnawatha. The Hume DC afternoon shift joined the strike and the Barnawatha DC imposed an overtime ban whilst planning to join the strike.

This strike action continued despite the threat of fines and dismissal. It continued in defiance of an order by the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday. When ordered back to work, strikers at MLDC burnt copies of the FWC order and announced they would not return to work until Woolworths agreed “no labour hire and no repercussions [for striking]”.

The power that these workers held in their hands was palpable.

A number of us in Anarchist Affinity are NUW members and delegates (in the market research industry); we headed down to MLDC and joined the picket as part of a larger community support contingent. It was with disgust that from here we watched NUW hierarchy sell the workers at MLDC short.

Why NUW leadership acted in this manner is a matter for debate, it could simply have been timidity in the face of potential fines, or perhaps a fear of an industrial situation escalating outside their control. What is clear is that by late Wednesday NUW leadership had decided to intervene and end the MLDC strike.

The process of undermining the strike began with a mass meeting on Thursday morning. NUW officials advised workers that a federal court injunction was coming that could not be defied. Workers were told that this injunction would result in fines of up to $10,000 and potentially jail time for the strikers. Union leaders claimed only way out was to authorise the leadership to negotiate a deal.

Over the course of Thursday the strike was demobilised on the outside as officials cut a deal with the company inside.

At the final mass meeting held at the picket on Thursday evening, union leadership presented the deal they had cut. They argued there was no alternative and called for workers to endorse it. The militants who had called the strike fought for a continuation, but ultimately lost in a vote split roughly 70-30.

The compromise that was accepted will (in broad terms) see labour-hire on the site during ‘peak periods’, subject to certain restrictions. The most important restriction is that labor-hire workers will be paid site rates and covered by the site EBA.

More concerningly, the union leadership agreed to a deal in which workers will face retribution for striking. All of the strikers will be subjected to ‘counseling’ and a six month written warning for unprotected action.

The union and the company also intend to appoint an ‘independent investigator’ to ‘make recommendations’ about three particular workers for unspecified actions during the strike. The names of these three workers have not been disclosed, but it seems likely that strike organisers will face further retribution.

The MLDC strike was nonetheless amazing. Workers without significant support from their union took militant industrial action for four days, defying one of Australia’s largest retailers and the misnamed Fair Work Commission. For a brief moment they held the profitability of one of Australia’s largest corporations to ransom.

The MLDC strike may have accepted a compromise that in the end conceded labour-hire and disciplinary action for striking workers, but it also showed what is possible. The strike was one small but potent demonstration of the power that still exists on a picket line, and what even a small group of militants can achieve when they organise.

Our solidarity, support and love go out to everyone we met on the picketlines at MLDC.

Rallies, ‘Black Bloc’ and the Meaning of Direct Action

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By Sean M

DIRECTaction

Over the last couple of months we have witnessed an unprecedented wave of large demonstrations. Across Australia people have risen in opposition to the current administration’s escalation of attacks on worker’s rights and conditions, erosions of living standards and civil liberties.

Oxford educated arch-bigot Tony Abbott has managed to mobilise and unite angry trade unionists and students, those without work, single mothers, and Indigenous Australians. All are demanding a better future and environment for ourselves and future generations.

Recently up to 10,000 people from across all walks of life demonstrated in Sydney against the federal budget, which is about handing over more wealth and power to Tony Abbott’s friends in big business. This push is no surprise given the natural tendencies of austerity capitalism and the weak nature of the left and wider trade union movement who are unable thus far too amount any effective opposition and instead pin their hopes on the Labour Party, who will continue with the same class war when in power.

Anarchists visible from all stripes also took part in the march, a large section of whom instead of engaging and interacting with the rest of the march decided to isolate themselves through radical posing as a version of the ‘black bloc.’

While it is important to minimise the ability of the state to gather intelligence and maximise anonymity there is always a time and a place for this, especially whenever there is an opportunity for confrontation and moving beyond the ritual of marching from A-B. In this case it was a wrong move. From a practical and security point of view, a handful dressing in black often hinders rather than helps this anonymity. It enables the police and intelligence services to quickly identify and isolate perceived ‘trouble-makers’, instead of blending in with the rest of the march.

However, this balance of power only becomes a problem when a handful turns into hundreds. Black Bloc is a tactic, not something to be fetishised, and key in any understanding of any tactic, including a sit-down, is to know how it does and doesn’t work. For example, the difference between attempting to blockade a detention centre or during a picket line which has a clear objective and potentially empowering result, as compared to a pointless sit-down in the middle of the road.

The complete weakness and isolation of the anarchist scene was further highlighted whenever there was an attempted ‘sit-down’ by up to 20 people which was shunned by the rest of the marches. When asked what was the point of this ‘sit-down’, I was told that basically we need to do something – in other words action for the sake of it. It is this lack of political maturity without prior planning and an end goal that highlights the chaotic and individualistic nature of anarchism in the city. At the end of the march when people began to leave there was a minor stand off between over a dozen anarchists and the police as they began to force people off the road as some shouted ‘police brutality’ and a ‘police state.’
No surprises then as passers-by looked on with bewilderment and blind indifference. The anarchist movement in Sydney and elsewhere needs to seriously reflect on where it is going and what type of movement it wants to build. Militant street confrontation and workplace resistance will not be built through a handful of ‘black bloc’ers but through organising where we live, work and study with a clear strategy and interacting with wider mass movements and the wider class rather than isolating ourselves. Alternatives such as Sydney Solidarity Network represent an important step in fostering and spreading anarchist ideas of collective direct action though building confidence and solidarity because there are no short cuts to social change.

But what is direct action?

From the black bloc ‘having a go’, to going on marches, from smashing up a McDonalds, to attending a picket, from throwing bricks, to going to fundraising concerts for single issue campaigns – all of these activities have had the term ‘direct action’ applied to them.

Direct action has been confused with actions that are probably best termed as ‘symbolic’ – and which are, on many occasions, ineffective. A lot of the confusion has been due to the media terming anything that they regard as outside the perimeters of ‘normal protest’ as ‘direct action’ – however, some confusion is down to activists themselves confusing the terms. Many activists, for example, regard protests such as the G8 summit as direct action, but these types of protests, even if they are successful in shutting down the event, remain merely symbolic.

Direct action has also become a by-word for violence, to the extent that much of the anti-war and anti-globalisation movement talk specifically about NVDA – Non-Violent Direct Action. That’s not to say that people engaged in direct action shouldn’t defend themselves or that violence is never acceptable – simply that this view of direct action is partial and not an accurate representation.

Direct action is a rejection of the notion that working-class people are powerless to change their conditions. Improvements to our lives are not handed down benevolently from above – they must be fought for. For libertarian communists direct action is more than an effective means of defence or even of going on the offensive and changing something for the better. Direct action is, for the working-class:

“A continuous schooling for their powers of resistance, showing them every day that every least right has to be won by unceasing struggle against the system”. (Rudolf Rocker)

Direct action is an essential preparation for the free socialist society that we strive to create. Through engaging in direct action, even when we made mistakes, we have the opportunity to learn from experience that there is no need to leave things to ‘experts,’ professional politicians or even activists. We should have learnt by now that that course offers us nothing but disempowerment, betrayal and broken promises, and results in a pervading sense of powerlessness. And yet we are far from powerless!

Direct action teaches us to control our own struggles while building a culture of resistance that links with others in struggles. Solidarity and mutual aid find real expression and as our confidence grows so too does our ability to change the world. It is needed now more than ever, and we also need a campaign which opposes all cuts and fees, which is controlled by its members and participants, which is ready & willing to promote direct action and is willing to fight. Such a campaign must be geared towards escalating the struggle to the point of a general strike – anything else is likely to fail, and we cannot afford to fail.

But where can we find an alternative?

First, it is crucial to build an anarchist political organisation, with a clear agenda: mobilising and educating the working class, building counter-power, and fighting the class enemy.

We need to move beyond theoretics and leaflets titled ‘anarchism is awesome’ to building a social movement that is relevant to everyday lives and rooted in self organisation, collective organisation; confident to take it to the bosses and acting as a genuine threat to the status quo.

Morning picket at Decipha in Abbotsford

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Community activists have finished an impromptu blockade of a company called Decipha in Abbotsford, Melbourne, this morning.

Workers are in dispute with the company over an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement negotiation that so far promises to pay less than other Australian Post sites for the same type of work.

Decipha a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia Post.

An employee said the company also practices sending workers home when there is less work, including full-time workers, deducting the additional hours of the day from their long-term service leave or other entitlements.

Ten to fifteen people blocked two driveways from 4:30am until 7:30am. Police arrived as protesters were leaving.

Soundbites and furious unity

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Part three in a five part series reviewing Marxism 2013, ‘Sessions other than Anarchism vs Marxism’

The constant tension between debate and recruitment ultimately hindered the extent of discussion that occurred within sessions at Marxism 2013, making the conference into a tedious defence Socialist Alternative.[i]

One of the most topical issues on the far-left is that of 457 Visas.[ii]

Rival International Socialist Tendency group Solidarity leafleted the main stairs entrance in the break before the 457 Visa session, emphasising their differences with Socialist Alternative: up-front working with 457 Visa workers and organising them, challenging racism in the unions.

In the session, Socialist Alternative focused on the racism of the Labor government and distanced themselves from strident critiques of the union movement in propelling Labor’s ‘457 rorts’ campaign, putting to the forefront the explicit rejection of the 457 Visas ‘guest labour’ scheme as undermining working conditions, but organising 457 Visa workers when in Australia.

The session was the debate that was not, which I felt was a real disappointment. Of the hour and half , only about 2 minutes was spent with an opposing argument to the line of Socialist Alternative, also supported by members of Socialist Alliance.

Of the 13 speakers—forgetting about the presentation and conclusion both made by Socialist Alternative— two purportedly were from Solidarity, but one picked was not an active Solidarity member.[iii]

In the Introduction to Marxism stream there seemed to be an unspoken rule to not call rival tendencies, including Socialist Alliance, avoiding discussing political differences. These sessions are the wombs that develop contacts into Socialist Alternative babies.

A session ‘Women, work and family in the neoliberal age’ displayed the worst of the ‘left unity’ process. The Socialist Alternative presentation was firmly backed up by Socialist Alliance speakers.

In the entire discussion, feminism was mentioned twice, patriarchy completely absent.

‘Left unity’ has become a recipe for public lowest common denominator politics, where the most rudimentary point of agreement is elevated to the heavens of dogma for organisations in ‘unity’ discussions. Here it was the necessity to abolish capitalism through a working class revolution.

The conference was crying out for a real discussion and debate on the most controversial position Socialist Alternative took last year.

One speaker threw mid-sentence that the elephant in the room was ‘sexual violence’, a veiled reference to the striking disagreement between Socialist Alternative and Socialist Alliance on Reclaim the Night.[iv]

That said the presenter did not reduce women’s oppression down just to material conditions but also discussed its ideological basis. Some of the discussion from contributors was fruitful in prioritising the practical ways, for example, partners can challenge sexism, such as through equal childcare.

Despite the conference being organised by one organisation with a clear platform, the marketing onus to invite drawcard speakers fleetingly broke the monotony—allowing ambiguity and different politics.

In presenting his distinctive Gumbainggir take on Aboriginal resistance in Australia, Gary Foley’s good-humoured talk was the only session where an anarchist presented.

In the biggest session of the conference, radical journalist John Pilger emphasised the dangers of reliance on social media; its atomisation of people and centralisation of power into United States corporations; the internet losing its decentralised promises.

Pilger was at pains to place gay marriage as a low priority, because it has been readily co-opted by ruling elites in the United Kingdom, with the reactionary Tory government introducing gay marriage to soften its image and distract people from the underlying economic crisis and poverty.

Equal Love is Socialist Alternative’s main nationally co-ordinated campaign, raising serious contradictions in their passionate marriage to this campaign while having Pilger speak.[v]

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John Pilger session – the biggest at Marxism 2013

The assimilation of former Revolutionary Socialist Party members into Socialist Alternative provoked some of the brief moments of contention.

In the ‘free Palestine’ session, former RSP member Kim Bullimore explained the tactical mistakes engaged in by Students for Palestine (SfP) in the Max Brenner campaign as part of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign of Israel. Bullimore argued SfP never had clear aims for the Max Brenner campaign, as the campaign was reduced to reactive soundbites in the media.

The two patriarchs of formerly rival Trotskyist political tendencies, John Percy (previously Democratic Socialist Party) and Mick Armstrong, made a joint presentation in the track record of the broad left party session.

Percy used his analysis of the broad party to condemn the Socialist Alliance project he was part of as a failure. Later, Socialist Alliance members were indignant that he bring up this bitterness and said this was undermining the ‘left unity’ spirit of the conference, among them, Peter Boyle, co-convenor of the Alliance.

Percy responded that it was bitter to have been expelled from the Alliance.[vi]

Armstrong wedged his analysis between unconditional support and abstention, drawing on the Syriza party project in Greece. Rather than the façade of balance he constructed, such a Leninist and Trotskyist orientation to enter a reformist party to build a revolutionary one is a tactic that maintains illusions in bourgeois parliamentary democracy and the State.[vii]

Much of the session revolved around Armstrong’s analysis of Greece, where he condemned the ‘anti-party’ sentiment in Greece, waxing lyrical into a polemic on anarchism:

“The main force that is growing…that’s the anarchists and that’s a disaster—given the politics of the anarchists in Greece.”

The fact that the working class in Greece is attune to the historical failures of both reformist and revolutionary parties in becoming the new ruling class state power is a positive development.

The Syriza project distracts thousands of militants in Greece from practical questions of how to achieve power through direct-action in their communities and workplaces. Like all political parties, it was premised on the false idea that capturing the state electorally will put its reactionary forces (the army, police, and more benign agencies) under the left’s control.

However, there is a diversity of anarchist politics in Greece and anarchists need to be organised in specific anarchist organisations to combat the State and continue to lead the revolutionary struggle. Trotskyists cannot imagine an organised revolutionary force that does not aim to use the existing state infrastructure to construct socialism.

Finally, it is important for anarchists to develop their knowledge of Greece and increase solidarity—especially anti-fascist activities in light of Golden Dawn’s entry into Melbourne.[viii]

 

[i] In a conference as massive as Marxism 2013, it could be the sessions I attended and discussed in some detail with others were the worst ones. I have heard the ‘organising workers’ stream produced healthy discussion of building rank and file strength in unions. At best, this leaves the conference as a mixed affair.

[ii] Ben Hillier (2012), ‘457 visas an attack on all workers’, Socialist Alternative, http://www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7354:457-visas-an-attack-on-all-workers&Itemid=392.

Tom Bramble  (2012), ‘457 visas – bosses’ dream, workers’ nightmare’, Socialist Alternative, http://www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7427:&Itemid=392.

Jerome Small (2012), ‘Fight against 457 visas and fight for migrants’ rights’, Socialist Alternative, http://www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7690:fight-against-457-visas-and-fight-for-migrants%E2%80%99-rights&Itemid=392.

 

Solidarity (2012), ‘Rinehart migration deal: To fight for jobs, we have to fight together’, 30 May, http://www.solidarity.net.au/web/rinehart-migration-deal-to-fight-for-jobs-we-have-to-fight-together/.

James Supple and Ian Rintoul (2012), ‘‘Local workers first’ campaign is no way to fight for jobs’, Solidarity, July, http://www.solidarity.net.au/47/local-workers-first-campaign-is-no-way-to-fight-for-jobs/.

Jasmine Ali (2012), ‘Racism, White Australia and the union movement’, Solidarity, August, http://www.solidarity.net.au/457-visas-special/racism-white-australia-and-the-union-movement/.

Solidarity (2012), ‘Open letter to the left – welcome 457 visa workers’, Solidarity, August, http://www.solidarity.net.au/457-visas-special/open-letter-to-the-left-welcome-457-visa-workers/.

Solidarity (2012), ‘The facts: understanding 457s and temporary work visas’, Solidarity, August, http://www.solidarity.net.au/457-visas-special/the-facts-understanding-457s-and-temporary-work-visas/.

James Supple (2012), ‘Immigration is not to blame for cuts to jobs and wages ‘, Solidarity, August, http://www.solidarity.net.au/457-visas-special/immigration-is-not-to-blame-for-cuts-to-jobs-and-wages/.

Solidarity (2012), ‘Sign-on statement: welcome 457 visa holders into the unions’, 9 August, http://www.solidarity.net.au/web/welcome-457-visa-holders-into-the-unions/.

Solidarity (2013), ‘Gillard steps up scapegoating of 457s and foreign workers’, Solidarity, March, http://www.solidarity.net.au/54/gillard-steps-up-scapegoating-of-457s-and-foreign-workers/.

James Supple and Amy Thomas (2013), ‘Anti-457 campaign is an attack on foreign workers’, Solidarity, March, http://www.solidarity.net.au/54/anti-457-campaign-is-an-attack-on-foreign-workers/.

Amy Thomas (2013), ‘Facts tell the real story: 457 workers are not taking jobs’, Solidarity, March, http://www.solidarity.net.au/uncategorized/facts-tell-the-real-story-457-workers-are-not-taking-jobs/.

James Supple (2013), ‘Canberra 457 workers’ dispute shows how to fight for rights’, Solidarity, April, http://www.solidarity.net.au/55/canberra-457-workers-dispute-shows-how-to-fight-for-rights/.

 

Simon Millar (2012), ‘Organise, don’t demonise migrant workers’, http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/archives/4192.

Socialist Party (2013), ‘Reject Labor’s divisive ‘Aussie jobs’ campaign’, http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/archives/5029.

 

[iii] Perhaps there should be alternating organisations/independents speaking during discussions, with affiliations more open. For example at the Anarchism vs Marxism sessions, there was efforts by the Chairs to include anarchists by asking them first to put their hand up, so that they could be identified.

[iv] See Part 1 of the series, ‘Left Unity in confusion’.

[v] If recent examples of legalisation by the conservative government in New Zealand are to go by, an Abbott government might introduce gay marriage during an austerity drive. Recent indications suggest Abbott post-election party room could clear the way for a conscience vote: Dan Harrison (2013), ‘Hopes rise for same-sex unions’, The Age, 20th April, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/hopes-rise-for-samesex-unions-20130419-2i5s1.html.

[vi] See @ndy (2008), ‘Leninist Party Faction vs. Democratic Socialist Party Perspective Alliance’, http://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=1143.

[vii] Wayne Price (2009), ‘Response to a Trotskyist (ISO) Criticism of Anarchism’, http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/wayne-price-response-to-a-trotskyist-iso-criticism-of-anarchism; Ron Taber (1988), ‘A Look At Leninism’, Aspect Foundation: New York, http://libcom.org/library/look-leninism-ron-taber, p. 61; François Sabado (2013), ‘International anti-capitalist meeting in Athens’, http://www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7701:international-anti-capitalist-meeting-in-athens&Itemid=390; Andrew Flood (2012), ‘Notes on the non election of Syriza and the retreat from anti-capitalism by the left’, http://libcom.org/library/notes-non-election-syriza-retreat-anti-capitalism-left.

[viii] @ndy (2013), ‘Golden Gaytime not Golden Dawn!’, http://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=33536.

The secret policing

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Part two in a five part series reviewing Marxism 2013 – ‘The recruitment, disciplinary and propaganda techniques of Socialist Alternative’

Socialist Alternative is a seriously tough, disciplined organisation, channelling their inner-Bolshevik in the footsteps of Lenin, proud and defensive over their conference.[i]

Many Socialist Alternative members rose early for their conference, with caucuses starting from 8AM. Some caucuses assigned contacts to members, who they then persuaded into going to particular sessions, preparing those contacts for recruitment.[ii]

Tailored contact assignments effectively had the intimacy of bodyguards, as members devoted the day to their contact, shepherding them from corrupting influences, keeping them entertained.[iii]

Leaders of branches carried around in the hands, close to their chests, paper, on which they ticked off who in their branch was here, recording their activity, as well as co-ordinating contacts.

Stern warnings disciplined rogue members who did not follow the script and were taken aside and admonished.

In keeping with the importance of Socialist Alternative, the cafeteria behind the main stairs confined the stall space, away from the main entrance, which exclusively held the Socialist Alternative stalls.

Stallholders all had to pay $50, even if they were a campaign group Socialist Alternative were heavily involved in.[iv]

One opportunistic anarchist insurrectionist decided to set up a stall in the stall space, without payment. Socialist Alternative members bombarded the anarchist, initially resorting to direct action such as taking leaflets, and removing the table and chair.

The anarchist resisted and Socialist Alternative members called security.

Unfortunately for Socialist Alternative, the security guard sided with the anarchist, saying their requests reminded them of Stalinism.

Immediately after, the anarchist-friendly IOPS kindly offered to share half of their table, remedying the issue for the remaining days.

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The insurrectionary anarchist’s stall.

Socialist Alternative policed price and marketing tactically. Some attendants bought full tickets, having come on the third day, for $45, and then were told in their first session they could upgrade for $5 from a one day of $25 ticket.

This clever marketing ploy was met with resistance as the attendants asked for a refund at reception, who referred the matter to their ‘supervisors’. The hierarchy from above refused to back down and there was no refund.

Leaders policed the smooth co-ordination of sessions. At times, this bordered on the comical, as leading members made sure that troublemakers did not interrupt sessions they would rather were a gentle introduction to Socialist Alternative.

One example was the ‘Everything you ever wanted to know about Socialist Alternative’ session. Here key Socialist Alternative leaders scouted for known rival leftists who planned to attend, to prepare for dissidence.

Subsequently, the workshop split into effectively ‘newbies’ wanting to know more about Socialist Alternative, who had to walk out into another area and ‘oldies’, who had been around the scene for a while and wanted to discuss the new ‘left unity’ politics of Socialist Alternative.

Unfortunately, this tactic failed to keep out dissidents, some of whom continued onto the newbies session regardless.[v]

After lots of work was conducted, in breaks, and at the end or start of the day, there was time for some reflection, and discussion about the ‘numbers’: how contacts were responding to recruitment, how many magazines you’d sold, how many new contacts you have.

Of course, there was always detritus floating around, those who they’ve given up on, which is the category I fall into, along with a few stragglers I found. These rogue elements become invisible, not a contact anymore.

 

[i] ‘One  of  the  most  salient  aspects  of  the  ethos  of  the  Bolshevik tendency  is  what  might  be  called  the  cult  of  the  “hards.” The Bolsheviks prided themselves on their toughness. They even referred  to themselves  as  “the  hards.” This  was  in  contrast  to  what  they  derided  as  the  “ softness”   of  the  Mensheviks. As  the  Bolsheviks  saw it,  they  were strong,  tough  and  unvacillating;  the  Mensheviks  weak, soft and  indecisive. The  Bolsheviks  prided  themselves  on  their  skill in  functioning  “underground”  and  on  their  willingness  to  endure the  hardships  this  entailed. They  considered  the  Mensheviks  as  less capable  of  working  under  conditions  of  clandestinity  and  too  anxious  to  function  legally,  no  matter  what  restrictions  this  entailed. The  Bolsheviks  also  saw  themselves  as  more  proletarian  than  the Mensheviks,  whom  they  considered  more  middle  class  (even  when this  was  not  strictly  true).’—Ron Taber (1988), ‘A Look At Leninism’, Aspect Foundation: New York, http://libcom.org/library/look-leninism-ron-taber, p. 37. Also see the following for a summation: adamfreedom (2013), ‘From Theory to Practice, Taking a Critical Look at Leninism’, http://machete408.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/from-theory-to-practice-taking-a-critical-look-at-leninism/.

[ii] Members facilitate contacts through centrally held online databases containing descriptions of their politics. Recruitment priorities tend towards young students, coordinated by the emerging young leaders at local campuses.

[iii] This is nothing new in the praxis of Socialist Alternative, internal documents since released, due to a split in 2004, have argued against isolationism and shepherding, see: Marc Newman (2004), ‘Cadre, Growth and Political Practice in Socialist Alternative’, http://www.solidarity.net.au/pdf/Politicalpractice.pdf.

[iv] Students for Palestine, Equal Love and the Refugee Action Collective (Victoria).

[v] Here at the newbies session the anarchist insurrectionist asked if they could ask a question on Socialist Alternative’s position on censorship, which was answered by leading members saying this was no place for such a question.

Defending Public Housing

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In Victoria, the waiting list for public housing stands at roughly 40,000—over three times the population of Southbank— while around 61,000 homes in Melbourne lie vacant every day. The absurdity of capitalism is utterly obvious in the inability of rich countries like Australia to house the poorest and most disadvantaged in society. Islands of Housing Commission towers from the 1960s, themselves creations of compulsory destruction of working class homes, rise above, despite the ravenous push of developers to gentrify formerly working class areas. The latest push for development on these housing estates stems from the Federal government granting $175.3 million in ‘Housing Affordability’ funding in 2010 to squeeze 547 units for both public and ‘affordable’ private housing on housing commission land.

The rally on the 24th of March at Atherton Gardens, organised by the Socialist Party, demonstrates the ambivalences and contradictions in the public housing campaign to date. On the one hand, the organisers lauded their partial victory—having pushed indefinitely into the future concrete plans to privatise public housing land in Richmond and Fitzroy. On the other hand, organisers briefly admitted that Prahran has not been so lucky, situated outside the City of Yarra. This small win shows how the Socialist Party has pushed politics to the left in the municipality of the City of Yarra. But clearly this is confined to a particular locality and constituency, which in Prahran is being fully buffeted by the rule of capital.

Overall, the rally itself was a positive development, with around 200 people in attendance, with another 200 perhaps there for a shorter period. Speakers included politicians, including Stephen Jolly (Socialist Party) and Adam Bandt (Greens), mixed with public housing speakers from Sudanese and Chinese backgrounds. Indigenous speakers were also prioritised, and Sandra Onus gave a particularly rousing speech, pointing out the common enemy was capitalism. The composition of the crowd included much of the left milieu, and a fair proportion of public housing residents outside this milieu.

Ultimately, the rally left a nagging feeling of uncertainty about the direction of the campaign, which is to be decided at an open organising meeting in the near future. The State government sees the friendly local government in Prahran as the weakest link to break, by privatising public housing land there first. Working class self-organisation beyond that seen in the City of Yarra is necessary to defend Prahran’s public housing from the imminent threat of loss of vital public space. The very fact that ‘public housing’ is not public, but State housing—points to more radical demands—particularly the need for directly democratic ownership of public housing, by residents for residents.

 

Second Indonesian Agrarian Communities Communication Forum held in Yogyakarta

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Forum Komunikasi
From our Indonesian correspondent.

On Monday the second Forum Komunikasi Masyarakat Agraris (Agrarian Communities Communication Forum, the FKMA) was held in the city of Yogyakarta on Java Island, involving fourteen communities looking to consolidate the movement against mining companies in Indonesia.

Increased mining investment has resulted in new conflicts between farmers and mining corporations since the first forum was held in 2011.

Organisers report that intelligence agents from the local authorities surveilled the location of the conference, to which the farmers responded by saying, “that’s fine, tell them to come in so they’ll understand”.

Delegations from Solidaritas Tolak Tambang Besi (Anti Iron Mine Solidarity, the STTB), Paguyuban Petani Lahan Pantai (Association of Coastal Farmers in Kulon Progo, the PPLP) and Forum Perjuangan Petani Kebumen Selatan (South Kebumen Farmers Struggle Forum, the FPPKS) have consolidated support from farming communities in Central Java, Western Java, Banten and Yogyakarta in the lead up to the conference.

The PPLP has been engaged in a bitter struggle for seven years to stop an Australian-Indonesian consortium led by Perth-based mining company Indo Mines Ltd from mining iron-ore from the sands in Kulon Progo on Java Island.

Kulon Progo communities turned marginal coastline into a farming success story since occupying the land in the 1960s, using unique farming techniques to grow crops in the black coastal sand.

The sand also contains up to 60 per cent iron-ore that can now be used to produce steel through so-called Direct Reduced Iron technologies rather than traditional blast furnaces (see Indo Mines’ 2012 Company Presentation).

The mining project will displace farmers in Kulon Progo who practice a partially collectivised form of land tenure whereby plots are distributed to members of the community for use.

They have relatively high incomes compared with wages in Indonesian industry, where millions of workers have been protesting for several months in a struggle to increase the minimum wage, especially on Java Island.

Mining projects such as the one in Kulon Progo therefore tend to replace relatively independent and fairer forms of economy with large-scale capitalist enterprises that mainly benefits foreign investors and damage the local environment.

The destruction of agriculture also increases food prices, which the government then uses to justify industrialising agriculture through mega-projects that benefit foreign and local capitalists’ interests.

Similar stories to Kulon Progo abound in Indonesia, which is why four new farming communities have sent delegations to the farmers’ forum since the first was held two years ago.

The STTB, which helped organise the forum, is an organisation started by students and young people in Yogyakarta two years ago that has worked to facilitate communication between farming communities in south of Java Island.

The role of anarchists in the forum is significant, particularly those coming from Yogyakarta, that although small in number are well integrated within the movement of the PPLP farmers.

Anarchists in Australia, particularly the Melbourne Anarchist Club, donated money to support the 2011 initiative and organised two protests in front of the Melbourne Indonesian consulate in 2010.

Members of MAC, Anarchist Affinity and other individuals across Australia have again donated to the running costs of the 2013 conference.

The Facebook event of the forum can be accessed here (in Bahasa Indonesia).

Protesters support grand jury resisters at the US Consulate in Melbourne

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Yesterday about 40-50 people gathered outside the US Consulate in Melbourne to protest the imprisonment of grand jury resisters Matt Duran, Katherine Olejnik and the likely detention of Matthew Pfeiffer who has said they will again refuse to speak to the US inquisition on December 14.

Two cards were circulated for Matt and Katherine, with protesters writing messages of support on them.

Speeches were given by members of Anarchist Affinity and the Melbourne Anarchist Club as well as by individuals, and folk-punk bands Year of Scummery and Glitter Rats played a set in the sunshine.

A grand jury is a legal processes in the US that is supposed to decide whether investigators have sufficient evidence to charge someone with a federal crime, but they are conducted largely in secret and have the power to imprison those who refuse to give evidence for up to 18 months.

Grand juries are usually so-called fishing expeditions by US authorities when they have no evidence of but would like to intimate political movements. This particular grand jury is aimed at anarchists who are visible activists in the community.

You can write to Matt and Katherine at the addresses below, or visit nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com for more information.

Katherine Olejnik #42592-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

Matthew Kyle Duran #42565-086
FDC SeaTac
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

Grocon versus CFMEU update

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This morning CFMEU members and supporters began arriving to the Grocon Myers site in Lonsdale St at around 4:30am.

Police were already surrounding all four entrances as usual including blocking each end of Lonsdale and Lt Bourke streets.

On construction sites work must be started early or certain types of work can’t be started during the day, according to workers at the protest. That’s why things keep going down so early while later in the day the site looks empty and only a few man the picket line.

The numbers weren’t as great this morning as on Friday. For a while people where jumpy and it looked like the police would try to break the picket to bring in the scabs.

Mounted police blocked the entrance of QV across the road where Grocon’s HQ is located. They then did a blocky and approached via Elizabeth St where cops in serious riot gear blocked the entrance to the site.

The protest was confused as the CFMEU hadn’t set up a mic to let people know what was going on. As they did so, a sizable group of protester moved to the Elizabeth entrance to block it. It looked like a confrontation of some kind would happen.

Eventually a CFMEU organiser came down and told the protestors to rejoin the main rally, making no attempt to explain why. There was plenty of grumbling but most people did as instructed. The mounted police then returned to QV and riot cops re-entered the construction site.

The main rally was then disbanded by the CFMEU at around 7:30am.

As the protest ended, word was that some scabs got in via the Elizabeth/Lt Bourke entrance, but it is hard for them to do any work without the necessarily equipment that has been blocked from entering.

The protest is on again tomorrow morning and will likely continue all week. Judging by the numbers today it will be necessary for the CFMEU to have community support or more workers coming off other sites to attend.

If you’ve got the time this week plan to make a visit one morning. It’s necessary to there by 5am to really be effective. But hey, it’s easier to get up at 4:30 am for a good cause than 7:30 am to go to work.