En Passant

Students are keeping the flame of free speech alive with their ‘unauthorised’ protests against Pyne and his attempted destruction of Universities. To defend free speech and Universities join with students in their just campaign against fee deregulation and funding cuts on 25 March across Australia.

For the unions and students fighting alongside Labor and the Greens, the job to convince crossbenchers and the public that deregulation is in itself a problem – the real fight – starts now.

Me in today’s Illawarra Mercury.

On the surface this deal with various Labor factions appears unprincipled and further confirmation that for Socialist Alternative in Australia top down politics has overtaken bottom up approaches to building struggles.

The misguided tactics being adopted by today’s social commentators, led no doubt by a minority within them hell-bent on fomenting trouble, are only encouraging further protest. This in turn is giving the masses a sense of their own collective power, strengthening their organisations and leading to a deeper understanding of the issues involved – and no one wins from that. Worse still, it is enabling the media to portray politicians – those who should command the greatest respect – as weak and vulnerable. This only corrupts our great democracy, the crushing uniformity of which is the envy of the world.

It is time for students, staff and the public to reclaim our Universities from the snake oil sales men and women of neoliberalism. Occupy our Universities. Close them down to win a new era in higher education.

The strength of the protests has surprised the ruling class and their media mouthpieces. They thought their neoliberal project had turned and was turning young people into obedient automatons. The tens of thousands of students and others demonstrating show that the apathy is on the surface but that a spark, like the Budget attacks, can catch fire across the country. Our task as socialists is to fan the flames of resistance and rebellion wherever we can.

The 2014 Abbott-Hockey Budget has managed to unite millions against the Young Liberals Student Club currently in government. Socialist Alternative has been active in organising the fight against their bosses’ Budget. That is why they are under attack from the likes of Pyne. Who would you believe? Christopher Pyne or Socialist Alterantive?

The demonstrations and meetings against the Budget over the last week are an encouraging sign. Are we witnessing the end of the age of entitlement and the beginning of the age of resistance? We on the left need to be arguing for and helping rank and file workers and others to organise demonstrations and strikes in the fight against the bosses’ Budget.

What a magnificent student protest on ABC’s Q&A on Monday night. Tony Jones and the other members of the one percent were not amused. Get used to it Tony. This is what democracy looks like.