En Passant

In Independent Australia John Passant analyses Ged Kearney’s Batman by-election win and what it says about left-wing policies.

In Independent Australia I analyse the recent turmoil and deep divisions afflicting the Australia Greens and their significance for Australia.

This is my letter in the Canberra Times defending the new Left Renewal group in the Greens and its recent meeting in Canberra.

Whether over refugees, equal marriage or fighting further cuts, it is not The Greens’ actions in parliament that will be decisive, writes James Supple in Solidarity. What matters is the strength of the movements in the workplaces and on the streets. If The Greens continue to ignore that, they will be left on the margins.

Jim Casey may or may not win Grayndler from potential Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese in this election. It is however pretty clear that the Greens will not go away and the reason for that is that the ALP is now so right wing and so pro-market and pro-capital in government that some of its previous supporters are shifting and have shifted to what they perceive as a progressive alternative. No amount of abuse from the likes of Keating is going to change that. To win labour votes the ALP should have labour policies.

The debate over Senate voting reform and the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) legislation is seriously undermining the united left we need to kick out Turnbull and defeat the Liberals’ anti-union agenda.

Amy Thomas in Solidarity discusses where the Greens are heading under Richard Di Natale.

The real extremists sit in Canberra and in the board rooms across the country. It is not Karen who invaded Iraq, or Afghanistan. It is not Karen who is bombing Syria. It is not Karen killing black men and women in custody. It is not Karen driving Aboriginal people off their land to open it up for big mining companies. It is not Karen killing women in relationships or doing very little about it. It is not Karen increasing inequality and poverty in Australia. It is not Karen attacking Medicare. It is not Karen attacking penalty rates and wages. It is not Karen who is stopping equal love. It is not Karen locking up and abusing thousands of innocent people on Manus Island and Nauru.

I sent this to the Sydney Morning Herald in response to an article quoting me. What chance? John Passant My thanks to Gareth Hutchens for using me as an example of those who have condemned the Greens’ shift further to the neoliberal right. (‘Meet the new Greens economics team preparing to shake up Australian politics’, […]

Here is a quote from an article in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald about the Greens’ new economic team and direction: ‘Liberal senator Sean Edwards, who chairs a Senate estimates committee with Whish-Wilson, says the Greens have benefited from Whish-Wilson’s contribution. “A lot of the stuff I’ve talked to him about privately I’ve found him economically […]