Australia

School climate strike in Sydney

Sydney, Australia, saw a school strike for climate on 17 November. The downside is that the march was about 600, where the biggest school strike climate march in 2019 was 60,000. That reflects Covid lockdowns interrupting the movement; in-school organisation falling apart as 2019 students move out of school; loss of momentum; and maybe that the evil climate denial of the previous government was more galvanising than the nitty-gritty policy issues under Labor. Publicly-owned renewable energy is in the platform of School Strike 4 Climate, but there was no mention of public ownership or socialism...

Tom O’Lincoln, 1947-2023

Tom O’Lincoln has sadly passed away. He had had a great influence in revolutionary left politics in Australia since he arrived from the US in 1971. He had in the late 1960s joined the US International Socialists, then strongly influenced by Hal Draper’s politics, including a bureaucratic collectivist analysis of the Stalinist states, rather than Tony Cliff’s state-capitalist one. Tom played a leadership role in a number of organisations of the “International Socialist” tradition (which has fractured a few times in Australia), and there are many tributes to him from current and former members...

Labor and fossil fuel projects in Australia

“No new fossil fuel projects” is currently the most unifying demand of the climate movement in Australia. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said, there can be no new coal, oil and gas projects if there is to be any chance at limiting warming to 1.5°C. Around two thirds of Australia’s contributions to global GHG emissions are from burning of exported fossil fuels in other countries, and the majority of extraction in Australia is for export. Only governments have across-the-board powers to stop new coal and gas projects. Companies and corporate investors can decide to halt or withhold...

Defeat in Australia's Voice Vote

Australia's referendum on a Voice to Parliament for First Nations people went down badly. To pass, the proposal needed a majority across in Australia and a majority of states. In fact, it lost everywhere, about 40 to 60, except in the Australia Capital Territory (i.e. Canberra) and some better-off inner-city Labor and Green stronghold electorates (66% majority in Wills, in Melbourne). The labour movement and most First Nations people campaigned hard for yes, but did not have resources for a majority. The No campaign, spearheaded by the Liberal and National parties though supported by a few...

Israel-Palestine, Islamism and the Populist Left-wing

Since the very first day, when Hamas brutally acted in an inhumane way against unarmed civilians, it’s intuitive that Israel will response with more inhumane war crimes. Given the current Israeli right-wing government with its apartheid history, it’s not to be surprised that the response hits unarmed civilians too. When it comes to a problem, everyone knows the problem is the issue. So, the criticism should be emphasised more to the proposed or self-claimed alternative. Instead of calling for class-solidarity or intersectional solidarity between Israeli and Palestinians or at least peace...

Australia: fossil-fuel export profits or climate action?

The political context for climate action in Australia appeared to change with the election of a Labor Government in 2022. Labor campaigned on climate change as an economic opportunity, for exports and jobs in renewable energy. The ALP leaders framed climate action as new industries, new development and new employment. This approach is guided by Ross Garnaut (see his book Superpower: Australia’s low carbon opportunity ), who was a principal economic adviser to the Hawke Government. The approach made the party more electable. But the combination with its commitments to market stability, and...

Australia’s Voice to Parliament vote

A referendum to “recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Voice” in the Australian Constitution will be held on 14 October. Prior to January 1788, about 750,000 people in more than 500 First Nations groups lived on the continent. Then an invasion began, with soldiers, convicts, and settlers bringing disease, and driving First Nations people off their ancestral lands, which had sustained their bodies, culture and spirits for over 60,000 years. First Nations people never ceded their sovereignty. They resisted dispossession...

Workers' Liberty Australia makes new turn

At a conference in Brisbane on 29-30 July, Workers’ Liberty Australia decided to turn more to environmental activist groups. Trade union activity, our “traditional” focus, remains important, but right now our small group has fewer openings there, with some of our comrades retired and the union movement at a low ebb. Some activity in the Australian Labor Party links with environmental action, through the Labor Environment Action Network, but Australia’s big cities also have dozen of ad hoc or local environmental groups. Australia had some of the world’s biggest school student climate strikes in...

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