Readers are invited to submit letters to The Guardian.
Letters may be e-mailed to guardian@cpa.org.au.
Letters of 300-400 words are preferred.

Letters to the Editor:

Purely utopian?

I would like to buy into the discussion sparked off by Pat 
Barile's article, "Capitalism & jobs — the fundamentals" 
(Guardian May 19).

Bob Saltis (Guardian June 2) is absolutely correct to be 
critical of the Ludditism that's redolent of Barile's article and 
his/her vagueness as regards being able to point to a practical, 
Marxist way forward for working class activists.

While I don't agree necessarily with some of Bob's suggestions as 
to "where to begin", I don't think Bruce Gillman 
(Guardian, June 9) gets us closer when he says that 
workers "are satisfied at present with the "social policies" of 
the Greens and the Labor Party and this is a reflection of the 
political reality in Australia" which can only be changed by 
working more conscientiously to implement current CPA policy.

In my view, current CPA policy as regards the election of a 
"people's government" is purely utopian. Workers who try to get 
seats in the bosses' parliament and neglect more important 
political work on their own terrain, the point of production, are 
wasting their time.

Even if they do manage to get into parliament, workers, by not 
being subjected to the daily rigors of subjectively living the 
class struggle, get accustomed to the comfortable parliamentary 
surroundings and high salary and begin to forget why they are 
there in the first place.

Those who don't forget may, on the other hand, develop a 
distorted sense of self-importance and discharge their powers in 
an elitist and non-consultative manner.

If workers get to parliament, it's essential that they be made 
responsible to, and kept on the straight and narrow by, 
politicised and organised workers at the workplaces.

That's why, in my view working class activists need to focus on 
rebuilding the trade union movement as a priority, winning it 
back from useless or blatantly, anti-worker leaderships, and re-
invigorating it with democracy and workers' participation.

Working class activists should be in the business of making trade 
unionists out of workers and socialists out of trade unionists. 
Only by agitating for workers' class interests — not their 
corporate interests, not sectarian party interests — within the 
trade unions will this be achieved.

Working towards creating an industrially militant and politically 
conscious working class that is democratically organised is, in 
my view, the first important step towards bringing in a socialism 
that truly constitutes, in the words of Marx, "the self-
emancipation of the working class".

Peter Siegl
Marrickville, NSW

Peter Garret, the ALP's wunderkind, in a dramatic volte face 
supports the biggest CIA base in the world at Pine Gap because 
"the international situation has changed and that it's terrorism 
now; not nuclear disarmament" (SMH, June 11).

Like the ALP and the Coalition his comment reveals profound 
ignorance about the transformation in US global military 
objectives. The US has declared a policy of Full Spectrum 
Dominance based on pre-emptive nuclear strike even against non-
nuclear nations and total control of space from which it will 
conduct 24/7 reconnaissance of the planet.

USAF Space Command will respond to use of space by nations deemed 
unfriendly to the US by the Five Ds: Destroy, Disrupt, Delay, 
Degrade and Deny.

In 1996 Space Command's General Joseph Ashy said: "It's 
politically sensitive, and it isn't in vogue, but, absolutely, 
we're going to fight in space. We're going to fight from space, 
and we're going to fight into space".

Thanks to turncoats like Peter Garrett this Armageddon vision is 
increasingly becoming vogue and Australia is at the heart of it.

Gareth Smith
Byron Bay,
NSW Nuclear Disarmament 
Party

It seems that Bruce Gillman (Guardian, June 9) doesn't 
accept that my letter (Guardian, June 2) is a constructive 
contribution to the task of gaining the support of workers for 
the CPA. In an unnecessary paragraph he poses a hypothetical 
situation and suggests that I would be "lambasting" the communist 
party. Come, come, comrade. That's not the way to welcome 
discussion.

Bruce claims that the CPA's policy proposals have not yet been 
taken up by the working class because "most are satisfied at 
present with the 'social policies' of the Greens and the Labor 
Party".

He dismisses my proposal of buying strategic parcels of shares in 
companies from the capitalists with their own money as a gimmick 
and insists that the "job is to work conscientiously to change 
the situation".

What exactly are you suggesting, Bruce? That I am not working 
conscientiously?

Trust me, Bruce. I am active amongst working class people. My 
fingers are on the pulse, so to speak. The point is, if most are 
satisfied, we should at least be able to gain the support of 
those who aren't. The question is: Why aren't we?

I suggest that they aren't happy with the road map (to use 
current popular jargon) that is being presented to them. They are 
being asked to work to create an alternative government and want 
to see something more specific coming from the CPA. That's where 
my $80 billion a year gimmick fits in.

Bob Saltis
Adelaide, SA 

I am a voter, I am an Australian citizen, I am a law abiding 
member of the Australian public, I am a Lifeline volunteer, I am 
a supporter of Amnesty International, I am a life time member of 
WSPA [World Society for the Protection of Animals], I make 
donations every year to the Red Shield Appeal, I have signed 
petitions for the recognition of the rights of Aboriginal 
Australians, I have marched for the safety of manual labourers, I 
have walked to Reclaim the Night.

I experience the grief and pride of being an Australian every 
ANZAC Day, I love and support my huge network of family and 
friends, I stop for animals that have been hit on the road, I 
know all the words to Advance Australia Fair, I am a proud 
Australian woman, I am a gay woman in Australia.

I am not represented in Australia's Parliament. I am told by the 
news "what is this; play school or gay school?" when Play School 
makes a truly positive step in the direction of a safe and 
productive community, by showing a young girl with her two 
mothers.

I hear on the radio that Prime Minister John Howard the 
Representative of Australians does not represent me. I hear on 
the radio that that the Leader of the Opposition Mr Latham 
doesn't want the ABC to educate his son on diversity as he feels 
acceptance of diversity is a moral issue. I am therefore not 
moral. I am reaching a point where I am scared to turn on the 
NEWS at night for fear of what new horror has landed on the world 
both in and outside of Australia.

I love this country — Australia is in my bones and the bones of 
my family are in it. I am led to believe that, though all of this 
terror and "terrorism" is hurting us all, an act of love should 
be made illegal. I am told that if I choose to marry my female 
partner it will not be recognised in my home, in my country, by 
the people who are supposed to represent me, by the laws which I 
abide, in the church I attend, in the communities that I 
volunteer for and help build.

Who represents me? And how is it possible that someone could 
believe that they have a right to dictate that how they feel 
about something that does not affect them is a valid grounding 
for taking away another person's human rights? I have an 
ingrained faith in people that I learned from my parents and that 
I will teach to my children. I am a proud Australian Woman and it 
is time for Australia to be proud of me.

I will continue to stand up for what is right and for my human 
rights.

Thank you for your time,

Sarah Furler
Hornsby, NSW