The Guardian 12 December, 2007
To all our readers
We wish you all a happy and restful festive season, well deserved after a year of hard campaigning. We were grieved and angered in 2007 by such things as the invasion of Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, the Dr Haneef case, the attack on civil liberties at the APEC protests, and Australian troops remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the same time, there was an upsurge in activity, especially in unions and the community in the fight against Howard’s WorkChoices laws.
This resulted in the welcome defeat of the reactionary Howard Government and Howard’s loss of his own seat. This victory for the working class made the end of 2007 a time for celebration.
Now we face 2008. We send you all our very best wishes for the New Year when we will have to take up new campaigns for our rights at work, to protect the planet, for peace, withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, a cut in military spending to fund public hospitals and public schools, and much more.
Come back from your holidays energised and ready for the struggle!
Peter Symon
General Secretary, Communist Party of Australia
Hannah Middleton
President, Communist Party of Australia