Editorial:
The "Labor" illusion

The workers' compensation legislation being foisted on the working 
people of NSW has brought forth anger not seen for a long time in 
Australian politics. And so it should. The lies being told by government 
leaders and the anti-worker content of the legislation are good reasons why 
the leading figures in the Carr Government should be thrown out of 
government and the Labor Party as well.

The facts of the legislation are to be found on pages 7 and 12 of The 
Guardian. Read it for yourself and spread it far and wide in your 
workplace, at meetings and where-ever else people want to know the truth.

Many people are asking: "How is it possible for Labor Party members to do 
this to workers?" The illusion is that ALP leaders such as Carr, Della 
Bosca, Aquilina and Debus to name but four, have a genuine commitment to 
the cause of the working people. They do not even have a commitment to 
Labor Party policies. Lenin named such people as the "labour lieutenants of 
capitalism" and he was right. These extreme right-wingers serve and have 
always served the interests of capital.

The Carr Government has been in the forefront of the push to privatise 
whatever it can. Remember the attempt to privatise the NSW Energy network. 
The Government was only stopped by the strong resistance from within the 
trade union movement and more committed Labor Party members.

Remember the huge handouts to Rupert Murdoch's Fox Studios when the Carr 
Government handed over the old Sydney Showgrounds and made "commercial in 
confidence" handouts to one of the richest corporate organisations.

Remember the privatisation of the Government Insurance Office (GIO)? More 
recently the NSW Government was first in paying out HIH Insurance's debts 
that should be paid by the insurance industry. At least $50 million of NSW 
taxpayers' money is going in that exercise.

The present WorkCover legislation is strongly supported by the 
organisations representing the big corporations. They will pay lower 
premiums and much lower compensation to injured workers. It's all about 
introducing an American model that is a real shocker — for workers. There 
are no proposals to spend money on prevention of workplace accidents or 
enforcement of safety regulations. Many jobs these days are being conducted 
with little or no regard for the safety or health of workers.

However, it suits the Australian ruling class to have a Labor government 
(right-wing of course) from time to time. Such governments, while posing no 
threat to captialism, use the "Labor" flag to provide the illusion of 
serving workers' interests while carrying out the economic rationalist 
agenda and acting as a bulwark against left and progressive policies or a 
socialist alternative government

The right-wing leaders of the NSW Labor Party have their origin in the 
"Catholic Action" Movement of the 1950s. The "Movements" agenda was aimed 
at keeping Labor out of office, particularly the left and progressive 
forces of the ALP. Their counterparts in other States split the ALP and 
formed the now defunct Democratic Labor Party which succeeded in keeping 
the Federal Labor Party out of office during the 1950s-60s period. In NSW, 
"Catholic Action" remained inside the ALP and today has a tight grip on the 
Party's leadership.

Nothing has proven the point more dramatically than the evident pride and 
joy with which the Labor Right crossed the workers' picket line outside of 
Parliament House last week. Premier Carr followed by offensively giving a 
"V" for victory sign. Was it to demonstrate his feeling of elation that he 
had achieved a victory over the trade unionists demanding the scrapping of 
the Workers' Comp legislation or was it a victory sign to signal his joy 
that his colleagues had crossed a picket line?

Unfortunately the Labor Left did little better. Although refusing to cross 
the picket line, they were subsequently overruled by the Labor Caucus and 
voted for the legislation. If the legislation is eventually defeated it 
will not be any thanks to any section of the Labor Party but to the 
independents, Greens and Democrats in the NSW Upper House.