Our ALP

By Phil Drew

As OurALP members we need to both to urge reform in structures and policies AND to support the Party in government.

Ross Gittins in his article in Monday 4 July: This very lucky country enjoys a good whinge should give us some useful ammunition for barbecue stoppers like “can’t keep up with prices”, “unemployment is going up”. You can read it all at: http://www.smh.com.au/business/this-very-lucky-country-enjoys-a-good-whinge-20110703-1gx7i.html#ixzz1R5fmba45.

But here are some good points from Ross to refute those lines.

• While employment growth is slowing, we still have 260,000 more jobs than we did a year ago, most of them full-time. And unemployment remains at 4.9 per cent. The figures show growth is fairly well spread between the states, not just concentrated in the resource states.

• Between the growth in employment and quite strong growth in wage rates, household disposable income rose by 8.3 per cent over the year to March. Over that period, the consumer price index rose by 3.3 per cent and the cost of living index for employees rose by 4.9 per cent. Does that sound like a squeeze on living standards to you? …

• The repeated claims we hear about how much difficulty people are having coping with the cost of living hardly fit with the ever-rising rate of household saving, which now exceeds 10 per cent of household disposable income.

In short:

We should be getting ready to respond on the carbon tax when the details are clear.

We might also start any discussion with a description of the current state of the House of Reps. Neither major party can govern in their own right therefore many issues are up for legislation that would not have been had either a majority. Both the ALP and the Coalition negotiated with the independent and the green MHRs.

Did Abbott offer Wilkie any hope on poker machines? We do know that Wilkie knocked Abbott back despite an offer of $1bn for a Tasmanian hospital because it ignored due procedure.

By Phil Drew

While we are regenerating Our ALP we need also to be countering Abbott and his big lies. Two interesting articles, a Letter in the SMH and media releases by Jed Kearney, ACTU President, should be required reading so that we can win some hearts and minds on the carbon tax issue.

First some facts to help us win hearts and minds.

$7.80 estimate of what the average household will pay extra each week on goods and services, including electricity, gas, and food, in the first year of a carbon price (assuming it is $20 per tonne of pollution).

The first article is by Lenore Taylor: Abbott’s beef on carbon price doesn’t add up in SMH Saturday April 9, 2011 (http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/abbotts-beef-on-carbon-price-doesnt-add-up-20110408-1d7fw.html). She calculated, shock horror, that a butcher in Coffs Harbour would be able to cover his extra power bills (jumping 18% over two years) by adding four cents to the price he charges for a kilo of T-bone steak.

The second article by Jessica Irvine: Sweetener can’t negate need for sacrifice in SMH Saturday April 16, 2011 (http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/sweetener-cant-negate-need-for-sacrifice-20110415-1dhpj.html) demonstrates the first year impact on consumer prices will be less than one sixth of that of the GST. She also shows what the increased cost of steel and aluminium will be, hardly likely to put Australian producers out of business (see above).

Now Wayne Swan has added information about the impact on steel and aluminium of the rise in the value of the Australian dollar so far this year (http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/swan-hits-back-over-claims-tax-will-wipe-towns-from-map-20110501-1e37s.html).

Compensation for trade exposed industry is important but, in his letter to the SMH Editor retired Judge Murray Wilcox, argued Careful pricing need not leave industry exposed (http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/careful-pricing-need-not-leave-industry-exposed-20110417-1djnr.html). He also drew attention to an EU survey (http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/15503) that shows how industries cry wolf in the run up to emissions controls wildly exaggerating claims of how bad will be the effects. He suggests legislation should not confer any permit rights. It should establish an independent tribunal to consider applications by firms in respect of leakages within a particular year. That is after the effects can be demonstrated.

Jed Kearney, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was interviewed on Radio National on Monday 18 April. She gave a positive expression of union policy arguing that there was need for all parties (government, unions, companies, welfare and other agencies) to sit down, together, to achieve a positive result. She pointed out that new figures from the Climate Change Department show Australia’s emissions jumped 0.5 per cent last year – and that rise will continue if we do nothing. Two press releases expand on these themes: Unions support a price on pollution, reject scare campaign by Coalition and big polluters 19 April, 2011 Media Release (http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/UnionssupportapriceonpollutionrejectscarecampaignbyCoalitionandbigpolluters.aspx), and Australians want revenue from price on pollution to help families and invest in renewables: poll 19 April, 2011 Media Release (http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/Australianswantrevenuefrompriceonpollutiontohelpfamiliesandinvestinrenewablespoll.aspx).

Next time your mate at the pub or coffee bar starts rattling on about the big new tax based on a big lie you can quote the arguments summarised in the figures below. You can also mention that saying no carbon tax before an election that left the Parliament hung means everyone, Abbott included, has to rethink their situation. Would we really be supporting pokie controls and other issues if we didn’t have to deal with Wilkie and the other independents?

Regenerating and reclaiming Our ALP means that we need to both influence and support policy development.

You will have already noticed the new website design, as well as the new OurALP logo. Thanks to Chris Simpson and Ben Aveling for their work on the redesign.

We have ordered a stack of T-shirts and badges with the new OurALP logo which will be ready in time for conference. If you would like one, please email ouralp@ouralp.net – we only have 50 T-Shirts available – so first come first served. For the moment we are providing them at cost – $15 – although we may increase the price later as a fundraising initiative. If we get lots of demand in the next few days we can try and get some more made before Saturday 9th. And if you want to make a bulk order – say for your whole branch – please provide sizes (S/M/L/XL) and quantities.