Labor has learnt nothing whatever from November 11,1975. A SECOND LABOR GOVERNMENT IN THE SEVENTIES WILL BE SACKED A SECOND TIME AROUND. Whitlam was defeated because he could not stop unemployment, Kerr or the CIA. Labor still has no policy to restore full employment or abolish Governor-Generals. It is "diplomatic" about the CIA to avoid offending Carter.
So far as there is any argument at all in the Labor Party over politics, Labor simply mirrors the arguments in the Liberal Party. Where the Liberals argue about which group of capitalists to support in order to maximise economic growth, Labor argues about which group of capitalists to support in order to secure full employment. Liberal policy is more realistic because capitalists are motivated by economic growth rather than increased employment.
All that Labor seriously proposes is that if more handouts are paid to already overprotected manufacturers, this group of capitalists might stop sacking workers. This is weak-kneed capitulation to economic blackmail which will not lead to the creation of a single job. Talk about halting the export of jobs simply means that Asian workers should see their jobs exported to Australia. The way to stop manufacturers going to low-wage countries is to raise Asian workers' wages.
What is needed in both Australia and Asia is lower hours, falling lower as unemployed numbers grow so as to share the available work around, and higher wages, to keep up with inflation. This policy is called the sliding scale of hours and wages and has been consistently defended by communists since 1937. It means breaking with Arbitration Commission wage indexation, uniting employed and unemployed by linking fights for jobs and wages and making the choice of the cost of living index a political issue where workers organisations fight for a wage automatically based on price rises in those commodities which the worker does buy, as opposed to what he "theoretically" purchases. There must be no set limited working week while the numbers of unemployed are neither set or limited. There can be no wage restraint while price rises are completely unrestrained. Labor has occasionally demanded shorter hours. It has, occasionally also, in times of prosperity, but not depression, supported higher wages. But Labor has never supported both shorter hours and higher wages, especially at the beginning of a depression. It has neverfought for Australian conditions for non-Australian labour. Such a policy would mean a break with the racism that has always gone hand in hand with Labor's protectionism. It is not capitalist economic recovery through lower wages which is needed in this depression but a workers and farmers government transitional to Socialism.
Whole sectors of economic life, such as manufacturing in Australia, collapse at the onset of depression. The causes of the crisis of Australian manufacturing - according to the unions who represent the bulk of workers sacked in this sector - include undercapitalisation, obsolete technology, small size and failure to export. Manufacturing industry has preferred to charge monopoly prices in a monopolised Australian market, sheltered behind enormous State subsidies and protective tariffs than compete on the world market. The result is a colonial economy dependent on agricultural and mineral, but not manufacturing, exports, where the first casualty of depression is necessarily the non-export sector. A slow slide by manufacturing into stagnation would threaten the best organised section of Australian workers with unemployment. For Capitalism, this would mean the settling of scores with its main political enemy - and also a lower wage bill. Manufacturing is under attack as much for political as for economic reasons. THE LABOR PARTY IS SILENT ON THIS QUESTION AS ITS BEST WORKER SUPPORTERS ARE FORCED ONTO THE DOLE. Workers cannot rely on any strength but their own. The manufacturing bosses have failed economically while wanting, like other sections of the ruling class, to smash the working class. MANUFACTURING IN AUSTRALIA CAN ONLY SURVIVE UNDER WORKERS MANAGEMENT. This in turn can only succeed if it is transitional to the expropriation - a workers', not a government takeover - of the whole Australian ruling class.
On the constitutional issues, Whitlam has abandoned the principles of the 1975 position. He now says he would not sack Kerr. Such issues as that of a republic are referred by Labor to the middle class Citizens for Democracy and its planned "constitutional conventions" which will be dominated by Don Chipp's new centre party. Wran does not need to be sacked by Roden Cutler because the Legislative Council has never allowed him to govern. The Labor policy of abolition of the Senate, the State Legislative Councils and the State Governors remains in Labor policy but is ignored by every Labor Government in office. The New South Wales State Party for a while considered republican policy only to decide that major constitutional change could lead to unpredictable social upheaval. It could indeed. The defeat of simultaneous Senate House elections in the May referendum shows once again that major constitutional changes are impossible by peaceful means. Only a Socialist revolution can make a republic possible. Nothing less can alter the present constitution. Such a step, however, would change many other things beside the Constitution.
It is impossible to throw Fraser out without defeating the forces victorious in 1975. The Communist Left programme partially outlined in this leaflet, alone can accomplish this defeat. Labor has deserted even its position of 1975 - Labor would rather be sacked again than alienate the middle class and is unworthy of any thinking worker's support.
Issued by A.J. Nicol, Communist Left, Box M217, Sydney Mail Exchange.