For Urgent Action on Climate Disruption...

FOLLOW THE LEAD OF RED CHINA!

FOR THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY!

28-11-2015 – As the world careens towards climate catastrophe, world leaders are meeting in Paris for the COP21 talks, ostensibly to thrash out a plan to curb global carbon emission levels far enough to ensure a safe climate. Today’s rallies around the country have set themselves the goal of being the biggest ever. Perhaps they will be. Even if they are, it would be folly to expect the leaders of the world’s most powerful capitalist economies to be committed to anything other than amassing yet more private profits for the world’s most powerful corporations, many of which make huge profits from selling fossil fuels. 

There is an exception to the rule, however. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), the world’s largest country and most powerful socialist state, is making the most genuine attempt to seriously reduce carbon emissions. Of the countries which have submitted a target to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), China’s are by far the most ambitious. China has pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65% below 2005 levels.[1] In addition, China has also pledged to peak emissions by 2030, and aim to achieve this even earlier. Further, China will aim to achieve 20% of its energy share clean (zero carbon sources) by 2030, as well as increase forest cover in the country by 4.5 billion cubic meters compared to 2005 levels.[2] Australia and the US have made no such moves.  

How is China able to take climate change seriously? The key is that it is not capitalism that rules the Chinese economy. China’s economy in large part is still state owned, as a legacy of its socialist revolution which established the PRC in 1949. The economy is planned, and can be largely controlled by the government. Unlike Australia and the US, the Chinese government can to a large degree, direct its economy, and direct investment in certain sectors such as zero carbon energy. Nothing like this exists in the capitalist West. They are subordinate to the privately owned corporations, whom, one might argue, effectively form part of the government.

Moreover, Red China has another ace up its sleeve. It is not afraid to implement zero carbon nuclear power. The People’s Climate March doesn’t appear to have any demands, but buried in the fine print is a plea for a transition to 100% renewable energy. We don’t agree. And neither do 75 of the world’s leading academic experts on climate change. In an “Open Letter to Environmentalists on Nuclear Energy”, the authors argue that all zero carbon electricity sources will need to be used if we are to have a chance at ending the burning of fossil fuels. The signatories  “….provide strong evidence for the need to accept a substantial role for advanced nuclear power systems with complete fuel recycling – as part of a range of sustainable energy technologies that also includes appropriate use of renewables, energy storage and energy efficiency.” [3]  They emphasise that while renewable energy can play a role, we cannot afford to rigidly stick to renewable energy sources only, because they might be the favourites of large sections of the environmentalist movement. There are any number of practical problems with a transition to 100% renewable energy. One is how to store energy from wind and solar at times when there are periods with low wind and little or no sunlight. Storing energy for a day is certainly possible, but storing energy for several weeks at a time is another story entirely. Another issue is the capacity factor. That is, the amount of energy produced in comparison to the amount of energy the system is capable of producing. Zero carbon nuclear power can have a capacity factor of up to 91%, whereas wind and solar can, at best, only make less than half this capacity.[4] The discussion of which combination of zero-carbon energy sources has the best chance of real success is important, and one which all concerned about global warming need to be across. To this end, we recommend people start reading and investigating the material on websites such as www.bravenewclimate.com and www.decarbonisesa.com. 

Despite advocating awareness about the virtues of wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power, and their practical applications, we have no illusions that any combination of zero-carbon energy sources can be successfully implemented while capital rules the economy. China’s key advantage in undertaking the advances it has made is that in an economy which is collectively owned and planned, there is no overall imperative to make private profits. China’s gigantic state owned corporations can run at very low profit margins, sometimes less than 1%, because they are gains of the 1949 revolution. China’s Communist Party leadership, despite oversights in other areas, can direct these state owned corporations to serve social goals – such as providing employment, or, helping to solve environmental problems. There are some limitations to this, both political and practical, but the fact is this is still light years ahead of anything conceivable in the recession ravaged capitalist West. In addition, China’s booming state run economy means China can pour billions of dollars into scientific and industrial research, which means China actually leads the world in a number of areas of scientific endeavour. Compare this to the perilous lack of funding for research and development in Australia, with the looming privatisation of the CSIRO. 

A socialist state, or anything approaching it, however, is the last thing on the minds of some of the groups which dominate the environmental movement, and which have largely organised the “People’s Climate March”. For example, the group Avaaz can trace its funding back to George Soros’ “Open Society” group of NGOs, which have been a part of numerous “colour revolutions” at the behest of the US Empire around the globe.[5] Here, the group GetUp! has its exorbitant funding linked to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and pro-ALP Union leaderships such as that of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).[6] Similarly, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) has as one of its major donors the multi-millionaire Robert Purves, chair of the Orwellian titled “Sustainable Business Australia”.[7]

 

Some left parties have also uncritically endorsed today’s march. The Socialist Alliance, publishers of the newspaper Green Left Weekly, (GLW) have GLW’s name posted alongside counterrevolutionary groups such as Avaaz, GetUp!, and anti-communist Tibetan “solidarity” groups on the list of endorsees![8] Such groups no doubt endorse the “from here on in, we’re all in” slogan. It scarcely needs emphasising that if working people are lumped “all in” with openly  pro-capitalist forces, the movement will be defeated before it begins. Mobilising alongside those who aim to profit from “sustainable energy” inevitably subordinates the overall politics to such forces. There needs to be a climate emergency movement, but one which is pro-worker, one which rejects “energy austerity” or using less power – especially for less-industrialised countries, and one which is for the full application of science and technology to the vital issue of decarbonising the planet.

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MARXIST-LENINIST GROUP (MLG)

PO BOX  66  NUNDAH  QLD  4012

E: mlgroup271@gmail.com

www.ML-Group.blogspot.com.au

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[1] http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/130545/australia-is-latest-country-to-submit-climate-targets-to-un

[2] http://www.6pumpcourt.co.uk/2015/07/china-increases-its-ambition-for-cop21-but-will-it-be-enough/

[3] http://bravenewclimate.com/2014/12/15/an-open-letter-to-environmentalists-on-nuclear-energy/

[4] http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/07/the-environmentalist-case-against-100-renewable-energy-plans/398906/

[5] http://www.globalresearch.ca/avaaz-the-lobbyist-that-masquerades-as-online-activism/5314829

[6] http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/02/04/getup-and-its-strange-but-well-heeled-bedfellows/?wpmp_tp=0

[7] https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2011/september/1316399650/guy-pearse/climate-movement

[8] http://www.peoplesclimate.org.au/endorse

Resist the Drift Towards Fascism!

RESIST THE DRIFT TOWARDS FASCISM!

COUNTER NATIONALISM WITH INTERNATIONALISM!

22-11-2015 – For the third time this year, ultra-nationalists and fascists have once again organised national mobilisations, most of them in public city squares. With actual Nazis at the core of the organising, the Reclaim Australia crew with its United Patriots Front split off (RA/UPF) are of the view that they are onto a winner with their formula of hatred, ostensibly directed at anyone associated with the Islamic religion, but also with what they regard as “communism”. While RA/UPF have not yet become accepted into the political mainstream, this is yet a danger, with the founding of the Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA). Geert Wilders, the Dutch fascist known for his extreme anti-Islamic views, recently visited Perth to help launch the ALA. The “Slackbastard” anti-fascist online blog describes the ALA as “Islamophobia for the (upper) middle class”, given that one of the founders is a millionaire surgeon, along with his partner who heads the Q Society. The Q Society appears to be an attempt to give a cultural spin to anti-Islamic vitriol. 

The at times inarticulate and ludicrous claims of RA/UPF, such as the claim that Australia is in danger of implementing Sharia Law, often leads to RA/UPF attracting and mobilising layers of the most politically backward, the most politically disenfranchised and the most disadvantaged. However, their ultra-nationalism also allows them to draw in small sections of disillusioned workers, and unfortunately some Union members. These workers and some Union members see no one standing up for “Australians”, feel betrayed by all politicians participating in or profiting from the breakdown of the economy while the banks reel in billions of dollars, which relentlessly drives up the cost of living. Along comes the RA/UPF waving the Australian flag, blaming “Islam” for everything under the sun, and everything (for them) falls into place. 

Left:  A familiar broadcasted photo of an ISIS beheading. Although such images may well be fake, other beheadings and other atrocities have been carried out by all wings of ISIS and other jihadist mercenaries in Iraq and Syria. Fascist groups such as Reclaim Australia ignore Western backing for the mercenaries, blaming it all on “Islam”. Unfortunately, some left parties also deny the extent of US/Saudi/Turkish/Israeli backing for the jihadists, and laud them as “revolutionaries”. Hence Reclaim Australia concludes that the “left” backs murderous fanatic barbarians. In fact, others on the left have steadfastly defended Syria from imperialist assault, and have never extended support to jihadists. Photo from the 4th Media

Despite the irrationality of RA/UPF, there is unfortunately a material reason why such an incipient fascist movement sprung into existence at this particular time. Along with the general breakdown of the capitalist economy, which has been in recession since 2008, 2014 saw the widespread exposure of the role of ISIS (the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), and its promotion by the Western corporate media. The grotesque brutality of beheadings filmed and posted on social media by ISIS, is part of what caused automatic revulsion across the world. Yet this is exactly what it was meant to do. ISIS is almost entirely a creation of the US led war on Syria, and to a large extent is armed, funded and trained by the US and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and coordinated with Israel and Turkey. Their aim is the overthrow of Syria in the manner of Libya, which may then soften the ground for an assault against Iran. Russia and China remain the biggest targets of the crazed US imperialists. But the beheadings of ISIS were used by the US and their allies to rally their domestic populations behind yet another war, where the blame could be placed squarely on “Islam”. If “Islam” is founding a “state” and waging a brutal war to establish a “state” which could expand across previously recognised borders, then surely “we” have to go to war against it. 

Such a ruse worked for the US for a short period of time. In recent months, however, the game has changed with the intervention of Russia militarily supporting the Syrian government, by actually taking out ISIS targets. It was a tactical masterstroke, as President Vladimir Putin called for an international coalition, like the coalition against Hitler and the Nazis, to defeat ISIS. The US could not then intervene to save its creation ISIS, without totally exposing itself. For now, Russia and their allies Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have struck damaging blows against US imperialism and its plans. One wonders what the Australian troops currently in Iraq and Syria are actually doing. As pro-US as their leadership may be, they would hardly dare take on the might of Russia.

The political mistake of RA/UPF, apart from their disposition towards fascism, is that they appear not recognise the extent to which ISIS was a creation of the US state, along with the UK and France and backed by Canberra. For RA/UPF, ISIS was ISIS because they were “Islamic”. Hence, in their minds “Islam” is the enemy which needs to be vanquished. However, there was an echo on the left of the non-recognition of the US state’s role in the creation of ISIS. Some left parties, fresh from their backing of Al-Qaeda linked groups in Libya under the guise of opposing Colonel Gaddafi as a “dictator”, shifted to back some of the same groups in Syria, again under the guise of opposing President Assad as a “dictator”. More than this, they hailed the NATO armed and funded jihadists fighting to overthrow Libya and Syria as “revolutionaries”. That is, they bestowed on barbaric mercenaries the highest honour and title that the left awards. Whether they realise their role in justifying yet another US led war on sovereign countries is immaterial. The fact is, in a small way, such left parties have both done the bidding of the imperialists they claim to oppose, while also contributing to the emergence of RA/UPF, against which they now have to organise counter-rallies.

For example, take this statement from the Socialist Alliance (SAll), the publishers of the newspaper Green Left Weekly, dated June 19, 2014. Ostensibly released in opposition to the suggestion of Australia sending troops to Iraq to counter ISIS, SA comes behind an “uprising” against the then Iraqi President Nuri Al-Maliki, even if such an “uprising” includes ISIS. It states:

“….. ISIL [or ISIS] is only one element in a broader Sunni tribal rebellion against the brutal repression and discrimination inflicted on the local population in Iraq's north by the US-backed Maliki regime in Baghdad. Horrific images of what appear to be mass extra-judicial killings by the Sunni insurgents must be seen in the context of the Maliki regime's repression that preceded it.”[1]

It’s there in black and white. SAll has few qualms in backing ISIS, seeing them as only one part of a “Sunni tribal rebellion” against the then Iraqi President Maliki, who was in fact at that point losing US support, rather than being “US backed”, for moving too close to US foe Iran. US pressure did in fact force Maliki to step down, aided in a small part by SAll. But the clincher is the part where SAll asks us to see “mass extra-judicial killings”, i.e. beheadings by “insurgents” of which ISIS form a part, “in the context” of a legitimate uprising. If we should back an “uprising” by Sunni fundamentalists which includes ISIS in Iraq, it’s a small step to back an “uprising” by Sunni fundamentalists which includes ISIS in Syria. Although SAll of course has no written position backing ISIS, the fact is they advocate and share the same aims of ISIS – “regime change” in the secular Syrian Arab Republic.

The left group Socialist Alternative (SAlt) has been the most vocal in opposing the “Assad regime”, while continuing to deny that the US aim in the war is regime change. They have also repeatedly denied the extent of material US support for all mercenary groups in Syria, referring to them as “rebels” and the “opposition”. An article in SAlt’s newspaper Red Flag in June this year states: 

“The new flow of arms to the rebels [i.e. from Saudi Arabia and Turkey], and the dramatic shift that has resulted on the battlefield, in fact gives the lie to the claim that the opposition have been armed by outside powers all along. If they had been, Assad would be long gone. What we are now seeing is what happens when both sides of the conflict have substantial outside backing: the rebels make stunning gains, and the regime is isolated and faces growing dissent among its own supporters.”[2]

As referred to previously, the balance of power has since decisively shifted against the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their proxy “rebel” mercenaries, with the intervention of the Russian military. Yet SAlt has been steadfast in their demands for military support for the Syrian “opposition”, regardless of whether they carry out beheadings, or mass “scorched earth” practices against Syrian civilians, as long as they oppose the “Assad regime”. This is blatant backing of US imperialism. In fact, SAlt had been previously known for flying a banner emblazoned with “Smash US Imperialism” in oversized letters. Needless to say, this banner has not been seen in SAlt contingents for the duration of this war.

It is an open secret that the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel have either armed, funded, trained or actively supported ALL terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.[3] Ground breaking US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh also exposed the “rat line” of US backed weapons flowing from Libyan mercenaries to Syrian mercenaries, as well as the staged chemical attack on the town of Ghouta on August 21, 2013.[4] But for left parties such as SA and SAlt, none of this is occurring. What is occurring, according to them, is a mass popular revolutionary movement in Syria. Not even the US ruling class believes this – they had to import the mercenaries, 80% of whom originate from 83 different non-Syrian countries.[5]

Thus, the appearance of the “left” openly backing “Islamic” military groups in Syria has fuelled the formation of RA/UPF. In fact, other left parties, and solidarity groups such as Hands Off Syria, have steadfastly defended Syria against US/Israeli/Saudi/Turkish assault, and have extended no political support to any Wahabist, Salafist or other branches of fundamentalist Islam. Syria today is in fact secular and multi-religious, and moreover, independent of the US dominated world order. This is a major reason why it has been targeted.

It is true that the formation of RA/UPF can’t be reduced entirely to the war on Syria. It is also a response to the years, indeed decades, of assault on the living conditions of working people. This crucial factor was already in abundance before the US led war on Syria broke out. Yet, it is apparent that the current multi-theatre wars (Syria, Ukraine) are also a result of the paralysing economic crisis capitalism finds itself in, and is a major driving factor. After all, all attempts at restarting production in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia have essentially failed. As crazy as it seems to working people, the imperialists are willing to go to war to address falling rates of profit.

As repulsive as the virulent racism and vitriolic hatred which spews forth from RA/UPF is, it cannot be reduced to a lack of reasoning or rational thought on their behalf - though for this there is much evidence. Ultra-nationalism, and its attendant fascism, is a distorted expression of capitalism – private production for private profit - in rapid decay, combined with the distinct lack of a strong left wing political leadership. The fantastic and  lurid claims of RA/UPF, such as that Australia is at risk of implementing Sharia Law, have emerged in no small part due to the lack of a left-wing class struggle movement, not to speak of the lack of an effective trade union movement AND the lack of an effective socialist party. The mainstream political parties have long abandoned workers, and trade union leaders have invariably done the same. Into this political vacuum steps “Reclaim Australia".

Therefore, the tasks to defeat the scourge of RA/UPF led fascism are threefold. Firstly, any attempted mobilisation of a racist/fascist/ultra-nationalist character must be met by a loud and determined united-front counter mobilisation of all progressive political shades in society. While anti-fascist mobilisations should aim to draw in those from a social-democratic background, the political action and outlook must not be subordinated to liberal opposition. The aim should be to confront and, if possible, remove, all fascist groups from all public space. The presence of fascists publicly organising poses a physical threat to workers, migrants, Muslims, people of colour, leftists, Trade Unionists, gays and lesbians and others. The recent example of Greece, where migrants and anti-fascists have been beaten by gangs of Golden Dawn thugs is a stark reminder. This is why they cannot be ignored with the hope that they will disappear. 

Secondly, workers must seek to mobilise Unions in opposition to the rise of fascism. Unions are likely to be the first target of a victorious fascist movement, as was the case in Nazi Germany. It is not just for the moral issue  – Unions will not even be able to defend themselves as organisations if they do not contribute to the defeat of fascism. Indeed, politically active Unions will be crucial for this battle. An obstacle that will be encountered is the overt nationalism of most Union leaders and officials. Their material interests lead them to defend “Australia” – by which they mean their own overpaid positions. Workers and supporters of Unions can position such officials, however, to drag them into the struggle against the far-right.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, workers and leftists need to counter the ultra-nationalism of the fascists by using international solidarity with the workers and the oppressed of the world, in a concrete way by opposing the very real imperialism of the Australian ruling class, which ties itself by a thousand threads to US imperialism. This means using all means necessary to oppose US/AUS led wars, in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere. This will then also undermine imperialist armed proxy forces such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and thus undermine the basis for the wild Islamophobia of the ultra-nationalists. To permanently defeat fascism, workers will need to carry out their historic task of overthrowing the rule of capital by establishing a socialist republic comprised of workers’ councils, politically led by those most committed to our class. For workers’ victory over fascism!

MARXIST-LENINST GROUP (MLG)

PO  BOX  66    NUNDAH    QLD   4012

E: mlgroup271@gmail.com

www.ML-Group@blogspot.com.au

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[1] http://www.socialist-alliance.org/news/socialist-alliance-no-more-military-intervention-iraq (08-11-2015)

[2] https://redflag.org.au/node/4673 (08-11-2015)

[3] http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-isis-islamic-terrorists-are-supported-by-the-us-israel-and-saudi-arabia/5396171 (08-11-2015)

[4] http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line (08-11-2015)

[5] http://tass.ru/en/world/757410 (08-11-2015)

No to Cashless Welfare!

NO TO CASHLESS WELFARE!

FOR A LIVING WAGE FOR ALL CITIZENS!

Left: The basics card, a similar card to that to be used for the proposed “trial” of cashless welfare cards for those on unemployment benefits, the disability support pension and some other payments. Any attempt to control the spending of welfare benefits by governments represents yet another affront to the dignity of those who are unable to work. The current benefits are in any case well below any reasonable poverty line, and those on them live in an ongoing precarious state.

21-11-2015 – In yet another attack of the living standards and dignity of those reliant on welfare benefits, the Federal Government is planning to introduce “trials” of a “cashless welfare debit card”. Such a card will contain up to 80% of a person’s welfare payments, which can be used only for prescribed items, and only at prescribed stores. The government’s stated intention is to prevent welfare recipients spending on alcohol and drugs, and guide them towards consuming “basics” such as food. Far from it. This is yet another assault on the most vulnerable people, who deserve the most amounts of assistance and protection, instead of being blamed for the economic and political failure of a system designed to enrich the elite at the expense of the overwhelming majority.

Despite Australia having one of the highest per capita incomes, unemployment benefits are notoriously low, at around $167 below the recognised poverty line.[1] In economic circumstances where housing is extremely expensive even for those with full time work, and where the cost of living continues to climb, it is amazing that those on welfare can sustain themselves. The fact that the cashless welfare card is the brainchild of billionaire mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forest,[2] shows just how craven to big business the Liberal and Labor parties have become while attempting to administer the for profit system. While the Greens have criticised the cashless welfare card, it was the Greens who helped pass cuts to the aged pension, and they were partners with the ALP when it drastically cut the single parent payment, driving mostly single mothers further into poverty.

The Marxist-Leninist Group (MLG) applauds the work of the Australian Unemployment Union (AUU) in organising today’s national rallies against cashless welfare and further cuts to welfare benefits. The MLG pledges to work alongside the AUU in all campaigns to protect and extend the rights and entitlements of those who for whatever reason cannot work, as well as those who are without work due to the economic recession, now into its seventh year. We maintain, however, that groups such as the AUU should not be left to fight alone. In particular, the AUU and its work should have the full organisational and political backing of the entire Trade Union movement, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to the respective state based Union peak bodies, to the individual Unions themselves. It is in the direct interests of the Union movement to actually fight against unemployment and to fight for a living wage for those unable to work. For unemployment is the key whip which the capitalist class holds against the workers, constantly threatening them with the sack if they do not accept whatever harsh or unsafe working conditions they supply. The potential of losing one’s income in economic circumstances where jobs are difficult to find, is a huge barrier both to workers joining Unions and also encouraging them to organise on the job. In the main, it is this type of workplace organisation, officially backed by the Union leaderships, which can assist in ensuring livable wages and decent working conditions. A strengthened Union movement should then also be in a position to take up the cause of ensuring decent welfare and living conditions for those unable to work. In this scenario, it is much more difficult for employers to keep winning what has been a one-sided class war for the last thirty-five years in this country.

Yet, here lies the rub. With a few exceptions, pro-capitalist Union bureaucrats around Australia have actively collaborated with the employers at the expense of their own members, to ensure the profitability of the big business class. Three examples will illustrate this. In Queensland in 2012, the Liberal National Party moved to sack 20 000 public servants, the largest attack on the right to work in Queensland history. The Together (formerly QPSU) Union leadership, in response, did not call for, or organise, one minute of industrial action! In South Australia, the SDA (Shop, Distributive and Allied Services Union) leadership agreed to a plan with Business SA to abolish Saturday penalty rates and halve Sunday penalty rates! Further, recently waterfront workers at Hutchison Ports in Sydney and Brisbane were sacked by text message and email overnight, in a planned move towards both de-Unionising and automating their workforce. The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) leadership did move straight into action in setting up picket lines. However, they also set about undermining this action by pushing the dispute into the courts, when what was needed was a fight for the right not to be terminated. In the end, the MUA leadership obtained “voluntary” separation packages for its members, and claimed this was a win because they hadn’t been sacked! Combine these dire sell-outs with the fact that the Union movement has not seriously campaigned against unemployment for decades, and we can see the effect this has on the rights of those who need welfare benefits to survive. If organised workers can be pushed around by employers, in cahoots with unscrupulous Union officials, unemployed workers and those on welfare can and will be open prey for pro-corporate governments.

While the MLG will contribute to whatever current campaigns for the rights of unemployed and welfare recipients ensue, we have no illusions in any capitalist state, especially “our own”. Currently, Australia, the US, Europe and Japan are all devastated by the ongoing recession, which shows little or no sign of abating. Contrast this with China, whose powerhouse socialist economy is still producing economic growth despite the dim conditions elsewhere. Similarly, permanent rights to a job, a house, healthcare, education and culture can only be secured with the overthrow of capitalism via the seizure of state power by the working class, and the founding of a socialist republic. In such conditions, unemployment will be avoided at all costs, as all available hands will be needed to build a socialist economy so as to ease the workload of all, and allow time to pursue arts, science, music, sport or whatever workers’ personality is suited to. Also, those unable to work through disability or illness will be relatively easily catered for, and will be seen as equal partners in the socialist project. In the meantime, it is necessary to mobilise workers and Unions to demand decent treatment of those without work or unable to work. No to cashless welfare! For a living wage for all citizens!

MARXIST-LENINIST GROUP (MLG)

PO BOX 66    NUNDAH   QLD   4012

E: mlgroup271@gmail.com

www.ML-Group.blogspot.com.au

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[1] http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/01/16/dole-around-the-world-how-does-australia-stack-up/?wpmp_switcher=mobile

[2] http://theaimn.com/cashless-welfare-card-an-insult-to-all-australians/