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The situation here is that there is a widespread popular rejection of the austerity budget brought in by the new right wing coalition. The Tories, though, do not control the Senate and could be forced to an early election, which they would lose on the current figures. There was, however, an interesting speech by the Labor Leader, right wing ex-unionist Bill Shorten yesterday. It would appear he is seeking to soften his opposition, but is afraid to do so because the party of the multi-billionaire, Clyde Palmer, and the Greens might pick up a lot of the discontent. In the latest speech Shorten declared his support for "reform" - that is code for neo-liberalism. He also bemoaned the lack of support in the media for reform, and said that was making governing difficult, and populism was gaining as a consequence. I suspect this was also code, a hint to Murdoch press to go lightly on the Labor party as Shorten pulls it back to the right. It looks then like Shorten will support most of the Tory budget with the possible exception of the co-payment of $7 to visit the doctor, instead of the current free visit. Once again, when there was a possibility of a break to the Left, the Labor Party has come to the rescue. Neo-liberalism is alive and well down under, and nothing short of another economic cataclysm will force a rupture. There are some intriguing questions around all this. Can the Greens cobble together an alternative economic policy? Don't think so. Can the Palmer United Party continue to ride the tiger's back and appear to be in opposition to the Tories? Possibly. Does the Palmer phenomenon represent a split in the ruling class? Don't think so. Nevertheless, with the strong opposition to the politics of austerity there is a possibility of some interesting developments. comradely Gary ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
