Right-wing US President George Bush told federal parliament on October 23 that PM John Howard was a "man of steel" for sending Australian troops to join the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. What did the Labor opposition MPs do? They joined in a standing ovation for Bush. Simon Crean repeated his opposition to the invasion (because it didn't have United Nations endorsement), but hastened to add that this was a difference "between friends".
A handful of Labor MPs braved Crean's order to "show respect" and refused to join the standing ovation and a couple — notably Harry Quick and Carmen Lawrence — addressed the anti-war protest outside Parliament. But most ALP pollies joined in the adulation for the world's greatest terrorist.
Worse than this, the main "left" factions of the ALP actively tried to sabotage the protest marches and rallies against the Bush visit. Even the last minute "letter of protest" signed by 41 Labor MPs was, according to "left" ALP MP Tanya Plibersek, drafted as "an alternative to threats by ALP members to protest against Mr Bush's visit by turning their backs during his speech".
The most visible dissent in parliament came from the two Greens senators, who interjected during Bush's address and were then suspended for "unparliamentary behaviour". They have since been widely congratulated for showing more spine and principle than the Labor "opposition".
It wasn't hard for the Greens to show up the ALP. And the Greens could have gone a bit further by actively helping to build the demonstrations and by walking out of parliament to join them. Left parliamentarians could have taken the good advice of Indigenous leader (and Socialist Alliance spokesperson) Sam Watson to "turn their backs" on Bush as Indigenous people had done to Howard to great effect at the Reconciliation Convention in Melbourne in 1997 and at Corroboree 2000 in the Sydney Opera House.
About a week earlier, when Bush addressed the Philippines parliament, seven left-wing parliamentarians walked out and joined the "parliament of the streets" which was demonstrating outside.
In Britain, Labour PM Tony Blair was so afraid of "disrespectful" behaviour by members of his own party that he called off any parliamentary address during Bush's coming visit to Britain.
But in Australia, the serial spinelessness of the official opposition in parliament was again confirmed. This has come to be exactly what is expected by the public from the ALP politicians. The letters' columns in the daily newspapers often feature the question: What are we paying the "opposition" politicians for?
On critical issue after issue, the real opposition in Australia is now outside parliament. It was most vocal and visible around February 16, when a million people in Australia marched against war on Iraq. In between these major manifestations of the opposition on the streets, the voice of this opposition shows up even in Australia's conservative mass media and in the polls.
On war, public health and public education, the government does not have majority support but the parliamentary opposition consistently fails to put up a real fight. The reason for this is that whenever the ALP becomes government it intends to follow pretty much the same pro-business policy as the Coalition. The ALP state governments are living proof of this.
The Bush visit also demonstrated another brutal fact about parliament: that it doesn't really run the country. After the farce in Parliament House, the Bushes went off to a "traditional Aussie BBQ" at the Lodge (the PM's residence) where they met a bunch of right-wing businesspeople, including media magnates Kerry Packer and Kerry Stokes, Melbourne businessman Richard Pratt, mining magnate Hugh Morgan, Macquarie Bank executive chair David Clarke and right-wing radio shock jock Alan Jones — just some of the unelected people who really rule this country.
From Green Left Weekly, October 29, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.