Balance of power
In a cynical vote-catching ploy, the Australian Democrats have adopted a new slogan for the federal election: "Vote Democrat to stop One Nation dividing Australia".
The Australian Democrats' battle with One Nation for the "balance of power" is more a struggle for the spoils of comfortable parliamentary seats than a serious attempt to combat the racist politics of the One Nation party.
Desperate to maintain seats in parliament, the Democrats are attempting to woo the vote of anyone who is frightened by the emergence of the openly racist One Nation.
In numerous media releases, the overwhelming emphasis is on what seats the Democrats are likely to win. There is almost no mention of opposition to racism, except in vague terms such as "reconciliation and tolerance".
There is no attempt by the Democrats to base their campaign on building mass opposition to racist policies, regardless of which party is advocating them.
If the Democrats succeed in winning more parliamentary seats than Pauline Hanson's party, this won't block the growth of racism because it is not only One Nation advocating racist policies.
All the parties of big business — Liberal, National and Labor — advocate policies which discriminate against Aborigines and migrants. Big business led the campaign against Aborigines' right to native title and supported the axing of welfare for new migrants.
To defeat racism, it is necessary to convince the majority of people that it is not in their interests to support racist policies. Inadequate welfare provisions do not stem from Aboriginal "privileges" and unemployment is not a result of migrants "taking jobs".
Campaigns, such as the Democrats', which only advocate "tolerance and diversity" do nothing to challenge the racist assumptions which underpin the policies of One Nation or the Coalition. There are plenty of racists who mouth support for "tolerance and diversity".
If the vast majority of white workers were won to a perspective of uniting with their Aboriginal and migrant counterparts to fight for their common rights, racist parties such as One Nation and Graeme Campbell's Australia First party would collapse.
The campaign to defend the jobs of waterside workers demonstrated that the real causes of unemployment are profit-hungry bosses, and that the interests of all workers — regardless of racial or ethnic background — are identical in the face of the attacks by the bosses.
Since Labor and the Coalition both advocate racist policies, and generally vote together in parliament, the Democrats won't have many opportunities to exercise "balance of power". This makes the whole concept of winning reforms by exercising the "balance of power" illusory.
Given that the Democrats scapegoat migrants for environmental degradation in Australia (they, like One Nation, call for zero net migration), their own policies help nourish racist misconceptions.
The Democrats' support for a GST and the Coalition's Workplace Relations Act also help sustain the political environment which encourages racist scapegoating. These policies will lead to the further impoverishment of the majority of Australians and the stripping of the rights of workers, especially the most exploited workers.
The argument that racism can be prevented by giving the Democrats the "balance of power" in the Senate is counterproductive because it reinforces the false idea that we can passively rely on parliament to defeat racism for us.
Historical experience demonstrates that major advances have been made only when campaigns are won outside parliament — when the majority of people have been politically convinced of the need to defend the rights of workers, Aborigines and women, and convinced of the need to organise themselves rather than relying on unaccountable parliamentarians.
When the progressive movements depend on parliament and winning the "balance of power" to achieve change, our rights slip backwards.