By Jo Brown.
The theme of this year's Resistance national conference is "Fighting the Liberals, Fighting for Socialism". The conference, to be held in Melbourne from July 5-7, will be attended by hundreds of activists from around the country.
This is Resistance's 25th national conference since the organisation was formed by young radicals at the height of the anti-Vietnam War movement in Australia. Over the last decade, Resistance conferences have consistently been the largest gatherings of young socialists in Australia.
This year's conference will be no exception, drawing together young people to discuss campaigns to (among other things), end uranium mining, defend workers' rights, stop attacks on education funding and student unions, and support a free East Timor.
Resistance national coordinator, Natasha Simons, told Green Left Weekly that "the 1996 conference theme reflects the immediate need to unite young people and others to fight the attacks of the Howard government". But Resistance also aims to go beyond these immediate campaigns to pose a fundamental challenge the economic and political system in Australia. "It's not just a question of choosing Labor or Liberal", Simons said. "Young people want a real choice and this means fighting for a different sort of society, a democratic socialist society."
The conference agenda includes sessions with international guests from East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. There will also be a public meeting featuring Sandinista leader Alejandro Bendaña from Nicaragua. Workshops will address a wide range of issues including the developing movements for socialism in Asia and the need to defend the Cuban revolution.
The threat of Liberal government attacks and the emerging opposition among students, trade unionists and others will be discussed. The agenda also includes workshops on feminism and socialism, racism and the struggle for land rights, the Australian trade union movement and campaigning for the environment.
The national conference is Resistance's main decision-making body and in the next two months all Resistance branches will be holding regular pre-conference discussion meetings in preparation for the conference. These meetings will address Resistance's analysis of and campaign work around issues ranging from global capitalism to the state of the women's movement today.
To find out more about the conference and to register, contact your local Resistance branch or the Resistance national office at the phone numbers listed below.