Fremantle Greens victory
The ALP failed to ask them selves this question. Who were these Green voters? It was the first time many people from the ALP and Liberals voted Green.
The excuse the ALP made [for the Greens victory] is that there was no Liberal candidate. Well, there were two who openly said they were running as Liberal independent candidates. One represented the developers, who supported a large project built out on the ocean at Fremantle. He only got 3.5% of the votes. The other Liberal independent came third and his preferences went to the Greens before Labor.
The Liberal candidate had been the candidate for Fremantle in the past. So no one was fooled only the ALP. They had to have some excuse for losing the seat! Somehow none of the press reported this.
The right-wing union faction leaders had made a big mistake, as they had at the last state election. They never asked the locals in Fremantle. In fact, local members are never considered in the ALP. If they had, the locals would have told them that the millionaire mayor of Fremantle was no Labor man and he would lose the seat.
This is what happened in Fremantle. Will the ALP learn? Not if they go on treating locals with contempt. Last year, the mayor of Kwinana, a member of the ALP woman lawyers group, was not selected and ran as an independent. She only just missed out in the safe ALP seat. In fact, there are few women in safe ALP seats today, and never has there been south of the river, which includes Fremantle.
Mary Jenkins
By email [Abridged.]
Workers united
@letter= I was absolutely delighted to see the wonderful article "Always march in the streets and never give inn" by Fred Moore (GLW #794).
Like Fred Moore, my Dad was a miner, as was his father, and I started marching early with my Dad. We never missed a May Day.
Like Fred, I agree wholeheartedly that we should always have the right to march for our rights at work, our conditions at work, for our very dignity as human beings.
As Fred says, we will soon see mass unemployment and all the problems this will cause.
The police state is very much in place already.
And What we must always remember is: no matter how hard the going gets, "workers united will never be defeated". Never, ever forget.
Barbara Elliott
Kyogle, NSW
Priorities?
To what extent are the recession and rising unemployment priorities with most politicians these days? For 23 Federal MPs, mostly Ministers, forsook their electorate home paddocks and flew overseas, first class or business, during the winter parliamentary recess, often with family members, staff and other "advisors", all accommodated in top hotels, with a total bill of near $2 billion!
And as mps they're now receiving an extra $90 weekly "expense allowance", to, as one wit proclaimed, "buy a few more raffle tickets"!
And our much travelled Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has also put in an account for $45,000 for "policy advice" from a UK guru!
Meanwhile, thousands of men and women workers sidelined into unemployment get only the smallest pittance to try to live by, let alone and new paid job.
So, MPs, what of priorities?
Ken O'Hara
Gerringong, NSW [Abridged.]