BY ALISON DELLIT
Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal-National coalition government has taken a decision to commit to a war that Australians want no part of, and it has done so without even bothering to hold a parliamentary debate. In these circumstances, you would expect opposition parties to be up in arms.
Yet, when offered an opportunity to debate and vote on the situation in the Senate, the ALP voted against the proposal, despite supporting an almost identical motion in the House of Representatives on the same day.
Federal parliament adjourned on March 6 for more than two weeks. On that day, the independent member for the rural NSW seat of Calare, Peter Andren, finally got to move a motion he had been attempting to move for some time, in collaboration with Greens federal MP Michael Organ and New England independent MP Tony Windsor (who pointed out in the debate on Andren's motion that 25% of the population of Armidale attended the February 15 anti-war rally).
The motion was simple enough: to suspend standing orders in order to debate a motion condemning an attack on Iraq without UN sanction.
The motion to suspend standing orders did not have a hope in hell of being passed — the House of Representatives is dominated by the Coalition, which had no intention of explaining in parliament its unpopular support for US military aggression against Iraq.
Andren is an interesting political figure. Inspired to run, at least in part, by his frustration at the swell of rural support to the racist One Nation party, he has been a consistent defender of refugees' rights in parliament.
In moving the war debate motion, Andren launched not only an attack on the Coalition's lack of respect for democracy in not holding a vote on the potential war, but also on the ALP's collaboration. "We have a travesty of democracy and no vote wanted by either side. It is no good stepping out in front of protest marches and making bold statements from the steps of town halls and the backs of trucks if you are not prepared to put your vote on the line, irrespective of its impact on the final decision taken by the government of the day."
The ALP was so agitated by this attack, that when Andren's motion was defeated, Labor leader Simon Crean moved an identical motion, allowing him time to respond to Andren. "We just supported [Andren's] motion", Crean said. "Let us not suggest that [the ALP] has been trying to avoid that debate and that determination by parliament."
But just two hours before, the ALP had voted down a motion very similar to Andren's in the Senate — where Labor support would have ensured the motion was passed and a vote on war could have been taken.
The Senate motion was moved by Greens Senator Kerry Nettle, who pointed out: "The prime minister has blatantly disregarded every clear statement by the public on this issue... He is now attempting to gag the parliament on this issue."
Labor, however, colluded with the Coalition in gagging the debate motion, using the flimsy pretext that a motion to endorse Australia's grab for East Timorese oil could not be delayed. On what looked at the time like the last day of sitting before war begins, the ALP could not even spare an hour to pass a condemnation motion against the war. Nettle's motion was defeated half an hour after it was moved.
In contrast to Labor's collusion with the Coalition government, the Socialist Alliance has been calling for the opposition parties to block the budget, thus forcing a new election. "The Coalition knows that most Australians are bitterly opposed to this war, but it refuses to be accountable", Lisa Macdonald, who is the alliance's lead candidate for the NSW upper house in the March 22 state election, told Green Left Weekly.
"The May budget will be a war budget: spending to social services will be cut to pay for this unjust war. By blocking supply, the ALP, Greens and Democrats will allow Australians what they deserve, a chance to vote against Prime Minister John Howard and his war."
From Green Left Weekly, March 19, 2003.
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