Direct Action Summer 2011-12

8/3/2019 Direct Action Summer 2011-12

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Summer 2011-12 gold coin donation

PUblication of the industrial workers of the world - australian ROC

The democracy uprising in the Arab

world has been a spectacular

display of courage, dedication, and

commitment by popular forces

coinciding, fortuitously, with a remarkable uprising oftens of thousands in support of working people and

democracy in Madison, Wisconsin, and other U.S.

cities. If the trajectories of revolt in Cairo and Madison

intersected, however, they were headed in opposite

directions: in Cairo toward gaining elementary rights

denied by the dictatorship, in Madison towards

defending rights that had been won in long and hard

struggles and are now under severe attack.

Each is a microcosm of tendencies in global

society, following varied courses. There are sure to

be far-reaching consequences of what is taking place

both in the decaying industrial heartland of the

richest and most powerful country in human history,

and in what President Dwight Eisenhower called the

most strategically important area in the worlda

stupendous source of strategic power and probably

the richest economic prize in the world in the field of

foreign investment, in the words of the State

Department in the 1940s, a prize that the U.S.

intended to keep for itself and its allies in the

unfolding New World Order of that day.Despite all the changes since, there is every

reason to suppose that today's policy-makers

basically adhere to the judgment of President

Franklin Delano Roosevelts influential advisor A.A.

Berle that control of the incomparable energy

reserves of the Middle East would yield substantial

control of the world. And correspondingly, that loss

of control would threaten the project of global

dominance that was clearly articulated during World

War II, and that has been sustained in the face of

major changes in world order since that day.

From the outset of the war in 1939, Washington

anticipated that it would end with the U.S. in a

position of overwhelming power. High-level State

Department officials and foreign policy specialists

met through the wartime years to lay out plans for the

postwar world. They delineated a Grand Area that

the U.S. was to dominate, including the Western

hemisphere, the Far East, and the former British

empire, with its Middle East energy resources. As

Russia began to grind down Nazi armies after

Stalingrad, Grand Area goals extended to as much of

Eurasia as possible, at least its economic core in

Western Europe. Within the Grand Area, the U.S.

would maintain unquestioned power, with military

and economic supremacy, while ensuring the

limitation of any exercise of

sovereignty by states that might

interfere with its global designs.

The careful wartime plans

were soon implemented.

It was always

recognised that Europe

might choose to follow

an independent

course. NATO was

partially intended to

counter this threat.

As soon as the

official pretext for

NATO dissolved in1989, NATO was

expanded to the East

in violation of verbal

pledges to Soviet leader

Mikhail Gorbachev. It has

since become a U.S.-run

intervention force, with far-

ranging scope, spelled out

by NATO Secretary-General

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who

informed a NATO conference that

NATO troops have to guard pipelines that transport

oil and gas that is directed for the West, and more

generally to protect sea routes used by tankers and

other crucial infrastructure of the energy system.

Grand Area doctrines clearly license military

intervention at will. That conclusion was articulated

clearly by the Clinton administration, which declared

that the U.S. has the right to use military force to

ensure uninhibited access to key markets, energy

supplies, and strategic resources, and must

maintain huge military forces forward deployed in

Europe and Asia in order to shape people's opinions

about us and to shape events that will affect our

livelihood and our security.

The same principles governed the invasion of

Iraq. As the U.S. failure to impose its will in Iraq wasbecoming unmistakable, the actual goals of the

invasion could no longer be concealed behind pretty

rhetoric. In November 2007, the White House issued

a Declaration of Principles demanding that U.S.

forces must remain indefinitely in Iraq and

committing Iraq to privilege American

investors. Two months later,

President Bush informed

Congress that he would

reject legislation that

might limit the

permanent

stationing of U.S.

Armed Forces in

Iraq or United

States control

of the oil

resources of

Iraq --

demands that

the U.S. had toabandon shortly

after in the face

of Iraqi resistance.

In

Tunisia and

Egypt, the recent

popular uprisings

have won

impressive

victories, but as the

Carnegie Endowment reported, while names have

changed, the regimes remain: A change in ruling

elites and system of governance is still a distant

goal. The report discusses internal barriers to

democracy, but ignores the external ones, which as

always are significant.

The U.S. and its Western allies are sure to do

whatever they can to prevent authentic democracy in

the Arab world. To understand why, it is only

necessary to look at the studies of Arab opinion

conducted by U.S. polling agencies. Though barely

reported, they are certainly known to planners. They

reveal that by overwhelming majorities, Arabs regard

the U.S. and Israel as the major threats they face: the

U.S. is so regarded by 90% of Egyptians, in the region

generally by over 75%. Some Arabs regard Iran as athreat: 10%. Opposition to U.S. policy is so strong that

a majority believes that security would be improved

if Iran had nuclear weapons -- in Egypt, 80%. Other

figures are similar. If public opinion were to influence

policy, the U.S. not only would not control the region,

but would be expelled from it, along with its allies,

undermining fundamental principles of global

dominance.

The Invisible Hand of Power

Support for democracy is the province of ideologists

and propagandists. In the real world, elite dislike of

democracy is the norm. The evidence is

overwhelming that democracy is supported insofar

as it contributes to social and economic objectives,

a conclusion reluctantly conceded by the more

serious scholarship.

Elite contempt for democracy was revealed

dramatically in the reaction to the WikiLeaks

exposures. Those that received most attention, witheuphoric commentary, were cables reporting that

Arabs support the U.S. stand on Iran. The reference

was to the ruling dictators. The attitudes of the public

were unmentioned. The guiding principle was

articulated clearly by Carnegie Endowment Middle

East specialist Marwan Muasher, formerly a high

official of the Jordanian government: There is

nothing wrong, everything is under control. In short,

if the dictators support us, what else could matter?

The Muasher doctrine is rational and venerable.

To mention just one case that is highly relevant today,

in internal discussion in 1958, president Eisenhower

expressed concern about the campaign of hatred

against us in the Arab world, not by governments, but

by the people. The National Security Council (NSC)

explained that there is a perception in the Arab world

that the U.S. supports dictatorships and blocks

democracy and development so as to ensure control

over the resources of the region. Furthermore, the

perception is basically accurate, the NSC concluded,

and that is what we should be doing, relying on the

Muasher doctrine. Pentagon studies conducted after

9/11 confirmed that the same holds today.

It is normal for the victors to consign history to

the trash can, and for victims to take it seriously.

Perhaps a few brief observations on this importantmatter may be useful. Today is not the first occasion

when Egypt and the U.S. are facing similar problems,

and moving in opposite directions. That was also true

in the early nineteenth century.

Economic historians have argued that Egypt was

well-placed to undertake rapid economic

development at the same time that the U.S. was.

Both had rich agriculture, including cotton, the fuel

of the early industrial revolution -- though unlike

Egypt, the U.S. had to develop cotton production and

a work force by conquest, extermination, and slavery,

with consequences that are evident right now in the

reservations for the survivors and the prisons that

have rapidly expanded since the Reagan years to

house the superfluous population left by

deindustrialisation.

One fundamental difference was that the U.S.

had gained independence and was therefore free to

ignore the prescriptions of economic theory,

delivered at the time by Adam Smith in terms rather

like those preached to developing societies today.Smith urged the liberated colonies to produce

primary products for export and to import superior

British manufactures, and certainly not to attempt to

monopolize crucial goods, particularly cotton. Any

other path, Smith warned, would retard instead of

accelerating the further increase in the value of their

annual produce, and would obstruct instead of

promoting the progress of their country towards real

wealth and greatness.

Having gained their independence, the colonies

were free to ignore his advice and to follow England's

course of independent state-guided development,

with high tariffs to protect industry from British

exports, first textiles, later steel and others, and to

adopt numerous other devices to accelerate

industrial development. The independent Republic

also sought to gain a monopoly of cotton so as to

place all other nations at our feet, particularly the

British enemy, as the Jacksonian presidents

announced when

Is the world too big to fail?FW Noam Chomsky

(Continued on page 12)


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What is the IWW?

fine merchandise fromthe house of wobbly.

A.C.T.

Canberra (e) [email protected]

New South Wales

Sydney(e) [email protected]

Coffs Harbour(e) [email protected]

Lismore (e) [email protected]

Newcastle (e) [email protected]

Queensland

Brisbane PO Box 703, Stones Corner QLD 4103

(e) [email protected]

South Australia

Adelaide (e) [email protected]

Western Australia

Perth GMB PO Box 162, Nedlands, WA 6909


Delegate: Jake (ph) 0402 504 327

AlbanyMike P. (ph) 0423473807


Bunbury(e) [email protected]

Victoria

Melbourne GMB PO Box 145, Moreland VIC 3058


Delegate: Ben (ph) 0418 670 239

(e) [email protected] Wobs meet on the last Sunday of the

month at 670 High Street, Northcote. Phone or

email for meeting times.

The IWW is a member-run union for all

workers, a union dedicated to organising

on the job, in our industries and in our

communities. IWW members are organising to

win better conditions today and build a world

with economic democracy tomorrow. We wantour workplaces run for the benefit of workers

and communities rather than for a handful of

bosses and executives.

We are the Industrial Workers of the World

because we organise industrially.

This means we organise all workers pro-

ducing the same goods or providing the same

services into one union, rather than dividing

workers by skill or trade, so we can pool our

strength to win our demands together. Since

the IWW was founded in 1905, we have made

significant contributions to the labor struggles

around the world and have a proud tradition of

organizing across gender, ethnic and racial

lines long before such organising was popular.

We invite you to become a member

whether or not the IWW happens to have rep-

resentation rights in your workplace. We organ-ise the worker, not the job, and recognise that

unions are not about government certification

or employer recognition but about workers

coming together to address common concerns.

The IWW is a democratic, member-run

union. That means members decide what is-

sues to address, and which tactics to use and

we directly vote on office holders, from stew-

ards to national offices. Why wait? Join the

IWW and organise for a better future.

Preamble to the IWW Constitution

The working class and the employing class

have nothing in common. There can be no

peace so long as hunger and want are found

among millions of the working people and the

few, who make up the employing class, have

all the good things of life.

Between these two classes a struggle must

go on until the workers of the world organise

as a class, take possession of the means of

production, abolish the wage system, and live

in harmony with the Earth.

We find that the centering of the manage-

ment of industries into fewer and fewer hands

makes the trade unions unable to cope with

the ever growing power of the employing class.

The trade unions foster a state of affairs which

allows one set of workers to be pitted against

another set of workers in the same industry,

thereby helping defeat one another in wage

wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid the em-

ploying class to mislead the workers into the

belief that the working class have interests in

common with their employers.

These conditions can be changed and the

interest of the working class upheld only by an

organisation formed in such a way that all its

members in any one industry, or in all indus-

tries if necessary, cease work whenever a

strike or lockout is on in any department

thereof, thus making an injury to one an injury

to all.

Instead of the conservative motto, A fair

day's wage for a fair day's work, we must in-

scribe on our banner the revolutionary watch-

word, Abolition of the wage system.

It is the historic mission of the working

class to do away with capitalism. The army of

production must be organised, not only for

everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to

carry on production when capitalism shall have

been overthrown. By organising industrially we

are forming the structure of the new society

within the shell of the old.

IWW Regional Organising Committee

PO Box 746, Rockingham, WA 6968

[email protected]

iww.org ~ iww.org.au

facebook.com/iwwaustralia

Friends:

Your Rights at Work - rightsatwork.com.au

Earthworker- earthworkercooperative.com

Beyond Zero Emissions - beyondzeroemissions.org Refugee Action Collective (VIC) - rac-vic.org Rex Bellotti Support Group - bellottisupportgroup.org

Catholic Worker Movement - catholicworker.org Loophole, Melbourne - loopholecommunitycentre.org

Melbourne Anarchist Cub - mac.anarchobase.com

Jura Books, Sydney- jura.org.au Organise! - organisesa.org

Brisbane Community Action - blackflag.co.nr Slackbastard - slackbastard.anarchobase.com

Perth Wobs protest CHOGM

Look fine on the picket

line with books, badges,

t-shirts, bike lights - you

name it!

Postage varies according

to how far you are from us

and the number of items you

order, we will discount forbulk. Total weight will affect

postage.

As a rough guide, a few

stickers under 150gm and no

thicker than 20mm will be

$1.10c within Aust and

AU$4.10 overseas. A soft-

cover book like Tom Barker

and the IWW will be $1.35

within Aust and AU$6.35

overseas. We will of course

give you an exact shipping

total once your order has

been placed.

To get hold of this fine

merchandise email Mike at

with your order. Dont forget to

include how many, sizes, pre-

ferred colours, etc.If you can, write I WANT

TO BUY STUFF (or similar) in

the subject line so that your

email doesn't get lost in the

spam filter. We'll get back to

you with what's available and

an estimated postage.

To pay send a money

order or cheque to IWW, PO

Box 746, Rockingham, WA

6968, and we'll forward your

items ASAP.

Find a full list of available

items at iww.org.au/inventory.

NEW! WAGE-SLAVE'S

ESCAPE by Mike Ballard - $20

WAGE-SLAVE'S ESCAPE is set in

Western Australia. It's 2307. A

fascist society exists in the Satel-

lite City States that orbit Earth.

Bettina Masters sees a piece of

Wobbly graffitti: Direct Action

gets Satisfaction! and takes you

on a revolutionary adventure.

Badges - only $2 each or

$1.50 for 3 or more. Multiple

designs, many colours of

The General Strike

by Ralph Chaplin

$2

Tom Barker and

the IWW$5

Green Syndicalism

by Jeff Shantz

$2

One Big Union

by IWW

$2

FANNING

DISCONTENTS

FLAMES,

Australian

Wobbly Poetry,

Scurrilous

Doggerel and

Song, 1914-

2007

$2

Name (or Pseudonym):

Address:

City:

State: PostCode:

Phone Number:

E-mail:

Occupation:

Industry:

Monthly Take-home Pay:

Less than $1500, dues are $4 per month; Between

$1500 - $2000, dues are $10 per month; Greater

than $2000, dues are $15 per month. Initiation fee

is equal to one months dues.

Initiation Fee: Dues:

Total Amount: Enclosed:

DECLARATION:

1. I affirm that I am a worker, not an employer;

2. I agree to abide by the IWW Constitution;

3. I will study the organisations' principles and

make myself acquainted with its purposes.

Signed..................................................................

Please complete and return to:

IWW Aust. ROC,

PO Box 746, Rockingham, WA 6968

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM


3/12


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4

starts in East Williamsburg

and Bushwick in Brooklyn, and extend into Ridge-

wood and Maspeth in Queens. Wage theft, retali-

ation, discrimination and reckless disregard for

worker health and safety are endemic in the sec-

tor. Earlier this year, the corridor claimed the life

of Juan Baten, a Guatemalan immigrant who was

crushed to death at the tortilla factory where he

worked. The Occupational Health and Safety Ad-

ministration (OSHA) found that Batens death

would have been prevented if the employer had

not disregarded basic safety precautions.

2011 IWW Convention: Wobblies Discuss

Unions Progress & Plan Ahead

Once a year, Wobblies from across the globe con-

verge in one city to report and reflect on the

unions progress, debate and improve upon the

unions internal structure and proceedings, de-

velop goals and ideas for improving upon the

unions commitment to fighting against all forms

of oppression, and build stronger relationships

amongst each other. This year, nearly 100 Wob-

blies from across North America gathered in Bal-

timore, Md., for a weekend of reporting, planning,

amending, proposing, voting, networking, and

singing at the annual IWW General Convention,

from Sept. 3-5, 2011.

Kicking off the 2011 Convention

Following a welcoming meet n greet for dele-

gates and other attending IWW officers and mem-

bers on Friday night, the Convention kicked off the

morning of Saturday, Sept. 3, inside St. Johns

Churchotherwise known as the 2640 Spaceon

St. Paul Street in Baltimore. After a brief breakfast

of tea, coffee and bagels, Wobblies took their

seats and General Secretary-Treasurer (GST) Joe

Tessone officially called the 2011 General Con-

vention to order at 9:08 a.m. Delegates represent-

ing their General Membership Branches (GMBs)

appointed a Chair, Recording Secretary, and Time-

keeper for the Temporary Session, after which the

delegates elected a Credentials Committee and a

Rules Committee. The Credentials Committee con-

firmed the list of delegates seated on the Conven-

tion floor, while the Rules Committee drafted and

confirmed guidelines on the proceedings. After a

brief meeting held by these two committees, del-

egates and IWW participants began the Perma-

nent Session and elected the following officers forthe Permanent Ses- sion: Ryan G. (Portland) as

Chair; Jason Krpan (Chicago) and Diane

Krauthamer (NYC) as Recording Secretaries; Cims

Gilespie (Lane County) as Time Keeper; and Koala

Largess (Baltimore) as Sergeant-at-Arms.

The permanent session began with a brief re-

port from the two committees, and approval of the

final agenda. A few slight alterations were made to

the agenda and the delegates voted to adopt the

Rules Committees recommendations as set forth

in the IWW Manual of Policies and Procedures.

Once the procedural formalities were taken care of,

officers and representatives of the IWWs various

elected bodies presented reports on past, current

and future activities.

Moving the Work Along

GST Joe Tessone started with a report from Gen-

eral Headquarters (GHQ). Though not verbally pre-sented on the floor, FW Tessone eloquently

opened his written report with the following:

My second term as General Secretary-Trea-

surer is coming to an end. Holding international of-

fice in the IWW has truly been an amazing

experience. Though trying at times, I am so proud

and honored to have been given this opportunity

of a lifetime.

FW Tessone spoke on the floor about the

unions improved finances and membership, em-

phasizing that the IWW has more than doubled its

treasury since 2010. While some of the improve-

ments stem from GHQs switch to a new database

in 2010, which has allowed for more efficiency

when promoting and developing organizing and

outreach opportunities, FW Tessone commented

that he was not able to fully implement an online

reporting system. This system will give GHQ the

tools to handle a larger membership as it will pro-

vide the tools to more efficiently contact new mem-

bers who sign up online, thereby improving growth

and ultimately aiding in promoting and developing

organising and outreach opportunities for the

union as a whole. This, he said, will be one of the

larger challenges facing the incoming GST in 2012.

While there are many improvements in the

works, FW Tessone pointed out that GHQ still

needs to build its infrastructure in Chicago. He

encouraged all Wobblies who are interested to

consider volunteering at GHQ. GHQ can operate

with its minimal paid and volunteer staff, but it

can do a whole lot more with extra hands and a

constant flow of fresh ideas, he reported.

Next was the International Solidarity Commis-

sion (ISC) report, in which ISC Chair D.M. Kloker

discussed yet another productive year of building

worker-to- worker solidarity that can lead to effec-

tive action against the bosses of the world.

This year, he said, the ISC focused on three

main areas of organizing. The first was reaching

out to IWW members in countries without Regional

Organizing Committees (ROCs), such as in South

Africa, which is on course to have a Cape Town

GMB. The second was the ISCs commitment to

starting a liaison program so that GMBs could bemore engaged with the ISC, paving the way for the

ISC to become a more democratically functioning

body. The third main area of focus was responding

to calls for solidarity from other organisations

throughout the world. While it is important for the

ISC to respond to these calls, he commented, its

equally important for Wobblies who plan to travel

abroad to contact the ISC beforehand to help them

meet with IWW members or other labor activists

and groups in those countries.

Following the ISC report was a lunch break,

with food generously arranged and cooked by Fel-

low Workers Kate Khatib and Lanie Thomas of the

Red Emmas collective. Red Emmas generously

provided all of the meals and an assortment of

healthy snacks for delegates throughout the pro-

ceedings, and there was certainly no shortage of

tea, coffee, water, fresh fruit, and crackers served

with cubes of cheese. Additionally, childcare was

provided throughout the weekend by Kidz City

Baltimore, a volunteer anarcha-feminist collective.The General Executive Board (GEB) was next

to present its report. GEB Chair Jason Krpan briefly

introduced the six Board members: Koala Largess,

Ryan G., John Slavin, John Reimann, Greg Giorgio,

and Ildi Sipos (who could not attend), and gave an

overview of their role in dang near every affair of

the union, as FW Krpan described it. He went on

to speak more generally of the GEBs work in help-

ing to establish the Canadian Regional Organizing

Committee (CanROC) and the Britain and Ireland

Regional Administration (BIRA), and emphasized

the unions continuing growth, announcing that

four new GMBs were chartered this year: Atlanta,

Richmond, Greater Kansas City and Mid-Ohio.

Fellow Workers Krpan and Ryan G. briefly sum-

marized budgetary changes and other financial

and legal issues, following which FW John Reimann

reported on his activities liaising with branches out-

side of the United States, including his recent trip

to Egypt. FWs Koala and Ryan G. commented onthe GEBs commitment to reaching out to Wobblies

across regions, pointing out that while a lot of their

focus as a body is on regions, the focus of organis-

ing should be happening across industrial lines. At

the conclusion of their report, Wobblies seated on

the Convention floor gave the GEB a thunderous

applause for their hard work and virtually thankless

dedication to the union.

FW Ryan G. presented on the Organising De-

partment Board (ODB) report, written by ODB

Chair Matt Jones. He briefly summarized the

ODBs role and purpose to coordinate organizing

activity between branches and

Collecting Pieces of the

Class Consciousness Puzzle

(cont. from page 3)

Over the past few months, some-

thing different has been taking

place across the globe: civil pop-

ulations have been ignoring standard forms of political

activity to take on power structures. The difference this

time is that the civil populations have been winning!

We have seen dictatorships fall at the hands of

the people during the Arab Spring; Greece, Italy and

Spain have ignited with massive social protests and,

along with the unanticipated Occupy protests which

have captured the imaginations of citizens across

the world, there is an atmospheric sense that some-

thing is different this time around.

Some trace the genesis of these insurrections to

the beginnings of the Arab uprisings which began in

Tunisia in December, 2010. Others relate the surge

of publicly expressed discontent to the mass protests

in Spain against government austerity measures.

Rather than trying to define a ground zero mo-

ment for the current mood it may be more helpful tostep back from the milieu to look at these events on

a larger historical perspective.

In 1999, the eyes of the world turned toward a

massive outpouring of dissatisfaction with the neo-

liberal status quo which erupted in the national gut

of Capital, amongst the greatest wealth producing

working class of the world. This was when 40,000

to 60,000 U.S. citizens protested in Seattle against

the corporate globalisation agenda of the World

Trade Organisation. Of course, the protesters were

confronted by the power of the political State, as

Starship trooper dressed police came down brutally

on protesting citizen workers, shocking most of the

worlds media watchers.

The capitalist dominated democratic U.S govern-

ment ordered a particularly vicious crack down on

citizens in this instance, because truth be told, the

wage-slaves of Capital realised that they hadnt con-

sented to policies written in their names by paid cor-

porate lobbyists and passed on by pollies out to

enrich the employing class. Citizen protest againstclass domination could not be given political air to

breathe so, the hirelings of State violence were

called out to quell, kettle, silence and jail dissent.

Despite the usual response from the corporate

media to de-legitimate and trivialize the protests by fo-

cusing on violent protestors, working people around

the world responded with surprising levels of admira-

tion for the bravery displayed by their fellow workers in

America, uttering shock at the totalitarian tactics that

the U.S Government used to suppress them.

At the time, the feeling amongst the liberal intel-

ligentsia and activists was that the Seattle protests

had somehow changed things. The fact that this kind

of anti-capitalist sentiment could be displayed in the

United States on such a massive scale, fuelled ex-

pectations that the working people of the industrially

advanced capitalist countries had finally had enough

of being exploited (and all that that entailed for the

environment and their fellow workers in other coun-

tries) and that this would build and build into a solid,

class conscious, anti-capitalist movement.

Then ... 911 happened. Anti-terror legislation

and jingoism took over in the USA , seeping oppor-

tunistically into the legislative acts passed by most

of the ruling classes of the world. Like the most

ridiculous days of the Cold War inspired witch-hunts

of the 1950s and 60s, any form of protest was

painted as being subversive and terrorist-loving.

Civil liberties were slashed in order to defend the

freedom THEY hated us for. State surveillance be-

came the new norm across Western nation States.

With the post-911 population in legitimate, but

often media-induced shock, ruling classes felt fairly

confident about setting their talking heads loose to set

a tone of putting an end to all of this anti-capitalism

nonsense which had been in the air since Seattle.

But they were wrong...

What people didnt realise, even some activists,

was that the Seattle protests didnt erupt out of

nowhere. It took time for an awareness of being lied

too to evolve. Its like the biggest jigsaw puzzle youcould ever imagine; except the jig saw puzzle of con-

sciousness is slightly different from your regular kind.

Your consciousness is dominated for most of your

life, by school curriculums, social norms, advertising-

induced pathological consumerism, and pro-State

propaganda. For some people this pre-fabricated, one

size fits all consciousness, lasts them their entire life.

But for those who have had their given consciousness

of consensus shaken up with all of the pieces scat-

tered onto the ground, due to say, a particularly vis-

ceral realisation of their class position, or the

culmination of many moments of slavery-awareness,

the puzzles pattern never looks the same again.

And, once the socially engineered ideological

puzzle of legitimation has fallen apart, it can never

be re-configured in exactly the same way. The person

fumbles with pieces to get them to make a coherent

picture, but the world that helped them take that ini-

tial picture cannot be retrievedone can never go

home again. The person has new eyes, and sees

that the pieces fit in different ways, ways that could

never be allowed to be connected before. Over time,

the persons consciousness jig saw is different: gov-ernments are no longer seen to serve the interests

of the majority of people, because they blatantly

spend the wealth we create on wars instead of

health; they let us starve on dole queues while they

give tax cuts to the mega rich; police can no longer

be seen as there to protect and serve the population

and help old ladies cross the streets because what

fresh eyes see is the police standing around the

bosses and governments like praetorian guards pro-

tecting power centres from the masses ... etc ... etc...

This is why Seattle made a change: because

since the consciousness raising of the 1960s over

many issues like civil rights, anti-militarism, womens

rights, environmental rights, class issues etc ... the

general process of becoming conscious of power

structures had been secretly extending; ebbing and

flowing under the surface, making tentative connec-

tions here and there against the tide of capitalist

propaganda. The Seattle protests were a minor erup-

tion from something that the ruling classes have

been trying to suppress for two hundred years ...

class consciousness.

The pieces of the puzzle had been getting reor-

ganised for decades, filtering down through genera-

tions, making their way surreptitiously into

mainstream cultural discourses. The 1960s initiated

steps towards societies becoming civilized in areas

like civil rights, and anti-militarism, in the 1990s the

awareness of capitalism as a source of destruction

and enforced wage slavery began to bubble to the

surface across all sections of what we now call the

99%; but at the time it was hard to understand ex-

actly what was going onwe couldnt see the forest

for the trees.

Thats why the working people of the world and

the employing class owners of their collective prod-

uct of their labour were so surprised by the breaking

of the 911-enforced crackdown on dissent when, im-

mediately preceding the invasion of Iraq in 2003,

millions of people across the world protested in an

unprecedented showing of opposition to capitalistimperialism. People were no longer willing to accept

government pretexts as gospel. They were beginning

to see the corporate profit motives behind the deci-

sions being made in their name.

The years following the 2003 global protests were

business as usual for the ruling classes as governments

and corporations continued their collusion, not least of

which being their Coalition of the Willing in the Iraq

war; the GFC and the following banker bail-outs. The ris-

ing consciousness of the people of the world created

an environment that was hostile to the spin of politi-

cians and the obtuse decrees of bankers ... people

wanted out, but werent sure how to go about it.

Then, the uprisings in the Arab and Iranian

spheres of class domination occurred. The citizens

of Tunisia liberated themselves, not through military

force, but simply through refusing to participate in

the corrupt system of their rulers. The success of the

simple act of each person deciding to make their sys-

tem of exploitation stop once and for all by joining

with their fellow workers in a mass act of defiancewas so contagious that soon the Middle East was

afire with popular uprisings.

Of course the governments of these countries

reacted violently to the blatant disobedience of their

subjects, unleashing security forces on unarmed

civilians; the results of which have been widely dis-

played across Western media and framed as dicta-

torships gone too far. Western leaders bemoaned the

violence and encouraged the dictators they liked, like

Mubarak in Egypt, to make concessions to their peo-

ple to placate them, and to stop the violence be-

cause they wanted to appear to be acting morally to

the Western populations who were becoming sensi-

tive to political repression in far away places.

Then the class conflict came home to the citadel

of finance capital. Ten years after 911, on September

17th, a modest group of between 100 to 200 people

set up tents in the financial district of New York City.

The rest, as they say, is history.

At present the Occupy X Movement is still on therise across the world as protesters occupy over 1600

cities worldwide. While the size of the occupations

vary from site to site, popular support for the anti-

capitalist, anti-class rule message against the 1%

runs anywhere from 40% to 70% approval in most

reported opinion polls. This kind of support would not

have existed for such a movement in the 1980s or

even the 1990s, even though capitalism went

through periods of crisis during these years. This cur-

rent moment has only been made possible by a

steady increase of class consciousness within the

minds of working people and its translation into a

movement in the streets of the world.

As many may have predicted, Western authori-

ties have reacted in the same manner as their Arab

counterparts, by unleashing violence upon their un-

armed, non-violent citizens, in the form of paramili-

tary style police forces, using all types of pretexts to

justify their brutality in the corporate media. The

scenes of brutality against citizens exercising their

freedom of speech in public

FW Anon

(cont. page 11)Delegates to the 2011 IWW Convention in Baltimore, USA.

(cont. page 10)


5/12

Nyungar-Yamatji Maaman Rex

Bellotti Sr and Nyungar Yorga

Liz Bellotti, 42 and 40 years

old, have spent their lives working

very hard to ensure the likelihood of the personal ad-

vancement of their children, in the belief that Aborig-

inal advancement should be achieved by Aboriginal

peoples. They had never asked for help and had

worked to ensure that their six children, now aged 6

to 17, have had every reasonable opportunity. They

have given every little bit of what they have to provide

for their children the experience and hopes of a pri-

vate school education.

On March 6, 2009, the Bellotti family's eldest

son, Rex Jnr., aged 15, was involved in a police-re-

lated-incident. It was not of his making, he was an

Aboriginal person at a place that police were converg-

ing upon. Since this police-related-incident Rex Sr, Lizand Rex Jnr and his five siblings have not only had to

deal with the trauma of grievous injuries sustained

by Rex Jnr however they have had to cope with the

culture of brutal silence surrounding the Albany Po-

lice and the Western Australian Police and with the

contemptible minimalist fodder that we have all long

learned to expect from various government authori-

ties, ministerial portfolio holders and from the agen-

cies which argue various demarcation and claim to

be independent auditors and investigators.

On March 6, within the last hour prior to midnight

Rex Jnr was leaving a wake when he was struck by a

police vehicle, a four-wheel-drive, with a roo-bar,

which according to witnesses was driving on the

wrong side of the road. It has been alleged that Rex

Jnr was hit by the vehicle on the opposite side of the

road, on the wrong side of the road. The police offi-

cers in question deny this and conversely claim that

they were driving on the correct side of the road, and

that it was not on the opposite side of the road that

Rex Jnr was struck by their vehicle. However, whatbeggars belief for many non-Aboriginal Australians is

the keystone, almost circus-like police investigation

that for a significant period of time struggled to take

effect, and for a crucial period of time had very little

form and content. There was no bona fide investiga-

tion during the immediacy of the event. For our Abo-

riginal brothers and sisters this is routine - the

silences, the mind-boggling fodder, the passing of the

buck, the casting of aspersions upon the victim and

the victim's family, and upon the victim's cultural

identity and their community for Aboriginal peoples

these insults, these discriminations, these racisms

are a daily experience, are matter-of-fact. They are

some of the veils of this country's racist identity.

For near two and half years the Bellottis have

been unveiling the discriminatory and racist layers

which damage the Australian national identity, and

which keep oppressed peoples who otherwise should

enjoy a right to their historical and contemporary

identities, who should be able to enjoy unfettered

self-determination through various political persua-

sions and cultural settings. The Bellottis have not only

been staring into the abyss of spiteful hate by those

who are scared by the Bellottis unveiling the layers of

racism however they are now being victimised by this

very hate because they have the audacity to seek

some raindrops of justice, some remedy, some clo-

sure for a police-related-incident which thereabouts

just about destroyed the life, and most certainly the

once immediate hopes, of their son, and which has

spiralled Rex Bellotti Jnr into a dark world of melan-

cholia and into the high-end risk of various clinical

disorders. Rex Jnr seeks respite through damaging

altered states when he cannot cope with the grief of

his injuries and the discriminatory and racist insults

from the hostile silences that humiliate him and his

family. The trauma is so deep for Rex Jnr that he has

to live apart from his immediate family, far from the

sterile inhumanities of a metropolis such as Perth,

and is now living in nor thern WA, in Carnarvon, with

his Aunty Melanie. His family is trying to find themoney to buy a caravan for him to live in, with a mod-

icum of independence, on a nearby property to his

Aunty in Carnarvon while the passing of time tries to

heal Rex's physical and mental wounds. In the mean-

time the various authorities, who should represent

the interests of each of us rather than some of us,

act as if they have a right to be affronted by the ques-

tions put to them by the family and by others who are

now in support of the rights of this family which for

far too long endured what most Aboriginal peoples

far too often suffer in silence when they have been

victim to various injustices.

Simply, this whole article can be summed up with

the assertion that Police should not investigate Police

- this should be 'a given'.

Since the 6th of March 2009, it has remained

unclear whether then promising footballer Rex Bel-

lotti Jnr will need to have his right leg amputated after

he was run over by the four-wheel-dr ive police vehicle,

in Albany, Western Australia. The police vehicle struck

Rex Jnr with such force that it dragged Rex Jnr under

the vehicle, breaking his femur and horrifically exten-

sively lacerating his right leg. The police reports which

have been secured under Police Freedom of Informa-

tion Acts state that the police officers in question al-

lege the vehicle was not being driven at a speed

greater than 41 kmph at the time of the impact with

Rex Bellotti Jnr. Though not impossible, it is difficult

to fathom how any vehicle travelling at only 41 kmph

would subsume a reasonably sized human being

asunder beneath its undercarriage. Aside those in-

volved and those alleged as witnesses we would

know much more today, and be able to displace the

presumptions of various questionable and conflicting

evidences beyond reasonable doubt, if this incident

had obliged the courtesy of an extensive investiga-

tion. Demarcated investigators should have been

called in to examine the scene of the accident, to en-sure a full forensic examination, to ensure that all po-

tential witnesses had provided their testimonies.

Most of this, if not all of this, did not occur. Therefore,

once again the opportunity for trust building exer-

cises between non-Aboriginal Australians and our

Aboriginal brothers and sisters has been shattered.

It has been alleged the police officers involved

did not stay long and in fact left the scene of the in-

cident and that to some of those present, and to

many supporters and advocates of the Bellotti family,

this is in effect the 'leaving of the scene of an acci-

dent' which Australians have been schooled by the

news media and by the Police at every opportunity

for us to understand that the leaving of a scene of a

crime and accident are unlawful and in fact are a

criminal offence. Many people, Aboriginal and non-

Aboriginal believe that the involved police officers

could be guilty of a 'hit and run'. The police reports

are not clear however they do describe the involved

police officers as having remained at the scene for a

period of time and that in fact other police officers

did arrive. Witnesses have described that Rex Jnr was

hit on the opposite side of the road. Witnesses, who

were at the wake, or who were Passers-By, describe

that the involved police did not remain at the scene

and according to them in fact they left the scene of

the accident, and that in fact at no time while they

may have been there did any police officers offer to

assist Rex Jnr.. However the police reports describe

the presence of the involved police officers and of an-

other Albany Police Officer having been called to the

scene. Rex Jnr., lay encumbered by his injuries pale,

hardly a murmur, bleeding profusely, and many would

have been questioning whether there was a whisper

of life left in Rexs body, and yet the police officers

did not assist. The police reports do describe that the

involved police officers called for an ambulance. The

victim was left in the care of bereft and horrified rel-

atives and friends and shocked passers-by. Fortu-

nately, one of the passers-by was an off-duty medic

who in the immediacy provided assistance.Thirteen hours passed before Rex Jnr., with his

injuries threatening his very life, utterly traumatised,

underwent urgent surgery. Rex Sr., has explained that

by this time irreparable damage had occurred to the

leg in question. Rex Sr., and Liz with eyes welling, ex-

hale pained sighs of relief in the fact that their son

was not killed by the impact.

Western Australian Police Officers lied that Kevin

Spratt was a physical danger to them and that he was

resisting arrest. The Western Australian Corruption

and Crimes Commission thanks only to the harsh un-

avoidable brunt of CCTV footage proved that the West-

ern Australian Police Officers in question brutishly lied

and that they outrageously fabricated the charge

sheet. Subsequent the CCC's viewing of the CCTV

footage, the CCC had no choice but to instruct that

certain convictions against Kevin Spratt be quashed.

It is self evident that the nine police officers, and sim-

ilarly with the prison officers, 'covered' for each other

even if it was by 'silence'. In terms of the litany of

charges against Kevin Spratt that he resisted arrest

and that he was violent to police, or that he was a

physical threat to them, an innocent man was perse-

cuted. If such an obvious culture of cruel favour-dis-

pensation and vicious nepotism and the immoral

covering up for each other has been proven again and

again why would we all of a sudden trust in police in-

vestigating police? This culture does not just victimise

Aboriginal peoples, however it is obvious they are the

victims of this more often, it also occurs to non-Abo-

riginal Australians, as has been proven not just in

Western Australia, once again by various CCTV

footage, however throughout Australia. It can be ar-

gued that it is human nature to cower support for one

another in a profession as difficult as that of a police

officer. People will sacrifice others, even if innocent

of any wrong-doing, before they will own up to their

perpetration of injustice, even if inadvertent.

Rex Jnr's distraught parents arrived at Albany

Hospital to find their son sedated by medication how-

ever acutely traumatised. Their son said to them that

a police vehicle hit him, and he had tried to get outof the way when all of a sudden he saw it. Rex Jnr

said that he was trying to cross the road when all of

a sudden the lights of the vehicle came on. He does

not remember much more than this as he suffered

heavy concussion. Rex Sr said that it is often the case

that police vehicles attend events, even wakes, where

Aboriginal peoples congregate. His son's comment

that the police vehicle's lights were not on and then

were suddenly turned on does not surprise Rex Sr.

He believes that often police vehicles at night when

approaching such gatherings may turn their lights off

so as not to be conspicuous. However the Police re-

ports do not support the claim that the police vehicle

may have had its lights off for any period of time dur-

ing the heart of night's darkness.

Rex Jnr's injuries were life threatening. At near

six o'clock the following morning the Royal Flying Doc-

tor flew out of Albany with Rex Jnr for Perth and from

there onwards by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital.

After Rex's surgery at Royal Perth Hospital he

was humiliated by the prejudicial stereotypes and as-

sumptions of some non- Aboriginal Australians. Rex

Jnr was forced to undergo a supposedly 'random strip

search' after medication in his shared ward appar-

ently went missing. Rex Jnr's parents, Rex Snr and

Liz, after working hard all their lives, after trying to

develop one opportunity after another in their Albany-

based family life, while managing the various hum-

blings of the various layers of racism that work only

to spite many Aboriginal folk, had to pack up and

leave Albany for good and of course with their other

five children and relocate more than four hundred

kilometres north to Perth so as to be able to provide

adequate and appropriate care for Rex Jnr. They have

endured a two year struggle in the seeking of a sliver

of justice, and it is always obvious that in a country

like Australia with a predominant hostile denial of its

racist identity that real or substantive justice for them

shall never succeed. However they are entitled to as-

pire to some justice, and to some closure through var-

ious remedies and in the seeking of someadmissions of liability and some ownership of culpa-

bility and maybe even some discovery of other vicar-

ious liability. Rex Jnr's injuries, as grievious and as life

threatening as they remain, in terms of him refusing

an amputation if it were to become necessary, are no

longer limited to just physical injuries.

Rex Jnr is finding it difficult to come to terms that

his life has been dishevelled, that a once promising

footballing career has come to an end. His mother

encourages his siblings to not play or speak football

when Rex Jnr is nearby as this can send him spiralling

into depression. Rex Jnr's deepest wounds come

from the fact that the police will not admit that they

hit him on the opposite of the road, and that he did

not as the police claim intentionally step in front of

the police vehicle, a four-wheel-drive with a roo-bar.

Rex's deepest wounds are that his testimony means

nothing to most of non-Aboriginal Australia however

of late he has been comforted by seeing others, many

non-Aboriginal Australians, support and advocate for

Rex's truth, for Rex's right to be heard and for Rex'sfull suite of rights. Rex can see that his identity is not

seen by every non-Aboriginal Australian as a liability

and that he is entitled to be a Nyungar, a Yamatji, an

Australian and entitled to be enobled with human

worth and dignity. This was denied to Rex by the dis-

graceful police handling of the investigation.

The core problems with the police investigation

of the police-related-incident in which Rex Jnr was hit

and run over by a police vehicle is that no third party

witnesses were interviewed by police for more than

a month. Clearly, it appears that if it were not for the

persistence of his parents and some mainstream

news media the Police would never have interviewed

anyone outside of themselves. Other than the in-

volved police officers, as if we are forever expected

to maintain an investiture of faith and goodwill in our

police, no one was interviewed. Interviews only oc-

curred after The Sunday Times newspaper published

a significant article on the tragedy. In the local Albany

newspaper, The Albany Advertiser, the only article

published four days after the incident quoted police

officers, ...it appeared the teenager had deliberately

walked in front of the ongoing car and which they

claimed had ...slowed down to 40 km per hour.

Why was it that for more than a month, local po-

lice did not seek testimonies from other sources be-

yond those of the involved police officers? Why wouldthey have not secured these statements especially

when it is alleged that at the scene people had

screamed out dissimilar testimonies to those of the

involved police and when passers-by noted that they

overheard disturbing allegations? An October 2009

internal police inquiry would conclude that while po-

lice mishandled the investigation they were neverthe-

less satisfied that every effort had been made by the

WA Police to undertake a thorough and transparent

investigation into these matters. The following

month, November 2009, the WA Corruption and

Crimes Commission, slammed the police investiga-

tion, stating, Given the injuries suffered by Rex Jnr.,

it would be hard to accept that the lack of obtaining

statements is merely an oversight. However the CCC

limited itself predominately to observations that the

investigation was mishandled and did not commit to

any acknowledgment of discrimination or racism.

However, the WA Police can never argue that the CCC

absolved them of the imputation of a culture of coverups or favour dispensation, this remains as arguably

self evident, though it may be argued interpretive, in

imputations from this very observation by the CCC. In

November 2009 Rex Bellotti Sr said, Police investi-

gating police again. At the end of the day they exon-

erate each other... they've got each others' backs.

Rex Sr's distrust of non-Aboriginal Australia ex-

tended to the CCC. At the time he said he doubted

the integrity of the CCC investigation, after his family

had been emotionally exhausted by the apparent in-

difference by the WA Police. Rex Sr., said Do you

trust them? In the past, police investigations have

proven they are not worth the time and space and ef-

fort. At the end of the day, they can exonerate each

other... they've got each other's backs. However at

the time CCC Director of Operations, Nick Anticich re-

jected Rex's concerns and was quoted, The CCC has

referred the complaint for a full internal investiga-

tion... However, this is not a matter of 'police investi-

gating police' as the Commission will be monitoring

and overseeing their investigation. In view of the se-riousness of the matter, when the investigation has

been completed (by police), the Commission will con-

duct an independent review into the adequacy of that

investigation. The CCC findings did include, (Police)

have admitted that Sgt (Jason) Liddelow made little

effort to gather witness statements in a timely man-

ner. His case management and investigation plan

was fundamentally flawed and mistakenly based on

the presumption that one highly important witness...

needed to be interviewed prior to any others. Rex Sr

at the time said it was good that the CCC had con-

cluded that the investigation was flawed however

added, The CCC describes the things that went

wrong as flaws, oversights, inexperience and anom-

alies. But these are just other words for racism, be-

cause the police did not investigate (the case)

properly. At the time Police Great Southern District

Superintendent Dene Leekong said, I admit we

should have done it better. We didn't get the state-

ments from some witnesses in time. That's an over-

sight on our behalf. We had other priority issues

unfortunately in our district at the time. This state-

ment alone by the Superintendent is indicatively ap-

palling let alone discriminatory and arguably racist.

Superintendent Leekong continued, We probably did

not manage that case as best we could. We're cer-

tainly trying to correct our errors now. But it's not

racism and it's not anything sinister. At the time Rex

Sr said, They can say what they want, but the fact

remains they didn't investigate this as they would

have for a white Australian. They were hoping it would

go away, as it had done in the past where crimes

against black people have been covered up.

Witness statements were finally taken by police

from Rex Bellotti Jnr, and from witnesses Michael

Coyne and Ashlee Riley. All three stated that Rex Jr

did not deliberately run or walk into the front of the

police four-wheel-drive. They gave testimony that Rex

Jnr was crossing the road near a house where a Wake

was being held and that in fact when Rex Jnr saw that

the police vehicle was approaching him, when al-legedly the headlights came on, he tried to 'jump out

of its way' however was run over. Rex Jnr's lawyer at

the time, John Hammond, was quoted in the news

media, as affirming that after The Sunday Times pub-

lished articles of the various allegations by the wit-

nesses that all of a sudden he received phone calls

from four police officers all urgently seeking to inter-

view Rex Jnr. Mr Hammond was quoted, Why was

the accident never investigated until the matter was

exposed by The Sunday Times? Furthermore, Mr

Hammond was apparently disappointed that there

had been no community outcry about the incident in

lieu of other recent police-related incidents at the

time and he was further quoted, Why is there not the

same response when a 15-year-old-boy is run over by

a police vehicle and faces life-threatening injuries?

Central Queensland University's Cheri Yavu-

Kama-Harathunian, Kabi Kabi Senior Elder, with a

Masters qualification in Criminal Justice, said, In

spite of the RCIADIC, the Fitzgeral Inquiry, the Dawes

Report, other reports about injustice within the crim-

Justice for Rex Bellotti JnrAn Aboriginal youth, Rex Bellotti Jnr, aged 15 was run over by a police four-wheel-drive Holden

Rodeo and more than two years have passed without any compensation, without any closure.

When it comes to Aboriginal victims this is nothing new.

5

Gerry giorgatos


6/12

inal justice system metered out to Aboriginal peoples,

one thing seems clear, time for justice has stood still

for First Nations people of Australia. Aunty Cheri

pointed out, Our people are still holding the record

for being the most incarcerated peoples in our coun-

try and worldwide. Our people are still persecuted if

we dare to speak out about the inadequate 'justice'

process. Our people, just like younger brother Rex,

are left in limbo while the perpetrator is part of the

justice system. Aunty Cheri, who contributed re-

search to submissions to the RCIADIC, said Has

there truly been any change?... When stories like (Rex

Jnr) come to light one realises that those within the

'justice' system can and will continue to use the very

same system to maintain the status quo - injustice -

for the members of the First Nations peoples... I ask

myself what I can do, how do we as a people con-

struct within the 'justice' system a mechanism

whereby justice is done when the perpetrators are of-

ficers of the system, public servants or the ordinary

person in the street who commits a crime on one of

our people... Misconduct in the police rank and file

seems to be an 'in-house-joke'. It is a joke that is

aimed at us, Aboriginal peoples, and is based...

within 'the rightness of whiteness' pervading the

most powerful social systems.

Whatever happened on the night of March 6,

2009, we may well, as a community and as a com-

mon humanity, never know, nor will the mutually ac-

cepted account of the evening ever be recorded,

however what we do know without doubt is that for a

variety of reasons, and some of them having root in

favour-dispensation, in various discriminations, bethey coated with an investiture of faith, that justice

was not sought by the Albany Police at the scene fol-

lowing the incident nor in the weeks subsequent to

the incident. It is fact that the testimonies of Rex Jnr

and other witnesses were not sought by investigating

police officers. This is unequivocal unfettered dis-

crimination and with this point I have no qualms

whatsoever standing by it. For the fact that testi-

monies were not secured from the various witnesses

and involved parties indeed bespeaks volumes. Rex

Jnr was finally interviewed by police on April 16, and

in his police statement Rex Jnr explains that he was

not intoxicated, that he had not drunk any significant

amount of alcohol at the wake, that if the police ve-

hicle had its headlights on that it would have been

impossible for it to have been missed in the heart of

the darkness of the night, that the police vehicle did

not have blue lights flashing, that all of a sudden

headlights appeared, he tried to get out of the way,

he was hit by the roo-bar and from then onwards went

in and out of consciousness. Statements were se-

cured from various witnesses at a snail like pace be-

tween April 5, in Albany to April 30, in Bruce Rock,

and then to May 5 extending to Katanning, with vari-

ous statements conflicting with the police officers'

versions of the events. However, on July 15, after

Major Crash Investigations filed several statements

and memorandums, the Great Southern District Po-

lice Office 'found' that there was 'no offence' commit-

ted by the driver of the police vehicle, and that there

was 'insufficient evidence for any charges' and that

the matter was 'finalised'. What is concerning about

this 'finding' is that in the documents attached to this

'finding' there is an assessment by the investigating

police officer that there were conflicting versions of

the events so dramatic that any reasonable person

would have assumed that an 'external' inquiry occur

even if no for no other reason than to remove asper-

sions and imputations against the Police howeverpreferably in pursuit of a contextual truth beyond rea-

sonable doubts. Police should not be investigating

police, we need demarcated Police Inspectorates

who do not report to the Police.

Two months ago, after two years of pleading for

assistance, to no avail, from the under-resourced

Aboriginal Legal Services of WA and from the small

social justice community group Deaths in Custody

Watch Committee WA, neither being in a position to

provide support or to assist in advocating for the

rights of Rex Jnr, Rex and Liz came to me - my heart

went out to their pain and lone struggle - and we co-

ordinated a snap action rally at the steps of WA's

State Parliament - in the pelting rain 30 people

turned up. We stopped WA shadow Attorney-General

John Quigley and Australian Senator Mark Arbib who

both said their offices would assist. We followed up

with another rally in the following week once again at

the steps of WA's State Parliament - and this time 50

turned up. At the conclusion of the second rally the

Bellotti Support Group was formed and has met every

week since. Last Saturday a rally was held in Mokare

Park, in Albany, on the main strip, near the town hall.

More than 60 turned up, and more than half had

driven hundreds of kilometres from Perth, Bunbury

and Bridgetown. The rally was followed with a march

through town and to the Albany Police station - where

supporters and advocates spoke to the Albany Police

via the intercom. The Police Duty Officer said, You

can protest outside the Police Station, you may not

enter. We asked if we could file a complaint to Al-

bany Police about the police investigation. He said,

No comment. We asked who do we complain to

when we have a complaint against Police. He said, I

acknowledge 'your existence'. No comment.

Nyungar Traditional Owner and Curtin University

Indigenous Research Fellow, Associate Professor Len

Collard simply said, This matter needs to be taken

seriously. A young man's life has been destroyed andthe people who did this need to be held responsible

for their actions and therefore they need to be held

to account.

Sydney's Indigenous Social Justice President,

Elder Ray Jackson said, When are the WA cops going

to realise that they too are responsible to the laws of

the land as is everyone else? Surely, the outrage over

the death of Mr Ward, the tasering of Kevin Spratt,

along with so many other abuses quite clearly shows

corrupt actions will not be tolerated, and that mis-

takes and acts of bastardry will be paid for.

Recently, an Albany Police Officer was twice

caught on the same day by 'speed camera' reaching

driving speeds of 140 kmph. However he is yet to be

dismissed. You cannot apply to the Police Academy

without at least a twelve months clean driving record.

The Bellotti Support Group is calling for compensation

for Rex Jnr, in addition to insurance payments that are

yet to occur, and for a framework of support mecha-

nisms, and for some accountability for what may or

may not have occurred on the night in question, for

the truth of what did occur, for an external non-police

investigation of the involved police officers and of the

subsequent police investigations. The Bellotti Support

Group spokespeople have assured they will not desist

from educating the wider community of the indiscrim-

inate discriminations faced by Aboriginal peoples and

that they will hold Public Meetings in Perth (August

11) and in Albany, and that they will campaign to the

Government of Western Australia in the seeking of

some justice, remedies and closure for the Bellotti

family. The Group stands steadfast in the belief that

Rex Jnr did not have to be a death in custody for jus-

tice to be sought, and for them to stand by him, and

that they will campaign loud and clear, far and wide

in the name of Rex Jnr and all those who suffer injus-

tices because of the wells of prejudices and stereo-

types and in which their origins-of-thinking are

inter-generationally 'old', from days when racism was

matter-of-fact and delivered with 'pride'.

Justice does not come for everyone and moreoften than not it does not come for those who are the

object of prejudices, discrimination and racism. How-

ever even though there is no CCTV footage to incite

some expeditious justice, to raise the 'alarm', or to

ensure remedies and closure this family and the folk

of the Bellotti Support Group have no choice but to

seek a sliver of justice sadly inch by inch.

Join the fight for justice at bellottisupportgroup.org.

6

In the past year, Australias rich-

est 200 individuals have in-

creased their collective wealth by

23 percent, or $33.1 billion, to a staggering

$167.3 billion. The recently released Business Re-

view Weekly (BRW) Rich 200 points to escalat-

ing social inequality. Under conditions where

working people are confronting worsening eco-

nomic hardship, unprecedented levels of wealth

are being concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite.

The entry point for the rich list this year is a

record $215 million. In 2008, the previous high

point, $200 million was required to qualify, while

in 2009 this fell to $150 million and in 2010 it

was $185 million. The ultra-wealthy have more

than made up for the relatively minor losses they

suffered after the global financial crash. Are the

rich getting richer? the Business Review Weekly

asked, answering, Absolutely.

Four out of the top five made their fortunes in the mining sector, underscoring the Australian

economys dependence on mineral exports and

also pointing to the growing weight of the major

miners within the ruling elite. The wealthiest Aus-

tralian is now Gina Rinehart with a record $10.31

billion personal fortune. Western Australia-based

Rinehart inherited her father Lang Hancocks in-

perpetuity royalties to iron ore in the Pilbara region

now mined by Rio Tinto. She more than doubled

her wealth in the past 12 months, with her value

estimated at $4.75 billion in 2010.

The others in the top five who made their

money in the mining sector are Ivan Glasenberg, a

Swiss-based resource commodities trader who re-

cently became an Australian citizen and is valued at

$8.8 billion; Andrew Forrest, West Australia-based

iron ore miner, valued at $6.18 billion; and Clive

Palmer, Queensland-based coal and iron ore miner,

with a personal fortune of $5.05 billion.

The sole manufacturer in the upper tier is An-

thony Pratt, with $5.18 billion made from the card-

board and paper firm founded by his father

Richard Pratt. Property and shopping centre in-

vestor Frank Lowy topped the rich list last year

with $5.04 billionless than half of Rineharts cur-

rent fortunebut fell to sixth spot this year with a

slightly lower fortune of $4.98 billion.

It has been an incredible year for the mining

industry, Business Review Weekly senior editor

Kate Mills said. When we talk about the two-

speed economy, what this list shows is that it plays

out across the whole economy including right at

the top end.

The most immediate factor behind the soar-

ing wealth for the major mining corporations and

their CEOs is booming commodity prices. But this

is not the only factor at play. A proposed Resource

Super Profits Tax was one of the factors behind

the ousting of Kevin Rudd as prime minster last

year. His replacement Julia Gillard immediately

moved to modify the tax that the major miningcompanies spent $100 million fighting against.

Rinehart, Forrest and Palmer were among the bil-

lionaires heading the campaign.

Earlier this month, Gillard was feted by the

miners for services rendered (see Australian

prime minister in love fest with mining moguls).

In her fawning speech to the Minerals Council of

Australia parliamentary dinner, the prime minister

declared that the $22 billion in cuts and savings

announced in the May budget, including vicious

cuts to welfare recipients, was centrally aimed at

leaving room for the mining sector to grow.

The BRW rich list points to the parasitic char-

acter of the Australian bourgeoisie. The wealthiest

individuals are those who oversee the extraction

of minerals from the earth and their export to Asia.

The lone manufacturer in the top ten, Pratt, derives

his fortune from his father and his dubious busi-

ness practices. Richard Pratt, founder of the Visy

cardboard manufacturing and recycling conglom-

erate, was found guilty in 2007 of establishing a

cartel with his major rival, Amcor. The cartel netted

Pratt an estimated $700 million.

A further example of the character of this so-

cial milieu is the Packer family. James Packer

ranks eighth in the Rich 200 list, with a personal

wealth of $4.16 billion. Heir to the deceased Kerry

Packer, formerly Australias richest man, Packers

fortune is closely tied to his 40 percent stake in

Australias largest casino, Crown in Melbourne.

Crowns profits are directly tied to the immisera-

tion of many gamblers, often the poorest and

most desperate layers of society.

The rich list indicates the extreme polarisation

of Australian society. There are 35 billionaires in

Australia, equivalent to 1.6 billionaires for every 1

million citizens. This ratio is among the highest of

all advanced capitalist countriesfor example,

there are 1.3 American billionaires per 1 million

people in the US. The mining boom in Australia,

which has created wealth for a few, has helpedboost the Australian dollar which in turn has had

a recessionary impact on many other sections of

the economy. The result has been a renewed re-

structuring drive in manufacturing and service in-

dustries, intensifying the assault on wages and

conditions.

The BRW Rich 200 magazine features exten-

sive advertising for private jets, luxury cars and

Swiss watchmakers. The extraordinarily wasteful

activities of the wealthy elite finds expression in

the magazines description of James Packers re-

cent home renovations: Packer has been busy

renovating his $18 million residence in Vaucluse

[Sydney]. He spent $12.5 million buying adjacent

properties demolished the two houses, and

plans to pour another $13 million into building a

13-car garage, 23-metre pool, underground cin-

ema, gym and staff quarters.

Fellow Workers: An election was

held recently for the driver del-

gates position at my work. I

came up short to the incumbent in a close vote, ap-

parently. Please find attached a copy of the open

letter to my TWU comrades which was the basis of

my campaign. The letter contains many items that

are job and situation specific which mostly are likely

not applicable to all workplaces. Nevertheless, Fel-

low workers may find it a useful tool as a template

letter for running a similar campaign. It is obviouslythe view of our grand industrial band that empower-

ing the large bodies our class thrown together in pro-

letartianised work is a priori. Delegate/shop steward

elections are excellent oppertunities to agitate by

giving oxygen to the politics of direct democracy

amongst those we work and struggle with daily.

Fellow workers: On the 9th of November we are hold-

ing an election for the position of union delegate.

While recognising the valued contribution of the cur-

rent delegates, it is clear that there are deep-seated

structural problems with the TWU. During my 7 years

with ACTION working, talking, listening and struggling

together with you, there are a number of ways that I

would see the delegates position handled differently

and our unions structure altered to strengthen our

union and make it more democratic and account-

able, the better able to express and realise our col-

lective interests.

To this end Ive prepared a platform that I will im-

plement as your delegate in consultation with you,the members. This platform contains strategic meas-

ures that give power to the membership to use our

collective strength to gain the best possible outcome

for members drawing on lessons learned from the

last, unnecessarily protracted EBA dispute.

As your ACTION TWU delegate I will work for the

following:

An annual mass meeting of members.

The union notice board outside the canteen to be

made more accessible so that anyone can post,

anonymously or otherwise, agenda items in petition

form for the annual mass meeting. Each agenda item

would be debated for and against before a vote is

taken. These meetings would be chaired by a delegate

accountable to their fellow workers. These would then

constitute a hard log of claims for upcoming EBAs.

All negotiations on wages and conditions are

guided by members and include our full participation

through mass meetings and regular consultation and

reports.

Work to ensure that union finances and the

salaries of the top officials are transparent and avail-

able to all members.

In consultation with members implement a limit

on the number of terms any elected official or dele-

gate may serve in order to generate a regular renewal

of talent in our union and guard against complacency

and careerism.

Implement a process for the recall and replace-

ment via election of any official or delegate deemed

by a set number of members, e.g. 100, to be not ad-

equately performing their duties.

That delegates and members be empowered tomake union decisions.

That delegates and any interested members re-

ceive paid union training in legal rights and strategies

of collective self-defence on the job.

Work to see that our union is independent of

party politics and disaffiliates from the ALP pending

a ballot of members at our first annual meeting. It is

time to sever the links between the union office and

the party of government.

As your delegate I will put any question to man-

agement that is conveyed to me by any member,

anonymously or otherwise, and post the answer on

the union board or convey the reply privately if appro-

priate, even if it is a no comment.

Improved delegate accessibility. The union to

supply a basic handset for 9-5 use that all members

have access to on request. I would carry this phone

at all hours allotted by the union and be obliged to

return all calls. Outside of union shift hours this

phone would live in the union office.

A regular fortnightly depot visit at a set day andtime with our regional organiser, to be negotiated.

If you arent a union member, firstly shame on

you. Secondly, if the reason you arent a union mem-

ber is the lack of accountability and democratic struc-

ture within our union I challenge you to enroll and

vote for this platform. If you are a union member and

are feeling disempowered and alienated, vote for this

platform. What have we got to lose? Vote for a

change. Vote up this platform. If you are happy with

the our union then this platform will only improve the

way the TWU operates, making it a stronger, fighting

organization. Again, vote up this platform.

This platform is the result of many conversations

with ACTION drivers over the past few years. I would

like to apologise in advance if I am unavailable to

chat about this platform or my candidacy before the

election. Unfortunately I will be away on holidays with

unchangeable flights booked for two weeks around

and inclusive the date of the election.

Warmest Solidarity, Dan H.

Mining Boom Boosts

Australias Ultra-Wealthy

A Platform for Change in the TWU

peter byrne

FW El prolo


7/12

7

In a country where two out of

every three newspapers in major

cities are owned by Rupert

Murdoch, and which possesses the unenviable

mantle of the most highly concentrated media

ownership in the Western world, it is unsurprising

that public discourse on all things related to big

business, and the shadow it casts over society,

tends toward the lowest common denominator.

According to the minions of Murdoch, the sole

threat to human existence re-affirmed on a daily

basis are boat people destined for the shores

of Australia ostensibly vastly unlike those that

arrived from Europe in the late 18th Century to

colonise the land, at that time deemed empty of

occupants. So important are these alien invaders,

who average approximately three a day since

2009, that discussion of their asylum attemptsassumes the categorisation of border defence,

and the Murdoch Empire in Australia regularly

leads with headlines regarding their imminent

arrival and presumably, the subsequent downfall

of Western civilisation. One might be cynical

enough to suggest that the hyperbole and editorial

outrage serves to mask and omit issues of a class

character. However, the Murdoch media of late

has been busy discussing, for want of a better

term, other issues within the Australian political

milieu pertaining to class and to a degree of

propagandistic proportions.

Since the election of the Labor government in

2007, proposed reforms have generated hysteria

amongst the business elite, and Rupert Murdochs

Newscorp has maintained its position amongst the

Australia media landscape as attack-dog par excel-

lence. Foremost amongst these have been the op-

position to the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT),

and the two proposed responses to climate

change, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

(CPRS), shelved by the Kevin Rudd led Govern-

ment (and undoubtedly a major contributor to his

downfall), and its recent successor, the Emissions

Trading Scheme (ETS). Murdochs Newscorp, in

true Murdoch fashion, put its finger to the wind in

2007 and supported the election of the Rudd Gov-

ernment after 11 years of John Howards conser-

vative rule; unsurprising, this is not the first time

that the media mogul has mounted an aggressive

agenda against an incumbent after initially leaping

on the bandwagon of change.

In 1972, Gough Whitlam, Labor Party poster

child of progress, after no less than 23 years of

post-war conservative rigidity, was swept to power

upon the tune of Its Time. The campaign

summed up the general mood of an Australian

public tired of the Vietnam War; tired of conscript-

ing its teenagers in death-lotteries and tired of thepaternalism of our presumably loving overseer,

Uncle Sam, that foresaw our entry into imperialist

adventures far and near. It was also an Australian

public convinced it was indeed time for many

other reforms: aside from the ending of conscrip-

tion and the freeing of draft-evaders, free univer-

sal higher education, a raft of progressive

legislation for women and Australias indigenous

communities were established, amongst many

others. In all, 507 new pieces of legislation were

introduced.

Most disconcerting for our benevolent masters

in Washington whom members of the Whitlam

Government had labelled maniacs and corrupt

due to their bloody campaigns in Southeast Asia

was the Governments pre-election promise to

buy back the farm: an end to the subservience

to (mainly US) multinationals and a campaign to

reclaim the minerals, refineries, and industries for

the benefit of the Australian public. Buying back

the farm, as the Arbenz or Mosaddegh Govern-

ments could have attested, is a risky strategy for

any would-be DIY country or politician. In fact,

Whitlam should really have known better. He con-

demned Australias own foreign security service,

ASIO realistically a regional lapdog for the CIA

for its complicity in the events of September 11,

1973. Whitlam would have his own Allende mo-

ment on November 11, 1975, when the Queens

representative in Australia, the Governor-General,

dismissed him in another CIA-backed coup.

Earlier that year, 75 Murdoch journalists went

on strike over one of Murdochs papers, The Aus-

tralian, becoming a propagandist sheet and a

laughing stock, presumably before laughing-

stockery became his mainstay. On the 20th an-

niversary of what has become known as the

Constitutional Crisis, Murdoch suggested that

historic accounts and speculation of his involve-

ment in the events of 1975 do not do him justice,

and that his behind-the-stage puppetry and con-

sequent subversion of Australian democracy was

actually far more extensive.

This time, unfortunately for

Direct Action Summer 2011-12

Documents

Transcript of Direct Action Summer 2011-12