The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) has called a public meeting on Sunday October 31 at 1 p.m. (AEDT) to discuss and explain the case for the elimination of COVID-19 internationally. The meeting will link the criminal reopening policies of governments worldwide, to the new, blatantly anti-democratic electoral laws, rushed through the Australian parliament on August 26. Click here to register.
Passed behind the back of the Australian population and with almost complete media silence, the Labor Party opposition worked hand-in-hand with the Liberal/National government to get these bills through parliament, in a little over 24 hours.
The legislation targets 36 registered political parties who do not have seats in parliament. It demands they must submit a list of 1,500 members to the Australian Electoral Commission, treble the previous number, or face deregistration.
The SEP alone is conducting a campaign against these laws, alerting the working class, youth and professionals about their anti-democratic nature, and calling on them to join the campaign to defeat them.
From the beginning, the SEP made clear that there is an intimate link between the passing of the laws and the unfolding COVID-19 catastrophe. At the time, the Delta variant was surging in Australia’s most populous states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.
Governments, both state and federal, knew there was deep-rooted hostility to the lifting of safety restrictions and reopening the economy under the guise of “learning to live with the virus.” They passed the laws to prevent this opposition from finding political expression.
Less than two months from the legislation being enacted, the Liberal NSW and Labor Victorian state governments have made clear there will be no return to lockdowns and are accelerating the reopening drive, even with infections at the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic, and an ever-increasing death rate.
There is a bipartisan agreement between the Liberals and Labor Party to impose a policy of “learning to live with the virus” no matter what the daily cases and death rates. Face to face education is resuming already, resulting in infections among children, students and teachers. This has nothing to do with the education of children; it is aimed at forcing their parents back into workplaces and factories.
Capitalism and its government representatives are implementing a policy of profit over lives. Workers and young people must oppose this deadly perspective and take matters into their own hands. Independent rank and file committees should be formed to ensure measures are adopted that prioritise health and life over profit and production.
The SEP is the only political organisation fighting for this program. As part of this fight we urge all supporters and readers to become an SEP electoral member today, join the campaign, and help the party retain its registration to defeat this attack.
Meeting time in relevant time zones:
Sydney: 1 p.m., Sunday, October 31
Brisbane: 12 noon, Sunday, October 31
Adelaide: 12:30 p.m., Sunday, October 31
Perth: 10 a.m., Sunday, October 31
Auckland: 2 p.m., Sunday, October 31
Colombo: 7:30 a.m., Sunday October 31
New Delhi: 7:30 a.m., Sunday October 31
London: 2 a.m., Sunday, October 31
New York: 9 p.m., Saturday, October 30
Los Angeles: 6 p.m., Saturday, October 30
To attend the meeting, register here.