Excellent article...

Although an ALP member, I'm not sure - but you may a have a point on the Greens...

Remaining outside the government - but exerting leverage - it probably work out better for policy outcomes... It depends on any deals made in regard to policy outcomes... Portfolios are important - but if Cabinet is going to steamroll you again and again - where does it lead?

Peter Garrett, meanwhile, has been damaged by his constant forced compromise and silence... (Cabinet solidarity they call it - in fact a way of silencing dissenting voices in the Caucus...)

Finally - I may as well mention that I have a paper on the Aus economy in OLO tomorrow (Fri)...

The paper comprises a consideration of Labor's coming-to-power, and the challenges faced since then...

Thanks Tristan.

I had initially written that the Greens would form a coalition with Labor and take a ministry - I still think that is a very strong possibility. That opened them up, in light of the economic crisis, to ditching what they had fought the election on and attacking workers, hand in hand with Labor.

A friend (whom I recently met and who was some sort of adviser to Gough) suggested "the stay out of power" argument. he is so angry with Rudd and the other ALP.

In the ACT the swing is likely to be against Labor and to the Greens. In NSW with the four by-elections on the same day as our Assembly elections, the swing is likely to be from labor to the Liberals.

Why the difference?

I went to aSsocialist Alternative meeting tonight on the nature of the ALP. We still adopt Lenin's description - a bourgeois workers party. In other words it is contradictory - its parliamentarians in the main are committed to capitalism and managing it in the interests of the bosses, yet at the same time expressing some sort of class base through the dominance of unions and the trade union bureaucracy.

My friend also mentioned he thought some of the left in the ALP here in Canberra have left the Party and are campaigning for the Greens. Don't know.

I have no illusions in the Greens since they don't have a class analysis of society - nicer capitalism seems to be what they are about - nor organic links to the class, but a sizable swing to them will express extreme dissatisfaction with the ALP and its school closures here in Canberra, its failure to address the hospitals crisis, building a road for $120 m which needs to be extended almost immediately because it doesn't do its job, attempting to locate a power station within 600 metres of homes - you get the idea.

I look forward to your article. Hopefully you talk about the tendency of the rate of profit to fall under capitalism being hot-wried into the system.

What nobody, even the author, mentions is the need for a substantial and permanent reduction in the standard of living of ordinary people, and the need to try and dig ourselves out of our enormous foreign debt before it is called in. The commonwealth government has just assumed responsibility for about a trillion of overseas bank borrowings, and overseas lenders will remember that the commonwealth defaulted on its bonds in the last depression. Any government with foresight should be planning for opening the parks to shanty dwellers as they did last time. This one could well be worse, as any attempt to revive growth will run into the brick walls of peak oil and peak food.

Nevertheless, I still think Australia is the only place to be, as it is the only country with the for vital things; food, minerals, energy, and, most important of all, a sea boundary.

I agree that the falling rate of profit is an underlying tendency in capitalist economies... This is negotiated by capital - by increasing the rate of exploitation...

This is achieved without significant resistance - so far because improved technology leads regardless to an improved standard of living...

As the limitations of 'living beyond our means' reaches a critical point - along with other factors (eg: peak oil)- there will be an impact on our quality of life - and limits to consumption...

What is important, though, is that the crisis is negotiated fairly and equitably...

I go into more detail in other papers - including today's (Fri 17th) article on the Labor government.

Dear Plerdsus

I don't think immiseration of the working class is justified or inevitable. Workers can fight to make the rich tighten their belts and for those who got us into this problem to bear the cost - both through reduced "rewards" and reduced profit share of national income.

So the reason I don't mention "tightening our belts" is because I don't believe in it for workers, or pensioners, or the unemployed, or carers, or the sick, or those wanting to be educated, or the unemployed.

With about 25% of the vote counted in the ACT, it looks like Labor 7, Libs 7 and Greens 3.

The swing against the ALP was about 10 per cent, against (yes against) the Libs about 2 per cent, to the greens just under 7 per cent and to others about 6 per cent.

My take on the figures so far is that disaffected ALP voters have gone to the greens (in the main) with a few going to others, and some people not sure about the Libs also going to others. Other include the Australian Motorists Party (what someone described as Hansonism on wheels) the Community alliance party (which looks a bit like some right wing ALpers defecting to the CAP and community figures out of various campaigns coalescing), and a strong showing for a breakfast radio announcer.

Did anyone read The Australian's three reports or opinion pieces on the ACT election today (Saturday)? Sneering ignorance as far I can see.

!U little Beauty!

Is it true poppets?.

Green's get 2 pick 4 the ACT.
;-)

And, they get 2 nego for a cabinet seat?
That's beautiful - Well done and congratulations.

Hmmm .. the poli commentators reckon they'll go with Red.

Who would u mob pick?

My pick, unless there was a compelling reason otherwise, would be Blue. Becoz, this will provide greatest contrast and definition for the Green's Image. Whereas, they wld be at risk of being blurred out of the picture with Red.

And, they must come to terms with business and thrash out solutions for the environment and everything associated with the prime $ movers. If they can generate workable solutions AND they could, they will establish new found respect for their economic credentials.

This in turn will lead to a potential bigger portion of the vote later on. And of course, they can always cross the floor and mayb take some Blues for the forest with them.
(That's beautiful isn't it computer poppets?)

And, a GreenBlue stick will b better than a RedGreen stick when it comes to dealing with *Mr Wudd et al*

I look 4ward to seeing how it plays out either either way.