By Ben Reid
MELBOURNE — A public forum here on March 16 discussed the prospects for forming a branch of the New Labour Party. Speakers were Elvie Sievers from the Friends of Richmond Secondary College and Bob Leach, the interim national secretary of the NLP.
The NLP was formed at a conference in Newcastle in November.
Leach argued, "Today we are engaged in a struggle against a new type of capitalism.
"Globalisation is creating the conditions were there is an increasing polarisation between a small number of well off areas and the great mass of humanity ... This has also meant that the old strategies of the left, either based on the 1917 Russian Revolution or Fabianism are no longer sufficient.
"Today there is a new conflict between the nation-state and globalisation. A left strategy today means advancing policies that can counter the effect of globalisation by strengthening the state."
Leach used a number of international examples of what the "new politics" of the left must be like. These included the Mexican Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Olive Tree Alliance government in Italy. He equated these with the experiences of the New Zealand Alliance and NewLabour Party.
"In Australia we also have to break out of the old moulds. The ALP has shown itself to be an ineffective vehicle for social change. We need a new party that is a left social democratic organisation in the classical sense."
He said, "The new party must be made up of new people and be a complete new start. After our next conference on June 30, members of existing registered parties and organisations will be proscribed from the organisation ... After it is consolidated we will consider approaching other parties such as the Australian Women's Party, the Indigenous People's Party and the Greens for a broader electoral alliance."
The meeting attracted about 75 people, many from other left organisations. Sue Bolton, Melbourne branch secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party, who attended the meeting commented later:
"The DSP, currently the largest socialist party in Australia, supports all genuine attempts to regroup the left and build a mass left alternative to the ALP. But if the NLP is going to be a real left alternative, it will have to clearly reject and actively fight the neo-liberal, 'economic rationalist' policies of Labor and Liberal.
"It is worrying that Bob Leach used the examples of the Olive Tree alliance of Italy and the Mexican PRD to explain what politics the NLP should have. Both of these groups' policies appear very similar to the ALP's. The Olive Tree is currently in government in Italy and has implemented severe austerity measures."
PERTH — On March 17, 10 people attended a meeting to start a Perth branch of the New Labour Party. Mary Lupi from the Bunbury branch spoke of the party's plans for its conference in June, and the need to register the party to prevent the ALP's cynical attempt to register the New Labour name first.