What are we afraid of? Apparently, according to the Howard Government, we're more afraid of the Unions than we are of this Government. What on earth can this mean? Howard believes it means that he can win this election by running a scare campaign on how many of the Labor Party are previous union officials. This from a Government that introduced the most anti-worker legislation we've seen in my 59 years!
A Labor Government, led by a former leader of the ACTU - Bob Hawke - gave us compulsory superannuation, so that we'd be able to do things like pay off our mortgages and other debts on retirement, perhaps have a supplement to our pension or even not be dependent on the Government for a pension, afford to follow recreational pursuits, etc. This fantastic social policy has been a fundamental change in the lives of working people. Certainly Howard has liked it enough to try to put his own stamp on it by claiming to make the biggest changes in super ever (another of his 'sleight of tongue' exercises). He has, of course, brought in some positive changes (tax rules for over-60s) but he's also opened it up to commercial providers, who do not match the Industry funds' performances and left many, if they choose those providers, vulnerable to the sharks.
The Hawke/Keating Government also gave us privatisation - a personal bugbear of mine - selling off the Commonwealth Bank, for example. Howard has taken and run with this one. If it's not nailed down, he'll sell it, with no regard to the public good. Much of what used to be our national inheritance - Telstra being the highest profile sell-off - now belongs largely to SOME of us instead of ALL of us.
Hawke/Keating gave us Enterprise Bargaining - not a favourite of mine - where, instead of industry wide bargaining, we bargain in our individual workplaces, through the relevant unions if we have any concept of the real world at all. Howard gave us Workchoices, where we bargain alone against management in a modern gladiator sport for survival, where we have virtually no weapons and our opponent has them all PLUS is the favoured of Nero.
Can Howard sell the Unions as THE BIG BAD WOLF successfully, when they are actually 'the woodsman' come to save us? Is he that good, even when we can look back at a stream of his scare-tactic lies, for which we've fallen time and again? You're really good if you can sell people a bill of goods, even when they know you're a liar. Where even the language can be usurped and made to mean the opposite ("decent" comes to mind as an example - don't start me on that one - and "fair go" - nor on that one).
Ultimately, the decision belongs to the people. Howard and his crew can bribe with tax cuts and scare with lies but we know he's doing it and that he has more anti-worker plans in reserve for his next term (should he win one). If we fall for this again, it says more about us than it does about the Government. Those of us who aren't scared of shadows - we know who is really scary - will be stuck with the Australia the mindlessly fearful create for us.
Well, unions can be pretty scary actually. Want proof? Check out the TV ads funded by the ‘National Business Action Fund’. The union officials in the ad burst into the workplace, seemingly uninvited by the staff members. These men (because all unionist are men, right?) attempt to intimidate hardworking small business owners. The bastards! Just look at them: middle aged, overweight, shaven head dinosaurs… Thank God the Federal Government has stepped in to ensure that ordinary Australians can get a fair go.
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