Less than eighteen months ago, Western Australian Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia comfortably held the seat of Secret Harbour, in Perth’s southern suburbs, with a two-party preferred vote of 61.5 percent in the state election. The by-election on Saturday wasn’t even close.
Labor’s attacks on unions that lack a legal monopoly is an attempt to prop up decrepit union machines—including the SDA—but not limited to them. The attacks should be opposed by everyone who supports unions as organisations dedicated to advancing the interests of workers.
Although the Spanish Revolution ended in defeat, it nevertheless proves that ordinary people can be inspired to fight for a better world and offers a glimpse of what that world could be. But, above all, it proves that, when a revolutionary opportunity arises, having the right politics matters.
