Ed,
Fred Perring from Halfway Creek (“Deja vu”, CVI /2 / 11) implores young Australians to read up on the history of socialism. He then recounts, with rhetorical flourish, such monsters as Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung and Vladimir Putin. And he joins the dots of murder and destruction to an imaginary horror story of the Australian Labor Party of today.
A desperate Scott Morrison similarly invoked the communist threat before the recent federal election. But his claim to power was no longer legitimate. The electorate understood this, they saw through his nonsense about communism, and they responded accordingly.
Mr Perring is taking the readers of this newspaper for mugs. The equal and opposite argument would be to name the fascist villains of the same period and tie them to the malignant (but ultimately impotent) thought bubbles of Dutton, Joyce, Ley and Littleproud.
The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party. To understand what this means, it is better to read the party’s constitution rather than Mr Perring’s fearful rhetoric.
One of the primary social democratic objectives is to retain public ownership of significant public assets. Contrast this with the privatization of energy production, distribution and retail, vocational education, and corrective services, including the Clarence Correctional Centre.
Privatization has been disastrous for New South Wales. Much of this has happened in the last 12 years under a Liberal National state government more interested in representing big business and shareholders than the people who elected them.
Labor seems to have learned from these mistakes. I see Chris Minns has declared that privatization of public assets would stop under his government. I want to see essential services being owned by government, not profit hungry private enterprise.
Experience shows public ownership isn’t communism; it’s sensible. So please let’s tone down the silly rhetoric. People of the Clarence are not as stupid as the Liberal and National Parties think.
Stephen Wilson, Yamba