Monbiot is Right: Keep the Big $ Out of Politics

George Monbiot, British journalist and activist, advocated recently for fundamental reform to political donations in Britain (“Death of the Noble Idea“, The Guardian 5/2/2008). The political malaise which Monbiot touches upon is also present within Australia; political parties are desperately reliant on corporate donations. In fact, recent figures published by the Australian Electoral Commission indicate that the ALP received $14.9million in donations for the 2006/07 financial year.

Coalition drops WorkChoices: an opportunity for unions

One must wonder how Julie Bishop, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Opposition Spokesperson for Industrial Relations and Mining Interests, felt about the Liberal Party strategy paper on IR. Ms Bishop is known to be an anti-union IR hardliner yet her party is now seriously considering making Forward with Fairness a bipartisan keystone of Australian politics. The very fact that it was leaked to the Australian highlights the discension within Coalition ranks about how to deal with the extremist policy. However, the moderate element of the Liberal Party’s struggle to retain political relevance represents a real opportunity for the union movement to shake itself of the ALP headlock.