By Neil Gray

While government coffers have balloned with A$1 bn more than they expected from soaring petrol prices, ordinary commuters, owner-operator truck drivers and farmers are bleeding at the bowser. Families living standards fall through the poverty line as Howard desperately clings onto a Federal Government surplus of $13.5 billion.

The escalating oil prices is bringing on a global crisis. Spontaneous blockades have erupted both here and around the world by truck drivers and ordinary workers to force governments to cut petrol taxes. Two decades of economic rationalism have built up deep anger in the community. Any attack on living standards is bringing ordinary people out on the streets. The blockades in Victoria were only called off after Premier Bracks diverted the anger to the Premiers Conference declaring he would ask the Federal Government to drop the 3% fuel excise increase expected in February. But blockaders say they will be back if they don't get satisfaction.

The Transport Workers Union, like the trade union leaders in Britain, were caught off-guard by the blockades. The Brisbane blockade was called off because there was no support coming from the union. In WA, moves to blockade have been cut across for the moment by opposition from the TWU. These leaders have been exposed as ineffectual. They have been surprised at the depth of opposition to rising prices. They have behaved as loyal representatives of the capitalist system in the workers movement. They need replacing by ordinary rank-and-file workers so a lead can once again be provided by the trade unions.

The reduction in investment in new oil production during the Asian economic meltdown in 1997, coupled with trade embargoes on Iran and Iraq and tight reserves of cheaply accessible oil, has created a tight supply. As a consequence global speculators have bid up the price of oil reaching US$32 a barrel. The recent release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by President Clinton is largely a symbolic gesture, and has done little to reduce prices.

A tight global supply has been a boon for OPEC and the Oil companies. In Britain the oil companies have doubled their profits in the last year. Something is wrong when a system can't plan production of energy for its predicted needs. Something is also wrong when the high price of oil is accelerating a currency free-fall in Europe and Australia because of it's effect in knocking 0.5% off global growth, threatening the very stability of the global economy. When short-term decision making by oil companies and money markets sends prices soaring, destroying the livelihoods of ordinary workers and small business people while providing windfall profits for the rich, you have to call into question their competency to rule.

We say there's a lot that the trade union leaders can do than to support the bosses and the system. We call for the abolition of the fuel excise. Socialists do not agree with a user-pays petrol excise or any other indirect tax, like the GST, for instance. Indirect taxes tax people no on what they can afford to pay, but on what they spend. Both the rich and poor use cars to get to work, so we end up paying the same amount of petrol tax. But workers pay far more as a percentage of income in taxes. There has been a huge transfer of the taxation burden from rich to poor over the last period. Petrol excise in Australia is 47.2% of the price of fuel. " Not long after the government introduced a GST on ordinary consumers they passed Ralph Review legislation allowing millionaires to cut the capital gains taxes by up to half while the top corporate tax rate has been reduced from 36 to 34%. The changes to capital gains tax are expected to create new opportunities for dodging tax by the wealthy." We say the lost revenue from abolishing petrol excise can be made up by increasing corporate taxes and closing off loopholes in taxation law that allow the bosses to dodge paying tax.

At the same time the oil companies should be nationalised and placed under democratic workers control. The profits from the oil companies can then be used to fund a massive expansion in public transport. Public Transport like education and health is a democratic right. It should be free and accessible to all and comprehensive across the country. Jobs should be guaranteed to any worker displaced in the Auto industry through a reduced working week and a guaranteed paid retraining for a job of their choice.

The Socialist Party calls for:

• Abolishment of all petrol taxes
• Opposition to all indirect tax, for a progressive direct tax system
• For a massive boost to public transport
• For a boost to investment for alternative energy sources
• Nationalise the oil companies

The Reserve Bank has raised interest rates to 6.5% in an attempt to stabilise an Aussie dollar that has experienced a roller coaster ride that saw it make a 16% drop between January 1st and September 15th. The Federal government boasts of 4%+ growth but speculators ravage the dollar and continued growth remains dependent on the US economy.

The money markets see Australia as an "old economy", with two OECD reports ranking the economy at the bottom of 18 western nations in terms of information technology. No wonder, when government and big business refuse to invest in research and development. Australian R+D spending is the second lowest in the OECD. News from the US is ominous. US information technology shares are set to nose dive, even Paul Allen, co-creator of Microsoft, is frantically selling his shares in the apparent super company. In the US, 55% of high school students have shares but out of the 10,000 companies floated in the US market in the last year, only 11 have currently reported a profit.It is possible interest rates will rise again in Australia this year to protect the local dollar. This will slow down growth, which is already happening in construction and house building. In any event this boom more than any other is enjoyed mainly by the rich. Unlike the post-war boom, the profit boost is not based on new productive investment but on a reduction in wages and conditions. In the last year of record profits, wages rose by only 2.5%, much to the delight of big business. This is because most new jobs are non-unionised, casual or part-time. Full-time unionised jobs continue to fall. The main reason for the fall in the dollar is the strength of the US dollar and economy, which continues to suck in investment from throughout the world. However the Financial Review warns that whenever the reversal arrives, it could be sudden. The rise in the anti-capitalist feeling seen first at Seattle and most recently in Melbourne and Prague is occuring during this upturn. It will explode in a recession.

By Stephen Jolly

The two most powerful unions in Victoria (CFMEU and AMWU) effectively split with the Trades Hall leadership over the latter's initial refusal to march south of the Yarra to join the main body of protestors on S12.

This left Trades Hall high and dry, exposing its weakness in an era of federal awards and a shift to the Left amongst their most powerful affiliates. It was forced to pulp its original posters calling on unionists to stop their march at Enterprise Park, north of the Yarra.

Nevertheless the opposition to the S11 blockade by Trades Hall meant that before and after the S12 union rally, the young protestors were largely alone. The State government and police felt S11 was politically isolated from the trade unions. This led to the brutal baton charges on Tuesday morning and especially on Tuesday night that saw over 400 injured and seven ambulances being called to the CFMEU first aid marquee.

The Trades Hall leadership, therefore, have blood on their hands, despite their current weeping over the police actions at the Crown Towers. Their political stocks will be further demented as the legal case being pursued by the injured protestors gradually exposes the links between the WEF, State Labor government, police, federal security agencies and the police. It is important to understand how and why key unions decided to ignore Trades Hall over S11. The Workers First leadership of the AMWU-in particular State Secretary Craig Johnston, a member of the Progressive Labour Party-took a principled position from the start.

In the CFMEU (construction and general division), the work of rank and file members of the union who were active in S11 (including but not exclusively members of the Socialist Party) in raising the importance of the blockade was important.

A marquee and first aid equipment and union volunteers were agreed to early on. Then the decision was made to march to the Crown Towers on S12. It was a combination of the objective pull of the S11 protest and growing opposition to globalisation, and the subjective factor as well. In the Labor Party, Premier Steve Bracks' comments in support of the police baton charge and calling protestors "fascist" provoked a mini-revolt in party branches including his own in Williamstown. Many members resigned and wrote to the papers explaining why. Bracks was forced to cancel his BBQ for police.

At the next state election there will be even more rank and file ALP members secretly and openly backing left of Labor candidates, as seen when we stood in Richmond last September. S11 marked a re-entry into the political arena by thousands of young people, including school students. For most of the 1990s, single issue and identity politics dominated the political scene amongst the thin layer of youth involved in struggle.

S11 changed all that, and a growing layer of youth are opposing capitalism and groping in the direction of socialism. Issues that dominated the left in the late 1960s/early 1970s are coming back: socialism versus anarchism; the role of the working class and the trade unions; peaceful protest and its limits and so on. After the baton charges debates will develop about the new forms of peaceful protest (gridlocks, mobile protests), and even the need to move beyond peaceful action. Similar debates occurred in the US during the Civil Rights protests in the 1960s between Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and later, the Black Panthers.

The role of the mass media was disgraceful in it coverage of S11 and they exposed themselves in the eyes of millions. Nevertheless through the mud much of our message got through. For example the ABC-TV's Behind the News, which broadcasts news stories into every Australian school, had an excellent report on S11 outlining the arguments against capitalist globalisation.

From BBC World Service, to Channel 9, to community radio, S11 had opportunities to talk to millions. This would never have happened if there had been no blockade. The blockade itself highlighted the importance of good, democratically-based organisation. The marshals were all elected, active members of S11-Alliance and had the confidence of many. The played a key coordinating role. However, more thought needs to go into greater involvement of picketers/blockaders themselves in the running of pickets rather than relying solely on speeches on megaphone from marshals. The first aid marquee and crew were absolutely crucial and were the unsung heroes of the three days. The legal support crew were also crucial. Those who had the privilege of attending S11 will be changed forever and become ambassadors for activism amongst their peers. Australia will never be the same again.

I was absent from school on September 11 for reasons my school 'did not support'. I wore my uniform, I held a banner and I shouted loud! S11 for me was a day I will never forget, a day that opened my eyes and showed me that there are so many people out there that hold similar values and beliefs as mine. I was inspired by the fact that we the protesters were brought together by the same common belief regarding corporate globalisation, yet there was no central organising body. There were so many different strategies and opinions about how to alleviate the problem of increasing corporate domination. S11 has encouraged me to continue to stand up for what I believe in, and that we as people can take on negative globalisation, and make a change in this world that we all live in.

How good it was to see thousands protesting outside the Crown Casino in defence of our standards of living against the World Economic Forum (WEF). Yes, there were a large number of young people present and rightly so as they are the next group of people seeking jobs. The corporate bosses inside the Casino must surely be getting the message that their odious methods are not wanted around here. Australia's must continue the struggle to maintain and improve working conditions not only in Australia but worldwide. Unity is strength so why not try for a huge coalition of student unions, trade unions, environmental groups, churches, women's groups etc and make our politicians govern for us instead of taking orders from the WEF?

I arrived at the Crown Complex on Sunday afternoon I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All of the casino circuit surrounded by the concrete and wire fences, with at least fifty or so cops at each main entrance and hundreds roaming around. It was like a war zone already and the forum hadn't even started. The cops all looked like caged animals, the graffiti which appeared a few days later on the fence 'please don’t feed the animals' was very appropriate (I wish I could take the credit for it!). I camped down at the site for the three days. I don't think I considered how it would be. The first night they turned the sprinklers on us, not to mention the chopper over us every night. I was marshalling and a first aider over the three days. I can't say what the most appalling event was of the forum, there are so many to choose from and lots that I am only beginning to remember. There was so much police violence. Their power was completely abused. Any protestor who was there will never trust a cop again. But it is more then just the cops, even worse is that it's the people who we voted for and the ones who are running our world.

I am a Year 12 student who gladly protested at S11 and I must say what a fantastic and memorable experience it was. The atmosphere was jovial and protestors were peaceful despite the deplorable coverage of the media who portrayed calamity only. I learnt more at S11 than I would at a week at school. Without these sorts of protests, the world would not be informed about these high corporate scumbags who do not exemplify being humane at all. Congratulations to all who exposed these bastards and stood up for what they believed was right. Like the writing on the wall "what are you going to do with all that money, when you have depleted the world's resources."

It was an inspiring sight to see thousands of people standing up against the opulent few. Impressive was the fact that all these people seriously cared about the social, environmental, political and economic state of the world. Even though there were many different individual ideas being expressed, all the people were united for one outcome, to shut down this symbol of greed, the WEF. Many people are now questioning the success of S11. Sure it could have been organised better, but we did the best we could and knew how to. More importantly, we achieved our goal, to make the public aware of corporate globalisation and its effects. It's going to be a long time before the WEF returns to Melbourne, especially since S11 showed the public that we are not getting the great deal that the corporations, government and media keep telling us we are getting. S11 is over, but for myself, and hopefully many others, it is just the beginning.