The Party Line on Ben Caroll’s Plan to Make Labor Liberal

There’s a lot going on in the world, from Google bulldozing 250,000 trees in Finland to build an illegal datacentre, through incredible election results in Brazil and Serbia that have pushed the far right back, for now. We start by reflecting on the brutal attack on Helen Haines, and the cynical politicisation of the tragedy by the capitalist media. We then take a brief look at the Israeli election happening today, and how it is essentially a meaningless contest about how to manage and market the occupation of Palestinian territory - rather than anything substantive on policy or principle. We also look at how One Nation is openly working with business to write their policies, and also recruiting more and more candidates from the Liberal and National party. The final story is about how public housing residents are being shifted into private tenancies, which are highly insecure, all so that private developers can profit off bulldozing high rise public housing towers.

The substance of the ep is all about Ben Caroll’s campaign for the upcoming Victorian State Election. We look at his attacks on the CFMEU, his decision to lower land tax on the rich, and his reactionary law and order reforms that build on Jacinta Allan’s adult time for adult crime laws. We look at what sort of policies could actually help disadvantaged communities and address the root cause of crime, including public housing, investment into education, and other social justice causes. We then look at the proposal to cap toll and transport costs, which hands hundreds of millions to private providers and fails to address cost of living crisis. Our alternative - free, publicly owned roads and transport for all!

News Palestine supporters guilty once again, declares Murdoch press ‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre | The Guardian Brazil election: Lula wins fourth term in dramatic comeback over Bolsonaro How a movement of students brought down Serbia's Vučić ‘Jordan, Lebanon & Syria are ours’: why young Israelis are voting more far right | The View From ‘It is ours’: The far-right Israeli settlers who want to build homes in Gaza When Victorian pensioner Gail secured housing, it was the ‘best day’ of her life. Then she was ordered to vacate | The Guardian The long list of former Coalition MPs seeking new home on One Nation’s crowded NSW ticket She’s receptive’: Corporate Australia is taking note of Pauline Hanson’s pivot to policy Further reading Europe’s youth and workers in revolt Thanks for listening, remember to like, comment, subscribe, share, HYPE!, and sign up to our Patreon if you can.

*****************

Hosted by Jordan van den Lamb (@purplepingers), Anneke Demanuele and Omar Hassan. Huge thanks to our (MIFF Talent of Tomorrow Award-winning) producer Jak Scanlon who should be working in Hollywood, and Jaan Schild our new cover photo designer.

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily) or Labor apologism (@friendlyjordies). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current eventTs from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline.

If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.

(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) H