Save Your Energy for Election Day

Thousands of protesters are expected to turn out today in capital cities across Australia to show their support for over turning Howard’s Industrial Relations reforms. The Labor Party and Union organised demonstrations are expected to draw up to 150,000 people across NSW and 55,000 alone at Victoria’s MCG (Jimmy Barne’s role as a draw card is debatable). My advice though to these disgruntled workers is to stay at home, squeeze all of your anger up into a bitter little ball and release it at the appropriate time: Election Day.

Now don’t get me wrong, this Administration is against the current set of IR laws, which undoubtedly discriminate against workers across the board and particularly those in manufacturing and factory jobs. CEO’s and executives are used to negotiating individual contracts and can rely on their indispensability, while the backbone of our workforce need the security of collectively determined pay and conditions. The problem is not with Labors plans to repeal the laws – it’s that traditionally these causes tend to lose momentum the closer we come to fresh elections.

Last time around, demonstrations against Voluntary Student Unionism, higher tertiary education fees, detention of asylum seekers and the invasion of Iraq amounted to nothing and the government was re-elected with an increased majority. A small tax break and good economic news (mixed with scare mongering on rising interest rates) was enough for most Australian’s to forget the misdeeds of Howard and vote him back in. If anything, the idea that these demonstrations can be ignored was reinforced and today’s rallies will be no different.

Let us then learn then from the misadventures of the past. Stay home today and stare angrily at a John Howard poster, spar with your Peter Costello punching bag and burn your Alexander Downer effigies in the privacy of your backyard. Bottle your anger, concentrate your discontent – and when it comes time to vote in 2007/8, make a choice that will actually make a difference.