Lisbeth Latham is an Australian trans feminist and union activist who writes on the lands of the Wurrundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. She has written articles for Green Left Weekly, the Irish Broad Left, Labor Notes, and Overland, and curates the website Revitalising Labour.
Mainstream economists claim that we can only cure inflation if workers and the poor have less to spend. Instead, we need to think outside the box — by turning to tax-funded wealth redistribution and limits on profiteering.
Just as John Howard pitched to the right to attract One Nation voters, Australia’s Scott Morrison is cravenly trying to win over far-right voters today. The danger is that the tactic will backfire, fracturing the Coalition and encouraging a far-right movement.
Buenos Aires’s neoliberal government has used the pandemic to impose austerity on the city’s primary and secondary school teachers. Argentine teachers are fighting back with a campaign of rolling strikes.
The Australian far right has joined forces with New Age spiritualists, snake-oil salesmen, and wellness gurus to take advantage of social alienation caused by the pandemic. Despite the new branding, their anti-union, anti-working-class politics remain the same.