The recent passage of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Bill 2024 marks a critical juncture in the history of Australia's labour movement. This legislation which places the Construction and General Division of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, and Employees’ Union (CFMEU[MH1] ) under direct government control, is a profound attack on union autonomy and workers’ democratic rights. The bill grants extraordinary powers to a government appointed administrator, who can suspend or remove union officials, terminate employees, and alter the union's internal rules without the usual requirements of due process or member consultation. The ability to declare union offices vacant and bar individuals from holding office or serving as bargaining representatives without a fair hearing is a draconian measure that effectively disenfranchises union members and any power that they have built up. Critically, the bill's provisions could set a dangerous precedent for all registered organisations in Australia.

Dear comrades,

I am writing on behalf of the Central Committee of our Party at what is a watershed moment in the history of the labour movement of this country. There have been many adverse developments in the struggle for workers’ rights in recent times and they were said to be a calamity from which we might never recover. A relevant example would be the de-registrations of the Builders Labourers’ Federation in previous decades. The spirit of resistance of workers disproved those predictions with the rise of a well-organised and militant Construction and General Division of the CFMEU but there are a number of features of the current attack on that union that confirm that this is a qualitatively different and far more consequential development.

In this Red Report Back:

The ABC recently put out an article under the headline “Tens of thousands more jobs must go to finally crack this cost-of-living crisis, economists say”.

Bosses at price gouging duopoly supermarket giant Coles have turned their eye on their own employees, seeking to shake them down for every last cent as well. Workers at the chain have denounced a proposed new enterprise bargaining agreement that includes an hourly rate just 54 cents above the legal minimum.

The Federal Government’s proposed “Help to Buy” Scheme is, bluntly, a smokescreen. The scheme as proposed will have the government contributing up to 40% of the cost of a mortgage for a new home, 30% for an existing house. purchasers will only have to front up a 2% deposit. This seems pretty good on paper to allow people the opportunity to afford a home. However, it has many significant drawbacks.

Only 0.7% of all houses are vacant in Australia currently. In Perth and Adelaide, this sits even lower at about 0.3%. If anything was proof that there are not enough houses in Australia, it is this. We have allowed the logic of the market, supply and demand, to ravage our understanding of housing in Australia. It is a simple equation, when supply is low, prices go up.