NATIONAL SECRETARY’S REPORT August 2015
MUA, Maritime Union of Australia
The Government attacks on the Retired Community did not have the outcome that
Abbott and Morrison wanted. Unfortu-nately, the new Greens Leader took the
wrong turn and supported the Government’s position, and the Retired Communities were
sold out. Even with Media reports by Lead-ers of the three major Organisations, the
Government was not able to have an out-right position until supported by the Greens.
We addressed our concerns with the Greens, condemning their position, but too late, we
will not forget! (A fortnight later the Greens made a statement that they were conned by
the Government).
POLITICAL OVERVIEW
It is distressing that in retirement we keep
getting punished due to the Government’s“
Agenda”.
Their whole “Agenda” is based on LIES and serving their Masters, never addressing
their rip offs and rorts of the Tax System. e.g. Negative Gearing, Offshore Tax
Avoidance and no Tax on Financial Trans-actions in and out of the Country, the list
goes on….Unless there is a Movement built up, who are able to challenge the right of
the Corporates, with progressive demands of their own, the cost of the continuing
Global Crisis will result in more cuts to Social Programs .
NOW THE ATTACK ON THE PEOPLE
WITH A CALL FOR INCREASES IN THE
G.S.T. AND TAXES, NOT A WORD ON
COMPANY TAX INCREASES.
The continual attacks on the Living Standards of Retirees,
Workers and Low Income Earners, together with the increases
in the Cost of Living “is hurt-ing”, there is no significant changes in atti-tude regarding Profit or Price Control, the
Free Market is having a “hey day”!
This position, then again highlights the “Fair Go For Pensioners” Campaign for
35% of the “Total Average Male Wage” and reviewing Indexation not moving below the
“Mean Wage” which this Government is doing. We are navigating very dangerous
waters with the possibility of a “Double Dissolution” being called; we WILL be
called upon to assist in the Election.
There is a lot at stake in the coming Elec-tion for Workers, the Retired Community,
and the people of Australia will need to have a clear idea of who they will support
and take part in activities to elect a Worker friendly Government.
YOUR FUTURE AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY DEPEND ON IT
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is on standby for the Elections, calling on the
Union Movement to place all resources into this Campaign, we CAN NOT afford to lose!
THE WORK CHOICE CAMPAIGN will
not be dismantled after the Election, regard-less of who wins or loses, this is a commit-ment from the ACTU.
The Retired Movement has everything to lose, Abbott’s Agenda is to kill the “Union Movement” and bring in Individual Contracts. The effects of Individual Contracts on the Retired Community’s income struc-ture will lead to more poverty and hardship, understanding that the CPI only gave Pensioners very little to compensate the huge rise in the Cost of Living.
The ACTU Congress passed 200 Resolutions out of four Policy Sessions that I at-tended. All members of the Congress are
committed and positive, the MUA had a massive input into the outcome of the ACTU Congress, these decisions will be
reflected in the coming Elections.
There was some difference in the wording regarding the Pension Policy, we were able
to rectify this and bring it into line with our Claims of 35% of the Total Average Male
Wage, the Indexation was addressed due to Abbott’s driving down of the Mean Wage.
TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agree-ment) – The unanimous position by all who
addressed the Congress spoke of the “Secret Deals” done by the Abbott Govern-ment which is of major concern, where
mostly U.S. and Chinese Companies can attack the Australian Government’s decisions in the near future through massive
Fines placed on Governments’ who work in the “better interest” of Australia. There are
concerns about the effects this will have on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS),
Medical, Hospital, Trade, Environment, Transport and a whole range of conditions.
This information was gained through Wikileaks.
ALP NATIONAL CONGRESS
Again, the mass Media had a field day not bringing clarity into their reporting, just
confusing statements splashed across the TV Screen. I believe, that the Leadership
and the Right Wing of the ALP have not got it together, the Libs are having a field day
at the expense of the ALP and Boat people, Adolf Hitler had Detention Centre's, and we know what happened there!
INTERNATIONAL POSITION
Comrades and Friends - Again, I call for PEACE, with the continual threat of instability, hunger, death, misplacement and
hardship through the drive of power and greed. We need to work harder and resur-rect the PEACE MOVEMENT ON A
WORLD BASIS!
We have two major International Union bodies in the World, the ITUC and the
WFTU their aim should be to unite on this major position, and drive back the forces of
War. Money spent on War robs workers and their families.
In Australia the last Report on waste of food was Five Billion Dollars, I find this
Report very distressing and disgusting when we have so much hunger here and
elsewhere, our homeless are on the in-crease, over 150,000 every day, every
minute – no shelter and no future. I salute all the Volunteers that are out there every
night - rain, hail or shine helping those people in need!
WE MAY BE RETIRED FROM THE WORKPLACE BUT NEVER FROM THE STRUGGLE!
Yours in Solidarity
Fred Krausert
MUA VETERANS NATIONAL SECRETARY
FOR A WORLD WITHOUT WAR
It is important. that we build the peace
movement just a portion of the money spent
on arms could provide better, health, educa-tion and food , as well as eradicate disease in
third world countries. We owe it to the youth of
the world that they live in a world free from
war to be able to have a secure future.
The Australian Commonwealth Line
During the first world war there was a need to shipAustralian products to
Britain but no ships were available.
The Government of the day purchased and had built ashipping fleet that up until the day it was sold in 1928
totalled 64 ships including passenger ships runningto England .
They were successful in challenging the big overseas shipping combines and provided reasonable freight
rates for Australian producers.
The Government also built five “Bay” liners for use on the UK –Australia run carrying passengers and
cargo.
The end of the Commonwealth Line came in 1928 when the
Prime minister of the day Stanley Melbourne Bruce sold the fleet. The five Bay liners were sold to the White
Star line who put up a deposit of half a million pounds . Then the Aberdeen - White Star Line declared bank-ruptcy and defaulted on payment. A sorry end to the Commonwealth Line. As a consequence it made Aus-tralia dependant on the overseas shipping combines.
The Australian National Line
Again during the second world war Australia found itself with out shipping forcing the Government to form
another shipping company the Australian Shipping Board ( ASB ) In 1957 the ASB became the ANL and
for the next 41 years transported coastal freightwith limited overseas participation until sold in 1998. Pri-vate Shipowners have abandoned Australian shippingin the main, making Australia more dependant than
ever on overseas shipping.
We now are in the position where an island nation Australia
miles away from its markets having to rely on overseas shipowner
The end of the Commonwealth Line came in 1928 when the
Prime minister of the day Stanley Melbourne Bruce sold the fleet. The five Bay liners were sold to the White
Star line who put up a deposit of half a million pounds . Then the Aberdeen - White Star Line declared bank-ruptcy and defaulted on payment. A sorry end to the Commonwealth Line. As a consequence it made Aus-tralia dependant on the overseas shipping combines.
HISTORY IGNORED
Past Governments have failed to legislate for a National Shipping Policy which has resulted in the position
facing the maritime industry today.
Flag of Convenience ships trading between ports on the coast resulting in unemployment for Australian
seafarers.
Caltex a multi-billion dollar oil company is replacing Australian crews with cheap labour crews
What of the Abbotts Government position?
‘Transport Minister Warren Truss has advocated a free-for-all on the coast and wants to give foreign flagged
ships the right to pay foreign wages during domestic journeys.
He proposes dismantling the former Labor government’s coastal shipping package, which required compa-nies shipping goods between domestic ports to seek out an Australian vessel in the first instance.
Anthony Albanese MP ALP in a speech in Parliament ‘
One would expect a government to support its own people to retain jobs instead of advocating foreign
vessels to replace Australian ships and crews.
MUA Veterans need to protest to the Abbott government and support the MUA policy on Shipping Reform
and Fuel Security campaigns.
THE WORLD POWER OF OIL COMPANIES
For an understanding of the power and influence of the oil companies one needs to read Oil
by Professor Ted Wheelwright.
Professor Ted wheelwright was teaching and writing about global capitalism decades before
the term globalisation became fashionable. He warned of its dangers dependence on foreign
investment, economic inequality, environmental degradation, the power of transnational cor-porations and the undermining of national sovereignty. These prescient warnings proved less
influential than the neoliberal ideas, sometimes called economic rationalism, that became the
orthodoxy in economic thinking in the last two decades
He addressed stopwork meetings of the Seamen's Union explaining complex economic
issues so that people could understand them.
In view of the actions of the oil companies in sacking Australian crews off coastal
Tankers and replacing them with foreign low wage crews, this book provides an understand-ing of the corporates that we are in struggle with.
“From the 1890s, when John D. Rockefeller controlled 82% of US refining, the oil corpora-tions have exerted enormous power. They have used political intrigue, counter-revolution, as-sassination and all-out war to expand their empires. Today the oil industry and the state seem
almost to merge in the US and the Middle East, so closely interrelated are economic, political
and military power.” Professor Ted Wheelwright.
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