DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVE

Introduction

1. In the wake of the decision of the May 2003 Second National Conference of the Socialist Alliance to adopt the perspective of transforming itself into a single, multi-tendency socialist party and to “accept and welcome a strong revolutionary socialist stream as an

Rebuild the DSP as a public revolutionary Marxist party again.

[The following is an edited version of the counter-report and summary to the 22nd DSP Congress presented by John Percy on behalf of the NE minority. The vote for the general line of the report and summary was 15 out of 60 regular delegates and 10 out of 40 consultative delegates. There were no abstentions.]

[The following is an edited report and summary to 22nd DSP Congress presented by Peter Boyle on behalf of NE majority. The general line of the report and summary was adopted with the votes of 45 out of 60 delegates and 30 out of 40 consultative delegates. There were no abstentions.]

Introduction

The working class is the main social force in the struggle to replace capitalism with socialism. For socialism to be more than an idea it has to be a political movement of the working class. This proposition is at the heart of Karl Marx’s theory of socialism.

[The following is an edited version of the counter-report and summary to the 22nd DSP Congress presented by Max Lane on behalf of the NE minority. The vote for the general line of the report and summary was 15 out of 60 delegates and 10 out of 40 consultative delegates . There were no abstentions.]

At the October NC, the NE minority party-building report presented different campaign priorities for our party into 2006. At this congress, campaign priorities are also being discussed in the reports on Australian politics. But this is not the only reason that the NE minority has decided to present a counter-report. During the course of the pre-congress discussion, there has been debate back and forth as to what were the fundamental features of the general line of the Australian politics report in October. There were different assessments as to what consequences might be drawn from the analysis being made for our political work.

[The following is an edited report and summary to 22nd DSP Congress presented by Sue Bolton on behalf of the NE majority. The general line of the report and summary was adopted with the votes of 44 out of 60 delegates and 30 out of 40 consultative delegates. There were no abstentions.]

1. Legislative assault

John Howard finished 2005 on a triumphalist note. He got all of his centrepiece legislation passed – WorkChoices and the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act, the “anti-terrorism” laws, Welfare to Work legislation, the Voluntary Student Unionism legislation and the privatisation of Telstra, with most of it being passed in the last parliamentary sitting of the year.

The following is an edited report 22nd DSP Congress presented by Kerryn Williams on behalf of the national executive. The general line of the report and summary was adopted unanimously.

Introduction

Newly elected Bolivian President Evo Morales told reporters in Caracas on Tuesday: ``These are new times. We are in a millennium that will be for the peoples, not for the empire. We join the work of Fidel in Cuba and of Hugo in Venezuela to provide a response to the needs of the majorities.’’