The Shop Distributive and Allied Workers Union gave
the ALP $861,000 last year, making them the biggest union contributors
to the party and its leaders use this influence to impose their own
ultra-conservative Catholic values on the party’s agenda. The ALP National Conference was just another example…

Now that it’s accepted meeja wisdom that Mark Latham is genius and his
conference performance was brilliant, what we’d like to see are the
amendments that didn’t even make it to the conference floor – the ones
that the right-wing forced many hapless delegates, who were under the
impression it was a REAL conference, to withdraw in the interests of
“unity”.

Whatever happened to all the issues that got crunched off the agenda:
foreign policy issues (support for independence for Aceh, Timor
resolutions), gay rights, even attempts to deal with the party’s
endemic organisational cancer – branch stacking.

There are some very unhappy delegates floating around who think the
whole public display of searing party unity was a sham. And they’d be
pretty right.

Catholic Right crushes Pink Left

Well, news from the ALP Conference floor, or it’s back room, is that
the first ever attempt by the ALP’s new gay and lesbian sub-group
(Rainbow Labor), was defeated by the God botherers before anyone had
time to reflect or genuflect.

Rainbow Labor (which has apparently been boasting in the gay press
about it’s power and influence with the Latham regime), had circulated
a rather benign motion before the Conference and which called on the
ALP to support same-sex relationships under Commonwealth law. Hardly
revolutionary stuff, and something on which Latham has already
indicated support.

But the ALP’s resident homophobe and Vatican virtuoso, Joe De Bruen
(Shoppies Union), was having none of that!  Sweeping around the
conference floor like a bat wind, Joe foamed at the mouth and put the
fear of God into anyone who would listen, telling them that the motion
was all about (SHOCK! HORROR!) – “gay marriage.”

It wasn’t, but enough ALP delegates and minders were intimidated enough
by the Catholic mafia to put the thumbscrews on the queer lobby, which
then meekly withdrew the motion and shied away from a fight with the
bible bruvvers.

Catholic Right – 1, Rainbow Labor – Nil.

The good news for pious Joe, is that John Howard is bringing back his,
“Stop Lesbians Having Kids” Bill, which was shelved last year. So, hang
on to your petrie dishes everyone! Howard’s homophobic wedge is
hurtling back into federal parliament this year.

The Bill will allow States and Territories to be exempt from the
Federal Sex Discrimination Act, and thus lawfully prohibit single women
and lesbian couples from gaining access to IVF.

Joe led the ALP charge to support this Bill last time, creating
tensions in ALP ranks and threatening to split the factions and expose
deep divisions in the party, especially among the sisterhood.

The Bill never proceeded to debate or a vote, but shuffled to the
backburner. As Howard now desperately looks for more domestic wedge
issues to throw at Latham, the “Stop Lesbians Having Kids,” Bill has
been launched onto his legislative program for 2004.

South Sydney Senator Marise Payne, the closest thing the Coalition has
these days to a ‘wet’, was rumored to defy Howard last time and was
apparently prepared to cross the floor and oppose this Government Bill
in 2002.  Perhaps this was the key reason it was discreetly pulled
from the Bill’s list at that time?

What will pious Joe do now? Where is Rainbow Labor? Can Latham direct a
party line vote on this? Will Marise be prepared to martyr herself
again, and in an election year?

Over to you Johnny….

CRIKEY: No wonder most of Australia’s gay community supports the
Greens or the Democrats – the Greens are led by Bob Brown who is openly
gay and the Dems have gay Senator Brian Greig. Labor can’t even get gay issues on the agenda at their National
Conference because of the ultra-conservative Union powerbrokers.