People are coming together
BY ADAM BANDT
Leader of the Australian Greens
The Greens’ rental inquiries are getting underway across the country, highlighting the growing rental crisis, and hundreds of people rallied outside Labor’s National Conference to back the Greens’ call to make unlimited rent rises illegal.
While all this was happening - and we’ll get back to this in a moment - something else swept the country.
Millions came together to watch the Matildas, smashing viewing records, and a bit more of the patriarchy along the way.
And while you may not have got as caught up in the World Cup as me and my daughters, this was something more than just another sporting event.
The establishment said no-one wanted to watch women’s football. They said no-one would go. They even said they don’t deserve to be paid as much as the men.
But here’s the thing. Everything is impossible until it’s not. And, pressure works. Just ask those women who went on strike to be paid the same as the Socceroos.
We are a country full of young people who want a better world. Who don’t see the same differences in gender or sexuality which previous generations do. Who wants to end racism. Who can’t understand arguments which say women have less value than men.
They used collective action to improve their rights at work. They showed the power of being part of a union, and part of a political project.
Before the world cup, Katrina Gorry, said in a video released by the players union:
“Just like we do on the pitch, we stuck together, refused to back down, and got the result.”
Whether we’re fighting for climate justice, for a rent freeze or mental and dental health care - it’s the same. If we stick together, refuse to back down - we’ll get change.
This is a team who understands their history. Gorry, Kerr and Foord are all part of the team who went on strike in 2015. They know what former teammates endured.
They’ve been written off in the press and told they were “less than equal”, like Sam Kerr was called when she broke the goal scoring record for Australia.
This is a team who proudly hangs the pride flag in their changing rooms. Who stood up to FIFA when they wanted to make Saudi Arabia one the tournament’s sponsors, calling out the Arab petro-state’s record on LGBTIQA+ as making it unsuitable to sponsor the competition.
It’s not just women’s football being top billing in Australia and the world, it’s looking back and seeing that just a decade ago, the Greens were fighting Liberal and Labor governments at home who refused to accept that love is equal.
The Greens, as the social democratic party in this country willing to fight for a safer climate, should find a lot to be inspired about by this team. Their willingness to stand together and fight. The collective action. The way they value equality. The way they give and receive love, with each other, and with the fans.
We should feel joy and inspiration with the young people who are watching on, and the spectacle they’re seeing here.
The Matildas are still fighting:
“Collective bargaining has allowed us to ensure we now get the same conditions as the Socceroos, with one exception [prize money]”, said midfielder Tameka Yallop.
They’ve shown what happens when men and women are paid the same for the same work.
Now they’ve caught the attention of the nation, and so can we.
When we stand up and fight back, we can make the impossible possible.
While the World Cup was on, thousands came together to take action to make unlimited rent rises illegal, and to smash up the political orthodoxy.
At the recent ALP national conference, a rally outside had a simple call to “stand up and fight back” against unlimited rent rises.
We know a rent freeze and cap will work for renters. And now we’ve seen just how many people are behind our campaign. A new poll has revealed that more than 3 out of 4 people back the Greens’ call for rent freezes or rent caps, opposing landlords having the power to increase the rent as much as they want, whenever they want.
Labor’s national conference - where they backed AUKUS - Stage 3 tax cuts and more coal and gas - cemented their place as the country’s centre-right party.
And at the recent National Cabinet, Labor agreed to unlimited rent rises. That means that from now on, every unfair rent increase is on Labor’s shoulders.
But this position is untenable. With one third of the country renting, it is time that Labor started taking the country’s housing crisis seriously.
Now we have to keep the pressure up. And we know pressure works. After saying there was nothing left in the kitty, Labor suddenly found $2b for social and affordable housing and spent it in 2 weeks. And then they found another $3b a few weeks later.
Let’s all use our collective power to now lift the pressure and fight to fix the housing crisis. Unlimited rent rises should be illegal.