KEY POINTS:
As Maori Party MP Hone Harawira pointed out last week, John Howard's action in sending the military to combat Aborigine social problems caused by colonialism was that of a "racist bastard".
Our chattering classes seemed to think it was an insult. I thought Harawira was just making an honest observation.
Just look at the statistics. There is a shortfall of 4000 homes for Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Ninety-nine per cent of the population doesn't have dental services, 46 per cent don't have a primary health service, 94 per cent of children don't have access to preschool, and 56 per cent don't have a secondary school to attend.
And what is Howard's way? Market rents for community housing, unemployment benefits cut by half or more for those on the dole for more than two years, benefits cut by half if children don't attend school, dismantling of the Community Development Employment programme that employs 8000 Aborigines, alcohol bans in the communities but not outside them.
And on top of this, Howard and Co plan a bit of land and resource confiscation on the side by giving themselves the right to take land from these communities for five years with no right of return.
Racism? I think Harawira is being far too polite.
What is it about the Australian ruling class? Last week, Australian cleaning and food service multinational, Spotless Services, locked out thousands of the lowest-paid workers in the New Zealand health system. It has done this so it can pocket some of our tax dollars, allocated to district health boards to raise the sector's unhealthy wages.
A year ago, another Australian multinational, Progressive Enterprises, owner of Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown supermarkets, locked out its distribution centre workers.
The National Distribution Union, led by Laila Harre, put up a brilliant fight against this Australian bullying. Shoppers stayed away from these stores in their droves. And they gave in unprecedented levels to the collections for these locked-out workers.
Recent figures released by Progressive show that the dispute had a devastating impact on its sales and bottom line. Its CEO was recalled to Australia to lick his wounds.
So now it seems to be the turn of Spotless to try the same nonsense. The other three hospital contractors and the district health boards are prepared to distribute all of the Government's new money to these low-paid workers, but not Spotless.
While saying it is prepared to pay experienced workers the same rates of pay as the other employers, Spotless wants to pocket $1 an hour from the wages of the new starters.
Don't fall for its argument that these workers should be paid less while learning the job. Spotless has an insidious strategy of employing "permanent casuals" and also has huge staff turnover, which means many workers never make the experienced rate. Come on, how many women raising families need cleaning experience?
And don't fall for the crocodile tears of Spotless, which says it wants to be able to negotiate the wages and conditions of its staff. Spotless has refused to be party to the more than 12 months of negotiations between the Service and Food Workers Union, the health boards and the other three contractors.
Why is our Employment Court wringing its hands on the sideline when it should be enforcing our employment relations laws - especially in an area where such a lockout puts lives at risk? The union took an urgent case to a full bench of the Employment Court in March. Four months later there is still no decision. What do we pay these guys for?
As was shown last year with the Progressive lockout, New Zealanders will not stand for these Australian bully-boy tactics.
Last Thursday in Wanganui, two Spotless workers were arrested on the instructions of the hospital management for being on hospital property while putting their case over low wages. A photographer and journalist from the Wanganui Chronicle were also threatened with arrest.
The editor of the Chronicle was outraged and in an editorial entitled "Extraordinary Behaviour" stated: "Yesterday your district health board took the unusual step of not only wading in but, taking sides in an industrial dispute to which it was not a party."
The editorial stated that the health board response should not have been to trespass the workers and then have them arrested. Rather, "if the board considers it needs to be the employer in this case, the correct course of action is to cancel the contract it has with Spotless Services and hire the workers itself".
It isn't obvious why hospitals even need these overseas contractors. More money is being spent on hospital senior management than ever before and yet we can't get enough doctors or nurses.
Even when the Government hands the health boards more money for their staff they seem to think it's acceptable for an Australian multi-national to take another cut.
If anyone is to be locked out, it shouldn't be the workers. I'd lock Spotless out and send them back to Australia.
Whether we call them racists or capitalists, sometimes we just have to tell the truth. Some Australians really are bastards.
