More Than Roadblocks and Parades - Workers, Indigenous Struggle and the Environmental Movement

Dan Kelly

27/04/2023

Over the last few years, the public has borne witness to a seemingly endless display of roadblocks and police-approved parades taking to the streets of major cities seeking action on the climate crisis. Recently, Extinction Rebellion UK announced they would renounce mass disruption tactics in favour of a “mass movement” approach where citizen councils attempt to induce politicians to make capitalism slightly greener. This approach is inadequate for resolving the systemic problems of capitalism – the main cause of the climate crisis.

In Australia, the environmental movement is inherently linked to the Indigenous struggle for justice and Country, with both their past and their future linked to the land. In fact, all of our futures are dependent on the land, and as such we must unite these movements to struggle for control of the means of production to address the crises we face. The capitalist state is well aware of this, which is why it seeks to water-down and liberalise these movements, while at the same time acting viciously to accelerate the exploitation of Indigenous people and their lands, and to undermine and destroy movements that threaten the hegemony of this exploiting class.

This has been seen throughout history in the attacks upon Indigenous peoples and workers movements, and is also paired with the co-optation of radical aesthetics and rhetoric by the bourgeoisie of all colours to undermine the demands of those who fight for real change.

While everyone recognises that the capitalist state has evolved from using horse and musket to paddy wagon and Glock, not many recognise that they have also mastered declawing and undermining movements with “representatives” that push ruling class agenda. The servants of colonialism come in many forms, whether it be Warren Mundine or Jacynta Price.

Australian history shows that attempts to solve the problems of capitalism from within capitalism are at best naïve, yet current campaigns around the country still exemplify this approach. Peaceful attempts to address climate destruction by gas company Santos in the Pilliga Forest on Gomeroi country in New South Wales have been met with severe anti-protest laws targeting climate activists. Similarly, those attempting to prevent federal Labor’s approval of a fertiliser plant on the Burrup Peninsula that will destroy some of the world’s oldest cultural sites have been met with targeted raids, harassment and similarly harsh laws.

The modern Indigenous justice, climate and workers movements must recognise what many people already know - this is not a sideshow to be half-heartedly engaged in from the comfort of your home to protect pretty trees and a handful of cute animals. Nor is it to be addressed through self-evangelising actions that centre on martyrdom and imagery. This is also not a fight that will be won swiftly in a few weeks. This is a war for Country, for control of our future and for survival.

The liberal concept of getting arrested en masse and taking adventurist, media-based stunts that achieve no tangible outcome have been shown time and time again to not work. The state can, and will, smash those who engage in such ineffective tactics, sentencing people to 15 months’ jail for blocking one lane of traffic for half an hour. To encourage people into these quick-fix actions is deeply damaging to the movement, and is a cop-out that avoids the less glamorous approach of building a revolutionary community.

The struggle for liberation is a protracted one. It cannot be won by the occasional march, nor by self-proclaimed leaders preaching to the converted. This is a fight that requires countless long nights and lots of blood, sweat and tears if we truly want to win change. Pemulwuy and Mob in Sydney and its surrounds were at war for 12 years. The Hawkesbury and Nepean War went for 20 years, and those who have carried the torch have fought for near 250 years without justice.

This is a struggle that will require more than roadblocks and parades. It will require Indigenous mob, workers and their supporters to come together and build a principled movement that is prepared to stand up against repression and build its networks and strength. A movement that is prepared to place itself into difficult conversations and uncomfortable situations. A movement that involves community members and builds up their collective power to challenge the system that is exploiting them as a whole.

We can no longer buy into the deception that the capitalist system can be prettied up with some reforms and a change of staff. The forces of reaction have in the past, and will in the future, utilise every means at their disposal to prevent any systemic change that impacts their profits and the status quo. We must recognise that revolution is the only solution.

The climate struggle to stop the destruction of the environment is inherently linked to the fight against the exploitation of Indigenous peoples, and against the exploitation of workers by the property-owning class. Overall, they are inextricably linked with the fight against the capitalist system and its colonial projects.

None of these movements can be fought in isolation from each other, and none can be effectively waged against the capitalist system without building up support bases that are continually engaged in an all-encompassing, revolutionary movement that finds strength in communities, workplaces and social networks. This is going to require more than roadblocks and parades. This is a fight for survival. This is a war for revolution. It is time to decide which side you are on. It is time to get our hands dirty, and build for the long, unglamorous struggle ahead.