Recent rains may have given temporary relief to some communities facing an unprecedented water crisis, but the long dry has raised deeper, ongoing questions about the right of access to water under capitalism. Corruption and the corporate first agenda have become burning issues and people facing the twin scourge of capitalist priorities and the related climate change emergency are questioning the system’s claims about fundamental rights as never before. The questioning needs to go deeper.

“A standing army and police are the chief instruments of state power” - Lenin

Today’s events were a rude awakening for many young people who came out to protest the worst climate vandals on the planet, and were treated to beating for their trouble. On the 29th of October, the first day of the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC), began with an attempt by protestors to blockade the entrances to the conference venue. Despite protestor use of non-violent methods, the police were ready from the get go to protect the interests of the rich with violence.

Regional Australia, often home to the quickest critics of any seemingly left-leaning policies, is also the strongest display of the decay that late stage capitalism reaps across the world. It would actually be one of the largest beneficiaries of a socialist economy if one was established, but the exodus of industry and the nature of inflation have combined to create a particularly dire situation for these regional communities.