The Party Line Podcast

Episode 11 - The Party Line on the NDIS, migration and the Liberals

The team start this ep with a bold marketing ploy: attacking our listeners. We then discuss Jordy’s invitation to attend am allegedly anticapitalist forum hosted by SBS (turns out, it wasn’t). We then discuss the disgraceful comments made by Zack Polanski in relation to migrant workers in the UK, and what it reveals about the limits of liberal anti-racism, before launching into a critique of Labor’s NDIS program and their plan to use AI to further dehumanise and disenfranchise people with disabilities, as well as the workers who support them. The main segment features Chloe Rafferty from Red Flag Radio, our smarter, more sophisticated elder sibling, who led us in a discussion about the current crisis in the Liberal Party, why Sussan Ley is not the answer, why the Teals are no better, and how the growth of the far right will impact Australian politics into the future.

Huge thanks to our tireless editors, Persephone Waxman and Charlie Wardrop.

Content

If ‘ethical consumption’ changed anything, they’d make it illegal | Red Flag

NDIS plans will be computer-generated, with human involvement dramatically cut under sweeping overhaul | The Guardian 

A Marxist analysis of the Liberal Party  

Mistaken Identity by Asad Haider review – the best criticism of identity politics | The Guardian 

Headlines: 

Trump wins his peace prize from Fifa – any chance of a VAR review?   

Is gentle parenting to blame for low attendance rates - The Australian

The CALDA Clinic | Award Winning Premium Rehabilitation

Thirsty work: how the rise of massive datacentres strains Australia’s drinking water supply 

marxismconference.org.au 

Please support us on patreon

Red Flag Radio

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.

(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 10 - The Party Line on Rising Tide and the Greens’ climate capitulation (ft Zack Schofield)

Who wants to be a millionaire is a somewhat surprising focus of our first segment, as Anneke and her friend fight for the right to participate in the toxic reality TV industry. We then interview Rising Tide community organiser Zack Schofield, who is one of the wonderful people that have just organised the People’s Blockade of Newcastle Coal Port. We discuss the history of the campaign, its demands and why it’s in workers interest to support the ending of the fossil fuel industry. We follow this up with a scathing look at Labor’s climate bill, in particular the Green’s decision to pass it barely amended, and what it says about the limits of the Greens’ parliamentary approach. 

Content

Rising Tide protest: climate activists stop three ships from entering world’s largest coal port in Newcastle | The Guardian

Long-sought environmental law reform is finally here. But will the compromise deal actually protect nature? | The Conversation

The new climate denialism: Labor’s Net Zero Plan | Red Flag

Marxism and the natural world | Marxist Left Review  

Headlines:

Return of nativity scene to Melbourne ends years of ‘woke’ Christmas | Herald Sun

How the pope went pop

Man charged with theft after allegedly swallowing Fabergé pendant in jewellery store

Gen Z Shoppers Aren’t Spending Like Retailers Need Them To - WSJ

Australian prisoner sues for his 'human right' to eat Vegemite

Physicists prove the Universe isn’t a simulation after all | ScienceDaily

NDIS plans will be computer-generated, with human involvement dramatically cut under sweeping overhaul | The Guardian

A non-white face on a racist asylum policy is just a mask for cruelty | Middle East Eye

Musical outro: Marc Ribot - Bella Ciao

Please support us on patreon

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.

(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 9 - The Party Line on the Mamdani-Trump meetup, social media ban (with Channel 6’s Leo Puglisi) and Pauline Hanson 

Anneke kicks off the episode with a sad story about alleged police harassment - and the risk of not paying fines promptly. We then examine the decision by Vic Pol to designate the entire CBD and surrounds as a zone where they can stop and search anyone without reason, for an incredible six months. This is especially dangerous in light of a recent report which shows that Indigenous and African people are massively more likely to be searched, harassed, tasered and so on by police. We chat next about Hanson’s racist stunt in Parliament and her broader rise to prominence in Australian politics. We wrap up with an interview with Channel Six’s Leo Puglisi about his successful efforts to establish an alternative media project as a school-aged journalist, the coming social media ban, and why young people should be able to vote.

Content

After the surreal Trump-Mamdani summit

‘Vast overreach’: police allowed to conduct warrantless pat-downs of people across inner Melbourne for six months | Melbourne

How we beat Pauline Hanson in the 1990s

Check out Leo’s work at 6 News Australia | Independent & unbiased journalism

Headlines:

Cotality Housing Affordability Report shows 'extraordinary rise' in home values

Hastie knows Libs could die if they lose this fight

Why governments should stop raising the minimum wage

Body-cam footage shows police coaching a father who murdered his family. As a psychologist, I’m enraged

The exceptional thing about the battle of the bobs? It’s not exceptional

Hospitalised and told to send the kids to foster care: Tenants’ VCAT woes revealed

Indigenous, African men endure rampant police profiling

Immigrant crime: Trump administration orders US embassy to collect data from Australia

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.

(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on land that was never ceded, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 8 - The Party Line on Socialist Unity, Epstein, and Gough Whitlam

Inspired by last week’s detour into pop culture, this ep starts with a debate about the relative virtues of Monchichi’s vs Labubu’s. We then take a quick look into AI, the Epstein files, and a bunch of fairly insane headlines (see below). Anneke explains what’s been going on with the interstate Socialist Party conferences, and we discuss the prospects of (re)uniting with the Socialist Alliance. We wrap by taking a belated look at the Whitlam dismissal and the past, present and future of the Labor Party via an interview with socialist historian and Labour history professor Diane Fieldes. 

Note: We barely mention Epstein but please indulge our cynical attempt to manipulate the search engine optimisation algorithm.

Content

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal Is a stain on both parties | Jacobin

Now is the time for socialists to unite | Victorian Socialists

The ALP: what class of party | Marxist Left Review 

The Labor Party: A Marxist analysis

Headlines:

Dangerous week to be a Liberal leader as killing season kicks off

Liberal leadership: The participation award for everyone in class

US government shutdown is over, and the US Department of Education hits us with a very cool tweet

‘Deeply ashamed’ Larry Summers steps back from public life over Epstein links

South African man detained in pre-dawn immigration raid after attending Sydney neo-Nazi rally

From the extreme to the luxurious, toilets occupy my mind when travelling | The Age 

Germany lifts weapons freeze on Israel in response to Gaza ceasefire

Trump says he will approve sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia

Scaramooch!  Scaramooch! What’s it like in Mar-a-Lago? | The Age 

‘Things happen’: Trump downplays journalist’s murder as he hosts Saudi leader

Asylum seekers’ jewellery could be seized to pay for processing costs, says Home Office minister

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We kick off this week on a theoretical note, exploring the dialectic relationship between the Gallagher brothers being pricks and yet making such brilliant music. The team then takes a quick look at a few major headlines from the week, including Coles’ plan to play classical music to deter shop lifting. Then we welcome Anticop activist Tom Raue onto the platform to discuss Victorian Labor’s decision to try 14 year old kids in adult courts, including the possibility that they will be given life sentences. We conclude by examining the pro-war commemorations of Remembrance Day, the conservative, strike-breaking organisation that is the RSL, and how class struggle destroyed conscription, led to revolution, and ended WW1.

Serious content

Robert Bollard on WW1 and Anti-conscription campaigns

RSL: Footsoldiers of capital 

Review: The real history of WWI

How WW1 led to class war

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

AC/DC - Hells Bells 

Silly Headlines:

Welcome to Barangaroo! We graciously provide affordable housing but you’re not allowed to enjoy it

Nandy says BBC must uphold highest standards

Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney are in a “bitter feud” over differences in their political beliefs

Investor cleans up on first home buyer surge in $700,000 sale

Will a 50-Year Mortgage Make Homes More Affordable? Here’s How It Would Work.

CBA posts $2.6b quarterly profit but sheds 6.6pc in value

Cost of hosting COP summit could reach $2b

Companions and Pets Party Rename Themselves 

Melbourne Coles’ bold strategy to stop surge in in-store thefts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Warning: huge session this week. The team start by celebrating two significant developments in US politics, the death of super-villain Dick Cheney and the defeat of billionaire sex-pest Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani’s victory was unfolding as the show was being recorded, but we took the time to bask in the fear and hatred of the American right-wing twitter. We analyse the troubles the Coalition is having with Net Zero, before looking at whether Labor’s approach is fundamentally any better (tldr: it’s not). We introduce a new segment (that still needs a name and/or jingle, plz help us out) on socialist theory, before wrapping up by taking a look into the far right manosphere.

Extra readings

His Works Completed, Dick Cheney, Mass Murderer of Iraqis and American Democracy, Dies | The Nation 

An Andrew Tate insider is helping Australian Nazis recruit teens 

Money, muscles and anxiety: why the manosphere clicked with young men – a visual deep dive | Internet | The Guardian 

The classes of capitalism | Red Flag

Woodside’s WA gas export expansion emissions greater than all Australia’s coal power stations

Climate Analytics | Sleight of hand: Australia’s Net Zero target is…

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on whatever podcast service you use, and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. We will always release our shows for free, to make sure everyone who wants to listen can do so. But if you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with the pod more often than not, please consider signing up to join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement in this country, one that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers such as Albanese.

The Party Line is definitely NOT authorised by C Oakley, PO Box 243 Canberra. (The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on land that was never ceded, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 5 - The Party Line on corporate tax scams, for-profit healthcare and Trump’s big beautiful ballroom

We start with a moment of silence to mourn the loss of the White House’s east wing, a symbol of liberty and democracy whose light once shone brightly across the world.  But then the ep takes a deep dive into some of the injustices of Australian capitalism right now. We take a look at the regressive nature of the Australian tax system, inspired by Jordan speaking at a tax conference in Canberra hosted by the Australia Institute. Why do nurses and teachers pay more tax than QANTAS? Only Albo knows. Then we return to the absurdity of median house prices reaching $1.75 million in Sydney, and the NIMBY vs. YIMBY ‘debate’, before looking at the stressed state of the public health system through the prism of the collapse of multiple NGO health clinics in Melbourne, including CoHealth.

Extra readings

Labor’s tax policy hits the middle class, not big business

Tax corporations and the super-rich 

Missionaries, Radicals, Feminists: A History of North Yarra Community Health

Private profit vs public access: How class struggle shaped Australia’s healthcare system 

The fight for Richmond’s rebel school | Red Flag 

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on whatever podcast service you use, and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. We will always release our shows for free, to make sure everyone who wants to listen can do so. But if you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with the pod more often than not, please consider signing up to join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement in this country, one that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers such as Albanese.

The Party Line is definitely NOT authorised by C Oakley, PO Box 243 Canberra. (The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on land that was never ceded, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were so glad to speak to US socialist brian bean, of the Tempest Socialist Collective, about the craziness of politics in Trump’s America. We discuss how the White House is increasing the funding and power of ICE, the problems with Mandani and other left electoral challenges within the Democratic Party, and the nature of the massive No Kings demonstrations last weekend.

The candidate, the billionaires, and the Democrats | Tempest

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s First Year | Against the Current

The Left under Brandon Johnson | Tempest

The No Kings protests must go beyond the Democrats to defeat Trump | Counterfire

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on whatever podcast service you use, and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. We will always release our shows for free, to make sure everyone who wants to listen can do so. But if you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with the pod more often than not, please consider signing up to join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement in this country, one that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers such as Albanese.

The Party Line is definitely NOT authorised by C Oakley, PO Box 243 Canberra. (The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on land that was never ceded, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the crew was inspired by Albo’s successful trip to Washington to meet with Herr Trump. We discussed that, and then spoke with US socialist brian bean about Mamdani’s mayoral campaign and the No Kings demonstrations on Oct 18. We then get a mystery caller to discuss police and government crackdowns on the right to protest, including at the anti-fascist protest on the weekend. 

Against the New McCarthyism - Tempest

Ahead of DNC, Brandon Johnson puts Chicago homeless on the street to make room for tent city occupants 

https://x.com/AlboMP/status/1980418575761609055   - Albo and Rubio 

Trump, AUKUS and the US alliance | Red Flag 

Premier’s tone-deaf response to a city crying for help - Chip le Grand 

Constant protest gridlock in the CBD is symptom of how Melbourne has lost its way - Phillip Dalidakis 

https://x.com/spencerhakimian/status/1980303616750788857 - Trump and Rudd

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on whatever podcast service you use, and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. We will always release our shows for free, to make sure everyone who wants to listen can do so. But if you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with the pod more often than not, please consider signing up to join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement in this country, one that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers such as Albanese.

The Party Line is definitely NOT authorised by C Oakley, PO Box 243 Canberra. (The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on land that was never ceded, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s ep takes a look at Trump’s despicable ‘peace plan’ and what it really means for the people of Gaza. We also discuss the Nobel Peace prize going to a wannabe Venezuelan dictator and Labor’s decision to take a courageous stand for multi-millionaire superannuation-holders.

Anneke would like to note that her last name is pronounced: “De man u el”

PS. Make sure you join the day of anti-fascist action this Sunday, October 12.

Email us! [email protected] 

Extra content:

• Trump knocking on heaven’s door
• Gaza as a laboratory for a MAGA overseas empire | Toufic Haddad
• Newly minted peace laureate Machado firm on pro-Israel stance | Daily Sabah
• The far right is organising—we have to resist | Anneke Demanuele
• Labor's revised super proposal | ABC News 

*****************

This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on whatever podcast service you use, and share it with your friends, colleagues and comrades. We will always release our shows for free, to make sure everyone who wants to listen can do so. But if you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. 

If you find yourself agreeing with the pod more often than not, please consider signing up to join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement in this country, one that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers such as Albanese.

The Party Line is definitely NOT authorised by C Oakley, PO Box 243 Canberra. (The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) 

This pod was produced on stolen land - always was, always will be.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.