The Guardian 11 May, 2005
Editorial
About The Guardian
The Guardian sets out to be an educator, agitator and organiser always supporting
working class and progressive activities and opinion. It also promotes internationalist
solidarity with the working class and progressive activities in other countries. Our paper
puts forward the communist perspective and our columns are proudly partisan on behalf
of the working people.
We fulfil the role of educator best with news and analysis of events, activities and developments
that would otherwise not be know by Australian audiences.
We made an analysis of WW 2 and commemorated the 60th anniversary of the defeat of
fascism that was not made by any other newspaper. We conveyed information and a viewpoint
about the talks given recently by Howard and Beazley to the Lowy Institute which were very
revealing of their political thinking.
The Guardian is consistent in opposing the anti-working class policies of the Howard
government. We support workers in struggle and invariably call for support when this is asked
for. This is part of the task of being an organiser of working class activities.
Recently The Guardian gave extensive coverage to the sweeping and dangerous
industrial relations legislation which will seriously limit the ability of the trade unions to look after
the interests of their members. This will continue to be a foremost campaign in the columns of
The Guardian.
Another foremost issue and campaign is that surrounding the militarisation of Australia. The end
result of militarisation is war and that is what Howard, together with Bush, is actively preparing
for. The Guardian will unwaveringly continue to campaign for peace and against
war.
We have carried information about socialist Cuba, the exciting developments in Venezuela,
publish information from other communist parties, as well as two pages of international news
with every issue.
Not sufficient is done by The Guardian to popularise the ideas and philosophy of
Marxism which is not only partisan on the side of the working class, but guides our search for
the truth and to find answers to today's problems.
Nor does The Guardian sufficiently fulfil its role as agitator, meaning by that, the role of
inspiring the working people in their actions and campaigns, revealing the sordid truth of many
who are in need and suffer injustice. But this requires that those who suffer at the hands of the
system to write letters and articles for publication about their experiences.
Through our contributors, we have learnt more about Indigenous people who were snatched
from their families and put to work on farms, were paid nothing and became slaves on their own
land. Furthermore, that most have not received any restitution by the governments responsible
for this crime. We need more of this type of information from our readers and
supporters.
Another task for The Guardian is to bring culture and cultural issues to the working
people so that they, too, can be inspired by films, songs, poems and stories which portray the
struggles of the working people. We are limited by space but it is a responsibility that must not
be neglected.
We are also the defenders of multiculturalism and work for the unity of all ethnic groups so that
workers work together and fight together against the common class enemy.
The Guardian is severely limited by being only a 12-page weekly but our readership is
not limited by the number of copies actually printed. We also have a considerable internet
readership. In the months of March and April the number of hits (which does not mean the
number of individual readers) topped 210,000 on only one of the three Sydney Party websites.
For the same months last year the average was 145,000. The trend is upwards.
This not only gives us a wider Australian audience but an international one as well.
Furthermore, we know that some of our articles are translated and published in other
newspapers and the web in the Arabic, Urdu (Pakistan and India), German, Spanish,
Portuguese, French and Japanese languages. Other English language newspapers also reprint
some of our articles.
Articles from The Guardian are also redistributed by at least three international internet
distribution networks.
But it is our Australian readership that must be substantially increased. We ask your help in this.
We value you as a reader. Please consider taking just one additional copy and selling it
regularly to a friend or workmate. Make it properly your newspaper, write for it and become a
seller as well.