London’s June 14 Grenfell Tower fire was not an accident but a crime against the working class. It is the outcome of decades of cost-cutting and deregulation by successive governments, for the benefit of the corporate elite.
One hundred people—and perhaps many more—have burned to death solely because they are poor and working class in a society in which the only people deemed to matter are the super-rich.
The catastrophe was both predicted and avoidable. Yet those responsible have not been held to account for their neglect of basic safety, their cuts to fire services and their cover-up of the disaster itself. The true death toll has not even been released, despite authorities knowing that many families have members still missing.
The conditions that led to the Grenfell fire exist globally, including in Australia where the same flammable cladding has been widely used in hundreds of residential and commercial buildings. A catastrophe was only narrowly averted in 2014 when the Lacrosse apartment building in Melbourne went up in flames. Tens of thousands of people across the country are living in what are effectively death traps.
To defend its interests, the working class must take matters into its own hands. Homes, schools, hospitals and other public buildings must be made safe. The criminals in high places must be brought to justice. The SEP public meetings will outline a socialist and internationalist perspective against the domination over society by a capitalist oligarchy. We urge workers and young people to attend.
Sydney
Sunday, July 23, 2.30 p.m.
Duchess Room, Coronation Club
86 Burwood Rd, Burwood
Tickets: $7/$5 concession
Brisbane
Wednesday, July 26, 6.30 p.m.
Community Meeting Room, Ground Floor Brisbane Square Library,
Brisbane City (enter via Brisbane Square, cnr George & Queen St)
Tickets: $5/$3 concession
Melbourne
Sunday, July 30, 2.30 p.m.
Meat Market
5 Blackwood Rd, North Melbourne
Tickets: $5/$3 concession
Wellington, New Zealand
Sunday, July 30, 4 p.m.
Meeting Room 1, Russell Keown House
Corner of Laings and Queens Drive
Lower Hutt