Around 700 people attended the Stop Abbott Save Medicare Rally on Saturday 31 May in Sydney. Called by the Save Medicare Committee, the rally was endorsed by the ASU and NSW Nurses and Midwives Federation and supported by the Public Service Association of NSW.

When unionists, including nurse Kerry Rodgers, ASU secretary Sally McManus and Socialist Alternative members, took to the platform, there was vocal support from the crowd at the mention of union opposition to the proposed Medicare co-payment.

When Dr Con Costa, President of the Doctors Reform Society called the co-payment and the whole budget a comprehensive attack from the fat cats in the ruling class, the crowd erupted, and did so again when Ridah Hassan, education officer at Sydney Uni and Socialist Alternative member, labelled the budget a manifesto written by the rich to steal from workers, students, pensioners and the poor.

Speaker after speaker pointed out the billions of dollars the private health insurance giants and mining bosses receive in subsidies every year, or the billions the corporate tax evaders are hoarding – money that could amply fund health, education and welfare. What was missing from the rally were the masses of workers across Sydney and NSW who share the outrage and the willingness to fight.

This could have been made a reality if Unions NSW or other large unions had responded to the call to endorse the rally and actively mobilised members to attend.

While organisations like Get Up and the Greens were willing to message their memberships about the rally (albeit only days before), a number of larger unions, including health unions, did not circulate details to their members and did not arrange contingents to attend. 

The nurses’ union messaged their entire 52,000 members in NSW days before the rally. Had this message been sent as soon as the rally was called and had the weight of the union been used to mobilise members, the rally might have been much larger.

Opposition in principle to a budget that will demolish universal health care is not enough. Professed opposition has to be backed with action. Unions are the only organisations with the ability to mobilise workers on the scale needed to fight Abbott’s attack.