Socialist Worker lists the top 10 reasons to get rid of John Howard at this month's federal election.

1. PRIVATISATION

HOWARD IS blindly devoted to free market capitalism-no matter what the social cost.He forced through the full privatisation of Telstra despite overwhelming opposition.

Howard defended these plans because he claimed government ownership "cramps the activity of the company"-by which he meant its ability to chase record profits.

Privatisation has resulted in increased line rental fees and enormous cuts to jobs and services-especially in rural areas.

Since 1996 the company has cut over half its workforce, slashing over 45,000 jobs. The full privatisation of Telstra was completed last year when the government dumped the last of its shares into the future fund-and it's been a disaster for rural communities, workers and consumers.

2. ATTACKING OUR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

USING THE justification of the War on Terror, Howard has attacked basic democratic rights and freedoms.

As the appalling treatment of Mohamed Haneef showed, his government's "anti-terror" laws can lead to innocent people being slung behind bars for long periods of "preventative detention" without charge.

These laws create Orwellian crimes-for example, the charge possessing any "thing" relating to terrorism or use of sedition provisions to silence free speech.

The government left David Hicks at the mercy of US torturers in Guantanamo bay for five years. The campaign by Michael Mori and Hicks' supporters forced the government to cut a deal to allow Hicks to be brought home.

But there are still 13 men in Victoria's Barwon prison and nine in Goulburn prison in NSW who have not yet faced trial despite being held in prison on terrorist offences for almost two years.

3. WORKCHOICES

HOWARD HAS spent 11 years attacking unions and workers' rights. But nobody ever voted for these policies.

As the Liberals celebrated on the floor of parliament after the sacking of hundreds of wharfies in 1998, people from around the country rallied to defeat his attempt to smash the MUA.

Now his WorkChoices laws have brought him undone. The hundreds of thousands on the streets in huge union marches and hundreds in local Rights at Work groups have put his hatred of working class people at the centre of the election campaign.

4. ENTRENCHING CORRUPTION

AFTER LOSING five ministers for breaching the ministerial "code of conduct" in his government's first 18 months, Howard refused to sack anyone, no matter how blatant their lies, incompetence or corruption.

Peter Reith survived despite rorting his Telecard to the tune of $50,000. Alexander Downer survived despite presiding over the Australian Wheat Board's rorting of $300 million from humanitarian programs in Iraq.

It was only desperation this year saw that him dump two ministers, including Santo Santoro who failed to declare more than 60 share trades within 16 months.

5. STRAIGHT OUT OF THE 1950s

HOWARD'S IDEA of family life is straight out of the 1950s-he is totally out of touch with the modern world. Even though most women work and most people nowadays openly discuss issues likes sex and sexuality, his government has promoted conservative family values.

Howard says lesbians and gay men should not be allowed to marry because it will undermine the "survival of the species".

He has promoted tax and super rules that encourage women to stay at home. His childcare policies are even worse: soaring childcare costs, up by 65 per cent since 2001, mean many women are forced to remain at home to care for young children.

There is a substantial shortage of childcare places-and yet the government won't even release figures on unmet demand. He refuses to discuss a paid maternity leave scheme, even though Australia is one of only two OECD countries without one. Instead he introduced the "baby bonus", then the "baby payment". Combined with other policies like WorkChoices, as well as increased casualisation, is it any wonder that women earn on average over $300 a week less than men?

6. RACIST BIGOTRY

ALMOST EVERY time he has been challenged during his 11 years in power, Howard has responded with the race card. He has always claimed he is not a racist-but his policies, snide comments and calculated lies tell us otherwise.

His targets have shifted constantly to suit his political needs. First he attacked Aboriginal people.

Then, in 2001, his government was on the ropes. The rescue of 438 mainly Afghani refugees by the MV Tampa on August 24, 2001, and Howard's subsequent refusal to grant them refugee status, offered his government a lifeline.

Howard, and his succession of immigration ministers (Phillip Ruddock, Amanda Vanstone, Kevin Andrews), imprisoned hundreds of refugees behind razor wire fences.

They were resisted all the way by refugee activists-even when the issue seemed unpopular-and, of course, the refugees themselves.

In Easter 2002, a convergence of 1000 activists led to a spectacular breakout from Woomera detention centre in South Australia. More recently, the focus has been on Muslims and Middle Eastern communities in general.

Howard continues to spread the lie that Muslims refuse to "integrate" with "our way of life".

On the eve of the election campaign, Kevin Andrews cut the in-take of Sudanese refugees, claiming they too were failing to integrate.

7. CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL

HOWARD IS not a climate change skeptic. He is a climate change denier.

First he negotiated an exemption under Kyoto that allowed Australia to increase emissions-then, following George W. Bush, he refused to sign the treaty!

Public demand for action on global warming has forced him into an embarrassing back flip-but he doesn't even believe his own spin.

Why else would he keep complaining about "damage to our economy"? He insists that protecting the profits of the coal and uranium-mining companies must come first.

He has cynically promoted nuclear power as a "solution" to climate change-but this has backfired as well.

8. RORTS FOR THE RICH

HOWARD HAS spent up big on so-called middle class welfare-but this has mostly meant pouring billions of dollars in subsidies into the pockets of the rich while starving public services of money.

Private schools now receive 65 per cent of federal schools funding, despite having only 30 per cent of students-that's $6 billion this year.

Howard's Medicare safety net scheme is a rort.

Last year the three electorates with the highest spending per person were Wentworth, North Sydney, and Bradfield-the three richest seats in the country.

Another $4 billion a year is thrown away on the private health insurance rebate-and $2.7 billion of this is creamed off by the health insurance companies and never even reaches hospitals.

After 11 years of Howard government policies, Australian society is more unequal than it has ever been.

9. INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

AFTER A decade of attacks on Aboriginal people, the idea that Howard has suddenly converted to their cause is a sick joke.

Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are in uproar over Howard's takeover.

A number of communities, including Yirrkala, have expelled government intervention teams from their land. Elders from the Warlpiri nation have condemned the takeover of several townships at a meeting in Yuendumu.

In 11 years Howard has done nothing to deal with indigenous poverty. Indigenous life expectancy is still 17 years less than for non-Indigenous people. Instead he has set out to strip away land rights and Indigenous self-determination. His refusal to say "sorry" for the stolen generations has been a green light to bigots everywhere.

In 1997, his "ten point plan" backed the mining and pastoral corporations by "securing certainty" for existing landholders-this began a process that has all but extinguished native title rights.

But he has not had everything his way. Plans to open the Jabiluka uranium mine in Kakadu were defeated by the combined resistance of local Indigenous people and activists from around the country.

Now, with ATSIC gone and an attempt to wind the clock back to the old days of paternalism, a new resistance is emerging with the formation of bodies such as the National Aboriginal Alliance.

10. COMMITTING WAR CRIMES IN OUR NAME

UNDER HOWARD, Australia was one of only four countries prepared to back George Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq. All those who joined the enormous anti-war marches of February 2003 have been proven right-the war has been a disaster. An estimated one million Iraqis have died violently since the invasion. There has been almost no "reconstruction".

Howard has spent almost $3 billion sending troops to fight in Iraq. He also backed the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001-a war that cynically manipulated post-9/11 fears in order to expand the power and influence of the United States. Afghanistan looks more and more like Iraq everyday.

Furthermore, Howard has spent billions sending Australian troops to East Timor and the Solomons, but has done nothing to alleviate the desperate poverty that blights these countries.