MELBOURNE — Socialist Alliance candidates recorded respectable results in the Maribyrnong and Brimbank local council elections on March 15.

Maurice Sibelle scored 6.1% of the vote in McKay, a ward of the Brimbank council that covers the western working-class area of Sunshine. Lincoln Hancock won 4.4% of the vote in Sheoak, a ward of the Maribyrnong city council that covers the inner-western suburbs of Yarraville and Seddon, and Justine Kamprad scored 2% in Saltwater, a ward of the Maribyrnong city council that covers the inner-western suburb of Footscray.

“This strong vote for the Socialist Alliance is a vindication of our position that the war is an issue in local government elections”, claimed Sibelle. The alliance ran a campaign that featured the slogan “Childcare not warfare”. While campaigning around local issues such as saving the Sunshine pool, the Socialist Alliance focused on the billions that will be spent on the war in Iraq and how that money could be better spent on local services.

Sunshine is one of the safest Labor areas in Australia. Up to 80% of first preference votes were cast in favour of Labor in the last state and federal elections. On the morning of March 16, an “Independent Labour” candidate looked likely to unseat the sitting ALP councillor with the preferences from Sibelle.

Lincoln Hancock was jubilant about the results in Sheoak and Saltwater. “Our vote was a conscious vote for socialists and is a strong base from which we can build”, claimed Hancock. The young anti-war campaigner was visibly campaigning against the war at local rallies and through promoting the “Books not Bombs” student protests against the war.

The Greens ran a strong, well-resourced campaign in Maribyrnong. Greens Janet Rice and Colleen Hartland are likely to be elected in Saltwater and Sheoak respectively, with help from Socialist Alliance preferences. Rice reached nearly 40% in Saltwater, where the sitting ALP member was embarrassed by revelations that she had enrolled at an address in which she did not live.

Greens candidate Sylvie Leber, who recorded 24% in River ward, looks likely to play a major role in unseating the high profile mayor of Maribyrnong by distributing preferences away from the Labor Party.

Campaign organiser for the Socialist Alliance Linda Waldron was encouraged by the results for progressive candidates in the west of Melbourne, where the Labor party has dominated politics for years. “The future looks good when we see such a shift away from the ALP in their heartland,” explained Waldron. “We are witnessing a break with Labor politics that was previously unthinkable and the Socialist Alliance is playing a role in that process.”

From Green Left Weekly, March 19, 2003.
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