Socialist Alliance challenge to Rudd in Griffith
Paul Benedek, Brisbane
8 June 2007
The Socialist Alliance has decided to run long-time socialist activist Jim McIlroy in Labor leader Kevin Rudds seat of Griffith in Brisbanes central-south in the federal election. Its nationwide election campaign themes are People before profits! and Planet before profits!
Well be challenging Rudd and the ALP leaderships policy retreats on industrial relations, uranium mining and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, McIlroy told Green Left Weekly.
The Rudd leaderships backdown on it promise to tear up Work Choices, its ramming through of an open-slather uranium mining policy, its refusal to reverse the anti-democratic Voluntary Student Unionism law, and its support for the so-called anti-terror laws, make it even more clear that theres a need for real working class political alternative.
We all want to get rid of the Howard government, but we dont want to replace it with a Labor government with me too policies, McIlroy added.
Socialist Alliance in Queensland has also endorsed a Senate team consisting of prominent Aboriginal leader Sam Watson and Gold Coast union activist Amelia Taylor; and Dr Tim Kirchler, running in the Gold Coast seat of Moncrieff.