national secretary John Percy; Sydney University student activist Ashisha Cunningham; former BHP steelworker now teacher Geoff Payne; Sudanese political refugee and refugee-rights activist Osama Yousif; feminist activist and trainee teacher at Macquarie University Angela Luvera; Indigenous Student Network founding member and women's liberation activist Kim Bullimore; Latin America solidarity activist volunteer development worker and Public Sector Association state council member Stephen O'Brien; and anti-nuclear activist and Clarence Environment Centre president Jim Knight, Paul Benedek for Port Jackson; Sue Johnston for Marrickville; Sam Wainwright for Bankstown; Roberto Jorquera for Auburn; and Nick Fredman for Lismore. The alliance will also be contesting local seats in the Newcastle and Wollongong regions, LISA MACDONALD, opposition to the war and racism; support for refugee rights; reversing the attacks on civil liberties; and defending worker and trade union rights">

NSW Socialist Alliance plans campaign, elects candidates

BY LISA MACDONALD

SYDNEY — A NSW conference of the Socialist Alliance held
on December 14 mapped out ambitious plans to use the next nine weeks of
state election campaigning to strongly build campaigns for justice. The
conference also pre-selected 21 candidates to contest the Legislative Council
in the March 22 election.

The conference delegates, from across Sydney, Lismore, Newcastle and
the Illawarra, discussed political developments in NSW, Australia and world-wide,
and resolved to focus the alliance’s election campaign on: opposition to
the war and racism; support for refugee rights; reversing the attacks on
civil liberties; and defending worker and trade union rights.

A major theme of discussion at the meeting was how to help build the
growing international movement against imperialism’s war on Iraq. Many
ideas were raised for involving more people in this campaign and for putting
increasing pressure on the major parties to fund social needs rather than
war for oil.

All branches of the alliance will continue to initiate local community
anti-war protests and help build the suburban anti-war groups which are
beginning to spring up around NSW. The alliance will also translate “No
war” campaign information into other languages, including Spanish, Farsi
and Arabic, and organise meetings with non-English speaking background
communities and groups to discuss the campaign and related issues.

There was also much discussion about the most recent assaults on civil
liberties by Premier Bob Carr’s Labor government, and the need to make
repeal of the new NSW “anti-terror” laws, the most draconian in the country,
a major election issue. Delegates agreed that condemning, in words and
action, the constant vilification of and attacks on Muslims and people
of Middle Eastern background, and standing up to the government and media’s
racist scare-mongering was crucial.

Last month, the alliance defeated, through the courts, an attempt by
Burwood Council to have Max Lane, an alliance candidate in the 2001 federal
elections, convicted of “unlawful use of a sound system” during a Socialist
Alliance street rally.

The conference agreed to build on this victory for free speech by initiating
a campaign, in alliance with other groups and individuals who support democratic
rights, to defeat the state government’s attempts to ban campaigning stalls
in public areas. Last December, three Socialist Alliance members were charged
by state police and fined $100 each for distributing campaign information
at a railway station in Sydney.

Following discussion about the Labor government’s many assaults on workers’
rights over the last eight years, the conference passed a motion that:
“We absolutely support, encourage and help to organise workers taking strike
action to improve our and their standard of living and workplace rights,
and we will organise solidarity with these struggles.”

The alliance organised its support for the Public Sector Association's
campaign for extra school assistants and the Mascot Engineering workers’
picket line. The conference agreed to begin convening caucuses of alliance
members in a range of trade unions to help strengthen its trade union and
worker solidarity campaigning.

A working group of alliance members interested in organising solidarity
with workers’ movements in Latin America was also established, and members
agreed that the alliance would also help organise and build the Women Against
War and Racism march on March 8, International Women’s Day.

The Socialist Alliance ticket for the Legislative Assembly pre-selected
at the conference is: Free the Refugees Campaign activist and former Green
Left Weekly editor Lisa Macdonald; NSW Teachers Federation activist
John Morris; long-time socialist and Latin American solidarity activist
Raul Bassi; Finance Sector Union organiser and anti-war activist Angela
Budai; Iranian political refugee and refugee rights activist Jamal Darwand;
Community and Public Sector Union organiser Naomi Arrowsmith; youth worker
Darcy Byrne; gay rights activist Michael Schembri; Fortians for Refugees
founder and youth activist Karol Florek; Asia-Pacific solidarity activist
Pip Hinman; student and anti-war activist Kieran Latty; People’s Medical
Centre Co-op president and long-term peace activist Dr Marg Perrott; community
activist Kylie Witt; Democratic Socialist Party national secretary John
Percy; Sydney University student activist Ashisha Cunningham; former BHP
steelworker, now teacher Geoff Payne; Sudanese political refugee and refugee-rights
activist Osama Yousif; feminist activist and trainee teacher at Macquarie
University Angela Luvera; Indigenous Student Network founding member and
women’s liberation activist Kim Bullimore; Latin America solidarity activist,
volunteer development worker and Public Sector Association state council
member Stephen O’Brien; and anti-nuclear activist and Clarence Environment
Centre president Jim Knight.

The Socialist Alliance candidates so far pre-selected for lower house
seats are: Paul Benedek for Port Jackson; Sue Johnston for Marrickville;
Sam Wainwright for Bankstown; Roberto Jorquera for Auburn; and Nick Fredman
for Lismore. The alliance will also be contesting local seats in the Newcastle
and Wollongong regions.

From Green Left Weekly, January 15, 2003.

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From GLW issue 521