By Ian Rintoul & Dick Nichols, national convenors, Socialist Alliance
The Socialist Alliance was formed last February by nine socialist organisations to meet the burning need for a real alternative in Australian politics:
- An alternative for all of us who hate the Coalition, its GST, its gifts to the rich and its permanent war on the poor, unemployed and refugees.
- An alternative to Labor and its not-quite-the-same policies of a GST "rolled back" a few points, of a "Knowledge Nation" that goes along with the already privileged private schools, of just as much spending on aggressive military hardware.
An alternative to the "what's-their-policy-today" Democrats who gave us the GST and the Workplace Relations Act.
An alternative to the sickening racism and anti-worker policies of One Nation.
The Socialist Alliance is an idea whose time has come. The Liberals are in disarray. Even their own internal party report described them as "mean", "tricky" and "out of touch".
The elections in Western Australian and Queensland saw dramatic losses for the Coalition parties. But up to 30 per cent voted neither Labor nor Liberal.
That is hundreds of thousands of people totally fed up with politics-as-usual and uninspired by existing respectable "alternatives" like the Democrats.
They are searching for an alternative that puts the interests of the majority working people, people on welfare, indigenous Australians, the unemployed and young people first. After all, isn't that what democracy is supposed to be about?
That's the fundamental principle that guides the Socialist Alliance. It's summed up in our slogan: People before profit! Just one example of our approach: scrapping one Collins class submarine would provide enough money to reverse the Liberals' cuts to child care.
The urgent need to build this alternative is what drove the founding affiliates of the Socialist Alliance to unite. Even in the short time since its founding the Socialist Alliance is already striking a chord. Its state launches drew hundreds (see page 4) and it is now in the middle of a program of regional launches. It has already been involved in building the campaign for refugee rights, against the GST and in many local battles against the policies of economic rationalism (see page 3).
That's the first of three features that makes us different from the other parties we directly link standing in elections to building resistance to the attacks on working people. That's how you counter Liberal crimes, like the GST, or Labor crimes, like Bob Carr's gutting of workers compensation.
Similarly, justice for indigenous Australians and refugees won't come from Canberra, it must be forced on Canberra.
A sizeable vote for Socialist Alliance in the coming federal elections will show just how widespread the support is for a real alternative. It will help build the campaigns of resistance we need in the workplace and the community.
Any Socialist Alliance candidate who is elected will champion such movements: all income he or she gets above an ordinary skilled worker's wage will go to building these campaigns and the alliance itself.
Second, the Socialist Alliance is internationalist. We act on the principle that the interests of working people in Australia is the same as that of working people in all countries. When workers are denied union rights in Indonesia or students shot in Port Moresby our solidarity is with them, not their rulers.
Third, we are democratic. The Socialist Alliance is owned by its members, not by elites of officials and MPs. It will be our members, at our August 4-5 founding conference, who will decide how the alliance's draft platform and constitution needs improving. It is they who will preselect its candidates. It is they who will elect the alliance leadership.
If you think the Socialist Alliance sounds like the organisation for you, check out our draft policy platform on < www.socialist-A HREF="mailto:alliance.org"><alliance.org> or get in touch with your local Socialist Alliance group.
Then join us in fighting the Liberals and in building the alternative to Labor! Join us in the struggle for a better world!