Socialist Alliance establishes local campaign groups

May 23, 2001
Issue 

BY NICK EVERETT

SYDNEY — Five local campaign groups of the newly formed Socialist Alliance held inaugural meetings across Sydney on May 15 and 16. The meetings — held in Sydney city (Ultimo), Burwood, Parramatta, Marrickville and Chatswood — attracted around 130 people and initiated a variety of campaigns.

Five member organisations of Socialist Alliance were represented — the Democratic Socialist Party, the International Socialist Organisation, Workers Liberty, the Workers League and the Worker Communist Party of Iraq (Australia). Participants also included workplace delegates of the National Tertiary Education Union, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and the NSW Teachers Federation. Activists from a variety of local campaign committees were also present, including Free the Refugees Campaign, Refugee Action Collective, Save Our Schools and Parramatta Friends of the ABC.

The meetings resolved to build various campaigns, with public meetings, guest speakers, mobilisations at rallies and meetings and local campaigning stalls.

Marrickville Socialist Alliance decided to hold a public meeting on June 5, at Herb Greedy Hall, to hear a range of speakers address the issue of asylum for refugees. The group also intends to translate leaflets about the Free the Refugees campaign into Arabic and Vietnamese as soon as possible.

The June 3 Free the Refugees national day of action will be an important focus for all of the local Sydney Socialist Alliance groups with each deciding to hold working bees beforehand to paint banners and make placards in preparation for a big mobilisation on the day.

The Carr Labor government's plans to close several inner-city schools will also be an important focus for the Sydney city and Marrickville groups. The two groups decided to send representatives to public meetings being held in Alexandria on May 21 and Marrickville on May 24 and to mobilise for a community rally against the school closures being held on May 29 outside the NSW parliament.

The Sydney city and Marrickville groups also decided to back a campaign by CPSU members at the Redfern Centrelink office against federal government staff cuts, which will reduce Centrelink services in the area.

All of the groups decided to meet again within three weeks and most adopted a fortnightly meeting schedule. Most have also elected three-member organising committees to coordinate activities between meetings. Already four Sydney electorates are certain to be contested in the next federal election: Sydney, Grayndler, Lowe and Reid. In addition, Macquarie (in the Blue Mountains) and electorates in Sydney's northern and eastern suburbs are being considered.

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