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 more strongly build the campaigns and movements for justice. The conference also pre-selected a broad ticket of 21 candidates to contest the Legislative Council in the March 22 election.
The conference delegates, from 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 was how to help build the growing international movement which can stop imperialism's war on Iraq and many ideas were raised for involving many more people in the campaign and for putting increasing pressure on the major parties to fund social needs rather than this 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 Sydney. The alliance will also translate "No war" campaign information into other languages, including Spanish, Farsi & 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, by far the most draconian in the country, a major election issue. Members 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 federal election candidate Max Lane convicted of "unlawful use of a sound system" during a Socialist Alliance street rally in 2000. 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". Alliance support for the Public Sector Association's campaign for extra School Assistants staffing and the Mascot Engineering workers' picket line was organised and 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.