Melbourne West branch has been taking full advantage of local forums in Sunshine to speak out for community needs – and getting a great response.
On July 2, four SA members attended an ALP forum on “Women in Local Government”. It was generally a dull exercise in self-promotion by four councillors; however, the mayor inadvertently sparked a debate by mentioning that a new youth centre would be run by a board of “prominent representatives from big business, such as BHP”.
Alliance member and AMWU activist Justine Kamprad voiced the audience’s horror at council services being controlled by big business. She pointed out BHP’s anti-union record and the contradiction inherent in a big business-run youth centre located in an old factory that was the site of historic workers’ struggles in the late 19th-century.
Justine also said that, given the high rate of drug abuse and unemployment among young people in the area, the facility would be better used as a place where young people could take control and organise their own activities, and demanded that the council provide more avenues for young people, particularly the local African community, to advertise their events, rather than persecuting them for doing paste-ups and so on.
Her comments drew a lot of assent from residents. Eventually the mayor spat out, “I will not have this meeting hijacked by political groups”, to which various residents responded, “You brought up this issue. What will you do about our questions?”
Socialist Alliance won 6.5% of the vote in the March council elections in Sunshine — a good initial result. As we participate more in local politics in an ongoing way, it is becoming clear how much more support we could develop in this community.