By Jon Lamb, Newcastle branch
What do an ex-BHP steel rigger, a student activist and a nurse have in common? They are all standing for Socialist Alliance in Newcastle’s local government elections on March 27, 2004.
The branch has had quite a bit of discussion about what sort of campaign to run in the Newcastle City Council area, where most of our members live. For many of us, it is our first go at contesting council elections.
We are confident that SA can make an impact in the campaign, and use it to build up to the federal elections. Our main criteria for success will be how many members and supporters we can involve in the campaign and how many new people come into our orbit or join the Alliance as a result of this work.
We will be addressing issues that are significant at the local Newcastle level and at the state and national level.
A very hot political potato at the moment the NSW Labor government’s proposal to close 3 to 5 stations at the end of the rail line that links Newcastle to Sydney, to cut costs. The charge to close the line is being led by Michael Costa, minister for transport, who has more or less stated that the line will go - it’s just a matter of time.
There is very strong opposition in Newcastle and surrounding areas to this third attempt in 30 years to close the line. The Save Our Rail committee, chaired by SA member Geoff Payne, has organised some very successful protest meetings and rallies.
The proposed closure will cause around 300 jobs to be lost, prime foreshore land flogged off to developers, and the erosion of an already inadequate public transport service. State-wide cuts to rail services such as Countrylink are also looming, angering thousands living in regional cities and towns.
Given Geoff’s profile in the Save Our Rail campaign, we have decided to stand him both in his local ward and for Lord Mayor (the current mayor, John Tate, favours the line closure). We are proposing that in the lead up to the March poll there be a coordinated state-wide response to the attacks on rail services, involving the campaign groups, SA branches in NSW, Greens, disgruntled ALP members/branches, and so on.
The other issues we want to highlight, using the profile and experience of our two other ward candidates - Judy Morley and Peter Robson - include health and community services (keep the Mater hospital public), youth services and unemployment, the occupation of Iraq and refugee rights. We may also take up the contentious issue of how council rates are calculated.
Judy is a long-time local activist and nurse. Until recently, Peter was Education Officer at Newcastle University and is a well-known anti-war and refugee rights campaigner. Along with Geoff, this is a dynamic team to stand for council. The task now is to get the "street heat" really going and make the most of a good opportunity to build Socialist Alliance.