NSW council elections on September 8: Can you help?

This Saturday September 8 (most of) NSW will go to the polls for the council elections.

Such is the undemocratic nature of the electoral system and the growing alienation towards "politics as usual" most people still don’t know it’s even on!

For several months our members have been battling away to get some progressive ideas debated and to put up some a fighting alternatives. It’s been hard to break through the increasingly banal discourse that passes for "political discussion", but we’ve managed on some levels. By the end of this week, we will have distributed 20,000 Socialist Alliance "Power to the People" and Housing Action leaflets in Wali and the poorer areas of the City of Sydney.

As part of the Housing Action ticket for the City of Sydney with the Communist Party of Australia and Indigenous socialist Ray Jackson, we’ve attended 13 meet the candidate forums, and got some local press. Read (and share) Rev Karl Hand’s support for Housing Action.

The corporate media has largely ignored us, confining their coverage to this sort of cynicism.

Of course "Local Labor" and now even "Local Liberals" are keen to keep it this way as it’s easier to distance themselves from their state and federal counterparts. Narrowing down "valid" topics for discussion is par for their cause. But most find this insulting and would prefer council was more connected to people’s lives.

Socialist Alliance is also fielding a ticket in Woodville, Parramatta (where there have been no candidates' meetings). Pictured (right) is Ross Geary, who is standing for SA in Woodville. Ross is a leader of the Committee of Colombian Political Exiles based in Sydney.

In Wali, the north ward of Marrickville in the inner west of Sydney, there have been just three candidates' meetings. Two out of these three came at our members’ instigation: Stop Coal Seam Gas Sydney and the Addison Road Community Centre - the biggest community-run centre in Australia. The United Services Union also hosted a "Keep it Local" meet the candidates.

We’ve had a good response, including being mentioned by Fighting Father Dave in his weekly blog: "That’s Peter and Pip Hinman. Pip is a candidate at our forthcoming Council elections with the Socialist Alliance. Pip asked me to speak at a party gathering last Saturday. I’m not a member of the Socialist Alliance but I love Pip and Peter so I said ‘yes’. I still can’t work out though why they put me on straight after two comedy acts!"

Click here, here and here to see the range of topics the WALI campaign has been campaigning on.

There are some moves to "out" the far-right "independent" running against us in Wali - the "Ban the Burqa" muralist, and there may be more by Saturday.

We are hoping to cover between 20-30 booths across Sydney and Marrickville. Thanks to those coming to Sydney from Newcastle, Wollongong and Canberra. But we still need volunteers for a few hours in several spots.

Can you help out? Please get in touch with Rachel on 8070 9331 or Fred on 0412 556 527 if you can spare a few hours.

Activists from the Wobblies, the Black Deaths in Custody campaign, Songs for Social Justice group, the Latin Social Forum and Occupy are committed to help Housing Action. Resistance is aiming to staff two booths for the day.

Don’t forget the joint election night party for Housing Action and the WALI campaign at our Sydney office and the Westies will party on the evening at the Parramatta office. Come along, recount the day’s chats and watch the votes come in online!

 Email to a friend

add a comment to this page