******************Important News Flash*******************
First Time Socialist Party Stands Candidate In WA
Elections!!!
The Socialist Party is opening up a new front against Liberal/Labor
Politics in Perth, WA by standing long-serving member Neil Gray in the safe
Labor seat of Maylands in the upcoming State Elections. Neil Gray will
stand on principled Socialist policies, including living on a workers wage
as an MP.
Neil Gray as a Socialist Party member has been often at the forefront of
many community campaigns over the years. He has been an active trade
unionist, and is presently Section and Branch councillor for the WA Media,
Entertainment and Arts alliance. He took part in all campaigns against
draconian Court Government Industrial Relations Legislation. He was
arrested at One Nation Protests and led a Queer Radical group in these
protests. He has supported East Timor independence, helped organise rallies
against the Northbridge Tunnel, and is currently helping to initiate a
campaign for safe houses, heroin trials, and a massive increase in funding
for WA's mounting drug crisis.
Neil Gray has also initiated the Pyrton Action Group which is a key part of
a community campaign fighting the Court Government and Peter Foss who are
trying to impose a prison on a registered sacred site on Bassendean riverland.
WA has seen many attacks on the living standards of ordinary people under
the draconian Court Liberal government. Thousands of public sector workers
have lost their jobs through privatisation and cutbacks. Workers wages and
living standards have declined under draconian industrial relations
legislation. There has been a huge stratification of workers wages and
conditions. Thousands of young people and women work in the casualised
sector where low income and insecurity are a feature. Many workers are on
individual workplace agreements, suffering declining living standards.
Social policy has been wound-back by the Court government. They have spent
$10 m. on court action against Native Title rights. As well, Mandatory
Sentencing, and assimilationist policies ensure that Aboriginal people
suffer the worst statistics for poverty, ill-health, unemployment and
imprisonment. The Court government is little different from One Nation in
terms of it's racist policies. They refuse to rule out preferencing One
Nation ahead of Labor.
Human Rights are trodden on by the Court government. Deaths in Custody are
increasing. Improvements in Lesbian and Gay rights have stagnated and the
condition of women, immigrants and youth is going backwards.
The rising anger against these worsening conditions is behind the falling
support for the Court government. The government is rocked from crisis to
crisis. The outrage against the finance fiasco, the Belltower, the
Convention Center, MP's clear-felling forests, is but the outer expression
of anger against collusion, corruption and nepotism that the electorate
sees in the Court government.
Labor is little different from the Liberals. They have betrayed the working
class. They are determined to keep individual workplace agreements, with a
few minor changes. They are in a bidding war with the Liberals on getting
tough on crime. Every policy area prioritises balancing the State budget
before increasing services. With an approaching recession, and a general
government sector deficit, they will be forced to implement anti-worker
cutbacks on services and attacks on workers rights. Faced with this
scenario they promise as little as possible. They hope to win the elections
by default.
The Socialist Party believes that there can be no real social progress for
the working class in WA under the conditions of global economic decline of
capitalism. To try to improve social services, wages and conditions and
social policies while the state budget is shrinking is a Utopian idea. Only
socialism can offer a way out. By nationalising the giant corporations
including the key sectors of the economy and placing them under democratic
workers control can their huge resources and wealth can be harnessed to
institute a huge program of public works and improvements in social welfare
to eliminate unemployment, poverty and inequality. Through the democratic
input of all working-class people, the enormous talents of workers can be
unleashed to innovate the workplace to reduce the working-week and provide
all with a comfortable livelihood.
Socialist Party candidate Neil Gray and the Perth branch is boldly exposing
and opposing everyone of the economic rationalist policies of Labor and the
Liberals. We are conducting an active campaign including public meetings,
and rallies to highlight the need for heroin reform for safe houses and
supervised heroin trials. We are continuing our campaign in Bassendean with
the community there to oppose Peter Foss's prison proposal, and we are
active in the Trade Unions to bring about a rank-and-file leadership that
will fight the anti-worker policies of the next government.
Socialists see democracy for everyone in society as central. We will
actively campaign to bring about real equality for women, lesbians and
gays, Aboriginal people, immigrant rights, and any area where people suffer
discrimination or inequality.
"If I get elected, like all Socialist Party members, I promise to pick up
the average wage of an unskilled worker and donate the rest of the
parliamentary salary to the workers movement. My accounts will be open for
public inspection always" says Neil Gray.
The Socialist Party has formed an alliance with the Democratic Socialist
Party for greater unity and strength in the elections. Democratic Socialist
Party member Roberto Jorquera is standing in the seat of Perth next to
Maylands. Anthony Benbow for the DSP is standing in the seat of Fremantle.
We will be assisting each other as best we can to strengthen votes for the
left. In the seat of Maylands Neil Gray and the Socialist Party suggest you
demand committed representation from Labor and vote for Neil Gray before
the Greens WA, then Labor.
Unlike the major parties the Socialist Party doesn't have lots of money and
totally opposes ties to big business. We depend on the mobilisation of
working-class people to achieve change. We need your help in this election
campaign. Can You: Letter Box your street? Hand out "how to vote" cards?
Help with the Heroin Reform campaign? Give us a donation (cheques to
"Socialist Party")? Anything else?
If so, phone 9272 5549, 0407102897 or 0401095812 or e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or post to PO Box 318 Maylands WA 6931.
Struggle! Solidarity! Socialism!
******************Vote 1 Neil Gray, Socialist Party*********************
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