{"id":49331,"date":"2022-04-29T18:21:04","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T08:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=49331"},"modified":"2022-05-01T16:14:27","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T06:14:27","slug":"far-left-candidates-at-the-2022-australian-federal-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=49331","title":{"rendered":"Far left candidates at the 2022 Australian federal election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Racing!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nominations for the 2022 Australian federal election have now been officially confirmed and — despite rumours that communists<\/a>, socialists<\/a> and other ‘far’ leftists lurk within the bosom of the Australian Labor Party<\/a> and the Australian Greens<\/a> — there’s only a smol handful of self-proclaimed socialists taking to the parliamentary barricades this year.<\/p>\n

(For a recent example of ye olde argument about the political utility of voting, see<\/em> : Why do anarchists abstain from elections?<\/a>, red & black notes and Socialists and elections<\/a>, Red Flag.)<\/p>\n

Sadly, having been de-registered by the Australian Electoral Commission in June 2021, the Australian Workers Party appears not to be running any candidates in 2022. Further, Ron Poulsen of the Communist League has once again failed to nominate for a seat, and no Communists of any other variety would appear to have thrown their flatcap into the ring. Happily, the Australian Progressives<\/em> are fielding candidates in the race for the Senate in the ACT and Victoria, while Janine Rees is battling over Ryan (NSW) and Angela Fulco wants to steal Sturt (WA) from the Liberals. Finally, in a special 2022 BONUS!, Drew Pavlou’s Democratic Alliance wants to ‘give power back to the people’ by first installing itself in the Lower House seats of Chisholm (VIC) and Stuart (WA) and in QLD, NSW and SA in the Upper House. Note that, while Pavlou has described himself as a libertarian socialist, (Dr) Joe Toscano, formerly of ‘Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society’, wants to put ‘Public Interests Before Corporate Interests’<\/a> by running for a seat in the Senate in Victoria.<\/p>\n

Socialist Alliance<\/strong><\/p>\n

SAll<\/a> is running five candidates for the House of Representatives — Sue Bolton in Wills and Sue Bull in Corio (VIC), Andrew Chuter in Sydney (NSW), Pat O’Shane in Leichhardt (QLD) and Sam Wainwright in Fremantle (WA) — and Senate tickets in NSW, QLD, VIC and WA. The Party recommends ‘preferences to socialist and Greens candidates ahead of the ALP, ALP before the Coalition parties and far right parties last’.<\/p>\n

Socialist Equality Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our candidates are SEP assistant national secretary Max Boddy and WSWS writer Oscar Grenfell in NSW, longtime party member Peter Byrne and an International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) leader, Jason Wardle, in Victoria, and longstanding WSWS correspondent Mike Head and another IYSSE leader, John Davis, in Queensland. Their biographical details and how to vote for them as the SEP candidates can be found here<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like the AWP, in February 2022 the SEP was de-registered by the AEC, but they can’t. won’t and don’t stahp campaigning<\/a> on ‘A socialist program of action for the working class to oppose war and fight COVID-19 and austerity’.<\/p>\n

Victorian Socialists<\/strong><\/p>\n

VS are running<\/a> 11 Lower House Candidates in Victoria (Calwell, Cooper, Fraser, Gellibrand, Gorton, Hawke, Lalor, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Scullin and Wills) and Aran Mylvaganam for a seat in the Senate. VS fared reasonably well at the 2019 Australian federal election all things considered, and also upon debut at the 2018 Victorian state election. But whether or not it can improve upon these performances is somewhat doubtful, and I don’t see the sense of splitting the socialist vote in Wills (Bolton versus Black).<\/p>\n

See also<\/em> : Balance of power politics is no way to win change<\/a>, Solidarity, April 29, 2022 | Federal election: Get LNP Government out \u2013 have no illusions about Labor<\/a>, Central Committee, CPA (M-L), April 10, 2022.<\/p>\n

BONUS! Honesty<\/h2>\n