Posted on Wednesday, 8 January
We're proud to announce that long-time socialist and community activist Sue Munro will be our candidate for the upcoming Werribee by-election. We'll be launching our campaign with a gathering for local VS members and volunteers in the coming weeks.
Sue writes:
"I’m a Werribee local and agency-enrolled nurse working in the public acute-care system. Working in hospitals I’ve seen the neglect of essential public services up close, and that’s just one part of the growing inequality from which our community is suffering.
I’m running in this election because I think we deserve a representative who will fight for working-class people, instead of serving the pro-big business agenda that dominates politics today.
I'm a mum of two amazing young adults, each with disabilities. Living in the western suburbs, we struggle to access the services we need to get by. The Werribee Mercy is the only public hospital in the rapidly expanding Wyndham area. It’s drastically underfunded and is often forced to turn patients away.
My daughter recently needed mental health help and because of her age and vulnerability, we had to go more than an hour away to Royal Melbourne Hospital because there is nothing for 16 to 25-year-olds out here.
No one should have to have these experiences. Everyone deserves access to healthcare, as well as affordable housing, public transport, education and the other fundamentals of a decent life.
Werribee has long been taken for granted by the Labor Party, which just stands by while our services fall apart. They fund police and prisons instead of housing, schools and hospitals, and repress those who take a stand against them - whether those opposing Israel’s war on Gaza, climate change activists, or anyone else.
I’m running in this election because I believe we need an alternative to major party politics that only serves the wealthiest few. We need to send a message to the government that we won’t be taken for granted.
Voting 1 Victorian Socialists means voting for real people with real battles who are prepared to fight for working-class people, not the political hacks who are at the beck and call of big business."