I’m proud to be running as Victorian Socialists’ candidate for the seat of Kororoit in the upcoming state election. I’ve worked in hospitality and retail for many years, always joining my union and organising for better conditions among some of the most precarious sections of the workforce. I understand first-hand that too many workers face uncertain work for inadequate pay, while those at the top of society are making record profits.
I have been a strident opponent of the right-wing, pro-business status quo of Australian politics from an early age. I was raised by a single mum working for below minimum wage. We lived paycheck to paycheck, and were hit hard by the cost of living increases that came with Jeff Kennett’s wave of privatisations in the early 1990s.
My first political memory is of a mass organising meeting for refugee rights in the wake of the Tampa incident, which signalled the start of Australia’s cruel offshore detention regime. I would have been around seven or eight at the time, but it left an impression that shaped my life and my activism ever since.
Growing up under the racist, anti-worker Howard government, I learnt very quickly about the priorities of politicians – to serve the rich and powerful while vilifying refugees, Indigenous people and unionists. As a result I’ve become a passionate fighter against every injustice perpetrated by the Australian government, whether it’s the Liberals or Labor in power.
Since 2020, workers have borne the brunt of the economic and healthcare crisis as billionaires doubled their wealth. We are experiencing stagnant wages, surging living costs, rental stress and crushing mortgage repayments while politicians push tax cuts for the rich, spend millions on expanding the police force, and cry poor when it comes to funding health, education, welfare and other essential services. The 1.5% wage cap for essential workers is a slap in the face for the nurses and teachers who have carried us through this pandemic. Victorian workers deserve so much more.
My experience as a long-term activist in Australia’s marriage equality campaign taught me that progress is only made by ordinary people taking a stand. It showed me that we don’t win equality by asking nicely. We win by mobilising unionists, students and ordinary people in their thousands and fighting for it.
I joined Victorian Socialists to organise a fightback against the rotten status quo of mainstream politics. The rich have had it too good for too long in this country. The priorities of this system are wrong. As a socialist, I believe we should put people before profit, and I’m committed to fighting for that.