Hey! I’m Hajar, Victorian Socialists candidate for the electorate of Sydenham.
I’m a hospitality worker and student activist. I’ve helped organise campaigns for refugee rights, women’s rights, urgent climate action and a free Palestine.
My background is Palestinian and Moroccan. I migrated to Australia with my family in 2009 and moved into public housing. I know first-hand just how neglected, over-policed and underfunded Melbourne’s housing estates are. In my building, there were homes with no working locks, and elevators broke down constantly. Young people couldn’t walk outside without feeling intimidated by the large police presence.
Safe, habitable and comfortable homes are a basic human right; we should expect more from our government. Working class suburbs are neglected when it comes to essential public services – this is something we need to fight for!
As a socialist, I believe we need a society that’s built for the majority, not a small, greedy minority at the top. The capitalist system is rigged for the rich, who will always put profit before the needs of ordinary people. Billionaires pay virtually no taxes, while workers get no raises. As inflation rises, real wages are actually going backwards, leaving working-class people in a severe cost-of-living crisis.
The only way we can tackle the rampant inequality and oppression in this country is to get rid of the rotten system that profits from it. To start with, we need to invest in high quality public housing, welfare, healthcare and education, and to start rebuilding a fighting trade union movement that can win decent wages and conditions. This is what Victorian Socialists stand for.
Most regular politicians are just looking for a career boost and a way to line their own pockets, but I want to change the system. If elected, I’ll use my platform to help build activist movements to fight in the interests of ordinary people and the planet, starting in my own community.