Hi, my name is Mutu. I'm an IT Worker, an Australian Services Union delegate, and a socialist.
I first became politically active at the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. It was a defiant mass movement involving tens of thousands of people, who forcefully won the campaign to prevent the demolition of the park – one of the few green places left in Istanbul.
Shortly afterwards, I moved to Australia. In the time since, I have seen social inequality deepen, wages stagnate and essential services in Melbourne's north deteriorate. The rich are getting richer while working-class people bear the brunt of inflation. It is absolutely shameful that in a wealthy state like Victoria, foodbank services are seeing historic levels of demand. We are going through a very cold winter with out-of-control electricity prices while energy companies rake in record profits.
I know what it means to be a migrant in this country. My first job in Australia was on a student visa. As a student in a new country without prior work experience, the only jobs available to me were rife with exploitation. I have experienced my share of Islamophobia, whether from the state each time I enter the country, at airports with every random screening, or at the hands of the racist police force.
That’s why I’m running for the seat of Greenvale in this state election. As a socialist, I am committed to fight relentlessly for a world in which people come before profit. I believe we can use the vast wealth of the state to ease cost-of-living pressures on working class people in Melbourne’s north. If you elect me, I will fight to build and support movements that can achieve the radical changes we need to meet the challenges of today.