Posted on Wednesday, 12 February
Sue Munro’s campaign as the Victorian Socialists candidate in the Werribee by-election has played an important role in establishing that there is a left-wing alternative to Labor’s betrayals, and consolidating our efforts to entrench socialism on the political map of working-class Melbourne. Sue, along with a small army of dedicated volunteers, put in two solid weeks at early voting, culminating in an epic election day effort on Saturday 8 February.
As of Sunday morning Sue’s tally was 2,897 votes, a very creditable 7.3% of the total, with almost all counting completed.
Labor’s primary vote in Werribee collapsed to just 28.7% – less than half their 2018 first preference vote of 60%. It seems probable that Labor will (just) keep the seat. But they are paying a price for presiding over the trashing of working-class lives and hopes through inflation, non-existent services and woeful infrastructure, while the super rich keep piling up the wealth.
The Liberals’ cop-turned-real-estate-agent-turned-candidate was no smash hit in Werribee, increasing the Liberal primary vote by just 3.7% to 29%. But Labor’s failures and betrayals are clearly opening the door to Peter Dutton.
Victorian Socialists’ results in Werribee are a ray of light in this bleak political situation. As we explain below, your active support can help to build on these results in the upcoming federal election.
Though the Age described our solid vote in Werribee as a “surprise packet”, we weren’t at all surprised. In fact, we’ve never doubted that a socialist message of rage, hope and resistance can win the support of many thousands of people across the working-class suburbs and beyond.
Our best result yesterday was 14.3% at the Riverbend Primary School booth in Wyndham Vale, one of the new growth areas in the seat where developers have made their money but facilities and transport infrastructure lag far behind.
At the Glenordan booth at Wyndham Park Primary School – a more established part of Werribee – we won 13.8% of the vote yesterday, 174 votes. At both of these booths we came third after Labor and Liberals, beating the Greens and high-profile right wing independent Paul Hopper.
9.2% of voters at Manor Vale and Iramoo booths voted Victorian Socialist, along with nearly 10% at Westgrove, and more than 7% at Wyndham Vale, Werribee Secondary, and Thomas Chirnside booths. Even at the small semi-rural booth Little River, with sheep outnumbering campaigners, 7.1% voted Victorian Socialists.
Of course, each of these votes is an individual story. The CFMEU member who was impressed at our role in supporting the Woolworths warehouse strikers before Christmas, and our campaigners’ principled opposition to Labor’s dictatorial takeover of his union.
The migrant couple from Lebanon who had never heard of us until yesterday but appreciated our advocacy for services working class people need, and for Palestine.
The retired train driver who at last week’s public forum on the woeful state of public transport in Werribee, who spoke to point out that Labor had done nothing to reverse privatisation of public transport, and that Victorian Socialists are the only ones to even talk about the issue.
The voter at the Werribee early voting who was so keen on our policies she brought along extra copies to hand out on the booth – along with a Liberal how-to-vote card which her young daughter had usefully “amended” so it advocated a number one vote for Sue.
Having Sue as a candidate – an acute care nurse who is outspoken for public health, organises against Nazi groups in the west and has been a regular at the Palestine rallies – definitely helped our vote. And of course, our results are a credit to the hard work and political passion of our volunteers.
Some of us are life-long socialists. Many more have gotten involved more recently. But all of us share a commitment to building socialism into a living, breathing, organising, controversialising political force in this country.
With Trump in the White House, working-class people in crisis, Gaza in ruins and a drab Labor government facing the prospect of defeat at the hands of a confident and appallingly reactionary Liberal Party led by Dutton, there’s never been a more important time to build socialist political forces. Every member and supporter of Victorian Socialists has an important part to play.
Congratulations to every single person who contributed to Sue Munro’s campaign in Werribee – we hope to see you on the federal campaign trail very soon.