Socialist Alliance

Socialist Alliance is a socialist political party in Australia. The party was founded in 2001 as an alliance of various socialist organisations and activists. Socialist Alliance’s stated aim is to "replace the capitalist system with one in which the fundamental elements of the economy are socially owned and controlled and democratic systems of popular power established" through a "sustained mass campaign of total opposition to capitalism". The party has branches in all states and territories, and claims to be the largest party on the Australian left. Engaging in…   a combination of grassroots activism and electoral politics, Socialist Alliance currently has two elected officeholders across Australia, both of whom serve on the local government level. They are the councillors Sue Bolton (Moreland City Council) and Sam Wainwright (City of Fremantle). The party is involved with the trade union, climate change and student movements in Australia. It takes strong left-wing stances on numerous issues, including refugee rights, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, anti-racism and public ownership. Socialist Alliance also proposes nationalising the banking, energy and mining sectors. On workers’ rights, the party supports raising the minimum wage, implementing wage theft and industrial manslaughter laws, increasing trade union bargaining to industry-wide status and reducing the working week to 30 hours. It opposes the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), the building of new coal mines and any attempts to privatise public services such as Medicare. The party supports expansion of the public healthcare system to cover dental services and the cessation of public funding to private schools. Policies of state branches include support for public housing, public transport, public education and publicly owned utilities, as well as advocating for less militarised and hard-line policing and justice systems. The party participates within the Victorian Socialists electoral alliance in Victoria.