Dave Riley
The burgeoning number of crises facing the Queensland Labor government has prompted Premier Peter Beattie to opt for an early election. Rather than wait for matters to worsen, especially the dwindling water supply in the state's south east, he has called the poll for September 9.
Labor may have a comfortable 28-seat advantage over its opponents, but the Beattie government — aka "team Beattie" — has lost its shine. The party is sure to suffer a massive swing against it.
No doubt, this election campaign will showcase competing band-aid "fixes", but many of the issues that impact on the state's working people, and especially its Murri community, will be ignored.
That is why Sam Watson is standing for the Socialist Alliance for Brisbane Central — Beattie's seat.
Sam is well-known in Queensland politics. As a member of the Birigubba tribe, in Bowen Basin country, Watson is familiar with the brutal Aboriginal Protection Act regime inflicted on his people in places such as Palm Island. Two of his uncles were involved in the 1957 strike for equal wages and conditions on Palm Island.
Sam has been a political activist since high school when he was involved in the campaign around the 1967 federal referendum on Aboriginal voting rights. He has played a key role in all the major Indigenous struggles since then and today is working with his community around the December 2004 death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island and in the stolen wages campaign.
But Sam's activism extends beyond those issues: whether it's justice for refugees, opposing the war on Iraq or fighting for workers' rights, Sam's commitment to the struggle is widely respected. "I realised that the struggle of my people was not a race struggle", he said, adding, "it is but one facet of a broader class struggle".
With Sam running against Beattie, Socialist Alliance will be campaigning on all those issues that Queensland Labor is keen to ignore. While Sam will be standing for the Socialist Alliance, we're calling on anyone who believes in justice or thinks that we need solutions other than those being offered by the major parties, to sign up for Sam and get involved.
On a platform demanding justice for Doomadgee, that stolen wages be returned, a commitment to state-run enterprises and community control of the state's resources, Sam's campaign is an opportunity to unite the Brisbane left around an alternative way of running this state — one that is not hostage to corporate interests.
Those who have joined in any major protest action over the last few years know Sam and the type of political activism he stands for. This election campaign will offer a clear message that the sort of politics we need today goes beyond polling day.
To get involved in the Queensland Socialist Alliance election campaign, email <brisbane@socialist-alliance.org> or visit <http://www.socialist-alliance.org>.
[Dave Riley is a member of the Socialist Alliance/Green Left Weekly editorial board and, along with Sam Watson, a member of the Socialist Alliance national executive.]